Eco Events this Week

MONDAY

• Need something to listen to at work? Catch up on back episodes of Living on Earth

TUESDAY

• Grab a vegan lunch at Sweetgreen

WEDNESDAY

• Sign up for residential compost collection

THURSDAY

• Partnerships in Clean Tech Panel

FRIDAY

• Boston Bike Party
• Urban Farm Groundbreaking

SATURDAY

• Share your green ideas with local ideas on Engage.Greenovate.Bos

SUNDAY

• Reduce your carbon footprint by unplugging all appliances that aren't in use

GoodGuide Brings Conscious Consumerism to Your Fingertips

GoodGuide is one of the handiest, easy-to-use apps for people that want to make smarter, greener, more ethical purchasing decisions. The iphone app has a barcode scanner so you can learn about the social and environmental impacts of a brand right while you are shopping. GoodGuide provides a great resource so consumers don't fall victim to greenwashing. The only problem is that it makes running errands take a bit more time...but all for a good cause!

Startup, Climatestore, Makes Sustainable Shopping Easy

In October, I joined a startup company with the mission of making it fun and easy for people to reduce their carbon footprints. We took on this task by building an e-commerce website with products that reduce electricity use or have a lower impact during manufacture or disposal. We also set up Learn pages that include all of the basics on climate science including all of the latest consensus reports. Another section of the website focuses on personal action: in My Plan, customers can learn about easy, money saving activities they can do to reduce their contribution of greenhouse gasses.

I am excited to announce that we launched ClimateStore.com on Earth Day and are hoping to start making an impact this summer. Join the climate conversation with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

Thanks for your support!

Green Events for April 28 - May 4

image courtesy of Explore, Dream, Discover

MONDAY

• The Future of Population hosted by The Nature Conservancy

TUESDAY

• Getting ready for upcoming weddings, showers, and graduations? Consider alternative wrapping paper solutions. 

WEDNESDAY

• Improve your recycling rate by putting a recycling receptacle in your bathroom for empty shampoo bottles!  

THURSDAY

• Rabbit Rabbit! Make a list of green lifestyle goals for the month of May.
• Oyster and Salt Marsh Impacts on Cape Cod at the New England Aquarium. 

FRIDAY

• Forecast says it will be 63 degrees and sunny, so explore Boston's Harborwalk

SATURDAY

• Make a vegetarian meal with your family or housemates! 

SUNDAY

• Catch up on the latest environmental news by listening to Living on Earth online!

Boston's Eco Activities for this Week

image courtesy of Flickr

MONDAY

• First 70 degree day of spring! Head to Follain to pick up some earth-friendly, chemical free sunscreen. 

TUESDAY

• Check out the Sea Change: Boston Exhibit

WEDNESDAY

• Net Impact Sustainability Breakfast
• Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink Forum at the Museum of Science

THURSDAY

• Green Justice Coalition Energy Efficiency Summit
• Invasion of the Lionfish Lecture at the New England Aquarium

FRIDAY

• Last chance to check out the Museum of Science before the craziness of April Vacation begins. Why not check out their live presentation on climate change?!

SATURDAY

• Save some $$$ while cutting your environmental impact by turning off your heat and committing not to turn it on again until November or December.

SUNDAY

• Enjoy a vegetarian Easter celebration. 

Renew Boston Extends Deadline for Energy Efficiency Incentive Program

image courtesy of Next Step Living 

In 2013,  Renew Boston, the City of Boston’s energy efficiency program, helped Boston residents to weatherize 1,581 homes! These weatherizations resulted in a total energy savings of approximately 210,000 mmBtu. The Renew Boston team believes that helping Boston residents to make their homes more energy efficient is a key component to reaching the City of Boston’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

This is why Renew Boston, in partnership with National Grid and NSTAR, is extending the Whole Building Incentive, a program that significantly reduces the cost of energy efficiency improvements for two and three unit buildings in the City of Boston. Originally scheduled to end at the close of 2013, the program has been extended until June 1st 2014. If you own property in Boston, or are on good terms with your landlord, learn more about the program here. The incentive offers up to $3000 per apartment!

5 Ways to Use Fewer Zip Lock Bags

source image courtesy of  Speak Up for Blue

Like many, I grew up making my own lunches - peanut butter and jelly in a zip lock bag. Since then, I've become much more conscious of the waste my daily meals create. While bringing your own lunch is much more cost-effective (and often more sustainable) than buying lunch, there are ways to streamline the lunch packing process to avoid adding to landfills. 

