Eco Green Tips

photo credit: saturn_de

If you’re a big coffee drinker (like I am), you may want to consider buying coffee that has as many certifications as possible. Below are explanations of the certifications available on the American market.

Certified Organic

To gain this certification, coffee must be grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and on land that was free of these chemicals for three years preceding the certification. Moreover, such farms must use crop rotation plan to avoid erosion and soil depletion. USDA’s National Organic Program is the main certifier in this filed but there are also others, e.g. Quality Assurance International, which must follow the USDA regulations.

Fair Trade Certified

This certification means that the bean was purchased directly from the coffee growers or companies working with them at the price higher than the commodity market rate (no less than $0.10). This certification imposes some environmentally friendly standards, e.g. it bans the use of the most toxic pesticides (DDT, methyl parathion and lindane). What is quite interesting is that the coffee importers are obliged by the Fair-Trade certification to provide pre-financing credits to growers, if needed to meet the certification requirements. This way farmers are able to get health care, education, invest in communities protect the environment.

Fair Trade Federation

This certification is given based on growers, roasters and retailers voluntary commitment to paying farmers at least minimum wages and protecting natural resources. FTF promotes preserving biodiversity. Furthermore, members must reapply every year and provide documents regarding their material sourcing and labor policies.

Rainforest Alliance Certified

This certification focuses more on the way farms are managed rather than bean trading. It covers all aspect of production and includes environmental protection, worker rights and local community welfare. While they allow the use of some agrochemicals in certain circumstances, they forbid pesticides that are banned by the EU, EPA and are listed on the Pesticide Action Network Dirty Dozen. Moreover, RA-certified farms are obliged to pay workers at least the minimum wage and are forbidden from hiring children under 15.

Bird Friendly

Bird Friendly certification means the coffee is organic to begin with but it is also ‘Shade Grown’ (coffee grown under the forest canopy). This type of farming coffee beans insures that these farms support a number of species of birds, insects, mammals and reptiles. They also provide a winter home for migratory birds. Bird-Friendly certified farms reportedly have a higher biodiversity and reduce the need for pesticide use because they maintain natural ratio of pest and their predators.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and it means a big turkey season in the industry. And for most people celebrating Thanksgiving is all about the turkey and is inconceivable to have dinner without the bird. So, you go to the store, choose the size of the turkey appropriate for your needs, and then proceed with the all-so-important preparation. However, have you ever stop to think what it takes to put that bird on your table?

According to Solvie Karlstrom from the National Geographic, commercially farmed turkeys are fed in order to grow quickly (up to 25 pounds) and gain the bulk of the weight in just four months. This type of farming leads to all kinds of health problems in the birds including, but not limited to, skeletal and muscular problems, leg disorders and various other health issues preventing turkeys from reproducing naturally.

Heritage turkeys, on the other hand, are allowed to roam and fly freely, as well as breed naturally, which makes up for a healthy bird. And they are given 28 weeks to reach full growth and the appropriate weight. Furthermore, purchasing heritage turkeys supports small farms that are committed to preserving these incredible birds.

Even though the heritage turkeys cost more than the traditional industrially raised ones, buying them will not only benefit the small family farmers, it will also benefit you since the meant from such birds is healthier and tastier. For more information on where to find heritage turkeys in your area go to localharvest.org.

So, happy Thanksgiving everyone.

photo credit: zenera

Organic food is quickly becoming more popular and it is nice to have more option available when you do your shopping, however your best bet may be food grown and produced locally. Here are a few reasons why:

• It tastes better—food grown in your local farms is most likely picked a day or two before it’s sold, therefore it’s still fresh and crisp when you buy it, as opposed to produce that is flown or driven form other places, such as Florida, Canada, Mexico or Europe. Studies show that on average food travels up to 1,500 miles and thus by the time it ends up in your supermarket, it has lost a substantial amount of sparkle.
• It’s simply more nutritious—locally grown food, because it’s sold not long after picking, retains most of its nutrients.
• It sustains genetic diversity—modern agriculture has high demands as far as produce is concerned and only a fracture of hybrid fruit and vegetables meet these demands, therefore limiting the genetic variety. Locally grown produce, however, provides many varieties for a longer harvesting season. Moreover, most of these have been past down for generations thus containing genetic material form a hundred of years of development.
• It isn’t genetically modified—more likely than not, local produce is grown in the old-fashioned way, since most farmers do not have access to genetically modified seeds and they prefer the traditional methods.
• Buying locally support local farmers—farming seems a dying profession therefore it’s is quite important to shop locally is you can since the money you spend goes directly to the farmers and their families, eliminating the middle man.
• It preserves the agricultural landscape—if more people buy locally, the value of produce sold directly increases, thus decreasing a chance of farmlands being sold for development.
• It is environmentally friendly and supports wildlife—farms value the natural resources, such as clean water and fertile soil so they farm to preserve these by, e.g. growing cover crops that prevent soil erosion and replace nutrients used by other crops. Moreover, studies show that cover crops can help with global warming by capturing 12-14% of carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally, the diversity of a farmland is a perfect environment, in which wildlife can thrive.
• Buying local food is our future—it ensures that the farms, with all their benefits, will be preserved for future generations.

