The Green Bug

"Pre-cycle" before you "Recycle"

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:50:00 +0000

I came across an interesting new term to add to my eco-dictionary.
Pre-cycle.
Possible interpretations?

Maybe a synonym for "reduce", as in lower your waste so you don't have to recycle.
Or could also mean early "re-cycle", as in, re-incarnate before end of life; use it elsewhere in existing form so that cost and environmental impacts of recycling are reduced or eliminated.

Hmmmm! the English language never fails to intrigue me!

Do you "g" Diaper?

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:39:00 +0000

I am sure eco-ist parents are fighting over a very important questions as they prepare for their baby. Do I go cloth or disposable? Well, there is a third option that is neither cloth nor disposable and gaining a lot of popularity. Biodegradable or flushable diapers. Hmmm sounds good!

Cloth diapers are reusable but use loads of water, detergent and electricity that is not the most eco-friendly solutions. Also babies are prone to diaper rash and there is a greater risk of leakage and increase in laundry loads for households. So these are not excatly a win-win situation.

Disposable diapers are water, chemical and energy intensive and live on for ever!

10,036,000,000 disposable diapers are landfilled each year in the U.S. That is a huge number and we should be very concerned. Their lack of eco-friendliness is a no-brainer! But they are comfortable, convenient and cheap!

The biodegradable/compostable or flushable diapers seem like a great option. One brand is called "gDiapers". They are chlorine and dioxin free and consist of a "gpant" and liner. Best of all they are "flushable".

The website says the flushables are made of a water resistant, breathable outer material that keep bottoms dry and wetness away. It is made of all natural fiber and is 100% biodegradable. The interior uses elemental chlorine-free tree farmed fluff pulp and Super Absorbing Poly-acrylate to absorb wetness. These super absorbing materials hold up to 100 times their weight in liquid.
The ‘little g’ pants are made of a soft, breathable outer cotton/elastene fabric giving them a slight stretch that are washable and reusable.

These diapers can be flushed, composted (only the wet ones) or tossed. The website claims that these will degrade in a landfill in 150 days compared to the 500 years a disposable diaper will take. I am not sure that anything biodegrades in a landfill, and there are conflicting answers on this depending on whom you ask.

On the whole, these seem to be a better option than either cloth or disposable diapers. So till a better product comes along, an eco-friendly way to diaper your bundle of joy!

Great going Mexico City!

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:27:00 +0000

Mexico City has banned the use of thin plastic bags that are not recyclable. These bags are a menace, hard to recycle and threaten ecosystems.

San Francisco lead the way in the US banning plastic bags in 2007 and encouraging compost-able or recyclable paper bags.

Hope this will lead to more cities joining the movement.

Snow Leopard!

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 00:24:00 +0000

I am so excited about the Snow Leopard release this week!!! Yahooo!

Check out the info on the "greenest laptop" ever. Way to go Apple! I expect nothing less.

Photo Blog: Theodore Roosevelt Island, Washington DC

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:36:00 +0000

Theodore Roosevelt Island, DC is a beautiful national park, dedicated to the president's love of conservation. Ideal summer day outing...

Banking Green

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:37:00 +0000

PNC Bank has emerged as the one of the greenest businesses in the world. Apart from encouraging e-banking and reducing paper transactions, PNC has developed a green program in the last decade that has set it apart from other private institutions.

From 2002, all new or renovated banks have been USGBC LEED certified which is very impressive. PNC has more LEED certified branches than any other company in the world!
Their buildings are made of recycled materials and have very high energy efficiency standards. Most of their buildings not only achieve LEED certification, but also are eligible for a Silver rating.

PNC says the greening of their banks has not only helped in greater employee retention and well-being, but their eco-buildings have reduced their operating costs by over 35%.
At a recent Grand Opening of a new branch, close to where I live, they gave away goodies in a nice big "re-usable" bag. I hope folks in my neighborhood will use that grocery shopping!

Apart from all the goodwill they create with their environmental initiatives, I personally feel that a company with such a high level of corporate responsibility will also have sustainable banking and lending practices. Looks like PNC is leading the way in two of the most urgent needs of the hour. Sustainable Business and Banking!

An ecological thriller is on its way!

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:01:00 +0000

Many of you may have heard of Colin Beavan, or the No Impact Man, who along with his family went off the "grid" for a year. His experiment will be featured in a documentary and a book.

Before he started, in 2007, he said, "For one year, my wife, my 2-year-old daughter, my dog and I, while living in the middle of New York City, are attempting to live without making any net impact on the environment. In other words, no trash, no carbon emissions, no toxins in the water, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, no toilets…"

Sounds really hard.

Colin tried to minimize his footprint, no one can "not-impact" the earth, but Colin off-set his now small footprint via positive environmental efforts, like reforestation and other initiatives.

I am really looking forward to watching the documentary and see how he dealt with missing out on all the energy guzzling we are all habituated towards. I don't think Colin intends to preach his drastic lifestyle change to everyone, but really educate everyone (and understand for himself) on how we cannot sleep-walk through our daily routine, but must really sit-back and think about its consequences.

The documentary is being screened right now and a book will be released in 2009.

Home

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 13:00:00 +0000

A free film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, French photographer, journalist, reporter and environmentalist. Arthus-Bertrand known for his aerial photography came up with this project in 2006. It took 3 years, shooting in 54 countries for 217 days to complete this project.
Arthus-Bertrand made this film to highlight the imbalance caused by Human influence and presents both wonder and warning about our Home and the urgency to re-build it.

Must watch
http://www.home-2009.com/us/index.html

Well said...

