Friday, August 30, 2013

Survey Results - Is It Too Late?

This month's survey addressed how we feel about the future ... whether we can reverse the negative impact of climate change or not. Let's look at the results:

Is it too late survey results chart.









Comments:
  • If everyone was on board, ready and willing to make all the changes necessary today we might be able to reverse the destruction, but there are too many who aren't willing to give up the lifestyle they are accustomed to. That combined with how quickly the ice sheets are melting, which adds to the problem I believe it is too late.
  • It's been shown that it can be slowed considerably but not reversed, so my answer is a Yes, but not for reversal. Political action is tremendously important to change laws and make larger impacts, but what we do individually does add up.
  • Feedback effects amplify the consequences of every pound of CO2 we emit - or don't emit! Every pound makes a difference.
  • No, not reversed but kept at a liveable level


What can we draw from these responses?

While there weren't many participants, I believe that the answers represent the general feeling about the future and climate change. We are torn with some believing we can make a difference and others believing that we've walked too far down the destructive path.

Here's what I find interesting ...

Since most of the people visiting Reduce Footprints, and therefore answering the survey, are "greenies", I have to ask myself why those folks who think it's too late still live in an Eco-friendly way. What motivates us to continue on in the face of such dire predictions?

Caring for our environment is more than the future. Yes, we all would like to leave this world in good shape ... it would be a fine and noble legacy. But we also care about today ... about living the best life we can live ... about caring for the earth and living with respect.

We hope that our actions will make a difference for tomorrow ... we know that they make a difference today.

And we continue on ... we do the right thing, we encourage others to do the right thing, we ask our officials to do the right thing ... and we hope for the best.



Thursday, August 29, 2013

Review - UrbanJet by Fanimation



UrbanJet in Spicy Red from Fanimation

Cute, cute, cute!!

That was my first thought when I received an UrbanJet portable fan from Fanimation. This "retro" styled fan stands just 12.2 inches high. It weighs approximately 5 pounds and has a 6-inch diameter blade. But don't let its size fool you ... this fan is powerful.

I tested it out in various areas of our home including our living room, the largest room in the house. From a distance of 14 feet, I had no trouble feeling the "wind" from this little powerhouse.

The fan comes with a long cord, making it convenient for any location. Its compact size is appropriate for table tops, counters, desks or even the floor. There are three speeds with oscillation (which can be turned on or off) and the tilt angle knob allows users to adjust the fan's direction up or down.

Here's the impressive part: This unit, while operating on high speed, uses 17.8 watts of energy. Compare that to the typical 3500 watts used by Central Air Conditioning (A/C) or the average 1200 watts used by A/C window units. Wait a minute ... fans don't actually cool the air so aren't we comparing apples to oranges?

While it's true that a fan doesn't actually cool the air, it does keep the air moving which causes quicker evaporation of moisture from our skin. That, in turn, allows our heat energy to escape quicker than normal, making us feel cooler. So, for far less energy than an A/C unit, one can feel cool and comfortable.

A fan is, inherently, energy-efficient. Fanimation takes it a step further by offering energy star rated products. They also employ "green" business practices ... in their warehouse operations they use recycled materials in product packaging and energy efficient lighting throughout the shipping facility.

Whether you're looking for a portable fan, ceiling fan (with or without lights), remotely controlled fans or even parts ... Fanimation can help. The fan that I received is high quality and comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

They have a style for every taste and a fan for every occasion.

Enigma Fan by Fanimation
The Levon Fan by Fanimation
The Islander Fan from Fanimation

I love my cute Fanimation Fan. It's very "cool".



I received an Urbanjet from Fanimation in order to write this review. I received no other compensation. All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone and reflect my honest opinion of the product reviewed.


Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) - Food Waste Audit

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)!

Wondering how to live greener? You've come to the right place. Each week we challenge ourselves to try a new task ... or "amp up" something we're already doing. We raise our awareness, learn from each other and develop Eco-friendly skills which will improve our lives and protect our planet. Doing so together gives us power ... the power to Change The World!

If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.

This post contains great information and I encourage you to read through it at your leisure ... however, if you are short on time, you might find the following quick links helpful:


Last week we cancelled magazine subscriptions and took our names off junk mail lists. This kind of challenge needs revisiting from time to time, especially when it comes to junk mail which seems to sneak its way into our lives. The online services have helped us reduce most of the junk arriving in our mailbox ... contacting companies directly has also been effective. I've also noticed that one must be careful when buying things online or signing up for services ... there is often a pre-checked box that entitles companies to send you material. Diligence is key to managing this activity!

The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the "green" word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments.

Mrs. Green says that she's passionate about eliminating junk mail (and no, Mrs. G, that doesn't sound strange at all). In How to stop junk mail in 5 steps she offers some wonderful tips. Those of you who live in the UK will find them especially helpful as she includes links and information specific to your area.

Argentum Vulgaris shares a few photos of his garden in Change the World Wednesday – 21st Aug ... amazing what he grows in a small space. He also talks about junk mail in Brazil. The amount he receives might surprise you.

Lisa wrote Growing and Buying Local Pays in support of a previous challenge. She talks about why it's so important to support local farmers and/or grow your own food. She also addresses the biggest downside to families and offers possible solutions.

Kristina has written two wonderful articles on eliminating junk mail: No More Junk in Your Mail and More Ways to Reduce Your Junk Mail (And Stress). Both of these posts offer tips and ideas. She even includes ways to stop phone books from landing at our doors.

