Day 49 - Dangerous waters

These are the most polluted bodies of water in the U.S., and the states responsible for putting them on this list:

1. Mississippi River (TN, AR, LA, MO, IL, MN, WI, IA, KY, MS)

2. Pacific Ocean (OR, HI, CA)

3. Ohio River (IL, IN, OH, KY, WV, PA)

4. Tennessee River (KY, TN, AL)

5. Houston Ship Channel (TX)

6. Ward Cove (AK)

7. Savannah River (GA, SC)

8. Delaware River (DE, PA, NJ)

9.Thames River (CT)

10. Gray’s Harbor (WA)

According to freedrinkingwater.com, “human waste mingles with household chemicals, personal hygiene products, pharmaceuticals, and everything else that goes down the drains in American homes and businesses,” collecting finally in these waters. Pesticides, fertilizers, automotive chemicals, and trash run off from the streets also collect there, making the water hazardous to humans.

How can we change this? Check out the Natural Resources Defense Council website, NRDC.org, to find the top twelve ways to reduce water pollution.

Tip for Day 49 – Use natural fertilizers such as bone meal, peat or compost in your garden and on your lawn whenever possible.

Day 48 - Et tu, Sierra Club?

Just read about a deal that has the Sierra Club endorsing Clorox cleaning products.

Clorox, named one of a "dangerous dozen" chemical companies by the Public Interest Research Group in 2004, developed a line of “green” cleaning products, which the Sierra Club agreed to endorse in exchange for a share of the profits.

Several executive board members walked out after the decision was announced, saying the organization “sold their souls to the highest bidder.”

Does anyone else feel dirty?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25708115/from/ET/wid/18298287/?GT1=45002

Tip for Day 48 – Mix one part water and one part white vinegar in a spray bottle to clean and disinfect to clean bathroom fixtures, tub and toilets.

Day 47 - Green drive

MallDad and I will soon be looking to repave our driveway. Since asphalt is petroleum-based, I decided to explore “greener” options. I don’t know what the cost difference is, whether these greener options can survive the Northeast winters, or if any of them will be feasible for us, but it’s interesting to see how things are changing, even in the world of driveways and parking lots.

One type of green driveway is called GrassPave2, which a porous mat-type of system through which grass can grow. It allows you to drive and park without crushing the grass beneath, and the drive can absorb more rainwater instead of sending it, and the pollutants from the drive, into storm drains and sewers. Some of these pollutants are then consumed by bacteria in the soil.

Another advantage to this is that your driveway won’t be creating heat pockets when it gets warmed by the sun.

There’s also an option called “porous pavement,” which looks a lot like regular pavement, but sits on top of a reservoir of gravel and sand, which collects and filters dirty rainwater before it can make it’s way into groundwater or storm drains.

Of course, there’s always paving stones, crushed stone, or gravel. But these options would be hard-pressed to survive snow plowing up here in the north.

It’s great to have choices, though.

Tip for Day 47 – Don’t accept the status quo. Look for greener options whenever you make home improvements.

Day 46 - Super sites

We’ve gotten into the habit of picking up any trash that’s in our paths, from tiny scraps of paper to empty cans or bottles. It feels good to know that you’re doing something every day to make the world a little cleaner.

Kids love to get involved. Here are some great sites for kids:

http://www.earth2kids.org/handcrafted2.asp

http://www.ecokidsonline.com/pub/eco_info/topics/landuse/ecosites/index.cfm

http://www.epa.gov/kids/
http://pbskids.org/eekoworld/

http://kidsregen.org/main.php?section=naturalMoves&status=1


Tip for Day 46 – Take a weekly walk through your neighborhood to pick up trash.

Day 45 - Warm thoughts

In light of the fact that the U.S. once again failed to agree to measures to reduce carbon emissions at the recent G-8 Summit, I figured I should learn more about global warming and its consequences, since we're going to be facing them sooner rather than later. I found this great site:

http://stopglobalwarming.org/sgw_actionitems.asp

Hmm. Wonder if G.W.B. has ever surfed this site?

