Green Genius

So, I use plastic bags.

I try to remember my shopping bags, of course. I'm talking here about trash bags. The big plastic bags I put my food scraps and wrappers and all of the other stuff - a lot of it plastic - into so that it can leave my home.

How does this make sense? PLastic sticks around forever, right? Why am I using it?

Well, I've started buying Green Genius trash bags. They are supposed to be biodegradable, which is better. They may not be as strong, but we don't usually lug our bags that far, so I don't think it will be a problem. And it's worth it if they work. There are other brands of biodegradable trash bags and also food storage zip locs and such, out there. They are hard to find because Hefty and Glad take up most of the shelf space for some reason. Take a look and see what you can find.

Making The Call

I have never been a politically minded person.

I believe things. I have strong views on certain things. And I try to vote accordingly. I sometimes give to charities that I feel uphold my beliefs. And yet I have never called a representative. I have never picked up the phone or protested a bill or even stood in support of one.

I think this is relevant. Because over the past few weeks, I've been asked to pick up my phone and call my representative to let him / her know where I stand on issues such as greener energy. And I have not. Which is hypocritical. Especially since I think that the actions of individuals can only take us so far. There are too many of us that opt for the easy way out. Too many of us cheat on our diets. Too many of us that use plastic bottles that we know will clutter our oceans, too many of us that go for convenience over the greater good. It's human nature. Without guidelines, this is what we do.

Especially when there are businesses out there willing to cut our throats to make a buck.

But I still haven't called. Nor do I have any immediate plans to.

I think I'm afraid to get involved. I fear being labeled a radical, or having my name added to some list of citizens to be audited and barred from travel. Or simply afraid that, if I call, I'll get ninety seven phone calls from people asking me to donate to the Firefighters of New England.

I think what I'm trying to do is to come to a place where I DO get involved and stand up for what it is I believe in.

Earth Hour

Here's something you can do: turn off the lights.

No, not when you leave the room. I'm encouraging anyone who finds this post to shut off the lights for one hour on March 27th, 2010, at 8:30 PM. It's Earth Hour.

The idea is to get as many people as possible to shut off the lights, and to get people thinking about energy use and climate change. Please consider joining and / or spreading the word. I'll send out a reminder. I promise.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a romantic dinner or rendez-vous. Get some friends together and tell spooky campy ghost stories. Or just look out the window and see if things look any different. (This will work if you live in a city. Where I live things will most likely look the same - wicked dark.)

Climate Counts

The role that a company takes in climate change is as big as the company itself. After all, companies produce a product or provide a service, and as long as they are making a profit, they usually don't care too much about the effect they are having on other people, or on the earth.

And it's hard to know what to do about it. How do you know which companies are the "baddies?" When it's time to buy a toaster, or a printer, or grab a cup of coffee, or take a weekend vacation, you don't usually sit there thinking "what effect will this choice have on the planet?"

I found a website that can help! Climatecounts.org scores companies on the steps they take and are taking on being responsible and sustainable. Airlines, hotels, media, food products, clothing... You can browse buy brand, you can look up items by industry, and you can get breakdowns (more or less) of the scores. It's not The Answer, but it's something to look at and be aware of. Companies with high scores can be invested in and supported, and companies with low scores can be avoided and peppered with emails - by the way, the website allows you to send an email directly to any of the companies listed letting them know you care about the environment.

This site is a non-profit, supported by Stonyfield Farms (who just happened to get a high score of 81?). I am not certain of the exact criteria used, or how accurate the results are. These types of things have to be difficult to rate cross industry, and I'm sure that they are as varied as the number of companies. But I think this site is worth looking at, and can give a good idea of where each company stands.

Way to Swap! - more recycled clothing.

One of my Facebook friends is having a Clorox GreenWorks sponsored party this weekend. I shall be unable to attend. Which is a shame. I'm assuming it was kind of like a tupperware party, or one of those candle parties, where they give a little presentation and then try to get you to buy stuff. But I like Green Works.

What makes this party interesting, is that it involved a kid's clothing swap. Everyone would bring clothes they no longer wanted or had outgrown, and you could go through everyone else's piles to pick up stuff for your own kids. How neat is that?

Why don't adults organize stuff like that for themselves? I would LOVE a party like that. Even if I only wore an item twice I would feel as though I won.

Fashion Where?

There are all sorts of issues concerning clothing and being green.

I wish I could be all concerned about the materials my clothes were made off - nothing but free range wool and organic cotton. No pesky plastic materials. And I am, but I'm more worried about where the made clothing is coming from. And at the end of the day I usually buy my clothing from Target because it' least expensive and most convenient, and I always picture my shirts being stitched together by little blind children in chains using hot poisonous knives.

I looked at a few places to buy organic clothing or free trade clothing online. But I didn't like the styles, or if I did I wasn't about to shell out $180 for a pair of jeans.