This was an easy challenge for Alicia who says, "We also have pretty much done this. We order no magazines or other subscriptions and recycle any other junk mail that comes to our box. This includes local grocery ads, furniture ads and coupons. We used to get the Sunday paper for the coupons but haven't done that for several years now since we don't buy any processed food. Just another good thing that has come from buying fresh and local." By the way, Alicia is hosting a giveaway for a beautiful piece of jewelry ... I'm not sure how long the giveaway runs so if you're interested, head over now and enter.

We got a headline spot in this edition of the Shopping Charity. Other great articles include Treasure Hunter: Thrifter turns castoffs into trendy boutique goods - Toledo Blade, Lung cancer pathology pattern may predict cancer recurrence after surgery - ONA and Oshawa family receives hate-filled letter directed at autistic son.

McBride’s Organic Farm Daily gave CTWW a headline spot, as well. This edition includes other interesting content like What if Food Labels Served as Warning Signs?, Upgrade Your Food Choices and Four Lessons from the U.S. for Countries About to Be Fracked.

The Flora Foster Daily included CTWW this week. Other informative articles include Best of the World Weekly -- National Geographic, Domains 101: Exploring the Domain Name System — Blog — WordPress.com and More Than 70 Percent of Undergraduates Get Financial Aid.

CTWW got a nice mention in the Sustainable Education Initiative. This editions also includes How To Grow A Salad Garden For The Whole Family | REALfarmacy.com, Message in a bottle: 8 striking stories of letters sent to sea and 7 creative ways to reuse golf balls.

Lois shares that, a couple of years ago, it was difficult to cancel subscriptions to magazines and newspapers. Why? It has to do with the way she was raised. Read more about that in Change the World, Thursday?? where you'll also discover some startling facts about junk mail and the environment.

Sometimes living green (and well) is about balance. EcoGrrl shares this, "I admit, I'm a sucker for magazines, and have had hills and valleys with the number of subscriptions I've carried. Seems as soon as I get rid of them, I find a new publication that is fantabulous (and these are mags that are not at the library) like Origin and Yes! and Utne Reader. Honestly, I refuse to read books/magazines online, so that's not gonna happen (it's a tactile and stay-offline thing as I'm online most of the day for my work), but what I've done is count how long it takes me to read the magazine and if I've actually cut anything out of it (I'm a clipper). If it's taken me (less than) 15 minutes to read, or I've not cut out an article/recipe/garden tip, I don't renew the subscription. It's the only thing I get in the mail as I'm off the junk mail and my bills are all on auto-pay :) "

Our Twitter friends joined the conversation and shared the following:

From @iamagoodsteward
- It's Wednesday -- you know what that means! #CTWW We support fossil fuel divestment and values based investing!

From @dusdifissette
- Last week's #green challenge = fantastic, grew sprouts & made Kombucha & bottled for winter! This weeks Challenge accepted!

From @HerbGir1972
- celebrating right now calmly crocheting hats for my #CapsForCancer 2013 Event. #MagazinesCancelled
- How much Mail Waste do you pile up each week...? Month...? Year...? It does add up. Do you receive magazines you rarely get to read? Are they worth your hard earned money just to trash/recycle them? Cancel 1/2 of your subscriptions and you'll be Reducing waste in your home by a great margin.
Go paperless on some bills or even catalogs, You'll be helping to Save the Trees and in return Saving the Earth.

From @GiveTreeGifts
- Treasure Hunter: Thrifter turns castoffs into trendy boutique goods http://t.co/YwHscCGkA9
- 10 tips for helping the ocean at home http://t.co/4zp2qo3zCN #CTWW
- Can Plants Produce Polymers for Plastic Cheaply? http://t.co/HPcdryGYtk #CTWW
- 5 Surprising Products That Are Tested On Animals http://t.co/WtKnw5NChw #CTWW

The #CTWW Gang are those folks who tweet our challenges using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're a Twitter member, I recommend following them ... they share great things. Let's meet them:

@_lyal_ @altcon @amotherlife
@beatepdx @beckymcneer @bestrawesome
@biculturalmama @bstoneblog @cfmommies
@changes4charlie @chrysalisdesign @cleansediva
@clothaddicts @counselorholley @craftgal
@crazedkitchen @dehelen @dusdifissette
@earths_choice @eco_novice @ecothrifty
@energysherlock @evelynmccpeters @events4bloggers
@factsabouttrees @familyfocusblog @fey1isleofskye
@florafoster2 @gigivaneyck @ginavalley
@givetreegifts @gr8fulgirl11 @greeneral
@greenglobaltrvl @greeningwestfor @groovygreenlivi
@guayaba @herbgir1972 @hismerecry
@iamagoodsteward @insignifblog @jbjourneys
@jenniharris4 @julialittlebit @kayelleallen
@laalicia @lady_bren @ladyjcmuses
@lorcadamon @mamapoolecooks @marjoriemcatee
@mcbridesorganic @mom2tle @mombloggerplr
@momgamerwriter @mommykoggiboo @mommyladyclub
@mygreenboston @myzerowaste @nebulousmooch
@notasupermom @rckweddings @realityarts
@rulesofgreen @s_m_johnston @sammyobeid
@sgenziuk @shannongrissom @shoppingcharity
@soulfullab @soundless2 @tammycurry
@treesgroup @wencdj @whopaysthepiper
@whywelovegreen @yfnjman @zenfarmz

My Final Thoughts:

How many magazines do you save and read over and over? Do you treasure junk mail, saving it for years? Are there piles of newspapers on your shelf for future reference? Of course not! The fact is, most paper products are briefly used (if at all) and then tossed out. Waste of any kind is bad. Wasting paper products seems especially terrible when we consider the many environmental benefits of living trees. Here's a question to ask ourselves when we feel the lure of a magazine, newspaper or yes, even local ads: Which is more important ... that paper product or reducing CO2 in our atmosphere? That is the bottom line ... and our choice!

Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the "green" word by using the share features located below this post.

This Week's Challenge:

Zero Waste Week is less than a week away (September 2nd thru September 8th). Mrs. Green has a pre-event challenge for us designed to raise our awareness. Here you go ...

This week conduct a daily food waste audit. Pay attention to what is being tossed out, how much is thrown away, where it's ending up (compost, city compost, trash bin, etc.) and why it's being tossed out. You might find this Food Waste Diary helpful. If you're feeling truly ambitious, sort out the food waste and weigh it. This challenge is all about realizing just how much food we waste.

Are you up for this challenge? I know that you are!

Until next time ...

WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!








Monday, August 26, 2013

Meet & Greet Monday (#MtaGt) - Eco Crap

Welcome to Meet & Greet Monday, a regular series designed to grow our green community.

A link-up for green blogs on Reduce Footprints Blog

Grab our banner for your site:

The rules:

1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or collection of environmental posts.
2. Visit at least one other blog and/or the featured site and leave a pertinent comment.
3. The link-up closes on Thursday at 6:00 pm (EDT).
4. Random.org determines the featured site each week.

This week's featured blog, Eco Crap, has been mentioned on Meet & Greet before ... you can read the most recent review HERE. I won't repeat my comments from back then. Luckily, there are so many wonderful aspects of this blog that I have plenty to work with. Argentum Vulgaris, the blog's author and owner, is always up to something interesting, as I found out in a recent visit. He's added a tab entitled "The Green Ink Bottle" ... it's a fascinating collection of Argentum Vulgaris quotes. Some are very serious, like the one about aquifers which stresses that man will pay for his folly. Others are fun and make us smile. And still others offer a simple truth like "One of the pleasures in life is that first morning coffee." One of my favorite sections of the blog, the Apothecary, includes recipes for things like moth repellent, hair conditioner and even Earwash. The list keeps growing as Argentum travels the Internet and finds natural, Eco-friendly remedies. The front page is where he waxes eloquent about all manner of topics. Eco Crap is well worth visiting. As I've said before, "Stop by and visit … you’re bound to learn something and you’re guaranteed to be entertained."

For previous features & blogs, check out the Meet & Greet Page: http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/p/meet-greet.html.

Our link-up is live. Please list your blog, visit and have fun!

PLEASE NOTE ... we're accepting links from blogs this week ... stay tuned as this will change from time to time.






Friday, August 23, 2013

My Interview With EcoGrrl

Happy Friday Everyone!

I recently had the honor of being interviewed by EcoGrrl. She has a regular series where she interviews people from around the Internet ... and she graciously invited me to "sit down" with her and chat.

I'd like to invite you to click over to EcoGrrl's place and read the interview ... and while you're there, please take some time to browse around. She is a Super-Greenie and shares wonderful content ... I promise that you'll love her blog!

A big THANK YOU to EcoGrrl for featuring me this week!

Okay ... ready to go? Just click the picture below:

Click the birdhouse to read Small Footprints' interview with EcoGrrl


Thursday, August 22, 2013

Is It Too Late?

Image showing sea levels rising as a result of climate change.
Climate change continues to be a source of concern as worldwide CO2 levels rise. Here, on Reduce Footprints, we've challenged ourselves to reduce fossil fuel use in an effort to help lower the numbers. Many of us have contacted our elected officials asking that they support efforts to reduce the extraction and burning of fossil fuels. But is it enough? Do our actions matter? That's the subject of this month's survey.


Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey , the world's leading questionnaire tool.



Image courtesy of Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) - Cancel Subscriptions

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)!

Wondering how to live greener? You've come to the right place. Each week we challenge ourselves to try a new task ... or "amp up" something we're already doing. We raise our awareness, learn from each other and develop Eco-friendly skills which will improve our lives and protect our planet. Doing so together gives us power ... the power to Change The World!

If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.

This post contains great information and I encourage you to read through it at your leisure ... however, if you are short on time, you might find the following quick links helpful:


Last week we got busy and preserved local food for the winter. I canned tomatoes and peaches which we got from the farmer's market. We also dehydrated herbs from our garden. Some of the herbs, like basil and cilantro, were turned into flavorful "ice cubes" which I can toss into dishes when the fresh is no longer available. Soon we'll be making sauerkraut and pickles ... and in another month we'll dehydrate apples (they make delicious and healthy snacks). Our only problem is waiting ... everything looks so good that we want to open up those jars now!

The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the "green" word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments.

Mrs. Green wrote a wonderful article for a previous challenge which was too good to miss ... but ... it did get missed. Apologies, Mrs. Green! In 4 ways with puy lentils, to reduce carbon emissions! #ctww, she gets creative and finds some delicious uses for a stockpile of lentils. Mmm ... Shepard's pie? She also shares her plan for the next month. Want a hint? Think ONLY fresh foods!

I knew that this challenge would be an easy one for EcoGrrl who grows and preserves food every year. She shares, "Ha, I am looking at this post late at night after having just made a batch of my homemade ketchup (inspired by the awesome "Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It" cookbook) from the paste tomatoes and yellow onions in my garden...soooo tasty! Have already made & canned sweet relish from my cukes, salsa from my tomatoes/peppers/onions/garlic, peaches from Sauvie Island, and pickled cherries from Hood River. Tomorrow I'm going to try my hand for the first time at pickled red onions, and by next week I should have enough hot peppers to make my favorite serrano jelly. Yummers!"

