On Valentines Day, Green Your Love

The December holidays were not very long ago. You're probably still paying off your credit card debts from all the gifts you bought. Thinking of buying more presents for your significant other this Valentines Day is probably not very appealing. So why not avoid all that needless shopping and do something thoughtful for your partner this year?

By avoiding more consumerism and emphasizing more romance, you get the dual benefit of being green and appreciated this year. Below are my tips for combining your love for the planet and lover in one special day.

• Start With Breakfast in Bed: Slip out of bed a little early, take the dog for a walk and cook up a delicious homemade breakfast. Your mate will love the extra time in bed and whats sexier then feeding someone veggie bacon?
• Make Your Own Valentines Day Card: Put some time and energy into making your own card. Use magazines and catalogs laying around the house to piece together a funny or romantic card that you can sneak into your mate's briefcase or backpack for them to discover during the day.
• Set the Mood: After work, make sure your mate will come home to a cozy, dark, bee's wax candle-lit environment with delicious organic wine and relaxing music. Get the romance started with a nice massage. Here's a tip, don't mix romance and dinner. You or your mate might feel self-conscious with a full belly and smelly breath. Save the meal for after the "dessert."
  
• Prepare an Organic, Vegetarian Meal: Once you both feel nice and relaxed, go to work on dinner. Leave out the nasty preservatives, chemicals and pesticides that make your body feel contaminated and bloated. Martha Stewart has some Valentines Day recipes that are sure to impress.
  
• Cuddle Up With Their Favorite Movie: Sit back on the couch with a blanket and enjoy a movie in the dark. Even if you both fall asleep, it will be the end of a perfect Valentines Day.
  

If you would like some more unorthodox gifts for your sweetie, you can adopt a cute baby animal from the National Zoo to help preserve their habitat. Buy Endangered Species Chocolate to donate money to protecting endangered species. You can plant a tree in honor of your love that will grow for many years to come. Of, if you must, you can buy fair-trade, conflict-free diamonds.

Obama's Green Inaugural

The upcoming inauguration will be the first held in the age of green living. Accordingly, steps have been taken to ensure that the environmental footprint of celebrations are kept to a minimum.

In addition to official inaugural events, several companies and organizations are hosting their own parties and balls where steps have been taken to make things eco-friendly.

Below is a list of eco-actions taken for official inauguration activities...

• Carbon Neutral Inaugural Balls
• Organic Menus
• Valet Bicycle Parking
• Invitations Printed on Recycled Paper
• "Green Carpet" Made of Recycled Products
• A Liaison Provided to the Presidential Inaugural Committee from the EPA to Advise on Decisions
• Parade Floats Made of Recycled Floats of Years Past, Including a 60-foot Long, 24-foot High American Flag Float Built for Reagan's 1985 Inauguration
• Biodegradable Food Containers
• Utensils Made of Corn-based Plastics
• Expanded Composting Efforts
  

We're Back from Vacation

All apologies for an extended vacation from posting. We are back now and ready to help you integrate that green piece into your 2009 life.

This is going to be a big year for the environment. Green living has saturated our society and become a part of daily life for many. Changes in leadership among our policy makers will certainly have a big impact on the spread of new energy technologies and protections for our planet's ecosystems.

We look forward to sharing as much information, advice and opinion with you as possible as we move into this new year of "change."

Going On Vacation

The Green Piece Blog is going dark for the next two weeks for the holidays. We will be back in the new year with lots of new tips and advice on how to fulfill your New Years Resolution of becoming an even greener person.

Have a Happy Holiday and be safe!

Make the Holidays Greener

About now, you are thinking about your holiday budget, your travel plans, your shopping list, or your holiday meal. These are all pieces of your December puzzle. Of course there is one more piece, the green piece. You can't forget that one!

This holiday season its really easy to incorporate some eco-thinking into your routine. Newsweek has some great tips on doing just that, most of them we've addressed before, but we'll organize them into one easy post.

1. Use LED Lights: Target, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc. all sell LED holiday light strings that look just like traditional lights. How are they different? They're technologically advanced! A string of these lights will last longer and use 80-90% less energy. Make sure you attach all of your lights to timers so they don't stay on when nobody can see them.


