Showing posts with label green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label green. Show all posts

Friday, June 22, 2007

Green Paper Towels

I’m gearing up to have a heart to heart five minute chat with about a hundred and fifty or so individuals in the hopes of convincing them to give Shirts of Bamboo’s 100% bamboo compressed towelettes a try. These handy little gems start out the size of a poker chip and pack an environmental wallop the size of Canada’s Boreal Forest, which consists of ¼ of the world’s remaining ancient forests. At least today, it contains one quarter of the remaining old growth trees, but if Kimberly Clark, the parent company of Kleenex and paper towels has its way, the clear cutting will decimate that forest in a few years.

What I’ve discovered about toilet paper and paper towels has me scared. According to the Green Report of March 2004:

· 40% of trash in US landfills consist of paper products

· 30% of timber consumed in the US is used to make paper products

· Paper use is expected to increase by approximately 46% by the year 2040

One more way for me to be a bit greener – paper towels. Currently, I use Shirts of Bamboo’s compressed 100% bamboo towelettes whenever plausible, that is to say, most of the time. I simply open the package, add water, unroll, and get real busy. Busy doing what, you ask?

  • Polishing crystal
  • Dusting
  • Cleaning glass
  • Drying up spills
  • Wiping fingerprint smudges off my laptop
  • Polishing furniture
  • Washing dishes
  • Keeping sweat out of my eyes while mowing the lawn
  • Wrapping a wet towelette around my neck while mowing the lawn to lower my core temperature about 30 degrees in ten seconds
  • Keeping the roots of soon to be transplanted plants moist while I find the potting soil and a suitable pot.
  • Using in lieu of paper tissue

When the rinsed and dried towelettes resemble the stuff from the lint trap in my dryer, I compost them, or use them in the bottom of potted plants to cover that opening where the potting soil tends to fall out.

I use Seventh Generation paper towels on those rare occasions when I have to wipe out something greasy that I don’t want to go down the drain. I thought I’d take a look around at the paper towel industry as a whole to see if there were more I could do, more I could learn, more I could pass on to others who want to be a tiny bit greener every day.

While researching for my upcoming talk, I found the Green Report and its article about toilet paper and paper towels. I scanned the list of recommended paper towels. There, to my surprise, I found Kimberly Clark’s Scott products were 100% recycled and 70% bleach free. Another Kimberly Clark Scott paper towel was labeled 70% postconsumer, 30% elemental chlorine free.

The chlorine used in bleaching all paper products is a huge concern, since chlorine bleaching releases dioxins and other toxins into the environment, harming every level of the food chain.

I was so pleased to see Kimberly Clark doing their part! That bubble was soon popped when I discovered an article in the Vanguard, a student run newspaper since 1946. Greenpeace alleges that Kimberly Clark is clearcutting Canada’s Boreal Forest to make Kleenex and other KC products. So, it would seem, once again, my theory that it all boils down to money holds true. Kimberly Clark wants people like me to fall for their “environmentally responsible” posture by selling me what I demand, 100% postconsumer waste – bleach free paper towels. But behind the smoke and mirrors, they continue to decimate forests, habitat, and contribute mightily to climate change so that selfish, thoughtless, and careless individuals can blow their delicate, plastic surgery enhanced noses into lily white Kleenex.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Stop the Insanity- Sign the Petition Joining in the Millions Against Monsanto

My lifelong disdain for Monsanto developed in the early eighties when I read about farmers in India committing suicide because they’d used their daughters’ dowry to repay Monsanto “loans” when the crops failed. This hasn’t changed much, indeed, it seems it has worsened over the years. See End of a Wedding Dream for details.

I despised Monsanto for creating Agents Orange, Purple, Pink, White, and Blue (though lesser known, the rest of the 'rainbow' contributed to veterans’ illnesses,) not to mention the long lasting horrific effects on the people of Viet Nam. Monsanto compensated each soldier $1200 in the form of a one time lump sum payment. $1200 – now that’s what Monsanto thinks of exposing soldiers drafted to fight a war no one wanted to Dioxins and other toxic chemicals. Monsanto continues to this day to refuse to compensate Veterans and their families further for exposure to the toxic chemicals, including Dioxin.

