Groovy Green Tip

As much as I do not like using the microwave, I will admit it does come in handy. Defrosting a frozen block of meat, for instance. And I hear that microwaves are often a more conservative way of cooking, as it uses as 20% of the energy used by a conventional oven.

Which brings me to the frozen Amy's Burrito I tried the other day. Instructions on the back called for either 3-4 minutes in the microwave, or 50-55 minutes in a conventional oven.

WHAT!? 55 minutes? That's a whole lot of natural gas being wasted on one tiny frozen burrito. Jeez, if it comes to that, just open a can of beans and make your own burrito, it's cheaper!

But, I was at work, and microwave was my only option anyway. I just thought it was interesting that in this case, microwave was totally the way to go. Where does a toaster oven fall into all this - it uses about half the energy of a conventional oven, although, obviously not great for deep frozen foods. We used to try and cook frozen mini pies on our toaster oven at work - 2 hours later - still frozen in the middle! D'oh!

My Reusable Bag Experiment

I've been trying to use nothing but reusable bags for the past couple of weeks, even in non-grocery store places (like for take-out food and at the pharmacy). I feel like I'm doing OK, except for the following:

(1) I still forget my reusable bags a lot when I go into non-grocery store shops. I then refuse a bag from the cashier at the store, which is fine in some instances (like if I've just purchased a single big cookie, or am picking up a gallon of milk), and not so good in other instances (like when I refused a bag on Halloween and left Rite Aid trying to juggle several large packages of candy and other incidentals out to my car while searching for in my purse for my car keys!).

(2) I get take out food more often then I should, and when I go to pick it up it's usually bagged up already. Should I tell the restaurant over the phone that I'll bring my own bag?

(3) Some of the clerks in my local shops are SO QUICK to grab a bag and put all of my merchandise in there. Before I can say "wait-I've got my own bag!" they've already opened up a plastic bag and quickly arranged everything inside. Then if I take my stuff out of the opened bag and give it back to them, they give me a look that implies that they're now just going to throw that crumpled bag out anyways. Hmm.

Groovy Green Tip

Walk!

During World War II, people were encouraged to do many things in order to save resources to be applied towards the war effort. In a way, our new challenge is similar, but instead of using resources towards another end, we want to not use them at all!

This is one of my favorite posters I've seen from this era (I love horses, what can I say). "Shank's Pony" was the term used for just using your own two feet. I like the fact that it is a very sweet image, and that the pony is leading itself by the laces is encouraging. Nothing to do with war, just a friendly suggestion. Sometimes I feel like this approach works better than a shocking image.

Groovy Green Tip

Save Energy - Insulate Your Water Heater!

Today is the Veteran's Day holiday, which means I don't have to go to work! I've used my free time constructively and wrapped some insulation around my water heater to help it retain heat and save energy. Check it out:

Snug as a bug in a rug!

Catalog Choice

It's that season - where all the catalogs in the world somehow end up at your doorstep, enticing you to buy buy buy. I will admit, looking at catalogs can be fun, there is something nice about relaxing with them in your hands and looking at the lovely set ups of living rooms, or different types of saddles, or even replica jewelry from Lord of the Rings. But today we received a plastic novelties catalog - complete with Farting Santa and a "Skull Band" (yes, they are miniature skeletons playing guitar and drums.) I do not want to see this waste of paper at my house again!

Enter Catalog Choice. http://www.catalogchoice.org/ When you sign up for a free account, you can enter the names of the catalogs you do not want to receive, and they will contact that company to tell them you want to be taken off their list. You can even check back on your catalogs to see if the request has been processed or not. If you can't find your catalog online, there is usually a number you can call on the catalog itself and ask to be removed from the mailing list.

On the other hand, at Catalog Choice you can also sign up for or renew catalogs that you really want, so in a way it works well for retailers - they are not paying to send out a catalog to someone who is not interested in buying from them.

Oh, wait, hang on a minute - the novelties have my attention. A pole dancer alarm clock and a pacifier that makes a baby look like he has gigantic buck teeth! I may want to hang on to this. Yes, yes, the Daily Butt Crack Calendar and the World's Largest Bra - this one is a keeper!

