Only when the last tree hasdiedand the last river beenpoisonedand the last fish beencaughtwill we realize we cannot eat money.
-- Cree Indian Proverb
What do you have planned??
No clue? No problem. Here are a few suggestions;
- Take public transportation to lessen pollution in the atmosphere.
- Plant a tree!
- Spend a day with nature. Have a pic nic at your local park/beach/lake.
- Hold a garage sale, donate to Goodwill, or reuse household items.
- Spend a day at your local Farmers Market to indulge in sustainable goods.
- Go hiking!
- GO VEGAN FOR THE DAY! Pledge to take dairy and meat out of you diet for the day.
Check out A Billion Acts of Green for more suggestions on how to celebrate EARTH DAY. And also, calculate your carbon footprint to get a better understanding of your impact on the environment.
Environmental Tip of the Day
Be creative as you look for new ways to reduce the amount or kinds of householdwaste.
- Give cardboard tubes to pet hamsters or gerbils.
- Plant seeds in an egg carton.
- Make a flower pot out of a plastic ice cream tub.
- Turn mason jars into cups for drinking or pots for plants.
By thinking creatively, you will often find new uses for common items and new ways to recycle and reduce waste.
EPA
Eco Tip of the Day
Leaving pet waste on the ground increases public health risks by allowing harmful bacteria or organic material to wash into the storm drain and eventually into local water bodies.
Environmental Tip of the Day
Taking a five-minute shower saves water by using 10 to 25 gallons. I put an alarm on my phone to ensure I do not take more than 10 minutes in the shower. Save even more water and money on your water bill by installing a water-efficient showerhead!
NBA GREEN WEEK 2013
The NBA has partnered with the Natural Resources Defense Council for the fifth NBA Green Week to bring awareness for environmental protection. During GREEN WEEK, the NBA will highlight league, team and player environmental initiatives including in-arena awareness nights, recycling programs and hands-on service projects.
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New York Knicks
- Contributing to a Volunteer Planting Day in the Bronx, which is part of New York City’s “Million Trees” program.
- Participating in Threes for Trees which committs the team to planting one tree for every three pointer the Knicks make at home this season.
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Minnesota Timberwolves
- Sparking the minds of young environmentalists with their “Think Green” school competition. The students are to submit their plan on who in their school or classroom is making the effort to ‘Go Green’ and preserve and protect the environment. The winning school receives a $2,500 grant, a ‘Green Wolfie’ trophy, and on-court recognition on April 13th.
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Denver Nuggets
- Hosted 50 second graders from Dora Moore K-8 School at Denver Botanic Gardens to learn about gardening and the importance of protecting the environment.
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Dallas Mavericks
- Participating in Trees for Threes. Hundreds of trees will be planted at TP Hill at White Rock Lake and Lake Cliff Park in Oak Cliff. Last year, 55 trees were planted in Reverchon Park.
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Atlanta Hawks
- Planting trees along the Atlanta Belt Line
- Donating $7,500 to Trees Atlanta for further beautification projects during their April 12th game vs. Milwaukee.
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Houston Rockets
- Hosted a “Rockets Recycle Tour”, with stops at a recycling station and corporate partner locations, encouraging fans via social media to come and drop off recyclable items, and rewarding them with vouchers to an upcoming game.
- Assisted elementary school children winter garden to spring garden and assisted with composting.
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Toronto Raptors
- Hosted NBA Green Night presented by Toronto Hydro.
- Arena utility consumption reduced by 10%, greenhouse gases by 30% and divert 74% of waste from landfill.
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Portland Trail Blazers will host their annual "Bike to Blazers" event during their Green Awareness Game on April 17. The team is encouraging fans to meet at a specified location downtown and bike a predetermined route to the game wearing their Trail Blazers colors.
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Milwaukee Bucks
- hosted a free electronic recycling drive Saturday, April 8 right before their game against the Toronto Raptors. Ever wondered what exactly to do with that outdated microwave, old irons and played out VCR? Well, the Bucks has just the solution for you! They took in everything from old computers to refrigerators.(Sidenote) To recycle any electronics, places like Best Buy and Staples will gladly recycle them for you.
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Brooklyn Nets
- Participating in Trees for Threes challenge. So, for every three point shot that goes in this season, one tree will be planted. Currently, they are at 292 so therefore, 292 trees will be planted by the Brooklyn Nets. Genius! New York could use some green.