1. Glass food containers or BPA-free plastic food containers are your best friend. Especially at offices where there is a dishwasher or sink available so you don't have to carry home a dirty container. 
2. Eat less meat. Freezer bags are often used to preserve meats. Kill two birds with one stone by going vegetarian and eating fresh produce that doesn't need to be stored in a bag. 
3. Re-use your bags. If you must use plastic food-storage bags, wash them out and reuse them a couple times before throwing them away. 
4. Simply don't purchase plastic bags. You'd be surprised how creative you can be when you don't have them as an option at your home. 
5. Stock up on food-making supplies at the office. If you have space, keep a loaf of bread and your other lunch-making ingredients at work - that way you don't have to pack a lunch at all! 

The Eco Way to Use a Keurig

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Keurigs are great. They give you great coffee/tea/hot chocolate in a matter of seconds. The problem, of course, is that the little disposable K-cups create a lot of waste compared to a traditional filter-less coffee machine. But if you already own a Keurig or your office has one, here are some tips for using it a greener way.

• Use a reusable K-cup.
• Use only organic, fair trade products to fill your reusable K-cups.
• Keep using the same mug - no need to put it in the dishwasher after everyyyyy use.
• Unplug the Keurig when no one is using it. 
• Encourage your friends in co-workers to do the same. 

Have any other ideas about greening your Keurig use? Please share! 

Spotlight: City Soil

As many of you know, the Massachusetts Food Waste Ban goes into effect this year, which makes composting increasingly important in Boston and beyond. This week's spotlight company, City Soil, has played a pivotal role in developing Boston gardens and farms, including at Revision Farm in Dorchester. Responding to the need for responsible compost management, City Soil employs Boston residents to operate the City of Boston’s leaf compost site in partnership with Casella Resource Solutions. City Soil is a leader in compost heat capture. Moving forward, City Soil will continue to responsibly manage Boston’s organic resources and develop opportunities to expand the urban food system.

Keep an eye out for their work! And read learn more here.

Ways to Reduce Your Waste

image courtesy of Wired

Its a new year, and time to clean up our acts, so to speak. One of my goals for a better lifestyle is to reduce the amount of trash I make. The North End has trash collection for residents 3x/week - which is ridiculous considering how tiny all of our apartments are. How can we possibly be creating this much trash?! In solving this problem, here are a few things to consider:

• Watch your consumption. This one is obvious, but we constantly have to remind ourselves to bring resuable shopping bags, coffee mugs, and other waste-savers.

• Start composting. 2014 marks the beginning of Boston's food waste ban for businesses, which means composting will become the norm over the next year or so. Join the trend and start your own composting bin and look for collection opportunities with Bootstrap Compost.

• Take care of your stuff. Learn to sew, be tidy, and use your belongings properly. Even though not everything is meant to last forever, give your belongings the longest life possible.

• Give up soda, bottled water, and other single-serving beverages.
  
• Have a Keurig? Get a reusable filter.

• Use cloths and rags instead of paper towels and paper napkins.

Any more ideas? Please share!

Green Goals for 2014

While I've conquered some of my 2013 resolutions, some have made it onto my list of green 2014 goals, and some new ideas fill out the list:

1. Avoid fast fashion.
2. Don't accept plastic shopping bags at any store.
3. Eat less meat and dairy.
4. Weatherize my apartment.
5. Use only aluminum-free deodorant.
6. Listen to every week's Living on Earth.
7. Compost food waste.

Add More Recycling Bins

source image courtesy of ideastream

According to the L.A. Times, $14 Million worth of recyclables end up in U.S. landfills each year. This means, not only are we wasting environmental resources, we are wasting a decent amount of capital as well. One of the easiest solutions to this problem is to place a recycling receptacle next to every single waste basket in your home and office. This will reduce the urge to be lazy and through recyclables where they don't belong. This is a great new years resolution - so add it to your list!

New Perspectives: Decorating Your Christmas Tree the Green Way

source image courtesy of Green House Eco-Cleaning

For many of us the Christmas season is a time of lights and decorations. However many of these decorations are not exactly eco-friendly. From wasteful lights to harmful plastic to chemical additions there are all kinds of ways to make your Christmas tree less than green. However there are great ways to easily change this mindset. Here are some fun and festive decorating tips for your tree:

1. Real is best – Having a real tree instead of an artificial one can seem counterintuitive. I mean you are killing a tree for your personal use. However Christmas trees are always replanted and the demand for trees actually keeps more real trees growing in the long run. Not to mention that it is much better for the environment to have a real tree produced instead of a plastic one.

2. Natural décor – Using natural elements like trimmed pine branches, pine cones, holly sprigs and mistletoe is a great way to bring green indoors figuratively and literally. The vibrancy of real plants cannot be matched. Even plants that are toxic, like poinsettias, make for beautiful living decorations if you are careful to keep them out of the reach of children and pets.