Welcome to Teri, a brand new Honor Society member. We're so happy you're here, Teri! She says, " What perfect timing! Last Saturday I took a canning class (did pickles and jelly/jams) and in the next couple of days I'll be putting up a huge amount of basil pesto from my garden (it's gone wild this year!). I'm a new follower of this blog and I'm really enjoying it. Perfect for starting my green baby steps!"

If you had to guess, would you say that Argentum Vulgaris preserves food? Remember, he lives alone ... he's frugal ... he grows some veg, like peppers ... he's a chef ... he believes in "real" food. So what do you think? Find out in Change the World Wednesday – 14th Aug.

Mary from Green Global Travel joined us this week. She says, "I love reading your articles every week! They offer new ideas and reminders as to how individuals can 'save the world' through small actions and simple choices. Thank you for the ongoing inspiration!" By the way, if you've never visited Green Global Travel, check it out ... a recent article talks about an underwater museum in Cancun, Mexico ... there are some stunning photos included.

Speaking of travel, check out this edition of The Flora Foster Daily. In addition to a CTWW mention, there's a good article on exploring San Antonio, Texas!

If you've visited Lois, you know that she's a super-greenie. Seriously, she's turned recycling into an art form, lives without a stove or refrigerator, grows food, and doesn't have a car. Awhile back she said (tongue 'n cheek) that she hoped our challenges would be a bit more difficult ... oh yes she did! I took it on as my own, personal challenge ... and what a task. It has been seriously difficult! Until this week! Lois says, "This weeks challenge is a little difficult for me ..." Curious? Read Change the World Wednesday, Preserving food.

CTWW got a nice mention in this edition of the #homeschool Daily/Parent @ the Helm. Other articles include one about dyslexia awareness and another entitled What's the Difference Between a Food Allergy and a Food Intolerance?

Welcome to Think Green ... another new Honor Society member. So nice to "see" you! Think Green says, "Hi there, Thanks for visiting my blog and for your friendly comments. I hope you get to try a vegan version of my veggie dumplings recipe-I'd love to hear how they turn out. I'm so glad I found your blog! Love the weekly challenges- so encouraging and just what I've been looking for. Preserving local food for winter is a great idea- one of my resolutions this fall is to make a bigger effort to eat locally."

Clare stopped in and shared this: "(Another) great challenge! It's winter here so there's not as much as usual to harvest / buy up. But my bananas ripen year round and we can buy local berries in winter too, I assume because it's a little cooler. So I'm busy freezing (and trying to re-organize my freezer to fit everything!). Here's an article about a family who really know how to preserve food - this is something to aim for http://www.ecofriendlylink.com/blog/foodinseasonpreserving. Thanks, I'm enjoying this challenge!"

Please welcome Sue to our fold! Nice to "see" you, Sue! She shares this: " Hi and what wonderful work you do. I don't do canning or freezing, but we grow some garden vegetables like tomatoes and I try to buy at local fruit stands."

Alicia accepted the challenge and says, "We didn't plant a really large garden this year like we normally do because of our work schedule this Summer. I have been buying extra at the Farmers Markets to freeze and can. My herbs have done wonderfully this season and I have already dried Rosemary, Tarragon. Chives, Basil, Thyme, Mint and Marjoram. I will be drying Lemon Balm and Spicy Basil this week. I will also be making herb vinegars and oils. We are going to try to get to the orchard this week and get lots of peaches to put up. We have a neighbor who has a pear tree that they don't really use any of the pears so we can get as many as we want so we will be caning and freezing them along with lots of apples this Fall. When the Fall crop of cabbage gets here we are going to make our own raw kraut. Love harvest time and love pulling out all of these goodies during the Winter months to enjoy!!"

Our Twitter friends joined the conversation and shared the following:

From @givetreegifts
- If you add beet & horseradish relish to a basic veggie soup, you have a yummy Borscht :)
- Beet & Horseradish Relish Recipe ow.ly/nVS3K Another way to preserve beets & utilize free horseradish that we gathered
- Pickled beets recipe ow.ly/nVRjw Another staple in our household & a great way to preserve an abundance of beets
- Canned Coleslaw?! ow.ly/nVQTh My Mom used a recipe like this to preserve a bountiful crop of cabbage. Awesome winter salad!
- I pick wild berries such as chokecherries for pancake syrup, saskatoon berries for eating fresh, jam, muffins, pies, pancakes...,
- Check your local free ads for people who are giving away free produce that you simply pick yourself. Berries, crab apples, rhubarb...
- I grew up in a time & a household where nothing went to waste & whatever we didn't eat "fresh" had to be preserved. We were gatherers

From @dusdifissette
- Still can't find sprouting seed mix to grow fresh sprouts for my salad sandwich? I did find Chia seeds, so any suggestions?

From @pinkladyapril
- I'll be making some strawberry jam (hopefully this week!)

