Where am I going now? GREEN!

Saturday, July 19, 2008
I am not going to write a whole lot about my convention experience, my new thoughts on my life, my grandma, etc. at the moment. I do have a lot to say, but I am going to wait until I have more time to really dedicate to sitting down and writing about it. And there’s going to be pictures to accompany that blog as well.

This blog is about me going green! This is something that I’ve been doing slowly over the last few months and while I’m only able to take small steps at the moment, I do feel strongly about it.

One of the meetings that I had this week as part of my LC training was with a woman (Maria Malayter) who had us do an activity to figure out what our priorities are and where they stand in relation to each other. I was rather surprised with the results of the activity. Here are what the results were, in order of importance:
Earth
Spirit
Heart
Body
Will/conscience
Entertainment
Mind
Possessions
Senses

In a later blog I’ll explain in more detail what each of them means in case you’re all curious, but for now I’m going to focus on #1. Basically, the description was me wanting there to be more protection of the planet, more exploration rather than exploitation, more dealing with the earth’s problems and its energy. I’ll admit, I have been buying organically a lot more lately and I bought those green bags at HEB and when I forget them in my car, I just grab my groceries and carry them out without bags. I’ve decided that even though I think the Toyota Prius is a ridiculously ugly car, I’m most likely going to get one anyway and once I’m back in a city more permanently, I’m going to get a bike to go places that are too far to walk, but too close to justify using a car. I have bought a plastic water container that I constantly refill rather than buying bottled water. So, while I was a little surprised by the results of the activity, I still felt that given my recent change in thoughts and behavior that it was fitting. And I was pleased by it!

Later in this same day I was required to go some of the educational workshops being held at convention and introduce the speakers. I was assigned to a room so I didn’t have any say over what workshops I got to attend. The first workshop I got to sit in on happened to called “It’s Easy to go Green!” I was excited when I found this out and am so excited about the things that I learned that I decided I want to share it with all of you! Some of what is to follow are just random tidbit facts and some of it is more interesting than the rest.

The presentation was made by two women and at the beginning of it they passed out a lit of websites that assist in making smart choices when going green. The first set of websites are about becoming educated on going green and why it’s important.
www.sustainlane.com
www.entergystar.gov
www.environmentaldefense.org
www.greenchoices.org/eco-labels
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/ (I really like this one!!)
www.greenfestivals.org
The second set of websites all deal with home and life.
http://www.simpleliving.net/main/
www.greenandmore.com
www.greenhome.com
www.householdproducts.nlm.nih.go
www.easyearth.com
www.makeyourowncosmetics.com
www.thegreenguide.com
I have not yet been to all of these websites, but I plan on it and so I wanted to share them with you! Another great tip: Google this: 50 Ways to grow fresh air in your house

Now I am going to summarize the presentation in the hopes of helping you all to understand more about going green and why it’s important! Here are some key terms you hear and levels of each. This part is kind of boring, but still important. It gets more interesting! I’m so excited about all of this! I wish there was a more interesting way for me to share all of this with you and for my excitement to rub off on other people.

Biobased: Composed of biological products or renewable domestic agricultural materials.
BAD: Biobaed from food products grown conventionally
BETTER: Biobased from non-food products
BEST: Organic

Biodegradable: Had the ability to breakdown and not leave traces.
BAD: Single use Styrofoam
BETTER: Biodegradable (paper products)
BEST: Reusable (plastics – wash and reuse).

Durable/Reusable
BAD: Plastic grocery bags
BETTER: Reusing those bags at a later time
BEST: Cloth bags that can be washed and reused over and over.

Here are some great ways to start going green!
Use things that are Rapidly Renewable (things that renew themselves rapidly)
- Bamboo and cork flooring is much better than standard wood floors. Bamboo takes about 6 months to grow whereas wood takes years and years to grow. Bamboo looks just as good as wood too!
- Kenaf paper (you can google it!) It’s great paper, great for stationary, etc.

Locally produced and manufactured foods are better to buy than the produce found in your normal grocery store because it’s fresher, less processed and supports local business. The average produce found in a store such as HEB or Albertsons has traveled 1,500 mile before reaching you. How fresh can that be?

Recycled content and things that are recyclable. Recycled content means things that have already been recycled, like certain papers, paper products and plastics. Also, figure out what is recyclable in your area. All product have a number on the bottom of them to indicate if it is recyclable or not. These numbers range from 1-8. Call the recycling agency in your area and find out what numbers you are allowed to recycle. Not all recycling agencies recycle all kinds of products.

Buy Organic! The food tastes better, it results in healthier soils, you avoid ingesting pesticides, chemicals, hormones, etc. and it promotes biodiversity.

Going green can be tricky. Greenwashing is trickery that occurs due companies packaging products and promoting them to make them appear to be green products when they’re really not! Here are the 6 sins of greenwashing.
Organic foods from other countries. No bueno. Just get organic foods from America.
No proof. It says it’s certified, but by who??
Vagueness
Irrelevance
Fibbing
Lesser of 2 evils
Be sure to check labels when you’re buying things that appear to be green to make sure that it really is. Some common bad choices: Juicy Juice and Tyson.

Things to remember when looking at food labels to see if it’s really as natural as it claims to be:
-Anything that ends in an –ose is a sugar
-Tartrazing: Yellow #5. This is AWFUL for you and for the environment.
-Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Nitrate are both also awful for you.
A good choice for something that really is as all natural as it claims to be: Bryers All Natural Ice Cream! Yum.

Myth of being green:
-Expensive. This may be so, but it’s actually, it’s cheaper in the long run, and better for you! Did you know that 40% of bottled water is really just tap water being sold in individual bottles?

Cleaning products are another way that you can go green besides buying organic foods. www.thegreenguide.com lists good products that you can buy and also products that you can make yourself! Examples: Furniture polish (1/2 cup vinegar and 1 tsp of olive oil). This actually cleans your wood, not just layering it like conventional furniture polishes. All purpose cleaner (2 cups of water, 2 cups of vinegar) can be used on just about everything!

Some good books to read about buy/eating healthier for you and the environment foods:
What to Eat
Omnivores Dilemma
Indefensive Food