Little Things to Change (Your) World

We all know what we should do. The little pang of guilt when you do not pick up the litter as you pass on by, the older lady struggling with her bags...

Being a kinder, gentler, more thoughtful person can have exponential effects and leading by example is the best and most effective way to inspire change. Below is a list of things that I have compiled, some are green, and some are just downright nice. When you do good, you feel good.

Fix it, don't replace it. Think of the piles of things that we could keep from the landfills and keep from being manufactured in the first place if we put in a little effort to making a simple repair.

Decline plastic bags whenever possible. Only picking up two things? Do you really need a bag? Can you carry your new items in a bag you've already got? Don't just answer automatically, honestly consider this one the next time that you are asked "paper or plastic?" how about neither?

Plant something. Even if you have never grown anything, hone your green-ish thumb with a plant. Even one little plant grown inside has an amazing effect on the air quality and reduction in pollutants. Try a fail-safe like Spider Plants, or bamboo.

Shop locally. You'd be surprised what you can purchase in your own neighborhood. It might cost a little more than at the big-box stores, but look at what you're saving in gas. You're also supporting that charming main street appeal that everyone wants, but not too many think to support.

Give your change to charity. Next time you're at the market, look around for the charity bucket. Chances are it's a local organization that will really benefit from your 19 cents. If every American gave just one cent per week for a year, over $156,000,000 would be donated to charity.

Try watching less TV. Read, take a walk, work on that project that you have been putting off. TV programs that are not stimulating put our brains in a low-functioning mode. The TV haze. You'll save energy and feel better about yourself. Try falling asleep to classical music rather than the Tonight Show. Stop habitually putting the TV on when you enter the room for background noise. Turn off the TV during dinner, show your family the respect that they deserve and give them your full attention.

Turn off unnecessary lights. Maybe you like the safe glow that they give your house, but it's superficial and it's wasting energy and money. Try lighting a soy candle instead and use only the lights that you really need. Got a nightlight? Try a motion sensor light instead and save hours of use for that little bulb.

Have more meals together. This goes along with turning off the TV during meals. Research has shown that we actually absorb more nutrients from food when we share the meal with others. You'll eat less and finish more satisfied then if you eat alone. Children who have regular meals with their parents suffer from less anxiety and stress disorders.

Use a mug, not a disposable cup. Every year, Americans throw away an estimated 25,000,000,000 Styrofoam cups and every 15 minutes 410,000 paper cups are used and tossed. Think about how many cups you went through today. How many were reusable?

Buy fair trade products. Fair trade ensures that the people who grew or produced the product get a fair share of the profits. This encourages economic growth at the source of the product and fosters healthier communities in third world nations.

Don't charge your cell overnight. Most mobile phones are fully charged in two hours. Charging for longer than necessary doesn't equal an extra super charged phone. In fact, over charging any battery actually causes the charge to hold less and less each time. Plug it in only for as long as it needs. And unplug your chargers when you're not charging. Even if they are not actively charging your phone/camera/laptop, the will continue to draw (and waste) energy and money.

Cook at home (from scratch). It's not as hard as it sounds. Can you boil water? Great then you can make a pasta dinner. Start with basic recipes. Call your mom/grandma and ask for help (they'll be thrilled and happy to help). Go to the library for cookbooks and ideas. Prepackaged and prepared foods are loaded with preservatives and usually much higher in calories and sodium than something you make at home. Not to mention all of the plastic-microwave-safe-cardboard-insulating-wrap-garbage that is used to package each meal.

and finally...

Smile. Even if you are not having a good day, research shows that smiling will improve your mood, and has a contagious effect on everyone that you see. Sharing smiles spreads happiness, and we all feel good and do better things when we are happy.

Need more ideas of good things to do? Check out http://www.wearewhatwedo.org our children will judge us on what we do (and do not) do.

