make a smaller ecological footprint

When I do the laundry the first load is always the heaviest items, mainly jeans and hoodies, so they can go into the dryer first, later loads will have lighter weight items.

Instead of having to run the dryer a long time for darks, I run it for a much shorter time (sometimes only 20 minutes). Lighter weight dark items get done really fast and the heavy items usually only feel damp around seams. When the nect load is ready to go into the dryer it shares space with the remainders of the heavier items.

Not only am I reducing the amount of power I am using but I am also reducing my utility cost. Additionally, the dryer does cause a lot of wear on clothes so the less time spent in the dryer the better.

I have also found that most everything comes out better with a lower heat setting. Again, saves power and saves clothes. (saving clothes not only saves money but reduces the need for additional resources needed to make new clothes)

In response to growing pressure from international law enforcement agencies and conservation groups, eBay, the online auction giant, announced Monday that it would ban all commerce in ivory, including most heirlooms, to avoid providing a market that will encourage the slaughter of endangered elephants.

Score : Pachyderms 1 – Poachers 0

so I totally slaughtered a pair of jeans today, and not being one to do the cut off thing, they are now in the church donation bag. The brilliant thing about those donations is that the items that are not chosen by homeless people are bundled and sold to a fabric recycler – keeping them out of a landfill. Somehow those Levi’s will find a new life.

Home Depot just announced that they will start a recycling program for Compact Flourescent Bulbs. At issue was the small amount of mercury in these bulbs. Under the program, any manufacturer’s bulbs will be accepted for recycling.

In 2006 the National Council of Nuns came out against bottled water for the moral reason that life’s essential resource should not be privatized. In their declaration they stated that approximately 17 Million Barrels of Oil are used to make the bottles for bottled water. Yikes.

There is a team goal regarding Earth Hour which was actually started by a 43T newbie (go newbies!)

Drop me a line if you would like to be a part of that team, even if you reply after Earth Hour, we’ll have some of the groundwork in place for next year.

From what I understand only a handful of American cities (Phoenix, Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco) are participating, but who knows, maybe next year you can convince your town or even company to participate.

I for one would love to see the World Wide Anglican Communion come together with a candlelit service next year.

The world’s first biofuel-powered commercial aircraft touched down in Amsterdam on Sunday following a demonstration flight from London’s Heathrow Airport. Brilliant billionaire Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic, along with GE and Boeing, played a role in this historic flight of a 747.

The fuel in the flight was a 20% biofuel mix of coconut and babassu oil in one of the plane’s four main fuel tanks. Neither oil source competes with food and fresh water resources – one of the primary concerns of other biofule sources such as corn is that food resource will be directed to the more profitable fuel market.

Once again Sir Richard has questioned the status quo and come up a winner.

I just got my first pair of eco sneaks from SimpleShoes.com

The men’s ecoS contains no animal byproducts or even regular animal products. This shoe is vegan friendly and veggie friendly.

Hemp uppers

Yes, the sidewall of the ecoS is made from a recycled bike tire

Organic cotton linings

Recycled PET (that’s recycled plastic bottles) laces

PET pedbeds

Yes, that outsole used to be a car tire

100% post consumer paper pulp foot forms

They are freaking awesome !

By allow my values and morals lead me in business decisions I find that I am not only making wiser business decisions, but I am giving people the opportunity to practice mindful consumption at the same time.

More details on what I am doing will follow in future entries on other goals.

But dang, there is some green to made by going green!

There are still discarded Christmas Trees waiting for the trash hauler or mulchers to pick them up. If it is not illegal to go curbing (i.e. taking things from the curb that are meant to be discarded/recycled) why not grab one or two like I did ?

With hand clippers I took off the branches so the can be used on top of the planting beds in the garden. They will actually serve several purposes :

- first they will hold the leaves and other top mulches in place over the course of the winter

- they will help shade the soild on warmer days to prevent the freeze-thaw cycles that can disturb bulbs, seeds, and plants

- the garden beds will look better with greens on them

- come spring they will find themselves chopped up to become mulch and compost

( so get out there, and go curbing for Christmas trees! )