The #CTWW Gang are those folks who tweet our challenges using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're a Twitter member, I recommend following them ... they share great things. Let's meet them:

@89linz @_lyal_ @amnichols
@aspiewriter @aupairint @beatepdx
@beckymcneer @bestrawesome @biggreenpen
@bike2power @cellomomoncars @changes4charlie
@clothaddicts @clubcontent @crazedkitchen
@crazedmom @designerpens @diethood
@dribbleondo @dusdifissette @earths_choice
@ecoexpert1 @ecothrifty @eddiegear
@energysherlock @evelynmccpeters @factsabouttrees
@familyfocusblog @fey1isleofskye @frederickbrooke
@gandharadesigns @ginavalley @givetreegifts
@gr8fulgirl11 @greeneral @greenglobaltrvl
@groovygreenlivi @guayaba @herbgir1972
@hismerecry @iamagoodsteward @ithoughtiknewma
@jaemacjustsayin @jamiastar @jenniharris4
@jnjgogreen @julialittlebit @kayelleallen
@laalicia @lady_bren @ladyjcmuses
@mamapoolecooks @marjoriemcatee @mgyerman
@mirandasman @mom2tle @momgamerwriter
@mommyladyclub @motorwiseuk @mygreenboston
@oxychippy @parentatthehelm @pinkladyapril
@proamusa @rainyofthedark @rckweddings
@realityarts @rulesofgreen @ruralmoms
@sammyrules62 @shannongrissom @soulfullab
@soundless2 @tammycurry @tiffanywashko
@treesgroup @truenatureed @untreedreads
@wencdj @whywelovegreen @wrenmeyers
@yatrblog @yfnjman @zenfarmz

My Final Thoughts:

Preserving food has many benefits ... we enjoy fresh, local and healthy produce in the winter ... we know what's in our food ... we avoid the transportation of items grown in centralized locations ... and, in most cases, we save money. For those who don't forage or grow their own vegetables, farmer's markets offer consumers beautiful produce. The Internet is full of recipes and "how to" articles on everything from canning to using a freezer to dehydrating. There really is no excuse not to experience local produce in the winter months.

Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the "green" word by using the share features located below this post.

This Week's Challenge:

Let's switch gears this week! Argentum Vulgaris sent me a great list of possible CTWW activities. Shall we take one on? Sure! Here you go ...


Cancel magazine subscriptions. Instead, read magazines online or at the library. Have any old publications sitting around your home? Donate them to libraries, medical/dental offices or recycle them.

OR ...

If you don't subscribe to any publications, get your name off catalog and junk-mail lists. Check out Catalog Choice, National Do Not Mail List or contact companies and ask that they remove your name from their mailing list or ADD your name to their "do not mail" list (whichever they use).


Are you up for this challenge? I know that you are!

Until next time ...

WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!



Monday, August 19, 2013

Meet & Greet Monday (#MtaGt) - Slightly Hippie Housewife of Suburbia

Welcome to Meet & Greet Monday, a regular series designed to grow our green community.

A link-up for green blogs on Reduce Footprints Blog

Grab our banner for your site:

The rules:

1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or collection of environmental posts.
2. Visit at least one other blog and/or the featured site and leave a pertinent comment.
3. The link-up closes on Thursday at 6:00 pm (EDT).
4. Random.org determines the featured site each week.

Jennifer, owner and author at Slightly Hippie Housewife of Suburbia, describes herself by saying "I’m just a girl who likes to play in the dirt." An artist, blogger, mom and wife, she focuses on a life of happiness ... one which includes loving the earth and being healthy. One of the first posts I came across was about several things Jennifer has quit ... she talks about giving up the microwave, sugar, wheat and smoking (yay). In a series entitled Foodie Friday, I found information about eating local and healthy. Another series, Tuesday Tip includes information about what's in your toothpaste and deodorant and even offers a do-it-yourself recipe for making non-toxic deodorant. Those living in the "burbs" will find A Day in the Life: Suburban Balance very interesting. Slightly Hippie Housewife of Suburbia is a relatively new blog but it's already packed with interesting, useful content. I'm placing myself on Jennifer's emailing list because I think she's going to have plenty to share with (and teach) us!

For previous features & blogs, check out the Meet & Greet Page: http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/p/meet-greet.html.

Our link-up is live. Please list your blog, visit and have fun!

PLEASE NOTE ... we're accepting links from blogs this week ... stay tuned as this will change from time to time.





Friday, August 16, 2013

Guest Post - Reducing the footprint of logistics


The burden of logistics

Logistics is a notoriously environmentally unfriendly system, using heavy good vehicles and transport systems to move goods, services and people around the world. The carbon created is staggering and impacts the environment in a huge way. From moving containers across the world through containerised shipping or moving people from point to point, carbon creation is inevitable.

However there are many ways that the logistics industry is trying to reduce its carbon footprint, as it understands the need to protect the ecological and environmental systems around it. There are measures that logistic companies take to reduce their footprint to make sure they’re making changes where they can to make a difference.


Speed limits and emissions

All heavy good vehicles in Europe are restricted to 56 mph/ 90 kmh for both safety, and for emissions. By reducing their speed they’re effectively cutting the emissions down by cutting fuel usage. This is an attempt to create an optimal level for the vehicle to work at.

European standards are not only applied to speed, but also to the amount of emissions that a vehicle is allowed to create. The European emission standards were created in a series of European Union directives to slowly cut the amount of emissions created by vehicles, from Euro 1 to Euro 6. Cities such as London have become low emission zones, only allowing Euro 5 or higher vehicles into the area free of charge otherwise charging vehicles with a lower rating. While it met criticism from the Freight Transport Association, it was welcomed by the British Heart Foundation and the British Lung Foundation.


Biofuels on the move

For logistic companies running possibly thousands of trucks throughout Europe, fuel is a massive concern and a huge cost. To make the most of the fuel they have, logistic companies such as hauliers make sure there vehicles are never being run without a load on-board. Systems such as part-loading and partnerships with other haulage companies allow vehicles to be used to their maximum capacity at all times and increase the efficiency of the whole industry.

