tag:www.naturalawakenings.com,2005:/categories/green-living?page=52Green Living Green Living | Natural Awakenings Magazine Page 52Healthy Living Healthy Planet2019-08-28T16:30:17-04:00urn:uuid:7ecf89c5-e0f2-43b5-959e-0352789b64a92019-08-28T16:30:17-04:002019-08-28T16:30:17-04:0010 Tips to Green Any Vacation: Easy Eco-travel Advice2009-07-01 03:00:00 -0400Anonymous<p>Green travel doesn’t mean sleeping in a treehouse or backpacking into a jungle to rescue orangutans, but simply keeping a few Earth-friendly ideas in mind when planning a summer vacation. Of course, when traveling to a foreign country, making an effort to get to know the people, their culture and a few words of their language, respecting local customs and showing appreciation also go a long way toward avoiding the label of “Ugly American.” The easiest eco-travel tips are these:</p><p>1. Pack lightly.<br>2. Find a “green” hotel or eco-lodge.<br>3. Book a downtown hotel that is walking distance from sights.<br>4. Take short showers, reuse towels and switch off lights, heat and air conditioning when leaving the room.<br>5. Ask if the hotel recycles, and participate.<br>6. Take a non-plastic water bottle that can be refilled.<br>7. Use public transportation.<br>8. Eat vegetarian, or at least meals comprised of local meats and produce.<br>9. Always stay on marked trails and be respectful of nature and wildlife.<br>10. Buy locally produced gifts and souvenirs to support the local economy.</p><p><br>Sources: www.MSNBC.com/GreenTravel, www.Geekabout.com, www.IndependentTraveler.com</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:5afd2da3-84be-4cd3-8b1c-2228ffe405ea2019-08-28T16:15:26-04:002019-08-28T16:15:26-04:00Download Now: Online Beats Retail Software Hands-down2009-06-01 03:00:00 -0400Anonymous<p>Downloading software online generates eight times fewer greenhouse gas emissions than buying the same product through a retail store, according to a recent study from Microsoft. The greatest impacts come from disk transportation and packaging, including the DVD, plastic and cardboard packaging and related print material, as well as the customer’s travel to the store.</p><p>Research partners Accenture and ESP Environment and Energy studied the lifecycle of 10 million copies of Microsoft’s Office 2007. The company made the product suite available for digital download in January 2007, but estimates that 80 percent of its sales were still made through traditional stores.</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:590eaa29-05d5-4120-8fce-c20716e6410e2019-08-28T16:15:27-04:002019-08-28T16:15:27-04:00Cosmetics Packaging Recycling Program: Turn in Empty Makeup Containers to Recycle Them2009-06-01 03:00:00 -0400Anonymous<p>Cosmetic and personal care product maker Origins now accepts empty glass and plastic jars, bottles, tubes, lipstick covers and caps from any cosmetic brand for recycling. Simply drop them off at any of the company’s 450 retail and department store counters.</p><p>All materials collected through the Return to Origins program will be recycled or used for energy recovery. The program accepts only primary packaging; no paper boxes or plastic wrapping will be accepted. Neither will it take sample or trial-size packages, applicators, like sponges, or tools, like tweezers.</p><p>Aveda launched a similar recycling program for rigid caps last year; it recycles the caps into new packaging.</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:d92b84a6-d797-43fd-8133-6a8a3daf50242019-08-28T16:15:39-04:002019-08-28T16:15:39-04:00Hot Buys on Cool Cars: A Buyer's Guide for Today's Economy2009-06-01 03:00:00 -0400Jim Motavalli<p>While 2009 is shaping up as the most challenging year in the history of the auto industry, the new car shopper can take advantage of the opportunity to step into a wealth of intriguing models, sweetened by a buyer’s market. Even long sought-after hybrids are crowding dealers’ lots. If you can’t get highly advantageous financing and steep discounts in this climate, you’re not trying.</p><p>The environmentally conscious showroom shopper can revel in the widest selection of hybrids ever available, from both domestic and foreign carmakers. Plug-in hybrids, with 30 to 40 miles of electric cruising range, and totally battery-powered electric vehicles are on the way. This year’s Detroit auto show demonstrated that the industry is finally evolving to become both leaner and greener. That’s something to celebrate.</p> <p><br><strong>Four-Door Family Cars: Honda Insight and Toyota Prius</strong><br>New on dealer lots, Honda’s Insight is giving Toyota and its all-new Prius a run for the money. The $19,800 Insight (not to be confused with an earlier, tiny, two-door model of the same name) is the most affordable hybrid on the market. It sports a four-cylinder engine and nickel-metal-hydride hybrid battery system, generating 98 horsepower. It shares a roofline with the Prius, and is clearly aimed at <img src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/625488/Hot-Buys-on-Cool-Cars-Insight.jpg" alt="">Toyota’s runaway success (600,000 sold in the U.S. since 2000). The Insight is smaller than the Prius, without as many features, but it delivers 40 miles per gallon city and 43 mpg highway. The kicker is that the LX Insight is priced below the least expensive 2010 Prius. Most customers will probably order the EX, which for $21,300, adds an upgraded audio system, cruise control and heated door mirrors ($23,100 with navigation).