So what I did was go to GoodWill.

Thrift shops can be fun. I used to go to a really cool one in Cambridge where they had piles of unsorted clothing you could sift through and buy by the bag. All I had to do was walk into that room and my allergies would knock me flat.

The truth is, there are a lot of good clothes at some of these places. Sure, maybe they have been worn before - not everything, though. And you wouldn't want to buy, say, your underwear there. But the other day I bought myself two pairs of pants and a shirt for under ten dollars.

Recycling clothing. How neat.

Paper Trail

I used to save all my receipts, and when my bank statement came I would check every single purchase, and every single check. And I would enter them in a spreadsheet, and make sure than the balance from the bank was the same as the balance from my spreadsheet. I think I did this because I was terrified of the bank cheating me or of buying something and forgetting about it, like a car.

But these days bank statements are a lot more descriptive. Bills can be scheduled, can be paid ahead of time. And when I check my online statement I can often see charges for things I bought that very same day.

So these days, when given the choice of a receipt, I usually say no. What's more, I've requested that my bank stop sending me paper statements. What for? I can check the statements online, and they are usually more up to date.

One thing I haven't done yet but which I am making my next step, is getting my bills emailed to me. This might not work for everyone. And it defeats the purpose if you need to print them out each time you pay them. But you shouldn't have to.

Baby Steps, right?

Pulling The Plug

Last winter we had a power outage that lasted for a week, and I noticed something. No, I mean besides the fact that we had no light, or heat, or running water (we have a well with an electric pump.)

It was quiet. Really, really quiet. Until the generators started running. But for the first few moments of the day I realized just how many things we plug in around here. So here's a challenge.

Look around you. How many lights are on? How many appliances do you have plugged in right now? When you turn of your lights, do you still have glowing green lights from somewhere? When everything is off, can you still hear faint buzzing?

My husband assures me that these things do not take enough energy to make any sort of a difference. But I can't make that work in my head. To me, every little bit adds up.

Last April I started unplugging things. Not everything. Not the fridge, the washer or dryer. Not lamps I use frequently or televisions that take minutes to reconnect to the cable company. But the microwave. The coffee maker. I use them maybe once or twice a day, and when I do, I plug them in. Then I unplug them. I unplugged the radio that made the faint buzzing when it was off. I plug it in to use it. I unplugged the handheld vac - it isn't charged, but I usually know when I'll need it, and can charge it up ahead of time.

I realize this can be irritating. And my husband may be right - I may be overdoing it. But at the same time, it makes me feel a little bit better because I am trying. I am making this effort. And eventually it gets so that I hardly notice it at all.

Recycle

I remember when my childhood city started recycling. Suddenly we had to separate cans from the rest of the trash. And... that was it. Oh! Newspapers! We were supposed to separate newspapers. And I think other paper. I remember my mother used to tear the plastic windows out of envelopes, and I rolled my eyes, wondering why she was bothering.

I recycle everything I can. Our town here has mixed stream recycling. We pay for trash pickup, and they gave us a bin about five feet high. Our whole family could fit in it. And everything goes in there. Cans, bottles, plastic food containers, magazines, newspapers, envelopes, paperboard, cereal boxes, cracker boxes, pizza boxes... They pick it up every two weeks, and it is always full.

I don't know what to do when people don't recycle. I find it hard to put a can in with the rest of the trash. Some people just don't bother. It either isn't offered, or they simply don't trouble themselves. I supposed they simply aren't concerned. Others don't think it makes a difference. I think my brother is under the impression that the pollution created by the recycling process is more harmful than the actual trash.

As far as I know, recycling is a good thing. Right now, it's easy to do, and I suppose as long as our town dumps asks us to do it, I'll go along with it. Thoughts, anyone?

Bag It, Tag it

The grocery store is one of the most terrifying places in the world for me. I go with a list, but once I'm there the abundance of choices can keep me from moving forward. The list may say "Yogurt" but I forget what kind. This one is healthiest, but that one is organic, and both of those are expensive so maybe this third kind? And more often than not I end up getting the ones with cartoon characters on them that are green and purple because those are the ones the kids are asking for and... hey, well they knew what they wanted and I didn't.

I'm still working on all that.

One thing I DO have down, though, is the checkout. Because I remember my BAGS. That's right. I have a bunch of grocery bags - some that I got from the grocery store (they give a bag to each customer on Earth Day) and the rest that I got from.... other places. Workplaces. For gifts. From Health Fairs. Just canvas bags.

I keep them in the closet and I bring all of them each time I go. I usually have more groceries than will fit in the bags, but I choose not to bag the milk or the potatoes, and I ask that the meat be put in plastic.

This is something easy to do. At first I used to forget them, and sometimes I still do, but the first step is to plan on using them and on not giving up. Now I don't even give it a second thought. That's a lot of plastic bags I'm not using.