Globally Green Living

50 million wireless phones are purchased over the holiday season according to ReCellular. That also means a lot of old phones are thrown out. Many people would like to recycle them but may not know how to go about it.

The “Use Less Stuff Report” said that recycling 50 million cell phones would be equivalent to 37.5 million gallons of gas. That is a lot of fuel! So what do we do with our old phones? You can go to ReCellular to trade your old phone in, get best buy digital dollars and benefit the environment. Half the broken phones are fixed and resold but the ones that can’t be saved are broken down and recycled. ReCellular was recently recognized as one of Inc. Magazine’s “Green 50” companies.

Verizon also has a national recycling program called “Call2Recycle™” that will take your rechargeable batteries and recycle them. Richard Karn or “Al” from Home Improvement is the spokesperson for Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC).

If you just toss them away with your regular garbage, they can cause some serious damage to the environment so consider dropping your old ones off. It might not seem like much but if we all did that with one battery, we would be keeping tons of toxins out of our landfills.

I’m not big on cell phones but my older kids and husband are into them. I suppose they come in handy for emergencies but they’re not my ideal present. It’s funny how people buy you what they would actually want. I received a couple of cell phones over the years and my family ended up taking them over. I need to keep that in mind and make sure I know what everyone else would like and use.

• To read about a company that recycles underwear, check out Patagonia Urges Everyone to Recycle Underwear.

Rhimax came out with these recycled felt paper car mats. They look like regular cardboard to me but they’re certified organic and 100% recycled paper, rugged and reusable. You can buy them in sheets or rolls. Besides for cars you could use these eco-friendly auto mats in work shops or for painting.

They can be customized so there’s an opportunity to advertise as well. With winter kicking into high gear, they would help protect your vehicle, store or home a little more.

We have thrown cardboard down to soak up snow and dirt when there are a lot of people over but these might work a little better. We could stick a friendly message on them if we wanted.

Here are my favorite inventive Christmas tree craft ideas using recycled materials.

Coat Hanger Xmas Tree:

At All Free Crafts, Sunni Bergeron has written detailed instructions on how to create this beautiful Christmas tree out of coat hangers, twist ties and garland.

Paper Tube Xmas Tree:

A cute craft for kids is this paper tube Christmas tree project from MakingFriends.com. You could make it bigger but it’s a quick one children would have fun with as an ornament as well.

Paper Mache Tree:

On Aranamuerta’s blog, there’s a great paper mache tree. It was actually made for Halloween but it’s fantastic. Dead Spider made the tree using chicken wire, paper mache and paint. I don’t think I could make one as well but it would be fun trying. See Aranamuerta’s site to check out some of Dead Spider’s awesome art.

Rosemary Christmas Tree:

At Gardens Ablaze, they found this gorgeous Rosemary Christmas Tree for seven dollars! It needs a little decor but I love the shape of it. Gardens Ablaze is very informative and fun with all sorts of gardening information. I love the smell of rosemary and it’s a wonderful idea for holiday decor that doubles as a culinary herb.

Soda Can Christmas Tree:

Here’s a video of a Christmas tree made out of Mountain Dew pop cans and pvc pipes. It’s six feet tall with a lit up plastic bottle for the tree topper. To see more pictures and information on its construction see the Mountain Dew Christmas Tree’s website.

Bead for Life is a non-profit organization that helps eradicate poverty by supporting and training Ugandan women. They transfer recycled paper into beautiful beads giving themselves an income and helping the environment.

This triple swirl necklace that’s shown here is my favorite. It comes in five different colors and is only twenty dollars. They have been overwhelmed this year with their bead parties which include beaded jewelry, a DVD about the beaders, African recipes and price lists. It would be a fun party to have in the new year anyway since they’re booked up until then.

You can still buy individual pieces of jewelry or donate though. Read more about BeadforLife on their website. They have some inspiring stories and some beautiful beads.

