I am a contributor to newsok.com and The Oklahoman‘s Go Green Web site blog. View my blog entries below and at blog.newsok.com/gogreen.
What if I told you there was a way to simplify your life and at the same time, do something good for the environment?
What if I also told you that a few simple steps would also reduce the amount of junk mail and catalogs that flood your mailbox every day?
By following these tips from author Sid Kirchheimer, you can reduce the amount of paper that is mailed to your home, plus save you the headache of shredding all those credit card applications.
1. Visit www.optoutprescreen.com to stop pre-approved credit card applications and phone calls.
2. You can also go to www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglist and complete the opt-out mailing form, then click the “register online” button. This is the fastest way to get off of the mailing list of the Direct Marketing Association, but it costs $5. Small price to pay, if you ask me.
One other tip that I’ve been hearing on National Public Radio is to visitwww.catalogchoice.org to decline paper catalogs you no longer want to receive. Not only do you reduce the impact on the environment, but it might also help you save money by reducing your catalog shopping.
As a recent college graduate, I have an overabundance of credit card, insurance and other unsolicited mailings that clog up my parents’ mailbox every day. So, you’re welcome Mom and Dad! I’m taking my own advice and helping save the environment. But can I keep my J Crew catalog subscription? Please!
Read the full exceprt from Sid Kirchheimer’s “Scam-Proof Your Life” at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16531776/wid/18298287/.
-Lisa
Today is Earth Day!
And what a gloomy day it is! Completely overcast, raining, humid. It’s the kind of day that makes you change your desktop background to one of those gorgeous beach scenes with palm trees, soft, sandy beaches and blue skies. Sometimes I just sit at my desk and watch the screen saver change from one utopian scene to the next. Productive, I know.
But, if you’re lucky, you’ll be taking a summer vacation soon! And before you head off to paradise, be sure to pack your green sunscreen! I’m not referring to the green-colored zinc sunscreen that graces the noses of so many tourists in the tropics. I’m talking about eco-friendly sunscreens.
Traditional sunscreens contain chemical UV filters, preservatives and sometimes coloring or scents that can wash off in the water and contaminate pools, oceans, lakes and streams. Some of those chemicals can even survive sewage treatment processes and are released back into the environment.
Researchers at the Polytechnic University in Marche, Italy conducted a study on how sunscreen affects coral reefs in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. The researchers estimate that 4 to 6,000 metric tons of sunscreen washes off swimmers annually worldwide. The study concludes that even low levels of sunscreen chemicals could promote viral infections that can completely bleach coral in just four days.
Certain eco-parks in Mexico have already banned the use of sun-tan lotions and sunscreens with oils and chemical ingredients because they “damage marine flora and kill fish.”
Eco-friendly sunscreens like MelanSol, an all-natural, antioxidant-rich sunscreen, care chemical free and still provide great protection from UV rays. Check out http://www.PureSunscreen.com for a complete list of ingredients. Other green sunscreen products can be found at www.pristineplanet.com.
I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to hit the beach. Until then, maybe I’ll put on some of this green sunscreen, just in case. I mean, the fluorescent lights in here are pretty strong, and this screen saver seems to really be doing the trick.
