It is a common misconception for many people that bottled water is safer than tap, plastic bottles get recycled, and no harm is being done to the environment in the bottling process. Unfortunately, that could not be further from the truth!
Even if littering did nothing and whatever you threw on the ground had no affect on our ecosystems or planet, why would anyone choose to do it?
If you are on a budget or just plain refuse to pay the extra for organic fruits and vegetables, there really are some good reasons to buy at least a few of those items in the organic version if you can.
What exactly do we all need to live? Is it 4 TV’s, 3 cars, a 4,000 square foot house? Multiple yearly vacations to far away lands? Piles of cheap plastic doo-dads from China?
Oftentimes we hear reports about how changing a light bulb will not make a bit of a difference in the fight against climate change and that everyone must make huge sacrifices in order to have any effect. I say don’t listen to them!
Aside from staying home and drinking tap water out of a washable glass, the best way to be “green” while on the go is choosing your water bottle wisely. From the lowly single-use-only plastic water bottle you can buy at your local gas station to the stainless steel and aluminum options, making the right choice is important in maintaining both your health and the health of the environment!
Paying More for Flights Eases Guilt, Not Emissions “The carbon offset has become this magic pill, a kind of get-out-of-jail-free card,” Justin Francis, the managing director of Responsible Travel, one of the world’s largest green travel companies to embrace environmental sustainability, said in an interview. “It’s seductive to the consumer who says, ‘It’s $4 and I’m carbon-neutral, so I can fly all I want.’ ”
A new study by Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that the typical variety of cleaning products used in schools released 457 different chemicals into the air. The environmental health watchdog says that these common cleaning supplies can expose our children to chemicals which have been linked to health problems such as cancer and asthma.
I got into a little bit of a row recently with the guy that runs Holy Cow Products. We had a little back and forth in the comments section of a greenwash of the week post on The Good Human. The interaction itself and the little bit of product research I did on green cleaning products started me noodling over the real problem with greenwashing; which is that most people make product decisions based on product packaging and marketers know it
I’m a big proponent of the power of personal development to help us to become better fathers, and I think that by working on ourselves, we are working on our relationships and our family dynamic. In this video, I discuss the importance of finding a place to air your feelings, perhaps in a men’s group or other place that you feel safe and supported.
Thoughts on Christmas consumption…Gifting should be from the heart. Know your recipient’s needs, loves and lifestyle. Don’t buy what you want them to have. Buy something they can use in their everyday life, or something they would never buy for themselves. Make them smile, not wonder what on earth you were thinking!
Recyclops invades The Office tonight. It’s green week at NBC and Dwight Shrute does not disappoint by transforming into the fearsome green fighting machine Recyclops.
Have a fantastic weekend!
Let me just say right up front that I am not a vegetarian; not even close. But I do my best to eat as well as I can, and the meat I do consume is almost always organic and from sustainable sources. That all being said, when I was offered a chance to check out Alicia Silverstone’s new book “The Kind Diet” I jumped at the chance because I had heard such great things about it already. A friend of mine runs a site dedicated to skin care called My Skin Affair, and landed an interview with Alicia about her book and Ecotools, an earth-friendly line of make up brushes and cosmetic bags she is involved with. I will post a snippet of it a little later, along with a link so you can read the entire interview. But for now, back to the book…
I have only had it for a few weeks now, but I have already tried several of the recipes – and have been more than pleased with how they turned out. Alicia is a Vegan and doesn’t eat meat or animal products, so many of the recipes had meat and/or dairy replacements in them such as seitan, tofu, or vegan cheddar cheese…not items often found in my house! But I did my best to follow some of the recipes to the letter and I have to tell you that they were incredibly good. One of my favorites was the Eggplant Chana Masala, which has onions, cloves, curry, cumin, eggplant, chickpeas, tomatoes, vegetarian chili and cilantro. While the recipe said it was for 8 people, I only got 2 meals out of it. Guess I was really hungry and thoroughly enjoyed it!
The book also talks about “kind” foods versus processed stuff, getting fit, activism, and even has a section about pets. Overall it’s a great book that is not just for vegetarians or vegans – after all, this meat-eater got a lot out of it too. Good stuff, and I recommend you check it out.
And finally, a segment from the interview I mentioned earlier:
On Ecotools: Alicia, a passionate animal welfare and environmental activist, has joined forces with the enormously successful eco-conscious brand to show that style and respect for the earth go hand-in-hand. Getting gorgeous, going green, and giving back is what Ecotools is all about. All of the bags in the Ecotools by Alicia Silverstone cosmetic bag collection are made with a natural hemp material and have a recycled PET lining. When I asked Alicia about Ecotools she said “I’m excited about how beautiful it is”. I’ve seen the Ecotools brushes and the cosmetic bags and they are absolutely lovely.
Click over to My Skin Affair if you want to read the rest of Alicia’s interview.
Now, about that giveaway…the publisher has graciously offered a copy of the book for one lucky reader, and this is how we are going to do this. The giveaway will be open until Saturday morning at 7:30am MST (48 hours from now), and here are the rules and how to enter:
- To enter, please leave a comment (with a valid email address, so we can contact you) as to why you would like to win the book
- Only one entry per person. Period. Please don’t try to use different email addresses, etc, as the IP numbers will be checked.
- Entries must be from residents within the continental U.S.
- Book will be sent directly from the publisher to a valid address via their choice of shippers
- Winner will be chosen at random from all eligible entries received
Good luck everyone! And if you don’t win, I still suggest you check the book out – it’s great.
This week’s Do One Thing is all about recycling. Each state and city has their own recycling laws, so it is very important that you find out what can and cannot be recycled where you live. Check to see if your recycling can be mixed together, what kinds of plastic can be recycled (check out my post about the plastic recycling numbers if you are not sure), and if your items need to be cleaned prior to drop off. The last thing you want to do is to either contaminate the recycling stream or make much more work for the people sorting your recyclables. So check with your town or local facility and make sure you are only recycling the stuff that can be recycled in your area!
Uh….yeaaaa. Not buying it. There is absolutely no such thing as an eco-friendly private jet that is meant to fly the filthy rich, by themselves, around the globe at 30,000 feet and 300 miles per hour. Mind you, the jets themselves are not green – rather, the companies that operate them are offering their clients a way to buy their way out of any guilt with carbon offsets that typically cost only 1% of the expense of the flight…a dollar amount that a private jet client would hardly notice. From The Guardian in the UK:
Other private jet companies are joining the green push. But most are simply offering their customers off-the-shelf ways to buy their way to a green image through offsets. So you can “eliminate your carbon footprint” with Chief Executive Air, which says:
“Enjoy the comfort and convenience of flying private and work with us to promote a cleaner environment by sponsoring a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Fly Chief Executive Air for personalized private flight that’s GREEN.”
If you are interested in carbon emissions, these numbers are scary. An hour’s flight on a private jet will emit more carbon dioxide than most Africans do in a whole year.
In my book, this is only slightly worse than environmentalists flying around the country to attend green events or openings. Slightly.
