Lighten Your Carbon Footprint

Over the years, conscientious shoppers have developed a list of criteria that make up quality bedding linens. For example, the “thread count” of a set of sheets is often touted as being a primary indicator of comfort and durability. This is true to an extent. Thread count merely refers to the number of threads in a given square inch of cotton. It’s also important to factor in the staple length of cotton bedding.

Organic cotton sheets feature long-staple cotton, which is soft and luxurious to the touch. In contrast, short-staple cotton is rough and scratchy like a prickly beard. The lack of harsh chemicals and genetically modified materials also characterizes organic cotton sheets and sets them apart from the pack. No bleaches or potentially harmful dyes are used in the process of creating these linens.

Well, we are well into the Christmas shopping season. Have you started your shopping yet? If you haven’t you better get on the bandwagon or it will be Christmas Eve and you’ll be bustling out there with all the other procrastinators. You’ll find yourself having to settle for what’s left instead of for what you really want to give.

While your at it why not include “Mother Earth” on your gift giving list . It’s not that you need to buy “her” anything directly . It’s about thinking of helping her as you buy for others and as you prepare for the holiday season.

It’s not that difficult, here are a few suggestions:

1. Shop on-line (saves gas and cuts down on exhaust emissions)
2. Buy eco-friendly clothing like bamboo, hemp or 100% organic cotton hoodies, or earth-friendly shoes(cuts down on pollution)
3. Use a real tree growing in a container (saves cutting down a tree) plant it outside next spring
4. Use LED lights for your decorating (saves hydro and saves you money)
5. Re-gift (lots to save here)
6. Wrap a gift in a gift. (vegan shoes in a bamboo towel)
7. Recycle your gift boxes (save trees)

Be creative and enjoy.

Recently, I decided that I should reconsider my lifestyle. I had become aware of the fact that even though I professed to being eco-friendly there was little in my life to prove that that was the case. Sure, I recycled and gardened and gave away clothes that no longer fit or suited me but that was about the extent of my greenness.

Looking back now, my first step ( to many a majorly difficult one) was becoming a vegan. I had been struggling with losing about 25 extra pounds that I had put on and I needed a way of shedding those pounds. I had tried many things unsuccessfully. I am a personal trainer/yoga teacher with lots of knowledge in nutrition but at my stage in life nothing was working. I started to search the internet and came across a Diet and Lifestyle book and after reviewing this website and watching all the videos I decided that this plan was for me. I ordered the book and in six short weeks I had lost my extra weight and changed my thought process regarding the environment and I now wanted to lighten my carbon footprint further.

I started to be far more conscious about how the things I did affected the world around me. No longer do I just attempt to recycle. Now, I look at everything twice to make sure that there is no other use for it then it goes into the proper bin. This summer as I tended my garden I was sure to use only natural products to feed, weed and debug. What a joy it is to harvest organic produce.

Inside the house I turned to eco-friendly cleaners and natural products for skin and hair care. I began buying and wearing eco-friendly clothing. It’s a great pleasure to wear fabrics such as bamboo, 100% organic cotton and hemp or any combination of the three. Now, as I snuggle in my organic bamboo pajamas I am satisfied knowing that this sustainable fabric (actually the growing bamboo) helps to increase the oxygen level on the earth.

I have also changed most of the light bulbs in my home to the low energy ones. That was hard to get used to at first but now I know that it takes a bit of time for them to get up to full brightness.

I dug out the Brita and now faithfully we use the filtered tap water( which is good without filtering) instead of buying bottled water.

I live in the country so riding my bike everywhere is not possible but I have cut down on the amount I drive and make one trip for everything. It takes some planning but worth it alone in the gas savings not to mention the fresh clean air.

I will continue on my journey into the Green Zone and as I make new discoveries I’ll share them with you.

Happy Green-up time.

I have been resisting the idea that leather can be eco-friendly. After all an animal has to die in order to give up its hide to be processed into the leather hide that can be used by man. That was the point I was resisting until my daughter reminded me that animals are dying to feed us so using their hides is making the most of the animals loss of life. It would be wasteful to just throw the hides away. This goes in line with the way the aboriginal Americans made use of the entire carcass of their prey. So, if you look at it that way leather is eco-friendly.

Now, you have to consider the processing methods. Leather can be processed in an eco-friendly manner. One example of this is by utilizing ultra sounding at various stages of the tanning and dying process. This utilizes more of the chemical during the process which results in a smaller percentage of the chemicals and dyes from being present in the effluent.

Another process uses natural vegetable products and waxes which eliminates the need for using toxic heavy metals like chrome. This process is very eco-friendly and creates a soft pliable leather hide.
Research continues to search and test for new eco-friendly (salts free) ways of preparing the hides and as time goes by the processes will continue to improve.

If you are an earth conscious shopper and still want to use leather then just be sure to check out the companies you patronize. Then you can wear your eco-friendly leather fashions proudly knowing that you are not increasing but lightening your carbon footprint.

Mid November marks the start of rifle season in many parts of North America, and all week long my thoughts have been wandering to the trophy buck I aim to haul in this year. For me, heading out to hunting camp is a hallowed tradition that allows me to commune with nature and my fellow man. In some cases, it’s the only chance I get to catch up with old friends, play some competitive hands of euchre and take a swig or two of peppermint schnapps.

But before I drive out to my camp in the woods, it’s essential that I make a list of all the relevant supplies and gear. A good, sharp hunting knife tops the list, along with camouflage wardrobe to keep me warm and hidden from prey. Like many people, I’ve started buying green clothing in order to reduce my carbon footprint and respect the environment. Hemp is one of the most sustainable crops around, and it makes the perfect material for an insulated winter coat.

Do you purchase things for their convenience? Do you have a baby and for convenience use disposable diapers? Do you frequent coffee shops only to walk out with a disposable cup in your hand. Have you really paid attention to the amount of unnecessary packaging of the products you purchase? When was the last time you looked around at the beauty of nature and really enjoyed what you saw? Do you treasure the life you have and hope your children and grandchildren will have the same or better? Do you really believe that is going to happen? I don’t. Not at the rate we are using up our natural resources and tossing away what is useless to us. Have you ever driven by a dump and enjoyed what you saw? That is exactly what we are leaving to the future. One big toxic dump.

In today’s disposable society we have all done these things. The problem is that we are so wrapped up in the convenience of it all that we neglect to think about where all that disposable stuff goes. We just toss it into the garbage and don’t see it any more. Out of sight out of mind! The point is, that disposable stuff really isn’t disposable because it take years and years to break down and in the case of plastic, it never breaks down. The toxins that we have buried in the earth will be back to take their toll on all living creatures. Our natural resources will be depleted. For what? Convenience! That is not the legacy I want to leave to the future. The thing is, it’s not too late to turn our bad habits around and correct the mistakes we have all made.

All you have to do is to become aware of your consuming habits . If we all make an effort to make positive changes then we will make a difference to the future health of our planet and everything on it.
A few things you can start out with:

• recycle (whatever you can)
• reuse (try to find a new use for everything)
• compost (community or back yard)
• be creative with old things to give them new life
• buy of Eco-friendly clothing (organic cotton, bamboo, hemp,soy, wool, recycled)
• switch to Eco-friendly light bulbs
• purchase what you really need not what you want
• plant a tree or two
• grow your own vegetables
• use eco-friendly cloth diapers
• use eco-friendly cleaning products
• don’t put anything in the garbage unless there is nothing else it can be used for.
• pressure your local, regional and federal government to clean up their act and stop passing the buck.

Think green. Think Eco-friendly. Think renewable resources. Say no to so called “disposable”. Say no to plastic.