DIY EcoCandles

I had to share this video I came across for making your own candles. I haven't tried this yet, but after learning the health impacts and air quality concerns of burning petroleum based (paraffin) candles - I'm ready to ditch my old candles and try something new. If I get around to making some myself I will be sure to post a picture!

Waste-Free Lunches

Now that I'm eating clean and going green, I've become more conscientious of what is going into my "lunch box" each day. Not only am I more concerned about the nutritional content of my food, but of the amount of packaging as well (it's all because of the domino effect).

Just six months ago a packed lunch and snacks for me would be something like this,

• Lean Cuisine or leftovers in a plastic #7 container
• plastic baggy of baby carrots
• plastic baggy of grapes
• flavored yogurt in single cup packaging
• granola bar
• plastic fork (for the times I forgot to bring a stainless steel one)
• paper napkin

I can't believe I mindlessly produced this much waste! Not to mention the processed food packed with ingredients I can't recognize or pronounce... My lunch box, or rather my cooler (carrying 3-4 meals is more than just lunch) has completely transformed over the last few months. I now bring meals/leftovers to be heated in glass containers vs. plastic #7 polycarbonate containers that contain BPA. I pack veggies, fruit, and homemade trail mix in #5 plastic (BPA-free) containers vs. disposable plastic baggies. I also keep a set of flatware in my desk at work, and take a cloth napkin (kitchen washcloths work great too) that can be used a few times before bringing back home to be washed. My husband is doing all this too.

We also make a point not to buy single serving packaged foods. We buy in bulk and then pack them for our coolers in reusable containers to reduce the amount of packaging and waste. These simple changes in the way we pack our "lunch boxes" are easy to make, and have great benefits. We are greatly reducing our consumer waste, and by not eating pre-packaged processed foods we are eating healthier, more nutritious meals! It may not seem like waste-free lunches would make such an impact, until you look at the big picture... The next time you pack your lunch, or lunch for your kids, think about how many people bring lunch to your work, and how many kids bring lunch to school every day... Chew on this from wastefreelunches.org,

"It has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school."

Packing a waste-free lunch is also more economical. The cost of all those disposable items add up! For more information and number crunching check out wastefreelunch.org. Also, Laptop Lunches has great ideas for reusable lunch box containers. 

Glitch = Goodies

A few days after I blogged about renewable energy, I received another newsletter email from Green Mountain Energy with my updated CO2 offset numbers... the numbers were drastically different, and lower, than my last report showed (from February)! I emailed the company with the offset numbers from the previous newsletter and asked why the numbers were so different. I heard back from them the very next morning. Tony, a manager apologized for the confusion and let me know that my question/concern was passed along to the environmental department. A couple of hours later I was contacted again by the same manager, letting me know their analyst was out of town and wouldn't be back until early the next (this) week. I replied that I wasn't in a hurry to get the numbers, I just wanted to know. I heard back from them on Tuesday with new updated offset numbers (that closely matched the ones from February), and verification that I was on the 100% wind energy plan. However, my trees planted number was off. Apparently I pointed out a glitch in the system that they are now looking into and trying to fix. Here are my new updated numbers:

• Pounds of CO2 avoided = 84,651
• Trees planted = 5,084
• Miles not driven = 94,057

I have to say, I'm impressed with Green Mountain Energy. I heard back from them promptly, and the manager was friendly and professional. I was thanked multiple times for supporting their company and using renewable energy. Also, they sent me the goodies pictured above along with a thank you card. I was even asked what type of shirt I wanted, and was sent a ladies cut shirt that actually fits! I will be wearing my shirt... after this experience I'm an even bigger supporter of the company.

Power by the KW Hour

My husband has a new toy... a Kill a Watt Electricity Usage Monitor. He is gleefully testing every appliance and gadget in the house to get an idea of how much energy our stuff uses - while active and in standby. We're hoping to determine how much phantom energy our house uses and eliminate the vampires. He's collecting all this information in a spreadsheet to crunch the numbers (maybe I can get him to do a guest blog about the results).

If you're curious, the picture is of the monitor after our little "beer fridge" was plugged in - 22 hours and 12 minutes later it used a total of 0.47 KWH.

"How To" Produce Wash

It's no secret that the produce brought home from grocery stores are loaded with pesticides. Even organic produce have some pesticides. Veggies and fruit should be washed before eating, and sadly scrubbing them with water doesn't cut it. Here's a list of the most and least contaminated produce,
You can buy produce washes at grocery stores, but a much cheaper and likely safer option is to make your own. Plus, you can reuse the same plastic spray bottle for your homemade produce wash rather than buying a new one each time. Below is a recipe (also see video) from Sophie Uliano, the author of Gorgeously Green.

Produce Wash:

• 2 cups water
• 1 Tbsp baking soda
• 3-4 drops of grapefruit seed extract
  

Row Boat

Want to live vicariously through someone on an adventure? Roz Savage used to work in a cube farm, until one day she decided to row a boat - alone - across oceans! In 2005-6 she crossed the Atlantic Ocean, becoming the first woman to cross it alone. Right now she is on day number 24 of rowing across the Pacific Ocean, and is blogging daily to share the experience. She is also using MarineTrack to track her location which you can view real time on her blog (pretty cool). Her voyage will be in 3 stages over the next 3 years rowing from San Francisco to Australia for a total distance of 7,600 miles!

Roz rows to raise awareness of environmental issues. Her row is a project for a US based nonprofit Blue Frontier Campaign, and she is also an ambassador for the UK based charity called The BLUE Project. Check them out and make a BLUE pledge (another Ocean Day event I missed)!

I've added Roz's blog to my blog list on this page. This summer I will be following her journey across the Pacific as well as JUNK sailing from California to Hawaii while I'm spending my days in a cube farm... day dreaming of being on the open sea.

Eat Clean

I keep getting asked about what "diet" I'm following and what exactly eating clean is all about... Well, here is a short video of Tosca Reno, the author, explaining it herself!

Greensburg

Premiering tomorrow night (Sunday) on Planet Green is a docu-series called Greensburg. This series tells the story of how Greensburg, Kansas was destroyed by an EF5 tornado on May 4, 2007, and how they are rebuilding their entire community green. I've been waiting for this series to begin since I first saw the trailer a couple of months ago. You can view the trailer for the docu-series here.