Shopping Local Made Etsy, I mean Easy
Did anyone make a New Year’s Resolution revolving around eco-friendly gifts? For those of you who are time or talent ‘lacking’ there are several ways to locate local shops that support your economy and local entrepreneurs. My favorite site to shop local is Etsy. Etsy’s vision is to create a platform for inventive individuals to sell their work and connect them with potential buyers, thus creating a new economy where people support people in place of global supply chains.
We all know that shopping local feeds dollars into our region’s economies, bolstering their viability during tough economic times. So Etsy’s addition of a ‘Shop Local’ feature allows you to enter your location and viola! local artists in your City pop-up. Since there are no brick and mortar stores to support, the costs of production and exhibition are greatly minimized, including their environmental impacts. This is an easy way to better manage your own supply chain of goods that flow out of your house, so your gifts can match your ideals.
Instead of braving markets in the cold winter months, you can support local artists from your own home. And for those of you with crafting genius waiting to be discovered, you can create your own webpage and start sharing your work today. Who knows, you may find the perfect gift!
Click here to see what local artists are up to in your neighborhood on Etsy.
Green Tech To Grow In 2010
Gartner, a top research firm, is predicting that green technology have high growth this upcoming year. According to the firm, green technology along with other key areas could cause great change to how businesses are run.
One the biggest reasons that many companies may start to switch to greener technologies are to help cut costs, and reduce their carbon emissions. Two of the major ways that companies may start to use over the next few years are virtualization and power management software. Both are easy ways to help businesses reduce their energy consumption while also saving money.
Another prediction by the firm is that technology markers will have to begin providing carbon emissions data about their products. The data could include both production and usage. This stems from the fact that people want to know how environmentally friendly the products they buy are.
Though this may be an unrealistic goal in the near future, this could really make consumer more aware of just how much energy it takes to get that piece of technology into their hands. If something like this were to occur, I wouldn’t be surprised to see manufacturers trying to reduce the amount of emissions used in production as well as pushing out more energy efficient products.
Use Baking Soda To Clean Pots and Pans
One of the most difficult tasks in the kitchen is trying to get the baked on food off of pots and pans after cooking. I used to spend way too much time trying to scrub those dishes with a sponge and simple dish-washing soap.
Baking soda solved this problem perfectly. I never realized how easy it would be to get rid of all the hardened food on my pots and pans with baking soda. It’s as simple and sprinkling baking soda on the dirty pot and pan and mixing it with a little warm water to form a paste. Scurb in the paste and it should remove all of the particles and make the pan shine. If the cooked on food still does not come off, it may require the pot or pan to be soaked in hot water and baking soda and then scrubbed off.
It can be used on almost any type of pan in the kitchen as well. Whether it’s stainless steel, copper, enamel and even cast iron (must be reseasoned afterwards), baking soda works well on them all. Give it a try and you won’t be disappointed.
Greenpeace’s Green Electronics Guide
Greenpeace just rleased their Guide to Greener Electronics at the conclusion of the 2010 CES. This guide details the top 18 manufacturers of all popular electronic devices including computers, gaming consoles, TVs and mobile phones.
Photo by Greenpeace Greener Electronics.
So How Do They Rank?
It looks like Nokia keeps its lead in the rankings even though their score has been reduced from the prior guide. Some of the other top companies include Toshiba and Apple while Microsoft and Nintendo coming out with teh lowest scores. The big problem with even the companies at the top of the list is that they still are not perfect.
How is it Calculated?
Each electronics company is given a score from 1 to 10(being the best) based off of information as to how Greenpeace would like the companies to be more environmentally friendly. The main areas that Greenpeace focuses on with their guide include:
- Hazardous materials used by the company.
- Recycling and takeback programs.
- Carbon footprint of company
- Energy efficiency of electronics.
The rankings are currently based off of public information about each electronics compnay. Though it would be desriable to use more private information, much of that is held within each corporation and not released to the public. Since the guide is fairly new, August 2006, they are still growing and are constantly trying to improve.
Public Reaction
Some in the public feel that the guide has done great good in making the electronics companies and consumers aware of how environmentally friendly they are and how they compare to other companies. While there are others that criticize the guide for being to harsh on many of the companies and not enough actual facts to back up their claims. As you would expect, most of this comes from the electronics industry, but even Greenpeace recognizes that their guide could be comprehensive. For now at least, the guide can hope that these companies try to change their environmental policies for the better.
