Earth Day - Top 10 Ways to Show You Care

It's wonderful to have an established Earth Day but in order to preserve our beautiful planet and ensure it's ecological existence for future generations, shouldn't we make every day Earth Day? Here's how we can make a difference on Earth Day, and everyday - it's so easy!



Here's a Top Ten list of things you can start doing today to celebrate Earth Day every day, and ensure that you're doing your part to protect and nurture the very planet that gives us life. If we each do our small part, the collective impact will be immeasurable - so show your love this day and every day! Our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren depend on it.

1. Turn Them Off- there's no reason to leave the lights on if you're not in the room, so take care to turn off lights as you leave a room. Think about casting some light by using candles, including the flameless options you can find at your local home goods store.



2. Switch Them Out -make a trip to your local home improvement store and stock up on affordable, long-lasting, and ecosensical, energy-saving light bulbs. Mark Earth Day by switching out every light in your home or office with these energy-saving options!



3. Hand Wash 'Em- we all love the convenience of our dishwashers and washing machines, but think about it. There are definitely times when a quick handwash is more appropriate. Save water and burn calories by looking for ways to do a little more washing the good 'ole fashioned way.



4. Walk, Don't Ride -Every gallon of gas you avoid using saves 1.3 pounds in greenhouse gas pollution. So let's do the math. Let's assume that your local coffee house or bagel bar is about 1/2 mile from home or office. Instead of driving it, walk it. If we committed to substituting driving for walking a measly three times a week, we could save about 8 gallons of gas a year, reducing our individual share of greenhouse gas pollution by about 10.5 pounds! Multiply that by the millions of Americans who can contribute in this way, and the impact can be profound. Not to mention that each of us could log about 150 miles/year on our pedometers.



5. Recycle That - even if your town doesn't offer recyclable pick up, do it anyway! At a minimum you can turn those old newspapers into kindling, and those bottles into cash! Start a 'recycling fund' for the kids - encourage them to get involved. Take a routine trip with your empties to your local supermarket and earn a little coin.



6. Compost It - the amount of compostable waste that ends up in our kitchen trash is astonishing. For a small price, you can purchase a composting kit and reserve a small, self-contained (with a lid) receptacle to collect the leftover salad, coffee grinds, egg shells, herbs, etc. that would otherwise end up in the trash. The result? Unbelievably rich, organic topsoil perfect for your garden! It's easier than you think. http://goodearthgoodies.blogspot.com/2009/01/composting-its-easier-than-you-think.html



7. Reuse That - keep stuff out of the landfill. Look for creative ways to take items from trash to treasure. The ideas are only limited by your imagination. For great ideas, check out "Cool Green Stuff" by Dave Evans available at http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307395573
   


8. Filter It - those empty water bottles spend forever in our landfills, so isn't it time to install inexpensive water filters on our kitchen tap? Go for it!
   


9. Power Showers - the amount of water the average household consumes is staggering, as is the amount of energy wasted and emissions produced. Saving water will help save our planet, so reduce the time you spend in the shower. Try brushing your teeth while rinsing off, and do your daily planning and meditation as your drying off (oh yeah, use that bath towel more than once before tossing it into the hamper, OK?)
   


10. Choose organic- coffee drinkers beware! Unless you're buying triple certified organic, you may not realize the havoc and destruction your purchase and consumption are wreaking on our beautiful planet. And make sure that when you're at your local supermarket, you're reading the labels - make sure you understand exactly what 'organic' means. Check out: http://goodearthgoodies.blogspot.com/2009/01/organic-defined.html

Walk...Don't Ride!

How often do you jump in your car only to travel a couple of blocks to your local coffee house or bagel store for a quick 'to go cup'? Think about it. What if, next week, you make a concerted effort to ditch the car and hoof it instead? As spring approaches, and bathing suit season draws closer, this could be the perfect opportunity to get some exercise, and help protect our planet.

Did you know (complements of "True Green" by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin):

• the average family car travels about 15,000 miles/year, generating nearly 6 tons of greenhouse gas pollution AND costing more than $2,500 in gasoline alone



• vehicle exhaust contributes to smog, which is responsible for killing 30,000 Americans each year - more than those killed in automobile related accidents



• every gallon of gas you avoid using saves 1.3 pounds in greenhouse gas pollution

So let's do the math. Let's assume that your local coffee house or bagel bar is about 1/2 mile from home or office. Instead of driving it, walk it. If we committed to substituting driving for walking a measly three times a week, we could save about 8 gallons of gas a year, reducing our individual share of greenhouse gas pollution by about 10.5 pounds! Multiply that by the millions of Americans who can contribute in this way, and the impact can be profound.

Not to mention that each of us could log about 150 miles/year on our pedometers - think about all those calories burned and lean muscle gained! It's a win-win situation everybody! SO WALK, DON'T RIDE NEXTIME!

Coffee Talk

Hey, eco-friendly coffee drinker! Stop and think for a minute before you order your next cup of joe at your local barrister bar. Think of all the paper your order generates, and make a choice. The life-cycle analysis of the energy and waste from producing, transporting and disposing of cardboard shows that your reusable coffee mug is a much more earth-friendly choice! Your coffee mug, including the energy and water used to keep it clean, can help significantly reduce solid waste and air pollution. Imagine that! It goes something like this: your mug could be used 3,000 times, resulting in 30 times less solid waste and 60 times less air pollution than using the equivalent amount of cardboard cups.....not to mention their 'hot hand' sleeves! So splurge a little, and buy a new, reusable transportable mug, and bring it to your favorite barrister...they'd be happy to fill it with your favorite brew. A quick wash out in your office sink, and you're ready for a return trip to the coffee bar on your way home, or your ready for the next day!