I also wrote to my Senator and State Representative about voting against any measures that would allow off-shore drilling (for which lifting the moratorium is seriously being considered by GWB and congress). I believe the sooner we realize we’re in crisis, the sooner we’ll step up our efforts to conserve energy and develop cleaner, more efficient technologies. Besides, I can’t imagine what offshore drilling would mean to some of my favorite beaches.

Tip for Day 45 – Turn off your car when waiting to pick up your kids at school. You’ll use less gas, and emit less carbon dioxide.

Day 44 - Party time

Summer means party-time, but piles of plastic forks and spoons, beverage bottles, and mountains of those red plastic cups can leave you with a terrible trash hangover.

There are ways to have a “greener” party.

First, send out e-invites instead of paper ones. You’ll not only save a tree, but you’ll save on stamps, too.

Decorate with flowers, sea shells, plants or other natural materials instead of balloons. Try using sheets for tablecloths instead of the disposable paper ones. Tie them at the corners with ribbon to dress them up.

And how about renting china and glasses, instead of throwing away all that plastic and paper?

If you’re having a lot of guests, consider getting a keg instead of bottles of beer. In many places, you can get a keg of root beer or birch beer, too, if you’re having a lot of soda drinkers.

If you’re having your event catered, or if you’re ordering prepared food from a market, ask if you can supply your own trays and bowls instead of using their disposable ones.

For more upscale entertaining, check out this article in Epicurious:

http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/entertaining/partiesevents/greenentertaining


Tip for Day 44 – Rent glassware and china for parties instead of using disposable stuff.

Day 43 - Home remedies

Has a day at the beach left you red and ready to reach for that big ol’ (fluorocarbon producing) can of Solarcaine?

Before you do, consider a natural, earth-friendly remedy.

According to MallMom’s research, daubing sunburn with aloe vera, milk, cold tea bags or apple cider vinegar may help.

There are many safe and effective home remedies that could have you cleaning the dangerous, an environmentally unfriendly, stuff out of your medicine cabinet for good.

Have a case of the hives? Try dabbing with Milk of Magnesia. Or take a bath in a tub of warm water with ½ a cup cornstarch and ½ a cup baking soda.

Head lice? Try washing your hair with vinegar for a couple of days to kill the eggs. Olive oil left on the hair for 8 hours will smother the little suckers. Just comb them out with a fine-tooth comb.

Got warts? Rub them with a potato slice every day for two weeks!

Do these home remedies really work? I don’t know, but I’m sure going to try them. They can’t hurt, and imagine how great it would be if they helped?

Try these sites if you’re game:

http://www.free-makeup-tips.com/home-remedies/home-remedy-warts.htm

http://kellyskitchenandhome.blogspot.com/2008/05/homemade-remedies.html
href="http://www.indianchild.com/home_remedies.htm">http://www.indianchild.com/home_remedies.htm

http://www.grannymed.com/

But remember, herbs and essential oils may have side-effects, and may affect some people differently than others, so do your research before concocting your own medicines.

Tip for Day 42 - Explore natural remedies to "green" your medicine cabinet.

Day 42 - Water, water everywhere

Did you know that less than two percent of the Earth’s water supply is fresh water? Or that only one percent is drinkable?

Did you know that the average American uses about 140 -170 gallons of water per day?

Bath: 37 gallons
Shower: 40 gallons per 10 minutes
Leaky faucet: 100 gallons per day
Tooth brushing: 5 gallons
One toilet flush: 7 gallons

Conserving water is one of the easiest things we can do to reduce our waste. Changing a couple of habits, and maybe a couple of appliances, can conserve thousands of gallons of water per year.

Here’s some good news: An automatic dishwasher uses 9 to 12 gallons of water
while hand washing dishes can use up to 20 gallons.

