Water Bottle Waste

I just heard from a friend that this week is National Drinking Water Week, sponsored by the EPA. She told me that as she was watching "Good Morning America" she realized just how great of an impact bottled water has had on landfills, and so I had to hear for myself. According to the show, Americans consumed 50 billion bottles of water in 2006, and 38 million landed in land fills. That is a significant recycling effort, but there is still the matter of the ones that didn't make it to the recycle center. After giving an interesting estimate of how many times we could go to the moon and back with a line of these bottles, they featured two newer companies which "bottle" their water in paper packaging. The great news about these is that they are not only recyclable, but also compact when empty, making them more efficient to transport to the bottling facilities. Those that don't make it to become notebook paper or napkins, are also less likely to crowd up land fill since that are mostly biodegradable.

My personal thoughts lean more towards the use to reusable bottles that can be fill infinitely. I own a green one from the company Nalgene, which I fill with filtered tap water and take with me on the run. I can see where the convience factor of bottled water comes in because you never have to clean the disposable bottle or search for it in your apartment when you are running late, you simply grab a new one on your way out. But with the growing number of problems we have introduced to this planet, maybe we should take a step back and wonder what the fate will be for the bottle you just grabbed from the vending machine. Is it going to end up in a mount of garbage for hundreds of years? Even with the best intentions, most of us have at least been tempted to toss a bottle into the trash to keep from toting it around until you find the next recycle bin. I would like to say this has never happened to me, but there have been plenty of times I tossed recyclables into the trash, thinking just one bottle can't hurt. But there are over 300 million people in the country who may have the same thought. This kind of thinking, I'm sure, is reponcible for many of those 38 million bottles.

Choosing Greener Produce

Lately I have researching how I can make greener choices at the grocery store. Many of the things I have read or thought of myself are common sense, but I figure that few of us take the time to worry about this issue. Today I plan to just focus on fruits and vegetables.

My first tip is to start being more conscious of waste. As a college student, this is troublesome because there are always coupons and deals that get us out of the apartment or dorm. (My roommates and I have a weakness for 50 cent pizza rolls on Tuesdays.) Whether you plan to eat more at home or be more realistic at the store about what you can eat, cutting down on waste is important because more than likely lots of transportation and chemicals, to include fertilizer and pesticide, went into the growing of that crop. Another way to cut back on waste is to buy groceries more often. I know what you are thinking- more trips means more fuel emissions, but if you do your shopping on your way home, this will be less of a concern.

Second, purchase foods that are in season. This one may be less obvious. If a fruit or veggie is not in season at the time you buy it, take avocados in winter for example, then the food may have traveled a long distance, from where it is in season, to get to you. One thing you can do to "boycott" these environmentally costly foods is to read the stickers on the individual foods. One I commonly see is Mexico; quite a long way for fruits and veggies to travel.

How about unnecessary packaging? The manufacturing of plastics and styrofoam to make produce more appealing contributes landfills and requires energy to produce. I've seen bell peppers, baking potatoes, apples, and oranges all wrapped in packaging. If you are brave enough to endure the strange looks, you can try to loose the plastic bags they offer at the store for produce. Occasionally, I'll see people pushing carts with loose apples, bananas, garlic, bell peppers, and such. Many times, I've noticed, these people are foreigners. Hopefully this trend will catch on in the US!

Buying fresh is always a good option because these foods are unprocessed. Either way you slice it, canned, dried, and frozen fruits and vegetables have all undergone some sort of heating or cooking to ensure food safety. This means energy was expended to create this product as well as the packaging it is sold in.

Saving Electricity with Smart Strip Surge Protector

It has been a constant struggle trying to remember to unplug appliances that aren't being used. I've caught myself walking away from both the toaster and blender without unplugging them. Pulling cords from electrical sockets after my roommates has also become frustrating. (They made no promises to participate, and I suspect they get agitated when they have to fish around for the cords.) In my solo quest to reduce my carbon foot print I have been trying to remember to switch my power strip off when I go to sleep or leave the apartment, but this has also been a failure.