2. Bring Your Own Bags: This year, bring your own bags to the mall and reduce the clutter of paper shopping bags around your house. Bring a clip to attach receipts to the outside of your bag so you don't have to worry about being detained for shoplifting.


3. Make Your Wrapping Part of the Gift: Isn't gift wrap one of the biggest wastes of money and resources? Instead, buy some scarves, wraps, sweaters, etc. to wrap those gifts and give them something extra they can keep. Or better yet, wrap gifts with materials you have at home. Retailers also sell recycled wrapping paper for you traditionalists.


4. Buy A Real Tree: Fake trees are manufactured using petroleum and contain lead. They're also not biodegradable. This year, buy a real tree and bring it to the recycling drop-off point in your community so they can make mulch out of it.


5. Throw Greener Parties: At your holiday party, make sure you buy food that is organic and grown locally as much as possible. Only use plates, glasses, utensils, etc. that are reusable. Keep recycling containers convenient for your guests.

You can read more HERE.

Real Tree vs. Fake Tree

Its that time again, time to make the decision whether to pull out your old boxed fake tree and start attaching those color coded wire branches, or drive down to the farmer's market and tie a real tree to the roof of your car.

Maybe you never though much about it, but there are some pretty significant differences between fake and real trees when it comes to their impact on the health of your family and the environment. Since this blog is all about integrating the "Green Piece" into your daily life, let me explain those differences, they might surprise you!

Your first instinct might be to think fake trees are better for the earth because they are "renewable." Although they are used year-after-year, the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) used to create them is horribly destructive to the planet and relies on gasoline as its base. You can learn more about PVC HERE.

Additionally, PVC manufacturing generates multiple types of carcinogens. Because 85% of America's fake trees are produced in China, this manufacturing process is even more unregulated and unruly.

We all know how China loves its lead. This love extends to your fake tree. Lead is used to strengthen the otherwise weak PVC. The Children's Health Environmental Coalition has warned consumers that fake trees shed lead-laced dust. That's why your fake tree will probably contain a warning not to inhale or eat any dust or parts that may come loose. So much for eating out of that box of chocolates sitting under your fake tree this year.

Real trees aren't perfect either. Because farmers may use pesticides or fertilizers to improve growth time and crop abundance, real trees could contribute to pollution of lakes and streams. Not to mention the annual waste generated by all those trees dumped on January 2nd.

Your best bet is to buy your real tree from a Farmer's Market where a local farmer can testify to whether the tree was grown organically or with chemicals. After you are done with the real tree, chop it into smaller pieces so it is easier for garbage processing. Go to THIS SITE to find tree recycling areas in your community. If you can, buy your tree at a farm where its roots are still in tact a week before Christmas and re-plant it in your yard after the holidays.

I hope that makes your decision over which Christmas tree to use this year a little easier.

Find out more HERE.

Tree Hugger Christmas Gifts

You might have some greenies on your shopping list this year. They can be kind of hard to shop for.

If you've already helped them become carbon neutral with a TerraPass, you've bought them fluorescent light bulbs and cloth shopping bags, and you've ordered them a great green book, what more can you do to satisfy their organic desires?

How about a kit that will save them $460 in energy bills and 7,442 pounds of carbon per year? Earth Aid Enterprises has put together a great array of gift packs for environmentally conscious folks on your shopping list.

At Earth Aid Enterprises' website, you can design a kit of products that conserve resources and cut utility costs at the same time. Among some of the products you can choose from are: programmable thermostats, tire pressure gauges, weather sensors, faucet & shower head aerators, dryer balls, smart strips, and more.

I really think it would be cool to get a big package of all these different products to fulfill that new year's resolution of becoming greener in the new year. Go get your favorite tree hugger one now!

National Christmas Tree is Greener Than Most

Last Thursday, President Bush, and a diverse group of guests that included Santa Claus and Jon Secada, lit the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse of the National Mall.

Ordinarily, a giant Christmas tree like this one is cut and transported from its original home to its new home where it stands until after the holidays when it is recycled for mulch, paper, etc. This is true of the Congressional Christmas Tree and the tree in Rockefeller Center.

The National Christmas Tree is different. This majestic Colorado Blue Spruce was actually planted on the Ellipse in 1978, where it lives year-round and is decorated for the holidays. In doing this, the National Park Service is conserving both trees and energy.