I’ve been hanging out on YouTube so thought I would share some Environmental songs for Saturday. Enjoy First, Big Yellow Taxi by Counting Crows (originally by Joni Mitchell)

Rush, The Trees.
There is unrest in the forest,
There is trouble with the trees,
For the maples want more sunlight
And the oaks ignore their pleas….
So the maples formed a union
And demanded equal rights.
“The oaks are just too greedy;
We will make them give us light.”
Now there’s no more oak oppression,
For they passed a noble law,
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet, axe, and saw.

Rush was one of the first concerts I saw. I got kicked out because I kept creeping up to the front and was on my boyfriends shoulders.

One of my favorites, Rain on the Scarecrow by John Mellancamp. Lyrics:

Scarecrow on a wooden cross; blackbird in the barn;
Four-hundred empty acres that used to be my farm.
I grew up like my daddy did, my grandpa cleared this land;
When I was five I walked the fence while grandpa held my hand.

Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
This land fed a nation, this land made me proud;
And, son, I’m just sorry there’s no legacy for you now . . .
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow.

The crops we grew last summer weren’t enough to pay the loans;
Couldn’t buy the seed to plant this spring and the Farmers Bank foreclosed.
Called my old friend Schepman up to auction off the land;
He said John it’s just my job and I hope you understand.
Hey, calling it your job, ol’ hoss, sure don’t make it right,
But if you want me to I’ll say a prayer for your soul tonight.
And grandma’s on the front porch swing with a Bible in her hand;
Sometimes I hear her singing “Take me to the Promised Land.”
When you take away a man’s dignity, he can’t work his fields and cows . . .

There’ll be blood on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
Blood on the scarecrow, blood on the plow.

Well there’s ninety-seven crosses planted in the courthouse yard—
Ninety-seven families who lost ninety-seven farms.
I think about my grandpa and my neighbors and my name,
And some nights I feel like dyin’, like that scarecrow in the rain.

Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
This land fed a nation, this land made me proud;
And, son, I’m just sorry they’re just memories for you now . . .
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow;
Rain on the scarecrow, blood on the plow.

Grâce Dotou founded her theatrical company in 1980 and called it “Qui dit Mieux” which means “Who can say it better”. They promote peace and concern for the environment through drama. Grâce was sick of seeing plastic bags strewn all over her neighborhood and decided to do something about it.

Now she and twenty other women in Benin crochet trash bags into dolls, scarves, handbags and place mats. Ten Thousand Villages sell Qui dit Mieux’s products and shown here is one of their recycled bag placemats.

Qui dit Mieux has expanded and now have 16 different workshops. NGOs have expressed interest and they continue to grow in other West African countries. In 2002, United Nations recognized Dotou with a Poverty Eradication Award. It’s amazing how the efforts of one person can expand and help the environment while providing income for many women.

Kate’s Caring Gifts has a huge selection of earth friendly gifts including organic coffee, chocolate, earth friendly toys and more.

I know I’m crazy about coffee and so are many other people. Here’s an organic fair trade sampler from the Organic Coffee Company for the coffee connoisseur in your life. Included is Hurricane Espresso, Java Love, Zen Blend and Gorilla Decaf.

I love this adorable velour baby bear and it smells sweet because it’s filled with lavender blossoms. When you squeeze the bear it releases more of the lavender fragrance. It’s recommended for children aged 3 and up. There’s also a stuffed frog and bunny rabbit available.

Who wouldn’t like to receive some handmade artisan chocolates? Lillie Bell Farms starts with locally grown ingredients and then get their organic chocolate from Central and South America. Check out the flavors: Lavender Fleur de Sel Caramels, Hazelnut Chew, Jamaican Spice Caramel, Passionfruit Liquid Caramel and Macadamia nut chew with ginger. I get a rush just thinking about it.

These are unique globe earrings made out of recycled glass. It’s a great idea to give an eco-friendly gift depicting the planet earth made out of recycled materials.

Last but not least is The Peaceful Baby Gift Set which includes organic bottom balm, protective oil, and an organic cotton one piece snap tee.

All of these gifts are under 50 dollars and you can find plenty more at Kate’s Caring Gifts. It’s a fun place to look around and Kate did a wonderful job of putting all these earth friendly products and companies together.

