Every year about this time the dreaded yellow pages arrive upon my doorstep – we get three for our single family house. And up and down the neighborhood I see phone books piled up on doorsteps under snow and ice that will never be used. You should be able to ‘opt in’ to get a phone book instead of trying in vain to get your name removed from the list. It is outrageous – they won’t remove your name because they want to keep their subscription numbers up so they can sell more ads – even if it means sending 10 phone books to an office of 10 just in case everyone in the office needs to use the phone book at the same time.

Every year, I drop the phone books left on my doorstep directly into the recycling bin. Honestly, I cannot recall the last time I used a phone book – I never use phone books, I’d rather look something up online than pull out the phone book and try to find what I am looking for. It is an absolute shame all of the waste that they generate.

I did manage to track down a few of sites that help you get your name on the ‘do not send’ list: Super Media Directory Opt Out, Yellow Pages Association and Yellow Pages Goes Green. Although won’t know until next year if any of these work……

Photo credit: Wallula Junction

Tired of replacing your ink cartridges or looking to save money on ink cartidges? Well, Dutch design firm SPRANQ, has developed a new “ecofont” that uses 20%  less ink than standard fonts. Their big idea sprang from looking at  “Dutch holey cheese.”  The theory being that you’ll save ink where the tiny holes are punched out with out compromising the verdana-esque font.  Although not recommend for say, your resume, the eco font is a great alternative for interoffice documents, notes, rough drafts etc. And it’s free.  Download your free copy at Ecofont.

I just went to the Down 2 Earth Expo where I attended a lecture by Dan Ruben, the executive director of Boston Green Tourism. He is on a mission to reduce his carbon footprint by 80% – he has already reached 60% without compromising his lifestyle.

He discussed a whole host of ways to curb your carbon foot print, some easier than others. I put together a ‘to do list’ based on his lecture, a few small steps towards my own carbon neutrality Maybe you’ll find something on my ‘to do list’ that you can check off too (I just checked off two!): Click to continue »

Starbucks Canada Celebrated Earth Day with a free mug of Pike’s Roast if you brought your own.  Not so in the US, but perhaps their thinking is that everyday is Earth Day. Whenever you bring your own reusable mug to Starbuck’s, you’ll receive 10¢ off of your purchase (they’ll estimate the size for you). Which means my venti latte is a mere $3.47…..

Finally!!! There is now a recycling program for Brita Water Filters in the US! The company has had a recycling program in place for Europeans since 1992 and just now, in response to numerous campaigns and petitions led by Take Back Our Filters, Brita has partnered with Preserve to bring water filter recycling to the states. Click to continue »

I have often wondered if using the disposal was an environmentally responsible option, considering that running a disposal uses energy and water. So could this be an eco-friendly alternative?

As luck would would have it, I bumped into the Director of Sustainability for a nearby prep school, who responded with a yes and no. Yes, if composting is not an option and sending your waste to the trash is the only alternative and no, as energy is wasted, water is wasted and the matter must be chemically treated in a sewer treatment plant instead of naturally biodegrading chemically-free in a compost heap. Click to continue »

I stumbled across this hidden gem on the web today. Green Grechen, a eco-friendly fashion website, offers online coupon codes for all sorts of green clothing and accessories, making green products all the more accessible.  Currently offering deals such as 20% off at Luna Boston, Nimli, Beklina and envi! Note–most of the codes only apply to full priced items.

Yes, quite a mouthful—but believe me, your refined taste buds will thank you. Fortunately, the market is awash with delectable varieties of Fair Trade Organic Shade Grown coffees and this is such a simple way to live a little greener. You may pay $1 more per lb, but it is worth the price as your purchase supports farmers by providing fair wages and safe working environments and supports sustainable farming practices creating true stewards of the land. All with one purchase. Click to continue »

I cannot recall who first imparted these false words of wisdom upon me, but I am sure you have all heard something to this affect at some point: ‘It takes more energy to power down and reboot your computer than if you just left it in sleep mode, so you might as well just leave it on.’  Well, ENERGY STAR, has thoroughly debunked this myth. Here are some power saving tips direct from ENERGY STAR:

• At the end of your work, homework, or Internet session, be sure to turn your computer and monitor off. Contrary to what most people believe, turning computers and monitors off saves a lot of energy and will not hurt the equipment or waste energy by having to boot up again.

• Be careful with screen savers. They actually might be screen wasters as they may keep your monitor from powering down. Just make sure that your screen saver is not programmed to overlap your computer’s sleep mode, since then it won’t go to sleep but will instead stay on to run the screen saver.

• Use the ENERGY STAR power management settings on your computer and monitor so they go into power save mode when not in use. Also use a power strip as a central “turn off” point when you are not using equipment to completely disconnect the power supply.

There has been a much talk recently about the harmful chemicals present in everyday household cleaners. That ’oh-so-clean’ chemical smell associated with a spotless house is actually toxic and pollutes our air, soils, and water. Think about it, when you dispose of household cleaners, you are required to dispose of them as if they were hazardous waste, and that hazardous waste is what we are using to clean our homes? Sorry, but I just think that is crazy–crazy that we are comfortable wiping down our countertops with a cleaner that is treated as hazardous waste when disposed!! So what should you do?

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