Ok, I'll step down from my soapbox now... :)

Small Actions x Lots of People = Big Change

Locavore, food miles, and all the trendy lingo...

It seems like an innocent enough idea: deciding to eat only what grows locally. Choosing to not purchase food that was driven/flown/shipped a large distance before it arrived on your plate. What a good consumer you are!

But-

Considering that your local tomato was likely grown in a greenhouse, watered via an irrigation system, grew plump and juicy in a climate controlled environment...

I think that what we need to focus on is where your food came from. I mean where it really came from. Not Shoprite, not even South America. But knowing that your yogurt came from Happy Valley Dairy Farm in upstate New York. They may not be certified organic (simply because they use antibiotics on sick cattle, eventhough the treated animals are pulled from milking until all medication has left their system. Organic farmers must put down any and all cattle that have infections.) but you really know what you're eating and the story behind it all.

This is one of the benefits of shopping at your local farmers' market. Not only do you know that the food wasn't trucked in from Mexico and ripened in the flatbed of a truck, but you can talk to the growers, ask them how they like to prepare the food, and make a connection.

And maybe I am biased because I am the daughter of an independent business owner, but when you support local farmers (and local business in general) you know that your money is sending their kids to college, paying off the new tractor, and making the life of your neighbor a bit easier.

So forget the lingo. Buy good food from people and farms that you know and want to support. Beef is exceptionally hard on the environment (all those cow burps) so lighten up on the red meat. Try as much as you can to stay local, but don't deny food from a little further away.

Why Not?

The technology is here, the market is here, why are companies not taking the extra step and making a choice for the environment? It's this discouraging rut that we all fall into when we forget to ask "could I be doing this better?"

A perfect example is a company called Greenware. Greenware manufactures usually plastic disposable items from totally plant based, biodegradable materials. Great! No more poisonous plastics buried forever in our soil! No more wayward cups and lids floating endlessly in our oceans. Oh wait, no one is buying them?




The next time you are in your local coffee/sandwich/bakery/grocery shop, ask them if they use Greenware. And then ask, "Why Not?"

Woes of the Yardless

Although I have great aspirations of composting (don't laugh at the dreams of the little people) it seems as though my conquest to compost will have to go on hold for a while. With much researching, life in an apartment is just not synonymus with preserving food scraps - I could not keep enough plants to use the soil. Alas, stick this one on the back burner. But, if a family member *wink* with a big back yard wants an easy composter, I'd recommend the Bokashi version which uses fermentation instead of worms. Something to consider...

Happy New...

Resolutions are not just for December 31st. I have made a few that I am giving myself a month to complete/start/make a habit of. Read below, and keep tabs on me to keep me on track-

1.Carpool/take public transporation min. twice a week
2.Cancel magazine subscritions
3.Complete junk mail opt outs
4.Purchase 60% of groceries from local farmer's market
5.Enroll in online billing for all utilities
6.Begin making/up-cycling holiday gifts

What resolutions can you make today?

Watch it all the way through, it's worth it

The Times, They Are A-Changin'

In 1963 Bob Dylan penned a song that would be eerily relevant again and again throughout time. Michael Moore sang it last night on Leno, and I thought it was worth posting again. For those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Come gather 'round people, wherever you roam

And admit that the waters around you have grown

And accept that it soon, you'll be drenched to the bone

If your time to you is worth savin', then you better start swimmin'

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin'

Come writers and critics, who prophesize with your pen

And keep your eyes wide, the chance won't come again

And don't speak too soon, for the wheel's still in spin

And there's no tellin' who that it's namin'

For the loser now will be later to win

For the times they are a-changin'

Come senators, congressmen

Please heed the call

Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall

For he that gets hurt will be he who has stalled

There's a battle outside and it is ragin'

It'll soon shake your windows

And rattle your walls

For the times they are a-changin'

Come mothers and fathers throughout the land

And don't criticize what you can't understand

Your sons and your daughters are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly agin'

Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand

For the times they are a-changin'

The line is drawn, the curse is cast

The slow one now will later be fast

As the present now will later be past

The order is rapidly fadin'

And the first one now will later be last

For the times they are a changin'

Everyone Needs a Thneed

"But now," says the Once-ler "now that you're here, the word of the Lorax seems perfectly clear. UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not."

