| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2008 8:00 am |
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Ideal Bite offers daily bite-sized ideas for green living. Yes, sometimes it’s bit much getting an e-mail every weekday reminding you to be green. And Ideal Bite can be a bit commercial, as in … “Go by this green thing.” But, it’s a decent and concise service with pretty good eco-cred, so I had to, um, bite, when I saw they’ve added Mama Bite, offering “eco-mommy tips via a short, sassy email each weekday.” Like so many mama services, it kind of leaves out all the hardworking dads, but I guess “100% mommy focused, 1000% eco-fabulous” isn’t such a bad thing. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Do you ever wonder if your curbside recyclables actually get recycled? This KOMO 4 clip, which I stumbled on thanks to Everett eco-superstar Karen Erickson tells part of the story. It’s not exactly brand new footage, but it’s quick, fun to watch and answers the question from the perspective of one local recycling center. You’ll see plastic-bottle bales headed for Canada, aluminum set for Tennessee, paper ready to export to China and conveyor belts shuffling bits of broken glass bound for rebirth. You’ll even get a few do’s and don’ts. It’s great Eco Geek stuff. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Remember when I posted about my love for Seventh Generation disposable diapers? I was oh-so tickled with their beige color. I assumed, of course, that they were such a delightful light brown because the “chlorine-free wood pulp fluff” fibers were super natural. Oh, silly Eco Geek. Today I had to check my naivete when I stumbled upon this eco-diaper review from a momma on Grist and learned that Seventh Generation is actually adding a pigment to the diapers (scroll down for the full list of ingredients) to help “distinguish” their chlorine-free diapers from others on the market. Sigh. I should have questioned this before since I had used two other brands — Whole Foods 365 and TenderCare — that were chlorine-free yet completely white. I totally bought into Seventh G’s marketing! Still, Seventh Gs are still working very well for my baby, Sam, who is going on 6 months old and is turning over in bed and moving around without leaks, unless he downs a 10-ounce bottle before bed. Seventh Generation dipes were a top performer for the Grist mom, who pointed out that the diapers contain the same sodium polyacrylate gel used in mainstream diapers, an ingredient some families are avoiding because of chemical concerns. Only one diaper on the market is gel free, Tushies and, surprise, performance isn’t as good. Diaper gel is powerful stuff, absorbing, reportedly, “as much as 200 to 300 times its mass in water.” We are going to continue to use Seventh Generation. Actually, I applaud the company for its transparency. You can read all about all their product ingredients here. I just feel silly. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Well, it’s certainly can’t hurt. Seriously. Did you know … Recycling in the United States is a $236 billion industry, employing 1.1 million workers nationwide at 56,000 businesses? That’s according to the National Recycling Coalition, which is celebrating America Recycles Day this Saturday. Think about it. If more people recycled, we could have more jobs and a stronger economy. I’m always shocked at how many people, don’t even consider recycling. Every day I see soda cans and cardboard in garbage cans. People seem to think all waste is garbage. It. Is. So. Totally. Not. During the average American’s lifetime, he or she has the opportunity to recycle 25,000 cans. And yet, every three months, Americans landfill enough aluminum to rebuild the entire commercial air fleet, according the coalition. Don’t people know: Someone mined that aluminum? Someone made it into cans and it all came at a cost before they ever even touched it? I wonder: If we all recycled — if somehow there was more social pressure to do it — how many more jobs we would create and how much energy we would save and how much the environment would benefit? Am I preaching to the choir? Probably. In honor of America Recycles Day, be sure to check out the coalition’s groovy little Conversationator, an animated-interactive tool full of nerdy yet fascinating recycling facts, including some you saw here. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Greetings, Eco Geeks! Please forgive the long absence, I seem to have come down with the plague, but I am feeling better now. Don’t you just love green marketing? It’s everywhere now, especially in the home-cleaning sector. Check out the latest advertising push for Arm & Hammer Essentials Cleaners. (The British accent on the announcer is a nice touch, as is the “free” sample available with $4.99 shipping and handling. Ahem.) Three new products (a degreaser, glass cleaner and multi-surface cleaner) are sold with empty spray bottles with much smaller bottles of concentrated cleaner attached. You fill the spray bottle with tap water and then dispense the concentrate into the bottle. When you run out, you keep the spray bottle and buy only a small refill. “Just Fill, Twist and Go!” Though I have no idea what’s in these “plant-based” cleaners, especially the neon-green multi-surface, I have to admit, that the idea — reusing plastic bottles — is positively brilliant and undeniably green-minded. Not only do you decrease the amount of plastic bottles being manufactured and going into the waste stream, you’re saving the planet on the shipping end, too, because you won’t be demanding products that are 90 percent water to be trucked across the country, or as the case may be, the world. It's including the often-overlooked "Reduce" into the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" mantra . Read a review of the cleaners at Sustainable is Good. (Thanks to Eric Fetters, a former Herald reporter and Eco Geek fan, for the tip.) You can also check out alternatives in my post on cleaning with vinegar and other food products or get the full deal from National Geographic’s Green Guide, featuring “Eight Essentials” for building a home-cleaning kit with eight basic ingredients that will help you make nearly every do-it-yourself cleaning recipe. Please, share your green-cleaning success stories! Write me here to share your thoughts or — better yet — comment below and start a broader conversation everyone can enjoy. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Yesterday I wrote a front-page story about an Everett family of five and its desire – and need – to live with less in the crumbling housing market and dismal economy. I immediately heard from the folks over at Simple Living America, “the first and only nonprofit dedicated to simplifying your life.” Simple Living America seems pretty cool. It’s a group with a manual of sorts, a book called “Get Satisfied: How Twenty People Like You Found the Satisfaction of Enough.” It’s the story of how 20 everyday Americans “were able to find satisfaction without sacrifice, and wealth through contentment.” If you’re tired of trying to keep up with The Joneses, even if it’s just the Joneses in your head, this might be something to check out. Because, as hard as it is to admit sometimes, our fastest track to living green isn’t buying green. It’s living with less and buying less crap. Less is truly more. Simple Living America “believes that true satisfaction and contentment begins (and ends) with taking a look around, and being true to oneself. You don’t need to buy anything new, you don’t need to deprive yourself, you just need to be.” On that note, here’s a somewhat-relevant diversion from the Onion News Network to help you celebrate Halloween: In The Know: Has Halloween Become Overcommercialized? ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Do you yearn to clean your home with natural products from your pantry such as all-powerful vinegar, but worry you won’t like the smell? Well, today I have a cool solution. Simply add essential oils. I gleaned this groovy idea while listening to “Good Food,” in which “Real Cooking” contributor Victoria Coulter talked all about cleaning with food products in the home. Though the smell of vinegar naturally dissipates quickly, Coulter recommends adding four or five drops of lavender oil or another nice-smelling essential oil to a spray bottled filled with a half-and-half vinegar-water all-purpose cleaning solution. Lavender, she said, is also a natural disinfectant. Coulter also shared some brilliant ideas for baking soda, including using it as an effective oven cleaner (no fumes!) and as a stain remover (simply make a paste with water and it works like a non-abrasive cleaner). Last spring, I wrote a story about how to clean with dirt-cheap vinegar and I have been trying all kinds of cool things with great success at home, including cleaning our sinks and drains, our mineral-deposit-sodded showerhead and our once-nasty shower curtain liner. Here’s my one piece of advice on cleaning drains: Most recipes tell you to pour baking soda down the drain, followed by vinegar. If you’re like me, it’s nearly impossible to “pour” a cup of a powder through the tiny bathroom drain holes. Simply dilute the baking soda with enough water to make it pourable and proceed with vinegar for a frothy explosion of clean. It works! If you’re interested in getting started with truly natural and cheap cleaning, check out my story from earlier this year or visit the lower portion of this “Good Food” page with recipes from the cleaning-with-food episode, which also includes a wonderful segment on creating a sustainable kitchen with Deborah Tull, who runs Creative Green Sustainability Coaching. “Good Food,” meanwhile, is a must for the every-day Eco Geek. Though it’s L.A.-focused, it’s great for folks who are interested in local food, sustainable living and other foodie fun, including a “market report” every week with talk of what’s in season at the farmer’s markets and what people are doing with it. Easily subscribe to "Good Food" on iTunes. