Globally Green Living

I got this great email from Kudzu (a reviewer based website for local companies) on tips to keep cool this summer while not taking a big dip in you Electric AC bill.

1. With a programmable thermostat, you can auto-adjust your air conditioner setting at night or when no one is home. There’s no need to cool the house when you are out enjoying the sun.

2. Move lamps, TVs and anything else that heats up away from your air conditioning thermostat. They may cause the air conditioner to run longer. Since the thermostat only reads the temperature around it, it thinks that the room temperature is hotter than it actually is.

3. Give your south-side some attention. Install awnings on south-facing windows, or apply sun-control or other reflective films. Some solar-friendly homes have overhangs on the room that efficiently shade the house during the hot summer months and also allow the light to strike the house during the winter months.

4. Let your windows wear white. Install white window shades, drapes, or blinds to reflect heat away from the house. Close curtains on south- and west-facing windows during the day.

5. Plant smart — trees or shrubs can help shade air conditioning units. Just make sure not to block the airflow. A unit operating in the shade uses less electricity, thus saving you money.

Want some more tips - keep reading.. (more…)

When the yellow pages delivered a big stack of new telephone directories to my building, not one resident picked up a copy. Why would they when people use the internet or services like Google SMS (if you’re not sure what this is - keep reading- it’s awesome!)

Here is one thing you can do to help save the earth!

http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/

Register to no longer have paper telephone books be sent to your
house. You know you use the internet to look up phone numbers anyway!
and help SAVE SOME TREES!

Now about Google SMS.. (more…)

Tomorrow is the big green day - EARTH DAY!!

And I just had a big Earth Day success.. Unfortunetly, my office is a culprit of using the styrofoam cups. However, we (my coworker and I who are the underground Earth Day team in the office) pitched and sold the idea to management to remove the styrofoam cups for one day - Earth Day - and encourage workers to bring their own cups in or use a reusable one the office has in the cupboard. Well - they loved the idea.. So PLEASE feel free to use that idea in your office!

I really hope to just raise awareness..

So our 2 big Earth Day goals for today are:
1) Use a mug for coffee and glass or reusable water bottle for water in the office.

2) Conserve your water usage

Learn how.. (more…)

Earth Day is Wednesday, April 22nd.. Are you ready?

Well, okay to most people - this day doesn’t mean much.. but what can you do for Earth Day this year.. Let me give you ideas all week in Celebration of Planet Earth!

** Plant a tree and spend some time outdoors ***

(more…)

Hello environmentalist friend or those random online visitors who don’t recycle…

Lets make these easy resolutions in 2009 that will help our world:

1. Put a recycling bin in our kitchen
2. Start a compost pile
3. Only buy compact fluorescent light bulbs - Interesting fact: My brother told me they only sell this type in NYC now. The rest of the US is about 2+ years behing NYC, start the trend earlier
4. Buy and use a re-usable grocery bag when going to the grocery store. Helpful Hint: Put that bag back in your trunk when you’re done using it. Otherwise, you’ll forget it everytime you go to the store.
5. Re-use plastic bags. Helpful hint: Take your lunch to work in it, use it as a trashbag, etc

Want some more ideas or help on keeping a New Year’s resolution? (more…)

In order to simplify my own life I have scaled down some more and that includes leaving this blog. I started a personal blog for fun called Simple Living Revolution and we’ll see where that goes.

I have a couple other writing gigs that are enough for me right now. I’ll miss it here but am also excited about focusing on other things. I’m into simple and frugal living but that doesn’t mean I’m into being broke.

I’ll miss you all but sure I’ll bump into some of you on our mutual quest to learn how to go greener. Whoever takes over here will probably do well, and I would rather leave now than stay and do a half assed job.

William Kamkwamba from Kasungu Malawi in Africa did not let the fact that he could not continue his schooling in 2002 stop him from learning.

His family was unable to pay the school fees required but William obtained books from Wimbe Teachers Development Centre (TDC) so was able to continue pursuing his interest in science.

The books were donated through a teacher-training program called Malawi Teacher Training Activity (MTTA). One book in particular was about energy and included instructions on how to design a windmill.

• He built his first windmill when he was only 14 and has improved upon it many times since. His original windmill generated enough power to light his room, but he made a larger one that created enough power for several light bulbs as well as two radios. Before that they had no electricity and were using paraffin candles and lamps for light.

Some of the parts used for the windmill were scrap wood, PVC pipes and a bicycle frame. The PVC pipes were cut, heated and pounded until flat for blades. William replaced the plastic windmill blades by taking an oil drum to a tinsmith to help cut it into new steel blades.

• The publicity has brought William Kamkwamba many opportunities such as the ability to continue his schooling. He is continuing his studies at African Bible College Christian Academy in Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi.

The story received more publicity thanks to Malawian blogger Soyapi Mumba and continued through to other blogs such as Hactivate, White African, AfriGadget and others. Emeka Okafor who is the curator of TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Global Conference invited William to attend with him in Aursha, Tanzania where he was well received.

Since the conference, William was introduced to the internet, has an email address as well as a successful blog with the help of his American mentor.

