Ethical Consumption

Ethical Consumption Weekly Updates - Justmeans

2010-10-08T03:54:00.000-07:00

Where do donated clothes go? - Akhila Vijayaraghavan

Browsing second-hand thrift stores, vintage shops and charity shops was a favourite pass time when I was a college student. I still love hanging out in back end markets and vintage places finding one-of-a-kind pieces.

Reusing second hand clothing is a great way towards a sustainable life. However, not all donated clothing is created equal. Second hand clothing forms a significant economy and used clothing has gone global. According to the Council for Textile Recycling, about 61% of donated clothes in the US are exported to other countries.

Shipping these billions of pounds of used clothing each year to places like Africa can have a huge carbon footprint. Additionally, it can also hurt local textile businesses at its destination. To be an ethical consumer, it is essential not to endorse cheaply manufactured, one-season only garments which are designed to be tossed after a short usage span.

Post continues: http://www.justmeans.com/Where-do-donated-clothes-go/32825.html

Decline in pollinating insects, antibiotics in Indian honey - what's the connection? - Akhila Vijayaraghavan

This week two articles caught my eye - one about antibiotics in Indian honey in the Down to Earth magazine and the other about decline in pollinating insects in India which is affecting vegetable harvests in the BBC. On the surface they may not seem to be correlate, but environmental awareness is understanding that ecosystems, biodiversity are more interconnected than distinct. All this brings us to main protagonist of this story - the humble honey bee.

Honey is one of those foods which is all-natural, or supposed to be. With the increase in market for commercial honey, a few years ago a very bad decision was made to introduce the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) in India; which although is a prolific honey producer is not well-suited for Indian conditions. Eventually these bees pretty much replaced the native Indian bees which are naturally more resistant to diseases.

Post continues: http://www.justmeans.com/Decline-in-pollinating-insects-antibiotics-in-Indian-honey-what-s-connection/33118.html

Greening appliances - Akhila Vijayaraghavan

Home appliances account for about 17% of your household's energy consumption, with refrigerators, clothes washers, dishwashers and clothes dryers at the top. There are several ways to be clever about energy usage in the house and reduce the amount of energy as well as your electricity bill. First, switch to a green power supplier if you haven't already done so. Several states now offer smart meters so make sure you get one if your state offers them. Second, there are several global energy standards that you can adhere to in your purchase of appliances - make sure to check for either an EnergyGuide, GreenSeal or Energy Star label. Although it varies from gadget to gadget, typically Energy Star gadgets save up to 20% to 30% in energy on the average. Third, rethink your gadgets - do you really need so many? Will you ever use that ice-cream maker or waffle maker on a regular basis? Also consider the size of the appliance - do you really need a refrigerator that big?

Post continues: http://www.justmeans.com/Greening-appliances/33282.html

Ethical choices: e-reader or books? - Akhila Vijayaraghavan

Whilst I was in Seattle a few months ago I had the chance to speak to a few independent bookstore owners to ask them what they thought about sustainability, green living and books. What came out of that conversation was very insightful. It is old but still infortunate news that independent bookstores are a dying breed hastened by the arrival of big retailers, Amazon and now the e-reader.

The Cleantech Group reckons that the Kindle is the greener way to read. According to them a Kindle is responsible for 168 kq of CO2 over its lifetime. Replacing three physical books a month for four years with Kindle books will save 1,074 kg of CO2.

Post continues: http://www.justmeans.com/Ethical-choices-e-reader-or-books/33585.html

Emma Watson Goes from Hogwarts to Bangladesh to Learn the Magic behind Ethical Fashion

2010-08-10T04:19:00.000-07:00

Emma Watson, who has gained popularity with her role as Hermione in the Harry Potter series, recently visited Bachhara, an ethical clothing label, in Bangladesh. Since joining People Tree, a fair trade apparel company based out of the UK, as a creative advisor, Watson decided she wanted to experience first-hand how the materials used in her spring fashion line were created.

People Tree's work is dedicated to help developing countries overcome poverty through the promotion of fair trade and sustainability. By paying higher prices for the locally grown textiles, fair trade companies help guarantee livable wages for workers in impoverished nations. Emma Watson remembers the first time that she heard about fair trade in a geography course-work project, and remembers thinking, 'why isn't everything fair trade?' She wanted to be able to help people to be able to support their families and live with dignity. The Ivy League model commented:

Post continues: http://www.justmeans.com/Emma-Watson-Goes-from-Hogwarts-Bangladesh-Learn-Magic-behind-Ethical-Fashion/26033.html

Sipping Through the Cluttered Green Product Web

2010-04-30T05:52:00.000-07:00

Do green products appeal to human nature or logic?

Green, green, green products everywhere! How many are truly sustainable though? How about a nature vs. logic equation? It is the beloved coffee/tea/cocoa mug. Now we all know we can save a few cents on our purchase by bringing our own mug, but how many of us actually do so?

The question here is whether this is an issue of logic or human behavior (or possibly both)?

If it is purely human nature, then the new “hot green product” on the market I am not a paper cup should have transformed boundaries and created a revolution. It looks like a coffee cup, you use it for hot beverages, and the only thing you need to do is remember to bring it! They took the idea of taking something familiar and tried to make it more sustainable. Obviously, a reusable mug is more sustainable than disposable products.

Of course, taking it one step further and making the mug out of recycled and recyclable materials may have made it a stand out product. But the idea was to appeal to human nature, and that would indicate that keeping in line with “business as usual” will allow people to make smaller changes at a time. The mug doesn’t scream innovative green product, but it does gently state that it is in fact identical to its disposable counterpart in appearance.

Yet the game of logic is quite different. Logically, any reusable mug, be it a coffee cup look a like or not, should have and equal impact because it is the same action. People still have the perceived inconvenience of bringing their own mug. So the additional step to bring their own mug would be the same whether it is a coffee cup look-a-like or an ultra green product with cradle to cradle certification. Logically, the important step is the in-store reward of a reduced price.

Yet in reality, neither of these hold the ultimate truth discovered thus far. The I am not a paper cup green product has had a solid following, yet individuals as a whole are bringing their own mugs more often than five years ago. At that time, most stores did not have a policy in place for bringing your own anything from bags to cups. So although reusable products seem to be a ‘new’ thing for the post-industrialized society, their popularity indicates a bigger trend. Small steps toward a larger goal of reduction and cost savings.

If every person brought their own mug for coffee every single work day, they would get one coffee free! This is dependent on the store’s discount and their prices. Although the savings of 12 free cups of coffee every year may not be astounding savings for your pocket book, it does have a profound impact on your ecological footprint. So much so, that companies such as Starbucks have invited their customers to compete for a monetary prize to come up with solutions to paper cup waste.

Whether logic or behavior take the lead, the end result is the same. We are taking some small steps toward larger and more important goals of reducing our ecological impact.

Photo Credit: gadgetpages

Go green by putting your mail box on a diet

2010-04-26T01:25:00.000-07:00

That pile of junk mail is doing a lot more than just weighing down your mailbox, it’s also adding to the growing amount of paper waste and if you are wanting to go green you should think about opting out. Opting out that is of the plethora of mailing lists you somehow wound up on (Don’t feel too bad not all of them you consciously enrolled in but they gained your address by other means!) and deciding to go paperless on what you can.

If you haven’t yet heard about it, a growing number of banks, utility companies, phone carriers, and other outlets are offering to their customers the option to receive their bills and notices via email rather than standard post. What this means is that you can cut out the amount of needless paper and being that email is fast outpacing traditional methods you will probably wind up paying that bill earlier.

Now that may take care of a marginal amount of your mail load but to really go green you need to be persistent and get rid of those leaflets proclaiming that you could get a certain magazine at an amazing deal or to be alerted that you are preapproved of the BEST credit card in the world (Trust me you don’t need another card with extra fees). Yes, easier said than done but it won’t take too long; many of those notices will include a telephone number you can call to get off the list; look in the very fine print. You can also submit yourself to the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service as an address in the DMA category: Do Not Mail. If you still are receiving trash and you haven’t got the time to continue to hunt down the offenders you can pay someone else to take care of it for you. There are services that you can find online to do that and two such organizations are 41 Pounds and Green Dimes.

Taking it to the magazines and other catalogues you may get you should unsubscribe to those you really don’t read; if it is catalogues, much of the same if not more items are now found on the business’s website. For those magazines that you do keep, once you are through think about if you have a friend who might enjoy reading them and pass them that way; you could even buddy up with friends who have similar reading habits and share subscriptions to really go green. For what mail you then do receive and keep be sure that it eventually finds its way back to the proper recycling bin. Once you’ve given your mailbox a diet you and the planet will benefit.

Living Green with Farm to Table Meals

2010-04-22T01:23:00.000-07:00

Living green and eating greens is an important part of any ethical consumer’s day.

Living green and eating greens is an important part of any ethical consumer’s day. As a society we have dissociated ourselves from our culture of food. Yet focusing on bringing our food straight from local farms to our dining rooms is a growing phenomena. With Jamie Oliver trying to transform school cafeterias from Mystery Meats to delicious and healthy alternatives, the Farm to Table meal hasn’t been this in style in a long time.

Where is the closest farm? Why not your own backyard or windowsill? Supplementing your meals with homegrown vegetables and fruits grown on your own turf is the smallest mileage food will travel! That means fresher food, cleaner air, and a direct return on your investment in seeds. For those hard to grow items including animals: Local Harvest, The Eat Well Guide and Community Supported Agriculture are all great places to get a jumpstart on sourcing your food locally.

Beyond fresh food and reduced food mileage Farm to Table helps with three things for living green: accountability, local economies, healthier environments. When you are purchasing food from Farmer Joe versus Corporation Joe, the Farmer has a greater incentive to stand by his product and provide you with the healthiest thing possible. Corporations on the other hand often win over Farmer Joe in terms of market share because of one simple factor: price. Hidden in that “low price” are some very high social and ecological costs.

One of the key social costs is the vitality of local economies. By investing in Farm to Table meals, you are living green while saving everyone ‘green’. For every $1 invested in local economies, 68 cents stays in the local economy. That means that by supporting Farmer Joe, you are able to fuel more money into your local system trickling into improved infrastructure and a strengthened social fabric.

The ecological impact of large-scale agriculture and animal husbandry is devastating, especially for those living green. The amount of pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides used into today’s agriculture including genetically modified organisms is so astounding that many ecologists and farmers do not believe the ecological system will be able to recover. Given that these practices are fueled by none other than us, the common consumer, it is easy to quickly remove yourself from aspects of this global cycle. Buying local food grown under ethical and ecologically safe conditions can reduce your impact, and take a “vote” away from large-scale systems.

Food is not a product, nor is it simply fuel. It is at the essence of our beings to respect and thrive based on the food we consume. Respecting the natural cycles of that food is the first step in making a monumental shift toward living green and ultimately creating a positive impact on our environment.

For Earth Day this year, try to attend a Farm to Table event available at local restaurants, support your Farmer’s markets, and see if you just may have a green thumb under those manicured nails after all. Happy growing!

Photo Credit: Simply Local Food

Green Tech Tools for the Home

2010-04-20T01:04:00.000-07:00

We are often encouraged to make our homes more energy-efficient, either by purchasing green appliances, by using efficient light bulbs, by monitoring our water usage in the bathroom, and so on. These tips aren't new. But now there are a multitude of new technology tools that can help build your awareness of your energy footprint and help make your home more "green."

It can be difficult to ascertain how much energy you are actually conserving when you take steps to make your house more energy-efficient, as the information you receive via your utility bills doesn't really give a complete picture of which devices are efficient or which times of day are inefficient. As Caitlin Chock wrote here a few weeks ago, there are new devices you can install in your home to help monitor your energy consumption. It is likely these sorts of devices will eventually be tied into smart grids that in turn will help us become smarter energy consumers.

While conserving energy, and in turn saving money, are good motivations for making steps to have a more energy efficient lifestyle, there are other tools that can help motivate us in other ways.

