Sierra Club is one of the foremost sites on sustainable living and they also publish a magazine column where “the answer guy” tackles the toughest green living questions. And now there’s a compliation of the most difficult which include topics such as dry cleaning, food, and even cremation delivered into a 200 odd page book.
Mr. Green is the name given to Bob Schildgen where he dishes out sound Eco-friendly advice that also includes bit of mirth and wit. It’s not hard core environmentalist stance but offers practicality as well as common sense. For example:
Hey Mr. Green
I am trying not to buy bottled water, but I want a five-gallon jub with a spigot to put water or juice in for picnics. Is there any safe material? They all seem to be made of some kind of plastic.
Plastic may have been the miracle material of the twentieth century but it’s become the conumdrum of our time. With seven types of plastics being used for food and beverages, researchers are still trying to ascertain the possible harmful effects of each….the three safest plastics are #2HDPE, #4LDPE, and #5PP. With any type of plastic, possibly toxic substances are more likely to be realeased when the container is scratched and worn inside, is heated or is filled with hot, oily, or acidic foods. Never microwave food inside a plastic container unless it has specifically been approved for that use.
It also includes notations in the back with websites where you can learn more about the topics covered. It’s well researched but not difficult to understand. Laying it out in layman’s terms; it goes down like sweet honey rather than vinegar. Just how I like it.
Ever since I was a little girl; I had tremendous love for reading and books. It wasn’t unusual for me to go to the library with my mother and carry out enough books to tower over my head. You can say that I have always been bit of a book worm. It has always been my dream to have my own library in my home one day. However; books can be draining to the forestry and depletes our natural way to reducing Carbon dioxide (We would call that trees).
I would like to encourage you to visit your local library and check out books instead of purchasing books. If there’s a book that you must have; by all means; get it, but so many books I have gets read once and then it sits in my bookshelf forever. Also try to recycle your books by joining book sharing sites. You can post your old books and let someone borrow it or have it. And if there’s books you just don’t want. Why not donate it to the library?I went to the public library and found so many of books that I wanted to read but couldn’t afford to get due to current budget constraints. The Scranton public library had the most recent bestsellers such as Harry Potter and had an enormous collection of DVD’s and Cd’s. No more blockbuster for us… and best of all… it’s free! Just don’t forget to return things on time otherwise you could end up paying a hefty fine, but with the internet, you can recheck out a material with a click of a button. Even find and reserve books online so you can just pick it up if you are in a rush. I think you will be surprised at what you would find at the library now days.
On a side note, Beth of Easy Eco Living has invited me to do a meme; what Eco-friendly thing did you do this holiday? Erm.. I guess the only Eco-friendly thing I did was buy a real Christmas tree and didn’t get anyone a present. :)
I received a copy of The Environmental Magazine with the cover of Lisa Simpson (the quintessential green girl!) last week and I have to say that I really enjoyed reading it, front to back. There’s incredible array of information of anything Eco-friendly and green. One of my favorite articles in this issue is “Great Green Jobs” In the article.. there’s ten ways you can work for the planet including Environmental Law, Green Globetrotters, Green Geeks and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Theres no secret to getting a job in the new green economy. It’s as basic as applying the job skills you’ve already developed (web-design, sales, management) to a nonprofit or sustainable industry, or coordinating sustainable practices within a corporate entity. Other times, as in organic food industry, ecotourism, or sales and marketing of energy-efficient technology, anyone with a good work ethic can get in and create a great green career.
You can subscribe online to get either bimonthly print (on recycled paper of course) or online edition of the magazine. A yearly subscription would be a perfect gift for a budding environmentalist or anyone who’s interested in green life.According to USA today, ”E does an excellent job maneuvering between direful statistics and offering tips on how each of us can heal the planet.”
Yesterday, EC and I decided to go watch the latest Harry Potter Movie, “Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix”. It was disturbingly dark unlike the previous films and didn’t even have one scene of the Quiddich Game which I thought was one of the most exciting parts of the Harry Potter Series. I have read all of the Harry Potter Books exception of the one that’s currently out now.. You know the one that broke publisher’s records and public spent days waiting in line for? Well there’s another reason to celebrate because Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows is the most Eco-friendly book to date.
The last book in the Harry Potter series is considered within the industry to be the most environmentally friendly in publishing history with 16 countries printing the book on Eco-friendly paper up from one publisher in 2003, said Markets Initiative, the Vancouver-based environmental group that worked with J.K. Rowling.
This is not only a great achievement for Rowling, the author of the series, but also for the publishing industry. According to Environmental Leader, The English-language editions of the latest book result in a savings of 197,685 trees (an area equivalent to 2.5 times the size of New York’s Central Park) and 7.9 million kilograms of greenhouse gases (equivalent to taking 1,577 cars off the road).
I hope other publishers will follow suit. I love books probably more than anything else in the world besides my lovely Macbook, my window to the world, but it’s good to know that recycling is put to good use by publishing books on recycled paper.
Green Clean
It is written by Linda Mason Hunter who is also author of The Healthy Home which the New York Times dubbed, “Earth Catalog for the home” and Mikki Halpin who is a freelance writer and editor usually covering environmental concerns. IN the intro, Hunter states it all started with a box of Baking Soda.
I had never thought to use it beyond whipping up a batch of cookies until my grandmother places a newly opened box in the back of my refrigerator. Telling me with a wink that it got rid of odors. Before long, out went the glass cleaner… it didn’t make my windows sparkle any better than club soda did. Nearly every commercial cleaner can be replaced with safer, commonplace ingredients.
