Greener Gifting

I started wrapping my holiday presents this week, and was struck, once again, by the amount of stuff required to make my gifts look festive.  I remembered the article from the December 2007 issue of Better Homes and Gardens where Sara Snow was asked for some tips on earth-friendly celebrating.  Did you know that if each family in the U.S. reused just two feet of ribbon we would save 38,000 miles of ribbon?  We could tie a bow around the earth with the saved ribbon!  Also, she says if every American family commits to wrapping three gifts in alternative wrappings (things like grocery bags, newspaper, old wall paper or fabric scraps) it would save enough wrapping paper to cover 45,000 football fields.  And... what about making sure your holiday cards are printed on recycled paper.  Each ton of recycled paper saves 380 gallons of oil and 17 trees.  I am going to try most of these tips.  Not only will I be saving the planet, I will probably save some money too!

Carbon Footprint Survey

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A Bigger Mailbox

I was so tired of wrestling the mail out of our tiny mailbox, so I bought this larger one which I was installing when Jeana dropped by one day this week. I whined to her about the ridiculous amount of catalogues & other junk mail I get each day... between them and the newspapers, we recycle a nearly full garbage can of paper each week. Jeana told me that Americans receive almost 4 million TONS of junk mail each year which requires 100 million trees to produce. Reduced trees = increased global warming--even I see the connection. She told me that she was able to remove her address from all mailing lists by sending $1 (for processing) to:

Mail Preference Service

Direct Marketing Association

P.O. Box 643

Carmel, NY 10512-0643

Still, I like having some catalogues and would be reluctant to do away with all of them. I know that I should contact each catalog I don't want and ask to be removed from their list (but hey, I'm lazy). Jeana had an easier solution. One option is to subscribe to Green Dimes. For a one time $15 fee, you will receive a kit of information that requires activation. You will have to register with the Direct Marketing Association to ensure removal of your name. Green Dimes will monitor the DMA lists to make sure your name stays off their members' mailing lists. You can tailor your list to continue to receive catalogs from the companies whose information you wish to receive. Green Dimes will plant 10 trees in your name when you subscribe.

Nicole told me about another option that she's used (that's FREE!)....she signed up at Catalog Choice and has stopped 60 + catalogues already!!!! Stephanie adds that Catalog Choice is a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. It is endorsed by the National Wildlife Federation and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and funded by the Overbrook Foundation the Merck Family Fund and the Kendeda Fund. That's quite the pedigree!

To stop receiving credit card offers, call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. To stop receiving ValPak coupon packets visit: www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm.

Guess I didn't need to buy that bigger mailbox after all.

Tis the Season

Wow!  It's December 1st already!  Lots of people I know are getting ready to put up their holiday lights.   For the past couple of years, I've noticed a different kind of light at some homes; they gave off a more vivid color.  When I learned they were called LED lights, I was able to score a couple of strands to try out last year and was very pleased with the effect.  A couple of weeks ago, my friend, Lynn, told me about an article she'd read in Consumer Reports (Dec. 2007, p. 9) comparing LED and incandescent strands.  In short, CR states that incandescent lights are brighter and cost less but the LEDs are last twice as long and use only 10% of the energy incandescent lights use.  Also, the plastic LEDs are less likely to break than glass incandescent lights, run much cooler and therefore, are less of a fire risk.

Still, it's not environmentally sound to just toss out all of last year's lights, is it?  As I weed through all the strands I own, I do plan on buying more LED lights as replacements.  I got an email from Mara, telling me about an article in Better Homes and Gardens (Dec. 2007, p. 112-116) by Sara Snow with lots of suggestions for earth-friendly ways to celebrate the season; one of which is to put your lights on timers, limited to 6 hours per night.  Even so, 1000 incandescent lights (only 10 strands!) will cost you $50 for the season compared to 50 cents to burn the same number of LEDs.  I don't know about you, but I have WAY more than 10 strands just on my tree.  I guess I'll have to rethink just how many lights to put up as well.

Going Green

Hi!  I'm Susie Laker.  If you are like me, it seems that everywhere I turn, folks are talking about going green.  I didn't pay much attention to it; after all, I've been recycling forever, have a compost bin in my yard, and take my own grocery bags to the market.  When I attended the League of Women Voters Green Community kick-off meeting, I was feeling pretty smug, thinking I was way above the curve.  That thought got shot down in a hurry and I found out there was so much more I could be doing to save money, save energy and help save the planet.  Frankly, I was rather overwhelmed and didn't know where to begin.  Luckily, my friends are knowledgeable about such things and are willing to help me learn to lessen our carbon footprint.  This blog will chronicle my efforts to adopt climate-friendly lifestyle practices and to make my home "green".

New Jersey Clean Power Choice Program

Last month at a meeting, the discussion turned toward ways that we could start implementing green practices. I was interested in finding something I could do right away that had a big impact on the environment. Someone was talking about a League member who asked her husband to buy cleaner energy as her birthday gift. I was intrigued! I didn't know that New Jersey offered renewable power sources (obviously, I fast forward through commercials on t.v. and don't look at those inserts in my bills!)

I asked some energy-savvy friends to enlighten me. Apparently 45% of our electricity is provided by coal burning plants and available renewable energy can come from solar, wind, hydroelectric or biomass sources. These benefit our environment and health and developing these alternatives will guarantee energy for the future because we won't have to rely on fossil fuels that may one day be depleted. They also explained that, although these types of energy cost more to produce right now because the technology is new, as more and more people request renewable energy, costs will fall. I balked at spending more for electricity until Margaret explained that the 14% increase (based on current rates) is equivalent to one or two lattes a week! I shouldn't drink so much coffee anyway.

I broached the topic with my husband. I really thought I'd have a hard time selling him on the idea but he agreed right away. Then I went to NJCleanPower.com, read about the different alternative energy providers and clicked on the link for the one I chose. I did need my account number which was on my electric bill. SIMPLE! It only took about ten minutes and for the price of a latte or two, I'm helping our kids have a healthier future!