News Archives » Ecology
These Come From Trees! January 10th, 2011
Do you want to save trees – and money – at the same time? Check out the blog “These Come From Trees” – which describes itself as “An experiment in environmentalism, viral marketing, and user interface design with the goal of reducing consumer waste paper!
The group sells inexpensive, but durable stickers that look like this:
A single “These Come From Trees” sticker can save roughly a tree’s worth of paper, each year!
The project has indeed gone viral, with stickers appearing everywhere from the Denver airport to Seton Hall University. Schools can order them for free, and the project has developed a simple lesson plan which guides students through calculations of paper and money saved.
People often accidentally over-consume paper products, without intending to do so. A friendly reminder at the right time can help us to pause and consider how much of that item – whether a paper towel, napkin, or photocopy – we really need. The stickers wind up reducing consumption by as much as 30%, and at no cost to the user!
Order your “These Come from Trees” stickers today!
Eco-Tip: Green Lunches January 7th, 2011
Take a “no garbage” lunch to work or school. That’s exactly what it sounds like – a lunch that leaves you with no or very little garbage to throw away when you are finished. Save your brown paper bag and re-use it. Carry a reusable container. If you cut your sandwich into four pieces, it can fit inside a container. Buy snacks in large packages instead of small individual ones and pour them in small containers. This a lot less expensive than buying pre-packaged snack bags. Pick snacks that are healthier and have their own natural wrapping such as bananas, apples, oranges, etc. And finally carry your milk or juice in small thermos or buy drinks that come in recyclable containers.
This information is also available in Spanish on our website.
Story of Electronics Video Now Available! November 10th, 2010
E-Waste in Indonesia
Annie Leonard, the creator of the popular Story of Stuff video series, has released a new, short film – on the electronics that we all use every day. “Planned obsolescence” – now called “shortening the replacement cycle” – takes a huge toll on the environment, one we can no longer sustain.
Industry analysts anticipate Americans spending more than $8.5 billion on consumer electronics this month alone. While this may seem good for the economy, making all these products exacts an enormous environmental and public health toll.
Mining the metals destroys the environment in communities from Congo to Indonesia – often fueling conflict along the way. Assembling the gadgets uses huge amounts of water and energy and exposes workers to a host of toxic chemicals. Then, once we decide to move to the next, newer, better model, we leave behind mountains of old electronics — what’s called e-waste. A recent UN report notes that global e-waste generation is growing by about 40 million tons a year.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Watch The Story of Electronics to find out why and how we need to adopt the mantra of “Make them Safe, Make them Last, and Take them Back.”
Stop the Belo Monte Dam Project in the Amazon October 1st, 2010
Watch a ten-minute video on the BELO MONTE DAM project on the XINGU RIVER in the AMAZON which contains 1/5 of the worlds fresh water flows and sustains the livelihood of 25,000 Indian populations and innumerable species of plants and animals. It would be the 3rd largest hydro-electric dam in the world.
The $17Billion complex would generate electricity for aluminum, copper, tin, gold, bauxite and iron ore smelters, while diverting the Xingu River and flooding 200,000 hectares of land. Sixty dams are projected over the next twenty years including dams in Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. The Amazon basin would become a stagnant reservoir.
Sign the petition asking for the cancellation of the Dam.
More information:
- Amazon Watch
- International Rivers
- Belo Monte Dam Tour: Sigourney Weaver Narrates New Google Earth Animation on Brazil’s Controversial Belo Monte Dam
Ease Up on Mother Earth – Reuse! July 20th, 2010
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle… We’ve all heard this mantra many times, but how often do we really think about it?
Hard economic times have many of us reducing our purchasing, and we are finding that perhaps we don’t need as much as we thought we did. But we also have much that can be re-used – both for the good of the planet and to help out those in need.
How can we encourage Reuse?
Start a re-use project in your church. Maybe you can have collection boxes for winter coats or kids’ clothing that is worth passing on. Books and DVDs are other items that are good to swap. Are there a lot of gardeners in your community? Swap seeds and gardening magazines. The possibilities are endless once you start thinking about it.
If you really want to inspire re-use in your community, organize a swap meet. Set up a few tables and get a group of people to bring their perfectly good items that others can take home for free in exchange for a trade. A variation on the old rummage sale…
More and more people – especially young people – are trading on-line. For the low-down on Craig’s List, Freecycle and other internet trade sites, read the Care2.com blog entry – “Not Buying It? How to Trade the Stuff You Already Have”.
Re-use this post – share it with others!
