When I spotted “Confessions of an Eco-Sinner” at the local library, I was wary of a green-washing book However, I skimmed the brief summary and gave this book a read – I’m quite glad I did! Although my friends & family may be sick of me continuously spouting things I learned, I can’t get enough.
Fred Pearce is a British author who decided to track down where various items he uses originate, how they’re created and what the impact is on both the local inhabits & environment. For example, he follows the birth of his wedding band into the gold mines of Witwatersrand, Africa (by Johannesburg). He checks to see if his ‘Fair Trade” Coffee and cotton are actually “fair trade” – (which is quite complex).
Here are just a few fascinating takeaways I learned:
56% of women use disposable razors, according to Gillette. 
Don’t do it! But just because you’re green doesn’t mean you have to stop shaving.
Here’s greener alternatives:
I had a recent bout of ‘green guilt’ that got me thinking … 
I just got back from a trip to beautiful Los Cabos (don’t hate me!) – The trip, scenery, company and Mexican hospitality were off-the-charts awesome.
The downer…the hotel was not eco-friendly. As in, NO recycling. (I am a strong advocate of checking into hotel policy prior to vacationing. But this time was out of my control. )
Why do I bring this up? The more conversations I have with sustainable minded people, the more I realize most of us experience a little ‘green guilt’ from time to time. It’s tough to act 100% eco-minded. Unfortunately, we’re bound to be in situations now and then where we feel uncomfortable.
I felt really guilty knowing my bottles of dos equis weren’t headed for the recycling bin… The truth is harping on this mindset and feeling unworthy because I couldn’t exercise control is counter productive.
What’s the best way to overcome these feelings?
Need to cut some excess from your life?
While you may be familiar with Beth’s Paper Peeve and my co-workers apologize each time they print a doc… but no longer fear! An easy gesture such as shrinking your margins (I recommend .5″ on all sides ) on computer printouts will save your printer (and co-workers) pages.
Word 2007 even has an easy default:
- Go to the “Page Layout” ribbon
- Click the “Margins” dropdown
- Select “Narrow”.
You’ll be amazed at how much more info you can fit & trees you can save! (One study by Change the Margins says if you change your margins to .75″ on all sides, you can reduce paper by 4.75% – saving 1.14 trees per ton of paper. If the whole US changed their margins, we’d save 6,156,000 trees every year just by a small change.)
One of the most quick-catching green habits (notice I didn’t say trends) is the reusable bag.
It’s old news that carrying your own bags for groceries, clothes shopping, as lunch “boxes” etc is a great way to cut down on plastic and paper waste.
But what about taking this action a step further and creating your own reusable bags from materials around the home?
That’s what Valerie Frazier of Langhorne, PA does. “Going out and purchasing a manufactured bag seemed as though it was adding to the problem of too much stuff in the world,” Valerie said. So, she decided to find a way to use her big ol stash of grocery bags.
The result?
These days when you purchase a new cell phone most companies provide means to recycle or refurbish your old phone.
Just in case you need further incentive – The Dave Mathews Band (whose latest CD, Big Whisky and the Groo Grux King, came out a few weeks back) has partnered with Musictoday and Collective Good to implement a cell phone recycling program with a bonus…
All you have to do
Philly is clearly psyched for the NFC championship game this Sunday. Personally, I’ll be 
watching, wearing my lucky jersey, drinking out of my lucky glass and cheering HARD!
Another thing fans should be pleased about is the team’s green efforts. The eagles were the first professional sports organization to launch an environmental initiative. In 2003, the Eagles started the Go Green campaign.
Some of the programs highlights to-date include:
A positive change is in effect for Philadelphia’s recycling program – Philadelphia residents can now recycle every week on the same day as their neighborhood trash collection day.
This change is much more convenient for Philly dwellers. Gone are the days of trying to remember what two weeks of the month recycling pick-up falls on.
Mayor Nutter’s administration’s new policy is an indication that they’ve held true to their vow to improve Philadelphia’s recycling. Since the introduction of city-wide single-stream recycling last summer, Philly’s recycling rate has gone from about 6 to 10 %. Though we have a long way before being on par with other big city’s recycling programs, progress is being made.
Not sure what day is your trash/recycling pick-up is?
