Ecologically Friendly Furniture

Bed made out of Bamboo

Now is the time that your attention is redirected inside and you realize certain old furniture items just aren’t going to cut it anymore.

What is sustainability? Living in a sustainable manner means taking no more from the environment than can be naturally replenished. Furniture which is sustainable will contribute to neither pollution nor deforestation.

By choosing pieces that have been built with certified sustainable wood. This means regulation agencies have certified that the wood comes from a sustainable resource as opposed to a dying rainforest.

Pieces built from reclaimed wood are also great choices. Entire companies are devoted to reclaiming the disused wood from vacant factories or other structures and reforming it into pieces of great beauty and durability.

Wood is not the only option for recycled materials. There are plenty of ways in which reliable brands reform metals, plastics, and glass into new, stylish designs.

The autumn season is often associated with aging or change. Though green is a color of spring and youth, eco-friendly ideas are also agents of change. Environmentally friendly products promote a healthier and more harmonious environment within the home and outside of it.

The concept of aging includes with it concepts of wisdom and responsibility. In the fall spirit of change and responsibility, now is as great a time as ever to begin incorporating green furniture into your life!

The Earth’s resources have been depleted to the point that there aren’t a whole lot left. The concept of green furniture explores the many ways we can reuse what has already been built, and ways to combat deforestation when it comes to wood used for furniture building.

Bamboo is another excellent alternative to deforestation. Bamboo is actually a grass and has the ability to quickly grow and be replenished. Bamboo is also very versatile – it can be used for everything from flooring to chairs and tables. Patio furniture, green furniture, and bedroom furniture are just a few examples of what can be accomplished using bamboo.

Vintage furniture is the next tip on how to go “green” with furniture. Vintage or second-hand furniture is considered “green” because no further resources are needed to manufacture it.

So, take the time to learn about furniture and green furniture. You will soon learn that buying furniture made of certified sustainable wood is not cheap, but it is responsible on a global level. Second-hand furniture is the less expensive way to go “green” with furniture.

Toxics All Around Us

In our modern world, we are exposed to small amounts of toxics through various methods. It's in the food we eat, it's in our household products, it's in our air, and it's in our water. As much as we would rather not think about it, taking a blood test might reveal a chemical build up of up to 39 different pesticides and harmful chemicals that will never go away. Environmental health organizations around the country are working to expose the truth about the dangers we all face to prevent diseases that will eventually catch up with us.

If you live in the Pacific Northwest, exposures to benzene, fine particulate matter from wildfires and agricultural field burning, and chemical exposures through aerial sprays in rural areas are almost inescapable. If you live in a home that was built before 1978, which consists of 80% of the homes in America today, lead exposure from old paint can be built up your body. Teflon from clothing and non-stick cooking ware are prevalent in most humans.

Living a healthy life seems to be quite a daunting task. I became a vegetarian due to the concerns of mercury in fish, the arsenic that's fed to chicken, the genetically engineered corn being used in high fructose corn syrup (which is in your soda and store bought juices), and not to mention all the antibiotics. Synthetic hormones, cloned meat, and excessive pesticides and fertilizers all are a part of the diet of the everyday American. The safety of certain ingredients manufactured by Monsanto, Bayer, and other bio tech companies are questionable with MSG, aspartame, and chemical coatings that could be attributing to colony collapse disorder Pollution is continuing to accumulate in conjunction with respiratory and cardiovascular ailments.

Our world is struggling to cope with energy resources, food supplies, and an unstable economic future. In my eyes, the world will need nothing short of a saviour to correct it and provide stability for all. Some recent articles and comments on talk radio suggest that American is headed for a great depression. What can we all do at this point? I suppose we can change our lifestyles, but I doubt it will be enough. I suggest prayer or meditation. Peace.

solar energy

Solar energy products these days as many know are quite costly. Imagine everything you use in your home from the radio on your desk, your refrigerator or even your toilet were powered by blackberries, blueberries, oranges and grapes. Sounds kinda far fetched but thats exactly what's being done according to research being done at the University of Rowen. Scientists say "to develop efficient -and most importantly inexpensive- solar cells scientists are following the design of photosynthetic systems". Research on so called "third generation" solar cells is being carried out by a team at Rowen university in New Jersey.

So whats the difference between first, second, and third generation solar cells? "First generation" solar cells such as the solar panels people put on their roofs are based on crystalline silicon which is the same material used to make computer chips and as you can imagine are very expensive. "Second generation" solar cells are based also from that same expensive material but use only thin film strips of it. And so that leaves the "third generation" solar cell which are still in research stage and are some ways away from wide commercial use. There are several different designs under this field including Rowan's "dye sensitized solar cells" which is where the fruit comes in.