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Now those are comforting words. They come from Nina Planck, a raw-milk-drinking, local-food fanatic, who wrote “Real Food: What to Eat and Why,” which was published in 2006. I don’t know how this book escaped me, but I have got to get my hands on it. It’s clearly part of the eat-local canon ala “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” “The United States of Arugula” and “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.” Just this morning, my Olympia-based Eco Geek informant, Gary L. Burk, urged me to preorder Planck’s sequel, “Real Food for Mother and Baby: The Fertility Diet, Eating for Two, and Baby's First Food.” It’s due out in paperback March 31. With a 5-month-old boy at home, I guess I’m already a bit late, but I’m going to check it out anyway or at least reserve it at the library. Have you read “Real Food”? Thoughts? Write me here to share your sentiments or — for the love of all things ecoblog-holy — comment below and start a broader conversation everyone can enjoy. Really. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Easy chart shows where candidates stand on the environment If you’re still wondering about the environmental records of the presidential candidates — or perhaps trying to convert your friends one way or another — you ought to take a poke at Plenty Magazine’s Election Issues Index. You’ll find an easy-to-navigate page with many issues and the candidates’ stances on each. You’ll see how Barack Obama feels about GMOs (genetically modified organisms), what Sarah Palin thinks about alternative energy, where John McCain stands on automobile fuel efficiency and what Joe Biden has to say about clean coal. Maybe your visit to the site will inspired some comments here on HeraldNet! Please, for the love of the Eco Geek, start using our comments section (below). ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
Tonight, if you aren’t already attending the Michael Ableman appearance in Everett, you might check out this totally cool talk instead. Greg Melville is, according to my latest Grist local newsletter, “fresh off the highway and now on a book tour” for his new release “Greasy Rider: Two Dudes, One Fry-Oil-Powered Car, and a Cross-Country Search for a Greener Future.” If fuel, not food, is your eco-thing of the moment, get thee to the U District Bookstore, 4326 University Way N.E., Seattle by 7 p.m. Oct. 24. Here’s a book synopsis from Amazon: Is it possible to drive coast-to-coast without stopping at a single gas pump? Journalist Greg Melville is determined to try. With his college buddy Iggy riding shotgun, this green-thinking guy—who's in love with the idea of free fuel—sets out on an enlightening road trip. The quest: to be the first people to drive cross-country in a french-fry car. Will they make it from Vermont to California in a beat-up 1985 Mercedes diesel station wagon powered on vegetable oil collected from restaurant grease Dumpsters along the way? More important, can two guys survive 192 consecutive hours together? Their expedition on and off the road includes visits to the solar-powered Google headquarters; the National Ethanol Council; the wind turbines of southwestern Minnesota; the National Renewable Energy Lab; a visit to one of the first houses to receive platinum certification for leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); an "eco-friendly" Wal-Mart; and the world's largest geothermal heating system. Part adventure and part investigation of what we're doing (or not doing) to preserve the planet, Greasy Rider is upbeat, funny, and full of surprising information about sustainable measures that are within our reach. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW!
This Saturday in Everett, PEMCO Insurance is sponsoring a “shredding event” to benefit the Camp Fire USA Snohomish County Council. Shredding hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fluke Corporation, 9028 Evergreen Way, Everett. Shred-it, a Canadian company, will provide a mobile industrial shredder to destroy unwanted documents and electronics containing personal data. According to a press release from Seattle-based PEMCO: “In addition to paper documents such as old bank and tax statements, receipts and junk mail, Shred-it will also destroy computer hard drives on site for a required fee of $20 per hard drive. Compact discs, DVDs, videocassettes and many other electronic materials will also be accepted for a required fee of $1 per pound and destroyed off site.” If you have old computer components to unload, Shred-it will also accept complete desktop computers including a tower, monitor and keyboard for a fee of $50, with a portion of the proceeds to benefit Camp Fire. “All materials collected at the event will be properly destroyed and recycled,” according to the press release. Visit this site to learn more about Shred-it. ... [Read More] E-mail | Print | Comment NEW! |
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