While browsing on the web this evening I finally found a solution! Its called the Smart Strip Surge Protector. It does more than just protect your computer from power failures; it stops the flow of electricity to your "peripherals" when they are not in use. So how does it work? The device has color coded system that identifies one outlet, the blue one, as a control, and so whenever this devise goes into energy-saving mode or is turned off manually, the strip blocks energy flow to the other components. For example, in a home office, or your desk set-up in college apartment or dorm, your computer would be the control, which triggers the blocking of the current to other devises when it is booted down or the screen saver turns on. This means no more bending down to turn the power strip off, if you could even remember to do so in the first place... These could also be helpful in the living room. With the TV as the control, you could stop energy waste to lamps and air fresheners when the room is not in use. The strip also has a couple of red outlets which are never blocked from getting energy. Devises that may need to receive energy all the time would be alarm clocks or VCRs to prevent them from resetting.

The strip costs around $30, only about $15 more than your standard power strip, and it will save you money on your next electric bill! The only place I could find that sells these online is amazon.com, but I suspect they will hit stores soon.

Mother's Day Gifts

If you have a busy schedule like mine you may have yet to think about Mother's Day. I have forgotten the holiday all together if it weren't for the constant ads for your typical flower arrangement or jewelry. I propose a new approach to Mother's Day. Instead of buying gifts that traveled hundreds of miles to get to your mother, contributing to the pollution of our air, how about try some more eco-friendly presents? I usually go with my siblings to wander around department stores until we had agreed upon something not too expensive or useless, but this year I have brainstormed some different ideas.

Flowers seem to be the standard gift for the holiday, or at least the flower businesses want you to believe this. If April showers brought May flowers for your area, consider picking your own wild flower bouquet. It would be much more fun and thoughtful than placing a phone call to get roses delivered, as well as a lot cheaper, my fellow college students. The main issue with the purchased flowers are not only the aforementioned air pollution and fossil fuel expenditure involved with delivering the product, but also the fertilizers, which contain nitrogen and other chemicals damaging to the soil and water.
Also along the lines of do it yourself are two of my other ideas. First, is potted herbs for a mother who enjoys cooking. This one is eco-friend for similar reasons that the wild flower bouquet is. A cook who prepares a lot of Mexican foods may like cilantro, an Italian food lover might be pleased to receive basil and oregano. Second, you could put together a gardening kit. Things that might be included would be hand tools, water can, and seeds for various flowers, vegetables, and fruit. The best plants would be ones that are suited to the climate your mother lives in so that excess watering and fertilizer can be avoided. As your mother works outside to nurture her garden, she won't be using lights or television, and therefore, saving electricity. Any other type of gift that would get her outdoors would also save energy.
Another idea is to make a donation in your mother's name to an organization dedicated to the preservation of wildlife and their habitats. Some ideas include National Wildlife Federation, African Wildlife Foundation, and World Wildlife Fund. The Nature Conservancy is an organization that allows you to adopt half an acre for $25 or a whole acre for $50 in places like Australia and Costa Rica in your mother's name.

If it truly is the thought that counts, your mother should be pleased that she raised a person who takes responsibility for their impact on the environment. (Explaining your intentions may also be helpful in preventing her from calling you a cheapskate when she thanks her other children for their gifts.)

Electronics

A few months ago I got a new cell phone. Not because my old one had a defect or lacked a feature I wanted, but because I wanted a new one. It seems so selfish, looking back, but consumers do it all the time. A website called Green Living Tips describes this move as perceived obsolescence. (http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/13/1/Recycling-electronic-equipment.html) This reckless buying behavior is not limited to electronics. People enjoy having new clothes and cars too, but the difference is that these items don't clog up land fills in the ways electronics do. Clothes can always become hand-me-downs or go to second hand stores and Goodwill until they get holes. Even then jeans can be patched and ole t-shirts can be used as cleaning clothes. (My dad uses his old cotton shirts to check the oil in his car.) Cars possess value for years after they are bought new. When a car breaks down people spend lot of time and money to repair them. They may change hands several time before they are abandoned. After the vehicle stops running, its parts are used for other vehicles. Electronics, on the other hand, have a different fate. After several years in a garage or attic, they are thrown away if they can't be sold at a yard sale. My dad is a big fan of diy (do it yourself), and he like to remind me and my siblings that when he was a kid people didn't discard tvs just because they were broken. Instead, they broke out the tool box and their electric current flow meters to find the problem. Then it was a simple trip into town to find a replacement part. Perhaps he expects too much from me and my generation to be able to repair our own electronics as they become more advanced, but he does have a point. Who knows where to even find replacement pieces, even if one could identify the problem. As technology gets better and beyond the scope of the average citizen, manufactures benefit and landfills pile up...