Other things you can do:

Run the dishwasher and clothes washer only when they’re full.
Invest in a high-efficiency washing machine.
Turn off the faucet while you’re brushing your teeth.
Take shorter showers (ten minutes or less), or turn off the water while you soap up and shampoo.
Fix leaks.
Flush after two uses instead of one. Don’t flush bugs, throw them in the trash!
If you must water your lawn, do it in the morning.

For more ideas, check out this site:

http://www.monolake.org/waterconservation/

Tip for Day 42 – Shorten shower time and save hundreds of gallons of water per month.

Day 41 - What to do with...YOU

Did you see this great article on MSN today? It’s about where to recycle just about everything, from CDs to prom gowns to… you. Yes, it tells you how you can recycle your body when you’re gone. Wow.

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/greenarticlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100210758>1=45002

I had to check into this “eco-burial” thing. Found this somewhat creepy but interesting video description of “Promession” on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ic8ruziJ48

Or how about a Tibetan sky burial? Wikipedia defines it here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial

This place in Florida offers no frills, no chemicals burial in a Nature Preserve:

http://www.glendalenaturepreserve.org/

Options, options, options! Certainly gives you something to think about, huh?

Tip for Day 41 - White vinegar makes an excellent kitchen cleaner. Use it full strength for tough grease, or mix half and half with water to clean out your fridge, microwave, countertops, etc.

Day 40 - Hazard help

Did you know chances are good you have hazardous waste in your home?

Before you go calling the NRC, let’s check our definitions of hazardous waste.

Paints, varnishes, stains, gasoline, oil, antifreeze, kerosene, household cleaners such as spot removers, drain cleaner, oven cleaner, insect sprays, weed killer, moth balls, rat poison, compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), which contain mercury, batteries, cell phones,

Yep. All hazardous materials which should be disposed of at a hazardous waste facility instead of in the trash.

So, how do you get these things to a hazardous waste facility?

Sometimes communities will run collections several times a year. But if you can’t wait for that, or it isn’t available in your community, check out this website, where you can put in what you want to get rid of, along with your zip code, to find out where:

http://earth911.org/household-items/

Tip for Day 40 – Dispose of household hazardous waste properly.

Day 39 - Check out Dave!

Heard this guy being interviewed on NPR today. He’s challenging himself to save all the trash he generates for an entire year. NPR posted the video on their Day to Day blog. Check it out!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/daydreaming/2008/07/sustainable_dave.html

Tip for Day 38 – Keep a waste diary for one week to find areas where you need to improve most.

Day 38 - Recycle for Charity

Recycling is one thing, but recycling for a good cause? It doesn’t get any better than that.

How about recycling printer cartridges and cell phones to find a cure for childhood cancer? Check out:

http://www.curerecycling.com/

You can also recycle cell phones to help animals:

http://www.wirefly.org/charities/aspca.php

Or send your used-but-still-useable eyeglasses to the Lion’s Club to help kids and adults in developing nations:

http://www.lionsclubs.org/EN/content/vision_eyeglass_recycling.shtml

Think about cleaning out your pantry, and taking all that food you’ll never use to your local food bank. Food banks and missions suffer during the summer for lack of donations. The Second Harvest site has a food bank locator. Just put in your zip code and find the one nearest you:

http://www.secondharvest.org/zip_code.jsp

You can even recycle your tights and pantyhose by donating them to an organization that uses them for medical purposes in Ethiopia. Go to this site for more info:

http://www.tightsplease.co.uk/index.php?page[cat][]=126

With a little research, your recyclables could mean the world of difference for people or pets!

Tip for Day 38 - Research ways to recycle for charity.

Day 37 - Surf's up

Here are a few great sites, some of which I’ve mentioned in past posts:

http://www.globalstewards.org/ecotips.htm

http://www.ourearth.org/
www.treehugger.com

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/

http://simplypeaceable.com/blog/tag/ecoblogs/

http://gristmill.grist.org/

http://www.celsias.com/

http://www.envirowonk.com/

I’ve been motivated by every one of these sites, and check in on at least two or three of them every day, just to keep focused on change. Old habits are hard to break, and for me, I need to reinforce my commitment every day. Hope they motivate you, too!

