Tag Archives: ecofriendly

Responsible Firewood

Monday was the start back to school here in Pennsylvania, and the date seemed to bring with it the first signs of fall. Only the week before, the temperature and the humidity was high enough conditioning and shorts. Today I am dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans and had to close the windows because our heat-adapted bodies aren’t used to temperatures in the low 70s. The temperatures remind me that it won’t be long now before we will be firing up the wood burning fireplace. We’ll have to split and put up some wood for the winter to ensure that … Continue reading →

Greening Up Your Neighborhood

Now that you have got a good handle on green practices for your home, why not expand a little and lead the charge to green up your neighborhood? You can start with a single neighbor or hit the town. It is up to you. No matter what you choose, you will be making a difference. Here are some ideas to get you started. Organize a park clean up day If you are already park of an organization, such as a civic organization, a church family or a parent’s group, then you may already have a ready group of volunteers to … Continue reading →

The Conundrum of Plastic Grocery Bags

Whenever possible, it is important to tote your own reusable plastic bags to the grocery store. A less green option is to opt for paper bags over plastic. Some regions are even considering adding a plastic bag fee for consumers, so that they will be charged 20 cents on average for each plastic bag that they cart out of the store. But phasing out plastic bags may have a negative effect on the environment. Believe it or not. Plastic bags have a lot of negative press. Beside using up valuable resources and landing in landfills, they can even pose health … Continue reading →

Banning Bottled Water

Bottled water is so convenient, isn’t it. In fact, many billions of dollars have been spent on advertising campaigns to show us how cool you are if you use bottled water. But the tide is changing. More and more people are speaking out against bottled water, and even banning it in some places. Why the change? Did you know that when a study was launched to find the best tasting water in America, the winner was did not come from a spring somewhere in main but the from the taps of New York City? I am not kidding. Growing up … Continue reading →

What You Need to Know About Toilet Paper

When it comes to sacrificing a little bit of pampering for the environment, few of us, even the die hard dedicated environmentally concerned are willing to live without toilet paper. But there is a lot to know about the stuff that may surprise you. It is new Toilet paper is relatively new in our history. Although it seems as though it is something that we have long needed, in actuality, it wasn’t in widespread usage until the 1930s. That is right, all of those flappers of the roaring twenties had to find other means of wiping their bottoms. It requires … Continue reading →

Green Swimming Pools

Summer can be great fun in the swimming pool, but did you know that reliance on chlorine can be harmful? In fact there are studies that have linked exposure to the chemical by swimmers to an increased risk for asthma? If you aren’t squeamish, here is one other little piece of information for you. Studies have shown that when bodily fluids, such as sweat and urine mix with chlorine it can form toxic products called chloramines? In addition to these issues, there is the fact that chlorine is pretty bad for your hair and can make your skin smell as … Continue reading →

Do You Need to Wash Organic Produce?

Yesterday, we took a trip to nearby Lancaster County, the home of a large Amish community, along with a lot of Amish tourist trade. Still, there are plenty of interesting places to visit that are not on the beaten path. One of these spots is an Amish family owned and run natural food store. Whenever we visit Lancaster, we usually stop by this store to stock up on organic products in bulk, such as flour, rice, sugar and snacks. This particular day, they were featuring organic gala apples at only $1 a pound! This is a great deal, considering that … Continue reading →

Disposing of CFLs

Using compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are a smart way to do something wonderful for the planet. CFLs use 75 percent less energy than do traditional incandescent bulbs. You should definitely replace any high use light bulbs with CFLs, such as porch or driveway lights, kitchen or living room lights, etc. The cost of CFLs has gone down quite a bit, making them comparable to the incandescent. That means you won’t first have to invest a lot of money to save on your energy costs. The downside to CFLs is that they contain trace amounts of mercury. This mercury can … Continue reading →

Going Green in the Bathroom 2

Making eco-friendly choices is not just about buying organic. There are so many things that you can do to reduce your impact on the planet. The bathroom is no exception. Previously, we covered going green in the bedroom and going green in the kitchen. Now we can examine one of the most frequently used rooms of the house. If you missed the first part of this article, click here: Going Green in the Bathroom. Go Low Flow Installing low-flow toilets and fixtures can greatly reduce the amount of water that you use. There are low-flow toilets, shower heads, and bathroom … Continue reading →