-Lisa
Okay, so I don’t mean to brag but I’ve got good coffee karma…really good coffee karma.It seems like every time I visit a certain coffee giant, I get something for free. It’s not always welcome, mind you. Like the time I took my dad’s sports car out for a spin with my friend and we stopped by a coffee shop to pick up a drink. My dad would have murdered me if he had known we had drinks in his car, so we planned on being extra careful. Lo and behold, the barista not only gives us the drinks we ordered, but three more that they had mistakenly made! All for free! I couldn’t very well say no, but I feared for my life. We managed to balance the drinks without spilling anything on the leather seats and made it home safely.Another example of my good coffee karma: I’m an intern at the Oklahoman, so naturally I want to make a good impression. What better way to do so than muffins? So I picked up a dozen blueberry muffins in their little cardboard boxes, but when I got to the register they couldn’t find the button to ring them up. So they gave them to me for free! A dozen free blueberry muffins!And just this morning the barista at the drive-thru gave me my coffee for free!But coffee is now doing more than giving itself away for my personal enjoyment. Coffee grounds are being used by Sustainable Edmond for composting. The grounds provide valuable carbon-nitrogen for plant growth and will generate heat and speed up the composting process! So now the leftovers from your favorite non-fat-no-whip-soy-milk-double-shot caffé latte can do some good for the environment.Cheers everyone, drink up!- Lisa
I love my dog. Correction. I ADORE my dog. She’s a two-year old smelly, snorting, flat-faced pug named Pearl. Pearl is like my child. She goes everywhere with me, sleeps in my bed with me and eats my leftover food. She’s about as spoiled as spoiled gets.
So imagine my excitement when I learned there’s a way to spoil her even more, and a GREEN way at that! An article I found on prevention.com tells readers how to become a green pet owner.
When it comes to the little (or big) messes our pets make, former veterinary technician Rebecca Skioot says dealing with acts of nature naturally is the best way.
She recommends flushing pet waste down the toilet, not putting it in plastic bags and throwing it in the trash. Flushable Bags are a brand of pooper-scoopers that dissolve in water. If you don’t want to hold onto the bag until you can get to a toilet, Skioot recommends biodegradable bags like PoopBags, available at www.poopbags.com. There are also environmentally friendly cat litters and litter pan liners, like Swheat Scoop Natural Wheat Litter or BioBag Cat Pan Liners.
Pet owners can also buy green toys and collars made of hemp, recycled plastic and other materials on sites like greatgreen-pet.com.
The site also has green cleaning products like Nature’s Miracle Stain and Odor Remover, which is an enzyme-based product that cleans up the mess without chemicals.
Also, buy organic pet foods that don’t use pesticides to grow the ingredients.
The most important way you can go green when it comes to your pets is to go “Bob Barker” and have them spayed or neutered. Skioot says overpopulation of dogs and cats causes tons of uncontrolled waste and can take its toll on wildlife. Spaying and neutering will reduce the number of unwanted pets and increase chances that strays will find homes.
While Pearl may be the most spoiled pet I know, she is not my family’s only animal. We also have a corgi named Mable, a jack russel terrier named Lady, a cat named Jellybean and two horses, Ella and Topper.
I’ll have to look into going green for my horses, but for now, my house pets are about to start seeing green.
- Lisa
What would the world look like if everyone lived like me? 
This is the question that American Public Media is asking visitors to its sustainability page atpublicradio.org.
And what a question it is!
If you follow the link above, you’ll find an interactive game called Consumer Consequences, which illustrates the impact of our lifestyles on the Earth. The game asks a series of questions about your lifestyle, including how many miles you drive per month, how much food you eat and how often you buy new items of clothing or shoes (yikes!).With every question you answer, the game provides information and tips on how you can improve your score. You can even create your own character to play the game, and your own neighborhood to play it in.
The impact of your lifestyle is then calculated in terms of how many Earths it would take if everyone lived as you do. You can compare your lifestyle with others and modify your answers to reduce your impact.
In an effort to encourage you to play the game, I will share my results:
My character sported a top hat, a furrowed brow, a wedding dress and a very long handlebar moustache. I played in the downtown-looking neighborhood.
There are 4 people living in my household (OK, my parent’s household. I did just graduate from college, remember!). It is a single-family home that is 2000 to 2500 square feet. We live in Oklahoma, and I figured our gas and electricity costs are above the state average. We do turn off the lights in my house (my Dad makes me walk back up the stairs and turn out every light in my room if I forget) and close the doors, so I guess we try to conserve energy as often as possible. We probably throw out 2-3 garbage bags per week, and we recycle everything. I drive (by myself) to work every day, but I do have a hybrid (if that counts for anything!). I don’t ever take the bus, train or fly anywhere. My car gets 60 miles per gallon (woot!) and I probably drive about 1000 miles per month. I don’t eat as much as the average person, but I do eat out a lot. I will admit, I have yet to get into the groove of buying locally grown and organic products. After this game, I definitely will be making a trip to the Farmer’s Market! The shopping habits are really what gets me in trouble. I can’t help it! I love to shop!