One such device is the Green Goose. The Green Goose is a financial management system that rewards your savings account for your "environmental savings." Using special wireless sensors hooked to (literally) little green eggs, the Green Goose system can monitor how many miles you bike (as opposed to drive your car), the temperature at which your hot water heater is set, and how much water you save in the bathroom. In turn, the system then transfers money from your checking account to your savings account to reward you for your green behavior.

Waterpebble is another device to help track water consumption at home. The device monitors the amount of water that goes down the drain while you shower. The device tracks the length of your first shower, then using it as a benchmark indicates --with green and red lights -- when to finish showering. Each time you shower, Waterpebble will fractionally reduce the length of the shower in order to help you save water.

While these ideas might sound a little gimmicky, they speak to the great innovation in the area of developing new technology tools to help us live sustainably. As Chock writes, "There is something to be said for positive reinforcement; if you can see just how much you are saving from your efforts that is all the more reason to keep on thinking green."

This Green Home: Compostable Bags

2010-04-20T00:47:00.000-07:00

De-plastify your green home with these three key compostable additions!

Plastic is becoming a foreign element to any green home. What is replacing it you ask? The EPA’s 4 R’s of course: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rethink. First, individual consumers are reducing their initial consumption of “stuff” in general from home makeovers to trinkets. The combination of the economy and environmental awareness (along with that little thing called a “bag tax”) have helped us ethical consumers get a kick start on our “Reduce”.

The advent of reusing and recycling is also in full swing! With vintage here, reusable bag there, and “this used to be a water bottle” sign everywhere we are finally closing the loop. It is this fourth “R” that is helping us give unnecessary plastic the final boot from our green homes. Rethink!

We still need bags to take out the trash, clean up doggie do, and clean up yard waste. First they were paper, then the advent of the plastic changed all of that, and now we are happily transitioning into the world of “compostable” once again. The Biodegradable Product Institute‘s certification can help the average consumer differentiate between compostable “claims” and reality.

The top 3 compostable bag products I recommend for your green home include:

Lawn & leaf bags
Trash bags
Animal bags for dog waste or litter boxes.

Compostable lawn and leaf bags were actually mandated in the State of Minnesota this year, with many State’s planning to follow suit. For those who do not compost, or have too many compostable materials to do so, packing up your organics in a nice and compostable bags is a great and quick way to be green! These are the most readily reused nutrients in our system, making this an easy and important step for any green home.

Now trash bags may not seem quite as logical at first since most trash is thrown into landfills. Yet upon closer inspection, the majority of trash sits at the top of a landfill pile for 3-5 days, the exact time it takes for BPI certified compostable bags to biodegrade. This reduces the amount of plastic used, an important factor as we learn more about landfills leaching into groundwater and soil. Although most landfills are 'sealed' meaning that even newspapers, a highly biodegradable item, are still found intact after decades, there will be less plastic. As plastic biodegrades it leaves behind toxic compounds both as solids and in gaseous states. This is a key area to reduce the plastic in your green home.

Can pets really create that much waste? As an animal lover, I have come to terms with the unfortunate fact that their waste can have a significant impact. Although not recommended for a household compost pile, pet waste collected with compostable bags or liners can immediately reduce your pet's impact.

These three easy steps can help “de-plastify” your green home, making it both more ecologically-friendly and people-friendly!

Photo Credit: Sustainable Sarasota

Earth Day a Celebration for Green Living - But it should continue all year long

2010-04-19T01:28:00.001-07:00

Yes, all you green living mavens rejoice; that special holiday reserved for nurturing our Mother Nature is upon us on the 22nd of April! And while we should be thinking about reducing our carbon footprint, curbing energy consumption, and the all important recycling all year round this can act as a little reminder for those already doing so and it can in turn spur this mentality to those that may be a bit eco-challenged at the moment. And that is exactly what it is a mentality; thinking green is not something that only should come about once a year, yet instead every day and throughout all facets of our lives. I don’t think it comes as a surprise that our planet is in crisis and it is now critical that we all do our own part to amend our current trashy ways so to speak.

Another unique marker for this Earth Day is that it is the 40th anniversary of the occasion and while there will certainly be green living parties across the globe, if you are in the United States you may want to head on out to one of the EPA @ 40 Celebrations. There will be one major shindig going down in Washington, DC but also multiple others in various cities nationwide; you can find the one nearest you at www.epa.gov/earthday/events.htm where there will be science experiments to wow the kids, The Carbon Wheel of Fortune to interactively show how you can reduce your own carbon footprint, along with a plethora of other activities. There may or may not be cake but you can rest assured that there will be plenty of spreading of the eco-word in the hopes of instilling just how vital it is to do what you can to green up your act no matter how small those actions may seem. There is also the ongoing ‘Pick 5 for the Environment’ campaign where you can pledge to adopt five specific habits that you will be accountable for. This is likened to thinking of green living as a process in which you are continually moving forward and adding to your own eco-friendly traits. You can get the kids to join in too and you could all write your own pledges (or fill in the one online at the EPA site) and stick them up on that Energy Star rated fridge as a reminder.

Green living is just that; it is not one fleeting day on the calendar but a way that we need to start acknowledging as a lifestyle if we are going to make the necessary changes. Yes there are these larger, planned celebrations but your own celebration could be as little as switching out your traditional light bulbs for CFLs, setting up a recycling bin in your school or office, or going out and picking up what some nasty litter bugs left behind. No matter your plans for April 22nd just don’t let them stop there and continue to spread this green living mentality to the younger generations so that our planet will be there for the future.

Photo credit: http://caitchock.com/

Living green and concocting your own eco-friendly shampoos

2010-04-12T00:26:00.001-07:00

There are really so many facets of living green that even the most eco-friendly of sorts are finding that they still have room to grow. Sure you may have outfitted your entire home with energy saving appliances, piled those blankets on your bed during the chilly winters, and swapped out all of your outdated light bulbs, but chances are there are still things you can do to up your green factor. One of these potential outlets is in the kinds of shampoos and other beauty products that you purchase and use on if not a daily basis than still very regularly. The truth though is that a myriad of these very products are not only manufactured in anything but environmentally conscious ways but also they contain elements that pose a potential health risk to you.

There are a laundry list of ingredients used in standard shampoos that have been linked with such maladies as cancer but the top offenders are parabens, formaldehyde, 1 or 4 dioxane, and diethanolamine (DEA), so if you see these in the list of ingredients steer clear! What is also tough about trying to shop with your living green spirit in mind is that there are plenty of misleading labels, and if not false claims than those that sort of negate you away from the actual truth. The best way to avoid falling victim to a label trap is to be informed, know the honest certifications from the phony, and still be on the prowl through that list of ingredients. There has been headway in this area however and you can put more credence in an Australian Certified Organic, National Products Association certified, USDA Certified Organic or BDIH shampoo.

Still for those resourceful living green enthusiasts you can side step all of this investigative research and make your very own eco-friendly shampoos. Ingredients can be as minimal as adding 1 tablespoon of baking soda to a cup of warmed water and then mix it up until it is adequately dissolved and lather. If you want to add a little lemon zest to that you could follow up with a little bit of lemon squirted into warm water and run that through your hair. Still there is a recipe for those tea lovers out there and you can add ¼ of a cup of your herbal tea of choice to hot water until it is brewed rather strong; you will then add 8 ounces of castile soap in liquid form and continue to stir. Once done you can do your cleaning and keep the rest in a handy bottle…just make sure it is recyclable too.

There really are a myriad of home remedies (There is even an egg shampoo that will need only a single whisked egg yolk combined with 150ml of warmed water as you continue to stir; you will then rub it into your hair and let it set for at least a few minutes before you wash it out and you’re done!) which will ensure that you know exactly what goes into your lather and you can cut out any of the harmful toxins and in turn reduce your carbon footprint. And for those living green that is what it is all about!

Photo credit: Flickr

Fuel Efficiency Standards to Help Go Green(washing)

2010-04-08T23:58:00.000-07:00

Are the U.S.’s new fuel standards just a go go green-washing scheme?

Let’s say you are putting your best foot forward and trying to go green in one of the toughest areas to do so, transportation. Some cities have extensive public transit systems, well-connected bike routes, or beautiful walking paths. Unfortunately, countries like the United States’ built environment are more recent and consequently structured around the automobile. In fact, the entire city of Los Angeles was planned in a whopping 30 minutes with a grid that is easy for cars to navigate. Public transit, common spaces, and walk and bike routes were not included in the sketch that has formed the City. So what is a go green enthusiast to do when they are grid-locked in a car-centric world?

Well, one solution is to invest in an electric or hybrid vehicle. The other auto-centric solution is to invest in a highly efficient vehicle. Governments point to fuel standards as a way to identify the suggested progress of engine efficiency, and therefore reduce an automobiles environmental impact. The US government struggled to pass new fuel efficiency standards in 2009 and most recently published even higher standards for the future. These standards, called the Corporate Average Fuel Economy or CAFE, are set at around 27 for light cars and now up to 34 for the year 2016. Sound impressive? Its not.

Shortly after the US published their 27 mpg standard, a number proposed over ten years ago as an acceptable level, they were showed up by China. China now has one of the most aggressive fuel economy standards (FES) on the market, with a projected 42 mpg by 2015 behind the long-time leaders Japan and Europe.

What does this mean for the go green, ethical consumer? When making automobile decisions, don’t rely on the government to push the automobile industry to create efficient vehicles.

The movie “Who Killed the Electric Car” illustrated the long-term struggle of environmental advocates for clean air quality. After the state of California passed aggressive legislation in response to air quality and climate change concerns, pushing the auto industry to create efficient and electric vehicles, the controversy began. Concerted efforts to downplay the importance of the issue and the ability of the auto industry to not only comply but excel, but choosing not to.

When you are listing ways to go green, your transportation choices can have a major impact. Air travel has the most significant impact given the location of the emissions, yet every aspect of our lifestyles can always be tuned to reduce our impact. It is nice to see the US finally jump on board in terms of reasonable, yet definitely not aggressive, fuel standards.

Cheers to a reduced environmental impact through regulation and ethical consumption!

Photo Credit: Crossroads Creative

Green Living Is Easy with these Meal Tricks

2010-04-05T03:05:00.000-07:00

Don’t let the lunch hour escape your green living efforts! These three money-saving http://www.justmeans.com/On-Golden-Handcuffs-Other-Gilded-Cages/2936.html tips are easy and effective at reducing your impact. A long-time trend in the business world was to skip lunch, but why? Food is more than just fuel. Eating is an experience to connect with the resources that allow us to live, survive, and thrive. These quick tips will help reduce your impact and your budget for the green living types.

First, get yourself to the co-op and purchase a set of to-go ware! Or make your own. These handy sets of portable silverware will keep your traveling footprint to an all time low. Artists like Chris Jordan point out the obscene amount of waste created every year, most of which is only momentarily used. So when you get food on the go, you can be ready. Most sets are bamboo, and many come in recycled carrying cases that you can latch on to your backpack or inside of your purse.

Second tip, green living is about more than what you purchase. A one time investment in a cute lunch bag, sewn with your own two hands, purchased on Etsy or at the store. This can be a helpful reminder to bring your own lunch. It can also help eliminate resource use http://www.justmeans.com/Just-Use-Less/1216.html associated with paper or plastic lunch bags. You are never to old for a fashionable lunch sack!

The last tip is something you may know well, meal planning. It sound simple, and there are plenty of templates online for various food preferences. Yet, in reality meal planning escapes most of us. Why is that? The best solution that I have found is doing a week’s meal planning once a month. Then gradually phasing in meal planning toward a larger portion of the month. This will help you shop for what you need, and use food before it goes bad. Awareness of food waste is growing, with composting solutions and non-profits like Second Harvest offering solutions. But meal planning can be a proactive way to reduce the amount of consumption and waste in the first place.

