Green at 50

Putting the Green toilet paper debate behind me....

My family thinks I'm getting a little obsessive about using toilet tissue in an eco-friendly way...let's get to the down and dirty of the issue. Americans (and Canadians so I hear) are the only folks on earth that insist on having multi-ply, lotion infused, super bleached paper to wipe their buttocks with...a dirty job I realize, but do we really need next-to-cashmere to get through our day? According to the Guardian, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council in the U.K. believes that the Americans' insistence on using luxury toilet papers is causing more ecological devastation than driving Hummers.

"This is a product that we use for less than three seconds and the ecological consequences of manufacturing it from trees is enormous," said Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defence Council.

"Future generations are going to look at the way we make toilet paper as one of the greatest excesses of our age. Making toilet paper from virgin wood is a lot worse than driving Hummers in terms of global warming pollution." Making toilet paper has a significant impact because of chemicals used in pulp manufacture and cutting down forests."

In the U.S. 98% of our toilet tissue is made from trees. And to exacerbate the problem, the sale of luxury brands that are infused with lotions has increased 40% in some markets according to the New York Times. We are definitely not heading in the right direction. I'm not sure why Americans are so addicted to luxury papers, except that perhaps we believe that the only alternative is to use sandpaper. I must admit that some of the papers I've used in Europe were pretty coarse and an ugly brown, but in this country we do have recycled, soft and safely bleached alternatives (see my post on "Eco-friendly budget bargains." I use them and I assure you they are gentle, white and civilized.

In addition to buying recycled toilet tissue, there are also things we can do to reduce the amount that we use. The folks at Current Configuration have put a lot of thought into the over/under debate and have determined that over is better if you want to use less (check out the diagrams - more thought than I would have put into it, but someone has to...)

Planet Green has also put together some tips about how to make your toilet tissue use more earth-friendly. They include buying bulk toilet tissue and purchasing more sheets/per roll to decrease waste, switching to one-ply and recycling your left-over toilet paper tubes.

Eco-resolutions for a New Year

2008 is finally over (some of us here in the flood zone rightfully feel that way) and alas, a new year with all of the hopes and potential of our baby cardinal friend here is upon us. Ready for each of us to write a new chapter by building on what we have learned and continuing to stretch outside our usual sphere of complacency and make a difference in the world around us.

I think that it helps to take a little time at the first of each year to look back on our accomplishments before we beat ourselves up over the resolutions that we didn't keep in the previous year. Last year, I recorded my resolutions for the year in my calendar and I found that I actually reached many of my goals and made good headway on the rest. Way cool. I also discovered after reviewing the contents of my blog that I've also made some real changes in my lifestyle that have moved me further toward a more healthy and earth-friendly existence. I didn't expect to make as much progress this quickly when I started my journey... The more that I research and learn about the condition of our planet and how my everyday life contributes to the pollution that is causing climate change and species extinction, the more urgency I have to continue to make changes and educate others to do the same. So, I'm making my green resolutions for 2009 and you'll read about them in the coming months as I work to reduce my impact on this neck of the woods. Happiest of New Years to you!

Paper, plastic or nada...

It's not easy staying ahead of the plastic bags this time of the year. Some stores in our area won't let you walk out the door with your purchase without one of their branded plastic bags. I've also had some check-out clerks throw the bag away when I say that I have my own reusable bag.  Augh!! I challenge you all to recycle all those annoying bags that you can't seem to avoid accumulating and take reusable bags whenever possible...

Because of the disastrous flooding in our community the city of Cedar Rapids is looking for ways to raise money to help with flood relief. Unfortunately, the state of Iowa has limited the ways that cities in our state can raise money...mostly to sales tax and property tax. Both of which are extremely unpopular and cannot meet the needs of a city such as ours. I'd like to urge the Iowa legislature to consider joining this century and expanding the capabilities of the cities in Iowa to support themselves and improve their environment by allowing more creative and earth-friendly ways to raise money. For example, some non-profit and environmental organizations in the United States have proposed a tax on plastic bags to discourage their use. According to the EPA, the city of San Francisco, California passed a city ordinance in 2007 to ban plastic bag use in supermarkets and pharmacies. In Ireland, citizens have been paying a tax to use plastic bags since 2002. In turn, their use has dropped by 90% and the government has raised money for recycling programs. As more cities and countries declare a ban on plastic bags, retailers and consumers need to be aware that there is more than paper or plastic. And that is Bring Your Own.

Recycled housing for the birds...

 No, really...I mean for the birds! I know that some of you still have stacks of political yard signs in your garage left-over from the election. I mean, how can you be an environmentalist and not have a few political opinions? It's OK, I understand. And I found some folks who can help. After the Canadian elections, a group called Les Fourmis (The Ants) created some simple plans for birdhouses made out of campaign signs and cable ties.

Who are Les Fourmis?
Anonymous people, citizens, neighbours and friends who get together to express themselves, share and shake things up a bit. They do it for their city, in their city and in life in general.

Mmm...sounds kinda like me. So get busy, America! Feature that piercing eye or bulbous nose someplace where the birds will amuse you...and do something good for the birds, too!

Apartment Therapy Chicago

Learning from our neighbors

I was privileged to spend a few days in Europe on vacation last week. In addition to the fabulous architecture, culture and food, I also had the opportunity to observe some of the energy and resource conserving tactics of our European neighbors. The vacation took my husband and I to Vienna, Austria and Prague, Czech Republic. We found some surprising and innovative ways that could easily be adapted in this country to help save both resources and money.

Push-button hair dryers: In addition to being hardwired into the wall (to prevent theft) the hair dryers in the hotels all had buttons that had to be pressed in order to work which prevented the appliance being left on accidentally - and saves electricity.
 
Two-button toilets: The smaller button used less water for those lesser messes (I'm not saying any more about it....)

Guest controlled electricity: In Prague, we had to insert our key card into a reader in order to activate the electricity in the room. It was pretty disconcerting (the lights didn't work!) until it was explained to us, but it prevents the guests from leaving lights on while they are out for the day.

Reusing towels...whether you want to or not:  In Prague we reused our towels for the three days we were there. It didn't matter if they ended up on the floor - they were hung-up by the cleaning staff and we used them again. In Vienna, they were a little more congenial and they gave us the option of getting clean towels.

Fabulous public transportation:  By far the shining star in green living in Europe was the fabulous public transit. It is not only clean and affordable, it is within easy walking distance to most destinations and requires a minimal wait. We were able to experience the subway (U-Bahn) and trams in Austria and the tram system in Czech Republic. The subway is very easy to understand and the stops are displayed on LED signs. On the trams, it's a little trickier because you have to be able to understand the announcer so you get off at the right stop. If you're lucky, you'll get a newer tram with LED signs like the U-Bahn.