Planning a move — from your home, your office, your dorm room? There’s one way to do it, involving towers of cardboard boxes and pop-wrap galore that then go into the dumpster and who knows where from there. And, there’s another, Practically Green way to approach your move.
Moving is a drag. It’s also not the eco-friendliest experience. To lower the eco-impact of your move and save some trees—not to mention tape—try renting reusable plastic moving boxes.
For those planning a move in the San Francisco Bay area, you are in luck! ZippGo rents out reusable plastic box and they deliver--so you won't have to waste time hunting for cardboard boxes. Better yet, they say their boxes are made of 100% recycled plastic.
Plastic boxes aren’t perfect. They’re heavy—which adds up when you load them into a gas-guzzling truck. They’re made from a nonrenewable resource (though some are recycled plastic) and must be carefully recycled at the end of their useful life. Some companies say their lifespan is 200 uses, others claim 400. But on average they’re a better bet than cardboard boxes, even ones containing recycled content—whether you take them from your local supermarket and liquor store or you buy them new. Recycling cardboard does eventually produce waste. And there’s a considerable amount of shipping involved between recycling plants, cardboard manufacturers, and the stores that sell the boxes.
RentAGreenBox.com sounds awesome, e.g. compostable packing cubes made from 100% recycled newspaper sludge; it's the replacement for petroleum based Styrofoam packing peanuts or corn based bio-degradable packing materials. Most newspaper sludge is either dumped in a landfill or burned at a local incinerator. They have a better, greener solution by using this waste to make their famous recocubes. Easy to fold, tear, bend around large household furniture/decor items
There are added benefits to reusable bins that cardboard can’t match. First, if it rains, you’re in luck. Plastic bins don’t get soggy. Second, rental periods are usually a few weeks, which means you have a set unpacking date. No more leaving boxes unopened for months post-move! And no more breaking down and recycling empties.
Find a local reusable moving box company. They’re easier to find in cities. Rental fees are similar to buying cardboard boxes, depending on where you live. The system works best if you’re moving close by. It’s trickier if your move is cross-country.
Opt for towels and clothes for packing fragile items, instead of bubble wrap and other disposables.
- The New York Times: Rent-A-Box Services Make Moving Easier For Some
- Treehugger.com: Moving? Box Rental Company Good Boxes Delivers And Eliminates The Cardboard Waste
- Treehugger.com: Quick Tips For Green Moving
- San Francisco Chronicle: Great Green Ideas–Reusable Moving Boxes
- PewSocialTrends.org: Who Moves Who Stays Put
BPA is a monogram you might want to know, especially if you love small children.
Last time we checked it produced 34,300,000 results on Google, so you’re not the only one wondering what it is and why you should care.
- — BPA stands for Bisphenol-A, and not the Better Plastics Association.
- — On Friday, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration denied a petition from the National Resources Defense Council to ban the substance from food and drink containers, despite widespread concerns.
- — Parents and childrens’ rights activists are in motion to spread awareness, because the smaller you are, the more likely a toxin is to affect your health.
We discovered ThinkBaby's BPA-free products on NatureMoms.com
Ninety-three percent of Americans have traces of BPA in their bodies. BPA was first made in 1891 and used as a synthetic estrogen in the 1930s. In the 1950s commercial manufacturers started putting BPA in hard plastics. Since then BPA has been found in many common products, including dental sealants and cash-register receipts. More than a million pounds of the substance are released into the environment each year. (“Puberty Before Age 10: A New ‘Normal’?” The New York Times magazine 3/30/12)
You’ll find 28 actions about plastic on Practically Green, including Use glass instead of plastic in the microwave, and Replace bottled water with filtered water. But what about BPA? We focus on the youngest consumers who unknowingly drink from plastic cups and bottles made with this controversial stuff.
Dr. Brown's, recommended on Practically Green. Dr. B. makes bottles and pacifiers, too!
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is an industrial chemical used to make, among many other things, polycarbonate plastic resins. It makes the plastic shatterproof, but it’s controversial stuff. Many countries and states have banned it due to links to developmental and reproductive impacts, but there is still no overarching federal ban. There has been so much governmental back and forth on the safety of BPA, it’s hard for the average consumer to know where it stands. Suffice it to say that The National Institutes for Health, the Endocrine Society, and the US National Toxicology Program have all expressed concern about the chemical. Congress has now moved to ban some uses for it.
A glimpse of the many BPA-free cups and bottles available from SproutSanFrancisco.com
Also recommended on Practically Green: Klean Kanteen's kids' line
Interestingly, consumers didn’t wait for our government to push companies to take BPA out of products. Parents were so vocal about not wanting it in products that it’s now easy to find baby bottles and sippy cups purporting to be BPA-free. Keep in mind that there is no government office regulating what is and isn’t BPA-free, it’s just a claim some companies make. For the moment, it’s up to consumers to decide what to trust.
In the numbers in those recycling arrows on the bottoms of plastic containers, BPA falls under the number 7. Confusingly, not all plastic number 7 contains BPA. If you’d like to use plastic, #2, #4, and #5 are the plastics currently considered safest by the scientific community.
Glass, stainless steel, and lead-free ceramic are BPA-free. They won’t leach other chemicals of concern found in plastics, either.
