First we must we reduce our use as much as possible…

Here are 3 of . . . → Read More: Eating Meat Harms the Planet]]> According to the United Nations, Raising animals for food is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.”  If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is stop eating meat.

Here are 3 of the negative effects of raising animals for consumption:

Global Warming

According to a recent United Nations report, the meat industry causes more global warming(through emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) than all the cars, trucks, SUVs, lanes, and ships in the world combined. Researchers at the University of Chicago determined that switching to a vegan diet is 50 percent more effective than switching from a regular car to a hybrid in reducing your impact on global warming.

Water Resources

More than half of all the water consumed in the U.S. is used to raise animals for food.  A totally vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-based diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day.

Pollution

Farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population of the United States.  According to the environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the run-off from factory farms pollutes our rivers and lakes more than all other industrial sources combined.

Take from “Vegetarian Starter Kit” provided by PETA.

It is surprising that the very product we use on our bodies to keep ourselves clean could actually be causing so much damage to not only the environment and aquatic systems, but also to our own skin. How do we go green with our cleaning routine?

When we bathe, most of us . . . → Read More: Soap - How it affects the Environment]]>

It is surprising that the very product we use on our bodies to keep ourselves clean could actually be causing so much damage to not only the environment and aquatic systems, but also to our own skin. How do we go green with our cleaning routine?

When we bathe, most of us use a regular bar of soap bought from the store. After lathering up your body and cleaning away daily grime, you rinse away the soap to run down the drain. The object of this ritual is supposed to keep us clean and smelling nice.

Unfortunately, most commercial soaps contain harsh chemical additives to make them lather properly. They contain perfumes and fragrances that are known to cause irritation in some people. These lovely smelling fragrances are not extracted from naturally aromatic pretty flowers from out in the field. They are produced chemically using cancer-causing chemicals so we can smell good.

Soaps hold their nice bar-like shape because of ingredients like animal tallow, paraffin wax and other crude oil derivatives. Studies have also shown that some of the chemicals used in soap fragrances can cause skin diseases, birth defects and even liver damage in animal testing.

Another chemical found in commercial soaps is TCC or triclocarban, which is known to disrupt endocrine production and promote cancer, learning disabilities and even infertility.

We coat our skins with these toxic chemical compounds and then let those same chemicals run down our drains and into our water systems. Washing with soap no longer sounds quite so cleansing.

Anti-bacterial Soap

In an effort to stave off bacteria, soap manufacturers have included a host of potentially harmful chemicals that not only kill bacteria, but they may also cause nerve damage. The primary ingredient used in antibacterial soap is known as MIT or methylisothiazolinone. This supposed-antibacterial ingredient is chemically similar to Agent Orange, which was a nerve agent used in Vietnam. While MIT is not identical to Agent Orange, the chemical structure and molecular composition is very similar.

Not only could you potentially be washing your skin with nerve toxins, but then you proceed to rinse them down the drain to end up in small quantities in the aquatic system. When you imagine that millions of people use soap each and every day there is a lot of toxic chemical build up being washed into our waterways.

Vegetable Soap

There are some excellent vegetable soaps available in supermarkets that contain more natural ingredients and less chemical compounds. While these are not completely chemical-free, they do not contain the same toxic cocktail apparent in other commercially created soaps.

Castile soap is made using no animal products, like tallow or animal fat and tend to be made of plant oils and natural herbal fragrances. It is possible to buy soaps made from olive oil, nut oils or seed oils.

Not only are castile soaps better for your skin and your health in general, they are much kinder on our environment and our delicate aquatic ecosystems.

For more green tips and money saving ideas,  download the report “Simple Ways to Go Green and See Green”.

1. I wash my hair with a baking soda formula.  1 tbsp of baking soda mixed with about . . . → Read More: 10 things I do at home to be Green]]> As I share ways for us to be green, I decided to highlight 10 things I personally do at home to be green.  Share with us some of the green things you do at home.