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:03:00 +0000

As Thomas Friedman says in his latest book ‘The World is Hot, Flat & Crowded’,
“The hour is late, the stakes couldn’t be higher, the project couldn’t be harder, the payoff couldn’t be greater”.

Save the Environment (and Money!) Live Better.

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Green development and sustainability have become more than “Hip” words. Corporations are realizing that without adopting “green” within their core principles and business model, they might be soon be heading...nowhere.

Folks are surprised to hear that Walmart, with all its negative PR is actually one of the front-runners in greening its business. From setting up a “Business Sustainability Department” to a very detailed web-page on its Sustainability Program’s goals and accomplishments, it is definitely a step in the right direction. They have set up some pretty ambitious goals like going for 100% renewable energy, creating zero waste, recycling and to sell products that are green and sustaining. They plan on being 30% more energy efficient by 2010 (that is next year!!!). You can definitely find eco-friendly cleaning products more easily here than any of the other regular grocery chains. Walmart also aims to reduce shopping bag waste by an average 33% by 2013. Even their advertisements on televisions show shoppers with cloth and reusable Walmart bags!

Better news is their initiatives are worldwide, from setting up waste-treatment plants in all new stores in Mexico to diverting 65% of store waste from landfills in UK and contributing to environmental projects in China.

Walmart is also keen on creating green collar jobs and announced recently “green jobs council” to promote green collar jobs within its organization.

With the nation’s largest retailer taking such positive steps the effects will be far-reaching and encouraging. Save the environment! Live better!

"If it isn't bio-degradeable...

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:24:00 +0000

then its a mess in your own backyard"- Reene Loux in 'Easy Green Living'.
Exactly my sentiment too!
In her book Renee talks about how to incorporate green and heathy habits into your daily living and how easy it really is! Must read...

Clean Coal. Really?

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:37:00 +0000

Clean Coal.
True Lies.

I always wanted to get a handle on all the election talk between proponents of "clean" coal and the nay sayers and decided to get down to the facts.
Now, a majority of the electricty in the US comes from coal and coal burning causes a cartfull of environmental issues namely
-Mining hazards and pollution
-Coal burning produces CO2, a lot of it, actually almost 30% of greenhouse gases in the US.
-Along with the CO2, do not forget all the by-products of polluatants that are released from coal burning.

So, simply put "clean" or "cleaner" coal has to address and mitigate the problems above. The DOE defines clean coal as "a new generation of energy processes that sharply reduce air emissions and other pollutants from coal-burning power plants." Though coal plants have considerably reduced their emissions, CO2 have been much harder to control. Carbon sequestrian leaves more questions than answers.

So far, coal will need more than just being preceded by "clean" to be credible.

We can get it done!

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 23:02:00 +0000

The Obama administration's stimulus sure has a lot of "green" quite literally, $789 billion. But it does include a considerable amount of money in "green" initiatives
Kevin Knobloch talks about the initiatives in an article on The Progressive...
But even that is not free of "pork" ...Read more here
This comes at a crutial time when surveys are showing that the environment is taking a back seat as economical woes grow. As Mr. Gore says the attention to the environment will aid economic recovery not stand in it way. Read this to hear about his support for the recovery bill.

A tastier Apple!

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 23:52:00 +0000

Apple has received a great deal of flak for not doing enough to green their line of electronics. On 10th September, Apple Inc, came out with their newest environmnetally friendly Ipods, using greener components, their cheapest ipods yet! Way to go Steve Jobs! Your fan club (inlcuding me!) wants more!
Greenpeace praises Apple in this post...

Did you know...

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:20:00 +0000

2.5 million plastic bottles are being thrown away every huh...year? No...month?No ...day? No...

actually ... every hour in the United States.

Makes me want to shrink and shudder. We need to make better decisions!

Paper or Plastic, Ma'am?

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 01:18:00 +0000

...No thanks.

My cloth bag will do just fine!. Thank you.

Go drive a Prius...

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 23:36:00 +0000

The Toyota Prius is Refreshing. A nice 5 seat car, with plenty of cargo space, more rear-passenger leg room than the Audi A4 (we previously owned), great drive (of course the Audi was mind-blowing!) sips gas at 48 mpg (versus the 25 for the Audi). What more can one ask for?

My boss and I went to lunch the other day in his Honda Pilot. The conversation went something like this.

Boss: We should have gone in your Prius!

Me: Yes, we should have. Its a great car! Great handling and I get great mileage, 450+ miles on one tank of gas :0)

Boss: I can go 400 miles in one tank of gas too!

Me: Sure you can! With the amount of gas in your tank, I am surprised you can't go around the world once!

Boss: Well, I am addicted to big cars!

I don't know what's with the love for big cars. The only reason I can think of is ignorance of a better product. People constantly say they want bigger cars to have more room or simply because "we are starting a family". Having a child = Buying an SUV time. If people are going to tell me that having a baby will require all that space, we have a completely different problem!!!!! I can understand folks who live out in the country and use their trucks. But city folks driving around in 14 foot cars alone all year so that they do not have to rent a truck for the two times they have to move something, make no sense to me.

Give a car like the Prius a chance...Go drive a Prius or a Civic Hybrid! See what Engineering is all about! Time Magazine names the Toyota Prius Design Team as one of the 'Heroes of the Environment'

Energy Problem's Easiest Fix....

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:38:00 +0000

...Use Less

Could not have said it better!

This an article on cnn.com that sums it up.

and here is what you can do to reduce your energy footprint.

Overcoming Inertia!

noreply@blogger.com (GreenieGirl) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:25:00 +0000

That is a very apt title to my first blog and post! Now that I have finally overcome the first hurdle I am here to stay Blogging World!!!!

Happy blogging to me!