The team of Rowan researchers are working on a refined process in which they extract dye from a range of fruit and blend it into a kind of scientific "smoothie". You can make the components from store-bought items," a student at Rowen University said. "Construction of the cells is so simple and inexpensive that anyone can build his or her own given fruit, white paint, iodine and glass." Antonelli added, "There's less output from these organic solar cells than a traditional silicon cell," admitted Green, but the production from fruit is "dirt cheap." While similar work has been done, the extraction process is new, to the best of the team's knowledge. "This project was completed as a part of a chemistry laboratory course," Kuciauskas said. "Students who continue this work will attempt to develop better light-harvesting dyes by assembling larger aggregates of photosynthetic pigments. Such a biomimetric approach is based on green plants and photosynthetic bacteria."

In the past few years solar energy has expanded dramatically and is known as the fastest growing energy technology in the world. In this new research it is clear to me that the future of inexpensive solar energy could potentially help to increase this rapidly improving industry and make an even bigger beneficial impact on the environment. I have great hope for the future that a cleaner more energy efficient future is ahead of us.

Green Food

900 Calories (45% of daily value) 54 Grams of Fat (84% of daily value) 570 mg of Cholesterol (190% of daily value) 1840 mg of Sodium (76% of daily value) Based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

The dailies? You know -- milk, bread, eggs -- the dailies. These are the things you eat that you find yourself running out each week (or each day) to purchase. Now, you spend a lot of money on these purchases because of their purchasing frequency, so its important that something worth so much money is chosen carefully.

And it's not just about money; because we all do it several times a day, eating green is perhaps the most impactful single act we engage in. Those dailies we mention above all have very specific impacts -- from where the cows graze before supplying your milk, to how near your home your bread is baked.

Of course, it isn't quite that simple; there are myriad factors throughout the entire life cycle of all your food and its inputs that affect its relative impact. So, how do you navigate all of these choices? Read on.

Top Green Eating Tips

1. Indulge in the Big O
   When you eat organic, don’t just picture the healthy food you are putting in your body, picture the healthy ecosystems which produced that food, the workers who are safer from chemicals, the land, water, and air that is being protected, and the wildlife that is being allowed to thrive. Organic vegetables, fruits, grains, juice, eggs, and meat , are grown and processed in ways that support healthy people and a healthy planet. (While you may not be able to find or afford organic options for everything you need, certain fruits and vegetables are more pesticidy than others.)
2. Compost the leftovers
   Greening your meals isn’t just about the food that winds up on the plate—it’s the entire process, the whole lifecycle shebang. Composting leftovers will ease the burden on the landfill, give you great soil, and keep your kitchen waste basket from smelling. Apartment dwellers and yardless wonders can do it too! And yes, a composting toilet can be part of the miraculous cycle as well. (see below for more resources)
3. Grow your own
   In the garden, in the greenhouse, in the window box, or something fancier. Even urbanites can get quite a bit of good eats from not much space.
4. Just enough
   Put some extra planning into the amount of food you cook will cut back on waste. If it’s something that will spoil quickly, try to avoid making more than you or your family can eat. If you’ve got extra, make a friend happy with a home cooked surprise.
5. Eat it Raw
   Many people swear by the benefits of eating raw. Whatever the health advantages may be, preparing raw food consumes less energy and because raw food is usually fresh by definition, it is more likely to be locally grown.

Do You Know? That...

By recycling 1 plastic bottle not only saves anywhere from 100 to 1000 years in the landfill but also saves the environment from the emissions in producing new bottles as well as the oil used to produce that bottle.

For every 1 ton of plastic that is recycled we save the equivalent of 2 people’s energy use for 1 year, the amount of water used by 1 person in 2 month’s time and almost 2000 pounds of oil.

Approximately 60% of our rubbish thrown away today could be recycled. A survey was done and 9 out of 10 people surveyed said they would recycle more if it was easier.

Odd as it seems that the younger generations does not really care about our environment anymore. Yes we heard about them saying that they 'care', but how many that we see whom are really determined to make it happen?

Anyways~ for those of you who want to try and realize this goal, but don't know how to... So why not? start now!

Taking Just Moment

Taking just a moment to put your newspaper, soda can and glass spaghetti jar in the recycling bin will save everyone years in environmental harm from production of new materials, over crowded landfills and the depletion of our natural resources.


4000 Years

When we do not recycle at least our glass or aluminum we cost the earth in power usage, water and oil usage and landfill usage; glass takes up to 4000 years to decompose in a landfill yet can be recycled indefinitely.


Earn Money

Recycling can be done at home as well as in conjunction with city programs. Many scrap yards pay for scrap metal including the soda cans and soup cans we use every day.