He continues to update us on his latest projects and has rewired his home and installed solar panels along with his team from National Solar and Power.

If you are interested in reading more about this inspiring and inventive young man, see William Kamkwamba’s Malawi Windmill Blog.

This was adapted from an article I wrote for Suite101.

If you’re planning to go on a picnic, use some of these tips for making your outing greener.

• Use recycled paper napkins or cloth rather than virgin paper napkins.

• Use reusable containers instead of plastic wrap or baggies.

Bring your own cups and plates from home. If you’re worried about breaking your good dishes, consider a set of recycled plastic plates from Preserve.

They’re tough, reusable, come in pretty colors and there are tumblers to match. The table wear pack includes 10 small plates, 8 large plates, and 8 knives forks and spoons. They come in cheerful pear green or berry red.

• Pick food that is grown locally to save on gas and support local farmers.

• Bring a thermos to store soups, coffee or tea from home and keep them warm.

For more ideas, see:

• Green Living’s Green Your Picnic Basket

• Have a green, litterless picnic, Cheryl Binning

• Color your picnic or barbecue green, Danny SEO

Saturday’s song is World on Fire by Sarah McLachlan. Instead of spending a fortune on making the video, she decided to donate the money to numerous charities instead.

One of those is CARE. They help families become independent and develop sustainable ways of living by providing education and business opportunities.

Women and children often suffer from poverty so CARE focuses on them, which ends up helping whole families worldwide. Although CARE provides emergency assistance, they also promote long-term solutions. Some of these include increasing food supplies with crops and livestock as well as providing access to clean water and education.

Clean water is something that many of us take for granted but it is an ongoing struggle for others. When people only have dirty water, they’re forced to drink it and become sick.

CARE is presently campaigning to raise 10 million dollars towards helping people affected by Cyclone Nargis. The cyclone destroyed rice crops and contaminated Burma’s water.

“CARE has provided clean water, food and emergency supplies to nearly 120,000 people in 12 areas throughout the Irrawaddy Delta and around Yangon.” (Cyclone Relief Picks up Pace, PYAPON, Myanmar, May 29, 2008)

Sarah is also one of the many strong supporting celebrities of the anti-poverty movement Make Poverty History.

Other supporters include Brad Pitt, Bono, Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Emma Thompson, George Clooney, Jamie Fox, Mike Myers and more. Since much poverty is caused by damage to the environment by humans, it is possible for all of us to help repair both.

Saturday’s song is I like birds by the Eels. I do like birds but not so much that I would partake in a facial with their feces. Have you heard about the crazy $200 bird crap facial?

I do recall hearing about geishas using bird droppings to remove make-up.

Apparently, it has been resurrected, sterilized and repackaged into powder. Either way, that’s some expensive bird excrement.

I first heard about this from Jonathon Morgan on Green Daily ($200 for a bird poop facial). The Geisha facial contains nightingale droppings and natural enzymes to soften and brighten skin.

There’s a video of the geisha facial called News or not news? Bird poop facial edition at Chicago Tribune’s Head Candy.

Hari’s salon in West London touts not only the “organic” geisha facial but also uses bull semen to condition dry hair. Eww.

And according to Mail Online, Gwyneth Paltrow uses a face cream containing snake venom to help slow down wrinkles. There’s also a popular painful lip venom some stars use to plump up their lips. (Gwyneth Paltrow’s latest beauty tip-snake venom face cream).

If these wacky treatments become too popular, I don’t think that the animals will really benefit. People seem to gravitate towards some strange stuff. I would have a hard time paying big money for something that is normally scraped off the car and cursed.

Bird watching is enough fun for me so I’m doing it with my wrinkles intact. Here’s the video of birds from French Guiana with the I like birds song.

If you’re interested in organic gardening and want a chance to win the organic weed killer Nature’s Avenger, check out the organic weed killer giveaway being held by Crunchy Domestic Goddess.

Nature’s Avenger is natural, effective and smells good because it’s made with natural citrus oil (d-limonene). This dehydrates the weed and kills it completely within 24 hours. You can see it start to shrivel within a couple hours and there is an example of that on the Nature’s Avenger website.

I end up pulling a lot of them out by hand which is a real pain. You have to dig deep to get to the root and that can be time consuming.

Ingredients for homemade weed killers include salt, vinegar, clove oil and dish detergent. Boiling water isn’t bad either, although it might kill any other plant that’s close. I successfully killed the roots of a bush I didn’t want in my garden with boiling water.

Organic Weed Killer Recipes

If you want to try making your own, here are some recipes with variations of the mentioned ingredients.

• Organic Weed Killer Formula: Small Farm Permaculture and Sustainable Living

• Using Lemons as a Weed Killer: Treehugger

• Natural Weed Killer by Sonia at Gather

• Weed Control Ideas by Judy Stouffer at Tau Topics

• Homemade Weed Killer Recipes: Robin’s Web

Some of those weeds are tough and require stronger concentrations of acid but try combining the lemon juice and vinegar. The weeds won’t like it that’s for sure. As a bonus, the combo also kills grease and if you combine vinegar with borax, you can even clean your barbecue grill.

