Green Gardening

Ahhh spring, and gardening...I love to spend time in my gardens, both my flower gardens and vegetable garden.  I get such pleasure from looking at the flowers, and later on, eating the fresh, organically grown veggies.  But as any gardener will tell you, weeds also come with the territory.  I spend a lot of time weeding instead of pouring toxic chemicals on my lawn and flower beds.  One of my favorite tools is my weeder, and that's just how I get the dandelions :)  One at a time, a few a day, green babysteps!  Try it!!  Weeding can actually be therapeutic if you think of it that way instead of drudgery...it's a time to reflect and listen to the birds, and the wind, and savor being outside in nature :)   http://www.amazon.com/Ames-True-Temper-Weeder-1983800/dp/B00004S1ZK/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&s=garden&qid=1272338528&sr=1-15

Some Serious Green

Some serious GREEN.....

The time has come for companies to step up their game, for marketers to generate new markets for even more recycled goods, for manufacturing experts to make things with less packaging, the least environmental footprint, with the least waste, and in the process make some serious green$$$!!!

At our house, we recycle as much as we can, yet there is not a market for some of the plastics that we should be able to reuse/recycle...look at all the plastic packaging I've collected.  I contacted our local recycling company, and was told that it can not be recycled, but has to go in the trash!  

However, we know that sustainable packaging is possible, and that biodegradable packing is possible (SunChips bags).  Unfortunately it is not common practice to have such packaging, and that is a crime against humanity because it all ends up in the landfills creating a toxic soup.    Thankfully there are some companies that have stepped up their game to find useful end of life uses for packaging, but we need more of them. 


If you haven't checked them out yet, TerraCycle, founded in 2001 by a 19 year old Princeton University student named Tom Szaky, makes eco-friendly products from varied recycled products.  http://www.terracycle.net/  Things such as Frito-Lay bags, CapriSun drink pouches, Elmer's glue sticks, Nabisco and Keebler cookie packages, etc.  You can join a brigade, collect the items and receive money towards a charity of your choice which can be your school if the school is participating.  Szaky's ingenious idea to upcycle things that would normally end up in landfills is what is needed.  Now to get TerraCycle to take some more "waste" like plastic bags from frozen foods, plastic cereal bag inserts, etc.  I've already sent them some ideas, we'll see what they think.  

Some interesting statistics from TerraCycle:

• people collecting trash  9,639, 059
• waste units collected 1,821,678,773
• products from waste 178 
• money for charity $829,462.19

Now that's some serious GREEN for charity!!!

Happy 40th Earth Day!

What will you do to celebrate Earth Day?  You could take a walk in a park to enjoy the green-ness around you, sit still, watch and listen to the birds, do a craft of recycled materials, pledge to use only green cleaning products, choose an Earth-friendly product next time you shop, recycle everything you can, catch your rainwater and use for your garden, compost, turn off all unused gadgets, turn off the lights, switch to CFL bulbs (and recycle them properly when done), change to LED lights, the list goes on!  Whatever you choose to do will be one small green babystep in the right direction, and if we all make those babysteps it will add up big for ourselves and planet.  Enjoy the day!

Colleges Go GREEN

So it's that time of year when Juniors are looking around at colleges, and besides SAT scores, tuition, room and board, fees, student body makeup, etc., your teen might be interested to know some information about the "green-ness" of their prospective college.  The Princeton Review's Guide to 286 Green Colleges is chock-full of information about 286 college's and Green Facts about each.  Information such as waste diversion rate, % of school energy from renewable resources, % of school grounds maintained organically, % food budget spent on local/organic food, and whether the school has a sustainability committee, etc. are included.  

One example is Bentley University in Waltham, MA.  In the book, Bentley highlights and boasts about the Bentley Green Society, a student run organization with over 200 students, that 50% campus buildings have Energy Star rating of 69% or higher, and about a solar wall on outside of their gym center which saves 116,000 kilowatt hours of energy/year, and more.

You can check out The Princeton Review's Guide to 286 Green Colleges at http://www.scribd.com/doc/30197111/The-Princeton-Review-s-Guide-to-Green-Colleges . 

For today's eco-conscious teens and their families, this compilation of information just may tip the scales on which school they end up calling home for 4 years and their Alma mater, and will hopefully lead to eco-wise future leaders, eco-savvy businesses, eco-aware citizens, and ultimately a peaceful, planet-loving world. 

who would've guess

So continuing with the Rec Room project (flooded), and the lemons to lemonade, I decided to change the paint color.  I did not end up with a no VOC paint because I already had the color from previous project, and wanted to use that up as well.  

But I was thrilled to find out that there are now biodegradable plastic paint trays, and biodegradable plastic drop cloths!  Who would've guessed!   So of course we went with those options ;) 

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ1xh3/R-100495893/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

lemonade from lemons

Remember my blog on March 31, Water Logged?  Well, we are trying to make lemonade out of the lemons of the flood.  After a small mourning and drying out period, we decided it was time to put things back together and the playroom will be updated and somewhat redesigned to become the rec room.  

So we began to look into different options for replacing the carpet, and were shocked at the eco-options available for carpet.  One brand by Mohawk is made of 100% recycled plastic bottles, and we saw it at Lowes, and it has very nice colors.  

The brand that we went with is available at both Lowes and Home Depot under different names, but it is the same company Beaulieu of America .  We ended up going with Lowes, and the carpet is Coronet, Healthy Home™ carpet.  We chose this company and this carpet because it is made from 100% recycled PET from plastic bottles AND it has Silver Release anti-bacterial protection that inhibits the growth of odor and stain causing bacteria, mold and mildew.  The molecular ions in silver, copper and/or zinc (also used in Silver Release) penetrate the membranes of microbes that come in contact with them when activated by humidity or moisture and destroy them. The process is completely natural and harmless but effective.    http://www.beaulieu-usa.com/pressrelease.cfm?release=66

To make Healthy Home, Beaulieu annually recycles approximately 1.6 billion plastic bottles diverted from landfills to make its P.E.T. continuous filament polyester fiber known as Earthguard Fiber Technology. Healthy Home, as well as all other Bliss carpets, also carries the Green Label certification for indoor air quality, and low emissions by the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) (look for an icon with "CRI" inside a small green house that verifies that the product has been tested).  http://www.carpet-rug.org/commercial-customers/green-building-and-the-environment/green-label-plus/index.cfm  The Green Label program has received approval from the American Lung Association in its Healthy Homes programs.

Words of Wisdom

"An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to learn from it"

WOW is that true, or what?  There are so many ways you can apply this quote.  So many things in history that if we fail to learn from we are doomed to repeat...

Polluting and squandering resources comes to mind immediately.   Industries have polluted, squandered precious natural resources and STILL CONTINUE TO DO SO.  Why are individuals, companies, leaders, countries and this WORLD not learning and correcting past mistakes?  Why do we continue to allow globally destructive behaviors like destroying rain forests, emitting greenhouse gases, polluting rivers, lakes streams, soil, air to name a few?  It's a sin against humanity really...a sin that humans will ultimately pay the price for..if not today, then future generations.  It's sad....

I think we all need to work TOGETHER to stop past and present errors and mistakes from becoming irreversible and indelible on our planet.  We CAN learn from past misconduct, past mistakes of polluting, plundering and squandering of resources, and causing global warming.  We CAN stop putting the almighty dollar first, and not thinking before acting.   We CAN make positive changes together. 

"An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to learn from it"