- Rodale.com: Certain Plastics May Hurt Male Sexual Functioning
- Rodale.com: BPA-Free Products May Still Contain BPA
- Rodale.com: Finally! FDA Considers BPA Plastic In Your Food A Health Risk
- Greenbiz.com: China, Malaysia Become Latest Nations To Ban BPA
- ConsumerReports.org: California Joins 10 Other States In Banning BPA From Infant Feeding Containers
- NRDC.org: NRDC, FDA Reach Settlement In BPA Lawsuit
- Wired.com: We Should Have Banned Bisphenol A Twenty Years Ago
- EPA.gov: BPA Action Plan
- Bookmark This Site: I Am Not A Guinea Pig Campaign
- PG Blog: Banish Chemicals in Everyday Life
Tens of millions will honor Earth Hour by turning off the lights and unplugging from 8:30 to 9:30 PM. We encourage all Earth Hour observers to join Practically Green to find lots more efficient and energy-saving things to do when the lights go back on!
For more info, visit EarthHour.org
For example, let’s take a look at the top Energy goal for Practically Green users. At 50 points, imagine the collective impact if Earth Hour participants chose to do this one!
While we all have the ability to set and monitor the temperature on our thermostats, we never really know how much money we’re spending until we get our bills. If you’d prefer not to have your gas or electric bill be an unpleasantly large surprise at the end of the month, install a home energy management device. These allow you to monitor the amount of energy as well as cash you are spending throughout the month. When you see you’re spending more than you want to, you can take steps to reduce your usage. Some companies selling energy monitoring devices say you can save around 10 percent on your bills once you start keeping track of your usage.
At first glance you might think home-energy monitors are not sexy and way too expensive — not to mention they sometimes need spell-check. Cough. But think about it this way: a little gadget like this one will help you save thousands of dollars
Home energy monitoring devices are widely available at big electronics stores and are generally easy to install. Some versions attach to the outside of your electric utility meter where they read the amount of electricity your household is consuming in real time and transmit the information wirelessly to a power monitor. Others devices don’t require wiring during installation and display electricity use in your home minute by minute in dollars and/or kilowatt hours.
Be prepared to spend $100 or more on a device. It sounds like a lot but your energy bill will never be an ugly surprise again—and you’ll likely make up the difference in savings once you reduce usage.
For a less expensive monitor, try a watts meter. These measure usage by outlet or device.
- TLC.HowStuffWorks.com: How To Choose A Home Energy Monitor
- PracticallyGreen.com: Energy Vampires 101
- PracticallyGreen.com: Smarter Energy Tools Coming Soon
- GreenLifestyleConsulting.com: First Days With A Home Energy Monitor
- Businesswire.com: GE Smart Home-Energy Panel Tells Customers What’s Happening With Their Power Profile
Between us, the home-energy-monitor industry could use a 21st-century designer (see the Nest thermostat, below, for a forward-thinking example)
Genius programmable thermostat from Nest.com
Faced with the choice of organic blueberries from Chile or apples from New York state, which do you choose? Food miles is one of many salient topics on the agenda at Tuesday’s #YourMealMatters online event co-hosted by GoodGuide, Roots of Change, Greenovate, EatingWell, and Practically Green. See you there at 12:30 EST.
The debate about the environmental impact of food flown from far away vs. locally grown rages on. It’s especially murky when it comes to items produced locally in winter in greenhouses or with extensive cold storage. Until a standardized way of measuring total impact exists, if it ever does, it’s a challenging comparison.
People interested in reducing food miles can look for COOL (country of origin) labels on their food. If something came from too far away, swap in a more local item. In the middle of the winter, blueberries may be air freighted from Chile, while regional apples or pears stored from the fall harvest or kiwis trucked from California likely have a lower transportation impact, depending on where you live—and they’re equally tasty.
Being aware of the environmental impact of your food choices as you shop will help you select differently and lower the impact of what you eat.
YUM! Produce display at the new Whole Foods store in Plymouth Meeting, PA
Got local veggies? Need a tasty recipe? Try EatingWell.com...we've never been disappointed!
Taking food miles into account as you grocery shop isn’t always easy. Treat it like a game. Read packages and labels as you go. It’s an eye opener to see how much of our food is produced very far away.
Try to substitute the farthest-flung items for more local ones. If this is simple and everything tastes good, add more local items the next time you shop.
Eating completely locally may not be feasible year round in some climates. Still, avoiding items that have been flown from far away—domestically or internationally—is a reasonable to step to take.
If you’re one of the millions of people who compost at home, at work, and even when traveling; or if you’re considering launching a compost program this season, consider this: 7 percent of household waste, on average, can be composted. If every family, hotel, business, restaurant, and school were to compost all 81 items on this list of Things You Can Compost, from Networx, that percentage multiplies impressively. Who knew that you can compost dryer lint, tea bags, stale chips, expired jam, Q-tips (not plastic ones), matches, nail clippings, and even condoms (not latex), and dead flies from your windowsill?
Here’s more, from Practically Green’s Compost Food Waste action, worth a tidy 100 points.
Nature Mill's bins get a thumbs up from urban composter Lexy Zissu
It’s nothing short of miraculous to literally watch your garbage bag deflate–as if on a diet–simply because you compost scraps rather than send them to a landfill. Food is biodegradable (well maybe Twinkies aren’t), but in order for it to break down in a landfill, it needs access to a basic combination of air, water, light, microbes, and enzymes. Unfortunately these aren’t readily available in an overstuffed landfill. As kitchen scraps struggle to break down in non-optimal conditions, they create methane, a greenhouse gas at least 20 times more heat-absorbent than CO2.
It’s far better to collect the scraps and turn them into valuable humus for plants and gardens.
What you want to compost will affect the kind of system you’ll set up. For veggie scraps, eggshells, coffee grounds, and other uncooked food, a simple system will do. If you want to compost meat, fish, or cooked food, you’ll need a hot composter, bokashi system, or worm bin.
Coolest Compost Bin might just be this one from PriscillaWoolworth...
Compost pros advise worms: lots. WORMS? If you want to bypass the wrigglers, purchase their castings by mail from WormLadies.com
You can make your own composter or buy one at a garden center or online.
