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Adhere to, and practice the all-important triangle:
Green RESOURCESGO GREEN: support the movement with your patronage! The Alliance for Climate Protection Babyology Campaign for Safe Cosmetics Catalog Choice Earth Friendly Products Eco Caters Greener Printer GREENOPIA: The Urban Dweller’s Guide to Green Living G-Diapers Heal the Bay HostPapa Huntington Beach Green Guide The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) Kate Quinn Organics At Home & OfficeCancel most paper catalogs. These days, everything is online. Reduce the amount of unsolicited, or no longer wanted mail in your mailbox, while preserving the environment. You can dedicate 5 minutes each day to call a couple of companies asking them to remove you from their mailing list, or you can go to: catalogchoice.org and they’ll do it for you, for free. Minimize home & office printing. Only print what you absolutely have to… Print and copy double-sided whenever possible and reuse single-sided, printed paper. Once done altogether, don’t forget to recycle! Seek out 100% recycled, 100% post consumer waste or non-tree paper such as Kenaf. Non-tree paper is a fabulous alternative to wood fiber. Kenaf is a plant member of the hibiscus family, which has proven to be as good as, or better, than trees for papermaking. Recycle! Recycle everything you can; Make recycling bins available. Help start a recycling program in your office, if one is not in place. Set up a corner in your patio or backyard where you can compost. Composting eliminates the majority of your garbage and becomes a wonderful organic fertilizer for your garden. This is so easy to do & makes for a great gift! biobagusa.com/combi.htm Buy only biodegradable garbage bags! Organic food super markets offer a few choices, most notably the ones made by Biobag & Nat-UR. Reduce electricity consumption & save on your bill! Use energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs). Use Energy Star-rated and energy efficient appliances: That includes computers, copiers, fax machines, refrigerators, etc. Further Reduce energy consumption: Wash your clothes in cold water, line dry whenever possible. Keep the windows closed when you are running an air-conditioner. Keep the thermostat at 70-72 degrees. Turn-off completely when you leave. Go solar. If possible, install solar panels in your home and help your electric bill go down! Seek out solar chargers for cell phones and other small electronic devices. Eliminate Styrofoam and disposable drink & dishware at the office or during large parties and gatherings. Encourage the use of personal, reusable dishware and mugs when possible; avoid disposable containers. Avoid offering individual drinks in plastic and water bottles. Conserve water. Buy and use the most efficient plumbing fixtures such as low-flow showerheads and toilets. A low-flow showerhead can reduce water consumption by as much as 50%. If your faucet is dripping, fix it. It can waste as much as 50 liters of water per day. Turn the water off when brushing your teeth, shaving and washing your face. Make sure your sprinklers are not damaged and that they are watering only grass and bushes – not pavement. Buy and use non-toxic and biodegradable household & personal care products. Some of the chemicals found in regular cleaning products are linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems. Ecos, Seventh Generation and other companies make eco-friendly products that are safe and work! Similarly, seek out non-toxic shampoos, hand soap and cosmetics as well. Parents should also be careful of using toxic pesticides, roach & ant sprays etc. Often, essential oils achieve the same results without the danger or harmful side effects. safecosmetics.org Buy 100% recycled bathroom tissue. 5 million trees and 17,000 garbage trucks full of waste can be saved annually when households replace just one 12-roll pack, with tissue made from recycled paper. When buying household paints, look for words like water-based, low VOC. They are less- toxic. Buy green or cotton diapers. Each cotton diaper can be reused up to 100 times and decompose in 1 to 6 months. Approximately 1% of all America’s landfill space is filled with disposable diapers. They can take up to 500 years to decompose in a landfill… If you have to buy disposable, buy gDiapers, Seventh Generation or Planet. Buy a flat screen. An LCD flat panel uses as little as a third of the electricity of conventional tube-based models, saving you on power bill the equivalent of leaving a 50- watt bulb on all year. LCDs use half as much energy as plasma TVs. Electronics can and should be recycled as well. Anything with a screen such as TVs, computers and cell phones can be recycled. Often, large office buildings offer this service every few months. Also, look for items that come with rechargeable batteries and replace regular batteries with rechargeable ones. For electronics recycling check out: http://www.epa.gov/e-cycling/donate.htm Look for Bamboo flooring and Furniture. When looking to buy any wood or furniture product look for bamboo products first. Bamboo is fast growing and versatile and has become the unofficial poster material to environmental designers and builders. It can be flattened into flooring, molded into furniture, pressed into veneers, even sliced up to make window blinds. Because it is so fast growing, it is much