} Change your light by switching to CFL bulbs ~ I hope all of you have already done this. CFLs are a bit more expensive upfront, but they last far longer than a traditional bulb and you can even get dimmable CFLs (we currently have them in our dining room chandelier).
} Diaper with a conscience ~ Did you know that by the time a child is toilet trained, a parent will change between 5,000 and 8,000 diapers (it feels like I've already changed that many diapers!), adding up to approximately 3.5 million tons of waste in U.S. landfills each year?! Also, regular disposable diapers are toxic - no joke! They contain the following:
- Traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process which is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.. (1)
- Tributyl-tin (TBT), a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals. (2)
- Sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbancy tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome. (3) According to Mothering Magazine, no studies have been done on the long-term effects of this chemical being in contact with a baby's reproductive organs 24 hours a day for upwards of two years.
Do you really want to expose your baby to these toxins? We certainly don't and that's why we originally used gdiapers and now we're switching to cloth, for economic reasons. I'll let you know how our cloth diaper adventure goes. (If you aren't interested in cloth, there are better disposable alternatives, like Seventh Generation or Tushies.)
} Rethink bottled water ~ This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine, so I love this tip! Did you know that at least 25% of bottled water is actually just tap water, including Aquafina and Dasani!? Would you be willing to pay $1.25 for a glass of tap water? Did you know that according to the Container Recycling Institute, some 85% of used water bottles in the U.S. become garbage or litter? Additionally, incinerating used bottles produces toxic byproducts such as chlorine gas and ash containing heavy metals and buried water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade! Finally, many people reuse their PET/PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) water bottles even though they are only meant for one-time use. More research is needed to determine whether these bottles leach toxic chemicals into your water after many uses and even if they don't, the bottles are difficult to wash properly which can make them susceptible to bacterial contamination. Yuck! If you want to have water with you at all times like me, invest in a reusable (and cool!) aluminum bottle like Sigg or a stainless steel bottle, like Klean Kanteen.
} Use your cruise control ~ Numerous studies have shown that maintaining a constant speed conserves gas and cruise control is an easy way to do this (as long as you're not driving through hilly terrain). With gas prices above $4/gallon, I can't imagine anyone not wanting to improve their gas mileage.
} Telecommute to save gas ~ I just like this tip because I get to telecommute two days a week, which means working in bed with my pajamas on all day. Can't you just picture it?
} Plastic bags suck ~ According to Worldwatch Institute, plastic bags start as crude oil, natural gas, or other petrochemical derivatives, which are transformed into chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules known as polymers or polymer resin. After being heated, shaped, and cooled, the plastic is ready to be flattened, sealed, punched, or printed on. Each year, Americans throw away some 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags and only 0.6 percent of plastic bags are recycled! That's disturbing but even more so is the existence of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a vast swath of ocean twice the size of Texas which is filled with a toxic plastic stew. Seriously...what are we doing!?
If you're interested in reading more, here's a great article, entitled Plastic Ocean from Best Life magazine (or you can just google it - there's a ton of info out there). There are so many alternatives to both plastic and paper bags that there's really no excuse for continuing to use them. However, I am guilty of this even though we own enough canvas bags for all our groceries/shopping. That's my new resolution, remembering my canvas bags when I go shopping. I'll start tomorrow by keeping them in my car. If you want some canvas bags of your own, check our these retailers: Eco-bags, Envirosax, Flip & Tumble and Baggu.
Because of what we know about plastic, we are trying to eliminate it from our lives in all aspects whenever possible. This subject warrants its own post(s) due to the amount of information, so stay tuned. Good Greening, everyone!
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