Urbanites can compost! You don’t need a yard. Worm bins tuck into most corners with no smell or mess. There are also automatic composters ideal for apartment dwellers.
A fantastic no-fuss option is compost drop-off. Increasingly–especially in urban areas–there are community drop off points and even municipal pick up. Check with your farmers’ market or community garden for local details.
- Practically Green: How To Avoid Mountains Of Holiday Garbage
- PG Picks: Lead in toys, the 2011 green jobs conference, composting without a yard, the economic injustice of plastic, energy-saving charging stations, and small green homes
- Practically Green: Composting Guide For Girls Who Don’t Like Worms
- Celebrate Earth Day all Month Long! #4 Top Action: Healthy Green Kitchen Compost, with Tips from Laurie David
- YouTube: How A Bokashi System Works
- YouTube: How To Worm Farm Compost
- EPA: Basic Information — Composting
- Practically Green: Kitchen To Garden –Compost Basics
- Earth 911: Composting While Cooking — A Guide For The Kitchen
If you kept up with Nutrition & Health news this week, you learned that sugary drinks are linked to heart disease. No worries! This PG action makes it so easy to Switch to Fizzy Natural Juices or Sodas.
Even though you like the way it tastes, chances are you know your favorite soda isn’t good for you—to put it mildly. It’s filled with high fructose corn syrup (or questionable artificial sweeteners), preservatives, as well as artificial additives including colors, flavors, and possibly flame retardants. The can it comes in may be lined with the hormone disrupting chemical bisphenol-A.
For recipe panic, try EatingWell. Here's Cran Razzy: "To keep calories in check, we like to use seltzer along with juice in drinks like vodka and cranberry. This version gets a raspberry twist w/ cranberry-raspberry juice & raspberries for garnish. For the prettiest garnish, start with big, plump fresh raspberries, freeze them yourself"
If you just cannot give up the bubbles, try weaning yourself to more natural soda. Do a little taste test of brands with friends and family until you hit on a palatable replacement. These usually still contain (real) sugar—some might even be organic or fair trade—plus fruit juice and carbonated water. You won’t miss the artificial additives. Choosing organic means the fruit for the juice won’t contain synthetic pesticide residue, among other good things. There are even organic colas and root beers on the market if that’s your weakness. These clearly aren’t health drinks, but they’re preferable to the conventional versions.
Izze watermelon sounds like a good choice for spring! 25% fruit juice + sparkling water = 50 calories
Read labels when shopping for a better-for-you soda. Remember that the word natural is an unregulated term—a claim anyone can make. USDA organic, on the other hand, has to be third-party certified.
GuS is Grown Up Soda, and they've got lots of tantalizing cocktail recipes — or enjoy unmixed! YUM
You’re more likely to find organic sodas at health foods stores, though those containing natural ingredients are fairly widely distributed. Opting for a locally produced brand minimizes the transportation footprint.
Choosing glass bottles over cans is an easy way to avoid exposure to bisphenol-A.
Don’t forget to recycle the bottles or cans!
LemonLime Marguerita from Food52: fresh lemon & lime juices; cointreau (ok, a *bit* of sugar); tequila: "the more expensive the less the hangover"
Spring Cleaning might include tidying up your medicine cabinet and getting rid of all your outdated and unneeded prescriptions and other meds. Wait! Before you toss those pretty pills into the trash, please read this:
Got a medicine cabinet filled with unused pills and expired half-taken prescriptions? Think before you toss them! Medication can pollute our waterways, interfere with the reproductive systems of aquatic life, and circle back as unwanted residues in tap water. While some drugs can be put in household trash or flushed down the toilet, it all depends on the medication.
If there is no proper disposal label or instructions on your pill bottle, call your pharmacy for advice. They may even run a take-back program. If your prescription is safe for household trash, you’ll need to do some precautionary work first including removing the label and hiding the pills so no one will take them (children, adults, or raccoons)—accidentally or on purpose. You can do this by mixing them with a non-edible substance (kitty litter, dirt, coffee grounds) in a sealed bag. Grinding or crushing the pills isn’t advised as inhaling the resulting dust could be unsafe.
Image courtesy New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation, www.dec.ny.gov
Check for community drug take-back programs in your area. The Drug Enforcement Administration sponsors take-back days throughout the U.S. On one day in 2011, they collected more than 377,086 pounds of unwanted or expired medications at 5,327 take-back sites.
Several national pharmacies also offer mail-back programs.
If what’s in your medicine cabinet is a controlled substance, it’s considered household hazardous waste and will need to be disposed of accordingly. Call your municipality or look on Earth911.com to find a hazardous waste collection site near you.
- The Associated Press: Pharmaceuticals Found In Drinking Water
- WholeLiving.com: Ask Mindy — How Should I Dispose Of Medications?
- Bookmark This Site: DontFlushDrugs.org
- New York State Dept. Of Environmental Conservation: Drugs In NY’s Waters
- FDA.gov: How To Disposed Of Unused Medicines
- US Drug Enforcment Administration: Drug Disposal–National Take-Back Initiative
Cleaning Green is pretty simple, really. You can postpone major dirt purges by having a few rules about Taking Shoes off at the Front Door and not allowing Food outside designated eating areas. You might even ask the smokers in your life to desist in your space.
Easy tip: Take off Your Shoes! These spiffy flats can be admired from across the room — no need to tromp them all around indoors!
Think about it: if everyone’s eating meals at their desk, or while standing up walking around, or grabbing pizza while splayed out on the sofa—to say nothing of smoking a butt here and there–your place is bound to get messy. Fast.
