Search Results for: blog the economy and the throwaway society

A Problem Invention and a Favorite

‘Easy open,’the can says. Yeah right! What sadist invented these ring pull cans? I cannot believe I am the only person on the planet that has trouble with the supposedly easy open ring pull cans. In fact I know I’m not as I have seen others end up in the same situation, which makes me feel better. Each time I attempt a ring pull can, I either end up looking at the ruing pull in one hand and the can in the other entirely separate. Or a can I still can’t get open. If he is around I usually hand … Continue reading →

Walkable Living

Just this morning, the neighborhood parents and I had an interesting discussion at the end of my driveway, after the school bus pulled away. Our kids were off in their big yellow bus, which will return to the roadways later this afternoon. After school, one of the children would be shuttled off to football, three of the children would be shuttled off to the Awana program at church. Later they would all be picked up again. An older sibling would drive home from school, grab a snack and then drive herself out to dance class One of the parents would … Continue reading →

Bathroom Conservation: The Shower

Look at the bathrooms in your home. With a few modifications you can make them much more efficient and much greener. You can make improvements without doing a complete remodel, but of course if you want to use that as an excuse, go ahead. Just make sure that you repurpose and recycle old fixtures and buy responsibly. Water use is the most obvious place where most of us can improve. While it is mistakenly believed by many that it is the only issue in the bathroom for green living, it is the biggest. Let us start with the shower. Yes, … Continue reading →

Vanilla in Our Water

I came across this really interesting piece courtesy of Christine Dell’Amore and the National Geographic Green Guide Blog. Apparently, our earth’s water are actually flavored with the cooking spices and foods that come out of our kitchens. University of Washington associate professor Richard Keil is testing the waters so to speak and finding some interesting things. For example, in the time around the Thanksgiving holiday here in the United States, the Puget Sound (off of the coast of Washington State and British Columbia) tends to get flavored with the spices of time and sage. Summer days and the Independence Day … Continue reading →

Green Living is About Doing Things Differently

One misconception that many people have about green living is that it is a lifestyle of deprivation. They picture someone who is eco friendly as a hermit living out in the middle of the woods, subsisting on wild berries and using local leaves as toilet paper (while compositing their resulting waste of course). Green living isn’t about deprivation or a reversion to pre-industrial times. Rather is is a way of living responsibly and doing things differently in order to make our planet sustainable. Sometime you can follow a green lifestyle by following basic green living principals, such as shutting off … Continue reading →