1. I wash my hair with a baking soda formula.  1 tbsp of baking soda mixed with about one cup of water. Here is a post on how I started.  For conditioner, I use 1 tbsp of Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with one cup of water for my dark hair and for light hair, use lemon juice and water instead.  I do not use this conditioner every shampoo, I only use it about once a week.

2.  After I shower, I squeegee the shower and wipe it up with a Norwex microfiber cloth (super absorbent and has antibacterial properties) to get rid of the water droplets and soap residue.  By doing this, I clean the bathroom less often as soap scum does not build up in the shower. When it is time to clean, I do not have to use chemicals to scrub off the scum.

3.  When I clean the bathroom, I use baking soda, a sponge or microfiber cloth and some elbow grease.  For a little tougher cleaning, I add vinegar to the baking soda (it fizzes it up) and clean as usual.  I also use baking soda and vinegar to clean the toilets.

4.  In the laundry, we always use cold water to wash the clothes.  Cleaning a load with hot water uses up to 10 times as much energy as cleaning with cold water.  We stopped using the commercial brands of detergent and used soapnuts.  It works well and the kids have less skin irritation.  As we were traveling, to make it easier, we changed to the Norwex laundry detergent which is biodegradable and void of any fillers.  You only have to use a tablespoon when using a front loader washer or 2 tablespoons for a top loader.  One bag lasts a long time.

5. We have stopped using the dryer and hang up all the clothes to dry.  We do an average of 5-6 loads of laundry a week so that is a pretty big energy savings. With the dryer winter air, the clothes on the line dry within a few hours.

6. For any items that have to be dried in the dryer, we use dryer balls instead of the chemical laddened dryer sheets.  These balls also cut down the drying time by about 10%.

7. We have currently set the temperature in the house to 19C/66F, It is cold!   I usually wear an undershirt, a long sleeve shirt and a sweater.  Funny, my second son who is 6 just wears a short-sleeve shirt during the day!  At nights, we turn the thermostat down to 16C/60C.  Another energy saving measure.

8. Even though it is winter, we still compost.  We put the food in the outdoor composter and when it warms up and things thaw, we will mix it up and it will compost nicely.

9. When preparing food, I save the water that I use to clean my rice or vegetables, to water the household plants.  My mum says that the starch from the rice water is good for her plants!

10. We have curbside recycling so we recycle everything that we can.  Paper, cardboard, cans, plastic containers, you name it, anything recyclable goes into the bins.  This week our household of 5 only produced 2 little grocery bags of garbage and we filled 2 large recycling bins.

What are you doing to go green. Share your thoughts with us…

If you would like to learn more about natural ways to go green and improve your lifestyle. Download a FREE report, “27 ways to go green and see green“. Learn how easy it is for you be gentle to the environment and yourselves and save money along the way.

2. Opt for locally sourced building materials. Use domestic wood species, which won’t contribute to rainforest depletion, and will reduce the carbon emissions . . . → Read More: 10 Tips for Living Green]]> Consider sustainability when you renovate.

1. Renovate rather than raze an old building. “It’s about as green as you can go as a first step,” says Toronto architect Janna Levitt.

2. Opt for locally sourced building materials. Use domestic wood species, which won’t contribute to rainforest depletion, and will reduce the carbon emissions created by transportation.

3. Reuse materials that are on site. If you’re altering the structure of your house, repurpose materials from the demolition. Toronto homeowners Debbie Adams and Peter Fleming turned discarded Douglas fir beams (from both on and off site) into furniture, shelving, stair treads and handrails.

4. Install an on-demand water heater. Instead of a bulky tank heater, try one of these small, energy efficient models, which heat water only when it’s needed (and save space).

5. Plant a roof garden. If you have a flat and well-structured roof, make it “green”. This will cool the interior of the house, improve the surrounding air quality and provide a tranquil spot to sit.

