The holidays are a time for giving. This season, make the eco-friendly choice, and give gifts that will bring joy to your loved ones and to our planet! Need some inspiration? Check out some of the latest green gifts and gadgets that are ringing in the holiday spirit! Water-Powered Clock Image Source: Bedolwhatsnext A water-powered
OK, it’s a little more than 13,.. and this list could go on & on… & on. But I hope the 13 photos below drive home the point. We need climate action. We need it on the individual level, and we need it on the government level. And, in order to get it on
I’ve written on PACT a couple times. It’s an organic underwear company for good. It’s helping to fight coal power on U.S. college campuses and it’s giving kudos to our everyday green heroes. Now, it’s also helping out some of the victims of the tremendous Japanese disasters this year with its PACT for Japan line, just released
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 100 million Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution. Much of that can be attributed to the increased emissions from cars and trucks, which are also major contributors to climate change.
If driving a car doesn’t sit well with your green ideals, but is a necessity in your daily life, there are things you can do to make your actions more planet-friendly. From changing your driving habits to choosing a new, more environmentally-friendly vehicle, there are several ways to get from place to place while minimizing your impact on the environment.
Forewarning: this may start out dismal, but stick with me!
We’ve found ourselves somehow in mid-October, and whatever your feelings are on that (be it terror that Christmas is approximately only 60 some days away or pure exuberance that Halloween is now just around the corner), when it comes to our planet and food, we’re unfortunately about to see a double amount of waste during the upcoming months.
Let’s start with pumpkins. According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), we Americans have created a demand for approximately 1.1 billion pounds of pumpkins per year. Pumpkins with which we will, for the most part, use for carving and traditional fall décor, after which point, we will toss them in the trash to be tossed into the local landfill.
A green planet is a planet that is going to last longer and remain healthier because it involves recycling, reusing, and reducing to create a safer, happier and healthier environment. Many art projects are now taking on a green or eco-friendly focus because people want to place more emphasis on being sustainable and environmentally aware.
Top green living stories of the past couple days:
Check out these top green living stories of the past day or so:
Some top green living stories of the last few days:
I write about cool bike stories here a lot, since bicycling is both one the best ways to green your life and is one of the best ways to make your life more relaxing, healthier, and more enjoyable.
But, one of the things I strive for here on Planetsave is finding ways to help people make positive changes in their lives, not just talk about how cool green living is.
A representative of used clothing recycler USagain shot me these 5 green back-to-school tips via email. I think they’re good tips, so posting them here. Green your back-to-school preparation with these 5 tips (and more)!
Some top green living stories from the past few days:
Here are 7 good green living stories of the last day or so. Check ’em out:
One of the biggest green living stories of the past several days is one of a a 13-year-old, Aidan Dwyer, who reportedly created and filed a patent for a groundbreaking, super energy-efficient solar panel array setup based on the Fibonacci sequence of some tree branches. The system was supposedly 20% more efficient than traditional, flat solar panel arrays, in general, and 50% more efficient in winter.
Just ran across this great infographic on bicycling facts and the future of bicycling on our sister site sustainablog and, of course, wanted to share it on here. It’s the feature green living “story” of the day. The infographic is from our friends over at Well Home Energy Audit. Check it out and enjoy!
Cities around the world have blossoming bike sharing programs. But unlike blossoming flowers, these programs will both make people smile AND reduce their allergies. How, exactly? Well, increasing allergies is one predicted (and I think already occurring) result of global climate change. And bicycling for transportation purposes is one of the best options for combating climate change.
Eco-chaplaincy is a form of inter-religious and secular ‘spiritual’ support for people engaged in environmental and social justice work to help prevent burn-out and inspire and
sustain long-term vision.
Living a green life isn’t just about going solar, bicycling or using other green transport, or eating vegetarian and local food. It’s not just about getting involved in politics and/or activism. It’s also about contentment.
There’s a long-standing discussion regarding what is more important for our environmental progress – our personal actions or systemic change at the political or institutional level.
Check out this fun Dutch bicycling federation video I just ran across on Copenhagenize. Nice.
Most of us have plenty of old stuff at home we no longer use or need because the household utilities are no longer functional, clothes are old-fashioned and gadgets have just got boring (and you are planning newer and better replacements)
Would you like to unclutter or simplify your lifestyle? So before heading towards the green trash bin, take a look at these websites and find a new life for your old stuff.
Solar power is growing at a super fast pace these days, and despite (or maybe partly because of) the tremendous economic problems the country is facing, that is continuing. Solar PV is projected to double in the US this year, and is expected to grow 47% a year up to 2015.
We all know that properly insulating your home can go a long way towards saving energy and cutting your household bills, but many solutions — loft insulation, cavity wall insulation and double glazing — can break the bank to implement. That shouldn’t be an excuse to keep on wasting energy though.
Here’s some top green living stories from the past week or so (other than our own). Enjoy!
Tree hugging has now been shown to have scientific validity after all. Contrary to popular belief, touching a tree does make you healthier. In fact you don’t even have to touch the tree to get better, just being within its vicinity has the same effect.
Top green living stories of the past week or so:
I did a post on PACT underwear’s “Beyond Coal” underwear line and activism back in April. Now, the company has a new announcement out that I thought was worth sharing.
