Living Green
Changing the Meaning of Earth Day
April 22nd marked the 40th anniversary of the first Earth Day and with a new anniversary comes a new meaning for the day. Started in 1970, Earth Day was originally conceived as a day in which the people of the world could come together and educate themselves about the needs of the planet. However, with the Green movement in full effect, Earth Day has gone from a day of environmental education t...
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Sistah Vegan Explores Race, Veganism and More
If you're into philosophical thinking on food, feminist or racial issues, Sistah Vegan: Black Female Vegans Speak on Food, Identity, Health and Society, edited by A. Breeze Harper, is an anthology you'll want to check out. The anthology offers a unique look at the way veganism intersects with identity, sexuality, anti-racism, animal rights, feminism, decolonization, health, sexuality, d...
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EPA Issues Warning About Flea and Tick Products
Fleas and ticks: two pests guaranteed to give pet owners the willies. Spot-on treatments may seem like a simple solution, but the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a look at the risks of using spot-on pesticide products because there has been a "significant increase in adverse incidents." The agency is working closely with the Food and Drug Administration's Center for...
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Brown Bagging It (Minus the Brown Bag!)
Bringing your lunch to work is chic! Throw together a salad with grilled chicken or make a little extra of your healthy dinner and take leftovers for lunch the next day. Bringing a lunch instead of eating out can be healthier and less expensive, plus it reduces waste. You won't even miss a brown bag with these fun and green food-toting options that we love:
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Top 5 Fashion Picks for This Winter
Ready to have some fun shopping? This winter, youll find natural elements where you might not expect them. Here are our top 5 picks for this winter: 1. Over-the-knee boots: Whether flat or heeled, this is a chic and slightly daring look we love!
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Boots of All Sizes
Boots are the ultimate accessory for winter. There are so many styles and heights to choose—from ankle booties, to mid-calf, to way-over-the-knee.Boots always get a lot of wear and tear, so keeping them in good shape is essential to have a lot of use from them and to avoid throwing away boots that can be saved.Save Old BootsOne trick we have learned is to take old boots that are ...
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Listography.com Helps List-Makers Go Paper-Free
Like many people, I love lists. I scribble them on envelopes, receipts, even on those postcard-size subscription inserts in magazines. And then there are the more permanent lists in my journal, which keep track of everything from movies I want to see to my long and complicated weekly to-do lists. So when the Listography book launched in 2007, I was smitten—until I pulled a copy off the shelf in a...
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5 Ways to Donate Your Old Cell Phone to Charity
Are you getting someone a cell phone this holiday season, or simply taking advantage of the holiday sales with an upgrade? And if youre in the market for a new cell phone, have you thought of what youll do with your old one?Cell phones are made with precious metals, copper and plastics, all of which can be recycled to make new products. In 2007, 14 million cell phones were recycled in the ...
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10 Reasons Soy Candles Are Better at Holiday Feasts
Holiday dinners are usually centered around family, great food, and a gorgeous table glowing with candlelight. Most people set the table with paraffin candles, but they're not really a great option. Paraffin is made from the residue left over from oil refining. While it is good use of a waste product, it isn't good for your health or the environment. Soot from paraffin candles includes ...
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9 Ways to Cut Waste This Holiday Season
I love the magic and merriment of the holiday season, but as wonderful as this time of year is for many of us, the planet isn't quite so happy. The holiday season produces a lot of waste. Household waste jumps an astounding 25 percent between Thanksgiving and the New Year, according to the EPA. That excess "25 percent" totals 1 million tons of trash. So as we head into the holiday...
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Giving Is the Ultimate “In” This Season
Sometimes after you go through your closet, you still need to invest in some new, key pieces.Go out and buy something fabulous, then choose five old items from your closet to donate to charity. This will help to minimize your wardrobe to pieces you know you will wear and do something for others.We like donating clothes to AMVETS because they go to such a great cause and the organizati...
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Go Bearing Gifts
Parties are abundant during the holiday season and we have a great host or hostess gift idea.Wine is always a classy gift option, but the plastic or paper wine bags are not very eco-friendly. Skip the wasteful packaging and wrap the wine bottle in a new kitchen towel tied up with a piece of ribbon you have. It is a unique alternative that your gift’s recipient will appreciate and be able t...
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5 Eco Newsletters You Should Subscribe To
The web is a fantastic depository of information, but sometimes the sheer quantity of information can be overwhelming—which is why RSS feeds have become a popular way to synthesize the information each person wants to access (in bite-size pieces). But another great way to get a variety of information from a number of sources is to subscribe to newsletters. There are tons of interesting, high-qual...
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Water Sucking Solar Farms Breed Water Wars
If you thought there were water wars brewing before, just wait. The sun is often touted as a fantastic source of energy, which it is, but there's a hitch: Many solar projects consume enormous amounts of water. How much water are we talking? According to a recent New York Times article, proposed plans for two solar farms in Nevada would gulp up 1.3 billion gallons of water annually—or 20% of...
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3 Fashion-Forward Reuses for Soda Bottles
There's something about summer and soda. Even those of us who avoid soda for the most part seem to indulge at cookouts, backyard barbecues, and picnics—even though we know it's not good for us. Recycling is the obvious conclusion, but if you'd rather find a way to upcycle, there are plenty of options for reusing soda bottles. Here are three DIY projects that are perfect for all the...
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“Killer Spices” for Organic Natural Pest Control
Some delicious herbs and spices may be the key to natural pest control on organic farms, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Dubbed "killer spices" and "essential oil pesticides" by researchers, the essential oils of clove, mint, rosemary, and thyme can be mixed together several different ways and diluted in water to create a sp...
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Think Big: Throw a Street Sale
Yard sales are great: You get to purge and the landfill gets a break. But could yard sales be better? Don't get me wrong; I have fond childhood memories of digging through other people's trash to find treasures, counting out quarters, dimes and nickels for a book or toy. But throwing a yard sale is a lot of work. So when my neighbors mentioned the prospect of a collective yard sale spa...
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