Monsanto has its dirty paws in Genetically Modified (GM) cotton and foods. Monsanto's bt cotton in India has proven to be an abyssmal failure. The BT cotton, corn and soybeans may very well be killing livestock like the 1600 sheep which died after grazing on BT cotton, along with killing bees. When the bees die, so will we.

Farmers in India and Africa have rejected bt cotton but it may very well prove to be too late. Here in the United States, and Canada, we have GM corn, soybeans, and canola growing by the thousands of acres.

As if that were not enough, Monsanto produces Posilac, otherwise known as rBGH, (Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone.) Also called BGH, rBGH, BST and rBST., Monsanto sells the genetically engineered copy of a naturally occurring hormone produced by cows to dairy farmers. However, unlike the naturally occurring hormone, the rBGH increases milk production by 10% to 15%. The FDA approved rBGH in 1993 and it has been in use since 1994. Monsanto and the FDA claim milk from cows injected with rBGH cannot spread Mad Cow (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy) , but scientists disagree.

Monsanto and the FDA continue to lie about how Mad Cow disease is spread to humans. Of course they do. They want the labels we read on our milk cartons to neglect to mention whether the cows were injected with rBGH. They don’t want us to know that the milk production from a cow with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy might have been increased by 10 to 15%, potentially infecting 10 to 15% more people with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

This should come as little surprise when one looks at the resume`s of many of the FDA’s top executives. Take, por exemplo, the case of Margaret Miller, one of Monsanto’s top researchers. Ms. Miller submitted a scientific report about whether Monsanto’s growth hormones were safe or not. Then, she left Monsanto, and was hired by the FDA. One of her first FDA responsibilities – determining whether or not to approve the report she had written.

She had help from Susan Sechen, another former Monsanto researcher. Oh, and the guy who decides whether the FDA should require rBGH milk to be labeled as such or not fell under the jurisdiction of Michael Taylor. Attorney Taylor’s previous employer- you guessed it if you guessed Monsanto.

Not much has changed with regard to Monsanto’s complete disregard for the people and the planet, instead continuing to focus on the only “P” in its corporate mind that matters, that is Profit.

So I’ve joined forces with Millions Against Monsanto and I am asking you to do the same. Please sign the petition and join me in forcing Monsanto to:

· Stop intimidating small family farmers.

· Stop force-feeding untested and unlabeled genetically engineered foods on consumers.

· Stop using billions of dollars of US taypayers' money to subsidize genetically engineered crops - cotton, soybeans, corn, and canola.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Green Hurricane Puppy Preparations

June 1st marked the opening of hurricane season in Florida. Hurricane Season Will Be "Very Active," Forecasters Say, and for the first time in my life (I’ve lived in Florida for over forty years) I am very very afraid; very afraid.

John Roach
for National Geographic News

April 3, 2007

Batten down the hatches: A "very active" Atlantic hurricane season is brewing, and at least one major storm is likely to strike the U.S. coastline, experts said today.

The hurricane forecast team at Colorado State University in Fort Collins anticipates 17 named storms to form in the Atlantic between June 1 and November 30.

Nine of the named storms will become hurricanes, five of them major hurricanes with sustained winds greater than 111 miles (178 kilometers) an hour.

And there's a 74 percent chance that at least one major hurricane will make landfall on the U.S. coastline. The long-term average is 52 percent.

That said, and that says too much for me, I’m trying to figure out how to be greener with hurricane preparations. I don’t want to be caught unaware, but want as little negative impact on the environment as possible.