Once you’ve made up your mind to clean, here are few guidelines:
1) Be picky. As in, be selective about your cleaning products: read labels and don’t use anything containing ingredients you can’t pronounce. You might be surprised how easy it is to use natural ingredients for great results. Ingredients like vinegar, lemon, and hot water. (As our editorial director Lexy Zissu likes to say, you may feel as though you’re mixing salad vinaigrette, but trust us, these ingredients are effective!)
To clean microwave: lemon + vinegar + glass bowl + damp cloth
2) Be careful. If you absolutely must use a strong chemical product to get rid of a horrendous stain, then be careful about it: open windows to let fresh air in, and wear protective gloves/goggles if need be. Do not let your pets or kids nearby.
Fresh air is Mother Nature's cleaning secret (Andrew Wyeth painting "Love in the Afternoon")
3) Be mindful of how much water you use when you clean. Must you use hot water, or would or lukewarm do? A few degrees can make a big difference to your energy bill. Think about what happens next to that water. If you use natural cleaning products, can you reuse the greywater to water plants or rinse off your driveway, balcony, front gate, or dog?
4) Plan ahead. Do you go through a six-pack of paper towels when you tackle a cleaning project? Are they made from recycled paper? Consider a reusable cloth rag or towel instead.
We’ve got 19 green cleaning actions on Practically Green, and we’d love to have 20. Check out Switch to a natural all-purpose cleaner and Stop dry cleaning your clothes (or never start); or Clean your microwave safely and the DIY favorite Make your own cleaners, including laundry detergent. Try one and let us know how you do! If you have an idea for green cleaning action #20, we’d love to hear from you.
Note: This post is repurposed from Cuddledown’s blog, “The Bedding Snob.” If you’ve ever wanted to create a comfortable night’s sleep for yourself, you may already know about Cuddledown, the Maine company that offers topnotch bedding stuff — sheets, pillows, down comforters, pjs, much of it organic.
In celebration of the 4th annual Fix a Leak Week, here’s a set of water-saving actions you can tackle at home — or ask your building management to address.
Did you know that an American home can waste, on average, more than 10,000 gallons of water every year due to running toilets, dripping faucets, and other household leaks? Nationwide, more than 1 trillion gallons of water leak from U.S. homes each year. That’s why WaterSense reminds Americans to check their plumbing fixtures and irrigation systems each year during Fix a Leak Week.
Today, Fix leaky faucets and valves:
Guess what? In the average American home, the amount of water wasted from leaking valves is almost as much as is used to shower! That translates to over 3,000 gallons of water—not to mention money—possibly wasted yearly per house. No joke.
If you decide to replace faucets, look for the WaterSense label, which certifies both water efficiency & the ability to provide adequate flow.
While water has traditionally been a cheap and easily obtained resource, the future is less clear. Decreasing the amount of water wasted by leaks helps to maintain a natural balance and save water for future use. This is smart even in places that currently have no droughts. A least 36 states expect water shortages within the next five years.
Park Howell is a water champion in Arizona, with zillions of no-brainer ideas for saving water in drought-prone climates: wateruseitwisely.com
If you have a leaky faucet, fix it!
Check for hidden trickles of water by shutting off all of your faucets and checking the reading on your water meter. Leave the faucets off, and after a few hours check the reading again. If the number has increased, you have a leak. Time to play sleuth to find out where it’s coming from.
Check and double-check your faucets and showerheads for stray drips of water. If they’re the culprits, it’s a pretty simple fix.
To check your toilets, put a couple drops of food coloring in the tank. If the bowl begins to turn the color of the food coloring, you may have a leak.
Professor Toilet from American Standard blogs on water-saving tips. Follow him on Twitter @ProfessorToilet!
Thank you, Practically Green user Peggy Isham, for telling us about the Green Streets Initiative, which invites Boston-area groups to participate in a Car-Free Challenge on the last Friday of every month beginning March 30th! A pack of local retailers offer a variety of specials on these Fridays (we haven’t gotten beyond the free class at O2 Yoga, personally). Corporate sponsors range from the American Heart Association to Zipcar.
How about it? Is there a challenge like this where you live? Email GreenStreets for tips on how to get started in your town!
Grand Central Station sends millions of commuters in and out of New York City daily
We are going to assemble the Practically Green team for this challenge… even if our inveterate car commuters complain, we can ask them to join us for a part-way leg! (Already wondering if Working from Home counts.)
For more info on the Boston-area Walk/Ride Day Corporate Challenge, click here. Follow them @walkridedays and on Facebook.
What do people do on the subway to work?
For more info about why Taking Public Transportation to Work is so impactful, please read on.
Not near a bus route? Could you possibly Walk to Work? Bike to Work? Carpool? Imagine if we all did this once a month, as the Green Streets Initiative suggests. What if we did it once a week? Every day?
Over 50 percent of Americans have access to mass transit, but only 4.5 percent use it regularly. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) found that the most energy efficient households are located within close proximity to a bus or rail line. The members of these households drive an average of 4,400 fewer miles annually than people in similar households with no access to public transit.
It all depends on where you live... and work. Santa Barbara offers scenic mass transit
When you take public transportation, you reduce congestion, emissions, and energy. It’s also kind on the wallet; APTA says an individual can save $9,293 annually commuting via mass transit. A family with two commuters can save more, or downgrade to one car and have one person using mass transit to get to work or school. Every trip counts, if you’re using it once a week, several times a week, or daily. The more you do it, the bigger the eco-impact. Added benefits to letting someone else get you to and from work: there’s time to read and respond to emails.
It is significantly easier to rely on public transportation when you live and work near a station or stop. If you’re in the market for a new home or apartment, prioritize access to public transportation. Or park and ride.