Apparently, AMEC is building a plant to blast diapers into diesel fuel. They will be doing this through pyrolysis, which is also known as thermal cracking. The diapers will be heated up and broken down in a closed and oxygen free environment.

That’s a good thing because you wouldn’t want to let the fumes from thousands of diapers being heated to travel too far. Just a days worth of baby diapers is enough to knock you out. I remember saying to my husband, “That can’t be good for you.”

Big Diaper Supply for Fuel

There are plenty of dirty diapers to use in hospitals and they could contribute to the fuel conversion rather than sending the diapers to landfills. 30,000 tonnes of diapers will be initially converted, creating 11,000 tonnes of fuel and costing 50 cents a liter. (according to Canadian Press, Sidhartha Banerjee Mon Nov 19)

Cloth Diapers Versus Disposable

Using cloth diapers would keep more disposables out of landfills, but cloth diapers also require a lot of washing which uses plenty of energy and water. On the other hand, disposables can pollute the clean water that we have left. Cloth still seems the lesser of two evils for the environment, although not everyone has the luxury of a never-ending water supply. If there are no washing machines or Laundromats around, that also makes it challenging to use cloth diapers. The cloth/disposable diaper debate will continue, but it is good to know that some of them will be converted into fuel instead of heading to the dump.

I’ve been having fun browsing Greenfeet’s great website today. They have tons of high quality eco-friendly products to choose from. I discovered them through an article on entertaining in Green Living magazine. Their disposable bamboo plates and utensils were being featured and I was curious to see more so checked out the link. These bamboo veneerware plates are made of 100% organically grown bamboo and are biodegradable so you can put them in your compost when finished.

Another fun discovery was their recycled clocks. My Dad used to do these years ago so was ahead of his time. He did all kinds of crazy things with so-called junk. Shown on the left is a wall clock made from an old 45 record.

On the right is a desk pendulum clock made out of recycled bicycle cogs, chains and rims featuring a rubber tire face. Another crazy recycled creation is a bowl made out of a welded bicycle chain. You wouldn’t want to eat out of it but it would be fun to store things in like a basket.

Since I’m crazy over candles, I had to check out their sections on candles and candle holders. Besides the many beautiful candle holders made out of recycled glass there’s this cool candle holder made out of bicycle freewheels and cogs. They refer to it as elegant and although I love it, I wouldn’t necessarily refer to it as such.

There’s much more to see at Greenfeet so browse around when you get a chance. I also discovered the “More Hip than Hippie” podcast there featuring subjects such as organic gardening, safe cookware, natural pesticides and more. Their podcasts are comical and informative and now I have their silly theme song in my head.

Living more simply benefits the environment and enables us to have more time to spend with our friends or families. When we become more conscious of how our actions affect the environment we tend to consume less, recycle more and be more in touch with nature.

Here are some ideas to start with.

• Purchase items like clothing, dishes, books and furniture in thrift stores and/or garage sales.

• Create something new from things that would otherwise get thrown out. Examples:
  Create fire starters from old egg cartons. Create a pincushion from a tuna can and fabric. Create a quilt from old fabric scraps. Reuse old cards in decoupage crafts. Create a purse or bag from old clothing.

• Give your unwanted or outgrown clothes to someone else that could use them or donate them to a thrift store.

• Create a garden and grow your own fruit, vegetables and herbs.

• Use newspaper for paper mache projects, wrapping paper, painting and crafts.

• Celebrate holidays in a less commercialized way by giving gifts of time. Examples: Volunteer for a non-profit organization, help a friend with a task or child care, bake something, make something.

• Give away or sell things you don’t want or need anymore. This is one I have had troubles with since I have some pack rat tendencies. My husband is even worse.

• Repair furniture, appliances etc. rather than buying new ones.

• Use natural insecticides when gardening such as those obtained from plants.

• Recycle paper, glass and tin.

• Walk rather than drive and take time to enjoy the sights.

Do you have ideas on how to conserve and live more simply? Feel free to share them.

NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program announced today their ocean literacy and public awareness campaign featuring Sanctuary Sam. Sam’s a California sea lion who has been chosen to be the program’s “spokes-sea lion”.