The Hanky Dilemma

I have a cold. I was in denial about it last Thursday (calling my runny nose "allergies" and hoping I could trick my body into thinking it was just that), but on Friday my head started to feel like it was in a bubble, and by Saturday I was popping Tylenol Severe Cold meds and drinking Emergen-C by the liter.

Thankfully, things are starting to look up today and I'm feeling a little bit better. However, I think I've gone through at least a full box of tissues in the past seventy-two hours. As someone who is trying to "green" herself, that's bad news. Plus, I don't recycle tissues; they are definitely a "trash" item. There must be a better way...?

Enter the handkerchief. This seems like a no-brainer: just like reusable shopping bags, if you remember to bring it with you when you have a stuffy nose, you should be in good shape. The problem is, you then have to carry around a snotty rag with cold germs all over it in your purse all day long. That thought grosses me out. Plus, at the rate my nose is dripping, I could see myself going through several (like, five to ten) hankies in a day... and I don't have that much room in my purse. So am I justified in using disposable tissues over a hanky? How about if I buy tissues made from recycled material... is that just a little bit better? I'm not sure... I feel guilty about it, but I just don't know if I'm dedicated enough at this point to make the jump to the hanky. What are your thoughts?

Monitor Your Energy Impact

Our society is a consumer society. Everyone wants us to spend spend spend! But have you ever noticed that the electirc and gas comapnies are constantly encouraging people to SAVE SAVE SAVE! Don't use too much of our product! Just this fact alone i think is reason enough to beleive in Global Warming - if it wasn't happening, energy companies would be pushing their products like the toy companies do at Chrsitmas.

I LOVE the energy hogs! They are so funny!

http://www.nationalgridfloe.com/ National Grid has a neat interactive website for kids, and adults(...I will not be left out!) to help you track how many pounds of Co2 you release each year, and suggest ways to cut this down.

The graphics of the polar bear are beautiful, but seem to slow down the program a bit.

Have fun and let us know how much CO2 you save!

Energy Hogs

I saw a cute ad on tv this morning about saving energy - check it out here.

The http://www.energyhog.org/ site has a section for kids and one for adults, with info and tips about saving energy. And those pigs are so cute and muppet-like!

Diaper Dilemma

When I think of disposable diapers going into a landfill, sitting and rotting for thousands of years, it literally makes me sick! Ug!!!

I have always said I will use cloth diapers, even though I do not have children yet. Our Mom did - although that was back in the day when you had to use real pins and there was a diaper service that picked up used ones and cleaned them.

While the technology of the cloth diaper has changed, it seems like diaper cleaning services are much harder to find. Still, I am in it to win it.

I just found another option however, the G Diaper. http://www.gdiapers.com/ They are interesting...green... and flushable. I know, I know, the word flushable makes you cringe. Sure, put the diaper in the sewer instead of a landfill, right! But, look a little closer. You can compost ones that have only been tinkled on, and their explanation of how the flush works seems pretty OK. We flush tampons, too don't we? So the sewer facilities know how to handle certain solids that come their way.

Plus, cloth and g diapers are much gentler on the baby's skin, since they do not contain plastic - which contains chemicals that are bad for us!

Price wise, they are right about the same per insert as a disposable diaper, so basically you just have to invest in the covers, which are about $16 a piece - not that big of a deal in the long run, especially when you consider the lighter impact on the environment!

Coffee, Tea or Me?

Every little thing you do here and there that reduces waste adds up. Consider taking on one challenge at a time, trying it out for a week then adding a new one.

Even just over the past year, I have started using less paper. One of my favorites has been buying loose tea, and using a metal tea ball to brew it.

Instead of plastic plates for parties, look into Chinet paper plates - yes, you are using paper, but they are compostable in your home compost bin and are made from recycled material.

Fabric napkins are fun too - I made some using cheap cotton prints with horses and cowboys on them. We don't worry about getting them messy or stained because they've got a pattern all over.

This one is for the ladies. I will just say one thing here - that I will never use tampons or pads again.

Using copy paper that's only been printed on one side as scrap paper is useful too!

One area that I am considering using paper for is coffee brewing. The up side is that you can compost the filters. Currently, my sweetie drinks instant coffee. While this uses no paper, who can say where that coffee comes from? Ew. I think we will switch to a Fair Trade Certified brand (it's got to taste better, too!) and brew with a nice Chemex.

That's it for now...! Anyone want to offer a few more ideas that you enjoy?