April 23, 2007

• Gently To The Earth

  Disclaimer:
  Many of the people who read my blog kick my butt in terms of their level of environmental responsibility, so if you are one of those people, this post is not aimed at you.

  So, Friday, Oprah had a show on easy ways for people to live more "green." I felt like she introduced the concepts, but didn't quite explain how to make some of them easy to implement-- which is really the key to getting lazy people like me to convert. So, here are my tips for lazy people who care about the earth.

  Cloth Grocery Bags:
  I only started using these about a year ago, but the key, for those with cars, is to keep them in the trunk so that you have them with you. The other key is to find bags that work for you. Personally, I find the canvas ones sold at Trader Joe's to be a bit too small, whereas the Whole Foods "green bags" are about the size and shape (i.e. flat, square bottomed) of a paper grocery bag and very strong.

  A good friend of mine, currently serving in the Navy in Japan, heard that San Francisco is banning plastic grocery bags and sent me a really nice cloth/ vinyl Japanese grocery bag (thanks, Beast!!!).

  

  See the close up below for the wording on the bag )

  

  Then, today, while DP and I were at the grocery store we bought some cloth/ mesh produce bags. Again, the key will be to keep these in the cloth grocery bags in the car.

  
  
  Reusable Water Bottles:
  When I bought my first Nalgene bottle, though I loved it, I found I was still buying a lot of bottled water because it seemed my Nalgene bottle was always dirty. The solution? Reaching critical mass. I.E. owning enough water bottles that there was almost always one filled with water in the fridge ready to go. Each person or household's "magic number" may vary, our seems to be about 12, though that number might be a little bit positively affected by the number of pretty ones out on the market.

  

  You'll notice, however, that none of the bottles in my little water
  bottle metropolis are Nalgene bottles. I started with one or two
  aluminum Sigg bottles because they were pretty, then made the switch
  entirely once I began reading about Bisphenol-a. There is a controversy over whether or not it leeches out of the polycarbonate Nalgene bottles (not to be confused with their HDPE bottles, which are possibly safer), but I figure why take the chance?

  The Sigg bottles do have a lining, to keep the water from tasting like and leeching aluminum, which you can read about here.

  Evironmentally Friendly Cleaning Products:
  While it is great that Oprah featured companies like Seventh Generation, Method, Mrs. Meyers, and Shaklee and talked about how we need to shift our idea of what clean is and smells like (Hey, America! Maybe reeking of solvents and artificial scents doesn't indicate clean, so much as it does the replacement of bacteria with toxic chemicals!), the brands she talked about tend to be on the more expensive side-- Trader Joe's cleaning products are also enviromentally friendly and tend (though, it's not true across the board) to be less expensive. And, then there's always good old vinegar and baking soda. I, personally, dislike the smell of vinegar, but it is a cheap, environmentally friendly option.

  This weekend, I also bought some microfiber cloths because, while I do love me some swiffer cloths, the waste was getting to me. The microfiber cloths pick up dust and hair just as well, and I can throw them in the washer and reuse them instead of throwing them in the trash.
  
  Hybrid/ Fuel Efficient Cars:
  Did she talk about cars? If she did, I don't remember it. No real tips here, but I did want to say something about this topic. As many people know, I own a Prius and the truth is that, as far as fuel efficiency, there are other non-hybrid cars that get comparable actual (not the 60 mpg that Toyota claims) miles per gallon. The Prius has lower emssions, but more than that, I felt like purchasing one was making a statement to automobile producers: Fuel efficiency and enviromental friendliness do matter to consumers and can be profitable to you, please produce more cars along these lines.

  • 2:16 am
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