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Archive for the ‘Eco-Friendly’ Category

Our Earth HourS – Reporting in

Posted in carbon footprint, Earth Hour, Eco-Friendly, Energy-Efficiency, Environment, tagged , , , , , on March 30, 2011 | 2 Comments »


Baaa .... Baaaad

Well, we indeed made it through our 12 “Earth HourS” this past Saturday. It was an interesting experiment, some things to be proud of, but we’re also both feeling a bit sheepish.

We chose 6:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 26th, 2011 as our Earth HourS — when we would do our best to be conscious and try not to consume energy. We chose this day and these hours because we knew it would be a “normal day” of tasks focused at home. A day of hiking in the country would show us nothing about our normal home consumption. (more…)

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Plastic (we hope) simplified

Posted in carbon footprint, Eco-Friendly, Environment, Plastic, tagged , , , , , , on February 21, 2011 | 3 Comments »


Sylvia’s guest blog on bottled water, combined with the fascinating video on The Story of Bottled Water, served to reinforce what Nils and I already believe and suspect:

There are so many good environmental, taste, and personal pocketbook reasons not to use plastic bottled water.

But another very good reason to give up plastic water bottles and plastic in general wasn’t covered: The direct impact on our health!

Note: Finding what can be assumed to be independent, dependable and up-to-date information on the truths behind plastic water bottles and plastic was anything but easy. I thought I’d share with you what I was able to find in the way of “facts” and “reasonable conclusions”. (more…)

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Save the planet, bring your own water

Posted in Eco-Friendly, Environment, Plastic, Water conservation on February 16, 2011 | 3 Comments »


Friend and follower, Sylvia van Bruggen from The Netherlands, joins us again to guest blog. This time she’s mad as hell about the water we’re drinking. More from us on this subject later this week.

It isn’t often that things make me mad. But talk to me about bottled water and you get me mad.

When my country’s Crown Prince Willem Alexander began to show interest in water management, a lot of people laughed at him, saying that it was a sort of empty subject, a “non- topic” even.

You know why that is? Because we in the West are so used to the amazing fact that we can turn on our tap and get clean, drinkable water out of it.

Water as a luxury

The UN declared clean water to be one of the basic human rights. And they did it for a good reason. In fact 900 million people don’t have access to clean water.

And that brings me to one of my biggest pet peeves regarding water (and in general!). (more…)

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The best ways to say “I love you”

Posted in Buy Local, carbon footprint, Eco-Friendly, Gift Giving, Local Food, Organic Food, tagged , , , , on February 10, 2011 | 4 Comments »


Valentine’s Day: A big celebration day for florists around the world! In the U.S., it’s their number one holiday with as much as 20% of annual business. According to a CBS report, Americans will spend $1.7 billion on flowers for their sweeties.

And you? As one of the long-time ads in the States says, you certainly “… care enough to send the very best”, right? Well, keep in mind that these days, part of the “very best” means organic and Fair Trade.

Why?

First of all, by buying organic you’re ensuring that your loved one isn’t inhaling poisonous chemicals. If that’s not enough reason, (more…)

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The well-traveled yogurt

Posted in Buy Local, carbon footprint, Eco-Friendly, Environment, local eating, Local Food, Local harvest, Organic Food on February 7, 2011 | 2 Comments »


While I’ve been busy doing research and experimentation on the best and simplest way to make yogurt, you might think that Nils has been sitting back and just enjoying the fruits of his wife’s new passion. Au contraire! Or I should say (in German) Im Gegenteil!

During my ventures into the world of lactobacillus, Nils was looking for a study he remembered from years ago, which came to be known as “Ein Jogurt geht auf Reisen” (“Journey of a Yogurt”). A fascinating study! (more…)

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Taking “guilty” out of pleasure – making yogurt

Posted in Eco-Friendly, Environment, Local Food, Organic Food, Plastic, Product Safety, tagged , , on February 1, 2011 | 5 Comments »


In our household, we love yogurt. But ever since we’ve become more aware of the negative impact plastics have on our health, wildlife, the environment, and the future of our planet, eating the stuff has left a … ahem … sour taste in our mouths.

