Green Living Tips 101

Inspired by eco-minded Olympians? Add a little green action to your next workout session with these tips:

1. Use your muscles en route. Instead of driving to the gym, walk (or jog or bike) there. If it’s too far, drive just part of the way and complete the journey under your own power. Improve your fitness by parking farther and farther away each time.
2. BYOB. Bring your own bottle and fill it at the tap.
3. Share your soles. Recycle your used athletic shoes, or donate them to a clothing drive. Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program turns old shoes into new courts.
4. Take short showers. Just because it’s not your water bill doesn’t mean it’s not our water.
5. Speak up. Encourage your gym’s management to take measures to reduce waste, such as turning off lights in vacant rooms, shutting off the sauna/steam room/hot tub at night, minimizing use of the heater and air conditioner, and installing recycling bins.

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The heat of summer is coming, and that means many of us are about to crank up the AC, make an extra batch of ice, and generally burn energy like it’s our job. But we need all need to continue to try to conserve as much energy as possible to conserve resources and slow the march of global warming. And we get to save money at the same time–woo hoo to that.

Here are the ten things we can all do at home to cut our energy consumption. We start out nice and easy, then ramp up to some extra-credit methods at the end of the list for you Climate Crusaders.

1. Resist the urge to live in a refrigerator.

78 degrees is plenty cool in the house. Turn down the AC and get a programmable thermostat so you’re only cooling the house when you really need to.

2. Air dry your dishes and clothes.

The dryer and dish washer use a lot of energy– and the air does the drying job just as well. See some great clothes-drying racks here.

3. Take shorter showers and do not take baths.

Hot water heating is one of the major uses of energy in any home. Showers are the way to go– and keep ‘em short. Baths use much more water and heat than do baths (unless you’re taking 30 minute showers!).

4. Make sure you have energy-efficient lighting throughout your home.

Everyone has heard about compact fluorescent lights by now– but are you up to date on LED lights? Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have come a long way, baby, and they are often 10 times more efficient than compact fluorescents.

5. Ditch the beer fridge.

It’s amazing how many homes have two refrigerators. Please do not use more than one fridge. And if you have an old model, get a newer Energy Star model.

6. Use ceiling fans rather than AC.

They are much more energy-efficient and you can get very reasonably priced Energy Star models.

7. Get solar screens for your windows.

These screens cut 75% of the heat coming through your windows, but don’t impact your visibility. They are really great energy savers. See them here.

8. Plant trees!

Placing deciduous trees on the South side of your home is a great way to block summer heat, but keep the sun shining on your home in the winter when you need the warmth.

9. Spend one night each week in candlelight.

It’s romantic, fun and inspires new conversation. If you’ve got kids, how about turning off the TV one night and playing a board game by candlelight? Clue would be particularly spooky!

10. Use a solar oven for some cooking.

They really work! You don’t want that hot oven on in your house anyway. You can either buy a solar oven, or you can learn to make one yourself. It’s another fun summer activity to do with your kids.

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Save the Vacation

As high transportation costs force many Americans to consider the “staycation” this summer, retailers are stocking their shelves with stay-at-home summer indulgences, reports The Columbus Dispatch. Sierra magazine asks a similar question: Is the family vacation gone for good?

Don’t give up on that summer get-away just yet! Keep your green by punctuating the summer with low-impact, local vacations. Bike or walk a regional trail to cut carbon emissions and save gas money. Switch homes with a friend for an easy change of scenery. Visit a farm in your area to see where that organic produce is grown, then pack up your locally-grown goodies and enjoy a picnic at your nearest local park.

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OK, summer is here!  The kids are excited because the last day of school has arrived, the weather is warm for  playing outside with friends and the backyard get togethers are in full swing.  I am spending our first week of summer vacation “greening our garage“.  We have gone through old sports equipment, pool and sand toys, old clothes and just stuff.  We are sorting and organizing.  We hold an annual “blue light” sale at a local park with a group of friends.  The kids make lemonade, snow cones and popcorn to share with friends.  We put a blanket down and spread out the goods.  It is really a friendly exchange of goods.  Hand me downs get passed to families in need and an exchange of toys to mix up what gets played with at home.  Whatever is left over at the end of the day gets donated to a local shelter.  The kids learn to value of reusing toys and clothes with their friends.  Recycling kid’s items really reduces the need to buy new as they really grow so fast and don’t really wear out most of what they need.

The advantages of greening our garage are endless.  I get a clean garage!  Now the kids can park their bikes somewhere without knocking down a pile of old sports balls.  We get to spend some fun time with friends.  There is no advertising as it has become a tradition held the last Thursday in June.  New families show up every year to broaden our exchanges.  On Friday we can start summer and play day after day until school starts again in September.  Have fun greening your garage and enjoying your summer!

When the weather gets warmer, Americans fire up their grills by the millions, and the breezes fill with the characteristic scent of sizzling meats and roasting vegetables. Cooking over an open flame is deeply embedded in our genetic memory, so it’s no surprise that so many of us enjoy a good BBQ — especially when we invite over some friends and family.

The trouble is, grilling can be toxic, even downright polluting. Burning charcoal or wood produces clouds of sooty particles that can lodge in lungs, irritating asthma and other respiratory problems. Carcinogenic volatile organic compounds like benzene are released. The whole mess can contribute to smog.

To make matters worse, overcharring meat can produce toxic chemicals in the food itself. Still, this doesn’t mean you have to swear off the sizzle. With the right gear and a few tips, you can still kick back, throw a great barbecue, and grill up some world-class eats.

