I originally was going to do an expose on the “live” cultures of yogurt today, but after some investigation, I realized I needed some more scientific tools to really see if the yogurt companies are staying true to their “live culture” claims.
That, my friends, will be for another show…
Instead, I recently came across some green facts and ideas that you can use to help save the world.
And frankly, there’s nothing better than saving the world… so take a look!
Question of the day: “What are your green ideas for the home or anywhere else?”
Go ahead and click here, scroll down to the bottom and add your tips so everyone can use them!
Live Awesome!
Kevin
BTW: Here are the facts on yogurt…
1. Buy organic, raw, unpasteurized yogurt from a health food store. It’s the best.
2. Buy plain and add your own fruit.
3. The some of the mainstream yogurts do “add-back” cultures after the food has been pasteurized. Some don’t. Look for a “Live Cultures” seal, or a statement that says the food contains live cultures.
4. Most yogurt enhanced foods, don’t have live cultures.
5. The reason many people who are lactose intolerant don’t get the same reaction from yogurt, is because the bacteria feed on the lactose (milk sugar), so you don’t have to…
6. The word is derived from the adjective yo?un, which means “dense” and “thick”, or from the verb yo?urmak, meaning “to knead”.
7:30 pm on March 24th, 2008
OK… do more with less America!
7:38 pm on March 24th, 2008
how to change the world
print green and 100% recyled with non toxic inks….with http://www.printnetinc.com
tell everyone you know who’s not printing this way to get on board….theres no longer any good reason to cut down trees to print things…or pollute water with the toxins from commerical printing….
7:43 pm on March 24th, 2008
Jeff and Taylor do an amazing job at PrintNet. Full endorsement here!
Kev
9:14 pm on March 24th, 2008
Use more e-mail and digital products than printed — need to save the trees big-time! Stop using plastic bags big time! Actually when is someone going to develop a plastic bag that will break down in the environment within a matter of weeks rather than years??
Great article!
Jeanne
http://www.goalsnaspirations.com
9:14 pm on March 24th, 2008
Use Natural cleaning products such as Soap Nuts, which do not have nearly the impact on the environment as the regular name brand products like Clorox and Windex. Also, recycle recycle and oh yeah… RECYCLE! We do our part, but we just have to continue informing others of the importance of our planet-saving behavior.
Brandon and Ellen*
11:47 pm on March 24th, 2008
Yeah, I’m waiting on like 500 loads of soap nuts right now… THEY WORK! You can collect them yourself, FOR FREE, if you get hip to identifying the tree… and, live in the right areas… We HAVE soap nuts in the US ~ There’s no need to haul them over from India, etc… THINK global, ACT LOCAL…
Ex the plastics TOTALLY! Glass, Wood, Natural Fibers are the way. Instead of asking for a bag, bring you own (Like MOST of the world ALWAYS DOES!) ~ “Disposable bags” are insane!
Get gray water systems set up everywhere possible! Advocate for dropping ancient obsolete bans on them!
COMPOST & VERMICULTURE _ALL POSSIBLE WASTES_ Bathe less ~ WAY less ~ Cultures around the world have truisms like, “The bark protects the wood” to advocate infrequent bathing.
If you can’t put it through your body, don’t bring it into your home ~ Even soap nuts are edible (An indigenous NA food)…
Cultivate a “village lifestyle”. Seek options to long treks to see shows, etc…
Use the local lending library ~ consume less!
Carpool, Bike, Rideshare, Walk, Metrolink/mass transit ANY time possible!
At least OFFER your discards on http://www.FreeCycle.com before casting them to the landfill… One’s trash is another’s treasure…
Give presentations about what you advocate at local schools, groups,…
Speak out at the Public Comment section of local meetings!
GIVE, GIVE, GIVE! There are a GAZILLION ways to give, all day, everyday!
Get the Audobon Society’s trifold (a big one) on Birds, Bats, Bees & Butterflies: How To Improve Your Neighborhood FOR FREE ~ with an edition for homeowners & one for renters!
