Books and Going Green
Today's theme is simple, going green! The prize package today, sadly, does not include chocolate, but once again, a Ten dollar gift certificate to Amazon along with two reusable shopping bags from Barnes and Noble and a bookmark. This contest is open to all readers. For today's extra entry, leave a comment with a tip a simple tip on how we can change our lifestyles to be more environmentally conscious.
The lucky winner of Daily Raffle #1 was Florinda of the 3 Rs Blog! Who's jealous? Florinda, please send me your mailing address!
90 comments:
A great tip for book lovers is Eco Libris, a site that allows you to plant trees for the books you read.
I always carry around those reusable shopping bags so I don't have to get plastic. I also try to walk, bike and use public transport as much as possible. But then that's a lot easier to do in some places than it is in others.
For the ultimate - going green - check out ebooks. You can read them on your pc/kindle/iphone and no trees are cut down to facilitate your enjoyment.
I am crazy about the environment. Always looking for ways to improve things and pass the word. I like to shop at http://www.betterworld.com/index.aspx where not only do they donate to reading charities, but they are recylcing books that might have otherwise ended up in a landfill somewhere.
Another little tip is to use online bill pay and eliminate the paper notices you have sent to you. It saves money over time on stamps and checks, too!
Thanks Amy for including this great Raffle to highlight "going green"!
Simple tips on going green:
-turn off the lights when you leave a room
-take a shower instead of a bath and spare water
-use the bicyle or go on foot instead of driving.
Here's another great tip to save the environment, support your local farmer rather than buying produce that is grown on those large "corporate" farms that use pesticides and other chemicals.
Great idea for a contest. We recycle here, of course, but my kids got into it. They love to use recyclables for craft projects so we don't always have to go out to buy craft supplies.
I always try to turn lights off and not leave water running when I brush my teeth. I need to work on carrying more bags with me and reusing them!
Do you live in a city with public transportation? If so -- use it! I actually don't drive at all, and $100/mo. means I can get anywhere on the bus, subway, or streetcar.
(It's thrifty, too, since I'm not paying for gas, insurace, or repairs!)
Do you pay most of your bills online? Still get paper statements in the mail? Many companies are now giving you the option to go "paperless" to reduce paper waste. Since I pay most of my bills online, I've switched all of my accounts that I can to paperless so I only receive online statements. It's really cut down on documents I need to shred!
Well, I just recently started driving a Prius. Our city is not the best with public transportation, unfortunately. I also have switched out my light bulbs, use only reuseable bags for my shopping, buy local.
I've been really conscientious about the amount of paper I use. My company, unforuntately, does not recycle, so I keep a box at my desk where my coworkers and myself can deposit our trash paper and I bring it home to recycle. Also, given the choice I'll purchase products that can be recycled rather than trashed. In terms of books--buy used! Not sure that really helps since so many are being produced every day, but it certainly seems more friendly. :)
I use canvas bags at the grocery store. If I go to another store (a bookstore, for example) and I'm only buying a couple things, I just carry my items without a bag. We recycle everything we can.
When I literally "go green", i.e., go to a plant nursery, I bring my own boxes to keep the plants safe until we get home.
nbmars AT yahoo DOT com
My kids take their lunches in re-useable Tupperware containers - sandwiches, snacks and fruit are all packed in little tubs and carried in a cloth lunch bag (cut apples don't go brown. no kidding. I sound like an ad for Tupperware!), the containers are washed and re-used. No baggies or brown paper bags unless they need "disposable" lunches for a field trip.
You can switch the light bulbs in your house to longer lasting fluorescent bulbs. They cut down on the energy you are using and last years longer than incandescent. Also putting a special "blanket" around your water heater can help make it run more efficiently. I love using reusable bags for shopping. I keep them on the front passenger seat of my car (as long as no one is riding along) so I don't forget to bring them in with me. :-)
More and more book publishers are publishing books using post-consumer recycled paper, and we should do more to encourage that. Think of how many copies of "Harry Potter" get printed. For a while, there, the Canadian and British editions were post-consumer recylced, whereas the American edition was not. That's a lot of trees, and thus there was a protest between book four and book five. Have the later American editions switched?