easier to maintain healthy bamboo forests. Bamboo is one of the greenest materials around. BBQ. Outdoor grills use less energy than electric kitchen stoves. They also keep lower air conditioning costs by keeping heat out of the house. Choose grills that use propane or natural gas; they emit 5.6 pounds of carbon dioxide versus charcoal grills’ 11 pounds for the same use. LifestyleCarry a canvas bag wherever you shop. Say no to paper AND plastic! If you are buying a small item, deny a bag altogether…. Always have a reusable bag or more in your car. When you take your shopping home, put the empty bags by the front door, so you remember to take them back out again next time you leave. Support green businesses and those who follow sustainable practices-- in every sector. That can be your dry cleaner, supermarket, web hosting, restaurants, etc. Support green policies & politicians Help elect officials that take the environment seriously and have proven to take action toward a more responsible government energy policy. Limit individual plastic soda and water bottle purchases. Go for glass bottles, reusable and refillable sports bottles, dispensed mountain spring water (like Arrowhead, Sparkletts) or simply use a Brita & tap water! Bring Your Own Mug. Help reduce waste by bringing your own mug at Starbucks or your favorite coffee and tea place! Minimize driving and/or drive a fuel efficient, ultra low emission car or hybrid. Be conscious of combining errand trips. Turn off your car whenever possible; idling wastes money and fuel and contributes to air pollution. Carpool whenever possible! Minimize Gift Wrapping. Reuse gift-wrapping whenever possible, use chlorine free, recycled paper or go for a gift bag that can be reused. Buy products and support manufacturers that use minimal packaging. That may also mean buying economy sizes. Save money and preserve resources and our earth! Carbon Offset. Go carbon neutral. Find out more at climateclean.net ShoppingBuy organic. Organic foods are produced without the use of synthetic, chemical pesticides, fertilizers, growth hormones or antibiotics. Aside for better for your body, they are better for the Earth! Support organic farming and buy organic food, shade-grown/organic and fair trade coffee and tea. For poultry, meat, and dairy: Look for words like: hormone-free; antibiotic-free; free-range; cage-free; humanely raised; grass fed; organic fed. For seafood: Women in child baring age, pregnant moms and parents in general should avoid mercury. Learn what types of seafood are harvested sustainably at seafoodwatch.org. Major key labels to look for on “green” products: Visit localharvest.org to find farmers markets and greenpages.org to find green business services and retailers in each state. Buy vintage garments or clothes made from natural fibers. Vintage is by definition green. You are reusing, reducing and saving at the same time! Look out for organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, recycled silk, recycled cotton, modal, etc. FOR YOUR KIDSBuy organic baby food. Look for those that come in reusable glass jars and recyclable paper boxes. The weight saved in glass would tip scales at 680,000 pounds, about as much as a Boeing 747. Buy baby lotion containers that can be recycled. Simply rinse all your product empty plastic containers with warm waters and put in the recycling bin. If just 10% of the babies born this year used these recyclable bottles or reusable containers, roughly 20,000 pounds of plastic could be saved from landfills. Buy the largest size available. When buying baby shampoo you’ll get more for your money and your planet. About 22 grams of plastic will be saved for every ounce of shampoo. Buy soy crayons; not those made from paraffin wax. Paraffin comes from petroleum. Try using those with soybean oil instead, which are also safer and non-toxic. Play with dust-free chalk. It limits the potential exposure to airborne particles that aggravate asthma and other respiratory illness. Whiteboards serve as great alternatives to blackboards. Non-toxic dry-erase markers eliminate all chalk dust damage. Buy recycled, non-chlorine paper. Post-consumer recycled paper requires 44% less energy to produce, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 37% and producing 48% less solid waste. Look for post-consumer recycled fiber file folders as well. FOR YOUR PETSConsider a vegetarian diet. If every dog in the U.S. ate vegetarian one day per month, the energy savings per year would be the equivalent of 190 million gallons of gasoline. Choose toys made from recycled materials. The virgin materials saved if all pet toys purchased in a year were 100% recycled could be combined to make a Frisbee nearly 2.5 miles in diameter. Buy treats with no packaging or recycled packaging. 58,000 cubic yards of waste would be eliminated annually if just 10% of all dog and cat owners purchased treats in recyclable packaging. Say “no” to plastic bags!According to Julie Burtinshaw’s article “Say No to Plastic Bags,” consumers need to consider the following shocking facts about plastic shopping bags:
The solution to all this? Reusable cloth bags! Additional InformationFor additional information and resource ideas visit ema-online.org. For additional information, on climate change & to take their 7-point pledge visit The Alliance for Climate Protection. |
 
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