In an effort to be more green, many of us have started toting reusable plastic or aluminum water bottles around with us instead of buying bottled water on the go. Choosing reusable items over products that have to be recycled is one of the best things we can do for our planet. Recycling is good but not having to recycle at all is even better.
Now, following up on my post earlier today on the summer solstice, I’ve been thinking (and writing) a lot more about the matter and have come up with some ideas for how a green-oriented person (or, anyone, really) could enjoy the day.
I seem to eternally be searching for the best way to share every single green news story I think is important with you. But never seem satisfied or able to keep up with my systems. Maybe this one will last?…
The idea I’ve got now is to do a weekly link drop of stories we didn’t cover each day of the week, but with a different theme each day of the week. To start with, Monday will be “Green Living Monday” (as you can see above). Why? Who knows, that just sounded good to me :D. Also, I guess it is because I am trying to stress green living more and more these days.
This is totally awesome. The ridiculousness of this guy getting a ticket for not riding in the bike lane is made obvious when he decides to then ALWAYS ride in the bike lane, film it, and show the world who should really be getting the tickets.
Here’s a totally awesome new vertical bike storage design I ran across this weekend. Green in more ways than one.
Borrowing (or directing you over to) another article by bicycle experts over on BikeRadar, in honor of Bike Month (and one of the greenest forms of transport on the planet (if not the greenest), here’s another great one….
BikeRadar highlighted some top tips from bike enthusiasts in its forum recently, tips on bike choice, riding, and gear. Below are a few of my favorites, but if you want to read all of them (recommended) just click on the link above.
Lynn University recently interviewed me for one of their Earth Day posts on their web magazine, iPulse. They ended up using part of the interview, not the whole thing (apparently, didn’t want it to be too long — understandable). A bit of the interview was actually about Planetsave, and the rest was about environmental issues and green living (a good fit for our site, of course), so I’m sharing the whole thing here with you all. (You can learn a bit more about me as well through this :D)
Earth Day may be over for some people, but Earth Day is everyday here on Planetsave (of course). This article is focused on a few products that were pitched to me for an Earth Day post — I ended up going a different route for Earth Day, reflecting on Earth Day and green living rather than writing about green products, as I think that’s more what Earth Day is about. But these are some good-looking products that I think deserve a little attention.
We’ve got another chance for you to win a great new book here on Planetsave, but it’s not only a book you could win. The “plastic-free prize pack” (see the image below) includes a starter kit for living green, a tote bag, food containers, a water bottle and more (see the full list, 10 items in total, and how to enter at the bottom of the page).
If you are stay at home Dad and don’t like to carry a diaper bag with Zebras, Pooh-bear or Disney babies then Passchal has the bag for you. Passchal has come up with a Eco-friendly luxury bags made from discarded tractor tire inner tubes.
Most people would be lucky to live to 103. And even luckier to be able to ride a bike at that age. But, actually, riding a bike regularly would increase your chances of both things, since it is good for your health and extends your life expectancy.
103-year-old Octavio Orduño would recommend it. He is perhaps the oldest living cyclist and still loves cruising along on his tricycle (well, it would be a bicycle if his wife hadn’t insisted he switch)….
Following up on my post about the rebound effect & Jevons paradox, someone commenting on that post added a lot of useful information/ideas.
If you are one of the thousands of people who read our blog from the comfort of your email box or RSS reader, you may not have noticed that I’ve added a handful of pages to our site. (Even if you are a regular on-site reader, maybe you haven’t noticed.) Here’s a quick overview of
Some of the top clean energy, clean transport, and green living stories of the last day or so: Clean Energy China’s Green Economy Leadership “China sees green as the future engine of its economy. Although currently the world’s leading greenhouse gas emitter, China is serious about slowing greenhouse gas emissions and using renewable energy.” Green Jobs, Good
OK, one more wrap-up this week. And perhaps our last weekly wrap-up, period. As I am thinking I will switch to daily wrap-ups instead. (Let me know if you have any objection.) As the title says, this wrap-up is of good or cool green living stories. Biking Biking is one of the greenest things you
It… should not be surprising that the U.S. Pentagon states that global warming is a larger threat than even terrorism. “Picture Japan, suffering from flooding along its coastal cities and contamination of its fresh water supply, eyeing Russia’s Sakhalin Island oil and gas reserves as an energy source”, suggests a Pentagon memo on global warming.
We are all one. I know, we are each unique individuals, especially in the US. But, on another level, we are also all connected, and we can even say, on some level, all one. Even on a simple, physical level, look at how we can’t help but affect each other — if you’re in a
Our most recent Going Green Tips post was on “cutting the coal.” One of the best ways to cut the coal is to cut back on your electricity usage, and one of the best ways to do that, especially if you live in the South, is to cut the air conditioning. Author Chip Haynes, who
If you are reading this blog, it is likely that you consider yourself “green,” or, at least, you are trying to do your part to be more environmentally minded, environmentally sensitive and environmentally responsible. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are a part of the green movement. And each part makes the
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. —Albert Einstein Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! We are happy in proportion to the things we can do without. —Henry David Thoreau We must live simply, so that others may simply live. —Gandhi Ah, the simple life. No worries, no responsibilities, it’s the stuff of dreams.
How many people do you know who would leave the suburbs and settle on an unimproved 160 acres of land, build their home with materials from that land, and then set up their own power grid? Jennifer Lance has done just that, and it was a pleasure talking with this school teacher-mother, who walks her