Be Creative

Many useful items can be made from our everyday trash; the cardboard tubes left over from paper towel and toilet paper can make useful storage containers for our extra extension cords and prevents a tangled mess in the Christmas lights. If your going to throw these out don't just throw it in the rubbish bin, put it the recycling bin.

Baby jars can become snow globes the kids can make and give as gifts, old Christmas cards can become new hand made cards and a glass or plastic bottle along with some clear oil and food coloring and a few other common household items can become a groovy lava lamp!

The possibilities are endless and instructions can be found in books and on the internet.

Start Today

Recycling is a very environmentally green activity; however, there are ways that you can make it greener as well as building a strong beginning if you do not currently recycle.

Many people beginning a recycling program look around and wonder what they can put in the recycling bin; there is so much information available on this site, so don't panic.

By reusing your recycled storage containers you save on the environmental impact as well. Paper and plastic bags are good for recycling storage; however, a plastic reusable bin is even better.

Spread The Word

Share what you know. If you notice abundant trash in your neighborhood start spreading the word and your experience with recycling and if there isn’t already one in place strive to get a city recycling pick up program started.

The fact is many of our resources as well as our Earth is not renewable and we have to start taking control of our selves beginning with the world we live in.

Global warming is no longer viewed as a theory by scientists and has sadly become a fact. The change needed must be in your actions today in order to ensure a bright (not too hot) tomorrow.

Green Paper Bag

· Plastic bags consume 40% less energy to produce than paper bags

· Plastic bags generate 80% less solid waste than paper bags

· During their lifecycle paper bags produce 70 times more air pollutants than plastic bags

· Paper bags produce 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags

· Plastic takes up to 1,000 years to decompose!

Social responsibility

• In 1960 almost 6.3 billion pounds of plastic was produced in the USA
• By the early 1970’s the figure had tripled
• By 1988 the USA produced approximately 50 billion pounds of plastic
• HDPE (plastic) bags were introduced into circulation in 1977
• It has been estimated that the worlds annual consumption of plastic shopping bags has reached in excess of 500 billion bags
• The Wall Street Journal has estimated that the USA consumes 100 billion plastic bags annually (the equivalent of 12 million barrels of oil in the manufacturing process)
• It is estimated that 53% of plastic shopping bags are distributed into circulation via supermarkets and grocery stores
• Over recent years these outlets have reintroduced paper bags for customers in the belief that this was environmentally responsible.

The facts: extreme environmental damage

• Plastic never fully decomposes. Over time it goes through a process of photo degradation and breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces
• These substances cannot be converted by any known organisms and as such remain as plastic in landfills, rivers and oceans
• In a 1998 survey of the North Pacific Ocean, 89% of waste observed was plastic products
• Sea turtles, whales and dolphins are among sea animals being directly affected by plastic waste products, often mistaking plastic bags for food, causing slow and painful deaths to these animals over a prolonged period of time.

First of all, many retailers are concerned about the types of bags the threats are aimed at. Typically, when government, media and the ARA refer to plastic bag reduction, it is usually in relation lightweight singlet HDPE (high density polypropylene) plastic bags, commonly used at supermarkets, corner stores and grocers. The reason for this focus is that these bags have a high consumption rate and are more likely to be littered (whether it be by consumers or by being displaced on the way to landfill). To date, reduction campaigns have been targeted at this type of bag, however there has been no formal exemption of LDPE (low density polypropylene) plastic bags such as the type that are commonly used by clothing retailers.

Retailers need to ask the following questions when deciding to change to an alternative bag:

• Will customers reuse the plastic bags issued?
• Are other bags easily available?
• Can these bags be recycled?
• Are the bags appropriate for the type of products sold?
• What will be the environmental impact of its production and/or recycling?
• Are they affordable and storable?

KIDS.GREEN!!

There is whole world to discover in the garden. Gardening allows YOU to explore nature and all the different changes that take place in a flower garden from spring to autumn. Gardening promotes healthy living and is a great way to learn responsibility, and patience. There is so much to love and learn about gardening; it's surely to be a hobby that will last a lifetime. Creating and nurturing a garden is a wonderful experience; full of wonders and gardening fun!!!

The idea is to promote our kids to the environment. Think green, love green!!!
Gardening is a way that encourages kids to feel proud of green efforts they are already doing as well as encouraging thinking of more earth-friendly solutions. It should be placed in every daycare and elementary school library to help encourage children to commit themselves to helping our environment and going green.


Make gardening as a family activity. Create a strong bond with kids by sharing an interest in gardening together. A lifetime hobby of gardening can be the result of having fun while learning. Involving kids in the garden while teaching them about gardening will surly lead to other areas of interest. Gardening opens up fun and educational topics on insects, weather, plant life, birds, flowers, seasons, and the environment and, so much more; kids will want to keep on learning!

HELP KIDS TO THINK GREEN AND LOVE GREEN!!!