Even proximity can’t eliminate some of the challenges that come with public transportation: coordination, schedules, and service. Thankfully many employers are supportive of (and get incentives for) public transportation use. Speak with your manager to find out what your company offers.
- PublicTransportation.org: Riding Public Transit Saves Individuals $9,293 Annually
- About.com: Public Transportation–Fast Track To Fewer Emissions And Energy Independence
- PracticallyGreen.com: My Love/Hate Relationship With Public Transportation
- American Public Transportation Association: Access To Bus And Rail Lines Reduces Driving
If you think race car drivers aren’t green, think again.
Leilani Munter
Leilani Munter is one professional race-car driver who personifies champion performance at the track — and environmentalism. Known as “Carbon-Free Girl,” she’s working for tire recycling, racetrack composting, energy-efficiencies like LED lighting, and bio-fueled cars. Leilani has been thinking and acting sustainably for years – and she’s been eating that way as well. Last month at Daytona she launched an eco-education program to “educate and engage the 75 million race fans in the USA and inspire them to rethink their day to day habits for our planet. Each time my car hits the track we address a different environmental issue and have a specific call to action.” Since 2007, she’s adopted an acre of rainforest “every time I sit in a race car, since the emissions are always a question.” Leilani plans to run a “Fueled by Veggies” car later this season.
“The incongruity is part of what makes going green in this sport so impactful,” said Michael Lynch, Nascar’s director of green innovation. “There’s a bias that the sport is not green and therefore the fans aren’t green.” (NYTimes.com) We’re impressed with the organization’s sincere efforts to recycle, conserve, and even using sheep to mow the grass!
We caught up with Leilani Munter between races recently.
“I’ve always liked to go fast. The more races I win, the more people will listen. I know what you’re thinking: race-car driving is not green. I completely agree, And that is exactly what I intend to change.”
PG: Why is eating vegan so important to you?
Leilani: Everyone associates carbon footprint with fuel – cars, trains, ships, racecars, but 40% more greenhouse-gas emissions are coming from livestock raised for food.
PG: What’s you favorite Practically Green action?
Leilani: I’m a big supporter of MeatFree Mondays. I love the one-day-a-week approach. It’s really not so hard to make the change. I love cooking for people using fake meat. People come over to my house and they’re shocked! What appears to be a grilled sausage with grilled onions on top, is not!
Plunge into mouth-watering recipe database to find meatless recipes, like this Savory Roasted Orange Tofu & Asparagus from EatingWell.com
Leilani echoes NYTimes “Eats” writer Mark Bittman when he says, “My point here is to make semi-veganism work for you. Once a week, let bean burgers stand in for hamburgers, leave the meat out of your pasta sauce, make a risotto the likes of which you’ve probably never had — and you may just find yourself eating ‘better.’”
Try Mark Bittman's "Recipes for the Semi-Vegan" — this collection appeared in The New York Times on 1.29.11
PG: What tips to you give people who are interested in shifting to a more plant-based diet?
Leilani: People always ask me, What new cookbooks do I need to get? My answer is You don’t! There are so many great meat substitutes out there, just start trying them. You do not have to change everything in your house! When a recipe calls for ground beef, use vegan ground meat. When It calls for milk, try almond milk. People say, You mean I can have white-wine mushroom chicken risotto? And I say, Of course you can! Just use a chicken substitute! I have people over and cook them Tofurky tacos and they say, WOW I’m eating tacos! It looks and tastes like meat!
Find out more about Leilani at CarbonFreeGirl.com, follow her on Twitter @LeilaniMunter, and check her out on Facebook and YouTube.
Blog PotLuck! Please share your favorite meatless dishes, recipes and ingredients…. Chef Bittman raved about Savage River Farms “real fake chicken” in the NYTimes yesterday.
Bittman was fooled by this “chicken” wrap from Savage River Farms.
Remove extra weight from your car to increase fuel economy
Have a car? Do you also have certain objects that “live” in the car? Or ON the car? They’re weighing it down and reducing fuel economy. Today’s action encourages you to have a good look!
Thule makes great cargo carriers, easy to remove when you don't need them!
Most of us keep numerous items in our cars—trunks are handy little storage units!—and rarely consider the impact the extra weight our clutter has on gas mileage. According to the Department Of Energy, 100 pounds of extra weight in your trunk could reduce your gas mileage by 2 percent.
It’s not just what’s in your trunk, it’s what’s on top of your car. Those Yakima and Thule roof racks sure make you look outdoorsy, but they create serious drag, which will further reduce your gas mileage. According to Cartalk.com, an empty rack mounted on your vehicle can reduce your gas mileage by 5 percent. Other sources put that reduction as high as 12 percent!
Ultimately, a vehicle’s gas mileage is dependent upon many variables; some are out of your control while others are easily managed. Reducing the amount of weight inside of and on top of your car is completely in your control. You’ll use less gas, create fewer emissions, and save cash, too.
Once you've got your golf gear packed efficiently, you might forget to remove it! TY Planet9.com for the photo
Love this photo of Dad/junior & accompanying how-to article from SCJohnson at rightathome.com
Remove any extraneous stuff you have lying around in your car.
If you have a roof rack, only place it on your car when you need to haul something or are going on a trip. Take it off when you’re not using it.
To gild the lily and make sure your car is performing its best, make sure your tires are properly inflated.
Our most recent Twitter party was such a blast, with so many great comments and stupendous participation, that we want to share 2 minutes of the conversation with you. Literally, 2 minutes. Here we go with the Bonus question our moderator Elise Jones of @Mommybites posed at the tail end of the party — followed by 120 seconds of fast answers and links to more info on Practically Green.