So, if you haven’t done that already, find a farmer’s market in your area and buy your produce there. The best part about it is that they seem to be popping at nearly every corner and they offer not only fresh fruit and vegetables but various preserves and other products straight from the farm. It cannot get any fresher than that!

photo credit: Nir Sinay

Recently, Reuters have published a report stating that nearly half the population of monkeys and apes is under a threat of extinction because of deforestation and hunting for meat. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 48% of 634 known species and sub-species of primates (e.g. chimpanzees, orangutans, gibbons and lemurs) are at risk.

The reasons for it are many but the main threats seem to be habitat destruction by deforestation and clearing ancient forests for farmland and illegal hunting for meat (it is reported that ape meat is priced far higher than beef or chicken in some African countries).

Primates in Asia are at the highest risk of extinction (71% of all species comparing to 37% in Africa) mainly because of a larger numbers in human population, higher demand for pets and traditional Chinese medicine, which lead to scarcer habitat for species such as orangutans, gibbons and leaf monkeys. Among the species proclaimed ‘critically endangered’ are the Bouvier’s red colobus, an African monkey, and the greater bamboo lemur of Madagascar (only about 140 in the wild). Both mountain gorillas and the chimpanzees stayed critically endangered despite the efforts of a number of scientists to increase their populations.

Luckily, there is hope. The most important thing that can be done to protect primates is to drastically reduce the amount of deforestation and increase tourism to places where the species are endangered. If the governments in those countries get funds form other sources, they may be more willing to aid in stopping the illegal hunting and logging.

photo credit: jimmyroq

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, one should replace appliances if they are 10 or 15 years older because most likely these older models are not energy efficient. However, if your big appliances are not older than that and they seem to work fine, how do you decide whether it is eco-friendlier to keep them or replace them?

Here is some information that may help you make that decision easier:

Dishwashers

• Energy Star recommends replacing models purchased previous to 1994 since more efficient model will save you water, electricity as well as heating costs.
• New Energy Star rated dishwashers use as little as 4 gallons of water per load as opposed to older models, which may use anywhere from 8 to 15 gallons per load.
• Give your dishwasher away instead of dumping it if it’s less than a decade old since a person hand-washing dishes uses far more water than your old appliance may.
• You may want to consider keeping it if it uses less than 8 gallons per load.

Washing Machines

• Energy Star rated models are 37% more efficient and use 7,000 gallons less water per year. Moreover, the front loading models are far better that the old-fashioned top-loaders.
• It’s advisable to replace a top-loading model since the new models will save you water (uses less water and wrings more water out of your clothes so the drying cycle lasts less as well), electricity and heating costs.
• It’s best to dispose of top-loading machines since they are simply not environmentally friendly to begin with.

Refrigerators

• As the biggest energy consumers in any household (use about 14% of total electricity), it’s most likely best to replace any refrigerators produced before 2001 and most definitely any models previous to 1994.
• If you decide to purchase a new one, consider getting a smaller size, depending on your family needs.
• Donate your model instead of throwing it away since there are people that can benefit form it (as long as it’s not older than 1994) and reduce their own carbon footprint this way.

Dryers

• Unfortunately, technology has not changed much as far as dryers are concerned so keep yours as long as it’s working. Despite the fact that dryers use 4% of total household’s electricity, the newer models available on the market will not bring you too much savings.
• The best thing for the environment and your wallet is to get a front-loading washing machine and line dry as much as possible.
• If you decide to go ahead and replace your dryer, donate it if it still works. It’s much better if it ends up in use somewhere else instead of in the landfill.