Change Your Margins

Want to live an eco-friendly life?

Here's another terrific and terrifically simple way to make a contribution to the sustainable living movement

Best part - it doesn't cost anything!

Here's an excerpt, Changethemargins.com -

"As I was doing my usual margin-changin' thang while printing out a document for my boss, a light bulb went off in my brain. What if you could get people to adopt changing paper margins on a large scale? What if you could get companies to adopt narrower margins as their printing standard? It would result in a lot less paper consumption. Which of course means saving a lot of trees and cutting down on a lot of waste...but only if a massive amount of people changed their margins.

It's not a new idea. It's not complicated. But if we all did it, it just might work."

--Tamara Krinsky

There's more information at the EPA site entitled, Federal Electronics Challenge.  "The Federal Electronics Challenge (FEC) is a partnership program that encourages federal facilities and agencies to:

• Purchase greener electronics
• Reduce impacts of electronics during use
• Manage used electronics in an environmentally safe way"

Another great site I've discovered is the Environmental Paper Network. It offers loads of great information about paper, and features a Paper Calculator to translate sustainable choices into tangible benefits.
 

 

Kudos to Tamara for living by the idea that doing a little is more fulfilling than thinking that a little won't matter. 

Won't you join her? Post your comment and share that you've changed your margins and taken one small, but mighty step toward being environmentally sustainable

 

To Bag Or Not To Bag - Your Trash

Have you ever been confused about using plastic trash bags just to send your trash to the landfill?  

Isn't there an alternative?   

How 'bout  a compostable trash bag.

Great!

Or so I thought.  

Then I learned that compostable trash bags, when used as a bag for landfill waste, add to the problem of methane generation. They are designed to be composted and work really well for that.

Methane v CO2
This is an important issue for us because methane has a more potent effect on the warming of the earth's atmosphere than CO2.

"Methane is the second largest contributor to global warming. It is a very effective greenhouse gas, 20 to 60 times more potent than carbon dioxide over the next 100 years. Emissions of methane have grown dramatically; methane emissions from human-related activities now represent about 70% of total emissions, as opposed to less than 10% some 200 years ago.

The effect of reduced methane emissions on mitigating global warming is powerful. Because methane has a fairly short atmospheric lifetime, and because it is so effective in trapping heat, efforts to reduce methane emissions will have a rapid impact on mitigating global warming." Gina Rodriguez

So, what are our choices?  We can't use plastic bags because they photodegrade and leach toxic chemicals into the ground, which very well may one day leach into our water or our food.  We can't use brown paper bags - they don't degrade in landfills due to the lack of oxygen. Bio-compostable bags don't work as an environmentally sustainable choice either.

What is the solution to our personal waste management plans -  we recycle and we compost; what about the stuff going to the landfill?

The best advice I've seen so far is - NO BAG AT ALL for the landfill-destined trash. Use a small trash can that can be easily rinsed out in the sink and because it fills up quickly, you'll be motivated to take it out and empty it often.

It seems like a strange concept. Are you willing to give it a try?

Send us YOUR story - tell us the sustainable choice you made today.  We need to hear about everyone making sustainable choices - you will educate and empower us to follow your example.  Thank you for all that you do.

Remember, doing a little is more fulfilling than
thinking that a little won't matter.

What Procter & Gamble Don't Want YOU To Know

Choosing an eco friendly life creates a win/win. A win for your family, and a win for our green earth. The products we buy make a big difference in our health and the health of the planet. Have you thought about the difference using green products will make?
 
There are many toxins in everyday products. Become informed, make good choices and learn how to live a more environmentally friendly life.
 
Check what you need to know to protect your family by visiting the Environmental Working Group.

Here's a funny video that gives some helpful information:

   

  Remember, doing a little is more fulfilling than  thinking that a little won't matter.      

Where Are The Green Jeans?

Remember Mr. GreenJeans?  If he were alive today he'd probably be sporting real green jeans, although after reading a number of recent articles I'm not sure there is such a thing.

Non-Organic Cotton - bad, very bad.  More insecticides than any other single crop!  The spraying contributes to greenhouse gases, poor air quality, and since you and your children may be breathing that air in, sickness and even death.  The runoff poisons our groundwater.  Frogs, fish and flora all suffer for the "comfort of cotton".

Organic Cotton - not so great.  Yup, you read it, organic cotton jeans aren't compatible with sustainable living.  Precisely because they don't use pesticides, the yields are up to (or down to) 50% lower and that creates the need for even more land to be used to grow the cotton.  Another unsustainable feature:  all cotton requires about 1,500 gallons of water to the grow 1 1/2 pounds - the amount used for a single pair of jeans.  That's enough drinking water for a family of 4 for nearly 2 years.  Don't even get me started about the dyeing - the conventional dying alone makes jeans a poor eco-choice.

I don't have any personal experience with hemp or bamboo fabric jeans - I'm going to have to go to our local Hemp Shak and take a look.  As with organic cotton, the processing and dyeing can still be uneco-friendly, so the label must say "certified organic" in order to ensure the fabric as earth safe and human safe.  This involves a substantial cost to the manufacturer, so we probably won't be seeing these at a big box anytime soon.

Bamboo Fabric Store

Bamboo fabric is superior in that, like Hemp, it won't deplete the soil even after decades of planting with proper management.  Bamboo also doesn't require replanting - the stalks are left in the ground and the shoots ..... they shoot right back up.  No tractors and whatnot to put exhaust into the air and therefore a more sustainable choice.

It's a complicated issue with lots to learn about - my suggestions are to begin with OnEarth's article and also visit Natural Life Magazine's article.  There's plenty of information out there - maybe start with something as simple as organic bedding.  The great benefit to you and your family is that the 1/3 of your day spent sleeping will have fewer toxins near your skin. 

Remember, doing a little is more fulfilling than 

thinking that a little won't matter.  

Share your story with us - what choice, big or small, were you able to make this week that brought all of us one step closer to a sustainable lifestyle.