Recycling centers for electronics are few and far between when you don't live in a city. If I were to have something I wanted to recycle, I would need to drive an hour and a half all the way to Houston. Now that just seems like a lot of effort and fuel emissions.

I feel that the issue at hand is the attitude of the consumer. Do we really need the latest technology to show off to our friends or feel good about ourselves? Perhaps we should hold off on getting that new cell phone or lab top computer. We could cut back on the manufacturing of products, the build up in land fills, and prevent a heavy dose of toxic chemicals like mercury from entering our soil and water supply.

The Frito-Lay Company

I have realized that trying to be "green" is about more than just saving resources and protecting the evironment. If we are ever to make progress as a society, we must inspire change in industry. Many companies have jumped on the bandwangon to produce their version of greener products: Clorox has their Green Works line, many vehicle companies have their own hybrids such as the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape, etc. One of the green products that has taken off is the Sun Chip. Frito-Lay has several things going for them here. From a health perspective, Sun Chips are made from whole grain, have less fat and salt, and no trans-fats. From an environmental stand point, they use solar power in one of their plants and today use packaging that contains 33% of renweable, plant-based material. In 2010 they plan to introduce a package that is fully biodegradable. According to their website, the bag will decompse in 14 weeks time in a hot, active compost pile. The following link contains a video clip of their accomplishments. http://www.sunchips.com/healthier_planet.shtml?s=content_compostable_packaging

Seeing as to how I am currently studying nutrition, I can appreciate the health benefits of this potato chip replacement; however, I think the statement Frito-Lay is making about the environment is just as important. Sure they get good publicity and have an advertising edge, but all the hype also contributes to the green movement. Consumers want to buy their products and other companies strive to replicate their success. Supporting products like this is important because it helps us, as consumers, make a statement about the kinds of changes we want to see. I'm making the promise that I will try to be more conscieous of the purchases I make. Becoming informed of the practices of different brands will be the biggest obstatcle in this strategy, but more than likely, if a company is doing better by the environment, they will let the public know about it. And so I encourage you to also take a step toward becoming an informed consumer. Support industry that is attempting to make a difference.

Spring Cleaning

In light of earth day, on the 22nd of this month, I decided to find alternative ways to do my spring cleaning this year. Instead of loading up on Lysol and Windex to clean up the apartment, my roommates and I plan to use only simple, non-toxic agents to clean. The website from which I gathered this information on cleaning is:
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/latest/green-cleaning-spring-cleaning-460303.
-One of the best tips, in my opinion, is using tea tree oil in place of antibacterial cleaners. I have heard several times that the use of chemical antibacterial products is increasing the resistance of certain bacteria populations. Adding this oil to cleaning solutions is a great idea for toilets and kitchen counters and cutting boards.
-Why vacuum if you don't have to? Beating rug outside with a broom doesn't use any electricity or require emptying a dust collector into a trash can which can waft the dust back into the air in the home. And with the same note, sweeping floors with a broom is also more energy efficient. And plus, brooms can reach places that a vacuum cannot.
-The website includes several recipes for cleaners specific to different parts of your home. Many of them include water and baking soda, vinegar, or lemon juice. All seem like simple, inexpensive agents that I am willing to try out.
-For more difficult stains that require something more abrasive, the author suggests trying kosher salt. The rough granules should help to loosen debris on hard surfaces.
-We like to open and close the windows often in our apartment according to the weather, and so the glass now has plenty of smudges and fingerprints. Their suggestion: use vinegar diluted with water and newspaper to wipe the glass clean. In our case, we will end up using old class notes to be discarded. (They claim that the newspaper will minimize streaks caused by paper towels.)
-The tip I found most interesting includes a use for ketchup. This semester we have been using some hand-me-down pots from my aunt. It is a pretty nice set that I plan to keep for a while. I noticed when we first got them that they were slightly tarnished on their copper bottoms. I am hoping that with their recommendation, I can lift the stains by rubbing the ketchup on the bottoms of the pots.
So instead of using harsh chemicals and supporting the businesses that make them, try some of these new approaches to cleaning. I plan to report back with the results of my spring cleaning efforts.