Beginning with the dogs, I’ve learned that the following should be ready:

  • Vaccination papers
    (Be sure your vet includes vaccinations for Kennel Cough, Parvo, and Distemper) I’m going to make a copy and laminate it, placing the copy inside the crates.
  • Leash
  • Collar with Pet's Identification Tag – again, I’m going to make tags with emergency contact info even though my dogs are microchipped.
  • Pet food and water (Socking away an extra case of can for hurricane season. I’m also saving empty gallon containers for filling with dog water, and kibble.
  • Food and Water Bowl
  • Medications
  • Name and contact information of you're pet's veterinarian
  • Recent Picture of Pet (check)
  • "Airline Approved" Pet Carrier
    (Carriers should be large enough for the animal to stand up, sit, and turn around) – Got that covered.
  • Muzzle for Chuck & Colin ( I suppose terrified dogs might bite, so I was going to see about either finding used muzzles or making muzzles from an old backpack or leather jacket. Until I read what this person (http://leerburg.com/muzzleselection.htm) had to say, that is: that when stressed, or in a hot environment; as in Florida with no power during a hurricane, a cloth muzzle may prevent a dog from panting, and that could lead to death. So no, no muzzles.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

The Green Week in Review

In the news A pair (hopefully a breeding pair) of Giant Pandas are given to the people of Hong Kong to mark the anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to China.

In the LOCAL (as in right here, in my home…) news, I got the oil in the car changed to some super duper turbo gas saving stuff, and had the tires inflated to the proper PSI. I’ve learned that I am not as smart as a second grader. Nine year old Savannah Walters studied the Arctic ice caps and figured out that by having tires inflated to the proper pressure, Americans could save lots of fossil fuel. Pump 'em UP! Says With properly inflated tires...

  1. Americans could save 4 million gallons of gas each day.
  2. Americans could save hundreds of dollars each year on gas and extend the life of their tires by 25%.
  3. Americans could all breathe cleaner air because we’d be burning less gas.
  4. Americans would be able to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge forever!

And that’s just for starters, kids. How simple is that? Get the pressure checked on your tires, and make a contribution to the environment. Who knew being greener was so easy.

The power bill arrived, and I giggled like Jerry "The King" Lawler . It appears that I’ve managed to reduce my carbon footprint by another 10 KWH per day from last year. So, I offset my impact on the environment by contributing to carbonfund.org and I feel better. The gas bill also reflected savings, both personally and environmentally. I attribute the reduction to my lowering the thermostat (again) on the water heater, not using the dryer at all, and baking in the solar oven.

Also in this week’s mail, my http://www.shaklee.com/ Shaklee Get Clean Deluxe kit arrived. The Oprah special cost me $55.00. The same amount of “cleaning” supplies (read – caustic chemicals that suck the life out of everything they ever touched and will continue to touch for a half life of about a billion years) is valued at about $2000.00. As an added incentive I read this-

When you buy the Get Clean Starter Kit instead of the stuff you probably buy:

  • You keep 108 pounds of packaging waste out of landfills
  • You eliminate 248 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions

Get Clean products offer cleaning choices that are Green, and here's why:

  • Sustainably sourced natural ingredients
  • Biodegradable surfactants
  • Recyclable packaging
  • Recyclable wipes
  • Recyclable dryer sheets
  • No chlorine bleach
  • No volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
  • No phosphates
  • No nitrates
  • No borates
  • No animal testing

I spent a good deal of Saturday cleaning house and I have to shout out how clean it smells. I can’t vouch for the dryer sheets yet, although I applaud that they are recyclable. Instead, I continue to use the hybrid dryer. See Project Laundry for details on creating your own work of art, sustainable hybrid clothes dryer. No load too large, no risk of fire, no dryer sheets to buy.

And with that, I leave you to attend the Green Thumb Festival. I’ll report back later.

Ciao Greenbaby

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Solar Brownies and Bike Rides

Car mileage- ZERO

Bike mileage – Downtown to the Saturday Morning Market for organic veggies, a very cool ride indeed with the bike lanes on 1st North and South making me feel rather safe, then to Sweetbay on 22nd and 34th later in the day. The concept of crossing 22nd Avenue North is daunting, so I took to the sidewalk to get to the front of the grocery.

