Sunday, April 11, 2010
recycle reuse reshare with Big Bro Big Sis
I did some more cleaning out, and called up Big Brother Big Sister to come pick up the boxes of usable clothes, toys, and household items. It feels good to donate, and I know that we are keeping useful things out of the landfills! It's green to donate :) To get in touch with them check out their website: http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.diJKKYPLJvH/b.1539751/k.BDB6/Home.htm
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Called the Governor
Atta-girl!!! This past week I did a good thing :) I took a babystep in the form of a phone call to the Governor about BPA for the greater good. Ok, so what is BPA? And why did I call? Read on...
On March 2,2010, Governor Deval Patrick of MA announced that he has directed the Department of Public Health to take steps to impose a limited ban on Bisphenol A (BPA). He has proposed to phase BPA out of baby bottles and cups.
BPA is a toxic chemical linked to early onset puberty, increased diabetes risk, hyperactivity, and certain cancers, including breast cancer. Everyone should urge their government officials to phase out BPA and use safer alternatives that are already available.
Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow (AHT) is urging the Governor to further protect child health, and recommends that the state should also phase BPA out of infant formula and baby food packaging as well as reusable beverage and food containers. Connecticut has already passed a strong law to replace BPA with safer alternatives in many products, and now it is time to do so in Massachusetts as well.
In support of AHT's great work in regards to legislation about BPA, and their BPA Call-in-Week, I called into the Governor's office to thank him for calling for a phase-out of BPA products, and asked that the legislation not stop at baby bottles and cups, but to please include infant formula cans and food and beverage containers as well. Fingers crossed that the Governor will call for a phase out of BPA in these items as well.
For even more info about BPA...check out these sites http://www.americantowns.com/ma/boston/news/governor-patrick-directs-dph-to-address-concerns-about-bisphenol-a-in-baby-bottles-and-cups-261499 and
http://www.healthytomorrow.org/2010/04/how-to-act-on-bpa.html
On March 2,2010, Governor Deval Patrick of MA announced that he has directed the Department of Public Health to take steps to impose a limited ban on Bisphenol A (BPA). He has proposed to phase BPA out of baby bottles and cups.
BPA is a toxic chemical linked to early onset puberty, increased diabetes risk, hyperactivity, and certain cancers, including breast cancer. Everyone should urge their government officials to phase out BPA and use safer alternatives that are already available.
Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow (AHT) is urging the Governor to further protect child health, and recommends that the state should also phase BPA out of infant formula and baby food packaging as well as reusable beverage and food containers. Connecticut has already passed a strong law to replace BPA with safer alternatives in many products, and now it is time to do so in Massachusetts as well.
In support of AHT's great work in regards to legislation about BPA, and their BPA Call-in-Week, I called into the Governor's office to thank him for calling for a phase-out of BPA products, and asked that the legislation not stop at baby bottles and cups, but to please include infant formula cans and food and beverage containers as well. Fingers crossed that the Governor will call for a phase out of BPA in these items as well.
For even more info about BPA...check out these sites http://www.americantowns.com/ma/boston/news/governor-patrick-directs-dph-to-address-concerns-about-bisphenol-a-in-baby-bottles-and-cups-261499 and
http://www.healthytomorrow.org/2010/04/how-to-act-on-bpa.html
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Packaging pet Peeve
Ok, I guess I'm peeved about packaging overall!
There is sooo much waste involved in packaging, and honestly I think other consumers are annoyed with the excessive packaging as well. Most of the packaging is plastic, and that comes from oil, which is of course a non-renewable resource and our oil dependence is ridiculous as is. I wonder how many pounds per person per year is wasted on packaging...and I'm willing to bet a majority of that packaging is overfilling the landfills and eventually leaching all kinds of toxic nasties into the groundwater and soil.
I will admit that I am anal about recycling the plastic and cardboard bits, but honestly some of the plastic packaging doesn't have a symbol on it, and I put it in the the recycle bin anyway since our recycling company takes plastics 1-7. I've begun making a bit of a pest of myself contacting the company when I'm uncertain about things such as the inner cereal box bags....can I recycle it without clogging up the system? If not, then perhaps my next step will be to contact the cereal companies to tell them my concerns. And why not? In the last month or so, I've researching sustainable packaging and sustainable packaging coalitions. I've also been contacting other companies to let them know if their product has too much unnecessary packaging, and to let them know about alternatives that are less toxic (eco foam), and the benefits of less packaging such as less shipping costs. Who knows, maybe my pet peeve about packaging will somehow make a difference?
There is sooo much waste involved in packaging, and honestly I think other consumers are annoyed with the excessive packaging as well. Most of the packaging is plastic, and that comes from oil, which is of course a non-renewable resource and our oil dependence is ridiculous as is. I wonder how many pounds per person per year is wasted on packaging...and I'm willing to bet a majority of that packaging is overfilling the landfills and eventually leaching all kinds of toxic nasties into the groundwater and soil.
