Environment
Upcycled Jewelry
Fun, creative, unique recycled jewelry knows no limits in design or materials. Its a special kind of design that uses materials that are no longer wanted or destined for the trash and reworks them into something beautiful and often playful. It has an appeal to those intere...
Read more...Can a good pulse change the world?
When we speak of climate change and the environment, the word pulse doesn’t usually make it’s way into the conversation. Maybe it’s because we most often associate the word pulse with the human heart. However, that’s not the only definition of the word and definitely not the o...
Read more...The Science of Sustainability
The scientists at LS9 Laboratories in California are taking a new approach in the search for sustainable fuels. Current sources of biofuels involve the growing of crops such as corn, canola or soybeans, which challenges us to choose between food and fuel. Rising demand for bio...
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Tree Hugger? Yes!
In his seminal work A Geography of Human Life (1903), Tsunesaburo Makiguchi a Buddhist educator and founder of the modern buddhist organization, The SGI remarked that ...every aspect of the entire universe can be found in the small, limited area of ones home community. But we...
Read more...Activism 101
As a business woman running a national natural and organic cosmetics company with a mission to do good, I am struck by the similarity between the riddance of parabens and the gulf oil disaster. When parabens as a preservative in cosmetics were suspected of causing harm, you as...
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The greenest lawn on the block
You dont have to live on a farm to see the value in conserving water. While we know that the type of grass growing in a given region will vary depending on the climate of the area, theres a new grass in town that can conserve water and energy and save you some money t...
Read more...Portland, Oregon: Is It the Green Mecca Its Reputed to Be?
I’ve been quiet on this blog for some time. With good reason. Its called moving 12 hours from tiny but mighty Nevada City, California to the Mecca of green that is Portland, Oregon. A huge move made for many reasons and one that, a month in, I’m glad I made. As you’...
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The lighter side of pesticides
Life ain’t easy. We all want to do the right thing, help the environment, live better lives, and leave the planet in a better state than we found it. But, when it comes to taking action, things get tricky. Every time we turn a corner we’re assaulted by conflicting view...
Read more...Dawn of the Ecopragmatist
Pragmatism - The philosophy of accepting ideas with practical results as true and rejecting impractical ideas. In other words: “What works best?” When it comes to green, Stewart Brand is certifiably as green as it gets. We’re talking old school true-blue eart...
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Sambo Mockbee Documentary
One of the most transcendental moments of my life happened standing in a downpour outside a poor elderly African American womans home in Hale County, AL. On the porch beside her stood a young white Auburn Architecture student. The old woman was crying tears of grati...
Read more...Drill, Baby Drill
On April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico something cataclysmic happened, an unimaginable environmental and economic disaster that took 11 peoples lives and injured 17 others. Transocean Ltds drilling rig, Deepwater Horizon, licensed to BP , the British Oil Giant experienced two...
Read more...Study Links ADHD to Pesticide Exposure
(Beyond Pesticides, May 18, 2010) A team of scientists from the University of Montreal and Harvard University have discovered that exposure to organophosphate pesticides is associated with increased risk of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children. Using...
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Washing Dishes & Dishwasher Tricks
Wondering how to get the best out of your dishwashing efforts? Lets cover how to wash dishes effectively whether by hand or automatic dishwasher while using the gentlest and most eco-friendly products available.I have noticed that my dishwasher has been slacking in perfor...
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Pesticide regulations, keeping us safe?
Just beyond my kitchen window lays an untainted canvas of new life and vibrant colours, a welcomed sight after several months of stale frigid Canadian snow. In the yard is a beautiful orchestra of buzzing bees, chanting birds and smooth rippling leaves in the breeze....
Read more...How to start a community garden
As the name indicates, community gardens are the gathering of a group of people to garden. That is about as structured as you can get with the description because these community gardens take on many forms, depending of course, on the area in which they are being grown. So...
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Banish Toxic Dust from Your Home
Theres nothing like a thick layer of dust hidden behind a bookshelf or a computer to make most people cringe. Household dust may seem relatively harmless to most people, but few realize that toxins can be trapped in dust, posing real health risks.According to the Env...
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Cleaning Tips: Removing Cat Hair from the Air
Spring is in the air. The grass is turning green, the sun is shining and lo and behold, I have cat hair all over me! Many people are experiencing the same seasonal frustrations with this pesky issue.As an owner of a newly-acquired Siamese Himalayan kitten, I have learned ...
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One fish, two fish, red fish....green fish?
Back in the 1950s, Louis Armstrong and Bing Crosby sang Gone Fishin, a duet about - you guessed it - their love for a leisurely day spent fishing. They arent the only ones; millions of people all over the world participate in the activity in some form, whether i...
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Plan an Annual Purge of Things You Don't Use
Get out your mop, plug in the vacuum, pull down the drapes—its time for some good old-fashioned spring cleaning. Green cleaners choose eco-friendly and natural products to make their home shine, but many people forget about one vital part of spring cleaning: the purge! Pu...
Read more...Turn your kids into green thumbs
If you were in a garden, planting, weeding, watering and pruning practically by the time you learned to walk, and still keep it up today, you undoubtedly realize the benefits of teaching children about the importance of gardening. If you werent a planting expert at a young...