Tip for Day 37 – Old habits are hard to break. Find something that motivates you and inspires you to change your wasteful ways.

Day 36 - To market, to market...

In an earlier post, I talked about kids and marketing, and how it starts at such an early age. I came across a website that give a bit of information on this subject. Here are just a couple of facts, according to a poll by New American Dream:

American children aged 12 to 17 will ask their parents for products they have seen advertised an average of nine times until the parents finally give in.

More than half of the children surveyed (53%) said that buying certain products makes them feel better about themselves. The number is even higher among 12- to 13-year-olds: 62% say that buying certain products makes them feel better about themselves.

Nearly a third of those surveyed (32%) admitted to feeling pressure to buy certain products such as clothes and CDs because their friends have them. Over half of 12- to 13-year-olds (54%) admitted to feeling such pressure.

The marketing firms know that Nagging Kid = Buying Parent. They also know how to make kids believe that Stuff Will Make Your Life Better. (They know how to make adults believe that, too.) And they know that parents feel guilty when they can’t give their kids everything they want.

But there is definitely hope. Here’s a fact that’s really interesting:

According to that same poll, 57 percent of children age 9-14 would rather do something fun with their mom or dad than go to the mall to go shopping.

I feel bad that I’ve dragged my kids to the mall so many times. And I have a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason we walk out of there with so much stuff is because I feel guilty about taking them there, so I buy them things to make the experience more pleasant for them. And because the phrase, “Everybody else has one” really works on me. Hey, what can I say? My kids are becoming expert marketers.

(See http://www.newdream.org/kids/facts.php for more...)

Tip for Day 36 – Reward your kids with a fun outdoor activity rather than a trip to the mall.

Day 35 - Pavlovian trash theory

I was reading about the psychology of buying, and I found this simple, yet profound, statement:

“Behavior ---> consequences ---> behavior is more or less likely to be repeated.”

I was thinking how this applies to our attitudes about creating post-consumer waste, and how there are hardly ever any consequences or rewards. Perhaps if we had to pay for trash removal by the pound, we’d be more careful how much we produced.

MallMom’s parents have just such an arrangement. When they moved to a new development down South, they had to pay an arm and a leg for curbside trash pickup. Now, I don’t want to say my parents are cheap… so I won’t. But they opted to drive their trash to the dump as needed, instead. This has some surprisingly good consequences. Because, while they never bothered to recycle before, now that they get paid by the pound for recycling glass, plastics and newspaper, they’re avid recyclers. And what they get paid for their recyclables almost completely offsets the cost of paying per bag for non-recyclable trash disposal. Double motivation!

My own community just started a program where recyclables are weighed, and families earn coupons from local businesses per “weight points.” I haven’t yet cashed in my points, but there seem to be some fairly good options. I know this program has convinced at least one family on my block who hadn’t been recyclers to get on the bandwagon.

But there are many on my block who often have two full trash cans out twice a week. So that means they’ve been motivated to recycle, but not to cut down on the volume of their post-consumer waste.

Maybe we need some more negative reinforcement. How about starting a “trash fund,” and collect ten bucks for every bag that won’t fit in the can. You can donate that money to an ecological preservation fund, or use it to plant trees. Those are consequences everyone can live with.

Tip for Day 35 – Carry a mug in your car for fill-ups at your favorite café.

Day 34 -

We’re officially more than one-third of the way through our challenge. Yesterday was tough. I actually shopped for Emma’s** birthday, and felt guilty and exhilarated at the same time. I simply could not let a six-year-old’s birthday go by without (new) presents, because it just didn’t seem fair. But the buying spree was pared way down, for sure, and I did feel guilty as I paid for my purchases. (I did bring my own bag, which threw the checkout girl into a tizzy.)

