42 Ways to Not Make Trash — by No Impact Man Colin Beavan

42 Ways to Not Make Trash — by No Impact Man Colin Beavan

(A Timely Re-Post)

Together with his family, Colin Beavan—aka No Impact Man—spent a year trying to live in the middle of New York City without having a negative impact on the environment. One of his first challenges: getting through everyday life without producing trash. Below are some of his favorite tips and tricks.

No soda in cans (which means we’re probably less likely to get cancer from aspartame).
No water in plastic bottles (which means we get to keep our endocrines undisrupted).
No coffee in disposable cups (which means we don’t suffer from the morning sluggishness that comes from overnight caffeine withdrawal).
No throwaway plastic razors and blade cartridges (I’m staging the straightedge razor comeback).
Using non-disposable feminine-hygiene products that aren’t bad for women and are good for the planet.
No Indian food in throwaway takeout tubs.
No Italian food in plastic throwaway tubs.
No Chinese food in plastic throwaway tubs.
Taking our own reusable containers to takeout joints (except that now we’re eating local so this tip is out for us).

Learning From Our Neighbors: Part I

This past weekend I had the opportunity and pleasure of traveling to visit family in Ontario, Canada.  It was a beautiful day, eh?  There were good times, excellent food and it was great to reconnect with cousins and meet brand new ones.  Throughout the course of the afternoon, many discussions were had about the differences between Canada and the U.S. when it comes to health care, recycling, and regulations surrounding food supply. And you know what?  Canadians do a lot of things right when it comes to all of those things. 

How Many Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs Does It Take to Close 705 Coal Plants?

www.earthpolicy.org/index.php?/book_bytes/2010/pb4ch04_ss2 By Lester R. Brown
The lighting sector is on the edge of a spectacular revolution, a shift from the century-old, inefficient incandescent light bulb to far more efficient technologies. Perhaps the quickest, most profitable way to reduce electricity use worldwide—thus cutting carbon emissions—is simply to change light bulbs. The first advance in this field came with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Replacing old-fashioned inefficient incandescent bulbs that are still widely used today with new CFLs can reduce the electricity used for lighting by three fourths. Over its lifetime, each standard (13 watt) CFL will reduce electricity bills by roughly $30. And though a CFL may cost twice as much as an incandescent, it lasts 10 times as long. Each one reduces energy use compared with an incandescent by the equivalent of 200 pounds of coal over its lifetime. For perspective, the energy saved by replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with an equivalent CFL over its lifetime is sufficient to drive a Toyota Prius hybrid car from New York to San Francisco.

Eco-Steps Toward a Better Tomorrow

The Conscious Shift in Consumer Behaviors

Sunday, April 11, 2010 by Ted Ning

The global economic downturn has not only affected many people’s wallets it has also caused a dramatic shift in the way people look at the choices they are making in their lives. In the U.S. there is a strong desire to be self reliant and to conserve resources as people prioritize their spending and behaviors towards more purposeful decisions. Choices as small as bringing meals to work rather than eating out, taking public transport instead of spending on gasoline and garden grown foods rather than store bought foods are some examples of trends that are picking up. These are changing the way companies approach green business strategy.

Today not only LOHAS consumers but ALL consumers are demanding a greater value from products and services. This value is derived from a strong desire to make the most of everything that a person has. Considerations including investment, functionality and cost are being assessed and are creating new dimensions of ROI that are increasingly a part of the emotional and social values a brand typically provides.

Lighten Up by Going Green

My last posts were pretty serious, and with good reason.  So I am going to lighten it up a bit for this installment.  After all, it’s March, the beginning of Spring, and we’re supposed to be thinking green.  We celebrate all things Irish, blossoms arrive on tree branches and grass begins to poke through the melting snow.  With that said, what are you doing to bring more green into your life?  What little changes could you make, or eco-steps could you take to make our world a greener place? 

Why Eco-Steps Matter

It's no secret that the world population is increasing at alarming rates. As a human race, we consume resources to survive.  And, some of us consume more than others (far beyond what would be considered necessary for survival).

Just recently, I read an article addressing our consumption entitled, "What's Your Consumption Factor?" by Jared Diamond, author of "Collapse," and "Guns, Germs and Steel."  Some of the highlights of the article are that developed nations consume resources at a relative per capita consumption rate of 32 whereas the "rest" of the world consumes at a rate far lower than that-- somewhere around 1.  And, that the disparity in these resource consumption rates is at the root of many of the world's conflicts.  This article uses China as an example of where we are headed with our consumption.  In 2008, China's per capita consumption hovered somewhere around 11.  China has the world's fastest growing economy and four times the population of the United States.  If China's consumption rises to be on par with the US, oil consumption would increase by 106 percent, and world metal consumption would increase by 94 percent.  I don't mean to pick on China or single out any particular nation.  But, it is clear that we all need to start thinking a lot differently about how we consume. 

Hey! Did Ya Know?

Interesting Factoids for a Tuesday:
 
The average American meal travels 2500 miles before it hits your table!
Try selecting locally grown food whenever possible.  

 
The average American throws out 4.5 lbs of garbage every day!
Reuse, Reuse, Reuse.  Then Recycle, Recycle, Recycle.

Americans consume more than 2.5 million bottles of water every hour, and only around 10% are recycled.
Tap water costs about $0.0015 per gallon vs. $2 for a 16-oz bottle at the convenience store!  ($16 per gallon!!)  Save yourself some money and do the planet some good by buying a good reusable and refillable drink container.
 
The average American is exposed to about 3000 advertising messages a day.
Think about that for a moment... (you just missed out on 2-5 ads while doing that...)

Children ages 8-12 see the most food ads on TV — an average of 21 a day, or 7,600 a year.
Many of those ads are not for healthy, nutritious foods.  Why are our kids unhealthier than ever?  Hmmm.....

Re-Run: Small Eco-Steps to Live Better, Preserve the Planet, Save Money and Be Happier

We hear it everyday: Reduce our carbon footprint, eat less meat, turn down the thermostat, put on a sweater, recycle, stop drinking bottled water. If we don't want to literally melt the Earth, we have to do all of these things, plus keep up with our jobs, our daily lives, running the kids here and there-- combining as many trips as possible to avoid emitting CO2. It can be overwhelming to mentally juggle all we already had on our daily plates, let alone throw some more "helpful" ideas to save our planet.

But does it need to be that hard? Well, in a nutshell, no. It does not. Let's face it, no matter where we fall on the "green" spectrum, there is always room for improvement! And that's where this Blog comes in. The objective here is to help people help themselves, help the planet and maybe get a little happier in doing so. So, here is a list of 10 small "eco" steps you can take to do your part for the environment. It's not long, and you can probably pick just one, maybe even two things for starters. But, if you're feeling bold, do them all. It can only help.