Now, if I go to our organic food store, I can find yogurt in a large glass jar. But, there’s no low-fat version and certainly no sheep milk yogurt (which I prefer). At the regular grocery store, we can find large 14-oz/400g plastic containers which somehow make me feel slightly less guilty, but still not a long-term solution. The most common is the worst: those “cute” 4-oz/125g containers of yogurt that are so much more practical, right?

Eating yogurt = guilty pleasure. :-(

But as of this afternoon, we can take the guilty out of our pleasure. (more…)

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Action for safe cosmetics

Posted in Animal Conservation & Welfare, breast Cancer, Cancer, carbon footprint, Diseases, Eco-Friendly, Environment, Product Safety, women's health, tagged , , , , , , on January 28, 2011 | 4 Comments »


From "The Story of Cosmetics"

Earlier in the week, I presented a dilemma I had last year with the cosmetic industry. I was shocked to discover what we’re putting on our and our children’s faces, bodies, and even in our mouths (in toothpastes).

I shared my own natural beauty solutions, which I hope you’ll consider and adapt for yourself. But, in addition, I think it’s important that we help the beauty industry do their own makeover to keep us, future generations, and our wildlife and environment safe.

Simple actions we can all take (more…)

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Search for safe beauty solutions

Posted in Cancer, carbon footprint, Diseases, Eco-Friendly, Environment, Product Safety, reproductive health, women's health, tagged , , , , , , on January 25, 2011 | 4 Comments »


About eight months ago I began a descent toward hell. With the intent of doing an Impact Effort on commercially-made beauty products, I started doing research into ingredients typically included in these items. What I found was disturbing, in many cases, frightening.

My dilemma: I didn’t know how to present my findings to YOU. I, personally, don’t believe in scare tactics as a motivator — mostly because they depress and de-motivate me. On top of that, if I presented the findings, I‘d have to take action, too. So, I put it all aside, and Nils and I went along our merry way doing other Impact efforts. I closed my eyes and buried my head in the sand.

From The Story of Cosmetics

No more rose-colored glasses

But, I found myself looking at the cosmetics and hair and skin products in our home with a jaundiced eye. (more…)

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Don’t pitch your holiday cards!

Posted in carbon footprint, Eco-Friendly, Environment, Recycling, tagged , , , , , , on January 20, 2011 | 10 Comments »


This year's holiday cards

… give them a new life!

All your used holiday cards can be recycled, up-cycled (made into something even nicer — I love this word), or re-purposed.

I’ve already re-purposed some of our cards (see “Try it yourself” below), and a few others I’m donating to a friend who recycles them into cards sold at her charity church bazaar.

Try it yourself

recycled cards

My friend, Sylvia‘s mother-in-law collects her family and friends’ holiday cards, cuts out the images, pastes them on new card stock, adds a dash of this and a sticker of that, and … Voila! (see right)… beautiful new cards. Not so complicated (even I can do it ;-) ). And, it’s fun. (more…)

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E-Waste: What to do with yours?

Posted in carbon footprint, E-waste, Eco-Friendly, Environment, tagged , , , , , , on January 12, 2011 | 5 Comments »


Was Santa Claus good to you this year, too? Did you get that new 3D flat screen TV, new iPad or iPhone, PC/Mac upgrade, or other techno-gadget?

Congratulations, join the crowd and enjoy! But, what to do with the old?

Why Care?

In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States estimated that the U.S. alone generates about 2 million tons of e-waste per year. More recently, estimates claim that the UK generates 1.8 million tons per year. In a 2009 report, the UN assessed that worldwide, we generate as much as 50 million tons per year. These mountains of e-waste contain lead, mercury, cadmium, brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and other toxins (more…)

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