For a fun shopping experience, look here! http://www.liquidplanet.com/estore/home.php?cat=50

Organic- Defined

Organic. A popular buzz word that inspired a new, healthy living movement. But alot of 'organic' newbies may be fooled by popular marketing tricks that food growers, processors and distributors use to take advantage of legal loopholes that allow them to offer 'organic' foods that are not quite as organic as you think.

So what does it mean to be 'organic'? The definition of organic, according to Wikipedia, is as follows:

Organic foods are made according to certain production standards, meaning they are grown without the use of conventional pesticides and artificial fertilizers, free from contamination by human or industrial waste, and processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. If livestock are involved, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones, and generally fed a healthy diet. In most countries, organic produce may not be genetically modified

So, if this appeals to you and your family, here's a simple rule of thumb to use when shopping for more earth and body-friendly food choices. Pay attention to your labels!

• 100% organic: this food contains only organically produced ingredients
• Organic: 95% of this food is required to be organic, with the remaining 5% of ingredients being approved by the National Organic Standards Board.
• Made with organic ingredients: no less than 70% of the food product must be made with organic ingredients.

The green and white USDA organic stamp was designed to inspire your confidence, and your food choices, so look for that label - food that displays this is organic or 100% organic. This can help sifting through your choices a little bit easier.

Those of us who are trying to adopt a more organic lifestyle know how expensive it can be, or that depending where we live, these options are not immediately or consistently accessible. So, if you can't go organic, here are two helpful lists that can help minimize the amount of pesticides in our diet....and maybe, over time, our lessened consumption or reliance on these fruits and vegetables, will force a change in how our produce is grown and shipped.

Here's a helpful little list of the Top 10 Best and Worst Non-Organic Produce choices. If you can't shop 100% organic, categorically, at least beware of your best options when hitting the produce isles!

BEST 10: These contain the least amount of pesticide residue in tests:

1. Avocados
2. Corn
3. Onions
4. Sweet Potatoes
5. Cauliflower
6. Brussel Sprouts
7. Grapes
8. Bananas
9. Plums
10. Green Onions

WORST 10: These contain the MOST amount of pesticide residue in tests:

1. Strawberries
2. Bell Peppers (red and green)
3. Spinach
4. Cherries
5. Peaches
6. Cantaloupe
7. Celery
8. Apples
9. Apricots
10. Green Beans
    

Facts from The Story of Stuff

Thanks to the efforts of one amazing Annie Leonard, and the Tides Foundation & Funders Workgroup for Sustainable Production and Consumption, "The Story of Stuff" was born. If you want a snapshot of how our production and consumption habits stress out our planet, take 20 minutes out of your hectic day and launch the movie. It all starts here folks.

If you're pressed for time, here are some highlights from the fact sheet. Make sure you visit Annie's website. Food for thought, really. If we want to see a difference in this world, let's start by taking a close look at our habits at home and at work. Let's be the change we want to see in this world, and let's green our routine. Advocate this change by first becoming the poster-child for it!

• In the past three decades, one-third of the planet’s natural resources base have been consumed.
• In the United States, we have less than 4% of our original forests left
• Forty percent of waterways in the US have become undrinkable.
• The U.S.has 5% of the world’s population but consumes 30% ofthe world’s resources and creates 30% of the world’s waste.
• If everybody consumed at U.S. rates, we would need 3 to 5 planets.
• There are over 100,000 synthetic chemicals in commerce today.
• Only a handful of synthetic chemicals have even been tested for human health impacts and NONE have been tested for synergistic health impacts.
• In the U.S., industry admits to releasing over 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals a year.
• The average U.S. person now consumes twice as much as they did 50 years ago.
• We each see more advertisements in one year than a people 50 years ago saw in a lifetime.
• In the U.S. our national happiness peaked sometime in the 1950s.
• In the U.S., we spend 3–4 times as many hours shopping as our counterparts in Europe do.
• Average U.S. house size has doubled since the 1970s.
• Each person in the United States makes 4 1/2 pounds of garbage a day. That is twice what we each made thirty years ago.
• For every one garbage can of waste you put out on the curb, 70 garbage cans of waste were made upstream to make the junk in that one garbage can you put out on the curb.
• “Of the more than 80,000 chemicals in commerce, only a small percentage of them have ever been screened for even one potential health effect, such as cancer, reproductive toxicity, developmental toxicity, or impacts on the immune system. Among the approximately 15,000 tested, few have been studied enough to correctly estimate potential risks from exposure. Even when testing is done, each chemical is tested individually rather than in the combinations that one is exposed to in the real world. In reality, no one is ever exposed to a single chemical, but to a chemical soup, the ingredients of which may interact to cause unpredictable health effects.” From Coming Clean Campaign’s Body Burden information, retrieved 11/8/07 from http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org/

For more tips and helpful insights, and for information on how to launch an awareness event or party, visit Annie's website at: http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html