IF IT HAS A HEARTBEAT: LET IT LIVE!
Cultivate natural plantings, native to your locale.
I could go on & on…. but, I need to go out the door…
I can’t wait to read some new ideas when I return to this page!
12:30 am on March 25th, 2008
Hello
In addition, I want to get together
Please link to this site
http://yuuka00-healthfood.blogspot.com/
9:30 am on March 25th, 2008
Hi Kevin, going green for me has been changing over ALL the chemicals in my house to natural. Cleaning, laundry, food, health and beauty products. Give the dryer a break and air dry clothes. I turned my heat down four degrees. I use cloth napkins instead of paper and just toss in the laundry. I have both flower and vegetable gardens and do not use any chemicals only natural fertilizer and pest control. I am buying more heirloom seeds so I can save and plant my own the next year. I buy 90% of my clothing goodwill/consignment/thrift stores instead of always having to buy new, clothes are recyclable too! When I have things That I don’t need or use I will give them to a thrift store or a church for their clothes that they give to the needy.If one of my vehicles needs a part I go the the junk yards and used parts stores. Last thing I got there was a replacement tail light lens and not only does it look brand new, it cost me a third of what a new one would be!
I would like to know what part of the US Susana lives in as to where to find the Soap nuts in this country!
9:32 am on March 25th, 2008
Where can we find soap nuts in the US? Somebody please let me know. I want to switch to using them. If I could get them here, that would give me all the more puch I needed.
Recycle. Compost. Clean up all the trash everywhere.!!!!
Mary Peyer farminmarbles@yahoo.com
9:52 am on March 25th, 2008
Mary,
You can find soap nuts here…
http://tinyurl.com/2bg29p
Kev
11:08 pm on March 25th, 2008
I would like to see people reuse plastic bottles. Since there is the technology out there (Restore Products, Minneapolis has a refill station that refills cleaning products and prints out a dollar off coupon for reusing the bottle), I would like to see it used for all laundry bottles. Not only would it keep tons of plastic out of the landfills, it would also keep detergents remaining in the containers from entering our waters. It may be an inconvenient truth that we have to change more than our thoughts; we may have to also change more of our behaviors. Linda
7:30 pm on March 26th, 2008
I’m so glad this compilation of recent blog entries was sent my way!
My method’s to post and depart; without the compilation, I’d never know to respond:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapindus
Don’t miss that final “s” on that website address!
There’s geographic distribution by species and a color photo’s in the lower right corner, too.
Out in So Cal I have a neighbor with a GARGANTUAN tree of what I suspect are these… time to explore!
9:08 pm on March 26th, 2008
Lots of great ideas above! I’m taking notes to improve my green level!
Some more ideas (repeated to emphasize):
*use a push mower (I still need to buy mine); *plant trees and gardens not just for Delicious, Fresh and Local Produce/flowers but to decontaminate the air from pollution (indoors too);
*compost (RAW) food scraps for fertilizing above garden (raw decomposes more fragrantly);
*recycle all junk mail and phone books (remove name from mailing lists whenever possible).
We are currently replacing an old van with a bi-fuel natural gas/gasoline vehicle. Natural gas is cheaper and burns clean so doesn’t add to air pollution. Gets the same gas mileage as gasoline. Plus there are tax credits for converting, up to $3000 Federal tax credit (half cost of conversion up to the $3K).
Natural cleaners I use in my home include baking soda (instead of toothpaste and to clean sinks/counters/stove); vinegar (instead of fabric softener, I add a cup to final rinse of wash); and vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, sprayed separately (mustn’t mix until sprayed) for disinfecting surfaces such as doorknobs, counters, cutting boards, etc. (it doesn’t matter which is sprayed first).
Every step we each take will really add up! It is the direction we are moving, we don’t have to be perfect at it yet. Each of us is somewhere on the path, looking for ways to improve. Everyone’s ideas help someone.
Thanks for bringing these things to our attention, Kevin!