Lunch is back in style! And not just for school children http://www.justmeans.com/Back-Basics-Healthy-Food-in-Schools/7272.html. Celebrities, politicians, and office workers alike are all investing in healthy lunches http://www.justmeans.com/Congress-celebs-alike-are-trying-tackle-healthy-lunches/12002.html again. Green living’s wide array of choices are also now including sustainable school lunches as investments http://www.justmeans.com/Sustainable-Food-From-School-Cafeterias-Investment-Portfolios/4553.html. So why not spice up your routine with some money-saving switches to help you get ahead of the curve, save money, and reduce resource consumption all at once?

Must have green products: Solar powered cell phone chargers

2010-04-05T02:54:00.000-07:00

Using the power of the sun isn’t necessarily a new idea and today there are green products that are able to harness that energy for us whether it be on a grander scale or a smaller one. Well in this instance even in if the particular gadget is pocket sized its worldwide use is in fact enormous; I am of course speaking of our cell phones. When only a few years ago many of us could subsist on a landline alone today that thought is something akin to operating our TVs without a remote. (You mean there are actual buttons on the TV itself to change the channel and volume!?!? Just kidding.) But because we use these cell phones so much those batteries are given quite a beating and are then having to be hooked up to chargers for a refuel quite often.

Standard chargers plug into a socket but these nifty green products take traditional energy methods and throw them out the window; solar powered cell phone chargers will help cut the energy you use not only when the standard plug-in types are actively in use but also any phantom energy that is being sucked out of your outlets should you leave the chargers plugged in even when your cell phone isn’t attached. These solar chargers are becoming more in demand and here a few of them for you to take a gander at and hopefully take advantage of.

For the eco-friendly but also budget conscious you will be relieved to know that you can find one for as little as $50 and the Ice Tech Foldable Solar Charger is a testament to just that. These are small enough so that you won’t be burdened with excessive pocket weight and they work fast enough to give your battery a quick boost. There are also a variety of different adaptors to work for various phone models. If you want to get something even more compact and still gives you all the power you need there is the PowerMonkey eXplorer Solar Charger which will ring in between $100 and $150; this little guy is actually smaller than some cell phones.

For those who have iPhones there is the iPhone Solar Power Sleeve Charging Case which as the name implies simply fits right over your phone and gives it a recharge, even while you talk! If your phone is not of the Apple variety don’t fret because there is the Solio Magnesium Universal Solar Charger which is going to not only work for nearly any phone but also other kinds of portable gadgets. These will run you anywhere between $100 and http://www.flickr.com/photos/scelera/ $200 but what you can save versus having a plug in charger will more than make up for it in the long haul. Still shouldn’t making our world a little greener more important? So all of us looking to reduce our own energy consumption but still chat away can now do so thanks to these fun green products.

Photo credit: Flickr

Bring your green living to work and inspire others to follow suit

2010-03-30T01:43:00.000-07:00

Love it or hate it, unless you were lucky enough to be born into riches you’ll be spending plenty of time working. That being said, if you are into green living and want a few more ways to carry that over into the workplace, than read on. Much of the same tactics you adopted at your house can be applied to your office, and what’s more is that you have the potential to influence even more people to follow your lead. If your company doesn’t already have their recycling bins set up and labeled, take the initiative and you could not only be effecting how things run while everyone is on the clock, but you could even inspire your fellow coworkers to be more eco-friendly at home. Word of mouth can be a powerful tool, and by nature people follow by example, don’t think just because you are one Dilbert in a huge corporation your actions will go unnoticed.

Well, we’ve tackled the recycling bins, but even if you are using recycled paper for as many tasks as you can, the truth is that between the brands you may not be getting as much of a green living choice as you might think. Look at the percentage of post-consumer content as well as how much chlorine bleaching is done; as with many other kinds of ‘eco-friendly’ products there are some mixed messages so look closely. When you are printing, use both sides of the sheet and it’s even better if you can print off multiple pages just scaled down to use less paper.

The same old phantom energy is going to come up again, and this is especially crucial in a big business where computers, printers, faxes, and the like run aplenty. These are the prime energy suckers and what you can do to limit the amount of carbon you release is to set the timers on such items to the shortest interval before they lapse into an energy saving mode. If you have the ability to group all of the cords on your computer’s accessories (scanners, printers, etc) do that and then you can easily switch that powerstrip on and off at your will. Finally, if you’ve got a phone charger there don’t keep it plugged in all the time and only recharge when the battery in fact needs it.

For some things you can do when not at the job but still pertain to work, you should carpool and cut as much transporting gas emissions as you can. Send around a memo to see if anyone lives near you, you can take public transportation, and you could even walk or ride your bike depending on how far away you live. At lunch time keep up your green living habits by brown bagging it if you can; if you do go out make sure you wrap up whatever leftovers there are in recyclable containers and if you do travel to the café or restaurant go for one nearby so that you can walk there and avoid having to drive or travel a long distance too. Spreading that eco word around the office can be rather simple, it may not be as juicy as the latest office gossip, but I’m sure it is much more important.

Take out the chaos in your kitchen: save energy but also build a saner environment

2010-03-26T01:34:00.000-07:00

We’ve already covered how to save energy and water in your kitchen and in terms your general habits when it comes to cooking and washing, but there is another little tendency people have when it comes to this especially sought after room. The problem is, my friends, just too much stuff. Many of us fall victim to the impulse buy, and I myself have caved on more than one occasion, why do you think they put all those tasty candy bars and eye-catching items around the checkout line? But in terms of cooking specifically I can’t even count how many infomercials are raving about some slapper chopper, a magic bullet, a knife set that can cut through steel (yes, I do like to get my daily recommended amount of steel, thank you very much), and all the pizza bakers, toaster ovens that leave a cute animal print on your toast, and the list goes on and on.

The truth is that not only are many of these items a waste of money, and even inane ideas, but they are wasting space, and should they be plugged in an even worse waste of electricity. But even if you’ve delegated them to the back of the cupboards they are still there and you can do a nice kitchen overhaul by sorting out the junk from the goods. Think about how much cooking, and what kind, that you do the most of and then be brutal. If you have never baked a cake in your life you may not need a mixer; and for the rare times you get hit by a Betty Crocker urge you can whip out that whisk and you’ll even save energy…of the electrical kind that is. While we all will need a knife at one time or another, do you really need a different one that will chop your eggs into paper thin slices, a mini chopper and a regular sized one, or even a garlic peeler too? Unless you are Emeril or a food connoisseur you can probably suffice off of a single high quality chef knife. Take care of it, don’t run it through the dishwasher, and sharpen it as it needs it, and you won’t need to be purchasing any replacements any time soon.

What should you be cutting on with that knife? While it is especially important to keep your cutting boards clean for health reasons, if you are diligent you don’t need to have multiple ones. You can find a good green cutting board, one that is made out of bamboo for instance, and take good care of it. Finally we come to all those pots, pans, saucers, etc. For the majority of cooking practices you only need a few high quality items. Get a pot that is large, match it to the correct burner so that you can save energy and don’t waste heat loss or conversely need too much time to get it heated up, and a skillet. If you skimp on quality here you’ll end up burning through multiple cheaper ones and thus creating more waste and there will also be a dent in your pocketbook.

Declutter that kitchen and you can not only be blessed with more space and less of a headache from looking at it all, but you will in the end save energy and waste too. For what you do get rid of you can either give it away, hold a garage sale, or recycle what you can. Paring down in this case is a good thing, and moving forward resist those temptation buys as best you can; if you feel yourself about to cave close your eyes and thing about how often you REALLY crave a pizza/waffle maker/onion dicer/juicer/egg timer all in one.

Photo credit: Flickr

Living green when dishing up dinner

2010-03-18T00:22:00.000-07:00

Many cultures revolve around food, events are centered around it, holidays bring special dishes, and families guard their secret recipes fiercely; yet you can be living green while serving up all the most tantalizing fare at the same time. Whether you are catering to a party, serving the family dinner, hosting a school or business event, or having a picnic there are ways you can reduce the amount of waste and resources you consume in the way you serve those dishes and finger foods by opting for recyclable dishes.

Think for a moment about the amount of paper plates and even gasp standard plastic ones that get trashed after a single use at a large picnic or business luncheon. There are even some families that rely solely on these items and eat everything off of disposable dishes. So instead of getting regular brands seek out those that are made out of recyclable material.

There are not only plates and bowls that are made out of 100 percent recyclable plastic but forks, knives, and spoons as well. And what is great is that you don't even need to send them out to recycle after only one use because they are safe to run in the dishwasher as well. There are also matching recyclable cups to finish off the tableware, so should you be sitting on the lawn, dishing it up to the screaming and hungry kids, or serving some coworkers you can do so in an eco-friendly manner.

But there are other places that you can impart living green habits when it comes to eating and packing those lunches. When it comes to standard plastic sandwich bags and even saran wrapping dishes you can instead use ones that are made out of biodegradable celluose. Yes, you will in fact be packaging those foods out of plant materials which are far better for the environment than the usual petroleum based ones filling most pantries. They actually work better too at keeping your food fresh so they are great for leftovers. Then when they've done the job just add them to the recycling bin.

Finally, outfit your waste baskets with similar trash bags that are compostable and wholly biodegradable. Forget that 'Hefty, Hefty, Hefty' and instead be chanting 'Green, Green, Green' all the way to the compost heap. One such brand is the BioBag that will line your trash cans like a champ and avoid winding up in a landfill. When it comes to living green, these are easy measures to take to do the environment a favor while still taking part in all the fun that food and its festivities bring to all of us around the world. So the next time you raise your cup in a toast, be sure it’s one that is 100 percent recyclable.

Photo credit: Flickr

Green Living Baby, The Bottle Conundrum

2010-03-15T05:00:00.000-07:00

The public outcry over BPA, Bisphenol A, leaching into baby bottles got parents thinking. Green living doesn’t need to be a top priority to see the value in investing in glass baby bottles. Wee Go has created safe glass bottles with a protective plastic layer that will keep your bottle from breaking. The outer layer still lets you see and measure the amount of liquid in the bottle, making it convenient and safe. BPA caused such a scare due to its detrimental effect on humans, and in particular babies. Human’s most vulnerable state of development is during infancy.

The National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences rates BPA as having “some concern for its impact on the brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and children”. BPA enters the bloodstream typically through food containers that have been exposed to heat. A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention tested over 2500 individuals six and older, with 93% of the population containing measurable levels of BPA.

BPA can be found in plastic and canned food containers. Glass, ceramic, and stainless steel are the recommended BPA-free options. Aluminum, originally touted as BPA free, has actually been found to contain BPA and leach metals into food and drink after being exposed to heat. Due to the delicate nature of infants, glass bottles are the way to go.

The downside is that glass bottles are heavier for both the parents and the baby, and they can break. Relative to the developmental damage posed by BPA, these are more inconveniences than threats. The Wee Go bottle has been highlighted in trend-setting and parenting magazines over the past years, and parents have given the bottles excellent reviews.

When profiling bottle options for your baby, disregard BPA-free statements since many have recently been proven false. Selecting glass bottles that are easily replaceable in the case that it does break will help not only your green living regime, but also protect your baby’s health.

You may also want to review your own food containers, aluminum, canned food containers, water bottles, plastic food containers, and films have all demonstrated traces of BPA. Green living enthusiasts that may be measuring their chemical body burden may want to invest solely in paper, glass, and stainless steel food containers. The threat of BPA is greatest for infants, but adults should be equally aware, as their sources for exposure are quite high.

Protecting your baby’s feeding cycle and your own can keep you both healthy and chemical free. Green living takes dedication and keeping up on the facts. Health authorities like the NIH, NIEHS, and the CDC can help keep your head on straight with all of the health scares swirling around. Wee Go and other glass products can help protect you and your family’s future.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Wee Go

Growing number of hotels with environmental awareness

2010-03-11T05:31:00.000-08:00

If you are planning your next vacation getaway and you're interesting in finding one that is in line with your own environmental awareness habits you are in luck. A growing trend is people taking off to destinations that are considered green and even staying in eco-friendly hotels.