“What Smokey Bear did for our nation’s forests, Sanctuary Sam has the potential to do, making ocean issues real for all Americans,” said Daniel J. Basta, director of the sanctuary program. “The future health of our oceans depends on all of us caring and taking action. Sam’s charge is to help bring that message to the nation.”

Sam is helping to educate people about the marine environment and bring awareness to issues such as pollution and habitat destruction.

Sam will be offering us tips on how we can be better ocean stewards. He will be featuring the messages “don’t trash where you splash” and “be wildlife wise” on public service announcements.

Some ways we can all improve our water’s quality:

• Conserve water.
• Don’t dump hazardous waste down the drain.
• Lead rain gutters to soil, grass, and not cement.
• Clean septic tanks every three to five years to prevent overflow.
• Avoid pesticides and herbicides and use natural fertilizers on gardens.
• Don’t dump motor oil and recycle it instead.
• Don’t dump boat sewage or trash in the water.
• Clean up litter at the beach.
• Put babies in proper swimming pants.

There’s already a blog and a web page on MySpace.com and the National Marine Santuary Program and OceansLive will be featuring Sanctuary Sam along with lesson plans and other learning materials.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects.

SOURCE National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Also see: David Helvarg’s 50 Ways to Save the Ocean

Water Quality at Beaches: Polluted Water Hurts Health and Tourism in U.S.

Kids can have an impact on the environment too! Leann Rimes teamed up with All Small & Mighty laundry detergent to search for the greenest kids in American elementary schools.

Leann Rimes is encouraging kids to help their families make changes including switching to eco-friendly products. All has a “Go Green & Small With All” program. Families interested in going green can visit their site and track their efforts to protect the environment. There’s also lesson plans available to download for teachers and parents.

• Leann is the youngest person to win a Grammy and the first country artist to win a Grammy for Best New Artist. “As the youngest person ever to win a Grammy Award, I understand the potential that kids have to make an impact on all of us,” notes Leann Rimes, music superstar. “That is why I am so excited to be a part of the ‘all’ small & mighty nationwide environmental program - “Go Green & Small with ‘all’” - because it empowers kids to lead the way and encourage their families to become more environmentally-responsible. Protecting the environment is so important to me and is a cause we all should embrace.”

Winning School Prizes

The winning school will get a $50,000 grant towards green improvements. Every child will receive a green iPod shuffle with an environmentally friendly solar charger. They also have a chance to be featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Entries are due by November 26 and finalists will be announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in January.

“We believe that young students have the passion to help their families become more environmentally-active and aware,” said Helayna Minsk, Unilever Marketing Director, ‘all’ laundry detergent. “Simply using eco-friendly products like ‘all’ small and mighty, the leading 3x concentrated laundry detergent that saves environmental resources in packaging and shipping, can make a big difference for sustaining our environment.”(GREENWICH, Conn., Nov. 15 /PRNewswire)

For some ideas on how we can all have an impact on our environment, see “Go Green With All“.

Ford announced they are addressing challenges on climate change by pursuing several technological solutions. Their sustainability plan  is affordable, safe and fuel-efficient.

Ford already has over five million flexible fuel vehicles on the road. By 2012, they have ambitiously pledged to make half their production capable of running on alternative fuels.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Mercury Milan Hybrid are two new sedans coming out in 2008.

• Alan Mulally, the company’s president and chief executive officer announced today, “Ford is committed to offering customers affordable, environmentally friendly technologies in vehicles they really want. We are focusing on sustainable technology solutions that can be used not for hundreds or thousands of cars - but for millions of cars, because that is how Ford can truly make a difference.”

Within the next five years, Ford is introducing a range of gasoline turbo charged injection engines in 4 cylinder and V-6 configurations. More details will be announced in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Other new technologies from Ford will include:

• Fuel saving twin-clutch transmissions, which will include 6 speeds to replace less efficient 4 and 5 speed gearboxes.

• Advanced electric power assisted steering systems will be used in 80 to 90% of their vehicles.

