01.24.08

SK8

Posted in home & garden, recycling, shopping at 9:33 am by greengirl

I heard about this skateboard and snowboard maker that uses environmentally-friendly products: Arbor.  I know nearly nothing about snowboards, but their skateboards look really, really cool.  They’ve got some retro designs and some East Asian-inspired designs.   They use bamboo for some of their boards, and a combination  of sustainably harvested maple and koa (the wood used by Hawaiians for the first surfboards) for others.  And they must be good, because one of their boards was designed by Kelly Slater.  In addition to using sustainably sourced wood for their skateboards, they work green too by donating a portion of their profits to conservation organizations, printing on recycled paper with soy-based ink, purchasing wind power credits and working in an office built largely with recycled materials.  It’s nice to see an alternative to the old school skater mentality that the world was going to end so who cared anyway.  And to see it done with such cool boards.

01.17.08

Painless Giving

Posted in education, shopping at 8:16 am by greengirl

If I could, I would give the majority of my income to charity.  But then I’d be living out of a cardboard box.  So, since my furniture won’t fit in a cardboard box, I’ve found an easier way to give to charity doing something I normally do anyway.  The site is GoodSearch, and it’s a search engine that makes a contribution to charity every time you search.  The results are just about as good as Google, though I do resort to Google for more complicated searches.  But the best part is that you pick the charity.  AND, you can see how much of a difference people are making by clicking on the Amount Raised button.  I’ve got three different charities set up between the three machines I use regularly at work and home.  I haven’t found a charity yet that’s not listed.  Plus, they’ve got a shopping portal, in case you don’t already have one that you use regularly.

01.12.08

Weekend Census VI

Posted in organic, weekend census at 3:31 pm by greengirl

All my friends seem to be having kids these days, so as a follow-up to the post from a few days ago on eco-friendly diapers, here’s a list of places to get organic stuff for babies. There are alot, since even Target is jumping on this bandwagon, so I’m only listing those places where all the infant stuff they carry is organic.

Okay, so there’s really alot of these, and this is only a small portion.  Organic stuff for babies is much more widespread than organic clothing and products for teens and adults.

01.08.08

Buy Less, Have More

Posted in recycling, shopping at 3:33 pm by greengirl

As someone who has not had a lot of ‘fun money’ for a long time, I know that it can be easy to think that if you just had product A, things would be easier. Or, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to buy a cup of coffee or a new shirt without worrying about your budget? Advertisers didn’t spend years perfecting their craft for nothing - they’re good at knowing how to convince someone with or without much discretionary income that their product is what you should spend money on.

But, if what we’re all looking for is simplicity, happiness, less debt, etc, it may pay to redefine those goals. Yes, it would be nice to be able to afford to buy a paperback once in a while or not have to think twice before going out for dinner twice in one week. But, what is that thoughtlessness costing? The New American Dream advocates asking yourself three questions before making a purchase: do I really need it?, can I borrow it or buy it used? can I wait to buy it until I can pay for it without credit?

Think of it, not as depriving yourself, but as choosing between priorities. More stuff or more freedom from debt. And, as someone who just moved, more freedom from stuff you have to pack in boxes. It helps you to place value on what you do have and complete that often neglected part of the recycling trio: reduce.

01.03.08

Stinky Diapers

Posted in home & garden, health, pollution at 10:00 pm by greengirl

If you know anything at all about environmental issues, you likely know that disposable diapers sit in landfills for an obscene period of time (500 years!). And I applaud those hearty-stomached parents who decide to use (and wash) cloth diapers. I have no plans to become a parent, but if I did, I would be frantically looking for some alternative to cloth and disposable diapers. Well, on the EcoZone Project tv show a while back, I found the answer: gDiapers.

According to their website and the Water Environment Research Foundation, these little miracles are flushable. They come with two parts - a washable cotton outer pant (in some really hip colors - Got Chocolate Brown is my favorite) and plastic-free, chlorine-free flushable inserts. If the idea of flushing freaks you out, you can throw them away (and even compost the wet ones!!). In compost, they break down in less than 150 days. I’m sure they take a little bit of getting used to, since the velcro closures are at the back and stirring with a swishstick is involved. Really, though, any diaper system - even the disposables - takes some getting used to and has some gross bits. Diapers are weird contraptions, but at least this particular variety doesn’t add to the enormous sum of the 38,000 dirty disposable diapers tossed every MINUTE in the U.S.

01.02.08

PB&J

Posted in pollution, global warming, water at 9:01 am by greengirl

Peanut butter and jelly, that staple of children’s lunch time meals, is more amazing than you might think. According to the PB&J campaign (who knew?!?), one sandwich reduces 2.5 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions whem compared to a lunch with animal-based food. It also saves 280 gallons water when compared to a hamburger. Substitute three PB&J’s for three hamburgers in a month, and you’ll save as much water as switching to a low-flow showerhead. How? The theory behind this is about eating lower on the food chain. It’s all about the math behind the quantity of grain it takes to feed a cow that feeds us, versus skipping the cow and eating the grain ourselves. That’s a very simplified version, but you get the idea. Now, before all you ardent carnivores out there come after me with your steak knives, I’m not saying you have to give up meat entirely to achieve these ends. It’s just about reducing your meat consumption. Substitute just one PB&J (or bean burritos or vegetarian chili…) a month, and it’ll be like driving around for the day in a hybrid instead of a sedan. Little steps, people, little steps.

P.S. This post is especially for Mike, the peanut butter lover.

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