And The Printing Begins

Back to school means lots of printing! Essays, assigned readings, research articles...you name it! Students print a lot! And printing a lot means using a lot of paper. Luckily, there is a greener option! Recycled printer paper. I recently bought some for my home printer in preparation for the long days of printing to come. I expected the paper to be darker, rougher, flimsier, different. In reality, the recycled paper is basically the same as regular paper. You can hardly tell the difference, which means that you won't look weird handing in your homework on bizarre paper. However, if you really hate the 100% recycled paper, there is yet another option! The paper also comes in a 50% recycled version. I haven't tried this paper, but I am sure it would be more "normal" looking and feeling, while still being nice to the environment. So, try it out!

(If you have your own printer at work, try it out too!)

Write Your Heart Out

School tip #2: Don't buy new pens and pencils!

Chances are, you don't need to waste the gas on a trip to Staples or Office Max to get pens and pencils for school. There are probably tons of them laying around your house unused in junk drawers, forgotten pencil cases, craft boxes...couch cushions...anywhere! They might not always be the latest and hippest pens and pencils, but as long as they write they will suit your needs! I'd feel pretty accomplished if I used all of these pens until they were empty! Don't let them dry up! They want to help you do your homework! (or office paperwork)

Back to School

Nobody likes to hear it, but its almost time for school again. Luckily, there's plenty of ways to be green about school! Here's one:

If you use binders to keep your classwork organized, don't go out and buy new ones! Unless you absolutely destroyed your binders from last year, your old ones should still be good! Save some money and just reuse the binders from year to year. Makes enough sense right? I've been using some of mine for 5 years! And, if you did get rid of your old binders, check to see if your siblings or parents have some spare ones. I am also using one that I found in my brother's room after he graduated.

If you don't go to school but work in an office, save and reuse your binders as well!

Gimme 5

Do you ever pay attention to the numbers inside the recycling symbol on plastic containers? I know that I don't. But, did you know that some kinds of plastics are not accepted by all towns? So, you could be putting your yogurt cup into the curbside recycling, but that cup does not really get recycled. That's kind of a shocker, isn't it? So pay attention to what kinds of plastics your town accepts. There's many different kinds, all distinguished by a different number. Many towns do not accept #5, the kind of plastic used for many yogurt cups and other containers. They usually just do not have the funding for it. Instead, the plastic will be mixed with other low quality plastics and shaped into a bale that is not very useful and is often shipped over seas for some unknown use. Luckily, my town does recycle #5 (because I certainly eat a lot of yogurt), but for those who do not there is something called Preserve: Gimme 5. It is a collection service for #5 plastic. It recycles the plastic into useful things such as toothbrushes and razors. If there is not a collection box near you (my local one is at Whole Foods) you can also mail in your plastic. Sending in your plastic will prevent it from ending up in a landfill, and it will also keep the recycling process more local (not overseas). You'll also be saving energy and resources. Preserve plastic uses 48% less coal, 46% less energy, 75% less oil, and 54% less water to produce, and it produces 64% fewer greenhouse gases. Those are quite the numbers! Woohoo!

Recycle That Bag

I've always heard about recycling plastic bags, but I never knew where I could bring them. Just recently I found my answer: Whole Foods! There are thousands of places across the country (mainly retail stores) for plastic bag recycling, but this is the first that I have found on my own. Some companies will print right on the bag that their facility recycles, so be sure to check! In 2010 the EPA reported that only 15% of plastic bags were recycled, but 90% were reused. Reusing is good, but recycling is even better. And, (as long as the bag is not reused as a trash bag) both reusing AND recycling can happen. Some resources are saying that plastic bags are actually much more efficient than paper, and since they are fully recyclable they do not have a negative environmental impact. However, this information is not good information. This information probably comes from biased plastic bag companies who do not want their industries to die and who paid a lot of money to alter peoples search results on google. Because, while they are recyclable, most plastic bags are NOT actually recycled (85% to be more precise). Instead, they end up in the environment, and UNLIKE paper bags they are not a bit biodegradable. So, while there are some good numbers out there for plastic bags, paper is still the better choice. But anyways, if you do obtain a plastic bag (I know that they are in no way fully avoidable) make sure to recycle it. The recycled plastic can be made into many useful things: new bags, low-maintenance fences and decks, and other building materials are a few examples. Including recycled materials in plastic bags greatly decreases greenhouse gas emissions and saves a significant amount of energy. So, help the plastic bag industry in reaching their goal of including recycled plastic by supplying them that material, and keep the plastic out of the environment. NOTE: in addition to recycling plastic bags, recycling bins such as this one also accepts various kinds of plastic including plastic wrap and sandwich bags. Awesome!