</p><p>The all-new 2010 Toyota Prius is slightly bigger and more powerful than the 2004-2009 second-generation model, and offers better gas mileage than its predecessor—50 mpg combined. Prices for five levels of standard equipment options start at $21,000-$22,000 (level five is $27,270). Available whiz-bang extras include a solar roof, sensors that keep it in its own lane and park-itself technology.</p> <p><br><strong>Sports Car: Tesla Roadster</strong><br><img src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/625489/Hot-Buys-on-Cool-Cars-Roadster.jpg" alt="">Everything about the Tesla Roadster is outsized—from price to performance—except the car itself, which is tiny. Based on a British Lotus, with a smaller footwell than that typically found in American cars, the two-seat Roadster is a rip-roaring performance car, delivering 0-to-60 mph in four seconds. The 248 horsepower comes not from a V-8 engine of yore, but from an electric motor and a microprocessor-controlled lithium-ion battery pack, with 6,000 individual cells.</p><p>The Roadster has the best cruising range of any battery car, at 244 miles. A brief, but vivid, test drive proves that the hype is true—the car pins your back to the seat and raises the hair on your arms. The price is eye-opening, too, at $109,000, but a more affordable Model S sedan is on the way.</p> <p><strong><br>Economy Car: Ford Focus<br></strong>The Focus available today, starting at $16,400, is already a partial-zero emissions vehicle, meaning that its tailpipe emissions are cleaner than 90 percent of all cars and trucks on the road. Assuming Ford survives, the next Focus, available late next year, will manifest a total redesign, with the whole Earth in mind.</p><p>Europe got a new Focus in 2005, but the United States, in a cost-cutting move, has been soldiering on with the C1 design, introduced in<img src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/625490/Hot-Buys-on-Cool-Cars-Focus.jpg" alt=""> 2000. The latest, 2011 model, is a world car; it must appeal to fuel-stingy Europeans, as well as highway-oriented Americans.</p><p>The new C3 Focus will be slightly larger, with more attention paid to its carbon footprint, through the use of lightweight metals and other materials, improved fuel economy and emissions. The four-cylinder engine could support efficient direct injection, in which fuel directly enters combustion chambers, and cylinder deactivation, in which two or four cylinders are shut off at cruising speeds. A hybrid version is possible; a clean, diesel option, hugely popular in Europe, where it provides tax advantages, is likely.</p> <p><strong><br>Car of the Future: Chevrolet Volt</strong><br><img src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/625491/Hot-Buys-on-Cool-Cars-Volt.jpg" alt="">The Chevrolet Volt is in a race against time: Will this state-of-the-art green sedan reach production before General Motors as we know it disappears? One hopes so, because its Voltec propulsion system is truly innovative. Specs confirm that the four-cylinder gas engine exists only to generate electricity for its electric motor, and is not connected to the wheels.</p><p>If claims on the order forms are true, the Volt, scheduled to appear in late 2010, as a 2011 model, will have a 40-mile all-electric range, perfect for the average roundtrip of 33 miles. With the gas engine, it has a whopping range of 640 miles. The Volt could be cheaper—price is estimated at $40,000—but a $7,500 federal tax credit will bring that down to $32,500. The Volt is understandably GM’s number one priority.</p> <p><strong><br>Family SUV: Ford Escape Hybrid</strong><br>Only one family-friendly, fuel-efficient, hybrid sports utility vehicle comes courtesy of an American company—the Ford Escape Hybrid, which debuted in 2005 and was updated in 2008. The deal here is that drivers get to combine 30 mpg from a hybrid drive train with the 177 horsepower of a V-6. <img src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/625492/Hot-Buys-on-Cool-Cars-Escape.jpg" alt=""></p><p>The 2.5-liter, four-cylinder engine attaches to two electric motors and a fuel-saving, continuously variable transmission (CVT). Regenerative breaking turns energy from the car’s motion into electricity that recharges the battery. Escape prices start around $27,000, but buyers may well consider adding the optional Sync audio system; its voice interface and ability to play any USB-enabled device is unparalleled.</p> <p><br>Note: Vehicle prices may vary.