3. Homemade ornaments – Decorating the tree the natural way is easy with homemade ornaments. You can make edible ornaments in the shape of gingerbread men, sugar cookies, candy canes, and so on. These edible ornaments can not only be a great visual appeal on your tree but can also be part of the gifts. The children can pick and choose one snack to have every day until Christmas, leaving less to toss after the holidays and increasing their enjoyment.

4. Stringing garland – Another great old fashioned idea in tree decorating is garland stringing. A needle and thread can be a great asset as your family joins in Christmas cheer to create strands of popcorn or cranberries to wind around the tree.

5. LED lights –Speaking of flammable, the hot lights that usually mark the Christmas season are very wasteful and older models can even be a fire hazard. Instead, try to use new LED lights. These lights produce little heat and are very energy efficient. They also last a very long time so you do not have to keep replacing them every year. No more frustration with burnt out lights or worrying about fires!

6. Recycing tree –Last but not least, after the holidays make sure to dispose of your tree properly. There are many areas that will take your tree for recycling into mulch or other useful things. Or you can cut the tree up and use it as part of your own gardening compost. As you can see it is easy to decorate your Christmas tree in an eco-friendly way. Stay green, have fun and enjoy time with your family this holiday season!

Author: Rachel is an ex-babysitting pro as well as a professional writer and blogger. She is a graduate from Iowa State University and currently writes for www.babysitting.net. She welcomes questions/comments which can be sent to rachelthomas.author@gmail.com.

Reducing Emissions Caused by Car Idling

source image 

When the weather is bad, it is tempting to leave your car running while running into Dunkin Donuts, or waiting at a bus stop, but emissions from idling can really add up. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, idling cars and trucks in New York City each year produce 130,000 tons of carbon dioxide. Yikes! Help improve Boston's air quality by abiding by the following:

1. Turn off your engine if you're car is stopped for longer than 1 minute. 

2. Keep emergency weather gear in your car - a jacket, gloves, and umbrella could come in handy and keep you warm and dry without turning the car back on for heat. 

3. Park in a garage. If possible, park indoors to avoid the need for "warming up" the car. 

4. Take public transit instead. 

How to Save the Oceans

Last Thursday, the New England Aquarium hosted the 11th lecture in its free fall series: Meet Your Local Garbage Patch. During the lecture, attendees were introduced to the Rozalia Project, an organization that works on implementing solutions for clean oceans. Trash in our oceans is of increasing concern as we discover more about the toxics that can leech from plastics and other man-made materials. After digesting  Rachel Miller's inspiring lecture, I present to you, 6 tips to save the ocean:

1. Stop smoking. In addition to the health concerns, cigarette butts take about 7 years to biodegrade in the ocean, and are one of the most common trash items found by the Rozalia Project on sea floors.

2. Use a refillable waterbottle. Water might be good for you, but plastic bottles take a lot longer to biodegrade than cigarettes - about 450 years! Avoid plastic bottles!

3. Watch out for urban trash cans. When they overflow, the trash can get swept up in rain water, down our storm drains and into the harbor. Wait until you see a non-overflowing trashcan to dispose of your trash - or better yet, alert area officials that the recepticle is in need of emptying.

4. Switch your facewash. Plastic beads from cosmetic exfoliants are of increasing concern to our oceans because of the incredible difficulty required to clean them. Use a facewash with naturally derived beads - or even better, switch to bar soap.

5. Picnic consciously. Unsurprisingly, most of the trash that the Rozalia Project finds in the harbors is food related - plastic cups, beer cans, food wrappers, etc. All are evidence that we love spending time at the beach and on the water, so make sure when you do these things that you dispose of all your trash appropriately.

6. Get educated. Learn about threats to the ocean and get involved with the solutions by following the Rozalia Project and other ocean-themed organizations.

Avoid Wrapping Paper this Month

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THE FACT: Approximately 8,000 tons of wrapping paper are used each year (the equivalent of 50,000 trees).

THE GOAL: Not to purchase any wrapping paper or gift bags this holiday season.

THE SOLUTION: Getting crafty with newspapers, ribbon, and some found pine branches!

Eco Monday Shopping Rules

source image courtesy of iphonehacks

1. Buy only what you need. Impulse buying often ends up being wasteful.
2. Find out where the item will be shipped from. You might be able to buy an option from a closer location.
3. Look for quality. Items should last a long time. Think about the end-of-life of each product you buy. 
4. Consider experiential gifts (which can usually be purchased online). 
5. Ask your loved ones for wish lists - this will reduce the likelihood of returns after the holidays. 
6. Look for green/environmentally themed gifts to spread the message of climate change awareness.  