Calculation: It would take almost 5 Earths to sustain my lifestyle if everyone lived like me! Yikes! This game is a huge wake-up call. My shopping and my eating habits were the worst on my list.
So there. I shared my embarrassing score. Now it’s your turn!
I challenge everyone to play this game and share their Earth count here on the Go Green blog page. Leave me a comment and let me know what your results were and how you plan to change your lifestyle!
-Lisa
As a city, Oklahoma City is not very good at recycling. Let’s face it, we need to get with the program.
In a effort to encourage citizens to recycle, the city of Oklahoma City has launched the Blue Bin Instant Win game. You could win $100 cash just for recycling! One resident a week will be chosen for 12 weeks and can win $100 from Waste Management. If no winner is chosen for the previous week, the prize is doubled!
If that’s not incentive enough to put your recycle bin on the curb, I don’t know what is!
The game ends the week of July 7th, so hurry up and get recycling! For more information, to get a Little Blue or to get a brochure so you can enter the competition, call 297-2833.
A list of accepted recyclable materials can be found online at this site:http://www.okc.gov/trash/recycle/index.html
For more information on Blue Bin Instant Win, visit this link:http://www.okc.gov/news/2008_05/Blue_Bin_Instant_Win_2.html
Good luck and happy recycling!
-Lisa
What better way to celebrate than with some terrifying facts about what we are doing to our environment, courtesy of C.S. Goldsmith, author of UNINHABITABLE: A Case for Caution.
Just kidding. But seriously, folks.
Instead of focusing on the negative and scaring everyone to death, I’m going to give you a list of things you can do to help reduce global warming:
- Recycle!
- Use compact fluorescent light bulbs!
- Use less heat and air conditioning!
- Turn off lights, appliances and the water faucet!
- Plant trees!
- Drive less and get some exercise!
- Use less hot water!
- Ask your utility company for a home energy audit to see in what areas you can improve your energy efficiency!
- Buy products that are energy-efficient and recyclable!
- Spread the word!
I use exclamation points for a reason. Global warming is a huge threat, and it’s not going away any time soon. Goldsmith claims the problem is worse and more immediate than has been publicized. The problem is not only ours; it is our children’s as well.
“We have 5 to 10 years maximum to find a way to tame global warming. Otherwise, we risk methane-induced temperature spikes that could push us into temperature zones that would make adaptation unlikely and much of the plane uninhabitable,” Goldsmith said.
I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty awful.
So, to the powers that be, I am officially declaring every day to be Earth Day. The way things are going, we’re going to need more than one day a year to reverse our destructive path and make sure that our children will have an Earth on which to live.
Anybody with me?
- Lisa
Compact fluorescent light bulbs are changing the way people look at light. They use 2/3rds less energy than regular light bulbs, last 10 times longer and produce 70% less heat. But, as always, there’s a catch.
[Left: Figures from January 2007.]
CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury, which helps the bulbs to be more efficient than standard incandescent bulbs. Mercury is a neurotoxin which is especially dangerous for fetuses and children. While no mercury is released while the bulb is in tact or being used, the disposal or breakage of such a bulb poses a potential health hazard.
400 million of these bulbs are used each year. That means 400 million are thrown away when they burn out. That small amount of mercury in each bulb adds up when that many are being broken in garbage cans and landfills.
When disposing of CFLs, don’t put them in your trash.