</p><p><em>Jim Motavalli is a freelance writer, speaker and author who specializes in environmental news. Connect at </em><span class="link-external"><a href="http://www.jimmotavalli.com/"><em>www.JimMotavalli.com</em></a></span><em>.</em></p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:8dd3c2ca-3837-4a96-a725-080eecbca5802019-08-28T16:32:11-04:002019-08-28T16:32:11-04:00Survey Surety: Underwriters Laboratories to Verify Green Products2009-05-01 03:00:00 -0400Anonymous<p>A survey by Cone Inc., of Boston, found that 34 percent of adult consumers said they are more likely to buy green-leaning products in the current economic climate; 44 percent said their environmental shopping habits have not changed because of the economy. Only 8 percent said they were less likely to buy Earth-friendly products due to the downturn.</p><p>Now, Underwriters Laboratories is parlaying its 115-year track record in evaluating the safety of millions of products to its new UL Environment mark, which will be use to reliably designate environmentally sustainable products. Their independent auditing, testing and validation of manufacturers’ claims, as well as a separate certification that products meet industry-accepted environmental standards, will “help industries and the public make sense of green claims, while helping manufacturers maintain transparency and credibility in the marketplace.”</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:2d8939d6-251f-48c6-b846-49235bab33932019-08-28T16:32:13-04:002019-08-28T16:32:13-04:00Gardening with Kids: Have Fun and Teach Valuable Lessons with the Beauty of Nature2009-05-01 03:00:00 -0400Ted Fisher<p>Whether kids have access to a large yard or only a windowsill planter, young gardeners’ inborn curiosity encourages them to discover nature’s cycles firsthand, while learning respect and concern for Earth’s larger ecology. Gardening not only instills lifelong appreciation for the beauties of nature, but fun, hands-on activities develop delicious skills of creativity, self-discipline and even self-sufficiency.</p><p>While we can’t run out and raise a rainforest in a day, a childhood head start on understanding the environment in one’s own garden can seed a lusher future. A backyard plot of just four by four feet will serve. Be sure to provide pathways or stepping stones for access, and then plant a rich mix of flowers and vegetables. If the family doesn’t have access to land, a container garden on a balcony, patio or deck can produce abundant flowers and vegetables; often, it makes caring for the garden even simpler.</p><p>An important tip: Although a child’s garden of any size may not be as neatly tended as a parent’s or grandparent’s, give the choicest garden spot to the child. Lots of sun and good soil will aid in the success that cultivates interest. </p><p>To begin, invite one or more youngsters to help prepare the soil, turning over dirt with a small shovel or trowel. Break up clumps by hand<img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/627028/Gardening-with-Kids-Dirt.jpg"> or by stomping on them. Digging holes is a favorite kids’ pastime.</p> <p>Next, choose easy-to-grow plants. Select as many different types as will fit well into the allotted space. Carrots, fast-growing radishes and bite-sized cherry tomatoes are good vegetable choices.</p><p>For flowers, choose some that can be used as cut flowers or as special gifts for Mom, like zinnias, marigolds, snapdragons or salvia. For a spectacular touch, also plant a few sunflowers, which not only can tower up to 10 feet tall, but supply edible seeds.</p><p>Include herbs such as basil and parsley for garden grazing. Yummy fragrances come courtesy of lemon verbena, rose-scented geraniums and pineapple salvia. Some plants are just for touching, like perennial lamb’s ears, with their soft, fuzzy leaves, in silvery shades of green.</p><p>Starting from seed that the family has selected together from a catalog provides a wondrous learning experience. Small children find <img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/627029/Gardening-with-Kids-Girl-Watering.jpg">large seeds such as corn, beans, pumpkins, zucchini and sunflowers easy to handle and plant. Colorful annual bedding plants such as petunias, pansies or periwinkles are also excellent choices for a ready-made start to the season.</p><p>Use the seed packet, stapled to a stake with a child’s name written on it, for easy identification. Bedding plants picked out together at a nursery usually come with a plant tag, as well. Vivid pictures help children imagine what will grow.</p><p>Children love something of their very own, so keep them interested and aware of their garden by personalizing it with a sign; say, “Mary’s Plot,” or “John’s Place.” Kids also love to water—particularly with the full force of the hose. Reminders that rain usually falls more gently encourage them to take it easier. A personalized sprinkling can is a good idea for younger children.