Cork Reharvest

I know that not everyone who reads this blog is old enough to drink wine, but we all have parents, right? Cork Reharvest has teamed up with Whole Foods and various wineries to create a cork recycling system. Cork is made out of bark from Cork Oak trees, and since only the bark is used there is no logging in this business. The trees will live a full life to the ripe age of 200. The industry as a whole is a pretty environmentally-friendly one, but it seems to be a dying business due to the widespread use of plastic corks and screw on caps for wine bottles. The global use of natural corks in wine bottles has decreased from 90% in 1995 to 70% in 2010. In certain countries, the percentages are much lower, some as low as 15%. Since the cork industry is so environmentally friendly, that makes me kind of sad. Cork cannot be reused in wine because after the bottle is opened it is considered contaminated. However, it's environmental awesomeness  can be recycled into wine shipping boxes, flooring, sneakers, bicycle helmets, and probably cork boards. So, if you happen to find a wine with real cork, be sure to bring the cork to your local Whole Foods or winery, and feel good about your efforts.

BinIt!

Caring for the environment doesn't always have to be so serious. Some days the best thing that you can do is just spread awareness, rather than try to change your life or the world. I found an app called Bin It which is so simple its almost silly. You just have to try to throw plastic bottles into a recycling bin and avoid a giant fan that tries to throw you off course. Even though this game doesn't actually recycle anything, I think that it helps to keep recycling in your mind. If you spend 5 minutes trying to recycle virtual bottles, than you will probably think about the game when you have a physical plastic bottle in your hand. If your friends see you playing it, then maybe they'll play it too, then they will also have recycling on their mind. We all know how to recycle, but we don't always remember. Also, the app goes beyond just the bin. It tells you how many bottles it requires in order to create something new with them (like a plastic chair), and when you start a new game it displays interesting facts about recycling. These things help you realize that recycling isn't just another bin, it has a productive purpose, and you can be a part of that purpose. 

For the next few weeks the partners of the app (Recyclebank) are giving away free prizes (like real life clothing and food) for playing! How cool is that.

A Rant About Spoons

Last week I went to a day camp where I had to bring a lunch, and we didn't have access to a cafeteria. Therefore, I packed my lunch in reusable containers, brought silverware from my kitchen, and used an ice pack to keep it all cold before and after I ate it. However, being the forgetful person that I am, I didn't pack a spoon for my yogurt and applesauce on two of the days. Since there was no plastic spoons available to me from a Cafe I asked my friends if I could use theirs. On both days, two different girls ever so kindly gave me a spoon. However, both girls gave me plastic spoons, and didn't ask for them back. They're my friends, and I am not picking on them personally, but I am picking on their habits because they are very common. It's one thing to use a plastic utensil because you bought lunch from a cafeteria and don't want to just carry around a spoon all day. However, if you are bringing you lunch from home, why not just pack a utensil from your drawer? If you have leftover containers that you have to bring back home anyways, why not bring your spoon back home too? Why is it necessary for you to have a supply of plastic utensils in your home so that you can use a new one every day? Bringing an actual spoon is just so easy and logical! This interaction at camp was such a simple and innocent one, but it makes me so confused and frustrated! When it comes to food the average person is just so blissfully thoughtless about what they do. So, what should you be getting out of this rant? Just rethink what you are packing for lunch, and how you pack it. Fixing your habits will be so easy! Try to produce as little waste as possible, and try to make everything reusable. I promise that using silverware will not be any harder than using plastic.