This year, the National Christmas Tree was made even more eco-friendly with the addition of energy efficient light bulbs that reduced its energy consumption by 55%.

To learn more about the National Christmas Tree, view upcoming events at the Tree or view each states' ornament click HERE.

Smithsonian's American History Museum Goes Green

Today marks a momentous occasion in Washington, DC. The re-opening of Smithsonian's American History Museum. After closing the museum a few years ago for renovations, it seemed the day would never come when Kermit, Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, and Hello Dolly's dress would all be in one place again.

There may have been delays and aggravation, but the day is finally here and its an exciting moment.

Adding to the excitement is the newly renovated museum's dedication to sustainability. Among the green attributes are...

• Ultra-efficient heating and cooling systems
• 3,800 lighting fixtures with energy efficient bulbs that will save $1.6 million annually and will reduce carbon emissions and the use of 8,000 fewer pounds of ozone-depleting refrigerants.
  
• Dining services with locally grown food and recycled tableware, carpet and chairs.
  

Make time to see the American History Museum soon while its still shiny and new. Read about the renovations HERE.

Week 1 Eco Challenge: Thanksgiving Dinner

Each Thursday we'll present an eco-challenge for our readers. They'll be simple suggestions for what you can do at home to embrace greener living. Feel free to leave comments about your successes and failures or any additional ideas we overlooked. You can also participate in the challenges on Facebook through the Green Piece Blog Eco-Challenges Group HERE.

This week's challenge, Thanksgiving Dinner ---

Thanksgiving is coming up and while it is often a time of excess, it shouldn't be a time of waste. This week, let's focus on what you can do to make your Thanksgiving get-together greener.

1. Go Reusable --- Avoid disposable plates, flatware, glasses, napkins and food packaging. By using your regular dishes and reusable storage containers you save money and garbage.

2. Encourage Recycling --- You'll probably be serving wine, beer and soda at your dinner. Leave out labeled baskets or cans so your guests can easily recycle their empty containers.

3. Buy Local & Organic --- Try the farmers market first. Buy local and organic ingredients that conserve more gasoline and keep chemicals out of the ground.

4. Carpool Guests --- If you're guests are coming from the same area, cut down on traffic, pollution and drunk driving issues by organizing a carpool.

5. Be Energy Efficient --- Your house will warm up with all that cooking and all those guests. Keep the heat off if unnecessary and crack a window rather than running the A/C if it gets too warm.

Green Gift Wrap - Think Reusable

I have a mental image of my family's living room the moment after every Christmas gift has been unwrapped. Strewn across the floor are heaps of colorful wrapping paper, some with little bears printed on them, others with dancing candy canes. Hours were spent making sure every fold was tight and every cut was even, but in the end it's all bundled up and sent away.

I know this isn't a phenomenon unique to my family. All over the world this ritual plays out year-after-year. It makes me wonder, isn't there a better way?

The answer is definitely yes.

If you're reading this blog you're probably an environmentally conscious person. Which, I hope, means that you are using reusable cloth bags at the grocery store instead of paper & plastic. This year, why not wrap your gifts in colorful reusable bags your recipients can use after the holidays? THESE are pretty nice.

If you have kids, there are some other choices that can be fun too. Have them color some pictures that can be used to wrap gifts and carefully unwrapped for safe keeping. Have them tear out their favorite pictures from magazines and glue them together to make wrapping paper. Use old newspaper comics or map pages to make colorful wrapping paper.

There is also the option of integrating the wrapping and the gift. Try buying a cool t-shirt, sweatshirt or sweater and using it to wrap your gift. If you bought a small gift, you could tuck it into a pair of gloves or a hat. You could use a scarf, too. The key is to be creative and utilitarian.

Finally, there are some options for decorating the gifts with something other than ribbons and bows. Collect pine cones, fall leaves and acorns for festive details. Just make sure you cook the acorns and pine cones to kill anything that might be in them and iron the leaves between wax paper to preserve their colors. You could also use yarn to wrap cinnamon sticks or attach old bells to the packages.

In closing, I want you to imagine for a moment the wrapping paper you use each holiday season. Now imagine all the people in the United States alone and the wrapping paper they use. Pile all this paper up and you have a mountain of waste and acres of forest that could be preserved. Try some of these tips this year, every bit helps.