Changing what fuel is used by vehicles is a sure way to reduce emissions with bio methane a viable Eco-friendly solution to reducing the carbon footprint of vehicles, and has been adopted by some large players in the logistics industry. Coca-Cola Enterprise being the first to make the change, with a saving of 50% fewer emissions.


Saving through storage

As well as the various methods of reducing carbon when on the road, there are a few ways that logistics companies are able to reduce the footprint of the buildings and warehousing they use for storage. Solar panels on the rooves of large building give a brilliant way for a company to generate solar energy, and with government initiatives in place for companies to make use of renewable energy, a company may find it less of an initial investment than anticipated. Pallets are something that are used every day by haulage firms and can often go overlooked. There are many recycling schemes available to companies for the recycling of pallets, turning them into pellets for wood fires is just one option available.


Government Policies

These are a few of the ways that logistic companies are trying to minimise their impact. Governments across the world are trying to reduce carbon emissions and as new policies come into place the logistics industry has to make changes to their own policies or risk being in danger of being fined.


About the author
This article was written exclusively for Reduce Footprints by Matt Everard of Barrington International Freight Forwarders.




Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) - Preserving Local Produce

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)!

Wondering how to live greener? You've come to the right place. Each week we challenge ourselves to try a new task ... or "amp up" something we're already doing. We raise our awareness, learn from each other and develop Eco-friendly skills which will improve our lives and protect our planet. Doing so together gives us power ... the power to Change The World!

If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.

This post contains great information and I encourage you to read through it at your leisure ... however, if you are short on time, you might find the following quick links helpful:


Crossing the 400 ppm CO2 threshold is serious. As those gases trap heat in our atmosphere, the world gets warmer. Warming causes sea levels to rise and that, in turn, causes flooding, loss of habitat, fresh water contamination, etc. Last week we took positive action to help reduce those numbers. The main cause of CO2 is the burning of fossil fuels. That happens when we use electricity, buy foods which travel long distances to get to our shelves or buy new products (causing more new products to be manufactured). In my house, we took on all three levels of the challenge. We looked for additional ways to save electricity and found that sitting in the dark while watching TV late at night was very doable ... and pleasant. With a convenient farmer's market near our home, eating local foods was easy! And, finally, we only bought what was necessary last week, asking ourselves if we really NEED the item. Most of the time, we didn't!

The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the "green" word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments.

In Change the World Wednesday – 7th Aug Argentum Vulgaris shares why this month is special. He also shares some good news as part of accomplishing our challenge. Check it out!

Lois says, "I will take on all three this week. I'm not much of a shopper except for food and I mostly shop the farmers market and the garden for my food this time of year. Yes, the co2 in the atmosphere is a huge concern to me. What I haven't found yet is exactly what the consequences of being at 400 is expected to do to the both humans and wildlife. Have you found this information?" In response, I offered two articles which you can find HERE. In Change the World Wednesday, CO2 she shares some information she found on the subject and talks about how she accomplished all three levels of the challenge.

EcoGrrl has a clever way of reducing her energy use. She shares, "I keep a little African basket in my living room to hold all my phone, laptop, ipod, and other chargers, and have power strips by my TV and in my home office. I am on my laptop constantly as I work from home so I only turn it off when I go out of town, but the one by the TV only gets flipped ON when I'm watching TV. One of the great checklists to have when you go on vacation is to unplug or flip off your power strip switches (with exception of course of a light you might have on a timer - something I forgot about last time, haha)."

Brandi gave us a nice mention in The Monkie Daily. Other articles include one on the Tohoku Earthquake, a Verano mocktail recipe, and another about the crisis in Syria. It's a diverse and interesting publication.

One of our twitter friends, @untreedreads, offered an article entitled The Future of eReading by P.A. Bees for CTWW. It takes a look at where ereading might be headed and considers the possibility of moving beyond hand-held readers.

Alicia accepted the challenge and shares this, "We unplug our chargers and small appliances when we aren't using them.We have a built in microwave but never use it so we always keep it unplugged.We turn our computers off every night and when we are not at home. We work a local Farmers Market in the Nashville area and so we do our shopping while we are there. That way we accomplish two things with one trip. I really make such an effort to buy most things locally but haven't gotten to the point where it is all local. I usually write down a weeks worth of menu's and then make a list of all the ingredients that I am going to need. Then when I am delivering I do my shopping in that area which saves me from having to make a trip into town when I get home. I try to make sure that I get everything I need so I don't have to do multiple trips during the week. This is a great challenge!" While visiting Alicia's blog, I found a great article which talks about another way she keeps things local: Farmers Markets.

We've talked about several ways to avoid the use of fossil fuels. Ann offers us another idea. Want a hint? It involves sports. Check out FSO: It is (Hopefully) end of winter and beginning of spring.

Welcome to Loretta, a brand new member of our Honor Society!! We're so happy to have you with us, Loretta!! She shares this, "Challenge #1 is great - our library loans one of those voltage readers, which would be great to read the voltage drawn fro those electronic devices. We have cable now and that's the tough one to turn off - with all the shows set to record. Maybe a timer if you know the time range of the shows you like??? Once again, great challenge."

Our Twitter friends joined the conversation and shared the following:

From @givetreegifts
- How much can you save by unplugging appliances? ow.ly/nI5D8
- 12 Household Appliances You Should Unplug to Save Money ow.ly/nI5Lu
- Top 5 Energy-Sucking Vampire Appliances ow.ly/nI5Un
- Unplugging These 6 Gadgets Will Cut Your Electricity Bill ow.ly/nI5ZM
- How I Cut My Energy Bill By a Third with Tech and Common Sense ow.ly/nI66g

From @ecowarriorme
- As a stingy Scot, I love your third option for this week's challenge. That is my life!