Instead, take the bulbs to a hazardous waste facility. The Oklahoma City facility is located at SW 15th and Portland and is open Tuesday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The center is free to Oklahoma City residents, but you will need your City water bill as proof of residence. Residents of The Village, Yukon, Tinker Air Force Base, Shawnee and Edmond can recycle their waste at the facility, but will be charged for the service through their municipality.
If a CFL bulb breaks in your home, follow these EPA guidelines to clean it up:
Before Clean-up: Vent the Room
1. Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
2. Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.
Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
1. Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
2. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
3. Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes and place them in the glass jar or plastic bag.
4. Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.
Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug:
1. Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such
as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.
2. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments
and powder.
3. If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
4. Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.
Disposal of Clean-up Materials
1. Immediately place all cleanup materials outside the building in a trash container or outdoor protected area for the next normal trash.
2. Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
3. Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states prohibit such trash disposal and require that broken and unbroken lamps be taken to a local recycling center.
Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Vent the Room During and After Vacuuming
1. For at least the next few times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window prior to vacuuming.
2. Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.
By all means, don’t stop using CFLs because of the mercury. The bulbs are perfectly safe to use in your home. Just be sure you dispose of them properly. Either take them to the hazardous waste facility. If you must throw them in the trash, seal the bulb in two plastic bags before throwing them in the garbage.
As the owner of a hybrid car (and a nice cloud of smug), I am always happy to talk up the benefits of such vehicles:- I can drive back and forth from Oklahoma City to Norman (where I go to school-Boomer Sooner!) without having to fill up every day.- My car is much, much quieter (good for sneaky getaways).- It’s fun to watch the meter go from blue to green on my dashboard and see the gas gauge rise while I’m driving.So while gas prices continue to rise and all my non-hybrid driving friends do nothing but complain, why don’t we get proactive about it and do something!That something can include switching from gas-guzzling SUVs to more fuel-efficient vehicles like hybrids and compressed natural gas vehicles. CNG car drivers are followed around by an even larger cloud of smug for several reasons:- The American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy has rated CNG cars “the most environmentally friendly ‘green’ car. I will admit, I’m jealous.- Unlike gasoline, natural gas is clean, abundant, and relatively cheap. Less than $2 cheap.- 40 miles per gallon. Need I say more?
So instead of whining all the time about how expensive gas is becoming, get a hybrid, a CNG car or just get your lazy rear end up off the couch and walk to the store!- Lisa
A new environmental superhero is hitting bookstores this month with a valuable message for kids.
Michael Recycle is a “super-green” hero who encourages a grimy town overtaken by trash to clean up their act. The green-caped crusader declares, “You must stop this now! You’ve got to act soon. The towers of trash reach up to the moon!”
The town members are inspired my Michael to create a “Be Greener” Campaign, which includes:
- Recycling- Growing their own vegetables- Collecting rain for reuse
Ellie Bethel is the creative mind behind Michael Recycle. She uses rhyming, whimsical prose to deliver her powerful and timely message to children. This book almost makes me wish I had kids of my own to read it to. Almost.
For now, I might just pick up a copy of my own and read it to myself.
- Lisa
Oklahoma teens were environmentally minded when they came up with the theme for an annual fund-raiser at the end of March. Volunteers and staff of Youth Services for Oklahoma County, Inc. are organizing the Reach for the Stars benefit to help raise money for programs to help local teens. The volunteer offshoot group, the Youth Services Teen Service Board (made up of 35 Oklahoma teenagers), decided that the environment is a major concern in their lives, so they are making the event green. Programs and decorations will be made of recycled products, the dinner menu will include organic food and guests will take come compact fluorescent light bulbs to offset the use of electricity and fuel. Live auction items include a 2008 Toyota Prius, landscaping and tree packages and a one-week stay in a three-bedroom condo in Park City, Utah, an EPA-designated Green Power Community. Thanks to their efforts, these teens should be able to reach the stars and keep the ozone layer intact. Major props are in order to these teens for thinking green and making a difference in their community. Bravo!
-Lisa
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