(NOTE: For the full party transcript, which goes from 9pm EST on 2/28 and is still continuing, please find hashtag #PGLeapYear.)
10:00 P.M. EST Q7 What new efficient/healthy/sustainable routine are you ready to begin.. right now today! #PGLeapYear
10:00:01 to 10:02 P.M. EST, 2 minutes of answers:
Here’s how Practically Green can help, @LLLSummer: Walk to work regularly and Switch to a reusable water bottle
Walk or bike to do your regular errands
Plant containers for herbs or vegetables
Find out what food you buy regularly that contains artificial sweeteners
Replace bottled water with filtered water (tap or jug)
Try the Frugalista badge!!
Turn thermostat up by 4 degrees in warm weather
Try these “I Heart Organics” actions!
Walk or bike to do your regular errands
WHEW! That was 2 minutes!
Hope you’ll follow @practicallygrn and join us at the next Twitter bash — and please post your positive changes.
People who live in cities with stellar mass transit already know the benefits of going car-free: they’re trim, they have extra cash, they may have read a great novel during their commute — and they’ve probably got a bunch of PG points! Click here for 24 ideas on how to forego your car for transportation.
Today we focus on Walk or bike to do your regular errands: 50 points.
Live in the boonies? We know, this may not be the best action for you. On the other hand, you do lots of errands online and avoid using your car that way!
Think about how many times a week you pop out for groceries, a cup of coffee, or a trip to a local spot. If you’re hopping in your car each time, try walking or biking instead. It adds up. You’ll save money, reduce your environmental impact, plus get a little exercise and fresh air.
This spiffy shopping cart comes in orange and black, too. From Crate & Barrel
The more you choose to walk or bike, the greater the benefits to your wallet and the environment due to less fuel consumption. This extends the life of your car and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Serious incentive: a folding bike like this one from Montague
The Montague all folded up! In case you need to pop it in the trunk
You might not be able to walk or bike every time you run out of milk, but for weekly grocery runs and other activities that are easy to schedule in advance, it can work. The more you skip the car, the greater the benefits to you and the environment.
You might need a new pair of walking shoes! Nikes can be recycled; check out this post on how we did it: ow.ly/9ot1T
Detours says these bike panniers were made with the environment in mind. There's something just right about biking your groceries home in a pannier made from 100 recycled fruit juice pouches.
Check out what shops are in walking or biking distance from your home. If they have what you need, choose them over stores you have to drive to.
If they don’t, see if they’d be willing to stock what you’d like to buy. What could be simpler?
Hauling groceries and other heavy items can take a toll. Invest in a reusable shopping bag with wheels or a cart if you’re walking, or outfit your bike with the gear you need to comfortably carry what you’re purchasing.
You may need to take more than one trip. Think of the workout you’re getting!
It’s a pain to clean the inside of a microwave. Whatever you have to do to get the zapped on gunk out of there, don’t use a conventional cleaner! When you clean with them, they leave behind residues that can get in the air you breathe but also the food you’re heating. Most chemicals in these products should not be heated to the temperatures generated by a microwave.
To clean microwave safely, Ingredient #1: LEMON
To clean microwave safely, Ingredient #2: GLASS CONTAINER (this one's from Williams-Sonoma)
It’s difficult to know exactly what a cleaner contains as cleaning product formulas are currently considered government-protected trade secrets. Manufacturers aren’t required to disclose their contents to consumers. So they don’t. Sometimes there are warning labels like “danger” “poison” “toxic” or “hazardous.” These are best not sprayed in a microwave. Generally speaking conventional cleaners contain hazardous, often petroleum-derived, chemicals including ammonia, glycol ethers, synthetic fragrances, and even the synthetic antibacterial agent triclosan—which have been linked to cancer, asthma, hormone disruption, liver and kidney damage, and more.
If you have an oven-cleaning product already, you might want to check it on GoodGuide.com
Using a natural cleaner reduces your exposure to these chemicals and keeps their residues out of our waterways. But when it comes to cleaning a microwave, it’s just as easy—and very safe—to rely on a few household staples.
Either place a half of a lemon or distilled white vinegar with water in a microwave-friendly bowl (preferably glass). Heat for five minutes. The steam generated by either mixture will loosen food residue. Wipe it away with a damp cloth. The lemon will leave behind an especially pleasant fresh natural scent.
- eHow: How To Clean Your Microwave Without Chemicals
- NaturalCleaningService.com: Vinegar And Steam– A Simple Microwave Cleaner
- PracticallyGreen.com: How To Clean A Microwave
- DrWeil.com: Are Conventional Household Cleaners Harmful?
EnergyStar does not yet rate microwaves, but smaller is most energy-efficient. This one's by Daewoo
What do most people need? On our list: Time.
And this year we have a whole extra DAY. What to do with that extra 24 hours? We decided to throw a Twitter party to chat about the possibilities.
You’re invited!
Leap Year Twitter Party
Tuesday, February 28th, 9 to 10pm EST
Use hashtag #PGLeapYear
Please join us for a Twitter party to chat about healthy & sustainable living!
Eat, Sleep, Drink Wine, and Recycle!
Moderated by Elise Jones of @HereinthisHouse & @Mommybites
With Susan Hunt Stevens & Alexandra Zissu of PracticallyGreen @huntstevens @alexandrazissu
* * * Amazing Prizes!! * * *
See them on @Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/practicallygrn/pgleapyear-twitter-party-prizes-to-be-won/
From @Cuddledown @TazaChocolate @ApplegateFarms @HipCycle @TataHarper @Goodebox
Mythic @SafePaint, @LateJulyOrganic Snacks @AnforaNYC wine bar @Weleda @Holstee @FetchDog
Tweet with Special Guests!