• Aerodynamic improvements.

• Weight reduction. They will achieve this by using more aluminum as well as higher strength steel with reductions ranging in 250 to 750 pounds while still maintaining safety.

“While we are implementing our near-, mid- and long-term plans, we are continuing to achieve efficiencies throughout the vehicle in areas that can quickly lead to fuel economy improvements today,” said Derrick Kuzak, Ford’s group vice president of Global Product Development. “We continue to make improvements in what we call the ‘1 percent’ areas - items such as reducing wind drag, eliminating engine-driven power steering pumps and switching to low-friction engine oil. Collectively, these small improvements deliver significant fuel economy gains for our customers.”

Another exciting development is their first Ford Escape Hybrid Plug-in. They’re delivering it to Southern California Edison to explore commercialization in December.

It’s wonderful to see Ford pushing forward towards sustainability to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

“Ford’s blueprint for sustainability will deliver products that our customers want, that are affordable and that are good for the environment,” Mulally said.(LOS ANGELES, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire)

Los Angeles based Pacific Natural Energy (PNE) is putting that cholesterol to good use with their revolutionary device called FatBox that transforms solid animal fat into biodiesel fuel. Biodiesel is a clean burning and biodegradable fuel that can be used in diesel engines or blended with petroleum diesel.

“The FatBox is designed to work in conjunction with our BioBox,” said Eric McLeod, PNE’s founder and CEO. “Animal fats are a viable alternative to vegetable oil in the biodiesel production market.” (Los Angeles, Nov. 13 /PRNewswire)

Tyson Foods and ConocoPhillips are also in the process of setting up a 75 million gallon a year alternative fuel production facility that transfers fat into fuel. Tyson has a ton of animal fat they can use towards creating renewable diesel. They are initially providing beef tallow and production is expected to start in December according to Prime Newswire, New York.

Pacific Natural Energy is known for producing biodiesel fuel from waste oils. They also recycle and convert animal and vegetable fat into fuel from restaurants, helping reduce waste and pollution. Their mission is to provide cost effective biodiesel solutions to meet the growing need for alternative fuels.

• Renewable diesel is economically and ecologically efficient since it decreases dependency on oil and creates approximately 95% less hazardous waste than petroleum diesel production.

The more we invest in these new technologies, the more independent from oil we can become. Becoming independent from foreign oil is achievable and it’s a good thing to strive towards so that we’re not as vulnerable to foreign politics and prices.

Star Island is preparing to open its doors as a luxurious yet green vacation resort. Crossing high luxury with high sustainability does not seem an easy feat but David Sklar, architect and CEO of Star Island has big plans.

“This is a very exciting time in the field of green-technology and sustainable tourism,” says David Sklar, the architect, CEO and visionary behind Star Island. “Resorts are harnessing natural energy sources, building with sustainable materials, recycling, decorating with eco-furniture and serving organic foods, but these advancements have never been brought together in one place before. Star Island plans to do just that and, in the process, become a showcase for the latest and most innovative technologies, materials and practices.” (New York, Nov. 8, PR)

It’s located on a 35 acre island a few minutes from Harbour Island. Star Island is offering 5 star luxurious private homes, spas, restaurants, pools, tennis courts and a no fuel marina. The island is unique in that it will be doing everything possible to reduce its impact on the earth, which is ambitious for the tourist industry. Buildings will be using sustainable materials in their construction. Alternative energy sources will be used and organic food and drink will be served. Anything that can be recycled will be and linens will be made from bamboo.

Scott Sklar is taking care of business on the alternative energy end, since he’s the energy advisor. “Star Island will be entirely off the grid, 100% energy self-sufficient.”, said Scott.

Water sources will be obtained through a rain harvesting system and then purified through a reverse osmosis system.

“We’re not just looking at existing technologies and best practices,” says David Sklar. “Star Island is an environment for testing and demonstrating emerging techniques. We want to be a magnet for ideas. We want to show what’s possible.”

Good for them! Since eco-travel is on the rise it’s good to know there will be a luxurious green location in the Bahamas. For more information see StarIslandBahamas.com