No Idling

A lot of people have misconceptions about their car's engine and have developed terrible habits when it comes to idling their car. I always see cars and trucks idling in store parking lots while the owner is inside shopping. You should never do this! Many people give the excuse: "Well, my dog is in the car". My question is why are you taking your dog to the grocery store anyways? Idling wastes about 1/4 a gallon of gas per hour and 1/2 a gallon of gas per hour when functions such as the AC are running! I am in no way suggesting that you should leave your dog in a hot car, I am just suggesting to leave your dog at home. On average, American's waste about 3.8 million gallons of gas per year with voluntary idling (voluntary doesn't include sitting in traffic). People will idle their cars thinking that their car needs to run for a few minutes before they drive it. This is false. With modern cars, the best way to warm up your engine is to just drive. People also think that restarting their car uses more gas than just letting it idle. This is also false, because cars run very inefficiently when they idle. As a rule of thumb, if you are going to be stopped for more than 10 seconds, you are better off to restart than to idle. Finally, some people (myself included) believe that frequent starting is bad for the engine. This is not true! Idling is bad for the engine! So, there are plenty of reasons not to idle. Drive forwards into the modern age, and just say no to idling. If you have a friend who idles, stage an intervention. If you see a car idling is public, leave those people an informative note. Together, we can stop car idling!

Slow Down

I am personally a pretty conservative driver, and I never go over 65 mph on the highway. To all of you with a heavy foot, there is a reason to obey the speed limits (other than safety). Your car gets different gas mileage with every speed that you drive. In other words: cars get decent mileage between 25 and 45 mph, and reach their peak mileage between 55 and 60 mph. However, after 60 mph your gas mileage decreases drastically. Speeding on the highway will result in you paying significantly more for gas, and your car will release a significantly larger amount of pollution. So if being "green" is the hip new thing, so is driving the speed limit. Even if you can't manage to drive 55 or 60, at least slow down. Try going from 80 mph to 70 mph, because that will still increase your gas mileage (although more is strongly recommended!)

Pump It Up

Within the past year I have become a car owner, and therefore am very new to the whole thing. I learned only recently how to inflate tires properly. I also learned about how important it is to make sure that the tires stay inflated properly (not just for better control, but also for a healthier environment.) Under-inflated tires increase fuel consumption and reduce the lifespan of the tire because they contact the road more: resulting in greater resistance. This creates more pollution and waste, and costs you more money. On average, the US uses 142 billion gallons of gasoline per year, and of those gallons 1.25 billion of them are consumed due to under-inflated tires. That's a lot of waste! Also, if your tire is under-inflated by 10%, then its lifespan will be decreased by 10% as well. The heat and flexing caused by the increased resistance causes it to wear down more quickly. So, take out your tire gauges and test your tires. Head over to a gas station and inflate them properly, and start getting the best mileage out of your car!

Method Cleaning

I am not very good at cleaning regularly, so I am all for easy solutions. Method has developed a shower cleaner that is not only easy, but also green. This shower spray won't clean a dirty shower, but it will prevent a clean shower from getting dirty. You just spray it on anywhere that gets wet after you take a shower or bath, and you don't have to rinse. Why is that? Because the product's formula is completely plant-based, non-toxic, and biodegradable (and therefore non-polluting). Since it doesn't contain any toxic chemicals I expected the label to be comprehensible. To my dismay, organic chemistry names are still confusing. However, Method continued to impress me with good news. On their website they have a list of all of the ingredients and a description of what they are and what they do. Here is a link to the description for this shower cleaner: http://methodhome.com/shop/daily-shower-spray/. How cool is that? Method has other plant-based cleaning products for sale, so honestly give them a try. I found this at my local Stop and Shop, and I assume it would be at my local Whole Foods as well. Happy cleaning!

Keeping Track

I use a paper planner to keep track of my life. Yes: it would be more green to use a calender on my computer or phone, but I am a little disorganized so the paper planner is what works best for me. However, if it would work for you I strongly recommend switching to an electronic planner to save paper. 