Here’s this weeks music video, Whispering Wind by Moby. I like the hypnotic feel to the music and the scenes of clouds, butterflies and oceans are awesome as well.

Would you believe the Monarch is being threatened? Their habitat is being destroyed because of new housing developments and agriculture. If insecticide doesn’t kill them, it kills plants the Monarch’s larvae feeds on like milkweed.

In Mexico they’re threatened because many people are dependent on the logging industry. The monarchs roost on oyamel trees but they’re cutting them down. To learn more see The Butterfly Website and their environmental newsfeed.

It’s the small things in life that often bring joy and I get excited over stuff like the fact that one of my tomato plants has a baby tomato on it. I plan to make tons of salsa because we’re all crazy about it and it tastes much better fresh.

We like our salsa with cilantro/coriander, which seems to be something people either love or hate. I have eight new coriander plants going and I’m pleased they have survived the storms although they’re slightly bent.

My salsa recipe

I don’t always stick to precise measurements but I usually chop up six or seven tomatoes, a green pepper, an onion, one or two jalapeño peppers, a couple teaspoons of lemon juice, a splash of vinegar, a couple teaspoons of sugar, salt, garlic and some cilantro. The kids like it with one jalapeño but we like it with two.

I also have several green pepper plants growing in the garden. My cat chewed on one of them before I got it outside but now something else is eating them. They appear to still be capable of sprouting peppers anyway and that’s what counts.

My oregano is going crazy and I’m quite pleased with it as well. It started off looking like a crooked stick with a couple leaves on it. I always put basil and oregano in my spaghetti sauce now because everyone loves it.

If it looks a little dark, that’s because it’s night time. I love sneaking back there when all the kids are asleep and just spend time being with nature.

There are raspberry plants growing right beside the basil and I might actually get some berries this year. Last year I planted a small one I received from a neighbor. Now it’s had babies and spread everywhere so I gave a couple to another neighbor.

You don’t have to be a master gardener or anything to grow your own food. I’m not out there digging for hours or anything so most of my plants have to be tough or die. It’s still very rewarding when you do grow your own fruit and vegetables successfully.

Wildlife preserves in South Africa are using birth control for elephants as an alternative to culling or mass killing to control elephant populations.

People fought to protect elephants from poachers until the ivory trade was banned. Now elephants have grown beyond sustainable numbers and the government has lifted the ban on culls.

In the wild elephants would be busy traveling and searching for water and food in the dry climate. On the reserve water is plentiful so the elephant population is not thinning naturally. Although elephants are still endangered in other areas in Africa, on many of the wildlife reserves in South Africa they are not.

Birth Control Vaccine

The vaccine that acts as birth control does not contain hormones but instead uses the elephant’s immune system to block the fertilization of their eggs. This means they’re safer because there are no side effects from hormones and the rest of the food chain is not at risk.

It seems a practical alternative to culling and is usually reversible so elephants can become pregnant later. Some elephants are still allowed to become pregnant so younger ones can be socialized properly and learn how to raise their own young.

• Vasectomies are also used as birth control and an alternative to culling elephants in places like Kruger National Park in South Africa. Culling has been reinstated but it is a controversial method since it means killing whole elephant herds and that also affects the tourist industry.

For more information see:

• Elephant Birth Control Vaccine, National Geographic Video

• South Africa Elephants Get Birth Control, Los Angeles Times

• South Africa Brings Back Elephant Killing, Environmental Graffiti

I had a request for more information on products made from recycled PET plastics. That’s short for Polyethylene terephthalate, a man made polymer commonly used for products like those plastic bags the stores push on us everywhere. It has the number 1 on the recycling symbol.

When PET is recycled, it’s usually made into fibers that are used for clothing and stuffing for pillows and sleeping bags. According to Waste Online, we used 20 times more plastic than we did 50 years ago and it is taking a toll by polluting the earth and hurting wildlife.

Some eco-fashion finds that use PET include this fluffy recycled plastic square bag from Hip and Zen. Crafters from South Africa scrunch up the plastic bags in this interesting design. Part of the proceeds goes to the Topsy Foundation helping children with AIDS.

If you need a new laptop bag, consider something like this recycled plastic laptop bag made from fused plastic bags. Every bag is unique so you will have a one of kind eco-friendly cover for your laptop.

Hip and Zen sell many other recycled, organic and fairly traded products such as clothing, jewelry and accessories.

Mens Clothes

Treehugger tipped me off to Bagir and their green line. The totally washable suit is a great idea for busy men and made from 50% Post Consumer Waste obtained from PET plastic bottles. Since you can wash it at home, you can bypass the chemicals used at the dry cleaners. The EcoGir™ Recycled Suit uses 100% PCW and helps reduce even more waste.

Plastic Bag Knitting

If you’re into knitting, you can create your own bags, doormats and clothing by knitting strips of bags together. They’re actually quite attractive and colorful. Here are a few good tutorials.

• Knit Plastic Bag: Instructables

• Plastic Bag Doormat Rug

• Plastic Bag Knitting Tutorial: Cocoknits