Picture of the Day

Tweet

Eco-Friendly Air Freshner

Tweet

Recently, I have been shopping around for apartments in DC so I am playing interior decorator now. I love walking into a room and having it smell really fresh. So I started to think, what is the most environmentally friendly way to keep your home smelling nice?

Plug-ins cant be that environmentally friendly being that it constantly uses electricity being that you have to actually plug it in.
Spray cans just do not sit too well with me because you're spraying chemicals into the air. And they only work for a couple minutes anyway.

So I did some research :)


Alternative ways to freshen up your home the environmentally friendly way

• Closet & House Odor Absorbers; these tiny pebble looking minerals are nontoxic and they completely erase odor problems in the home. They are in cute little bags that you simply hang up and let the magic happen. They deodorize about 600 square feet of space! Get them here.




• Candles; with all natural ingredients. Check these out!




• Sani-Mate; this not only deodorizes your home but also purifies the air. Its like an air sanitizer. Unfortunately, you do have to plug it in however, it is energy efficient. The great thing about this product is that it kills bacteria, viruses, molds, chemicals, smoke, allergens and ordors in the air! However, this is ideal for small spaces such as bathrooms. This needs no replacement parts like filters! Get this here.


• Scented oils; these are my favorite! Bath and Body Works have the best ones in my experience. Oils sent the home really fast and its lasting. You have to purchase an oil warmer first though which are always fun because they are so cute! Check these babies out.

• Potpourri; is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant material, used to provide a gentle natural scent in houses. My mother used these when i was younger. I remember her boiling them on the stove and the house just smelled like amazing flowers. This really works! You can even make your own. Or get some here.
• Open a window! Nothing is fresher than natural air (depending on where you live). Keeping a window open filters your home and lets all the toxins out while neutralizing your homes air.

I hoped this helped you as much as it helped me! Try them out and let me know how it goes. :)

peace.

Durham, NC Recycling

Tweet

I've had a couple requests on blogging about recycling. So I have done some research about my hometown (Durham, NC) recycling laws. I found this law to be pretty interesting that I am sure the majority had no clue about;

In 1997 Durham passed an ordinance making it unlawful to place target recyclables in the garbage

Target recyclables include:

• Aluminum cans
• Steel cans
• Glass bottles and jars
• Newspaper
• Plastic bottles
• Corrugated cardboard

Since October 2009, it is against the law to throw away plastic bottles in Durham, NC.

"It'll help us reduce waste going to the landfills. Obviously, it'll help us recover a valuable material," said state recycling director Scott Mouw.

70,000 tons of plastic ends up in the state's landfills each year. About 20 percent gets recycled.

Admittedly, recycling laws are hard to enforce so the law goes to "good faith". If caught, violators will face fines.

Recycling reduces dependancy on landfills and incinerations which in turn reduces litter, air and water pollution. Recycling also
Also, methane is generated from landfills which is a known greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. Landfills are the leading cause of methane production.

Recycling provides many benefits from economics to environmental. Recycling is the best waste management for waste reduction.

Picture of the Day

Tweet

Fun Facts!

Tweet

"We consume today 12 times as much as we consumed 100 years ago, putting an immense pressure on the planet's resources."
-@InjusticeFacts

Environmental disaster strikes New Zealand.

Tweet

An oil spill from a stranded cargo ship off New Zealand is the country's worst environmental disaster in decades, the government says.

An oil spill has stricken New Zealand Wednesday, October 5 and it is said to get significantly worse. The Liberian ship "Rena" ran upon a reef causing the oil to ooze out of the vessel. "Rena" holds 1,700 tons of oil aboard the ship. So far, 350 tons (thats 700,000 pounds) of oil has leaked out. And it will get worse in days to come. Mount Maunganui beach was the first location to have the oil wash up on shore.

"This event has come to a stage where it is New Zealand's most significant maritime environmental disaster," he told a news briefing in Tauranga.

The ship has stalled on the Astrolabe Reef which has a fragile environment and marine life including plants and animals. Obviously, much of the marine life has been destroyed due to our selfish greed. This disaster is the worst environmental disaster to hit New Zealand in decades.

Help has been sent to "clean up" the tremendous amount of oil that has spilled. However, if the boat(which is being used to help contain the oil) breaks, all the recovered oil could leak out into the ocean once again. Cleaning up after an oil spill is a messy job and is basically impossible. Even cleaning up the oil has proven to be dangerous. Cleaning up after an oil spill has left workers from the BP oil spill with mysterious illnesses. So not only are we putting the livelyhood of marine life in danger, but also the people who clean up the mess.

Check out this video;

This video was created last year to end oil exploration in New Zealand. Sign the petition.


WE MUST INVEST IN RENEWABLE ENERGY AND WEEN OURSELVES OFF OF HARMFUL OIL FOR FUEL!!

Tainted water in NC

Tweet

Spring Lake, NC (Cumberland County) previously issued out an alert about the tainted water supply. Apparently the water contains dangerous bacteria such as E-Coli and fecal mater. If you did use the tap water, it was suggested that you boil it before using it. Restaurants closed down and the water supply was shut off.

This goes to show how dangerous water pollution is. Tap water itself is not good for you. Yes, water goes through a thorough filtration process but still, that does not make the water pure. Incidents like this happen all too often.

To be on the safe side, you should purchase a detachable water filtration for you faucet. This will enable your faucet to go through another filtration process. Better safe than sorry. You can purchase these anywhere from you local grocery store to Target and Wal-Mart. They do not cost that much either. Water filters are even better than water bottles which have proven to be unhealthy as well. Besides, water filters for your faucet is eco-friendly in the sense that you no longer need to purchase water bottles for "fresh water" so more plastics are kept out of the trash.

Since the discovery, Spring Lake has lifted the alert early Sunday so the water is safe.

Tweet