These hotels and resorts have installed low-flow shower heads, low-flush toilets, dishwashing valves that limit water consumption, among other traits to reduce overall water usage and have taken care to limit their energy consumption as well. These green hotels also have limited the amount of laundry they do by encouraging guests to let their towels air dry with towel rack hangers left in the bathrooms and they then ask them to try to reuse their bedsheets instead of having them changed everyday. These green hotels are popping up across the World and supported by different organizations, all putting environmental awareness first and foremost. There are 'Green Key' awards that go to such restaurants, hotels, and hostels; other marinas and beaches can merit a 'Blue Flag' award by adopting water conservation and other eco-friendly practices, and in the US there is the Green Hotels Association that has a growing number of members. So no matter where you idea of paradise may lie you can stay there in the greenest of accommodations.

There are also destinations that you can hit that will further improve your stats as an ethical consumer. Visit a national park or other similar natural expanse; not only will you be helping to support tourism and the local economy there but will in turn gain an even greater appreciation of the importance of preserving these habitats. For some truly remarkable sights you may want to head out to Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands which is an underwater delight with its intricately balanced ecosystem. There is the Napo Wildlife Center in Quito, Ecuador where a walk around the lodge will meet you with chattering monkeys and exotic birds. This rain forest is one of the few left unmarred by the hand of man.

Even if you may not be able to head to one of the more tropical reaches of the planet you can still do your best to make your destination with the most environmental awareness as possible by traveling with your green habits. If you can't find hotels meriting of of these seals then you can encourage them to do so and then in your own room limit the amount of lights and electricity you use and inform the maids that you don't need linen service each and every day. Yet the best way you can be an ethical consumer is to support those establishments making the changes necessary to protecting our environment; spread the word to the hotels and resorts you stay at and who knows maybe one day it will be 'Green Motel 6'!

Living Green with Father Time

2010-03-09T03:04:00.000-08:00

Time for a watch or clock upgrade?

These days most of us use our cell phones for just about everything, including a clock. Yet, most of our watches haven’t fallen to the wayside yet. Bearing in mind that living green is about being conscious of resource use through reducing what you use, reusing the items you already have, donating or sharing the items you no longer need, and properly disposing of the items that cannot be recycled, upcycled or composted. These simple principles apply to any measures within your lifestyle. Let’s take a quick look at the disappearing age of watches.

Here are a few tips for living green with father time and mother earth.

If it’s broke, fix it! These days it is often cheaper to buy new, instead of fix the old. With watches this is far from true. A typical watch battery costs less than $10 USD, while new watches cost anywhere from $10 USD to thousands of dollars. Living green means switching from a disposable viewpoint to a re-usable viewpoint. Not to mention it provides jobs for tradesmen and women.
Battery vs. Electricity. This is an unsolved debate because there are too many possible factors. There is great disagreement whether a battery-powered clock is more energy efficient and eco-friendly than device plugged into the wall like a phone or alarm clock. Obviously reduction is important. Having a plethora of clocks may not be necessary. The associated waste with batteries can be high dependent on the type of battery. While the toxic chemicals within a cell phone or electronic device are known to be highly hazardous. Yet with multiple uses for phones this debate is in the hands of the consumer.
Upcycle it! You can buy a “Clock Kit” and make your own clock out of plates, old records, or other unused things around the house. You just carve a hole out of the middle and insert the clock kit and viola! Anything becomes a clock. A nice way to reduce resources and have a fun project to do with family and friends.

What is happening in the trend-setting clock industry? Well drain plugs that also function as clocks, perhaps not appealing to the living green types and minimalists alike. There are also online clocks that give you the time, growing global population, growing disease counts, and other serious statistics. A Food Clock that counts the impact of animals consumed, clocks powered by human hands, the sun, the wind, clocks made out of …paper, clocks on wheels, the list goes on.

This is just one example of exploring your options for re-thinking how you use items around the house. Keeping in mind what is necessary, how the item will be used, how you can utilize the least amount of resources possible, and how to keep the chemical equation to a minimum can help streamline your eco-choices.

There is still time to innovate and think smart about how we want to develop through simple steps.

Recycle that trash and redecorate your green home

2010-03-03T05:31:00.000-08:00

Are you looking to redecorate your green home in all that is recyclable? Well you may want to take a glance at some of the ingenious creations making their way to the houses across the globe with the help of a little creativity and Makedo. But what in the heck is Makedo? Well this funny little term refers to an Australian company that has made a connector system that makes it easy to turn the junk of yesterday into the treasures of today. Each little Makedo reusable connector allows you to erect everything from furniture, toys, or simply odd pieces of art that are sure to be the perfect conversation starter at any party.

These connectors really aren't so revolutionary in their design, being merely a hinge, construction tool, and a connector (really just fancy terms for a clip and pin that then binds two things together), but their power lies in the ways in which they get those recyclable creative juices flowing. People are now taking fabric, cardboard, and plastic to then make everything from a dogs out of FedEx boxes, fabric igloos, and even larger than life gorillas out of many a cardboard fridge boxes. The uses are limitless, and even those clear plastic sandwich boxes you got from the cafeteria take out line don't need to be sent to the trash when you could make them a fun little desk animal creature.

When you've tired of one recyclable creation, don't fret as you can send one piece to your recycle bin and insert a new item by unclipping the Makedo and using it again. This amazing little gizmo has inspired the imaginations of all of those green designers lurking inside us all but until now couldn't reach their full potential. So drop those tired old Popsicle sticks as you've got much bigger fish, or cardboard boxes rather, to fry! In fact it seems that this Makedo rage has almost instituted an unofficial challenge for artists and others to come up with the best possible use for ordinary junk in or around their green home. The young and the old are taking part because these things aren't any more complex than a set of Kinex.

Don't pass up on the easiest, cheapest, and eco-friendly way to decorate your green home today. Some of these things are in fact pieces of art that are worthy of darn near any exhibit. You can even make it a family affair and for once urge the kids to go dumpster diving to see what treasures are just waiting to be unburied and then showcased across your house. You'll definitely be thinking twice before that soda bottle or milk jug get resigned to the curb. With a little recyclable ingenuity, and a shower afterward, the next wave of green decor is just waiting to be made.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/acidcookie/

Wrap your baby up in renewable resources

2010-03-03T01:07:00.001-08:00

The clothes, blankets, and bibs that surround a baby during early developmental phases are safer when sourced from renewable resources.

With that button nose and those big pudgy cheeks, is your baby swaddled in renewable resources? Baby clothes fly into the market with adorable animals designs and favorite cartoon characters, yet what we may not realize is what’s woven into the fabric. The majority of clothes on the market today are made with synthetic materials or harvested through a process extremely dependent upon them. So although a baby’s physical footprint is small, the footprint of their clothes, blankets, and bibs may be obscenely high. We typically choose baby clothes and products based on their “softness”, an important thing for our precious little ones. This has resulted in an array of cotton, bamboo, and synthetic fabrics. Let’s take a look at what that means for your baby and our environment.

Cotton requires an intense amount of pesticides when conventionally harvested. This dependency keeps it from being truly one of the renewable resources that we look for when designing green lifestyles. Outside of just the harvesting and environmental impact of conventional cotton, is the possible impact on your baby. There are a limited number of studies reviewing chemicals used on crops and their subsequent health impacts when manufactured into something that sits consistently close to the human body. At present, there are few conclusive studies but when you think it through you can understand the possibility.

With millions of gallons of pesticide being used to maintain productive cotton crops, the plant will intake a portion of those chemicals. Studies continue to come out on our “chemical body burden” explaining how chemical exposures through the air, body products, clothes and our environment actually cause the build-up of chemicals in our systems. During the fragile developmental stages of a baby, it would be wise to swaddle, dress, and feed them in clothes that are free from these chemicals. Two simple solutions are buying organic cotton, which can be harvested and made in the US and is a more true renewable resource. Organic bamboo, which is almost always a product of Southeast Asia, is another option and is considered a renewable resource because of its quick growth cycle. They both promise reduced chemical exposure for your baby, and a significantly lower ecological cost.

Synthetic materials, such as polyester are also on the rise. As we become increasingly more adept at creating softer and lighter fabrics the options expand significantly. Yet most of these synthetic ingredients are byproduct of petroleum or other crude manufacturing processes. After learning about harmful offgasing of certain materials, Europe and the United States have put in place higher standards on what can be utilized in clothing. But as our chemical manipulations grow exponentially, it is difficult for regulating bodies to keep up. Personally, I stay away from synthetic materials as often as possible since the health risks are understudied and their resource use can be astronomical. It is very dependent upon the type of material used, how it is manufactured, and where it was originally sourced.

So keep your little one safe with organic cotton and bamboo fibers.

Green Living in the Shower

2010-02-24T00:09:00.000-08:00

Does your green living regime include your shower curtain? If so, it may be toxic to your health.

Does your green living regime include your shower curtain? There have been many debates, and in some countries even regulation, regarding plastic shower curtains. The main concern of the EPA and CHEJ has been PVC that research found to emit hazardous chemicals while users were taking hot showers. Now IKEA and other major retailers phased out PVC-based shower curtains as recent as 3 years ago. IKEA was the leader, phasing it out over a decade ago, while other American-based big box stores have been slow to remove the toxins. They publicly announced they would reduce the amount of PVC-based shower curtains available, but failed to provide a timeline or details.

So what are they replacing it with? More plastic. Your internal green living guide may tell you that this doesn’t seem like the best solution. And you are most likely correct. There is significant disagreement over the long-term health impacts of exposure to plastic. It depends on the type of plastic, the type of exposure, the weather, the age of the plastic and so on and so forth. Your best bet? Take a preventative approach and reduce the amount of plastic in your home, starting with items that may be exposed to heat like shower curtains, water bottles, and Tupperware for hot foods.

As for your green living bathing regime, there are three solutions. The first is to eliminate the curtain all together. It is negotiable whether a glass door entry has a lesser impact than the other cloth options, but over the long term it just may. If you are designing your house from scratch, you may consider this option. Some showers don’t even have doors anymore, everything is angled. It will just require some cleaning and upkeep. The more common solutions are organic cotton and hemp curtains.

These two options may have a higher initial investment, but if you take good care of them, you shouldn’t need to replace them for quite some time. So their long-term payback time is good as well as the potential health risks plastic curtains pose. Each curtain is different, but most curtains should be washed regularly. After your shower, just squeeze out the corners holding the water and let the curtain dry. Make sure that your bathroom is well-ventilated to allow the curtain to fully dry. Also, be aware that some cloth shower curtains may shrink considerably, so check with the manufacturer when deciding what size you may need.

Recycled polyester plastic shower curtains and other ‘eco-options’ have also sprouted up in the green living market over the years. Personally, I am working on living a plastic-free lifestyle. So although I am happy to see plastic being recycled into new goods, I would like to keep them off my body and out of any heat-prone areas of my home.

Best of luck finding the eco-option that best suits your lifestyle.

Going green shoppers delight with plenty of clothing options

2010-02-22T02:41:00.000-08:00

Just because you're going green and shopping with these trends in mind doesn't mean you have to be a fashion disaster. If when you think of green clothing images of a burlap bag, sandals fashioned out of recyclables, and necklaces erected out of used soda cans, you would be quite wrong my friend. Today shopping green is a growing habit and products, including clothes and accessories, are in hot demand. That means that fashion designers and companies are looking for creative ways to not only adopt more energy efficient business practices but incorporate recycling into all of their wares. This includes abstaining from using harsh chemicals or pesticides in growing the materials used for the fabrics, using recycled fibers, and then relying crops that require a minimal amount of energy and water and are renewable like wood and bamboo.