Priscilla Woolworth @EcoWoolworth
Susanna Schultz @GreenDepotLLC
Kerri Platt @WineBottega
Megan McWilliams @GreenDivaMeg
Karen Lee @EcoEtsy
Sarah Badger @Stonyfield
Dawn Woollen @FamDinner
Tara Klein & Amy Hall @EILEENFISHER
Jennifer Schiff @Foodily
Amy Burba @PeopleTowels
Veronique Pittman & Emily Fano @GreenSchoolsAll
Kimberly Pinkson @KimberlyPinkson
Lori Alper @GroovyGreenLivi
Anneka Wisker, @MomsCAF
Lisa Gosselin @EatingWell
Jennifer Barry @Earth911
Angelica Ott @CocoEcoMagazine
@PaigeWolf of Spit That Out
Janelle Sorensen @Honest
Josh Camire @KJWines
LisaBorden @LisaBorden
Mary Rockwell @DowntownCookie
Chris Chappell @RamblersWay
Gabrielle Melchionda @Madgabsinc
Lori Bitter Publisher, Eons @loribitter
…and lots more! Check the Practically Green Facebook page for updates, follow @practicallygrn and the rest of the participants on Twitter… and please share with your tweeps! SEE you there!
Practically Green has four categories of Actions: Energy, Health, Stuff, and Water. These headings organize the PG database of 432 things you can do to have a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.
What’s the Number One Water action, checked off by 99% of Practically Greeners?
Wash Only Full Loads of Laundry.
Read on to find out why it’s so popular, and how to do it yourself!
Save clothes from kitchen splatters by wearing an apron or smock! This one's on Etsy from Drapes of Wrath from
The average family does six to eight loads of laundry a week. (Note: If you run a hotel, a hospital, a restaurant, a Turkish bath, a baseball team, you’ll obviously have to increase these variables accordingly.) A standard washing machine uses about sixty gallons of H2O per wash, while a water efficient machine uses about forty gallons. If you haven’t been washing full loads, try it. By consolidating, you might wind up doing fewer loads per week, saving money, energy, and thousands of gallons of water over time.
Using less water allows more to stay in the ground or in a reservoir, which in turn helps to support wildlife and preserve H2O for future use. Even if you live in a place where it rains a lot, there may be a water shortage. Concerns are rising that there may not be enough clean water to support population growth. Reduced mountain snow pack and earlier run-off driven by rising temperatures are affecting available water supply, even in areas that don’t technically have droughts or restrictions. At least thirty-six states expect water shortages in the next five years.
Blogger "LittleBirdLostInRome" observes: "No one here uses dryers for their clothes - everyone just hangs them outside their apartment windows. Actually, I like it! It feels very quaint. I like looking outside and always seeing laundry hanging there."
The items that tend to be washed in less-than-full loads include delicates; last minute must have outfits (for dance rehearsal or a soccer match); and things you might prefer not to mix (kids stuff with adult clothes, or either of those with towels and sheets).
Doing full loads only is about shifting your habit. Try mixing things and see what happens. Or hold off washing until you have a full load of similar items. Buying an extra pair of baseball pants will help with the last minute washes.
Stretch the time between laundry loads by hanging towels to air dry
- Practically Green: 4 Practical Ways To Green Your Laundry
- Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense Program
- How Much Water is your Home Wasting?
Each of Practically Green’s 428 actions comes with Recommended Products. Because once you’ve learned why a next step is so smart, healthy & efficient, you’ll want to do it! More than 1,500 products are included on the database, from BIG — a Lennox Gas Furnace to upgrade your heating system — to medium, e.g. eco-friendly office supplies — to tiny — for example a virtually weightless birthday e-card from Paperless Post.
How do these products get onto Practically Green for everyone to see, and buy? They’re submitted by all of YOU, Practically Green users!
Here’s how to submit a product on Practically Green:
1) Search the Practically Green database for the relevant action. If you want to nominate a high-mileage car, you go to:
Upgrade your vehicle’s fuel economy to 27 to 37 MPG
2) Scroll down the action page, beneath the “Why’s it green?” and “How to do it?” blurbs.
3) You arrive at “Recommended Products and Services.”
4) Look at the listed products — and if your favorite is not there, click on the “Suggest a product” button.
It looks like this: 
5) Complete the form:
6) Product suggestions go directly to Rebecca Sama, Practically Green’s Product Specialist. Rebecca assesses submissions from every imaginable angle and, if your favorite is legit it goes live on the site for others to consider, rate, share, and possibly purchase. Click here for Practically Green’s Product Guidelines.
So, if you’re in the market for a new fuel-efficient vehicle — or reusable water bottle, or natural shampoo, or organic snack idea — chances are you’ll find what you need right here!
Once you read the product description on Practically Green, you might be persuaded to buy or lease a new car, who knows!
Babysitting this week? Before you pack them up for another expensive sticky day at the theme park, consider an eco-friendly art project!
Even the most recalcitrant teenager enjoys painting, and why not? Grab a piece of wood from the dumpster, paint it with no-VOC color, and presto! Your tenth grader has a fabulous new bedside table… and 10 more points on his PG score!
Get inspired on Etsy!
Why not paint a wall! Be sure to use No-VOC paint, such as Mythic.... as seen on this mural in Auburn, Washington.
Maybe you have a rock! Lin Wellford can show you how to turn it into a python, a shark, or a rabbit:
Get your rock and mark your design
Rabbit! Courtesy LinWellford.com
Artists of any age may lose themselves in the fascinating scent of certain markers and paints. Don’t! Those mysterious aromas might be/probably are unsafe chemicals — and they’re especially dangerous for smaller children and expecting moms. Here’s more on Choosing Eco-Friendly Art Supplies: Why it’s important, and How to do it.