The #CTWW Gang are those folks who tweet our challenges using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're a Twitter member, I recommend following them ... they share great things. Let's meet them:

@89linz @_lyal_ @a_kiasi
@afterlaundry @allnaturalkatie @anitaadamsnc
@aparentsprspctv @aspiemusings @beatepdx
@beckymcneer @bellasmile2 @bestrawesome
@biculturalmama @biggreenpen @bike2power
@boulderlocavore @bstoneblog @cellomomoncars
@changes4charlie @cleansediva @counselorholley
@crazedmom @crazykids6 @designerpens
@dinaj @dusdifissette @earthdaynetwork
@earths_choice @eco_novice @ecoexpert1
@ecothrifty @ecowarriorme @elizbethlmaness
@energysherlock @evelynmccpeters @factsabouttrees
@familyfocusblog @five_monkies @frederickbrooke
@ginavalley @givetreegifts @gr8fulgirl11
@greenforu @greenglobaltrvl @greeningwestfor
@groovygreenlivi @guayaba @herbgir1972
@hismerecry @iamagoodsteward @ithoughtiknewma
@jamiastar @jenniharris4 @jnjgogreen
@kanweienea @kayelleallen @kymgrosso
@laalicia @lady_bren @ladyjcmuses
@leaf @leighanneramsey @lifelovemusic1
@lorcadamon @mamapoolecooks @marjoriemcatee
@mgyerman @mike_feder @min_svart_ros
@mom2tle @momgamerwriter @mommyladyclub
@motorwiseuk @mygreenboston @myzerowaste
@nolafusion @oddlynn3 @partselect
@proamusa @rantravewrite @rckweddings
@realityarts @rulesofgreen @sammyrules62
@shannongrissom @skipbang @soulfullab
@soundless2 @sowandso @tammycurry
@treesgroup @untreedreads @wencdj
@whopaysthepiper @whywelovegreen @yfnjman
@zenfarmz

My Final Thoughts:

The consequences of climate change probably won't be severely felt in my lifetime. Future generations, however, will be faced with a far different reality from the one we know today. Unless we act now to reduce CO2 levels, they will face unimaginable hardships. While doing our part by unplugging electrical units and shopping local is important, it won't solve the problem. Doing so will require a commitment, and immediate action, from world leaders to reduce the use of fossil fuels. I encourage you to speak out and support any activities which will help meet the goal of reducing CO2 levels.

Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the "green" word by using the share features located below this post.

This Week's Challenge:

In March we began preparations designed to ensure that we have local produce next winter. You can read that challenge HERE. Let's put those plans into action this week. Here you go ...


This week preserve local produce. This could be large scale (e.g. canning fruits and vegetables) ... or simply freezing some herbs. You might want to dehydrate fruit for healthy snacks, make a small batch of freezer jam or shell some peas for the freezer. Canning, freezing, dehydrating, curing, pickling, etc. ... the choice is yours. The goal is to preserve local produce, perhaps from your own garden, for use in the winter.

OR ...

If you are experiencing winter instead of summer and don't have fresh produce to preserve, please prepare at least one meal this week using local foods. This might include items preserved from last summer's harvest, canned goods sold by local farmers, etc.


Are you up for this challenge? I know that you are!

Until next time ...

WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!


Monday, August 12, 2013

Meet & Greet Monday (#MtaGt) - EcoFriendly Baby Products

Welcome to Meet & Greet Monday, a regular series designed to grow our green community.

A link-up for green blogs on Reduce Footprints Blog

Grab our banner for your site:

The rules:

1. Use the link-up tool below to share your green-living blog or collection of environmental posts.
2. Visit at least one other blog and/or the featured site and leave a pertinent comment.
3. The link-up closes on Thursday at 6:00 pm (EDT).
4. Random.org determines the featured site each week.

I am not a parent. But, I've visited enough blogs to know that choosing safe, Eco-friendly products for children is often a real challenge. EcoFriendly Baby Products helps meet that challenge by offering clothing, toys, bottles, strollers, etc. which are safe for your child and the environment. Each item comes with an "Eco Cred" ... a list of reasons why the product is considered "green". The "Product Details" section offers information about how the item can be used, whether it's machine washable, what others have said about it, etc. It's a great site for those with children or those who buy gifts for children. Check out EcoFriendly Baby Products and, simply for visiting, you can get their free ebook about keeping your baby toxin-free. It might be about babies but the information is valuable for everyone!

For previous features & blogs, check out the Meet & Greet Page: http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com/p/meet-greet.html.

Our link-up is live. Please list your blog, visit and have fun!

This week, you may post 1 link. It can be your blog, a social network page, a site where you sell Eco-friendly products or services ... basically any site as long as it is Eco-friendly.





Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW) - CO2 Levels

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)!

Wondering how to live greener? You've come to the right place. Each week we challenge ourselves to try a new task ... or "amp up" something we're already doing. We raise our awareness, learn from each other and develop Eco-friendly skills which will improve our lives and protect our planet. Doing so together gives us power ... the power to Change The World!

If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.