There are numerous sites online where you can log on, peruse the racks (or pages rather) and then get those going green designer duds sent to you...hopefully you live as close as possible to the shipping sites to cut back the amount of emissions due to transportation costs though! And along with also shopping for clothes from companies that have already hopped aboard the green train, there are other tings you can do to improve your own green stats. This includes when you do buy, you do so in larger amounts than of simply one shirt or pair of socks at a time. Coming back to the whole shipping idea, the more single item purchases that must get sent out, the more of an effect that will have on the environment. Instead you will save on that amount should you do the majority of your shopping in a single trip or order. Secondly, buy things that you envision you will be wearing for more than a single season; namely avoid crazy fads that you'd never be caught dead in again. (Hammer pants and dayglow fare come to mind.) That way you will get the most use out of the clothes and won't need to then replace them too soon. Finally when you do outgrow, or no longer want the clothes any longer, donate them to either a good friend or a worthy cause.

Alright, so down to the fun side: shopping. Some of the best sites to go to for the hippest in green clothing fashion are Fashion and Earth which has everything from jackets, tops, pants, and intimates to even socks, scarves, skirts, handbags, and more. There are both guys and gals styles and plenty of outfit ideas. There is also Green Collective catering to the men out there with a green passion and White Apricot will be right up the alley of any earth friendly lady out there; in addition to clothes there are skin and beauty products as well. For the little ones there is My Green Closet to outfit the ethical consumers of tomorrow. Lastly, if you are looking for the perfect tee, and who isn't, there is the Green Tee Clothing Co. with really something for everyone.

So when it comes to going green and shopping for clothing you can follow the same ethical consumer habits that you have implemented into your home, business, groceries, and life. The best part is you don't have to look like a hippie if you don't want to (although if you do, you can go to HappyHippie and find tons of awesome hippie inspired looks there) and still be working towards a better Earth.

Sustainable Living and the Nuclear Conundrum

2010-02-14T23:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, it is a highly volatile subject not only in terms of sustainable living but in health hazards and ethical business practices. Brace yourselves, it is…dun dun dun…nuclear energy. Okay, I’m not going to open up by casting any stones, but instead let you readers draw your own conclusions. Let’s start by acknowledging that yes, we do need to investigating other venues for energy sources outside of oil, coal, gas, and the like and among one that has piqued the interest of governments and scientists is nuclear energy. Along with solar and wind power, nuclear energy is supposedly a better option as long as it is properly contained. Hey, Homer Simpson has worked at that Springfield plant for years, and he’s no worse for wear, right?

Anyways, those looking for more sustainable living habits are aiming to reduce their energy consumption from recognized greenhouse gas emitting ogres, and one side of the argument for ongoing nuclear usage and advances is that it is more eco-friendly. But at the same time there do seem to be quite a few ‘coincidences’ between those living near these plants and health problems. Recently I read an article that claimed that out of the 107 older nuclear plants across the United States, 27 of them are in fact recognized as leaking and then potentially dangerous to anyone who happens to absorb this radioactive tritium via their skin, throat, or lungs.

What are these radioactive chemicals linked to? The big C-word, cancer. Apparently the effects have been the worst at Vermont Yankee; the nearby community has been inundated with mixed messages in terms of how long it was to be operable and even the question of cover-ups and scandals of floods. When in 2007 a cooling tower on the Yankee establishment rotted out and then collapsed, it raised even more eyebrows and today it is finally being admitted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that tritium levels are testing over 3.5 times above the federal standard for safety. The citizens around Vermont Yankee aren’t sleeping any easier.

Still, in the quest for sustainable living, nuclear energy has continued to be an outlet and various countries across the globe are pouring money and efforts into this source. Yet is nuclear even a sustainable energy source? In my humble opinion, no, because once these plants are built up, then deemed done, and abandoned we are still left with not only the establishments themselves but the fallout from accidental leaks. Let’s be honest, to err is human, and when we are dealing with something so volatile we really can’t afford accidents or slip ups; not when it means ending the lives of so many, or at least severely hampering them.

Sustainable living is tapping into renewable resources but uranium isn’t found in a never ending supply; once we’ve bled that well dry that’s it folks. So we then leave behind the ruins of our efforts and leaking of radioactive chemicals to be cleaned up in the future. I think for the so many cons of nuclear energy, it simply isn’t worth it; yes I’m sure it is tempting when one calculates the potential energy amount from a single site, but when you take into account all of the ramifications I don’t believe it really is all that green, or even appealing.

Save Energy with your morning toast

2010-02-07T22:46:00.000-08:00

When you're looking to save energy around your home, you may look no further than that common little device that is set to turn your bread crispy. That's right, the wave of more energy efficient appliances have crashed upon us and in its wake, along with fridges, freezers, dishwashers, lighting fixtures, and more there are even now green toasters. This Ecolectric 2 Slice Toaster was the brain child of one Morphy Richard who envisioned his morning toast coming to him in a much more environmentally aware manner.

These Ecolectric toaster models will allow you to save energy in the amount of 34 percent over your standard kitchen toaster. How exactly is this done you may ask? Well, the trick is that there is a lid that will close over the heating apparatus that will encase your bread (or bagel too for that matter) while it is toasting and in turn not only reduce the amount of electricity that it is used but further allow your carbs to toast faster. Well that may really only be few moments, although on those frantic mornings every second counts, and while the bigger draw is reducing your energy use it is a nice added perk. It really is surprising the idea hasn't been breached sooner in that it makes sense that the loss of heat from the top of the toaster would only slow the process and waste energy too. Much along the same lines as we wouldn't leave the freezer door open for a few minutes as we decide what to take out of it.

Getting back to the toaster, the lid has been designed so it will shut automatically and what's also helpful is that because it offers you the ability to adjust the width of the toasting slots in accordance to the size of the bread you are also guaranteed evenly browned bread no matter if its slim and trim or Texas style. It seems that Morphy thought of everything. Another point all of us eco-minded people will appreciate is that it will come delivered to you in of course a package that is nothing short of 100 percent recyclable; anything else would seem a bit contrary to the name. Finally, aesthetically it is flash forward, has some nifty Cooltouch illuminated buttons, a little cord that can be easily housed making storage a breeze, and pretty compatible with any decor in black and silver tones.

Outside of the ability to save energy, this little gadget really is nearly the same as any other toaster, but it just shines a bit greener from within. So the next time you've got a hankering for a slice of toast with your favorite jam, or a bagel with a divine schmear, make sure it comes in the way of an energy efficient cooking device.

Conserve (your own) Energy

2010-02-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

Conserve energy you spend shopping with the simplest of actions, seeing what you already have.

“Wait , stop, check your own stock.”
~ Mom

Conserve energy you spend shopping with the simplest of actions, seeing what you already have. When we frame consuming in an ethical nature, we sometimes forget that this includes what we choose not to purchase. Where we realize we already have something suitable in our closets, or we devise a homemade remedy that works just as well, we can save money and resources by being conscientious of what we already have. The top three areas we often overspend are grocery shopping, clothes, and personal hygiene.

Grocery Shopping

Take inventory of your shelves once a week and make a list. This will help you remove expired food as well as refresh your memory about what you do have on the shelves. This also allows you to conserve energy typically spent at the store trying to remember what you need. Making your trip efficient and hopefully reducing the cost a little bit. One great tip for ‘using what you have’ for us non-cooks are online recipe sites that let you enter the ingredients you have and viola! recipes galore. This has helped me save a pretty penny, use all of my food, and learn how to make something new!

Clothes

Ah yes, our wardrobe constantly needs refreshing, but how much is too much? By making sure you have a good set of ‘basics’ like undershirts, black pants and tops, and things to go under nearly everything, you can use the rest of your budget for a few fun pieces of flair. The best part about the basics is that they never go out of style. So you don’t have to wait for the 1980s to come back into style…even though they have, to be fashionable. You can create one of a kind pieces by transforming your old clothes into new creations. For those of us that like to conserve energy in the creativity department, check out organic, fair-trade, an ethically sourced stores for feel good flair.

Personal Hygiene

How long is a toothbrush good for without that blue line thingy? Is my mascara ruined after baking in the sun for three days? Sound familiar? Well one quick fix is to take inventory and make a list, like groceries, but the second half is to explore the realm of product upkeep. I myself was new to this, but determined to only buy something when I was out, I found a lot of resources on the lifespan of makeup and other personal hygiene products that can help you clean out your closet faster than before.

Now I didn’t share this to point out the obvious, I wanted to encourage everyone to turn this simple step of “checking” into habit. I know this step, although simple, has taken me awhile to “house-train” myself. So I wish you all luck in reducing your impact on the simple things to make a big difference for you, the environment, and hopefully your pocket book as well.

Re-use That Rain for Living Green Purposes

2010-02-03T02:50:00.000-08:00

Sometimes living green requires you to think outside of the box; get a little creative with what is around you and then use it to conserve your resources. While we may have crested the worst of winter folly in some places, there are plenty others that are still waking up and going to be amidst thunderstorms and have no shortage of rain. Hopefully anyone who is running their landscape off of a sprinkler system has turned those suckers off; when there is no shortage of water being supplied to your garden from the clouds above you don’t need to double up. But you can further do more with all that precipitation.

Collecting that rain water and then reusing it is an excellent living green measure you can take that really is no extra effort on your part. Much like stocking up stored energy from the sun as in solar panels and their subsequent batteries to be used later, you can do the same thing with the excess water that is in abundance during this time of the year. You can buy a rain barrel that is specifically designed for this purpose and some will even come with an attached hose nozzle and rolling wheels that can facilitate water recycling, but this really is just a glorified trash can. Such green rain barrels aren’t going to cost you a fortune, I found one online in a matter of minutes for $70, and I’m sure there are others even cheaper, but this model from Green Home had a nice little mesh screen on the top to keep out say leaves or branches and it even collapsed so you could stow it in your garage in the summers.

The premise of the rain barrel really isn’t rocket science, but sometimes the simplest ways to reduce our impact on the environment are staring us back in the face and we just need someone to have an ‘ah-ha moment.’ Sorry to use an Oprah catch phrase, but what are you going to do? If you live in an area that has plenty of rain falling all around you, collect it and then use it for all the other outside chores that you might be tempted to use a hose for. If you’ve got to give Fluffy a bath, he won’t mind if the water was from that hose running off of your home’s general water supply or from the sky above. The same goes for if you’re washing off your car or even watering those plants that live inside of your home.

Living green is doing what you can to limit your reliance on standard resource consumption whenever you can. If you’ve already installed more energy efficient appliances and put in place low flow toilets you’re well on your way, but there are always new tricks and ideas you can pick up. So if you haven’t jumped on these rain barrels, either buy one meant for such a task or create your own, I know many of you green people out there love a little DIY challenge, and get to harvesting that rain while it’s still showering…you can even feel free to sing.

Winter Tips for Your Green Home

2010-01-24T22:41:00.000-08:00

When Mr. Winter comes blowing at your doors and window of your green home it is almost second nature to bundle up, be thankful you're inside rather than out, and crank up that heat! Well actually at this point I hope it is not second nature for all of you ethical consumers out there. You already know just how much power it takes to keep that thermostat throbbing and in response you have piled on some warmer clothes, added blankets to your bed, and dialed it down a few notches. Home temperature control is the leading cause for inflated utility bills, and while you will save money by cutting back you will more importantly be reducing your carbon footprint and making Mother Nature proud.

Well that is all well and good and hopefully you are just as cozily sipping cocoa in your thermals while the thermostat is a few degrees lower, but you could be wasted extra expenditures if your home is not adequately sealed or insulated. Airway leaks, crevices, or attics that aren't insulated can make for a chillier environment and then cause you to offset that hot air loss with a higher thermostat setting. So by taking some time to seal up those cracks, entry ways, and other common points of leaks you would be running a much more efficient green home. As for getting the kids to pick up their toys and dirty laundry, sadly that is still something no amount of sealant will fix.

