Category Archives: Environmentally Friendly

No Detergent Necessary?

I’d love that, wouldn’t you? Assuming that the product is overall a green machine, this washing machine I saw over on EcoGeek sounds great. It doesn’t need any laundry detergent.

Instead, the Wash2O breaks the water down through a catalytic reaction so that it cleans your clothes, and makes it back into water at the end. And from the comments it sounds like it will be pretty energy efficient too.

Only trouble is that it seems to be in France, not the United States. Yet. Good thing I don’t need a new washing machine right now anyhow. Guess someone else gets to test these. I sure hope they work well.

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Making Green Fun for Your Kids

Childhood is a great time to learn about being environmentally friendly. It’s hard in many ways, as your kids see their friends live without thinking about how their actions matter, the toys they play with, the things they have.

The first step is to keep things age appropriate. You can teach children very young about some things. My 2-1/2 year old, for example, already knows the difference between the trash and recycle bins. He asks where to put everything.

girl with flower behind ear

My 5 year old is getting into reusing things. An amazing range of things are great for art projects. Old magazines, cardboard boxes, egg cartons and many other items have been saved for later projects. It saves a lot of shopping for ways to help my daughter be creative.

As they reach school age you can teach them by not sending lunches in disposable baggies or containers. At my daughter’s preschool, she was pretty much the only kid to bring her drink in a cup from home and snack in reusable containers. While these are still plastic, we’ll be using them for years rather than just once.

Some parts of green living are pretty easy on the kids. Throwing things in the recycle bin rather than the trash is pretty easy. Getting kids to reuse things, especially as they get older and more self conscious can be harder. The social pressures really add to the challenge.

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Organic Farming Can Do the Job!

I found this post about how organic farming can indeed feed the world quite interesting. It goes so contrary to the old claims that pesticides and chemical fertilizers are the only way to produce enough food for the entire world.

There are two reports on this, one from the University of Michigan, the other from the USDA. There’s a good summary on the NewScientist website. The most interesting part is that while organic methods would decrease food production somewhat in developed nations, in developing countries organic farming could increase food production by as much as 80%.

It won’t necessarily be easy, of course. From the NewScientist article:

Carl Pray, at University of Rutgers, New Jersey, US, says there is good evidence that small-scale farming in developing countries is more efficient. This is probably because small farms put more effort in the precise management of small areas of land.

But, he says, “the likelihood of all farms reverting to ‘small farmerdom’ is a big question in an age in which labour is becoming more and more expensive. Take China and India, for instance: the demand for labour is such that people are continually being pulled out of the countryside”.

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Time’s Ideas for Going Green

Time Magazine has a list they call their Global Warming Survival Guide. 51 tips on being more green.

Some are as simple as changing your lightbulbs to CFLs. Others relate to building or remodeling your home. Obviously those aren’t going to be for everyone.

I like some of the tips. I’ve been trying to figure out how to put up a clothesline where I live. Given that I’m a renter, it’s not easy, since I can’t just drop in something permanent. What surprised me about the article was that only 60% of the energy used in relation to an article of clothing is in washing and drying it. Says a lot about how much energy it costs just to get it to you.

Buying local is another of their ideas that is possible for many people. Farmer’s markets are a good place to start. You may also find food co-ops in your area. These foods are generally organically grown as well, so you may be avoiding pesticides too.

Shutting down unused electronics, use environmentally friendly makeup, rake up leaves in the fall… many of the ideas are suitable for individuals. The entire series of short articles is interesting and worth the read.

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Are You Falling for Green Consumerism?

It’s a wonderful time to decide to be more environmentally friendly in your buying decisions. There are many products available and the prices are getting better. But where people often fall short of their green goals is in really thinking about the environment.

Do you really need to make that purchase right now?

Buying green is a great way to feel good about what you’re buying. You’re buying products that were made in a manner that is less harmful to the environment. Maybe they’re even supporting other environmental causes. And you get new stuff!

The trouble is that many people still buy a ton of stuff they don’t need, while thinking about the green aspects of their purchase. If you’re buying bamboo sheets to replace your old ones, did you stop to think about whether or not your old sheets really needed replacing? Many people replace items that haven’t worn out yet just so that they can buy the more environmentally friendly item.

If you think about that, it makes little sense. You can do a bit better if you don’t just throw out the old item, but donate it to charity or give it to someone else who needs it, but excessive consumption is still a problem. Continue reading →