Monday, May 14, 2012

Down with Plastic Bags Part II


For those that have been following my blog I tracked my bags saved from 11/10/08 to 04/16/10  and saved 244 Plastic bags, 66 Fruit/Veggie bags and 35 paper bags in that time frame!  As a part of the revival of this blog I have decided to start counting again with some updated and new advice, since I am now carless as well.  Use this as a source of inspiration on where your reusable bags can actually be useful.  The back history on this goal was that one day some time ago I vowed to never use a plastic bag again. This was after reading a number of articles about bags getting caught in odd places, the cess pool (now pools) in the oceans and learning how many bags we consume and needlessly throw away or try to recycle (which appears to be a joke, since it costs more to recycle them then you can sell the recycled material for). So this is where I will keep my list of bags saved and how I do it so others can follow in my footsteps. Since starting this quest, I try to not carry out any type of bag at all, including paper, veggie/fruit bags and plastic shopping bags. I will occasionally get one of these items to reuse as bin liners or for special cooking techniques, roasting bell peppers for example requires a paper bag. For the most part, though, I'm working hard to change how I think about how I waste things, by simply getting a bag from a store I never needed. Feel free to follow along on my journey.

My total of saved bags as of 05/14/12 (stats kept since 05/01/12):
  • 8 Plastic Shopping Bags
  • 3 Fruit/Veggie Plastic Bags
  • 0 Paper Shopping Bags

Tips to reducing your bag consumption:
  • Buy reusable bags made from post consumer recycled content or organic fabric, prefereably ones that can also be recycled at the end of their life, years later.  Use caution when falling for cheap or free bags...  http://www.reuseit.com/learn-more/myth-busting/cheap-reusables-are-a-good-thing
  • Keep these in your car, purse, laptop bag, home or office, wherever you will remember to grab them from whenever you head to any store. 
  • Buy one reusable bag small enough to carry on you (mine is from Bed, Bath and Beyond and stuffs into a built in mini-sac)
  • Carry your small bag everywhere, you never know where you'll need it
  • Preplan your shopping trips and take reusable bags into the store with you (this will become habit evenutally, I promise)
  • Hand your reusable bags to the sales person when you start the checkout process
  • Buy or reuse mesh or breathable organic fabric bags for Veggies and Fruit or simply don't bag them (My bags are the mesh bags I used to buy my dog's tennis balls in)
  • If you completely forgot your reuseable bag which is the BEST option, go with Plastic and return them to the store for recycling, this should be a last hope option though. (Paper actually takes more fossil fuels, and natural recourses to make than Plastic but if you don't recycle then go paper as the toxins and trash created by unrecycled bags is overwhelming)

My bag saving activites:
  • 05/13/12 - Lunch from Sandwich Me In for a picnic on the lake (Saved: +1 Plastic Bag, I'll also be blogging about this place soon! Great sustainability ideas!)
  • 05/09/12 - Ulta and Gift finding Shopping (Saved: +2 Plastic Bags)
  • 05/08/12 - Mariano's Grocery Run (Saved: +3 Fruit/Veggie Plastic and +5 Plastic Bags)

ComEd and Nicor Energy Efficiency Programs

The Energy Center of Wisconsin came in to our office to give a lunch presentation on the work they are currently undergoing in conjunction with both ComEd and Nicor's Energy Efficiency Programs.  I found this to be a very interesting program and only hope that it continues to grow, though I was sad that I am not currently building any new construction that qualifies for the program, though I will keep it in mind going forward. The basic gist is if you have a building that is a new commercial building of 50,000 SF or more you can qualify to work with the Energy Center to evaluate your building for efficiency and see if there is both more you can do and if you can qualify for some rebates or incentives from both ComEd and Nicor.  Basically, they are paying for some of your "green" upgrades.  ComEd has offers for residential users as well, including cash for your old appliances, and a home energy assessment, I have included that link below for your perusal. Feel free to read more about all three programs:

Energy Center of Wisconsin: http://www.ecw.org/

Friday, April 27, 2012

Reviving this Blog

I have been thinking a lot about this blog lately and have decided to revive it.  Life got pretty crazy there for awhile but now that things are settled and on a steady pace again, this has been on my mind, so it is time to let it back out! I have lots of new ideas to share and yes I am still living ordinarily green! Right now I don't even own a car, though I won't lie, I do miss it... I have plenty of reusable bags still, and I use them wherever/whenever I can! I hope to revive the count on bags saved to help my viewers see where the to can make a difference! I have tried out some new products and techniques and hope to share those experiences over the next few blogs.  I have also been continuing my education on green living which I will also share. Lastly, I hope to share all the wonderful Groupon, Living Social and other deal of the days on green living that I run across. I am very excited to fire this blog up again!

Friday, May 28, 2010

Alton Brown talks about Kids Lunch

If you haven't been following Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, then you should definitely check it out.  He is doing amazing things and many are joining his quest. While the goals aren't necessarily centered on Eco-friendly habits, the end result of eating fresh food, is in itself green, there isn't all the processing time, it is more likely that is shipped from local sources, there are less people in hospitals therefore reducing demand, etc., so check it out: http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution  and sign the petition!!



As this series has come to light the other folks out there giving talks and striving for the protection of our future generations have been publicized more and more.  I ran across this talk by Alton Brown down in Georgia for a group with some very similar goals and I thought I'd pass it on because he really touches on how hard it is for him to undo everything his daughter picks up or experiences at school.  This foundation has a whole series of talks that are worth listening too as well.
Alton Brown's Talk
Farm to Table to Kid Series
The Arthur Blank Family Foundation's Site

Saturday, April 24, 2010

New Microsoft Hohm Site

Microsoft has launched a beta site for home energy audit. While it focuses mainly on saving money the underlying theme is energy savings which helps all of us and the planet. Check it out.

http://www.microsoft-hohm.com/

Friday, April 16, 2010

Another Giant Garbage Patch Found in the Atlantic Ocean

If it wasn't enough reason to cut out our society's use of throw away plastic due to the first enormous patch of plastic they found years ago in the Pacific Ocean, now they've found one in the Atlantic and suspect there to be more! If you haven't checked out my running commentary tracking my use of reusable bags in lieu of plastic or paper you may want to check it out after viewing the following link!

Another Giant Garbage Patch Found in the Atlantic Ocean | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

Thursday, April 8, 2010

There's an app for that!

As many of you know I am a volunteer for the Shedd Aquarium, lately I have been getting involved more and more with the Right Bite program, which I really enjoy! The Shedd does partner with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch for this program and I recently have learned that they have an iphone app for their Seafood Watch pocket guides, if you don't have an iphone don't worry you can just bookmark moblie.seafoodwatch.org!

My status as a Food Inc fan on Facebook also lead me to this article that highlights some other great apps from the Dirty dozen/Clean 15 to an app called Locavore which tells you what is in season in your area and where the nearest farmer's market is. All pretty handy apps for those of us that have recently discovered that eating organic, natural and local foods is not only good for the environment but it the taste is exceptionally better as well!!

http://www.takepart.com/news/2010/04/07/paige-groceryapps-