I only wondered about the psychology of all this for a second, because, really, it’s a six-year-old’s birthday. There can be no greater day for a six-year old, and I didn’t want to be the one to quash that.

So that takes care of the guilt. But what about the exhilaration?

I must admit, my pulse raced along with the beeping sound of the scanner. A purchase! It felt good to buy. Clearly, I need therapy.

Over the next few days, I’m going to look into the psychology of buying, and see what I can come up with.

In the meantime, check out this great blog I found on my ‘net travels:

http://www.enviromom.com/

These moms serve up some great eco-tips (and challenges) with lots of humor and no gloom and doom.

Tip for Day 34 – Get little ones involved in environmental efforts to create habits that will last a lifetime.

Day 33 - Green getaways

Ahh, summer. Filling up the gas tank and driving to the beach, or the mountains, or the amusement park. It’s great fun, but those bare feet can leave some big carbon footprints.

Here are some ways to have a great vacation while lessening your impact on the environment:

First, airplanes are one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gases. According to the David Suzuki Foundation, a Canadian foundation dedicated to sustaining the natural world, “Although aviation is a relatively small industry, it has a disproportionately large impact on the climate system. It presently accounts for 4-9% of the total climate change impact of human activity.”

So consider taking a vacation closer to home, and skip the long flight, the crowds at the airport, and the frisking by big-boned Thelma in the security line.

Second, look for a hotel or motel that has taken environmental issues into consideration. www.itsagreengreenworld.com and www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com list hundreds of “greener” hotels and accommodations.

Better yet, commune with nature on your vacation. Try camping in a national park (http://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm), or how about an ecotourism vacation? Check out http://www.reallynatural.com/archives/cat_travel.php

Third, minimize your waste, wherever you go. Use towels more than once, and sheets more than one night, even if your hotel doesn’t require it. Bring your own shampoo and soap, and leave the little ones for the next guest. Or if you do use them, bring along “doggie bags” to carry home the leftovers. Those little hotel soaps are great in guest bathrooms.

Next, skip the junky souvenirs and go with something you can truly use, or would be proud to display forever. Or longer. And if you know you aren’t going to want those pictures the staff photographer takes on that cruise, or at that theme park, request that they don’t print it out.

With a little thought, you can tread lightly on Mother Earth during your next vacation.

Tip for Day 33 – Search out environmentally responsible lodgings on vacation.

Day 32 - Kicked to the curb

Went out for a walk tonight and saw, out for the trash: a couch, a boy’s bicycle, a large dollhouse, a chest of drawers and an area rug. All looked to be in good shape—not perfect, but definitely usable. I just can’t help but feeling that someone, somewhere, would want them.

There are many types of organizations that take donated goods such as these. To find one near you, try this website:

http://www.justgive.org/html/ways/ways7.html

You can search by type of goods, type of charity, location, etc., to donate everything from furniture and computers to prom gowns and automobiles.

Another site that I’ve found useful is www.freecycle.org

I can't say enough about this site. Everything I’ve ever posted has been taken by someone. One man’s trash is another’s new living room.

www.OurEarth.org gives you national recycling program information, including what to do with cell phones, compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), computers and packing materials, among other things.

Tip for Day 32 – Don’t throw it away until you’re sure nobody else will want it.

Day 31 - Bag it

Seems I spend a lot of time washing plastic baggies these days. I haven’t yet found a good storage and lunch-packing alternative. Reusable containers take up so much more space in the fridge and lunchbox, they’re often impractical. And while I used to use and throw away the baggies, our new commitment to extending the life of all products forbids it.

So it isn’t unusual to find three or four plastic baggies drying on the counter these days. But I’ve recently come across a site that has some handy tools for bag recycling, like Bag-E-Wash (an accessory that lets you wash your bags in the dishwasher), a plastic bag drying rack, and some great eco-friendly bags and bag alternatives. Check it out:

http://www.bag-e-wash.com/purchase.html

Tip for Day 31 – Give plastic storage bags a second life by washing and reusing them.