I reuse printer paper. The ones that are used once and get trashed, sometimes I use the back as writing paper. Its easy and friendly for the enviorment
Recycle plastics and paper. Its great. Or you cna use your garbage and make compost. Enviormetally friendly.
Zmtc21 AT yahoo dot com
I like this theme - my new year's resolution was to be more green. I gave up water bottles, bought a Brita and a nice re-usable water bottle. I pay all of my bills online and I always use re-usable shopping bags!
adw7984(at)gmail(dot)com
I LOVE hot showers, but I have learned to put a time limit on my showers or I waste too much water.
We also installed a additional filter on our sink so that we do not have to buy bottled water anymore. Now we do not have water bottles that we need to throw away.
froggykm at gmail
Switching to 100% renewable energy was an easy, same cost thing to do that makes me feel less bad about running our AC or heater.
I'm an illustrator and instead of using loads of paper to sketch, I've learned to sketch digitally using a wacom tablet and electronic pen with my computer. Now almost all of my children's book illustrations are done on my computer.
kristi@kristivaliant.com
www.kristivaliant.com
Here's an amazingly simple tip: turn the lights off when you leave the room! I can remember my father taking me into my room and saying, "Watch this: Turn on, turn off, turn on, turn off" as he flipped the switch. I thought that was so obnoxious, but now we do the same thing to our kids.
smallworldreads.blogspot.com
shc.small (at) gmail.com
It's my understanding that keeping your tires properly inflated increases your "miles to the gallon" -- saves gas, saves money. Thanks for this particular raffle. Great idea!
Lots of the things that I do have been covered by other posts, but I'll add these:
- turn off your computer overnight
- unplug phone and other chargers when not using
- carpool
- telecommute; have video or phone conferences rather than traveling for meetings
- vacation close to home
- read the newspaper online rather than getting a hard copy
- cancel catalogs and ask to be removed from fundraising mailing lists
I love the idea of being green. I read many green blogs and try to implement many of the tips in my daily life. Some of the small things that I do are take shorter showers, use vinegar and baking soda as my go-to cleaners, turn off lights when not in use, and unplug any appliances when not using them. I am also a big fan of Freecycle.
Unplug appliances that you aren't using, like coffee pots, phone chargers, computers and printers. Turn off lights (a big pet peeve of mine)
Reuseable Grocery Bags.
Recycle.
Enlist your kids to help in the process!
Here's a green tip for book people, that will save the planet, and save the green in your wallet.
Second-hand bookstores, book swaps, and the library. Instead of going out and buying a new book that could come from freshly cut trees, grab a book that's already out in the world, at a fraction of the cost.
oh and I'm ewillseATgmail.com and elizabethwillse.wordpress.com
we recycle everything we can!
we also pass down clothes and buy from garage sales :)
we try to shop with cloth bags.
Bring your own mug to your coffee shop! Most places will give you a discount.
Going green is hard to do if the whole family doesn't get involved. For instance, it pains me to pack disposable lunch bags and water bottles, but getting the kids to return items home became a losing, frustrating battle.
I do, however, try to slip in a few things. I bought a wireless network printer (which means we only need one piece of equipment) that prints on both sides. And I've set the default print setup on all our computers to be draft quality (saves ink) and automatically print on both sides (saves paper).
Don't throw away used print cartridges. Recycle them!
Going green - I have just recently discovered e-books and love them - granted you don't have that new book smell, or that feeling of having a book in your hand...but you can have that fresh tree smell instead - LOL.
Use rainwater (or water from your dehumidifier) to water your plants.
Wash your clothes in cold water....helps your clothes to last longer and cuts down on your hot water bill.