6. Reduce the need for artificial lighting. Install light tubes or skylights in rooms that get little or no natural light. Some skylights crank open, which also helps with ventilation.

7. Refurbish old furniture. Keep pieces that are structurally sound from ending up in landfills by refinishing and reupholstering.

8. Minimize lawn area and use native plants. These require less maintenance and water than ones bred in other climates.

9. Capture and reuse storm water. Disconnect your downspouts from the city’s sewer system, and divert the runoff onto a lawn or into a rain barrel so you can use the water for garden upkeep.

10. Turn off the air conditioner. Install ceiling fans and open windows for cross-ventilation instead.

LED technology Unlike . . . → Read More: Guide to LED Christmas Lights]]>

from GreenLiving.com

Learn more about natural ways to improve your lifestyle and go green. Download a FREE report, “27 ways to go green and see green“. Learn how easy it is for you be gentle to the environment and yourselves and save money along the way.

This leads her clients to think they need bigger kitchens; more than three-quarters ask . . . → Read More: Green at Home - The Minimalist Kitchen]]> Sarah Susanka, architect and author of the The Not So Big House books, thinks kitchens are out of control. Oversize appliances and gadgets that do everything we once did by hand now clutter our countertops and eat up storage.

This leads her clients to think they need bigger kitchens; more than three-quarters ask to start their home remodel with that room. “The attitude is, the bigger the better — and that’s absolutely not the best kitchen to be cooking in,” Susanka said. “There’s an appropriate scale, and having more and more cabinets and space between countertops can make it feel unusable.”

The first step to a great kitchen isn’t to remodel, but to clear away the space and energy guzzlers that clutter your counters and eat up storage. Underneath all those gadgets, you might already have the kitchen of your dreams.

Most people use less than half the stuff they own, Susanka said. So when more storage seems the only solution, she often talks clients down. “People may have lots and lots of cookie sheets, but they really only use two,” she said. Our mothers and grandmothers cleared out clutter (the stuff that hangs around but rarely, if ever, gets used) during annual spring cleaning rituals, Susanka notes. Now, “we keep bringing stuff in, but we forget we’ve got to also take stuff out.”

She recommends spring cleaning — even if it’s not spring. “There’s nothing more valuable than taking everything out and just looking at what you’ve got. Just open a cabinet in the kitchen and honestly ask, ‘How many times have I used that?’ You’ll discover that you don’t need most of it.” It won’t be easy. “The hardest thing to do is throw something away,” she said.

Instead of throwing anything away, donate items with a little life left to a thrift store or a friend in need. If you’ve overstocked on canned and dried goods, help the food bank. Remember that surplus next time you’re at the store, and buy less.

Finding reusable replacements for disposables is the easiest way to cut kitchen clutter, said Sherri Brooks Vinton, former Slow Food USA governor and director of the Westport, Conn., farmer’s market. “Slip a plate over a bowl instead of covering it with plastic wrap, transport lunches in reusable containers, use cloth napkins and towels,” she said. “You’ll save a fortune.”

Appreciate what you’ve uncovered: space. Fill it wisely, with wonderful aromas and happy people.

If you are having trouble cutting back on your shopping, try these tips to keep clutter from invading your kitchen.

• CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: Wait a week or more before you buy anything. If you don’t change your mind or forget about it completely, it’ll still be there.
• REALITY CHECK: Add up how many hours of work it would take to pay for that thing you want.
• ASK YOURSELF: Do I have space for this? Does it require washing, dusting or other things I’d rather not do? How often will I use it? How long will it last?
• SHOP SMART: Check out customer reviews on Amazon, Consumer Reports or even from the retailer. (How many times have you wished you’d done that?)

by Misty McNally (GreenLivingJournal.com)

Learn more about natural ways to improve your lifestyle and go green. Download a FREE report, “27 ways to go green and see green“. Learn how easy it is for you be gentle to the environment and yourselves and save money along the way.