The Greenest Christmas Tree

Every year I get the same question, "What is greener, a real tree or a fake tree?"

You can read my blog posts about which one of those two trees is the greenest HERE, but this year I want to suggest something radical for your Christmas tree.

Rather than driving to the Christmas tree lot to find the perfect evergreen or scrounging around in your attic for that trusty fake tree, why not buy the greenest tree that will last long after December 25th?

Go to your local plant store, landscape shop, greenhouse, etc. and find a beautiful tree that is native to your geographic region. Put the tree in a beautiful pot and decorate it with your favorite ornaments. After the holidays, plant the tree in the ground, water it and watch it grow for years to come.

Imagine this new tradition. Each year you add more trees to your community, providing more oxygen and CO2 absorption. Your family can watch the trees grow as kids get bigger and things change. Then every year, around the holidays, you can take a walk and reminisce about the past and all the memories captured in the roots of those old Christmas trees.

Rather than homogeneous holidays when so many American households have the same type of tree plopped in the corner of the living room, we could have Red Ceders in Maryland, Ponderosa Pines in Colorado, Pinons (pronounced Pinion) in New Mexico and even a Palm Tree in Florida.

Let's leave a legacy of tree-lined streets and clean air by making each Christmas an opportunity to plant a new tree in our community, it really is the gift that keeps on giving.

Vampire Awareness Day - "I vant to suck your energy"

Best Buy is officially deeming October 30th as National Vampire Awareness Day.

Best Buy isn't talking about Dracula or Count Chocula, they're referring to the electronics in your home that suck energy even when they're not in use.

I bet you didn't know that your electronics are betraying you. You think they're turned off or in "standby mode" when they are actually still running and making your utility bill more expensive.

According to Best Buy...

• This phenomenon is responsible for wasting an estimated $4 billion in the U.S. annually
• 40 % of all electricity used to power electronics and appliances in the average American home is consumed while they are turned off
• The most dangerous "vampires" include everything from plasma TVs, computers and game consoles to DVRs and adapters for MP3 players and cell phones
• These appliances can cost up to $1,000 per household per year in wasted energy

What can you do to fight these evil vampires? Forget the garlic.

Instead, plug your appliances and electronics into an outlet that can be turned off with a light switch. If you don't have one of those, plug them into a surge protector that can be switched off.

Best Buy has put together a website for National Vampire Awareness Day with lots of information and tips about how you can protect yourself from these energy predators. Find it HERE.

Make Your Halloween Sustaina-Boo

Whenever the weather turns cooler and the leaves start to fall, that creepy Halloween feeling fills the air. Its time to rent some scary movies and rot your teeth again. This year Frankenstein doesn't have to be the only thing green on Halloween.

There are a few things you can do to celebrate fright night with less waste and impact on the earth.

• Avoid Paraffin Candles: Nothing is scarier than the lead, petroleum and toxins present in paraffin candles. Instead, use beeswax, soy candles or flickering lights to make your pumpkins glow.
• Use Cloth Bags: At the store you'll see plastic bags for kids to use for their candy haul. Plastic bags are made of petroleum and decompose slower than a zombie. Instead, use a pillow case. They're stronger and bigger, so trick or treating can go on longer.
  
• Buy a Local Pumpkin: Some pumpkins are shipped here from Australia and Italy. The greatest pumpkin is the one grown in your own community. Use THIS pumpkin patch finder to find a local pumpkin grower so you know your orange friend didn't waste fuel getting here from abroad. If you can't find a local grower, buy one from a farmer's market.
  
• Make Your Own Costume: Sure, you can buy that cheap plastic costume with all the excess packaging at Target, but isn't that cheating? Recycle old clothes, make-up, papers, etc. to make a creative costume that is environmentally friendly.
  

Nat'l Geographic Video Contest is Back

National Geographic Channel's "Preserve Our Planet" college film and PSA contest is back for its second year. We attended the awards ceremony for last year's competition and we were impressed with the submissions.

This year's core idea is "Together We Can Make a Difference." The National Geographic is looking for submissions that reflect the value of working together to preserve and protect the living habitats that are all around us. 