The three simple and amazing ingredients that can clean almost anything is Vinegar, Baking Soda, and Soap. I have a friend who has a boyfriend who suffers from severe asthma. He can’t take the toxic fumes that emit from regular cleaners. She only uses vinegar to clean and says it’s very effective in cleaning almost everything. So what exactly is green cleaning.
The Green Consumer States
- is not dangerous to the health of people or animals
- doest not cause damage to the environment during manufacture, use, or disposal
- does not involve the unnecessary use of or cruelty to animals
I really liked the layout of the book and each section is marked effectively to quickly get to the bottom of the matter. However I was a bit confused when the author went into other sustainable issues in her short albeit ambitious section on Beyond Cleaning Green. I do not think that “making suggestions for greening other areas of your life” is effective in two pages. Besides that, the book is fantastic. It goes in depth into chemicals that are in most commercial cleaners and my favorite part is the recipe section at the end which you can use products that you would normally have around the house to make green clean part of your life.
Although it is 183 pages long, the size of the book is compact enough you can tote around anywhere. Green Clean is very sturdy. You can definitely throw this around and it will last for years and years. I am totally loving this book right now… although I have to admit I hate cleaning. Just to try out some of the recipes will keep me cleaning away for sure.
You might also want to check out my other book review A Slice of Organic Life. Both are published by DK publishing and they are going green! I have signed up for their Green Newsletter and just received one the other day. Has some pretty cool tips along with Green Books you might be interested in…
Hello Everyone. I have been in bed recuperating from a cold the past few days so I haven’t had a chance to respond to comments and such. In couple of days I should feel better and will be back on board. 
I hope everyone is well. I am going to leave you with excerpt from my new book that I absolutely love. A Slice of Organic Life. Oh I didn’t write it of course, my new book that’s on my bedside table I meant.
Bathe Using Natural Products
You can use any number of delicious organic essential oil to fragrance your bath. To help them disperse in the water, mix four to ten drops of your chosen oil with one tablespoon of milk first; the fat in two percent or whole milk acts as a carrier to help distribute the oils evenly around the bath. For the greatest benefit, choose essential oils that match your skin type
Oily Skin
Lavender, Orange, Lemon, Neroli, Cypress, Ylang-ylang, Bergamot
Normal Skin
Palma Rosa, Geranium, Lavender, Roman Chamomile, Jasmine, Neroli, Ylang-ylang, frenkincense, sandalwood, patchouli
Sensitive Skin
Geranium, Lavender, German Chamomile
Dry or Damaged Skin
Geranium, Lavender, German Chamomile, Roman Chamomile, Clary Sage, Myrrh,
(Eucalyptus is great when you have the flu or cold. Just drop it into the bath water and inhale deeply… Lavender is great for destressing after a long day also use Chamomile Tea Bags.. work just as well)
Stay Safe Naturally
If you prefer to buy your bath products, make sure they are organic. Encourage your local stores to sell safer products and learn to read and understand the label. Avoid any products that contain the following ingredients:
- Sodium lauryl sulfate
- Cocamidopropl Betaine
- Color (indicated by the letters, CI, followed by a number
- Parfum
You can order A Slice of Organic Life
I am hoping I will be up on my feet again in couple of days.. thanks for the comments. Really love getting them.
Source:A Slice of Organic Life
Once in awhile, a book comes along that simply takes your breath away. A Slice of Organic Life
I hope that what this book will show is that the joys of eating seasonally, growing your own food, keeping bees, making compost, or keeping chickens are real, that being more conscientious isn’t about giving up things. Its about rediscovering the simple pleasures of life. ..(and) providing simples ideas and examples of how we can lesson our impact on the world and improve the quality of our lives.
The book is divided into three parts
No Need for a Yard: From growing salad in a window box to making your own natural baby food, this chapter shows you how you can still live organically in urban areas where having a yard is not a possibility. It covers everything from Shopping ethically to introducing the 3R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. This Earth Friendly idea is the one I definitely want to try out. It inspired me to buy Bonnie (my sweet red pepper plant) this weekend.
Grow Strawberries in a hanging basket. (Can you imagine, fresh strawberries growing right out of your apartment?) Fill a hanging basket with strawberry plants, hang it somewhere sheltered and sunny, and enjoy pretty white flowers in early summer followed by lots of juicy red fruits. A hanging basket is an ideal way of growing strawberries as it keeps the fruit off the ground.
Roof Terrace, Patio, or Tiny Yard: For those of us who are lucky to have a small plop of land that we can grow organic products; this section is for you. (Lucky you) This section covers using Do it Yourself Eco-friendly Materials and making your own Barbecue.
More than 90% of our barbecue charcoal is imported and much of it is likely to come from unsustainably managed tropical forests. Treat yourself to a green barbecue of delicious foods. Recycle a spare terracotta pot from the garden instead of buying an expensive high-tech metal barbecue and use charcoal from sustainably managed woodlands. (Mmmmm…sounds absolutely delicious and very healthy at the same time)
Yard, Community Garden, Or Field: For those of us who chose to stay close to the earth and live among the natural beauty of this land, this section is for you. This section covers everything from keeping honey bees to heating water naturally.
The benefits of “solar thermal collectors” as the rooftop panels that heat water using the sun’s energy… are numerous; they require very little maintenance; they have virtually no running costs; they usually only take a day to install; and in some cases, you don’t require building permits.
A Slice Organic doesn’t offer just a slice but rather a full serving of sustainable and natural living. The book is simply inspiring and the photographer Peter Anderson succinctly captures the wonders of the natural world. This would be a great coffee table book just by its photography, but the information that’s given will provide many years of useful information you can incorporate into your daily life.
The book is currently out on Amazon.Com and you can order, A Slice of Organic Life
Green Girls