This post contains great information and I encourage you to read through it at your leisure ... however, if you are short on time, you might find the following quick links helpful:


Last week we took on the Tar Sands Oil Pipeline and, by signing a petition, told the world that we are NOT okay with the extraction and use of fossil fuels ... that we insist on sustainable, clean, environmentally-friendly energy. My personal philosophy is that we can't expect our political leaders to know what we want unless we tell them. While I would hope that their choices are based on doing the right thing, the fact remains that they are under a lot of pressure from special interest groups. It's easy for our voices to be drowned out by those who care more about the bottom line. A petition is one way that we can band together and elevate the sound of our collective voice so that we can't be ignored.

The Honor Society are those people who help us spread the "green" word by writing an article about our challenges and/or leaving pertinent comments.

Please note: Political activism is very personal. On challenges where we sign petitions or in any way contact our officials, I won't include my own commentary about your posts and comments. I'll simply list them for you to read.

Argentum Vulgaris wrote Change the World Wednesday – 31st Jul.

Lois wrote Change The World Wednesday, Environmental Concerns.

Jacqueline says, "Oh that's funny. I just got involved in this action just TODAY!!! I sign as many petitions as I can and I do make phone calls to senators until my ears bleed. This pipeline is a disaster. People, get involved!!!"

EcoGrrl says, " One of the reasons I use Twitter is to get all my enviro info from my fave nonprofits (esp NRDC) in one feed so that I can stay abreast on all the important work going on and sign their petitions. Great post!"

Ann wrote Thursday Challenge: Green Cool Wall.

Tammy wrote Sustainable Education Initiative.

Petunia GreenBeans wrote Tweets for Good

Our Twitter friends joined the conversation and shared the following:

From @givetreegifts:
- Keystone XL tar sands pipeline does not pass President's climate test ow.ly/nuNpn
- Tar Sands Oil Has Been Leaking Into Alberta For 10 Weeks And No One Knows How To Stop It ow.ly/nuNHq
- New Report: Less than 1-percent of Tar Sands Environmental Infractions Penalized ow.ly/nuNV6
- OpEdNews - Article: Fighting Tar Sands Oil: The Devotion and Hard Work of Activist Bill McKibben ow.ly/nuO6S
- Oil-sands rally overflows with activists ow.ly/nuOo3

From @EcoWarriorMe:
- signed (I hope they don't use trains instead)

The #CTWW Gang are those folks who tweet our challenges using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're a Twitter member, I recommend following them ... they share great things. Let's meet them:

@89linz @a_kiasi @acorvelli
@anitaadamsnc @aparentsprspctv @aspiemusings
@aspiewriter @biggreenpen @bike2power
@changes4charlie @cleansediva @clothaddicts
@counselorholley @crazedkitchen @crazykids6
@dougwho89 @dusdifissette @ecoexpert1
@ecothrifty @ecowarriorme @elizbethlmaness
@energysherlock @evelynmccpeters @factsabouttrees
@familyfocusblog @familyfreshmeal @frederickbrooke
@friendsofods @friendsoftrees @givetreegifts
@gogreenbeans
@gr8fulgirl11 @greenforu
@greenglobaltrvl @greeningwestfor @groovygreenlivi
@guayaba @herbgir1972 @hismerecry
@iamagoodsteward @insignifblog @ithoughtiknewma
@jaemacjustsayin @jamiastar @jnaquins
@julialittlebit @kayelleallen @laalicia
@ladyjcmuses @leaf @lorcadamon
@marjoriemcatee @mcbridesorganic @mike_feder
@min_svart_ros @mom2tle @nolafusion
@okanagan_rt @portlandaudubon @ppatch_blog
@proamusa @rckweddings @realityarts
@rooted_inmotion @rozdb @rulesofgreen
@shannongrissom @skipbang @soulfullab
@soundless2 @spafloating @tammycurry
@trees_forever @treesgroup @untreedreads
@wencdj @whopaysthepiper @women4earth
@zenfarmz

My Final Thoughts:

By living a green life, we can have a positive impact on the environment. Often, however, important decisions are made by our leaders ... people who don't always have their constituent's, or the environment's, best interest at heart. We can sit back and feel powerless ... or ... we can speak out. Doing so together gives us a louder, more powerful voice.

Thanks, everyone! If you wrote an article, I Stumbled, Tweeted, Facebooked and posted it on Google +. You can help spread the "green" word by using the share features located below this post.

This Week's Challenge:

In May of 2013, the world crossed the 400 ppm threshold. That is a CO2 concentration of 400 parts per million and the highest concentration of CO2 on earth in 2 million years. To put that in perspective, 350 ppm has been noted as the highest "safe" concentration for humans. Does that scare you? It does me! The biggest cause of the increase is the combustion of fossil fuel. That is a broad category which includes the electricity we use (most electricity in the US comes from coal), fuel for our cars and the trucks which transport our food and other products, and industrial processes which make our "stuff". Let's focus on a few things and help reduce the numbers. Here you go ...

This week, unplug household appliances on standby. Pay special attention to any appliance with a clock or lighted panel (microwaves, coffee makers, etc.) ... those are the obvious signs that energy is being used even when the appliance isn't. Also look for phantom energy use ... phone chargers, TVs, recording devices, etc. They all use energy when plugged in. Turn off the computer and monitor when not in use. Worried about maintaining your internet connection? Then, leave the modem on but turn everything else off. Consider a power bar to make this task easier.

OR ...

Buy only local foods and products this week thereby reducing the amount of fuel used to get products from their origin to your shelf.

OR ...

Go on a "no spending" diet this week. Refuse to purchase anything but the bare necessities thereby reducing the industrial processes required to manufacture stuff.

Which will you choose? All of them?


Want an easy way to keep up with our challenges?
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copying the code & pasting it into your site!

Change The World Wednesday on Reduce Footprints

Until next time ...

WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!