However, I am not all bad with my paper planner. In the back of it are a lot of pages for notes. I don't use these pages much, so when it came time for me to switch to a new planner I decided to find a use for this paper. The page is little so it is not ideal for me to take school notes in. However, it is ideal for things such as recipes, grocery lists, to do lists, etc. Above is where I copied down a soup recipe from the internet. So, if you use a paper planner be sure to use every inch of its resources! And when you're done, recycle all of the pages!

Hand-Me-Downs and Rags

I know that I don't always love everything that is in my closet, and sometimes I feel the need to just get rid of some clothes. Trends change, bodies grow, fabric fades. It happens. But don't just throw away your clothes! Give them to a friend or donate them to a charity like GoodWill. Just because you don't fit into your clothes anymore doesn't mean that somebody else can't! Plus, you get a tax deduction for what you donate! If the clothing is stained or has holes, still do not throw it away! Use it as a rag for cleaning or for wiping off your dogs feet. My dad uses old socks and T-shirts for cleaning his bike and padding his bike case when he travels. There's always a continued use for your old clothing. It doesn't need to go into a trash dump somewhere.

Colors, Colors Everywhere

I am a proud owner of a pretty decent number of nail polishes. However, I am also guilty of not using some of them that much and just throwing them away when they get old. I always felt sort of bad about that, but I have realized that I shouldn't be so wasteful with my nail polish. So, here are a few tips:

1. If you are tired of a particular color, switch with your friends. Rotate your colors around. I'd love it if my friends did this. You get to try a new color, and the bottle is much more likely to get used up. Heck, have a nail polish party!
2. Get creative. Use you old nail polish to decorate something like a card or picture frame. 
3. Use little dots to color code household items.
4. Use old clear coat on the bottom of metal shaving cream bottles in your shower to prevent them from rusting.
5. I am not 100% sure about how necessary this last tip is, but I don't think it would hurt if you did it: You can bring your bottles or nail polish and nail polish remover to your local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility for them to properly dispose of and recycle. Here is a website that will tell you where your local facility is: earth911.com

Catalogs Everywhere!

My family gets a lot of catalogs in the mail, most of which we've never heard of and have no interest in. While the mail business may be struggling, there's no reason to waste tons of paper and fuel to ship these magazines to people who immediately throw them out. Talk about wasteful. But good news: you can make the mail madness stop. Just give the company a call and ask to be taken off of their mailing list. That's easy enough. Tell them thanks but no thanks, I am more interested in the environment than your product. They'll understand, right?

GoodGuide

Ever wonder how environmentally friendly the things in your house are? There's an app for that! It's called GoodGuide. It scans the barcode on the item and then rates it on a scale of 1-10 on how healthy it is for the environment, for you, and for its workers. It seems a little rough around the edges, and it's not always perfect, but its definitely entertaining and interesting. The highest ranked item that I have found so far was a surprise: Scrubbing Bubbles got over an 8. Most items are surprisingly low. The worst item I found was my Revlon cream eyeshadow which got around a 2. The app also gives an explanation for the rating. It's usually pretty brief, but it's helpful for pinpointing dangerous ingredients. I've learned to be more weary and to think differently about what I purchase. Dangerous chemicals and pollutants can be anywhere!

A Breath of Fresh Air

Believe it or not, indoor air quality can be much poorer than outdoor air quality. Yes, there's pollution indoors too! Indoor plants help to keep the air clean by filtering out volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Anything green is good, but here's a list of plants that work particularly well:

1. Aloe Vera (Easy to grow, absorbs byproducts of cleaning products and paint)
2. Spider plant (Resilient, filters formaldehyde and carbon monoxide)
3. Gerber Daisy (Bright flowers, eliminates chemicals from dry cleaning and ink)
4. Snake plant (Does best in bathroom, filters formaldehyde from cleaning products)
5. Golden Pothos (Fast growing, very green, good for hanging in garage, doesn't need light)
6. Chrysanthemum (Bright flowers, filters benzene, good in office or living room window)
7. Red Edged Dracaena  (Filters pollutants from lacquers and varnishes)
8. Weeping Fig (Tricky but long lasting, filters pollutants from carpeting and furniture)
9. Azalea (Does well in cool temperatures, good for improving air quality in basement)
10. English Ivy (Pictured above)

 There's many many more plants that would be great options, but I will leave you with those 10 to think about. Enjoy brightening up your home!