I will admit that I am anal about recycling the plastic and cardboard bits, but honestly some of the plastic packaging doesn't have a symbol on it, and I put it in the the recycle bin anyway since our recycling company takes plastics 1-7. I've begun making a bit of a pest of myself contacting the company when I'm uncertain about things such as the inner cereal box bags....can I recycle it without clogging up the system? If not, then perhaps my next step will be to contact the cereal companies to tell them my concerns. And why not? In the last month or so, I've researching sustainable packaging and sustainable packaging coalitions. I've also been contacting other companies to let them know if their product has too much unnecessary packaging, and to let them know about alternatives that are less toxic (eco foam), and the benefits of less packaging such as less shipping costs. Who knows, maybe my pet peeve about packaging will somehow make a difference?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
TRASH TALKIN
It is becoming increasingly clear to me that packaging is a large part of everyone's trash.
Since my family already recycles glass, metal, aluminum, plastics, and paper, and we compost as well, the "trash" that is left often seems to me like it should be able to be recycled. For example, Styrofoam packing blocks and peanuts...
Recently when I contacted our recycling company about several items, they told me they did not take some things even though they have the proper recycling symbol and number. I found out that even though large blocks of packing Styrofoam have the proper number stamped on it, they do not take it in the recycling bins because when crushed it flies out the back of the truck. Similarly, they do not take packaging peanuts for the same reason. Traditional Styrofoam blocks and packing peanuts are made of polystyrene, a non-biodegradable material which clogs up landfills. I've seen statistics stating that about 200 million cubic feet of polystyrene packaging is used every year in the United States. What a WASTE!
Personally, I hate packing peanuts because there are better alternatives that are not such a static-y nuisance. Have you ever tried cleaning up after unpacking something packed in Styrofoam blocks or Styrofoam peanuts? Sticks to everything including the vacuum...I'm all for reusing them if they are already out there, or recycling them (but my recycling company won't take them, will yours?), but why make more? I have been told that places like UPS stores will gladly take Styrofoam peanuts off your hands and reuse them (why not accept free supplies that they use and normally have to buy).
I like the more eco-friendly "eco foam" peanuts. These are made from corn and potato starch, which is a renewable resource, and can even be dissolved in water without polluting pollute ground water. Another positive attribute of eco foam is that it is a wicked fun, nontoxic craft and/or building material with kids. If you dab a foam piece onto a wet sponge or paper towel, the moisture causes the foam to make its own "glue." Just press and hold one piece to another piece, count to five to "set." Wet and stick more pieces and keep going. Using the "dab-and-stick" technique, you can create endless shapes, animals, jewelry, build structures, your imagination is the limit. Here's a link for eco foam http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H5Y1NE?ie=UTF8&tag=allinfoabo03e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001H5Y1NE
So, if versatile sustainable eco foam packaging is available, why oh why would people use Styrofoam packing peanuts and clog landfills? Given the fact that there ARE sustainable options for packaging, perhaps for the good of the Earth, Styrofoam peanuts should be banned? Just sayin...
Since my family already recycles glass, metal, aluminum, plastics, and paper, and we compost as well, the "trash" that is left often seems to me like it should be able to be recycled. For example, Styrofoam packing blocks and peanuts...
Recently when I contacted our recycling company about several items, they told me they did not take some things even though they have the proper recycling symbol and number. I found out that even though large blocks of packing Styrofoam have the proper number stamped on it, they do not take it in the recycling bins because when crushed it flies out the back of the truck. Similarly, they do not take packaging peanuts for the same reason. Traditional Styrofoam blocks and packing peanuts are made of polystyrene, a non-biodegradable material which clogs up landfills. I've seen statistics stating that about 200 million cubic feet of polystyrene packaging is used every year in the United States. What a WASTE!
Personally, I hate packing peanuts because there are better alternatives that are not such a static-y nuisance. Have you ever tried cleaning up after unpacking something packed in Styrofoam blocks or Styrofoam peanuts? Sticks to everything including the vacuum...I'm all for reusing them if they are already out there, or recycling them (but my recycling company won't take them, will yours?), but why make more? I have been told that places like UPS stores will gladly take Styrofoam peanuts off your hands and reuse them (why not accept free supplies that they use and normally have to buy).
I like the more eco-friendly "eco foam" peanuts. These are made from corn and potato starch, which is a renewable resource, and can even be dissolved in water without polluting pollute ground water. Another positive attribute of eco foam is that it is a wicked fun, nontoxic craft and/or building material with kids. If you dab a foam piece onto a wet sponge or paper towel, the moisture causes the foam to make its own "glue." Just press and hold one piece to another piece, count to five to "set." Wet and stick more pieces and keep going. Using the "dab-and-stick" technique, you can create endless shapes, animals, jewelry, build structures, your imagination is the limit. Here's a link for eco foam http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001H5Y1NE?ie=UTF8&tag=allinfoabo03e-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B001H5Y1NE
So, if versatile sustainable eco foam packaging is available, why oh why would people use Styrofoam packing peanuts and clog landfills? Given the fact that there ARE sustainable options for packaging, perhaps for the good of the Earth, Styrofoam peanuts should be banned? Just sayin...