The contest is also sponsored by ecoAmerica and MonsterTrak's GreenCareers. The prizes for the contest are $5,000 for first place film, $3,000 for the first place PSA, $1,500 for the audience choice film and $1,000 for the audience choice PSA.  The winners of the contest will also be flown to Washington, DC to have their work screened at the kick-off event of the annual gathering of National Geographic Explorers in June of 2009. 

To get all the details on the contest, go to www.preserveourplanet.com. The submission deadline is December 31, 2008. 

New iPod Nano, Most Environmentally Friendly Yet

Steve Jobs has just introduced a new version of Apple's iPod Nano. In addition to a new shape and new features, the new iPod Nano is being marketed as one of the greenest iPods Apple has ever made. 

Among some of the new iPod's braggin points...

• Arsenic-free Glass
• BFR-free
• Mercury-free
• PVC-free
• Highly recylable

Its the "cleanest and most toxic free iPod yet" according to Jobs. 

Recycle Your Crocs

So you own Crocs. There might be a million different explanations for how you gained possession of a pair. Whether you love them or hate them, whether you have Croc pride or Croc shame and whether you plan to buy a new pair or stay away from them completely, you should know how to dispose of your Crocs when the time comes.

SolesUnited is a first-of-its-kind footwear recycling program for Crocs. They accept old worn out Crocs that are recycled into new shoes and donated to some of the poorest people in the world. 

There are two ways to get your Crocs to SolesUnited. First, you can go to one of the authorized retail locations which are listed HERE. Second, you can ship your Crocs to SolesUnited by clicking HERE. 

SolesUnited has set a goal of distributing 2 million shoes made from recycled donated Crocs to poor people in developing nations. So far they have given out 1 million. They accept all styles of Crocs footwear.

If you want to do more, or if you plan on buying another pair of Crocs soon, consider purchasing a pair of SolesUnited Crocs. They are made of 20% recycled product and for each pair you buy, Crocs will donate a pair of shoes to the SolesUnited program. These special edition Crocs are available to children and adults. Click HERE for the adult Crocs and HERE for the kids. 

The Onion: Bush Signs Birthday Treaty for Kyoto

The Onion has a great story today titled, "Bush Told to Sign Birthday Treaty for Someone Named Kyoto."

WASHINGTON—Enlisted by members of the House and Senate, presidential aide Rebecca Tandy brought a copy of the international climate-change treaty to President Bush's desk Monday and asked him to sign a birthday document for a Japanese dignitary named "Kyoto Protocol." "Mr. Protocol really likes treaties, so we got him this treaty instead of a card, so if you could just—all the other countries have already signed it," a nervous Tandy reportedly said to Bush, who quickly scrawled his signature on the treaty and told her to tell Kyoto he said "hi."

Read the full story HERE.

Raising a Green Dog

Raising a dog is a pretty straight forward experience. They eat, sleep, potty and play. Where in that routine is there room to make them more environmentally friendly? You'd be surprised.

First, lets get the dirty stuff out of the way and talk about your dog's waste. You should already be picking up any droppings when you're on walks. Dog's waste contains bacteria and nutrients that can get washed into rivers and lakes every time it rains. This has two consequences: 1) Our drinking water could become contaminated and 2) An overload of nutrients in water bodies could kill plants and animals. Always make sure you use biodegradable bags when picking up your dog's droppings (find some HERE).

Second, what kind of food is your dog eating? It might sound silly to feed your dog organic food, but the principle is the same whether its food for you or for your dog. Organic food is grown and raised without pesticides, harmful fertilizers or toxic chemicals. These things also wash away into rivers and streams which eventually lead to the ocean forming "dead zones" where no sea life can exist. Newman's Own has an organic line of dog foods that you can read about HERE.

Third, avoid pet supplies and toys made of plastic. Some dogs have an allergic reaction to plastic. If your dog's mouth area has a rash or breaks out often it might be because of a plastic water dish. Plastic is made using petroleum and, therefore, contributes to our little oil crisis. Instead, look for dog products made of recycled materials. The American Kennel Club has a green collection of products HERE. Planet Dog sells products made of recycled products HERE. Finally, Earthdog sells toys made of durable hemp you can find HERE.

Just by making a few changes, you can significantly decrease the impact you and your dog have on the planet.

Friends of the Earth Video Contest Winner

This is the winning video from the Friends of the Earth's one minute video competition.