The most common points of hot air loss are around doors and windows. You want to purchase a high end type of weather stripping and they have kinds that have adhesive backs and then you can apply this both on the top and sides of the doorway, and if you purchase one that is in the shape of a V it will adjust and still work should your door warp over time. Also, if your door opens directly to the outside you will want to consider creating an airlock and enclose your porches. This will reduce the amount of air that will rush out each time the door to your green home is opened. Make sure your windows are sealed as well and shut all the way after being opened.

Another common place that there could be air-leaks in your house is around the chimney and where it meets that wall. You can ensure that it is properly sealed by caulking around the area after removing the trim. Find a caulk that is heat resistant since it will obviously be met with some higher temperatures. Finally make sure that the insulation around your green home is both high quality and still in good condition, and if you have an attic and it isn't insulated you should make it. Especially in the cold winters we are prone to higher energy consumption habits, and some of which we are just not able to be avoided. But as ethical consumers there are measures we can take to cut back where we can and many of these things aren't difficult at all but just take a little planning and time.

Green Consumer Guild: Conserve Energy with the Home Energy Manager

2010-01-18T06:46:00.000-08:00

For everyone looking to conserve energy and be more energy efficient around their home, there is a new product prototype that looks to make that job all the more easier. Ethical consumers delight, as at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas a few of the leading brands in the market collaborated to create the Home Energy Management device. Just what is the HEM able to do for you and your home? Well, virtually everything from keeping you on your planned energy budget, alerting you as you reach the predetermined cap, offering suggestions to get you back on track, and even allowing you to access your social media sites. Well you wouldn't expect any new gadget to put a hold on your Twittering and Facebooking would you?

It was the teaming up of Best Buy, Whirlpool Corporation, OnePeak, and Direct Energy that have made the HEM the answer to your home energy woes. With mounting awareness in regards to the need to conserve energy at home and work around the Globe, people are taking to smarting consumption practices. This includes purchasing energy efficient appliances, switching out our old traditional light bulbs, turning down the thermostat, and other like minded habits. But when it comes to being able to gauge just how much energy we are saving we are often left in the dark. We can see the savings in the form of our utility bills but wouldn't it be easier if we could track exactly how many kilowatts we were using up to the moment and then see how much we saved in relation to previous months?

Well the HEM is able to readily supply you with all that information and more. On a touch screen face it will give you updates and you can then type in your targets to conserve energy or even for how much you are looking to spend on your utility bills. This green device will even connect to the appliances and electronics around your home so you can dictate at what hours they will be turned on; this will cut out much wasted phantom energy as many devices sit on all day sucking electricity while in an idle or stand-by mode. Along with making your home more energy efficient the HEM will also be able to connect to the internet for news updates, play movies and music, and a host of other applications. "The Home Energy Manager has the potential to do for home energy management what the iPhone did for communication," professes the vice president in charge of Direct Energy's product development David Dollihite.

It is true that human beings do well off of visuals and by putting their energy consumption habits in clearly read form this little diddy looks to do much in the way of not only saving them on their utility bills but more importantly help them effectively conserve energy. In fact it is projected that with the aide of the HEM households will reduce their energy bills by 25 percent. The HEM is still under testing and will not be available for at least a year, but it sure does seem promising in helping all of us hit the energy goals of the upcoming years. And as with any market, when it comes to electronics there is always the competition hot on the heels of the newest device. So hopefully with the opening of this new decade will we see plenty of new green gadgets making their ways to store shelves.

A more green home with daylighting

2010-01-13T04:19:00.000-08:00

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to have a more green home and reduce the amount of electricity you use is through daylighting. While it may seem an obvious concept to some to simply open the windows and let the natural rays of the sun illuminate your rooms, it is actually not a habit the majority of people adhere to. 20 percent of the average household's electricity consumption will come from indoor lighting fixtures alone, and you can reduce this significantly for at least the daytime hours by taking advantage of daylighting.

There is more to daylighting than simply drawing aside the shades and opening the blinds, and while those are two easy measures you can take there are other things you can to do to up the benefits you can get from the sun's rays. In addition to opening all the windows in your home to let the light shine through you will want to keep those windows as clean as possible so that no dirt or grime is blocking what could be making your home even brighter. So scrub down those windows and sliding glass doors, or make those kids do it; I know I had plenty of chores growing up! Another item that could be dimming the light you receive from your windows is your screen, particularity if it is of a darker mesh. If you don't mind it, take down the screen and you will significantly increase the amount of available light; in fact you will get around 25 percent more light from this alone.

Once you've gotten your windows or any glass doors attended to in order to make your home more green and reduce the amount of energy you are using you can then turn to the things inside your house. This includes allowing the light coming in to be reflected across the rooms as best as possible by painting the walls and window sills either white or another lighter, pale shade. White will be the best color of choice, especially for the sills, but if that doesn't necessarily fit the best with your decor you can opt for a different lighter shade. You will also want to keep in mind that different windows will give you varying amounts of light throughout the year and even throughout the day. The direction in which your window faces will then help you to plan just how to best to arrange the furniture in your rooms or what purpose that room will serve.

As a rule of thumb windows that face the south will give you the most abundant amount of light for your more energy efficient home. They will let in the most amount of available light during the winters but reduce a harsher or direct glare from the sun during the brighter summers. Windows pointed north are second in line for allowing a good amount of light and not too much glare or added heat during the summers. Eastward windows will light up a room most in the mornings and similarly those facing west will have the most light in the evenings as the sun sets. Finally, if you don't mind a little home construction you could put in place a skylight or other similar apparatuses to reap even more rewards from daylighting.

The efforts to become a more ethical consumer and reduce your own carbon footprint for a more green home don't have to be drastic or even involve going that far out of your way. Daylighing consists of rather easy and practical measures and it is possible of cutting back the amount of electricity you use in your home from indoor lighting fixtures significantly. So let in the sun and it will be smiling down on you; so too with Mother Nature.

Are energy efficient light bulbs too dangerous to put in your homes?

2010-01-13T04:07:00.000-08:00

It is nearly common knowledge by now that if you are looking to make yourself a more green home and be a more ethical consumer who relies on more energy efficient habits you should be taking out those old, standard incandescent light bulbs. In place of the traditional light bulbs there are two choices that come in the way of CFLs and LEDs. While both are much more efficient at illuminating your home, and save you at least 75 percent on the amount of electricity your home uses for lighting purposes alone, there are a few drawbacks for the light bulbs of the future. The quality of light they produce is not the same as the yellowish, warm one we are most familiar with from the light bulbs we grew up around. LEDs in particular are really only best for downward lighting fixtures and accent lighting; but there are CFLs that can be comparable to that of incandescent bulbs as long as they rate a certain degree on the Kelvin scale. Yet while CFLs may be a greener choice for lighting fixtures, there has been concern that because they do contain a small amount of mercury they pose a health risk.

It is true that mercury is a toxic chemical that has been linked with brain, kidney, and lung damage and is particularity hazardous to unborn fetuses, but at the same time the amount of mercury inside each CFL bulb is only 2.3 to 3.5 milligrams. To put that in perspective, take into account that a standard household thermometer has about 1,000 times more mercury content. The trouble with the mercury only arises should that bulb break and then the chemical is allowed to leak. Especially as the bulbs die and are then needed to be thrown out, 98 percent of the CFLs are not properly recycled. The people at greatest risk, not to mention the environment through it leaking into the soil and water supply, are those working in landfills and garbage sites as well as wildlife.

That is why it is imperative that people are informed as to where to take these greener CFLs to when they are dead. You should start your search by looking to your regular curbside garbage service and see if they have a program put in place for the disposal of mercury containing light bulbs. Call them up, and if they don't have efforts in place you should encourage them to set some up. You could then contact the local government to find out the nearest place or hazardous waste site that will either pick up your CFLs or allow you to drop them off. Due to the heightened awareness to this very subject big companies such as Home Depot, Wal-Mart, and Ikea are now setting up CFL recycling deposits and recycling events. Home Depot is currently leading the way with the most recycling deposit sites so if you are nearby one of their stores you are set.

Finally you want to always handle your CFL light bulbs, or any other light bulbs for that matter, with care to make sure that they don't break. Should you have an accident and one shatters in your home, don't set off and ring the alarm hoping for the nearest hazardous waste management team to come barging in wearing space-like decontamination suits a la E.T. As long as the amount of mercury that has been leaked is less than 2 tablespoons it is safe for you to take care of yourself (after you get all of children and pets out of the area) as long as you do so in the correct manner. These measures are laid out plain and clear by the Environmental Protection Agency: Mercury Releases and Spills; going to their link and reading up on the protocol will then make you prepared to handle any such situation. And so there is no reason to be afraid of these more energy efficient CFL light bulbs and you should implement them into your green home. You just need to make sure to dispose of them correctly and help spread that awareness to others.

Solar, a more ethical power system

2010-01-04T01:56:00.000-08:00

The thought of cutting out the electric company completely has perhaps crossed the minds of many an ethical consumer. How great would it be if your home was self supplied with all the energy it ever needed without having to come with any environmental duress or hefty utility bills. Yes it may be a dream to many home owners, but it can also become a reality should you be interested. In fact today there are options for you to if not totally remover yourself from having to rely on companies that supply you with energy sources from oil, coal, or natural gas, at least cut back on it.

There are those that are supplying their homes with power that is harnessed from the wind in the way of residential turbines and there are those that are taking the light of the sun and collecting it to then supply energy to their homes. In fact residential solar energy is something that is crossing all Nations and even organizations looking to send aid to countries that are less financially endowed or unaware of such topics as Global Warming and how they can reduce their own impact on the environment are relying on them to spread the word. There are groups that have installed solar powered ovens to replace previously harmful cooking practices and in turn not only reduced carbon gasses but saved trees and the environment as well.

But if you are looking to take advantage of these solar energy systems you can find kits that are for sale and that are then relatively easily installed. These kits come with panels that are mounted onto your roof and then collect the sunlight as it becomes available. This light is then converted by an inverter into usable heat and energy for your home and then you will be switching on those energy efficient appliances just as you had been before. What happens during the night or when it's overcast you ask? Well that is where the back up battery comes into play and stores excess energy that is collected from the solar panels during the day and during times of sunnier weather. These batteries then have a reservoir of energy to be tapped into to keep you powered up as you slumber away or are met with cloudy skies.

Solar powered systems can be used for not only lighting and electrical devices but for your home's heating and water heating as well. In fact if you don't want to purchase a kit and are a bit of a handy man (or woman) yourself you can go the Do-it-Yourselfer route and build a simple solar device. There are plenty of websites that can give you instructions and one of which is: http://www.ehow.com/how_2056821_make-solar-panel.html. So if you are just the type of ethical consumer who wishes to send the electric company packing, or at least reduce your reliance upon them, and would rather look skyward for your power supply you can join the growing numbers already doing just that!

Vertical Farming a more Ethical Model?

2010-01-04T01:45:00.000-08:00

Imagine looking at the city skyline and instead of seeing a 30 story business building you were looking at a farm. That very well could be the future if Columbia University professor Dickson Despommier see his dreams fulfilled. Despommier says that by taking our farming techniques skyward we would have the answer to many of the problems we are currently facing including World hunger, reducing carbon gas emissions, and even helping to preserve forests. Could what he terms, vertical farming, be the next wave of ethical consumption?

Well in his plans, Despommier envisions these farms on one city block and with the capabilities to produce throughout the entire year. Being contained indoors, these vertical farms wouldn't be subject to varying weather patterns and climate changes. They would be able to mimic the ideal growing conditions for the crops through a complex system involving advanced hydroponics, artificial lights, and aeroponic growing means. In his model each of these farms would not only take up significantly less space, as a vertical farm that is built on a single acre would produce that of a standard farm spanning up to six acres, but also cut back on the amount of hipping and transport fumes that are released with more standard practices. He figures this because the vertical farms would be able to serve a more local community being as they can be built in even the most urbanized places. Being that transportation is one of the leading causes for concern in regards to global warming this vertical farming method is tempting if it lives up to all of the hype.