Read more...Xeriscaping and it's environmental benefits
The concept of conserving water is an important one to grasp, especially as you read about how precious a resource it is in many parts of the world. After all, if some cultures value water so much they view it as a living goddess, take a few steps to preserve something man...
Read more...Green your Printing
Did you know The Recycled Products Cooperative estimates that over 100 million trees are cut each year to supply paper products to the Unites States. According to Annie Leonard in The Story of Stuff, making one ton of paper requires the use of 98 tons of various other reso...
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2 More Glaciers Gone From Glacier National Park
We all know warmer temperatures have led to shrinking glaciers, and now two more of Glacier National Parks ice fields are too small to be classified as glaciers, according to a recent article on msnbc.com. The Shepard Glacier and Miche Wabun Glacier have shrunk to less th...
Read more...Water – Our Precious Resource
With our attention turned to water this week, we should not cease shedding light on the grave issue and encouraging dialogue and action. To my delight, over this past week my twitter page has been flowing with facts, articles, and initiatives to bring attention to and...
Read more...Five Favorite Green Products
In hopes of providing our readers with some direction we’ve come up with a list and summary of Green Benefits’ five most popular products; each of them eco-friendly in their own right, of course. Full-Color Variable Print Stainless Steel Water Bottle This mout...
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Green Laundry Tips
Everyone asks for good laundry tips—and with good reason. One person alone can create 3 loads of laundry every week or two, so imagine what a family of 4 can produce in dirty clothes! Making small changes to your laundry routine can help you move toward a greener and more natura...
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Changing Our Relationship with the Planet
I cannot decide if I should consider myself lucky or unlucky to bear witness to an ecological catastrophe. Lake Atitlán in Guatemala is being overwhelmed by cyanobacteria. This problem is not new in the world of aquatic ecosystems. It has been seen in other places in the Unite...
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Natural Cleaning Improves Indoor Air Quality
From bleach to grease-busters to deodorizers, there are plenty of chemical cleaners out there to tackle your dirtiest, grimiest, bacteria-laden situations. But theres a problem: Many of those cleaning products contribute to indoor air pollution. Its common knowledge that ...
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Retailers Avoid Fuels from Alberta Tar Sands
The Alberta tar sands is taking another hit as two major retailers—Whole Foods and Bed Bath & Beyond—announced on Wednesday that they are moving to avoid using the petroleum products sourced from the tar sands for transporting product, according to a ForestEthics press releas...
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Top 10 Green Clean Products
Green-fingered ladies, it’s time to get dusting as we present the top ten eco cleaning products that will be making their way into our cupboards this year. Lucie Goulet writes. Traidcraft Recycled Kitchen Roll Traidcraft Recycled Kitchen Roll is entirely...
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Adam Lowry: Founder of Method Cleaning Products
Adam Lowry, founder of eco cleaning brand, Method, explains the ethics behind his company, how one product took eight years to develop, and why he rarely looks in the rear view mirror. Amiee Jones writes. What inspired you to begin Method? Adam Lowry: ...
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Green Floor Cleaning
Cleaning your floors can be a mystery wrapped in an enigma. There are so many kinds of flooring options available—and of course, expensive manufacturers cleaning products to go along with them. But there are plenty of eco-friendly ways to clean them.There are two key simp...
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7 Tips for Gifting Green
Standing in a store surrounded by dozens of other shoppers, that claustrophobic, panicked feeling that washes over many of us at some point in December can have even the greenest tree-hugger blindly grabbing for the closest toy and a roll of wrapping paper.At home, well n...
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Clean Green this Holiday Season
During the holidays, guests drop in, meals are prepared and eaten, and leftovers are stored—and the need to clean never stops!Here are some great kitchen cleaning tips specifically geared toward the bigger tasks, appliance cleaning. All suggestions are chemical free, whic...
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Cap-and-Trade Allows for Business As Usual
The "grandfather of climate change" has decided to boycott next week's climate change summit in Copenhagen—and he even hopes it fails. It might seem like an antithetical position for James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, but...
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Are We Running Out of Uranium? Let's Hope So
Can a nuclear weary TreeHugger really believe what she's hearing? Could uranium mines be facing shortages? Earlier this week, New Scientist reported that nuclear power may be faced with a double blow: Uranium mine owners are talking shortages, and estimates for the amount of...
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Cleaning Green: UV-C Light Technology
Walk down the cleaning aisle of any store and you will find dozens of items designed to disinfect the home. However, one item not found on these shelves is UV-C sanitizing light, currently used to disinfect in hospitals, food manufacturing plants, and water treatment plants. Aro...
Read more...Katherine Poulton Talks Grannies & Supermodels
Interview By: Maria Kaski Launching at the end of the month, The North Circular is set to change the way we consider ethical knitting. Katherine Poulton, model and one of the label’s founders, answered Lucie Goulet’s question on hipster wool, the meaning of being an ...
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Go Green with these Fall Cleaning Projects
Who knew cleaning could be so seasonal? With chilly weather fast approaching for many of us, it is important to get some cleaning and yard work done to keep our homes in tip top shape during the winter months. Depending on where you live, October may be the last month you can com...
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Global Warming's Impact on Animal Populations
We all know global warming is generally changing the planet for the worse, but the specifics aren't always on our minds. You'd have to be living under a rock not to know glaciers and ice caps are melting, and water levels are rising, but did you know trees are dying, a...
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