Eco-Tip 31

Every week we'll post another easy tip to help you be environmentally friendly.

Eco-Tip 31

Happy Halloween! Halloween can be a drag for Mother Nature with all those candy wrappers and disposable Halloween decorations, but here are a few tips to keep yours fun and responsible at the same time:

• Cut up some cardboard boxes to make cheap tombstones. What better way to mourn the strange string of celebrity deaths this summer?
• Try to buy candy with minimal packaging. Generally the obscenely mass-produced candies have pretty little packaging to save companies money.
• Collect your candy in a pillow-case. You don't need to buy anything or throw anything away... although you may just want to wash it when it reeks of Skittles and whatnot.
• WALK to trick-or-treat! You get exercise, you save carbon emissions and you can probably even get miles for fitness class!
• If you did buy a Halloween decoration or trick-or-treating necessity, re-use it every year. If you can't re-use it, don't buy it again. The only reasonable source of garbage on Halloween ought to be candy wrappers.

For more, see http://www.worldwildlife.org/sites/pumpkins/item8643.html

Happy Climate Action Day!

Today is Climate Action Day, an annual event when climate activists around the world demonstrate, calling for the levels of carbon dioxide in the air to be cut to 350 parts per million (as opposed to 390 parts per million -- the level that it is at now).

For more information, visit http://www.350.org/

Here are some more interesting images of demonstrations around the world: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/8323954.stm

Eco-Tip 30

Every week we'll post another easy tip to help you be environmentally friendly.

Eco-Tip 30

Instead of the usual weekly tip, I'm switching it up. Here's a very enlightening video on easy ways to save water!

Cutting down on meat consumption also saves a lot of water. For years, every single animal needs a substantial amount of water before getting to your plate (and the plant-based feed it eats also needs a substantial amount of water). Where does that water go? Is it really worth it?

Eco-Tip 29

Every week we'll post another easy tip to help you be environmentally friendly.

Eco-Tip 29

Be on the look-out for random eco-friendly products. I stress here that it is not necessary (and probably not possible) to go utterly carbon neutral overnight, buy only recycled materials, buy only local organic food, etc. However, if you see a new cereal at the market that's packaged in a box made of recycled fiber, for instance, go buy it., especially if your usual cereal doesn't come in that sort of box. The purpose of this is not to deprive yourself of what you like so you can save the environment; rather, think of the long term effects: eventually, companies will see that to stay on the market, they need some way to make themselves look genuinely green (that's why you need to make sure it's really genuine! Do not fall for any phony gimmicks!) to keep customers buying. Take Apple for instance: they've turned their hyper-thin computer style to advertise that they use less packaging and they use primarily non-toxic chemicals in their computers. That's certainly a reason why Microsoft is losing its control of the technological market. The government gives people tax breaks for using solar panels or driving hybrid cars as a push for the buyer to buy green products and for the producers to produce green products. You can do that perfectly well without the government!

Eco-Tip 28

Every week we'll post another easy tip to help you be environmentally friendly.

Eco-Tip 28

Unplug stuff. When you leave most things plugged in while they're turned off, you still use energy. Electricity companies call them "energy vampires" because they suck up electricity even when they're not really "alive." If you're too lazy to unplug everything (and most of us human beings are), plug most of your stuff into a power strip and turn it off when it's not in use.

Green Space Age Cars!

How crazy cool do these cars look?!

From @treehugger

Eco-Tip 27

Every week we'll post another easy tip to help you be environmentally friendly.

Eco-Tip 27

It's getting colder, and that means dressing warmly, and not just when you're going outside anymore. Dressing a little more warmly inside -- maybe with a sweater, a light jacket, socks or even a snuggie (image, above) if that tickles your fancy -- means you can be more comfortable without having to jack up the thermostat. No, you should not wear a massive skiing jacket that makes you look like the Michelin man inside, and yes, you should still use your thermostat to keep your house warm, but 67 degrees or so is sufficient. You shouldn't have to change the thermostat frequently because it's cold inside for a short amount of time -- just put on another layer and the furnace will take care of it in time.