Thanks
Darby
darbyscloset (at) yahoo (dot) com
Consolidate your errands, planning ahead. Wait to go to a store until you are near it. This saves gas, so saves money and creates lower pollution!
This is just a simple one, but try walking or biking when you can. Not only does it save on pollution, but with gas prices sky high it saves your pocketbook too!
Last summer my neighbor and I had a little family challenge to see who could use the least amount of electricity. With many days spent in dark, AC up to 80 and turning off the TVs that were not being watched our family won saving $75 from the month before!! Now if our bill is at a certian dollar amount the kids get an extra reward. That lesson has carried over and my kiddos still try to conserve.
Hmm, I can't think of anything that hasn't already been mentioned but some of the things we do are: turn lights off if we're not in the room,
unplug appliances not in use, don't leave the tap running, recycle all kinds of things, paperless bills.
Plus we live in a city with good public transport so we don't have a car.
Reuse Reuse Reuse.
Try not to throw away too much, when you could just reuse it.
Save clothes or donate them.
If you are using paper plates, keep them and reuse them UNLESS they really can't be used again...but try and use plastic plates for the most part so you aren't throwing away much.
-Lauren
lauren51990@aol.com
Install a water-efficient shower head. We actually picked ours for its great water pressure, but it's amazingly low-flow; it was inexpensive, too.
High efficiency washer, too — uses so much less water, and spins them out better, also, which means less drying time.
hannah DOT free AT gmail
Use re-usable shopping bags at the grocery store instead of those horrid plastic ones!
caribousmom (at) gmail (dot) com
Recycle, change your light bulbs, use reusable bags, walk if you can instead of drive, eat more local foods and less meat!
My pet peeve is while we recylcle plastic bags and grocery stores are pushing use of cloth bags, there is really no alternative to the biggest landfill filler - giant plastic trash bags. Why aren't those being changed or addressed I wonder?
Switch out old appliances for high efficiency appliances, turn off lights, use cloth shopping bags, set your thermostat lower in winter and higher in summer, unplug items not being used, wash clothes in cold water, plant draught-tolerant native plants in your yard, plant things that encourage native birds, bugs and bats into your yard, buy organic locally produced food, recycle whenever possible, go to the library.
These are two easy ones, and probably obvious to most people, but I know a LOT of people who have still not adopted these tips:
RECYCLE! It's SOO easy and can make a huge difference. If you don't already have a recycling program in your area, talk to your villiage hall or even contact your waste management company.
CARPOOL! Lots of people drive pretty long distances to work now, and even if you don't live super close to people, you can usually find a way to carpool with them. For example, my coworker lives much closer to work then I do, but still a good half hour away, so I drive to his home in the morning and we take turns driving each other the rest of the way to work. So simple, but such a big help (especially with gas prices!).
sorry forgot the email address!
heather.oroark@comcast.net
-Heather
When you take your own sandwiches (in a reusable bag, of course!), wrap them in a nice cloth napkin instead of paper, plastic, or foil. The napkins are washable, and will keep your sandwich fresh for the few hours till lunchtime!
geebee.reads AT gmail DOT com
If you have kids who need to take snacks or non-temperature sensitive lunches to school or elsewhere, get some unbleached recycled canvas lunch bags (www.ecobags.com) and give your kids some fabric markers. They can personalize their bags anyway they want and you have reusable, sustainable lunch/snack bag in which your children are invested! Thanks for the great giveaway. kesamuels [at] sbcglobal [dot] net
Here are three things that I do:
1. Throw a dry towel in the dryer (if you aren't hanging them on the clothesline), it will take less time for the other clothes to dry.
2. Save junk mail and school notes that are printed on one side. Then cut them up, staple together and turn into note pads.
3. Use re-usable containers for lunches.
jgbeads[at]gmail[dot]com
I remembered another one, for Bookmoochers or members of other swapping communities: save the padded envelopes you receive books in and use them for the books you send out.