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Everyday I try to add some green living to our family. On Thursday I woke up to a beautiful sunny day and decided we were going to make a family trip to our local farm. We arrived excited to pick fresh fruits and vegetables. After spending an hour picking salad vegetables and berries we were ready to head for home and lunch! I quickly prepared a fresh salad with our pickings and combined the berries together for a colorful fruit salad on top of shortcake. Yeah! I just added my green living to our family for today! What can you choose to add to your green living day?

My next goal is to visit our local weekly farmers market to pick up locally grown fruits and vegetables. After that it would be ever nicer to try and bike to this market and shop while also saving on gas and emissions! Accomplishing this would be the best green living for our family!

Over the months of trying to help educate myself and my family we have practiced green living by the 3Rs. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. I would say the easiest has been to consistently recycle for our family. We have even added an extra recycle container to the upstairs of our home just to make it convenient. Now that we are in the habit of recycling in all rooms of our house we can honestly say that when it is trash day our recycle container is fuller than our trash container. The habit of reusing can be practiced on many levels. I have long been a fan of passing down gently used children’s clothing. Now that my kids are a little older they can see the joy in another child’s eyes when they hand down a gently used toy or sports gear. I am often know for being an over cleaner. Now, my laundry is less because my kids have learned that not everything has to be washed after being worn if it is still reasonably clean. There were many times that we would get up in the morning, get dressed, and then change clothes for an event like gymnastics, dance, baseball or whatever then only to come home, put on clean clothes for dinner and then off to bath time and of course more clean clothes for bed. Only to get up in the morning and do it all over again. So now, I am reducing my laundry loads and everything that goes along with that. We of course purchased the new energy efficient washer and dryer a year ago to make sure we were living green laundry. We are always trying to reduce everything in our lifestyle. Less is more right!

I have also spent the last few months converting our home full of pets over the a greener lifestyle. I started with our two small dogs. They were converted about a year ago with the big pet food contamination. They are now eating all natural dog food. My cats are also very happy with their new healthy all natural kibble. Green living for pets is important in our home since they are a part of our family. We have a small area on the side of our house where we are able to grow a few vegetables. We recently added two guinea pigs and a rabbit to our mix. They are currently eating fresh vegetables from our own garden in addition to their basic diet pellets. They are very healthy and happy. There are so many green pet products on the market to choose from and add to your green living at home.

I have been converting to using greener cleaning products by trial and error. This has taken some time and patience. Mostly just willingness to try something new and different from what has been used for generations. Education on what works and realizing that for many generations they got along just fine without all the fancy brands and did a much better job of protecting and preserving the environment. My latest challenge has been as needed investing in greener choices for clothing and bedding. My daily best for greener living is one step at a time.

“How you imagine the world determines how you live in it.” –David Suzuki

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With summer right around the corner, restless employees are eagerly scratching at the doors to get out of the office and slip into their fantasy vacations. One thing that we should all consider is the impact that our summer travel is going to have on the very places that we are dying to get out and enjoy.

Fortunately, some hotels and travel companies are getting the message and are making changes to help conserve and reduce impact. Several options exist to minimize your footprint on the road and in the skies this summer.

• Make the summer educational as well as exciting by choosing a volunteer or eco-vacation; Sierra Club, Outward Bound and the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) offer enriching programs and truly unique experiences with emphasis on being good environmental stewards.
• Stay close to home - some of the best places to visit may be right in your region of the country. Use this time to spend less time on the road or in the air and exploring your own area or community.
• Purchase carbon offsets when you fly. Travel sites and airlines, such as Expedia and Continental let passengers purchase carbon offsets as they are booking their flights. Continental also has one of the newest fleets in the industry, making it a slightly better choice when booking travel. They have spent close to $20 billion in the past decade to reduce their emissions. Virgin Atlantic is another option if you are flying internationally - they are the first airline to fly using biofuels, which has drawn a lot of praise and criticism. From 1990 to 2000, greenhouse gas emission levels have doubled in the US and the UK.
• Patronize hotels with eco-friendly practices and make sure that you let the hotel know that their environmental stewardship played a role in your decision to stay with them. Don’t forget to do your part by hanging up your towels if you don’t want them to be laundered. In the hotel industry, it is generally recognized that a towel on the floor will be washed and replaced, but hanging towels will be left. Linen reuse saves Marriott hotels between 11 and 17% of hot water and sewage usage.
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Walkin’ the Talk

November 06, 2007 in Home and Design, Recycling | Permalink | Comments

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

Take today and do what you want to do. Make a difference for the planet. Find a way to Go Green Today!

The recent hot and muggy weather has us all thinking about how to take the temperature down a notch. With that in mind, we’ve culled the top ten ways consumers can cut into the 22 tons of carbon dioxide each of us produces in the United States. Take these small and not-so-small steps and you’ll help ensure a more comfortable future for us all (all carbon savings are annual averages).
1) Replace five incandescent lightbulbs in your home with compact fluorescents: Swapping those 75-watt incandescents with 19-watt CFLs can cut 275 pounds of CO2.
2) Instead of short haul flights of 500 miles or so, take the train and bypass 310 pounds of CO2.
3) Sure it may be hot, but get a fan, set your thermostat to 75 degrees and blow away 363 pounds of CO2.
4) Replace refrigerators more than 10 years old with today’s more energy-efficient Energy Star models and save more than 500 pounds of CO2.
5) Shave your eight-minute shower to five minutes for a savings of 513 pounds.

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