In to saving land space, vertical farming would then give previous sites of farming land back to the wildlife who live there and do much to preserve our natural resources. And having the food grown in a farm similar to a bubble environment, don't think that Despommier hasn't thought of further ways to inject the latest technology as he believes that with strict observation and gas chromatographs he will be able to produce better tasting food at the same time. The professor states that we have the ability to erect these farms today, so what's stopping us from doing so? There are critics to the vertical farming plan that say that the theory is flawed in that any carbon gas it cuts back in the way of transport will be outweighed by the immense amount of electricity and energy the farms will consume
annually. With a harvest lasting the entire year, one such analyst Bruce Bugbee calculates that the power needs of vertical farming would equate to be 100 times the amount of electricity of an office building. I think that Bugbee has a point there, but this can be negated if the power source is renewable say in the source of wind or solar. I can picture solar panels being put on top of these farms along with all the other bells and whistles.

I do think that the vertical farming method is an interesting proposition to consider, especially when it seems that the population of the world looks to surpass 9 million in 2050. Hunger is already a mounting problem, and with further urbanization 80% of those people are expected to live in a city. Ethical consumption needs to be on the minds of everyone, with so much that still needs to be done and more efforts needed I think taking our food supplies to the great blues above is a great idea if not at least in the right direction.

Ode to energy efficient washing machines and following an ethical model

2009-12-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, clean clothes are a must; not many things are worse than the smell of body odor. But one thing that may be worse in terms of the environment is how much wasted water and energy your standard washing machine could be creating. When it comes time to thinking about being a more ethical consumer you can look to appliances in your home and how they could be running more efficiently. You may have already heard by now but there is a little thing called and Energy Star Label and these are given to appliances and devices that meet certain criteria to then be deemed much more energy
efficient than their conventional counterparts.

Washing machines and the amount of loads you do in your home come in third for the biggest contributes to your home's energy consumption. In fact the average household will do about 400 loads of laundry annually and if you want to cut back the amount of energy and water you are using you will do well to purchase an Energy Star Label washing machine. These will cut back energy usage by at least 50 percent, save water, and then in turn save you about $135 a year in your utility bills. If you translate that over the lifespan of the washer you will have saved enough to pay for the matching dryer as well, which will improve your ethical model all the more.

So then are all energy efficient washers created equal? Not necessarily and for that the Energy Star Label comes in handy as it will clearly show you how each specific model stacks up in regards to the others. There is a little scale you can use as a barometer that rates each model in terms of how much power it uses and other helpful stats. You want one with a higher Modified Energy Factor (MEF) and then a lower Water Factor (WF). This means it will use the least amount of water and most efficiently use all the energy it is supplied with.

Finally different features can improve your status as an ethical consumer. Choose one that is front loading and they will use the least amount of water for every load. Also you want one with a faster spin speed so that it will cut back your reliance on an extended dryer time. Also you can choose one with an automatic sensor and this little device will calculate the size of your load and then use a varying amount of water accordingly. Finally in terms of your own laundry habits try to only do loads that are full. This way you can reduce how many you do and in turn cut back on the amount of energy and water you home is consuming. Reducing your carbon footprint and preserving what water we have doesn't have to be a monumental task, but by tweaking what you are currently doing you can make strides in saving our
Earth.

On Demand water heaters and more ethical consumption

2009-12-27T21:45:00.000-08:00

Should you be looking for an effective way to reduce the amount of energy your home is consuming, be a more ethical consumer yourself, and save money on your utility bills all at the same time, you may look no further than your water heater. An outdated and more standard tank water heater could you be sucking your bank account dry and pumping that carbon gas into the environment at an appalling rate if you're not careful. In fact, in regards to the amount of energy your home consumes, your water heater comes in second behind only in home air conditioning and heating.

So what does this mean to you if you are looking to follow a more ethical model and reduce your carbon footprint? You may want to investing in an on demand water heater, also known as one that is tankless. A standard water heater is always running should you be actively using the hot water or not. In fact it is running when you are counting your sheep and even when you are out and about going through you day outside of your home. This is anything but energy efficient, and this is because at any given time your conventional water heater is working to heat a reserver of anywhere between 30 and 70 gallons of water. Exact temperature vary, but generally the tank of water is being kept at around 120 degree Fahrenheit.

So what if you want to cut back on the amount of energy your home consumes and want a water heater that will only work when you are actually in demand for hot water? That is where an on demand water heater comes in as these models cut out the tank completely and instead heat the cold water directly as it flows through the pipes. This is a rather ingenious way to reduce your amount of energy consumption but at the same time they may not be all that practical for everyone. While they will be able to cut back the amount of energy you use by anywhere between 10 and 30 percent they come rather large and may not fit in every house.

In fact they are so big you may want to think about getting multiple smaller ones and hooking them up to different individual faucets. This could then be a more feasible means for you than finding enough floor space in your home for larger units. You also need to consider how much hot water you and your family will be using. Because they only work when activated, they won't be able to supply as much hot water to multiple sources at the same time like you may be
used to with a more standard tank water heater. That means that should you be commonly having two showers going at once or running the washing machine and taking a shower at the same time, the water may not be as hot as you would like. Still, if you live in a smaller home or apartment, have superb water habits in terms of limiting usage, and want to significantly cut back the amount of energy you use a tankless water heater could be your answer.

Finally another big draw for an on demand water heater, outside of the amount of energy you will be saving and which will make you a more ethical consumer no doubt, is that their are more durable and will last you longer. While this may not be a huge benefit for Mother Nature, actually I could be wrong in that it means you will be creating less waste over time, it will mean that you will be saving money and the hassle of purchasing another water heater again later. A tankless, or on demand water heater will last you about seven years longer than a standard model. So when you are ready to oust that inefficient and energy consuming standard water heater, do both your budget and the environment a favor and opt for one that is tankless!

Ethical Role Models

2009-12-23T11:01:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I feel that in my blogging for ethical consumption I continually harp on the negatives or shine a spotlight on a current state of affairs in one region suffering under pollution, waste, or other greenhouse effects. But by nature I'm a pretty upbeat and positive person, or at least I try to be when i can, and do feel bad being Dr. Gloom or that I'm constantly scolding people about poor environmental habits like naughty children. While I think everyone needs a good wake up call now and again, myself included, I do think it is necessary to speak of what GOOD and POSITIVE trends and efforts are underway.

With the ending of the current year fast approaching, and a new one on the horizon, I took a look at what kinds of efforts are being made to help promote a greener Earth. I was excited to find that there are plenty of areas and places doing what they can to reduce their carbon emissions, recycle whenever possible, and give back to the planet in any ways they can. It seems that the general feelings of the populous recognize a need to amend our ways and many people are willing to do what they can. Once they are armed with the information and find tips as to ways to make a difference, I think it is inspiring to see how the masses genuinely care about the Earth and are eager to jump on the green bandwagon.

In Australia, in the town of Bundanoon, there is now a law that has banned any sales of water that comes bottled. The plastic bottles are only going to eventually end up in landfills, and in fact this bit of legislature was implemented from the voting of the town itself. In place of their plastic foes, they reuse empty bottles to be filled across town from spigots named "Bundy on tap." Also on the plastic front, it is now illegal for any stores or companies to supply their customers with any kinds of plastic bags that aren't recyclable in Mexico City. Mexico City followed in the steps of San Francisco, USA to outlaw these plastic bags in 2007, and boasts the title of being the second largest city to do so.

And from the lips of Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France, his country will impose a carbon tax in hopes to curb its current usage. This tax will be subject to companies and individual homes alike, and while it should be an incentive to reduce the toxic emissions responsible for global warming, it will also be bringing in EUR 4.3 billion each year as for every ton of carbon emissions, there will be a EUR 17 tax.

I know there is still much headway that needs to be forged to get our Earth back on track and free from the wastes and pollutants being pumped into the atmosphere each day, but these positive efforts do warrant a pat on the back. And so when you are striving for more ethical consumption, keep those Aussies and their Bundy taps in mind to limit your plastic waste, and pay homage to the French by limiting your own carbon emissions by carpooling. By helping each other and following others' good examples we can do the World good!

Ethically Consume that Mocha Joe

2009-12-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

It's one of the vices most of us are currently harboring, the buzz in the morning or that rush of energy in the middle of an all nigher. It is the friend of the overworked and under rested, the ones looking to push the envelope of productivity and keep living at a frantic pace, and one of the World's leading imports and exports. No, it isn't an illegal drug, but it could be argued by some activists as such, it's coffee. With many people unable to imagine their days without their morning cup (or their mid-morning, lunchtime, afternoon time, evening, and midnight cups too!) coffee is a growing industry but not new by any means. So how can you help promote a greener Earth and be an ethical consumer with your own grinds?

Actually, being that coffee grinds are all natural and grown from the Earth they make for excellent remedies to your own garden as compost. I know many people who simply garden for the sheer joy it brings them, but due to the current level of deforestation or paving of the green grasses that once ran so aplenty world wide, working to replace at least a portion of what has been destroyed is a necessity. While harboring a flowerful home garden may not do much in the way to immediately save the Rain forests, it at least gives back an admittedly small portion of the past greenery of Mother Earth. When so many business and developers are looking to expand and build, I'm always alarmed at how whenever I return to a place that I hadn't been to in a while I'm met with more stores, shopping malls, corporations, and less and less foliage.

In areas where the number of cars vastly outpace the number of trees, working to even the gap is a vast undertaking but something that is needed. And along with planting what trees and flowers that we can, we can use the abundance of coffee grinds currently being served up each and every day. Coffee grinds contain the perfect concentration of nitrogen to carbon ratio making them ideal for compost piles. Then that compost can be returned to the soil to provide the rich nutrients plants thrive on. Further, coffee grinds can help protect your gardens from slugs when they are dashed atop the soil around your precious buds. So how do you take the coffee grinds from your morning routine to the soil? Well you can simply keep around a used coffee can and put the used grinds in. Because the grinds will also make for a conducive environment for mold, you will want to unload those grinds from your kitchen and into your gardens regularly.

Being an ethical consumer doesn't only have to mean that you take care to avoid items that aren't recyclable or nonrenewable, but that you can also make the most of what holds the potential to be reused. In putting your coffee grinds into your gardens and working to make the world a green place quite literally) you are doing the environment a service, and today those good deeds are needed in aplenty!

Seaweed- a more ethical fuel?

2009-12-16T23:51:00.000-08:00

I like me my sushi! I am a fan of not only the seaweed wrapped rolls but sashimi too, and pretty much anything else that can be wrangled out of the ocean. But I came across a few articles that got me thinking about one of my favorite cuisines in a new light. From what I read, I started to think that perhaps instead of dipping my fare in soy sauce, I might be able to use that seaweed as a more ethical energy source in the way of fuel! What? Yes, I did a double read too, but it turns out this salty green weed is more than a perfect casing to sticky rice.

It turns out that seaweed can be turned into a biofuel known as biobutanol. There are few different companies and teams of scientists looking into how we can tap into an algae based fuel source, including Bio Architecture Lab, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., and Seambiotic Ltd. From what I gather there are a some varying means that they are going about doing this. The team at Seambiotit Ltd. is growing their seaweed from the carbon gas that is already being emitted from their power plants. When the carbon would normally be released into the environment as pollution, it is instead funneled into the pools where this seaweed is growing. From there, the seaweed is then turned into fuel. So in essence the seaweed has a double effect at reducing wastes and working to combat global warming.

Not only does the seaweed help to extract a portion of the greenhouse gas emissions from power plants as it grows but then it can later be used as an alternate fuel source. So then Seambiotic then has pools that are just off of the smokestacks of their power plants, and where the seaweed would normally grow at a particular rate naturally in the ocean, when it is instead supplied with the enormous amounts of carbon dioxide run off it then grows up to one million times more concentrated in the water.

