Eco Green Tips

If you haven’t put up the tree yet, here are some fantastic ideas for Christmas decorations that will make being green during holidays a breeze:

Use recycled tree ornaments-you can get them from 3RLiving. Not only are they unique and one of a kind, they also look beautiful. You can also go to Branch to find recycled Felt Bird Ornaments made from 100 % eco-certified felted wool. These ornaments will brighten your house as well as serve as gifts for family and friends.

Natural animal ornaments-these are adorable ornaments in the shape of animals that can easily be used on anything, not only the tree. They could also serve as a great gift for kids. You can find these ornaments at Smith and Hawken’s and they are made with organic dyes and Buri sugar plant fibers.

Give someone an Earth ornament-available from Gaiam, theses beautiful ornaments are hand-painted with water-based colors and non-toxic finish and arrive in a craft box.

Switch to LED holiday lights-you can still keep up the tradition of lighting the holiday lights and save both energy and your hard-earned money by switching to energy-efficient LED Christmas lights and decorations.

Put up organic wreaths-for instance a Snowflake Wreath, available at Organic Style, which is made from organic shore pine from the Pacific Northwest and Douglas pinecones.

It is this time of the year again when we celebrate and meet with friends and family and Thanksgiving is a first step in the long period of festivities. So don’t forget to keep it green and to help you with it, below are a few tips on how to color this year’s holidays green:

•  Buy sustainable food—e.g. free-range or humanely raised turkey, which are becoming increasingly available and affordable. Take it one step further and buy heritage breed turkey, which strays away from the standardized factory turkeys promoting biodiversity.
• Buy your food locally—this way will allow you to reduce youcarbon footprint by cutting down on the distance your food would travel. Moreover, it supports the local farmers, who in general use more eco-conscious methods of farming than the big corporations. And you get the freshest produce available. If you don’t know where in your area there is a farmers market, go to Local Harvest, a site that connects consumers with locally grown food.
• Reduce waste—by skipping the ready-made or boxed meals and cooking them yourself from scratch. Moreover, you can compost your food waste instead of discarding it in the regular trash.
• Use green storage containers—store your leftovers in either glass or the good plastic containers. For more information about how to buy plastic containers and what types of plastic are good, go to Plastic Recycling Symbols, Buying a New Plastic Container and Buying a New Plastic Container- part II.

And for more tips on eco-friendly Thanksgiving, go to Green Thanksgiving

photo credit: Roebot

There has been much talk of organic products lately and there seem to be as many opinions as there are participants in the discussion. Thus, there is truly no easy way to judge whether organic is really the best way to go. However, the more information one possesses, the easier it is to make a decision for oneself.

Here are some issues surrounding the organic vs. conventional battle:

• Organic products are better for the Earth—this is one of the most important reasons to go organic since the certification criteria demand organic products to be grown promoting biodiversity, minimizing pollution and using agricultural methods promoting cultural, biological and mechanical means instead of synthetic materials. This means eliminating all chemical pesticides and fertilizers (that are harmful not only to humans but the animals and the environment in general) as well as incorporating methods improving the soil, e.g. using cover crops, manure and crop rotation, conserving water and energy, grazing animals on mixed pastures etc. However, transporting organically grown products emits nearly the same amount of greenhouse gasses as transporting conventionally grown food, which nearly defeats the purpose. Hence, the best way out is to find a local farmer’s market and find out what methods the farmers use to grow their produce. Chances are, most small farmers are responsible enough to use environmentally friendly methods.

• Organic food is better for the consumer—this is not quite so clear. While some organic products may contain more nutrients (e.g. organically grown kiwis have more disease-fighting polyphenols than their conventionally grown counterparts), others actually suffer a decreased amount, e.g. organic tomatoes may have less antioxidants. Thus, the jury is still out on that one.

• Organic packaged food is not better for the consumer—this is true in case of any processed, packaged food, be it organic or conventional. Usually processed food items are full of trans fats (to prolong their shelf life) and sugar, which is metabolized exactly the same way, regardless of its origins. Unfortunately, some companies use “organic” as a marketing device packing their products with organic high fructose corn syrup, which clogs the arteries the same way conventional HFCS does. And believe or not, HFCS made form organic corn falls under the FDA’s guidelines for organic!

• Organic produce taste better—again quite difficult to judge since so much depends on when the fruit or vegetable was picked. If it was picked in the height of the season after it had a chance to grow and ripen in the sun, then it will definitely taste good (whether organic or not). If, however, it was picked before it ripened and then traveled for miles to find its way to the supermarket, the taste may have a lot to be desired, even if we’re talking about organic products. Here, again, the best way to go seems to be finding a farmer’s market and purchasing your produce locally.

Here is an interesting video I found on You Tube showing you how to create an inexpensive but effective home made rain barrel system.