Category — Green Events

With Thanksgiving less than two weeks away, it’s time to start planning for green Holiday celebrations.  To get things kicked off, I’ve scoured the web in search of environmentally-friendly holiday frills.  Here are a two ideas for getting started.

Do you send Holiday greeting cards?  Here’s an eco-friendly option for you…and one that kindly reminds the recipient to celebrate green this year.  The card above is  made from 100% recycled paper, 50% of which is post-consumer content.  These recycled greeting cards are available at Cards Direct. [Read more →]

Earthkeepers is giving away free tickets to see Pearl Jam’s Stone Gossard in concert in exchange for volunteer time planting trees and cleaning up at specified locations.  If you’re near L.A. or San Francisco, here’s how to get tickets:

LOS ANGELES:

To get a free ticket, you must  show up tomorrow, 10/11/08, to help Earthkeepers plant 250 trees, create a community garden, and paint over gang graffitti.  The volunteer location is the Mead Housing Facility at 1300 Cardinal Street in L.A. from 9-3.  According to Earthkeepers, each participant will receive 1 ticket for tomorrow night’s concert featuring Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam, The Hank Khoir, Vince Mira, and James Balog at the Avalon in Hollywood.  For more information, visit Earthkeepers.

SAN FRANCISCO:

Those in San Francisco can get free Stone Gossard concert tickets by volunteering on 10/18/08 from 8-3 at Outer Sunset in San Francisco. According to Earthkeepers, each participant will receive 1 free ticket for the 10/18/08 concert at the Grand Ballroom.  For more information, visit Earthkeepers.

Soy candles are an excellent idea for green Halloween decorations, because soy wax burns much cleaner than the paraffin wax used in traditional candles. This Halloween pumpkin candle, from Beyond Making Scents, is made from 100% soy wax, and has a lead-free wick. It is available in many scents, including candy corn and pumpkin pie, to really spice up your Halloween party.

Here are a few green living tips on burning candles:

Soy Wax vs. Paraffin Wax: Did you know that paraffin is actually a fossil fuel by-product and it releases chemicals when it burns? According to GreenSpace Candles, paraffin wax releases petrol-carbon soot, which introduces toxins to your home. Soy wax is a natural product, and burns cooler and cleaner than paraffin.

Soy Wax is Renewable: Soy wax is a produced from soybeans, which are a renewable resource.

Soy Wax is Water Soluble: If you end up with a spill of soy wax on a coffee table or countertop, it will clean up easily with just warm water.

Ever wonder what those little “environmentally-friendly” logos on the back of everything from your microwave oven to your bedroom furniture really mean? Turns out, you’re not the only one. Thanks to Consumer Reports, you can now search  by the type of product, or search on specific logos, like the one above, to get the facts on all those confusing environmental labels, seals, and stamps of approval that we see on so many supposedly environmentally-friendly products. Visit the Eco-Labels Center to do your own search.

Consumer Reports also provides a very helpful article titled What Makes a Good Eco-Label to help you determine if the green living products you’re using are really all they’re hyped up to be.

This week, September 15-21, is Pollution Prevention Week.  Also known as “P2″, the week long effort began in California in 1993 before it was nationally-recognized by President Bill Clinton.  This  year’s theme is “Where Sustainable Practices Begin”- a reminder that the best way to reduce pollution is to keep it from happening at all.

Just a few ideas for preventing pollution before it starts:

1)Ride your bike instead of driving.

2) Carefully consider new purchases.  Do you really need it?

3) Carpool with coworkers.

Many states across the country have special green living activities and programs for P2 Week.  Check your state’s official website for more information on P2 events near you. Here are a few I found:

Michigan Pollution Prevention Week

Deleware Pollution Prevention Week

Idaho Pollution Prevention Week

Florida Pollution Prevention Week

Wisconsin Pollution Prevention Week

Here’s more information on the history of Pollution Prevention Week and Pollution Prevention Week activity ideas.

If you’re looking for green living tips, there’s still time to catch the Better Homes and Gardens Living Green home tour in cities across the US.  The exhibit showcases green home decorating options, including a kitchen with bamboo cabinets, recycled glass counter tops, a recycled mosaic tile back splash, and green kitchen appliances.

Designed by Libby Langdon, the Living Green exhibit also includes a green living room, bathroom, and laundry room.  If you go, check out the bathroom vanity made from a salvaged dresser, sustainable wood furniture in the living room, and a media cabinet made from a recycled baby changing table.

Although it began in June, the tour continues through October with upcoming stops in Boston, Washington DC, Jacksonville, Atlanta, and NYC.  Here’s more information, photos and the tour schedule for the Better Homes and Gardens Living Green home tour.

When choosing curtains, draperies, and window blinds for a green home, it’s important to know exactly what you’re buying. Window treatments are an often overlooked source of indoor air pollution due to toxic plastics and sealants. Here are a few suggestions for choosing eco-friendly window treatments and coverings.

Bamboo Blinds: Bamboo is a wonderful and sustainable resource for green living. When choosing bamboo window treatments, it’s important to select styles that do not contain any toxic sealants or wood finishing products. Non-toxic window treatments usually have indicate that on the label or box.

Natural Silk Curtains: Produced by the silkworm, silk is a natural protein fiber that can be found in curtains, sheers, and other household items such as silk bed sheets. Like bamboo, silk can sometimes be treated with toxic fabric protectors and fire retardants, so look for manufacturers committed to non-toxic production.

Flax Linen Curtains: Curtains and draperies made with 100% flax linen are an environmentally friendly window treatment option. Natural flax is a rich beige color that works well with just about any color scheme.

With all the recent publicity surrounding CFL light bulbs, it’s easy to forget about LED lighting as a green choice for environmentally friendly homes. Thanks to advancements in technology, LED lighting is becoming more affordable and used in more household light fixtures. Here are just a few of the benefits of LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes).

Longer-Lasting: LED lights blast the competition when it comes to longevity. According to some reports, LEDs last 10 times longer than CFLs, and last more than a hundred times longer than incandescent light bulbs. In addition, LED light fixtures can help you save money by conserving energy in your green home.

Cool to the Touch: LED lights, including LED flashlights and LED Christmas lights, operate on very little power, allowing them to burn cool and reduce the risks of children being burned and accidental fire.

Compatible with Solar Panels: If you’re making the green energy switch to a solar-powered home, you may want to consider LED lighting. Because they use such little electricity, LEDs are a great option for use with solar panels.

See more information about LED lighting.

Even if you’ve already made the switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, you may not have seen the “Anti-Bug” CF light bulb for use in your porch light fixture. The 15-watt yellow glow is apparently not-so-friendly for insects that like to swarm around porch lights.

The Anti-Bug CF light bulb comes with a cover to prevent it from shattering. This looks like a nice alternative to incandescent light bulbs, and a good method of non-toxic pest control for your green home. I think these would also be good to use in light fixtures around your outdoor furniture or pool area.

I found the Anti-Bug CF light bulb at Gaiam for $14.

Have a great idea for a hover car, wind-powered bicycle, or any other form of futuristic transportation? Then Toyota wants to hear from you. They’ve created an online community, HEYA, for collaborating with consumers on the next generation of transportation.

Anyone can join HEYA to submit ideas before July 31, and the best entries will be selected to be part of siteLA, an exhibition sponsored by Quicksilver. Entries will be brought to life by siteLA’s “Visionaries in Residence”, artists and filmakers who will present the winning HEYA ideas in short film, painting, or photography. Winners will be flown to the siteLA exhibit in Los Angeles for the August 22nd kick off party. Exhibits will be on display from August 23 through September 5.