The STAPLES Center has installed 1,727 solar panels providing up to 20% of the building’s energy.
Photo Credits; Bike Portland,
GREEN YOUR SKIN TOO!
I have recently been introduced to this idea which made me think. Your skin has millions of pores on them. Whatever you put on your body whether it is lotion, soap, fragrance, these all seep into your body through the pores on your skin. Therefore, one should be aware of what they put on there skin. Products with harmful man made chemicals have proven to be a health risk however, they are still being sold to consumers. More than 50 of the chemicals put into modern-day American body care products have already been banned in Europe because research shows they cause cancer and other chronic issues. It is up to us to take into consideration our health.
By opting to only use organic products, this lessens the chemical intake in our body. If you cannot pronounce the ingredients, chances are they are NOT organic. Juice has a great organic skin care line.
Environmental Tip of the Day
Dishwashers use less water than hand washing your dishes in the sink. Only run the dishwasher when it is a full load though. Dishwashers are even better when they have the Energy Star logo on them. The average water consumption with kitchen sinks takes roughly 20 gallons per day for preparing food and washing dishes. However, the average water consumption using the dishwasher is only roughly 5 gallons!
Each person washed 12 place settings. On average, hand washing used 27 gallons (103 liters) of water, and 2.5 kWh of water-heating energy. The human time it took to wash, rinse, dry, and put away was approximately 80 minutes. The dishwasher used approximately 4 gallons (15 liters) of water, consumed 1-2 kWh of total energy, and required 15 minutes of human time (loading and unloading the dishwasher). All in all, the dishwashers got the dishes cleaner, in less human time, using less water and energy.-One Green Generation Even the Environmental Protection Agency agrees;
Washing dishes by hand uses much more water than using a dishwasher. Using an ENERGY STAR qualified dishwasher instead of hand washing will save you annually 5,000 gallons of water, $40 in utility costs, and 230 hours of your time.And also, dishwasher are less work might I add. Who has time to mess up their manicure in the sink? Go figure.
Hello Spring
yay!!
Now that spring is here, lets spring into a new healthy diet with the abundance of spring produce now available. Eating only seasonal produce (fruits and vegetables grown specifically in the current season) is a great way to reduce your carbon footprint.
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By only consuming seasonal produce, we;
- Save money.Purchasing produce that are out of season is a lot more expensive than produce that are in season. The produce are in abundance when it is in season locally making it cheaper due to basic supply and demand. However, purchasing produce that are out of season costs more because it is being shipped from another region whose weather permits it to grow seasonally there. Through my expierence, produce at the local farmer markets are a lot cheaper than supermarket produce.
- Save nutrients and freshness. When food is not in season locally, it is shipped in from other parts of the world and this affect the taste. Transporting produce sometimes requires irradiation (zapping the produce with a burst of radiation to kill germs) and preservatives (such as wax) to protect the produce which is refrigerated during the trip. Produce lose flavor like they lose moisture when they are stored. Fresh, locally harvested foods have their full, whole flavors. Your body gets more out of certain fruits and vegetables at certain times of the year.
- Reduce pollution. Produce being shipped from other regions require oil and gas to fuel the ships and airplanes used to transport the goods. Bye electing to eat seasonally, we reduce the air pollution that would be emitted from transportation.
- Support local farmers. Lets face it, in this economy, we need all the jobs we can get. Support your local farmer by purchasing their good they worked hard for to grow. Besides, the supermarkets make enough money any.
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SPRINGproduce in season
- Asparagus
- Strawberries
- Artichokes
- Sweet Cherries
- Peas
- Radishes
- Apricots
- Morel Mushrooms
- Green Tomatoes
- Green Garlic
- New Potatoes
- Kale
- Spinach
- Lettuce
- Onion
- Broccoli
- Collard Greens
Find recipes using these ingredients here.
To find locally harvested produced in your area, check out the website.
RIDE SHARING: the green way of transportation
Ride sharing is one of the most eco friendly ways of transportation. Whether it is taking a bus or the train, it beats driving a single car. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the average car produces about 532 gallons of gasoline per year. Imagine 532 milk jugs. There is only 365 days in a year so, that is more than a jug a day. You probably don't even drink a gallon of water a day. And that is just scratching the surface. The air is already polluted with CO2s emitted from cars everyday. Imagine if everyone drove their own single car.