Theodor Giesel knew it in 1971, thirty-eight years ago.

With the holiday shopping season quickly approaching, I find it more and more evident that people (aka we Americans) are downright obsessed with stuff. Think of the things that you purchased over the last year as gifts alone. How many of them were useless things? Decorations with a sole purpose to clutter up our lives. Knick-knacks. How much happiness do you think that those items truly brought to the receiver, and to you, the purchaser? Mere moments? Soon they will become fodder to fill boxes in the basement and garage, and once we feel that we can part with them, they may make it to a yard sale table, but more likely than not, they will find a forever home in a trashcan/dumpster/dump. I shudder to think how long it takes a garden gnome to decompose.





With the green washing trend sure effect the items that you give as gifts this holiday season and throughout the coming year(s), it begs the question, is it really better to buy something "eco friendly" just for the sake of buying something?

Think of your garbage. trash. waste, refuse. How much of it did you really need, or how much of it did you want, and opted for something "green" when it was an unnecessary purchase to begin with? I am not immune, and will be the first to admit that I have made many spontaneous purchases because it's something that I wanted. Sure, I tried to make my choices with low impact living in mind, but would it have been better to not make the purchase at all? Isn't that the ultimate low impact choice?

Take, for instance, the difference between my lunch yesterday and my lunch today. Yesterday I drove to an organic market, purchased a organic salad from the salad bar in recycled packaging, and an organic iced tea in a recycled coated-cardboard container. The best intentions...until I finished my lunch and really looked at the garbage that I was left with. Of course it was recycled and recyclable, but was it necessary? Could I have forgone all of the packaging and the fuel that I used to drive to the market? Last night I packed my own lunch in reusable containers and filled my Sigg bottle with water. No "eco friendly" purchases for me today, but I am beginning to realize that no purchase is better than an unnecessary purchase, however "green".

Booze Locally

Not all imbibments can be procured locally, but luckily, wine can. Now grown in almost every region of the US, there is no local merchant that it is more fun to support than your local wineries. You'd be surprised by the fermented deliciousness that can come from your neighborhood. http://http://www.allamericanwineries.com/AAWMain/locate.htm

Change Starts with Your Underware

Your underware doesn't have to be green to be, well, "green". PACT is a wonderful little company promoting change in the most obvious of places - your pants. Not only are the manufacturing practices responsible, but a percentage of your purchase goes towards the cause of your choice. Double gold stars. With really cute options, these make a great gift that send a message. And if you don't have a friend that you feel comfortable buying underware for, buy some for yourself, and then get new friends. Everyone likes new underware. I'll be putting these on my Christmas list.

Praise for Seventh Generation

I don't want to sound preachy, but how can you justify not using a 'friendlier' laundry detergent? Just knowing the list of chemicals that they are not obligated to print on the container, and pondering the effects on our bodies and our planet, it seems obvious to me. The Seventh Generation laundry detergents are fantastic. With a nice, not overly perfumy smell, this choice is right up there with making your own. Plus, Seventh Generation has loads (pun) of coupons on their website (see links) that you can print and redeem, making this choice friendlier for your wallet, too. Seventh Generation is widely available at most grocery stores and small specialty markets.

A New Shade of Green

Welcome to my Greenlings. Here I ::hope:: to be disciplined enough to update with different shades of green; from products that I use/review, to ideas and movements that I support. This may, inevitably, become a bit of an outlet for my frustrations against those that refuse to change and take a step backwards, towards a simpler, less processed life. But I commend all those that take even the tiniest steps towards a less eco-impactful life.