I forgot my e-mail address before: untuneric at gmail dot com
I only use cold water to do laundry.
I use manure to fertilize my garden instead of commercial fertilize.
When watering your lawn, use a good sprinkler instead of standing there with your hose. You'll use less water. Also make sure to do it early morning or early evening so that it's not evaporating as it waters.
Oops, email is callista83 AT cogeco DOT ca
The first tip that comes to my mind is to recommend people do not litter and if you come across litter on the street, pick it up, don't just walk by it as if it isn't there. Not only is litter an environmental hazard, but it takes away from the beauty of the area. Cleaning up litter is a great place to start.
I spend a lot of time teaching my kids about how to recycle. They get to help sort things for recycling whenever I clean. I figure if the next generation has better, greener habits then it can only get better from there.
Use rainwater barrels. These barrels catch the runoff water from your roof and store them in 55 gallon barrels which you can then use to water your lawns or whatever else you might need to do (not recommended for drinking if you are catching runoff from your house). One storm and I can water my (large)garden for several days. Not only does it conserve water (with no chemicals added to it) but it also saves you money.
Oops. I forgot too. My email is raynedancergirl at gmail dot com
When pealing veggies I keep the skins and throw them into the garden or mix them in the dirt around the base of my shrubs and trees. Those skins are full of vitamins that the plants can use.
I know this is a hard one especially for working women but learn how to cook from scratch again. It tastes better, you know what's in it, you're saving $$ and tons of extra trash from packaging.
Get tons of junk mail. During the summer I shread anything that isn't a magazine and then mix it into the garden soil for compost. Magazines I seperate and use them to cover the soil to prevent weeds and keep the moisture in. During the winter I use the letters for helping start my fire in my woodstove. Magazines go to the Senior center or to the local Hospital and Churches.
There are lots of ideas here and would love to see everyone use some of them.
email: terraontop57 at yahoo dot com
Recycle! Use reusable shopping bags! Switch of the plug when not in use! So many things :) I also use solar lamps in my garden.
bunnybx at gmail . com
I am constantly amazed at how much gas one can save by using cruise control while driving! Driving the actual speed limit is very helpful, but I've increased my gas mileage by about 20% on average when I can figure out the speed of traffic and set my cruise control for just a tiny bit slower so I don't have to break and speed back up. Save money AND the environment simply, even if you don't have the cash to spring for a hybrid!
Well, we actually live off-grid, solar panels, wind, composting water-free toilet etc. but I know that isn't within the range of most people. A quick and easy thing to do? Use compact fluorescent and turn off EVERYTHING that you aren't using! Umm, except for the computer ;).
I try to plan to do all my errands on my trip. All through the week I put on my front seat all the things I need to return/drop off/ etc and keep a list in the house of all the stops. Keeps some of those one stop trips to a minimum.
shell688 AT aol DOT com
Wonderful to see so many comments here! What a great raffle idea, Amy.
On my personal blog I put a widget to count up the days since I last put gas in my car. (It's at http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/countuptimer). I challenged myself and my boys to ride our bikes and the bus all summer to see how long we could go between fill-ups. I'm sure I won't break my record now that fall is here, but we've instilled some habits that hopefully will stick even when the weather isn't perfect.
I unplug everything when the appliances aren't being used, recycle whenever possible, use cloth shopping bags, receive email bank statements, and only buy the long-life lightbulbs. I've also read about how beneficial it is to consume less plastic, so I'm going to work on that next, when I move away from my parents and have more control over my purchases.
Use cloth shopping bags instead of the plastic ones. Do all errands on the same day. Recycle, recyle, recycle.
We stopped using paper plates, turn off lights when leaving the room and use only fluorescents, changed all statements to on-line only and opted out of as many junk mail lists as we could, and bought a Hybrid.
Even small things are important. I have a box that I keep near my computer (which also happens to be in the kitchen) and I toss into it food boxes, shredded junk mail, any bits of paper that can be recycled. I find that if the box is there, the family's more likely to throw the paper in there instead of in the trash. My daughter's school has one of those paper recycling bins where they get money for all the paper they collect. I dump the box there once a week. I figure it helps 2 good causes.