</p><p>Wait before weeding. Even adults can have difficulty distinguishing small, wanted plants from unwanted weeds. Often, it’s best to let things grow a little. As they do, let the garden teach recycling. Grass clippings, shredded leaves and vegetable matter, placed into a homemade compost bin, recycle themselves into highly nutritious soil for plants.</p><p>“Patience is a virtue,” advises the adage, and the wait for flowers and vegetables to mature can teach the rewards of patience. Watching a garden grow may not be easy: Children may want to pull up young root veggies to see if they are “done.” Even if they do pull sprouting <img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/627030/Gardening-with-Kids-Potatoes.jpg">produce, the edibles may be just big enough to wash off and give them a taste of better things to come.</p><p>Gardening provides an ideal time to talk to a child about how plants grow and the role of worms, insects and birds as nature’s caretakers. Ask them, “If you were a plant, what kind would you be, and why? What would you tell the gardener?”</p><p>The discoveries and lessons never cease. The often surprising child’s-eye view of their world can help parents guide youngsters’ personal growth, as well as their gardening skills.</p><p>Finally, remember that half the fun is to pick, wash and cook the bounty. Big and small folks alike revel in the joy of the harvest.</p><p><em><br>Ted Fisher is a county extension horticulturist emeritus with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service.</em></p><p><em>For age-appropriate activities and other helpful insight, see: Gardening with Children, by Monika Hanneman; A Child’s Garden, by Molly Dannenmaier; </em><span class="link-external"><a href="http://www.backyardnature.net/"><em>www.BackyardNature.net</em></a></span><em>; and </em><span class="link-external"><a href="http://www.kidsgardening.org/primer.asp"><em>www.KidsGardening.org/primer.asp</em></a></span><em>.</em><em><br></em></p><p><br>Related Articles: <a href="../../../../Natural-Awakenings/May-2009/School-Gardens/">School Gardens</a><em><br></em></p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:5ed2094c-ce39-4e75-9c52-f865cba699e32019-08-28T16:32:19-04:002019-08-28T16:32:19-04:00Group Holiday: Families and Friends Reap Fun Savings2009-05-01 03:00:00 -0400Anonymous<p>When seeking to economize on an eco-vacation rental, search for a “self-catering” property, ideal for groups of up to 10 people who do not need to be waited on.</p><p>“Clubbing together for a group holiday can be a great money-saving solution, particularly for those with young children,” observes Justin Francis, cofounder of ResponsibleTravel.com, which has benefited from the trend. “Kids have their friends around them and parents can take turns babysitting. You’ll also save money on food and can share the cooking.” Many types of accommodations are available; working farms are particularly popular.</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:340fe29f-135a-4737-8447-47134547218a2019-08-28T16:32:22-04:002019-08-28T16:32:22-04:00Eco-Friendly Baby Showers: Celebrate with a Green Theme2009-05-01 03:00:00 -0400Helen Coronato<p>Congratulations! You or someone you love is expecting, and friends and family are cooking up a baby shower. These entertaining ideas will make it possible to celebrate in a green theme that honors the mother-to-be, while cherishing the Earth as a welcoming destination.</p> <p><strong>1. Set the Sustainable Scene</strong><br>Choose a location that’s in line with your intention. An outdoor picnic is a relaxed way to enjoy a potluck lunch that comes complete with containers for guests to carry home any leftovers, reducing food waste. An afternoon tea, where guests bring their favorite cup and saucer, is a fun way to gather and eliminates the temptation of disposable plasticware.</p> <p><strong>2. Manage the Menu</strong><br>Consider the amount of food needed to satisfy guests, banish excess and make the most of seasonal and organic menu ingredients. A hearty vegetarian chili and locally baked bread is a satisfying, simple lunch that everyone can enjoy; leftovers freeze easily. Focus on one high-quality dish and skip bloated buffets.</p> <p><strong>3. Green the Gifts</strong><br>Ask guests to bring a frozen meal for the expectant parents to rely upon during those first few weeks of sleepless nights, or a gently used “re-gift,” to give only-worn-once clothes and barely touched toys a new home. Also, direct everyone to a cloth diapering site, where they can purchase one reusable diaper for the wishing well. Many people want to go green, but are new to nursery ideas, so be sure to provide the details.</p> <p><strong>4. Wrap It Up</strong><br>Bring out guests’ competitive spirit by challenging them to come up with the most creative and sustainable gift wrap. Bows, ribbons and traditional papers can be traded in for receiving blankets, old paper maps or a beautiful new scarf for mom. Gift toppers could include pine cones or wooden teething rings. Reward guests for their bright ideas with a compact fluorescent light bulb.