Green How Tos

Prince Charles seems to be the odd man out when it comes to the royal family. He’s been overshadowed by his mother the Queen, his former wife Diana, and now his sons William and Harry. While he might not sell a lot of papers, Prince Charles is still pushing to get the word out about the environment, a cause that he’s championed since the 1980’s. His “Start” initiative will bring together celebrities and green ideas for an eco-minded “Garden Party To Make A Difference” this September.

As any host knows, guests leave more than well wishes and fond memories behind. It can take a crew armed with heavy duty garbage bags and disinfectants to clean up after everyone goes homes, and the bigger the celebration, the bigger the mess. An event like the World Cup, a cause for large-scale construction projects and long-distance travel, can easily generate hundreds of tons of waste. Celebrations don't have to harm the environment, however, and a little planning and creativity can make your own party green.  

Thousands of people got lucky yesterday and can say that they now own the hottest gadget on the planet, the new iPhone. Now that you’ve got the latest and greatest from Apple, what should you do with your old cell phone? There are a lot of worthy organizations that could use your old phone to generate needed funds or even help a child in the classroom.

Tightly sealed homes save both energy and money, but without proper ventilation, they can become cesspools of dust, chemicals and toxic vapors. These pollutants can cause "sick building syndrome"and pose a hazard to human health, particularly for those with allergies or respiratory conditions. Even in central cities, the air quality inside homes can be lower than the air quality outside. People with green thumbs, however, can rest easy. Not only are plants relaxing to look at, they provide a simple air cleaning service.

Super Bowl parties are always a great time but can create a lot of waste. Paper plates, garish decorations, and  power hungry TVs waste a lot of resources and energy. Simple choices can help you make your party easier on the planet.

A major source of party related waste is paper. Paper plates are convenient but very wasteful. Opt for everyday plates that can go in the dishwasher. You’ll save some cash and keep paper out of landfills. If you don’t have enough, ask guests to bring extra plates. Paper decorations are also popular but they only get used once. Go for colorful LED lights in your favorite team’s colors. Pack up the lights after the game and reuse them during the holiday season.

You might think an environmental blog would come to the defense of all those helpless trees grown only to be chopped down, strapped to a minivan and then strangled with Christmas lights.

But chopping down a tree isn’t the end of the world – especially when a new one will in all likelihood take its place. After all, we’re going to need to plant 73 million more in preparation for Christmas 2018.

Now let’s make some comparisons:

Real tree vs. fake tree: Contrary to popular belief, plastic trees don’t have a limitless lifespan. In fact, most are thrown away after less than a decade. So there’s three problems with plastic trees. It takes synthetic substances to make them, it takes a lot of energy to ship them here from Asian producers and they’re likely to end up in a dump some day. Real trees, on the other hand, are 100 percent organic.

Hanukkah starts tonight, Christmas is right around the corner, and chances are that you have some gift wrapping in your future. Instead of adding to the $2.6 billion the wrapping paper industry annually pockets and the trash it produces think about going green this year. There are seven green alternatives that can be a lot more stylish and easier on your budget.

1. Newspapers have long been a wrapping standby for the green-minded or thrifty gift giver. Comics are great for children but a foreign language newspaper is a cool choice for a globe hopping adult. Check to see if they have any free foreign language newspapers during your next trip to the local ethnic market.

Halloween is just around the corner and like any other celebration that usually means two things: spending cash, and decorating with props. Props like costumes, scary skeletons, tombstones and eerie lights that cast an orange-ish glow all are part of the fun and they help create fond memories for kids and adults alike.

It’s all part of bringing in the Halloween spirit so how can you preserve the fun and still do something to reduce impact on the environment? We’ve pulled together some easy tips and they’re centered around three words – reduce, reuse and recycle.

Ever drink a Coke, Pepsi or bottled water? Those plastic bottles are a huge source of carbon buildup in our waste channels. But bottles still have untapped potential even after their original contents are gone, sometimes it just takes a small innovative company to see a business opportunity.

New Soap, Old Bottle is a perfect example of sustainable ideation turning waste streams into profit. The company sanitizes old bottles previously filled with drinks like Heineken, Coke, Pepsi, and Sprite and fills them with brand name soap cleaners like Windex, 409 and Dawn.