Between trips I experimented with solar baking by putting together (with the help of my assistant, 11 ¾ year old Tara from Fall River) No Pudge Fat Free Brownies and the warmth of the sun. I’d found instructions to make a solar oven from a pizza box, which looks mighty interesting, but we didn’t have a pizza box and I wasn’t going to ride across town to get one.

I trotted around like a mad scientist looking for the necessary components whileTara mixed the batter. We needed: dark pans, a container with some sort of glass cover, and something to reflect the sun’s rays onto the surface of the pans.

We filled the order for the pans by putting the mix in one eight inch cake pan, and flipping its’ partner over as a lid. We placed the pan inside a wok, covered the wok with a large glass inverted bowl, and placed both on a heatproof pad that anchored my kayak’s emergency blanket – a sheet of shiny silver plastic. The upper corners of the blanket were clothespinned to the ‘hybrid’ dryer…. AKA the clothesline.

Several hours later, we could smell the minty chocolatey gooey brownies. Alas, the day was so windy we hypothesized the temperature wouldn’t get high enough to finish them by sundown, so we resorted to finishing them off in the Advantium speed cooker, which combines microwaves and halogen lighting to cook up to 4 times faster than conventional ovens.

It was enough to redline my eco-meter, to have a young person concerned about the environment, and interested in thinking about what we might do to reduce our impact upon it. Tara told me of a recent science project she’d done, turning empty water bottles into water containers for small mammals, like hamsters and gerbils.

As we worked together on the solar oven, Tara and I were contemplating the possibilities for converting the gas grill to a solar grill, the possibilities of using a great big magnifying lens, and how to make a solar slow cooker.

The brownies were fantastic. The fun even better.

Friday, April 13, 2007

Virtually Green Baby Showers and Life Partner/Bridal Showers

Imagine the benefits of hosting a virtual green baby shower. Those who are environmentally motivated would receive gifts they actually wanted, and the givers of the wonderful gifts would have an opportunity to learn something about products that had reduced negative impact on the environment. By hosting a virtual shower, you can include friends and family all over the globe.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Have prospective adoptive – birth- foster parents, about to become life partners, or the bride and groom register online at websites that provide wishlists, like Shirts of Bamboo..
  2. Send email invitations to the guests with the links to the wishlists. Let them know the time and date of the shower, and set up a room for instant messaging so they can participate in the activities.
  3. Have one of the local guests bring a video camera to the actual event and put the video on the Internet for those who cannot attend. Alternatively, a camera attached to a computer could bring those from far away to the party itself.

For adoptive parents and those anticipating the arrival of babies, Shirts of Bamboo offers an adorable Onesie, baby blankets, hooded towels, socks, and beanies to keep little one's head warm.

For couples, towels, soaps, matching robes would make wonderful gifts to start a new life together.

For everyone, the benefit of reduced plastic shopping bags, wrapping paper, wasted gas to return duplicates or unwanted items.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Get Green, Get Your Money Back

In national news, Larry Hagman, of Dallas fame, has launched a fantastic campaign to support such green causes as Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF). RefundsForGood will show you how to get money back from the IRS and donate it to do some real good for the environment.

In local news Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio drives a hybrid Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio, please consider moving across the bay and running for office. Mayor Iorio has signed the Conference of Mayors For Climate Protection agreement. St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker has not.

St. Petersburg’s Mayor Rick Baker’s approach to development, and his lack of enthusiasm toward any efforts for recycling are often criticized, and rightfully so. In fact, our esteemed Mayor, Rick Baker was instrumental in getting the Val Pak Coupon Printing Plant to be built in St. Petersburg. Expectations are that the plant will be able to produce 54-million coupons per year, up from 24-million. Imagine, billions of packages of unsolicited coupons dumped into mailboxes and then trash cans all over the country will come from my very own back yard. Way to go Mayor Baker!