</p> <p><strong>5. Include the Guests</strong><br>Make sure guests understand the intention of the afternoon and invite them to be an intimate part of the celebration by bringing along a personalized memento for the new mom. They might pass along a favorite book they have read to their own child or a framed photo of the guest of honor when she was a baby.</p> <p><strong>6. Spread the Word<br></strong>Online party invitations have become more popular, but if you opt for printed invites, use a decorated 8½ by 11 sheet of post-consumer, <img src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/627052/Eco-Friendly-Baby-Showers-Baby-Pea-Pod.jpg" alt="">recycled paper. It’s not only more economical than packaged invitations, it has space for all the green party details; plus, the rest of the ready-to-print computer paper is available for future projects.</p> <p><strong>7. Gather the Tribe</strong><br>Give the expectant mom what other experts cannot: kitchen table wisdom. Pass around a journal and ask guests to finish a simple, but poignant statement like, “What I wish most for you is…” or “Looking back, I wish I would have known…” Along with reducing, reusing, and recycling, going green is a spiritual practice.</p> <p><strong>8. Make Something Beautiful</strong><br>Beautifully mark the occasion by creating a one-of-a-kind gift for the baby. Ask friends and family to paint their palm and leave a handprint on an oversized plant pot, to be kept in the nursery. Gather scraps of fabric and invite attendants to cut out a heart shape, write their name on it and adhere it to a pillowcase with fabric glue, for the baby to rest on. Don’t worry if the project is perfect, the intention already is.</p> <p><strong>9. Do Everyone a Favor</strong><br>Say farewell with seasonal gifts, like small pumpkins in the fall or packets of seeds in the spring. Better than any token of appreciation will be the memories that friends and family take home.</p> <p><strong>10. Thank-you<br></strong>Everyone enjoys receiving a thank-you; make sure yours sticks by mailing a photo magnet to guests. Develop pictures of the party, cut and glue a photo to discarded cardboard and “laminate” with packing tape, then attach a craft magnet to the back. Insert the magnet into an envelope and write, “You helped make the day picture perfect,” on the inside flap. This personal keepsake helps preserve the memories and the environment. </p> <p><br><em>Helen Coronato is an author, speaker and consultant. Her latest book, <br>Eco-Friendly Families, is packed with concrete advice, useful tips and fun strategies for families who want to go green. Visit </em><span class="link-external"><a href="http://www.helencoronato.com/"><em>www.HelenCoronato.com</em></a></span><em>.</em></p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:e711a895-1fca-448e-b7f3-eae3bf1bf76c2019-08-28T16:32:23-04:002019-08-28T16:32:23-04:00Gas Pump Savvy: Portal to Real-time Gas Prices2009-05-01 03:00:00 -0400Anonymous<p>GasBuddy.com offers instant, user-friendly access to the today’s lowest priced gasoline pit stops, by area. The nonprofit GasBuddy Organization, Inc. notes that gas prices not only change frequently, but can vary by as much as 20 percent within a few blocks. Motorists, too, can contribute updates online, based on information gleaned as they combine errands around town or take a fuel-wise local vacation. The site helps everyone save bucks for more fun activities.</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>urn:uuid:f9c4a6e7-5f5d-4251-ae0a-a9a4ac5e0fce2019-08-28T16:13:57-04:002019-08-28T16:13:57-04:00Grid Parity: Solar Could Rival Fossil Fuel in Near Future2009-04-01 03:00:00 -0400Anonymous<p>“We’re confident that we’re not that far away from a tipping point, where energy from solar will be competitive with fossil fuels,” says Ray Kurzweil, who participated in a 2008 National Academy of Engineers panel reporting on the future of solar power. “I personally believe that we’re within five years of that tipping point.”</p><p>To do that, the cost of electricity produced by rooftop solar panels needs to fall by half, from about 32 cents per kilowatt hour today, including subsidies, to about 15 cents per kwh by 2012, according to a report by FBR Capital Markets. When such “grid parity” arrives, a sharp surge in residential solar panel use is expected, driven by a desire to lower utility bills.</p><p>In 2009, enough solar panels will be sold in the United States to generate 330 megawatts of power, FBR projects. But the country could well see a 20-fold rise in solar panel sales by 2013, enough to power 3.5 million homes using two-kilowatt rooftop solar arrays. As one think tank pundit put it, “In five to seven years, the idea of building a home without solar energy on it will be as silly as building without plumbing.”</p><p><br>Source: The Christian Science Monitor</p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.naturalawakenings.com">Natural Awakenings National</a></small></p>