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Spring
Spring is finally here, and April is poetry month :)
Enjoy this little spring poem
Enjoy this little spring poem
The little caterpillar creeps
Awhile before in silk it sleeps,
It sleeps awhile before it flies,
And flies awhile before it dies,
And that's the end of three good tries.
Awhile before in silk it sleeps,
It sleeps awhile before it flies,
And flies awhile before it dies,
And that's the end of three good tries.
by David McCord
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Picking Low Lying Fruit
Low Lying Fruit
To quote my favorite green guru, Ed Begley Jr., we picked some "low lying fruit"! No, not the edible kind, but the kind that will save energy AND money. Our low lying fruit was the front door lights.
Every time I'd notice the front lights were ON during the day, I'd cringe. I knew we were wasting energy and money....ggrrrrr. The dawn to dusk feature on the motion sensitive front lights was not working, and we ended up leaving the lights on to ensure no one got hurt walking up to the door in the dark. But, then we'd forget to turn them off, they'd end up being on all night, and many, many times they would not get turned off at all since we don't typically go out that door.
The electric eye had been broken for some time, and we'd attempted adding a new photo-electric eye, but that didn't work, probably because of the special wiring involved with the motion sensitive part as well as the integrated electric-eye. We felt so frustrated and confused when the new eye didn't work that we decide to sleep on it before taking any more steps. But out of sight, IS out of mind and time marched on, and it didn't get fixed.
I think it was a trip to Lowes that jogged my memory about the lights, and we discussed replacing the fixture completely, and even bought one light figuring we could just replace the one, and move another from around back. Turns out the one out back also had a busted electic eye! Hmmm now we began to think that the integrated electric eye was doomed to break, and re-thought our original plan. We ultimately decided that throwing the lights into the landfill and spending money on two new lamps wasn't the best option either.
Luckily hubby, being the genius he is, was able to re-wire the existing lights to enable the new electric eye to work! So we picked the "low lying fruit", and in this situation with a broken fixture, were able to use the two new electric eyes that we thought weren't going to work in our lights, saved the two light fixtures from the landfill, and best of all, are saving electricity DAILY! I'm so lucky that hubby is such a handyman!!!!
To quote my favorite green guru, Ed Begley Jr., we picked some "low lying fruit"! No, not the edible kind, but the kind that will save energy AND money. Our low lying fruit was the front door lights.
Every time I'd notice the front lights were ON during the day, I'd cringe. I knew we were wasting energy and money....ggrrrrr. The dawn to dusk feature on the motion sensitive front lights was not working, and we ended up leaving the lights on to ensure no one got hurt walking up to the door in the dark. But, then we'd forget to turn them off, they'd end up being on all night, and many, many times they would not get turned off at all since we don't typically go out that door.
The electric eye had been broken for some time, and we'd attempted adding a new photo-electric eye, but that didn't work, probably because of the special wiring involved with the motion sensitive part as well as the integrated electric-eye. We felt so frustrated and confused when the new eye didn't work that we decide to sleep on it before taking any more steps. But out of sight, IS out of mind and time marched on, and it didn't get fixed.
I think it was a trip to Lowes that jogged my memory about the lights, and we discussed replacing the fixture completely, and even bought one light figuring we could just replace the one, and move another from around back. Turns out the one out back also had a busted electic eye! Hmmm now we began to think that the integrated electric eye was doomed to break, and re-thought our original plan. We ultimately decided that throwing the lights into the landfill and spending money on two new lamps wasn't the best option either.
Luckily hubby, being the genius he is, was able to re-wire the existing lights to enable the new electric eye to work! So we picked the "low lying fruit", and in this situation with a broken fixture, were able to use the two new electric eyes that we thought weren't going to work in our lights, saved the two light fixtures from the landfill, and best of all, are saving electricity DAILY! I'm so lucky that hubby is such a handyman!!!!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
My carbon neutral blog
What do you mean your blog is "carbon neutral"? Let me start by saying that I had never considered that my blog contributed to CO2 emissions. How is that possible? I learned that the emissions are mostly attributed to the immense energy usage from (mainframe) computers, servers, and their cooling systems. Well, I’d never really thought about it like that, but it makes sense. Some highly frequented blogs contribute as much as 8lbs of CO2 emissions in a year!
How does a tree neutralize my blog's carbon footprint?
I was happy to stumble upon a German group that has an initiative called “My Blog is Neutral” (http://www.kaufda.de/umwelt/carbon-neutral/what-we-do/ ). After reading about the initiative, I learned that their goal is to re-plant forests in northern CA that have been destroyed by fires while simultaneously “erasing” the carbon foot-print of ever popular bloggers. A tree can absorb about 11lbs of CO2 in a year, and can continue to absorb CO2 as long it lives, therefore it is estimated that over the life of the tree, it can "neutralize" the emissions of a blog. For each participating blog-domain, the German group who is partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation, will plant one tree, and each of those blogs will include a small logo indicating that their blog is neutral. The trees will be planted in Plumas National Forest in Northern California.
It's genius, and it’s a win-win situation!!! I’m happy for the chance to participate and help make the world a little greener as well as neutralize my blog's carbon footprint.
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