Which Kind of Christmas Tree is Greener?
Dec 20, 2007 Eco Friendly Home
Yep, I’m late on this debate. But we just put up our Christmas tree, and my husband and I were talking about it.
For our situation, the answer is obvious. The artificial tree makes more sense because we already own it. We’ve had it for 3-4 years, and it just makes the most sense to continue using it.
Ours is a cheapie. He used to work at Home Depot, and caught it on clearance for $9. Can’t beat the price.
But when you don’t already have an artificial one, I’d say go real. Tree farms keep growing them, and if you have a fairly local tree farm, the transportation isn’t that bad a thing.
My favorite Christmas tree was the one we had the first two years of our marriage. It was a live tree, in a pot. We didn’t succeed in keeping it alive, though. But that was my favorite way to have a ‘green’ Christmas tree. We’d hoped to someday plant it in a backyard when we owned a home.
If you choose a real, cut tree, one of the key things to do is make sure it gets recycled when you’re done with it. That’s easy in my area; there are a variety of drop off points designated. We’ll see places where trees get stacked for a couple weeks after Christmas, then they get picked up.
Once you’ve picked your tree, you can keep focusing on keeping what’s on it and under it as green as possible.
Here Comes Nanosolar!
Dec 18, 2007 Environmental News
This is just delightful. I read today that Nanosolar is shipping its first panels. They’re going to Germany, but no matter who is getting them, that more affordable panels are being produced is great news.
The really great news is that their thin-film solar panels are expected to cost as little as $0.99/watt. That’s just amazing.
These panels are flexible, so they can be installed in more places. They deliver 5 times the current of any other thin film solar panel.
I find it very hopeful that at last a lower cost solar panel solution is really being produced and shipped. That’s a step people have been watching for for all too many years. This is the kind of thing needed to make solar power a practical alternative energy source.
With any luck we’ll see more companies coming out with great products like this. It’s been a long time coming, but it’s very much needed.
Technorati Tags: nanosolar, solar power, thin film solar panels, solar energy
Greener Cleaning Supplies
Dec 14, 2007 Cleaning Products, Eco Friendly Home
Finding environmentally friendly cleaning supplies has become much easier of late. Brands such as Method
Method’s products are pretty nice. I use their wood floor cleaner and it does a good job. And like their other products, it’s biodegradable and non-toxic. The packaging is nice and simple, and the products are affordable. Very nice for a stay at home mom’s budget.
I haven’t yet tried Seventh Generation’s products, although I’ve spotted them in my area. Heard plenty of wonderful things about them. I fully intend to give them a try one of these days, though.
There are two main reasons why I haven’t used a lot of these products. Number one is simply that I haven’t run out of my old, nasty chemical cleaners. Much as I dislike them, I can’t see just throwing them away too. So when I need a little extra cleaning power I drag them out.
My supply of those is slowly running down. We had a lot because when we moved here a bit over two years ago we had two different people give us very complete housecleaning kits.
But my main cleaning supplies are baking soda and vinegar. I do a lot with these. My husband thinks I’m kind of nuts, but he at least did understand when I pointed out that the large bottles of vinegar at the grocery store were just a tiny bit more than the regular size bottles. He struggles with the green side of things, but tell him I’m saving money and he’s fine.
For laundry I have my eye on Bi-O-Kleen
All in all, I’m enjoying my steady switch over to greener cleaning. It takes some time, but I like my combination of using environmentally friendly cleaners now and eventually using up the chemicals rather than just throwing them out.
Tags: biokleen, green cleaning, method, seventh generation
Minimal Waste Gifts
Dec 13, 2007 Green Gift Ideas
Not every gift creates waste, and some, such as reusable shopping bags, can even cause less to be created. Today I want to suggest more gifts that create little to no waste.
Charitable Contributions
Pick a charity that you both can believe in, and give a contribution in that person’s name. There are plenty of great causes out there. One that I find particularly interesting is heifer.org. Giving a donation that directly gets someone an animal to help them live a better life. The animals help these people get more food, earn money and generally have a better life. I love doing things that help for a long time.
Give Your Time
This is an especially good gift when you have elderly relatives who may be lonely or have trouble doing everything around the house that they used to do. Tell they you will come over and clean, help run errands or whatever it is they need done. Or just promise regular visits.
Don’t forget that if you do housecleaning you should try to use organic or at least nontoxic cleansers. A supply of these can even be a part of the gift.
If you aren’t local, find a cleaning service in their area to help out. You may even be able to find some that use organic products.
Parents can also really appreciate it if you give time. Offer to babysit so they can get a night out together.
Handmade Gifts
If you’re good at crafts there are plenty of things you can make. It allows you to indulge a hobby while making something that will be really special.
A simple idea would be to help someone who is not too good at organizing their photographs. Get a nice album and help them. It’s often best done together, so another good idea for elderly relatives who will really appreciate the time spent.
One of the great things about these kinds of gifts is that you don’t have to shop crowded malls for most of them, and aside from the handmade gifts, they can be taken care of at the last minute. Very helpful if you find you are running behind.