Recap of BASG September Meetup

Last night was the Boston Area Sustainability Group meetup regarding the eccentricities of solid waste. It was a fun, inspiring, and educational evening. If you couldn't make it, here is what you missed:

1. "Zero-waste" means no burning or burying at the end of a product's life.

2. "recycling" is a specific process, whereas "zero-waste" is more encompassing of reduce/reuse/repurpose practices.

3. In 2010, each person in Massachusetts produced about 5 million tons of trash. 

4. Only a third of all waste is recycled, though most of the rest of it can be recycled/reused/composted.

5. The climate change / waste nexus is complicated and often undiscussed by policy-makers and legislators.

6. Single stream recycling is controversial since the recyclables are of lower value and more likely to be contaminated than in a dual stream recycling system.

7. Recycling rates are lower in urban areas.

8. Recycling can be cheaper for some businesses than traditional trash pickup.

9. Recycling/Repurposing clothing and textiles is easy because there is already infrastructure for in place for processing these materials. 

10. "Pay-as-you-throw" systems are very effective, and usually reduce a town's trash by about 40%.

BONUS: Reducing the amount of waste you create is THE most important thing you can do to address the issue of solid waste. 

New Perspectives: Shape up your house with high-efficiency plumbing fixtures

We’ve all probably had that bill that made us really take a step back and examine where our money is really going. Unfortunately, I’ve had that happen, and it was on a water bill! Turns out that for a while, I had been feeling the effects of lagging plumbing fixtures. In addition, water conservation is an increasing global concern, so I wanted to do my part to remedy this problem.

Here are some quick replacements that will help conserve both water and money:

TOILETS
It makes sense that the toilet is the most popular choice among consumers when it comes to going green. In fact, most of the time, the other fixtures in this article are favored in the other direction, with low-efficiency setting and builds. Toilets often flush up to six gallons of water per use, which can account for up to 30 percent of a home’s total water usage. Here are some options to lower that number.

Dual Flush Toilets:  This kind of toilet allows you to choose between flushing for liquid or solid waste.

Composting Toilets: This is exactly like an outhouse, except it is sanitary and comes without the smell. These toilets store waste for one year to allow it to decompose naturally. The smell is eradicated with a
special mixture, and VOILA! No water in your toilet.

High-efficiency Toilets: Even the EPA is getting in on this action, releasing their own WaterSense labeled toilets. It’s said that these toilets save people around 4,000 gallons of water each year.


SHOWERHEADS
Toilets are water hogs, but so are showers. These account for about 20 percent of a home’s total water usage, and that probably doesn’t include those people that take hour-long showers…Typical showers use about 2.5 gallons of water per minute, but bigger showerheads can use up to 20 gallons of water per minute. I shudder when I see these types of stats. Ultra-low-flow showerheads reduce the shower’s water output by about 70 percent, which means less strain on your overall plumbing system.


FAUCETS
Faucets are routinely left on to run at-will. Just like with anything else on this list, this puts a toll on the water heater. If you can’t break your habit of leaving the faucet on, check out high-efficiency faucets. They use 1.5 gallons of water per minute. Not bad at all. It’s a small change, but it adds up in the long run. Now imagine with me for a moment – every person in America (just America) made the switch to these types of fixtures, the country would save three trillion gallons of water per year and around $1 billion per year. If one out of every 100 homes made the switch, 80,000 tons of greenhouse gases would  be eliminated!


Author: Diane Kuehl is a home improvement professional and owner of DIY Mother. She lives in Springfield, Illinois with her husband and two kids.

Eco-Friendly Moving Ideas

image courtesy of Solid Frog

1. Instead of packing your stuff in trash bags, cardboard boxes, or anything else you might end up throwing in the trash, rent reusable plastic crates that can be returned after your move. Try LifeTotes.

2. Before throwing things in the trash, figure out if your stuff is worthy of donating, selling, or giving away on Craigslist. 

3. On the same note, check out local yard sales and craigslist postings before purchasing new furniture. 

4. If new furniture is needed for your new place, look for sustainable options - buy local, or check out eco selections from West Elm, or read about the latest innovations in eco friendly furniture on TreeHugger.

5. Use newspaper to pack fragile items instead of packing peanuts or bubble wrap. Packing peanuts are made from polystyrene...yuck! And bubblewrap doesn't biodegrade. Packing with newspaper is a good way to reuse, and can still be recycled at the end. 

6. Use eco-friendly cleaning supplies when scrubbing down the old and the new digs. Many stores  carry green cleaners, or you can make your own.