NOTE: The night of this post I went to the grocery store and happened to find a Dracaena. I bought one for my room, and it became my first official plant. It brightens up my bookshelf a little, and is totally easy to take care of. I love having some plants around.

Hang It Up

Clotheslines might seem old fashioned, but maybe they're so old that they are making a comeback now. Electric dryers use about 6% of all residential energy, and it is estimated that electric dryers take 30-40 cents per load, which adds up overtime. That's a lot for one appliance. My mom grew up with a clothes line, and recently installed one in our yard. It can hold a lot, and definitely gets the job done. My mom likes it especially because the breeze causes the clothes to come out softer and better smelling than with an electric dryer. If you live in an area with seasons this probably won't work year round, but try it out while its still warm and dry.

Turn the Lights Down Low

Ever install a dimmer switch? My dad has, and he's not even an electrician! The ones pictured above are fancy looking, but you can always get the simple ones that lay next to the regular light switch. Dimmer switches are an easy and awesome fix. Dimming the lights will extend the life of your light bulb. The percent that the light is dimmed by basically corresponds with the percent of energy that you are saving. Therefore, when dimmed by 25% the light will use about 25% less energy, and 50% less energy when dimmed by 50%. Also, saved energy always equals saved cash! I know that I like dimmer lights at night that I do during the day, so I will turn them down low when I am doing something like watching TV. Also, I like to dim the light just a little and try to leave it there. That way, even if the light is not noticeably dimmer, the light will never be running at full brightness. The unfortunate news is that dimmer switches are not reccommded for flourescent lightbulbs, so if you went and put in all CFL's then do not try this at home. The good news is that if you already put in CFL's than you probably don't need to worry too much about the energy that the dimmer switch would save you.

Feed the Birds

My family has always been big on feeding the birds. The feeders attract all kinds of birds with all kinds of personalities, so it's always entertaining to look out the window and watch. I remember once my friend came over and couldn't believe how many birds there were. It made me realize how effective the little feeders were in attracting the animals. This is important because part of a healthy environment is a large amount of biodiversity. Deforestation and settlement significantly lower the forest area and therefore lower the food supply for the birds, and possibly puts them in danger. We don't want to make these species extinct, we want them to continue to thrive. Now, obviously there are other factors that I am not considering, but I would say that food is pretty important. A couple feeders in one yard won't do a whole lot, but one feeder in every yard might. So head down to your local hardware store or garden store and pick up a bird feeder. If you don't want to stick a pole in your ground get a window feeder, or put one on a hanging plant hook. There's plenty of options. My mom buys her birdseed right at the grocery store so she can shop for them and the family all in one trip. Enjoy!

Got the sniffles?

Look for facial tissues made with recycled paper. Tissues are something that we wipe icky stuff on once, crumple, then throw away. And when we have bad allergies or colds the pile of tissues can certainly add up. So why do we need fresh, good quality paper for that? We don't really. These tissues save trees, which leaves more on the Earth to absorb green house gases and produce oxygen. What's not to love about trees? At first I thought I had to search far and wide for these recycled paper tissues, but I found them at my local Whole Foods Market. I haven't seen them in other local stores yet, but I hope to soon. If you cannot find them in stores but are dying for a box they are sold online as well. Good luck!

Just Use the Dishwasher

For those of you who hate doing the dishes, I have good news for you. You now have an excuse to stop hand-washing the dishes. Don't even bother to thoroughly rinse the dishes. Obviously, the dishes cannot be absolutely covered in food, but they certainly don't need to be pristine. Washing dishes by hand actually uses twice as much energy, six times more water, and more soap than dishwashers do. Even better, if you are looking into getting a new dishwasher, aim to get an Energy Star one. Their numbers are even better. Older dishwashers will be less efficient. However, make sure to only run your dishwasher when it is full, or else these awesome numbers will be meaningless!