California Plans To Have Green Building Standards
California is proposing statewide green building standards, the first of its kind throughout the country. These new standards would require green practices to be implemented when building new homes, schools and other commercial buildings.
The new green code would require that the materials used in buildings be more environmentally friendly. This includes recycling a large portion of the construction waste and using energy efficient materials throughout the building.
There is both praise and anger of the new green code. On the one side, some feel that there are no standards today and that providing it provides a basic standard for which buildings can be made. Many environmental groups on the other side feel that the standards may not be strict enough and fall short of the popular third-party LEED rating. Some cities within California already enforce green building standards which are much stricter than the ones proposed in this bill.
I am not a huge fan of enforcing policies like this, but I can see its value. Though it will cost businesses and consumers more upfront, the energy savings will reimburse some of those costs down the road. It should really be on consumers to stop allowing builders to use cheap materials that are substandard just so that a house can be built bigger and cheaper than they really should be.
Regardless, this is at least a step in the right direction and hopefully will improve the quality and how green our newer homes are.
Being Green in the Kitchen
Greening Up Your Kitchen Routine
Cooking you own food at home is not only cheaper than going out, it is also relaxing and allows you to choose all your own ingredients. It is also a great activity to do with kids. According to Stephanie Gallagher, who created the Cooking for Kids Guide for About.com, teaching children to cook has a number of benefits, like increased self-esteem as well as the chance to put reading, math and even chemistry skills to practical use. Cooking with natural and organic ingredients also teaches kids about making healthy food choices. Here are a few tips to be a greener chef in the kitchen:
Buy Local and Organic
When you buy locally it not only helps out the economy in your community, it also reduces the transportation involved with importing products, saving money and energy. When you buy fruits and vegetables in season, it can also bring your costs down. Choosing organic foods, which are produced without pesticides and other harmful chemicals, is best for you and the environment. Farmer’s markets can be a great resource for organic produce and can be cheaper than grocery stores.
Save Energy While You Bake
If you love to bake, here a couple of hints to minimize energy use. First, when using the stove to melt ingredients such as chocolate, sugar or butter, use the smallest burner you can. A lot of energy is wasted by using a burner that is bigger than your saucepan. Second, when you are baking delicious treats in the oven, resist the urge to peek! Every time you open the oven door, the oven temperature is lowered by about 25 degrees, making your oven work overtime while adding to your electricity costs. You can also skip the muffin and cupcake liners, which are made out of paper and aluminum foil that need to be disposed of, if you use a natural canola oil spray instead.
Reduce Waste When Cleaning Up
Use cloth kitchen towels to clean up your kitchen counters and appliances that can be thrown in the wash, instead of using and throwing away paper towels. I also like to tear my old, ratty towels into strips to make rags that can be used again and again. There are also several new mops on the market with removable, washable tops. This is a greener alternative to mops and brooms that use disposable cloths that need to be thrown away. Don’t forget to use non-toxic disinfecting sprays and cleaners in the kitchen, too, that are better for the air you breathe as well as for the environment. Many grocery chains now offer generic alternatives to name-brand green cleaning products, which are cheaper too.
2010 CES Green Tech Recap
The 2010 Consumer Electronics Show went well this year with some of the latest technologies ranging from wireless devices, computers and most importantly green technology. This is the first year of the show that green technology became more than just a small part of the show.
So many neat tech devices were displayed at this years show that could make a lives a little more green. Solve Climate has a list of some of the top green devices that could make their way into the mainstream this upcoming year. Also be sure to check out CNet’s section on the green technologies at CES to get a peak at even more of the great devices.
It seems that two major things came out of CES: many companies are trying to push green and most green devices are not as eco-friendly as they seem. From most of the reports I read, many of the companies are trying their best to show that their devices are energy efficient. This is a step in the right direction, but the major problem with the idea of buying the latest and greatest technologies is where do the old ones go? It’s great to save some energy on the new devices, but how about just keeping that older cell phone, computer or television and just using it less.
I do like the idea that companies are at least realizes that they have to take the energy consumption of their devices into consideration. Hopefully the entire show itself can help introduce people to ways that they can go more green and open people up to using more energy efficient and green devices.