Fab bowls from the Clementine blog
If you’re an artist or have kids, chances are your home is overflowing with markers, crayons, pens, glue, and paint. Sadly many art supplies contain and offgas unsafe chemicals. Exposure to them can result in headaches, nausea, breathing problems, lung and kidney damage, and even cancer.
Your nose already knows this—have you ever gotten a good whiff of certain kinds of markers? These—and some paints—can contain air polluting solvents like xylene and toluene, which are neuro, reproductive, and respiratory hazards. Crayons and paints may contain unsafe pigments containing heavy metals. Glues may contain formaldehyde, a carcinogen. Not exactly what you bargain for when your kid draws you a rainbow!
Clementine Natural Soy Crayons. Ingredients: kosher soy wax, mineral pigments, beeswax... and "as always, no chemical dyes or additives."
Eco Paint: Powder based exploratory finger paint handmade w/ natural + organic fruit, plant/vegetable extracts from annatto seed, beets, carrots, curcumin, purple sweet potato, red cabbage & spinach, flour, cornstarch, wheat paste & earth clay.
Even the eco-friendlier art supplies on the market should be carefully researched. It’s not enough to have a label saying the product conforms to an ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standard. This sounds promising, but it’s not a meaningful claim. ASTM ingredient reviews can be performed by employees of the art supply manufacturer.
Use your nose as a guide—avoid anything that smells strongly of chemicals as well as anything fragranced.
Avoid modeling clays; they often have high levels of phthalates.
Natural pigments and materials like beeswax and soy wax are preferable to petroleum-derived paraffin wax. Plant dyes are preferable to synthetic pigments.
Simpler is better—choose crayons and pencils over markers. Don’t use products with warning labels.
Don’t allow young children to put art supplies in their mouths. And always wash hands after doing an art project. Don’t snack as you doodle.
When all else fails, you can decorate your own hands! These ideas are from "A Show of Hands," sold on LandOfNod.com
Switch to organic cotton sheets
Who wants to zzzzzz on sheets and pillowcases made of cotton that was sprayed with chemicals?
No thank you!
We caught up with our friend Sarah Wissler of Cuddledown in Portland, Maine. It’s our personal go-to for top-quality and frankly lovely bedding and sleepwear. Here’s what she told us. You’ll notice she is a bit biased re: Cuddledown, which is understandable…. If you have another favorite to recommend, please post here or submit it right on the action page!
Organic Embroidered Dragonfly Bedding: LOVE. One of the Recommended Products on this PG action!
Nothing says romance like a new set of luxurious sheets – and with eco-friendly bedding, you can show the environment a little love, too. Why eco-friendly bedding? For starters, it is free of harmful substances and safe for your entire family. Cuddledown offers a wide selection of bedding, comforters, pillows, and sleepwear that are Oeko-Tex® certified. These products have met the requirements of the Oeko-Tex® Standard 100 global testing and accreditation program, meaning that they have been thoroughly tested and guaranteed to be free of all harmful substances, including toxins and irritants.
Cuddledown also offers bedding and sleepwear that are certified organic by the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). Not only are these fabrics free of harmful chemicals, the results of their production pose no threat to the environment or the communities in which they were produced. GOTS is a standard used around the world to guarantee that the organic products you bring into your home are healthy and safe for you and the environment – and that these products are manufactured in fair and just working conditions.
At Cuddledown, you can also find Oeko-Tex® certified, made in Maine comforters, pillows, and featherbeds. All comforters are currently on sale – why not save energy by turning the heat down and curling up in a comforter instead!
If you’re in the market for new sheets, choosing organic cotton ones can drastically reduce the impact of what you buy.
According to the Sustainable Cotton Project, conventional cotton farming uses about 25 percent of the world’s insecticides and more than 10 percent of the pesticides. The pesticides used on cotton happen to be among the world’s worst: five of the nine most commonly used have been identified as possible human carcinogens. Others are known to damage the nervous system and are suspected of disrupting the body’s hormonal system. These chemicals aren’t permitted for use on organic cotton.
Sumptuous spicy sheets from Gaiam. Low eco-impact dyes, 300-thread count, 100% organic cotton.
Beyond sprays, there are other eco-concerns involved with the manufacture of sheets: processing and washing are water-intensive; the chemicals used to bleach and dye cotton can harm our waterways, and some colorants contain heavy metals; formaldehyde is used to create permanent press fabric; packaging and transportation take a toll. Many of these concerns are minimized or avoided with organic cotton sheets.
We want to sleep on this exact bed! These over-achieving, ultra-soft, 100 percent certified organic sheets have got you covered--literally--with approval from GOTS, EcoCert, and FLO-Cert.
Most stores that sell sheets offer one or two organic options. Read the find print. The word natural doesn’t mean organic, nor is it regulated.
Just because sheets were made from organic cotton doesn’t automatically mean they’re also low-impact dyed. Choose undyed sheets or, if you want white, colored, or patterned versions, look into how the fabric was bleached or dyed.
Two solid certifications to look for are GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) and Oeko-Tex.
Don’t forget about your blankets, pillows, and mattress. There are organic versions of these, too.
- Treehugger.com: Organic Cotton–For Clothing, Baby, Bedding And More
- Bookmark This Site: Global Organic Textile Standard
- Bookmark This Site: The Sustainable Cotton Project
- NRDC: Responsible Sourcing For The Textile Industry
- AlexandraZissu.com: Q&A — Sheets And Towels
P.S. As long as you’re on the Cuddledown site, you might consider this sale item: Calida Organic Cotton Tank top, perfect for lounging around on Valentine’s Day — or any day! 
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