Katherine
3:56 pm on March 27th, 2008
Re: Laundry
If you soak your clothes in cold water first you can cut down the agitation time to a minimum.(ie. 5 minutes/load) rather than a full 15 min cycle) Savings include less electricity for hot water and less on the cycle time.
Drying clothes: Put clothes in dryer for only 10 min. no heat. I call it my rotary ironing board, then I hang everything up on hangers. Next day I hang the dry clothes in the closet. In the summer I use an outdoor clothes line. (solar dryer)
4:05 pm on March 27th, 2008
Re: Turning trash into treasures.
On my daily walks each route reveals trash scattered everywhere. I always carry a back pack and by the time I return to my home the bag is filled with scrap metals of every description. Fortunately I have a large back yard and I can make several piles of scrap metal. A couple of times per year I bring my sorted ‘precious metal’ to the scrap yard and they pay me cash for it.
When my niece and nephews come for walks with me we love to go treasure hunting.(stay safe wear gloves)
12:03 am on April 1st, 2008
Sometimes I use the good parts of damaged shirts to make “hottie bags,” fabric bags filled with wheatberries that can be heated in the microwave to keep people’s toes (or other body parts) warm at night, like a hot water bottle. They make nice gifts. And that gives me a reason to keep my microwave, too, since it doesn’t really get used by anyone but houseguests and other people who are not in-the-know.
I much prefer natural, home-made cleaners to commercial ones, with things like water, baking soda, essential oils, hydrogen peroxide, and while I don’t love the aroma of vinegar, it is very practical. I like to use the Miracle 2 laundry ball, too, to minimize use of soaps in my washer, and Miracle 2 and Dr. Bronner products. I like using steam for tough jobs. (I can vouch that it can do wonders in ovens).
Very few foods arrive at my house in boxes…
I re-use plastic grocery bags for trash cans, give them to others to re-use, or recycle them at local collection spots. I like to bring my own shopping baskets or bags at some stores and coops.
Freecycle is one of my favorite resources for passing along items for re-use…especially if I think that local charities I like to donate to may not think it is quite nice enough to sell. I’d rather give it to someone who has a plan for it vs a dumpster.
When landscaping, a plant has to be able to survive benign neglect and still look good in order to be allowed to stay in my yard…no sense wasting water! We like to use Earthboxes for growing edibles for the same reason (along with how easy it is to grow great stuff in them!)
We prevent unnecessary maintenance and repairs by not planting many things close to our home (we live in a wooded area, and found that rotting, mildew and repair and repainting were necessary if we let the forest grow too closely to the house in our humid climate). In the same vein, we no longer plant pine trees close to our home (2 punctured roofs due to pine trees combined with ice storms).
Every now and again, I like to buy worms for my garden…just ordinary fishing worms from Academy. The only fertilizer I like to add is compost, usually a mix of 4-5 kinds.
I like to put every re-usable piece of paper from my fax or junk mail into a basket next to my desk. I re-use these sheets multiple times for jotting down notes and reminders to later file or incorporate into documents or programs.
When I shred papers, I incorporate the little pieces into my composter, along with produce waste. I’m currently saving newspapers to create new beds over existing sod without a lot of digging (the newspapers use soy ink). All I need to do is lay about 5-6 layers of paper over the grass and top it with layers of planting mix and compost. In a season, the sod will decompose and it will be ready for planting things deeply. I was totally inspired by the book about gardening that uses the name “Lasagna” in it somewhere. ..it is about layering organic material on top of just about any surface to create a garden. To go greener in the yard, I want to replace some of the trees and shrubs that used to be too close to the house before. A local craigs’ lister supplied me with inexpensive seedlings of a favorite kind of tree to get started, and they are developing nicely in pots.
And of course we recycle junk mail, newpapers, magazines, phone books, cardboard, glass, metals, plastics, etc. through curbside recycling and the local drop-off locations.
I take full advantage of the local library system by using their online search tools to look for every book I am interested in reading. I can reserve it online and the library takes all of the requests and uses ONE vehicle to transport everyone’s requests so that people can pick up their books at their most local library branch, saving lots of gas and time and both money AND paper (were we to simply buy the book). After talking to the reference librarian, I found out that they can also get books that are NOT in the catalog, though the wait may be longer.