Here are facts;
The average vehicle has the fuel economy of 22mpg (miles per gallon).
The average miles traveled in 2010 by a single car was 11,489 miles per year.
The average gallons of gasoline consumed per vehicle for 2010 was 522 gallons.
The average amount of carbon dioxide emitted into the environment per vehicle for 2010 was 4800 kilograms (10,582.1886 pounds).
So, with that being said, the average person puts almost 11,000 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air annually by driving their car alone. And this is not even touching on the subject of the numerous other ways people emit pollution into the environment through day to day tasks. The EPA does a great job at statistically breaking down this methodology.
Let's prevent this!!
Here are a few solutions to reducing your carbon footprint..
Carpooling
Another form of ride-sharing, carpooling is a more intimate way of green transportation. Since moving to Los Angeles, I have also found that people who carpool(those who have more than two people in their car) have their own special lane. This is a great incentive being that these cars could bypass traffic. Recently, there has been an influx of new wave car-sharing option. Modeled somewhat out of taxis, this service links people with drivers available for carpooling. This style of carpooling can be a bit cheaper than taxi's as well and can also be more convenient. It's no wonder why they are giving taxis a run for their money. It's like Blockbuster to Redbox. You can download their apps via smartphones such as iPhones and Androids. A couple great options are Uber, Lyft and Sidecar
Benefits;
Save money! Because gas is getting no cheaper.
Reduce pollution.
Reduce greenhouse gases.
Fresher air to breathe leading to better respiratory health.
Reduce dependency on oil.
Meet new people.
Reduce traffic.
So just remember, every time you get behind the wheel, you are contributing to the pollution crisis we are going through with global warming from CO2 emissions which largely come from vehicles. Do what you can to reduce your carbon footprint on the environment. Every little bit counts and 11,000 pounds of pollution is a big deal. CO2 Now does a great job at keeping track of the amount of CO2 currently in the atmosphere.
Here are facts;
So, with that being said, the average person puts almost 11,000 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air annually by driving their car alone. And this is not even touching on the subject of the numerous other ways people emit pollution into the environment through day to day tasks. The EPA does a great job at statistically breaking down this methodology.
Let's prevent this!!
Here are a few solutions to reducing your carbon footprint..
Public Transportation metros, subways, bus
Imagine your typical metro (bus and train transportation) holding about 20-30 people at one time. Now picture if each one of those people decided to drive their own car individually. That would be havoc on the already polluted environment and just added people to the horrible traffic issue. During 2012, in NYC alone, the average weekday subway ridership was 5.4 million. That is 1.7 billion people in 2012 taking public transportation.
Carpooling
Another form of ride-sharing, carpooling is a more intimate way of green transportation. Since moving to Los Angeles, I have also found that people who carpool(those who have more than two people in their car) have their own special lane. This is a great incentive being that these cars could bypass traffic. Recently, there has been an influx of new wave car-sharing option. Modeled somewhat out of taxis, this service links people with drivers available for carpooling. This style of carpooling can be a bit cheaper than taxi's as well and can also be more convenient. It's no wonder why they are giving taxis a run for their money. It's like Blockbuster to Redbox. You can download their apps via smartphones such as iPhones and Androids. A couple great options are Uber, Lyft and Sidecar
Benefits;
So just remember, every time you get behind the wheel, you are contributing to the pollution crisis we are going through with global warming from CO2 emissions which largely come from vehicles. Do what you can to reduce your carbon footprint on the environment. Every little bit counts and 11,000 pounds of pollution is a big deal. CO2 Now does a great job at keeping track of the amount of CO2 currently in the atmosphere.
PHOTO OF THE DAY
lol
No, seriously though..
Save gas.
Save the environment.
Save the people.
REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT!
KNOW YOUR BEACH!
The sun is out, the weather is gorgeous and the beach is your playground. But before you dive in, make sure you know what you are getting yourself into. The Environmental Protection Agency has a plethora of information from extensive research and testing on the bodies of water we love to play in for some summer fun. The EPA has listings of all the pollutants you should be aware of and the effects they can have on your health.
Living in Los Angeles, the closet beach to me would be the Santa Monica Bay. So, I took the liberty to find out what pollutants would be in our beach close to home.
POLLUTANTS IN SANTA MONICA BAY BEACH:
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