: GRASSROOTS GREEN.

 

Re-cycling:
Did you know: Computer printer cartridges can be recycled at Office Depot where they will give you $3.00 instant store credit, or at Office Max where you will also get a $3.00 credit gift card at the end of each month, or at Staples where you will be given the same $3.00 per cartridge in a compiled return at the end of three months. Staples will also re-cycle printers and monitors for a shipping cost of $10.00 each and keep them out of the landfill and our environment.

Old sneakers can be re-cycled. Check the NIKE website.

 Did you know: By some estimates, the average American household produces one ton of trash per year.

Contact your local garden center to see if they will consider re-cycling plastic plant pots. Some big box stores will consider re-cycling their own company’s trays and pots.

Eastman Kodak has a new trade-in re-cycling program that will dispose of electronics. Printers, digital cameras, video cameras, digital picture frames, as well as camera accessories. This is a cash trade-in program.  Sustainablelifemedia.com

Dell Computers is branching out and experimenting with new packaging for their computers.  Instead of the typical foam packaging, they are using fillers that are based on composition of mushrooms and/or bamboo. By 2012 Dell plans to cut packaging by 20 million pounds and make 75% of their packaging curbside re-cycleable. The mushroom filler is compostable and their bamboo fillers can be either re-cycled or composted.

Whole Foods has a “Gimme Five Program” that re-cycles plastics with the number five.

Yogurt cups and take out containers can be re-cycled into tooth-brushes, razors and cutting boards.    Contact:   www.preserveproducts.com

Energy Conservation:
In select stores Home Depot will begin selling small wind turbines that are suitable for providing energy for residential and small business use.
Costco will soon offer solar powered kits that will produce between 880 kilowatts and 5060 kilowatts. The cost of the kits ranges between $3,600 and $18,000.00

Beginning September first, KLM Airlines will offer 200 flights between Paris and Amsterdam using a bio-fuel made from used cooking oil.

The Fed Ex Company is adding 24 all new electric vehicles to their service fleet. These vehicles will be used on an experimental basis in three U.S. cities.

 

Did you know:  According to Federal Law, no neighborhood organization or private community can enforce covenants against energy saving devices, including the use of clothes lines and solar collectors?

 

Did you know: Over-consumption is one of the major sources of resource depletion?

 

Did you know:  plug-in air fresheners use energy 24/7. Why not try bamboo sticks that wick up fragrance instead. Or even better, try an old fashioned pot-pourri made of rose petals, lavender and thyme.

 

Natural Habitats:
Did you know:  Private parks and wildlife sanctuaries are doing a better job of protecting the environment than federal agencies.

 

Global Warming:
Did you know: The Global Warming Agreement reached in Kyoto, Japan in December of 1997 exempted China, India, and Mexico from meeting emission standards required by other countries … yet these three countries, which are some of the world’s most populated nations, will create 76% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions in the next fifty years.

 

Green Fashion:
For all you cell phone users…you can now download a ring tone for free that is the sound of an endangered species. Go to www.rareearthtones.org/ringtones

Green is the new black!

 

 

Green Sports & Health: for all you people who go to the gym to walk on a treadmill:  Try instead, a few minutes of gardening. It will get your heart rate right up there and trim your waistline too!

For all the golfers: Sustainable golf balls are being made using a by-product of the lobster canning industry. They are being made of bio-degradeable lobster shells.

According to a university study, one glass of water shuts down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of dieters.

Five glasses of water a day helps decrease colon cancer by 45 %, breast cancer by 79% and bladder cancer by 50%.

Eight to ten glasses of water a day can significantly ease back pain for up to 80% of sufferers.

Lack of water is the number one trigger for daytime fatigue.

 

Air Quality: [Health]

Detox your home. Don’t use spray air fresheners and cleaners, they contain a volatile organic compound called 1,4 DCB. These cleaners can reduce your lung function by 4%. Inhaling chemicals from furniture and glass cleaners can increase asthma attacks by 30-50%.  One in seven cases of asthma may be triggered by cleaning sprays.  Try wipes instead. 

Use planted ivy indoors, it helps filter your air. Spider plants and snake plants bring down levels of indoor smog.
 Laser printers, candles and incense can pollute your indoor air.

Cut down on the chemicals that you bring into your home. Before bringing freshly dry-cleaned clothes into the house hang them outside for one hour.   The breathing of Trichloroethylene and perchloroethylene fumes has been linked to kidney and nervous system damage, as well as asthma attacks.

New no-iron linens and clothing, may release formaldehyde, which can trigger allergies, asthma and coughing.  Wash all permanent press bedding and clothes before using.