The Hidden Costs of Hamburgers

Americans are the largest consumers of red meat in the world. While this may not have any significance to you, there are actually a lot of negative environmental side effects that come from America's huge beef industry, threatening our climate, land, and water. Cows are a huge source of greenhouse gases. I am not trying to pick a fight with cows, but I am picking a fight with how many cows America's beef industry raises. According to this video, Americans eat (on average) 3 hamburgers per week, and 3x more red meat than any other country. So, try to cut down on your weekly meat consumption. You don't need to give up red meat entirely, but try to eat one less burger per week, or one less steak. Choose a meat like chicken instead, and maybe even try some tofu. Watch this must see video for more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut3URdEzlKQ&feature=youtu.be

Know Your Food

I frequently eat Stonyfield yogurt (Chocolate Underground is the best) and so I've looked at the labels a lot. I ignored this one for a while, but eventually decided that I couldn't keep eating the yogurt without looking up what this "know your food" thing was all about. I thought that the superhero theme was a little cheesey, but that's beside the point because the core message is a really good one. Do you know exactly what you're eating? Because you should. Not just for your health, but for the health of the environment. Not only are the ingredients listed on the label important, but so are how they got there. How the food is packaged is important too. Do you know anything about the companies that you trust to feed you? Because you probably should get to know them. The more that I learned about Stonyfield, the more I got to love them.

Check out the Stonyfield website for further explanation: https://iwillknowmyfood.com/#meet

I found these videos extremely helpful and interesting, and they're representative of the larger picture. Be SURE to watch: http://www.stonyfield.com/yotube

Green Cleaning, Sponges

Some major, household brands have started creating green product lines. Scotch-Brite is one company that I have seen in my local grocery store. The sponges caught my eye because I had seen "green" sponges before that looked like they had the world's most unpleasant texture to them. They were probably very environmentally friendly, but maybe not so user friendly. These Scotch-Brite sponges looked much more pleasant. They have come out with a whole line of products made with things like bamboo (a fast growing renewable resource) and recycled plastic bottles. Many of the products are biodegradable, 100% natural, and decently durable. Since I do not buy most of the stuff for my house, my family has not tried these. We are happy with our (very) long lasting Dobie pads. However, I read reviews from some happy moms on the internet about Scotch-Brite's new additions. If I was starting a home or living in a dorm I would probably stock up on something like this.

My Computer Hibernates, and it's Not Even Winter

It can take a lot of energy and money to run a computer 24/7. Therefore, try to not leave it open and running when you leave for an extended period of time. Remember to put it into sleep mode or hibernate mode so that it will suck up a lot less energy while you are not using it. I know I don't fully shut my computer down a lot, but if you don't have anything open and are going to be gone for a significant amount of time, try it! It won't kill you, I promise.

Fun fact: laptop computers tend to use a significantly smaller amount of energy on average than desktop computers.

Don't Forget Me

Don't forget to turn off your bathroom fan. By all means, use it when you need to, but these fans always seem to be forgotten and left on all day. Don't waste the energy to run it. Make a mental note (or a physical one) to turn off the bathroom fan.

T Tickets

If you live in the Boston area you are familiar with the T, the subway. I ride maybe a dozen times a year, and each time I ride I get a new paper ticket. I know that they sell plastic reusable Charlie Cards, but I've never looked into them enough to know whether or not I should purchase one. So, despite what I should do, I continue to use the paper tickets. However, did you know that you can save and reload those paper tickets? I didn't until this past week! It doesn't prevent a lot of waste, but saving these guys a few times to reuse will save a little bit of paper. It also seems to be a faster and easier transaction. So next time you take the T, (or whatever subway that may be near you), buy the reusable card or hang onto your ticket and reload it.

P.S. and a bravo for taking public transportation!

Edit: I realized that the ticket machines probably don't give you back the same ticket when you add value to them. I am not sure what happens to them. So basically: just get a Charlie Card. You get a discounted fare and go totally paperless. Woohoo!

More Composting

So food waste and specially labeled packaging is compostable. Paper products are too! As long as you didn't use the paper product for cleaning (so that it has chemicals on it from products like windex, lysol etc.) you can compost napkins, paper towels, paper shreds, cardboard...whatever! Even if it isn't completely clean (food smudges are fine!).