Okay, so we've covered how it helps to negate some of the harmful effects of power plants but how is it then utilized as a fuel source itself? The folks working with the Bio Architecture Lab team are working off of the microbes found in the seaweed that is grown with the aide of the carbon gases. This microbe is able to extract the sugar found in the seaweed and then creates ethanol. The researchers are still perfecting the means to best get these microbes to make biobutanol. And it appears from reports back from the Seambiotit Ltd. people that they have found a way to make one liter of fuel from five kilograms of their produced seaweed.

Finding a way to run our cars and other devices off of seaweed is still under production, but I think this is one example of putting creativity and ingenuity to good use. I like that the seaweed has the double pronged effect in that it not only helps offset wastes while it is nurtured but then goes one step further to replace other forms of pollutant fuels as well. Creating a way to replace past fuels with more ethical energy supplies is one of the keys in helping to save our planet and combat global warming and it would be fun to see something as simple as seaweed unlock the answer. How ironic it would be if the very solution to saving the Earth came right out of the sea!

Goodbye to the Book

2009-12-16T23:44:00.000-08:00

I am a avid reader. I love mysteries, horror, thriller, suspense, fiction, and even some historical fiction. I really could read almost anything, well I'm not much of a fan of the romance though, and even though I do read a fair amount of books, I do wonder if they are on the outs. With so much of what we read and do online and on the computer, the printed word is fast becoming obsolete. I see this not only with books, but newspapers, magazines, and even writing jobs. In their place are online news sites, plenty of websites and blogs dedicated to the same topics of magazines, ebooks, and many writers are dropping the pen and typing away to be virally posted. The reduction of paper is something to also think about in regards to more ethical consumption, as just with any other item that is made from natural resources the less we use the more trees (or whatever resource) we save.

I've already written about how much junk mail and paper waste gets circulated through the mail, and while a lot of what used to be sent out is being done instead online there are still those die hard letter writers and advertisers that make it into our mail boxes. Although being that the postal service is struggling as it is, this antiquated form of communication may only be a memory a few years from now. In almost every aspect of our lives technology is moving us forward, and why would you sit down to write a letter when you can have a more instant gratification from a cell phone, email, or instant message? This can have its good and bad, because while we may be cutting back on the amount of paper waste sent we are usually met with other wastes that seem to crop up. Yet it's possible to recycle your old cell phone, so I guess as long as we continue to be environmentally aware we can limit any new negatives.

But in coming back to the books, while some may say that it is a shame that our libraries and book stores aren't being filled as much with the beauty of the written language, I think that these thoughts, expressions, and words are making their way out there. In fact, probably more so as now with the internet being accessible to almost anyone the amount of people able to voice their opinions is expanded upon exponentially. And as they do so, typing their blogs, creating their websites, and publishing their ebooks, they aren't killing off trees to print their paper on. The word is a powerful thing and can be of great influence, and thankfully so as the word is currently spreading the need for more ethical consumption habits. Yet with books and other print declining one resource is being saved.

I by no means am happy to see books becoming outdated as I do recognize there is something special about physically holding your reading material, but the facts are pointing that they are. Google for one example has started its own campaign in trying to help promote reading by offering millions of titles to be downloaded and read to keep people interested in the more classic novels previously bound. So as long as we are still working to keep literacy a part of our lives, I think the trees and rain forests aren't shedding any tears as they say good bye to the bound book.

Ethically Consume that Mocha Joe

2009-12-07T03:48:00.000-08:00

It's one of the vices most of us are currently harboring, the buzz in the morning or that rush of energy in the middle of an all nigher. It is the friend of the overworked and under rested, the ones looking to push the envelope of productivity and keep living at a frantic pace, and one of the World's leading imports and exports. No, it isn't an illegal drug, but it could be argued by some activists as such, it's coffee. With many people unable to imagine their days without their morning cup (or their mid-morning, lunchtime, afternoon time, evening, and midnight cups too!) coffee is a growing industry but not new by any means. So how can you help promote a greener Earth and be an ethical consumer with your own grinds?

Actually, being that coffee grinds are all natural and grown from the Earth they make for excellent remedies to your own garden as compost. I know many people who simply garden for the sheer joy it brings them, but due to the current level of deforestation or paving of the green grasses that once ran so aplenty worldwide, working to replace at least a portion of what has been destroyed is a necessity. While harboring a flowerful home garden may not do much in the way to immediately save the Rain forests, it at least gives back an admittedly small portion of the past greenery of Mother Earth. When so many business and developers are looking to expand and build, I'm always alarmed at how whenever I return to a place that I hadn't been to in a while I'm met with more stores, shopping malls, corporations, and less and less foliage.

In areas where the numbers of cars vastly outpace the number of trees, working to even the gap is a vast undertaking but something that is needed. And along with planting what trees and flowers that we can, we can use the abundance of coffee grinds currently being served up each and every day. Coffee grinds contain the perfect concentration of nitrogen to carbon ratio making them ideal for compost piles. Then that compost can be returned to the soil to provide the rich nutrients plants thrive on. Further, coffee grinds can help protect your gardens from slugs when they are dashed atop the soil around your precious buds. So how do you take the coffee grinds from your morning routine to the soil? Well you can simply keep around a used coffee can and put the used grinds in. Because the grinds will also make for a conducive environment for mold, you will want to unload those grinds from your kitchen and into your gardens regularly.

Being an ethical consumer doesn't only have to mean that you take care to avoid items that aren't recyclable or nonrenewable, but that you can also make the most of what holds the potential to be reused. In putting your coffee grinds into your gardens and working to make the world a green place (quite literally) you are doing the environment a service, and today those good deeds are needed in aplenty!

The need for ethical industrial practices

2009-12-07T03:33:00.000-08:00

When you are purchasing your favorite article of clothing or picking up the latest toy for your child that they just 'had to have', you may be turned off if you were to know that the person making that toy was the same age as the one receiving it. Childhood slavering is not a topic that is usually advertised along with the price, as it isn't necessarily a selling point or following an ethical model of business. Yet it is a mounting problem that faces 27 million people worldwide.

The childhood slave industry is up and running in a number of ways, as greedy businesses look for ways to boost productivity and cut costs. Their perfect solution? Buy a slave for pennies on the dollar, lock them up, and set them to work. Slaves are auctioned off, but sometimes even that is too expensive and in that case they will simply be abducted and sent to work in a sweatshop. This is the case in Sudan, where since 1983 up to 14,000 children were sent off to work either in domestic fields or as camel racers in the Gulf. And while there are laws banning slavery worldwide, they are not only difficult to enforce but sometimes a joke. Evidently the 'law' isn't doing much for those thousands of boys and girls in Sudan.

Sadly, children may be forced into slavery by the very people they look to take care of them. In plenty of poor countries, families with seven or eight kids will send them off to work in garment sweatshops, such as in New Delhi. And entire families can be held captive to work as slave laborers to fulfill a debt or bond owed; often these amounts only add up to $50. And just as with slavery of the past, modern day slavery often involves substandard living conditions as well as both physical and mental abuse. Sweatshop owners love the easily manipulated minds of children as they often put of less of a fight than their older counterparts.

So how can we follow an ethical model and avoid supporting these child slaves and the sweatshops they work in? Like I said, that's tricky because much of it is done undercover and as discretely as possible; it is after all illegal. And it seems that the only time it is made a big issue is when one outfit gets busted and that bright light of guilt is
shone on them. So that is where organizations such as Anti-Slavery International come into play. They work to raid these sweatshops and free the captors but also put pressure on the governments of the countries most infested with these industrial slave labor camps. They make it possible for those who may not necessarily be able to actually man the war on slavery on site a means to still help through donations, volunteering, and and other sponsored events.

Along with the host of other issues facing our World today, the plight of those small children forced into slavery of any kind needs to be stopped, and just as Global Warming is going to take much effort all around so too will the actual end of slavery.

Ethical Power Usage: Wind Between Your Blades

2009-11-29T23:31:00.000-08:00

Wind energy is the world's fastest growing source for power, and for those ethical consumers who have harnessed that power in their own homes with a residential wind turbine the benefits are many. Not only are those homeowners who have installed one of the smaller versions of the powerful wind turbines able to cut back their own amounts of toxic carbon emissions released into the environment, but they are doing well to same money on their energy bills too. While the monetary rewards should come in second behind Mother Earth, they aren't to be overlooked, especially in these tough economic times.

While there are plenty of ways to cut back on the amount of energy you use in your own home, a residential wind turbine can vastly decrease the amount you use. If you are lucky enough to be supplied by an electric company that has turned to renewable energy resources such as solar and wind instead of the more standard oil or coal, your ethical power usage may already be covered, but for the majority that has yet to be the case. Unfortunately the electric companies are slow to change their ways, and so it is with these wind turbines you can take your energy power supply into your own hands, or at least mostly.

While there aren't any residential wind turbines that can completely replace your electrical company simply because they need at least a minimum amount of wind to generate energy, usually at least 5 to 7 mph of wind speed, you will have to supplement with an eclectic company. But depending on how much of those blustery winds your region receives you can cut back your bill anywhere from 50 to 90 percent! That's quite a savings of both money and greenhouse emissions. In fact, just a single residential wind turbine can counteract the emissions of 1.5 cars annually; when that is carried out to the 55 to 60 MW of energy created to supply 7,000 homes that works out to 10,000 cars and working against 60,000 tons of carbon gas emissions! Thankfully from 2007 to 2008 the amount of small wind power usage jumped up 53 percent with 19,000 units sold.

Well unfortunately, not everyone can harvest the wind from their homes just yet. Although wind technology is definitely working towards that end, many of these devices are between 10 and 20 feet tall, about 4 feet wide, and need about one acre of land to fit correctly. So that means for those living in more urban and suburban areas they may not fit and could garner you a few complaints from the neighborhood committee! But, there are now smaller models coming out that attach to the roof of your house and are smaller. So perhaps in time we can all be more ethical consumers with wind energy if those darned electrical companies don't hop to it and offer it to us first.

A plea for more ethical Power

2009-11-29T23:26:00.001-08:00

One of the biggest factors that are pushing countries across the globe to cut back on their carbon gas emissions and be more ethical consumers is the subsequent climate changes that have not only begun but that are further predicted. Hopefully by now those pathetic few who have claimed that Global Warming is some crazy theory cooked up by political leaders as some ploy have seen the error to their ways. There are worsening conditions in Ethiopia and other African countries due to the hotter temperatures destroying what little food resources they already have, and the Arctic is scheduled to become a slush pile during the summer months if we keep on the path we are currently on. Using the changes to our Earth's climate and weather patterns as the crux of their arguments, the World Energy Council makes a call to arms.

The World Energy Council, or WEC, has announced that the dire need to reduce power usage has reached a point of "critical uncertainty" in regards to the climate. Already the current power usage of coal, oil, and gas resources has had startling effects, but if they continue to grow and expand as the International Energy Agency predicts, by the year 2030 greenhouse gas emissions would soar to 40 gigatonnes. Today, our total amounts to 28 gigatonnes and surely an increase of 12 gigatonnes should be avoided at all costs. We may pride ourselves on carpooling, or turning out the lights, but obviously this it's not enough. With this in mind, the International Energy Agency is pushing to pass acts across the World to reduce the coal usage by 47 percent and oil by 15 percent to yield a reduction of half of the carbon emissions by 2030. That amount would then be 450 ppm, and the organization feels it should be reachable, and wishes that Worldwide the usage of renewable resources be raised by 33 percent. If this isn't obtained, then it is thought that the toxic gasses would lead to an overall increase of 6 degrees Celsius by the middle of this century.

Sadly, energy usage and habits is one noted to change all too slowly and gradually, and so it is up to the users to create the increased market for renewable resources. Along with working to reduce our current usage, we need to show that we not only want to rely on better power sources but we NEED to. Being ethical consumers ourselves we can make an impact when our numbers grow, and hopefully the governments of the 192 countries currently set to erect a plan in the December meetings to cut gas emissions will follow suit. It is not cheap to amend our current ways, and political leaders are no doubt hesitant to shut down refineries, power stations, and other pipelines being used to instead build new ones, but it looks like the state of the World depends on that.