--Anna (Diary of an Eccentric)
diaryofaneccentric[at]hotmail[dot]com
We've been trying to do our part in going green, but we're moving slowly. Thing we do do, however, are as follows:
-changed to the energy saving light bulbs
-starting using reusable shopping bags when possible
-recycle the plastic grocery bags we do end up with
-try to be more diligent about turning off the lights and other electrical things off when we're not using them
Thanks!
RebekahC
littleminx@cox.net
Try some of the tips at JunkBusters to cut down on your junk mail. Freecycle was mentioned above, but I want to second it -- it's a great way to get rid of stuff that other people can use but is too much bother to try to sell. Cardboard moving boxes are a hot item there!
I also take the bus. It's quite a bit more time out of my day, but parking is very expensive where I work, on top of the stress and gas prices -- I love it.
(nicola327 AT hotmail DOT com)
For us we recycle almost everything. We were also selected in a pilot project for our area to start composting. So the city provided us with a huge rolling bin and we put our food scraps in there instead of the garbage.
sorry I forgot my email addy: cindysloveofbooksarcATgmailDOTcom
My tip is to use rags instead of paper towels. My rags are old towels, sheets, flannel pajamas that are just not usable anymore. mce1011[at]aol[dot]com
We have curbside recycle for our cans, paper and bottles. Since I discovered ebooks, I read a lot more books on my reader than in paperback.
caity_mack(at)yahoo(dot)com
My favorite way that I have grown green may not be for everyone. I have switched from using disposable menstrual products to using reusables. Cloth pads are great(and pretty!), and menstrual cups can replace tampons.
In addition to reducing the waste we put into landfills, I've found that using reusables make me feel more comfortable! Shorter cycles and less cramping. www.gladrags.com is a great place to start! Feel free to contact me as well--I'd love to discuss it more in-depth!
A simple thing is to decline the offer of a bag when shopping. That's particularly easy to do when shopping for books, don't you think? Also, recycle as much as you can. I printed out a list when I first started recycling to help me learn the types of things I could recycle and I posted it on my fridge.
doot65{at}comcast[dot]net
Elizabeth
Recycling - it's simple, easy and I'm a nut about it!
skrishna [at] skrishnasbooks [dot] com
I drink a lot of diet caffeine free pepsi and we recycle our cans. That was our first step to go green and we even turn them in for money. We saved so much that we had 109 lbs of cans (over 2 years) and it rewarded us with about 80 bucks!!
recycle you plastic bags give to second hands to be used again.
It's green and thrifty!
Buy foods in bulk instead of in individual servings and use reusable tuppaware containers to take it to work or school instead of plastic bags! You'll save money buying the food, and reduce waste because you've eliminated all that nasty packaging!
Like alot here, I recycle and use old cloth items to save on paper items. Turning off, even unpluging items not used at the moment. Always learning new things to do.
I just read an interesting tip in Real Simple Magazine today. Use motion detector lights in children's rooms. You'll save on electricity and not have to nag them about turning off lights :) *Thanks* for the giveaway!
ols[dot]moonmaiden[at]gmail[dot]com
I love my "Sigg" reusable water bottle! Our family was hooked on plastic water bottles. We finally stopped using them. Many thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
at the grocery store, we get boxes from the back instead of using the plastic bags.
Recycle or reuse everything possible!
I like to use the junk mail I get by writing notes, shopping lists etc. on the paper or envelopes. I use the enclosed envelopes to store coupons, receipts etc. I try to reuse as much as possible.
Re-use gift wrap for kid's craft projects... this also goes for scraps of material, toilet paper rolls, egg cartons etc.
turn off the lights and unplug household electronics when they're not in use, unless it's like a computer or something.
stellargurl93[at]aim[dot]com
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