I like supporting farmers and ranchers that are raising our food in humane, sustainable ways.
I like to tell the local grocery stores what I am NOT buying from them, (and why), as well as what I appreciate about their products and stores.
Buying local produce that is organic is a bit of a trick, but I try. I’ve carpooled for organic produce and grass-fed dairy and pastured eggs for my family, but the gasoline cost is high. Our local organic coop usually has to get their produce from far away, but there is a nearby CSA I hope to join someday, when there is an opening.
Which leads us to another point…we grow some of our own food via different means: Earthboxes in the sunny community garden, automatic sprouter (made from Val’s plans at http://www.gogreen.org, I believe), and some Aerogardens, peppers in ordinary pots.
I get meat for the family directly from a farmer I’ve come to know and whose practices I completely approve of: he knows the source of every animal, and usually raised it himself, is totally organic, sustainable, clean in his methods, the animals are humanely butchered, impeccably processed. I like rewarding the farmer who is a good steward of his land and livestock. I like protecting my family from diseased and possibly irradiated meats. In turn, we consume very little meat at a time, and try to use it wisely. For example, I usually make my own stocks and broths, allowing me to completely use up the meat AND the bones.
I like to buy fish from Vital Choice because it is another vote for sustainable fishing and food of low toxicity…
I avoid buying things I or my family don’t need these days. I don’t buy cars very often (though I might break that rule of waiting a decade for an excellent fuel-saving car). I try to buy organic/minimally packaged things with as many edible ingredients as possible (vs chemicals, as in body care). I like to use fresh coconut oil for body care a lot.
I also like to avoid most doctors and pharmaceuticals whenever possible…and I try to stick with wholistic doctors that can discuss alternatives without being offended. If we could decrease the amount of drugs we use as a nation, we would decrease the amount of drugs being pee’d, poo’ed and otherwise flushed into our drinking water. Whenever I have a chance, I’m on my soapbox about this, pointing to the alternative of dealing with the causes of problems vs medicating the symptoms.
12:31 am on April 1st, 2008
Favorite green activities from my past…My mom was Green when Green wasn’t cool.
Back in the day, my mom made – and taught me to make – homemade yogurt using milk and a box of yogurt from the store, because it had active cultures in it. It always worked great, though of course the milk had been pasteurized. She put the milk-and-yogurt mixture into clean Fleischmann’s mustard jars (nice re-use, mom! she was a thrifty child of the Great Depression) set into water in an electric skillet set on very, very low.
She also took various shades of panty hose, and even dyed the white ones in soft shades of green, and wove them into a tapestry of an underwater seashell scene that graced our home for years. It was outstanding.
At the beach, she looked for driftwood to serve as art at home, either as unique objects in the yard, or as an inspiration for a painting that incorporated the imperfections in clever ways.
She always saved the paper bags from the grocery and shopping for trash bags, lunch bags, art activities, etc.
She composted yard waste. She decorated with natural objects from the yard.
She made her own cookies instead of buying packaged ones at the store. (Except for the occasional fig newton or vanilla wafer).
She reused scraps of paper, too, come to think of it….
I don’t recall having much in the way of canned vegetables in the house, but rather having fresh or frozen ones, depending on the season.
She saved cigar boxes and coffee cans and Dad’s old blotters.
She reused furniture a lot, cutting off legs and repurposing it, recovering it.
She always put up homemade jam from figs from our tree every year, and sometimes did even more vegetable gardening.
She (and Dad) could have been the poster children for Sarah Susankah’s “not so big house” concept, planning a house that could multi-purpose and handle every practical storage need without making it into a palace.
And like most “green” mothers of that time, she made clothing for her children and revamped the garments for each new child.
8:22 pm on November 14th, 2008
Washing clothes in hot water will set the stains in your clothes. My wife says to soak them in cold water, the stains will not set as bad.