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It’s that time of year again, when the smell of barbeque is in the air. Radios blare pre-game shows, footballs are thrown and games are played. Want to have a great tailgate and make it more environmentally friendly? The following tips will help ensure your next one will be as environmentally friendly to the planet as possible.

#6 - If you’re lucky enough to own a hybrid vehicle, use it to car pool your friends to the game

Game day all starts with your trip to the game. If everyone drives separately, they are faced with the parking which can cost $20 at some games. Plus if you and your friends carpool, having a designated driver will make a safer trip for the fan who wants to drink some pregame beers. Once you’re at the game, try not to have the engine of the car idling when you don’t have to. (continue reading…)

©iStockPhoto.com - Inok

Computer data centers have become one of today’s most wasteful power hogs. On average, a desktop PC wastes nearly half of the energy it consumes as heat, which results in higher electricity bills and increased greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Department of Energy up to two-thirds of the electricity consumed by a PC is wasted when the machine is on but not in use.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expects the energy consumption of the nation’s data centers will exceed 100 billion kWh by 2011, with an annual electricity cost of $7.4 billion. It has been estimated that 40% of the all carbon dioxide emissions from information technology and telecommunications comes from powering PCs. Moreover, PCs are simply dumped in landfills after users upgrade, which is another source of computer pollution, since some components in a computer may present environmental hazards in a landfill. Check out E-Cycling Central to find a facility near you that recycles computers and components in an environmentally friendly way, and don’t forget to erase your hard drive, first. (continue reading…)

from SustainableTable.org

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Large-scale industrial farms pose enormous environmental and public health risks due to their contribution to air, groundwater, soil and light pollution and their overuse of inputs such as antibiotics, pesticides and synthetic growth hormones. Though serious questions about this system of farming have been raised by scientists and researchers around the world, public health and environmental safety advocates remain saddled with the burden of providing scientific proof of harm before these industries can be regulated, reigned in, or even properly analyzed by our government.

An Alternative

The precautionary principle offers an alternative. It says that “when an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken, even if some cause-and-effect relationships are not fully established scientifically.” ⁱ It requires the producer of a questionable product or substance to prove that it is safe before it can be used. Currently in the United States, harm must be scientifically proven before a product is taken off the market. The precautionary principle allows the public to shift that burden of proof to the polluter without having complete certainty of harm. If there is some question about the safety of a new product, that item’s production can be halted to protect society until it is proven to be safe. (continue reading…)

Photo ⓒ Generation Green

What’s the business philosophy of Generation Green, an eco-friendly store in Dublin, Ohio? Co-owner, Heather Johnson said, “triple bottom line: People, Planet, and Profit. We want to bring products that are healthy for our families, healthy for the planet, and healthy for our local economy.”

Husband and wife team Steve and Heather Johnson opened Generation Green in September 2008 because they were frustrated. Products that they needed for every aspect of their lives that were safe for their family and the environment couldn’t be found locally. (continue reading…)

©iStockphoto.com - bukvalno

Any bride-to-be knows that a wedding is all about the tiniest details, from food to flowers and accessories. Many details are involved in wedding-planning: it’s one of the most important days of your life! But, amidst the big decisions, there are little ways you can help make your wedding more eco-friendly, cutting down on wasted energy, resources and costs.

Here are some tips to be mindful of the environment while still creating the wedding of your dreams. (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - dcdebs

#6 Recycled Paper

If you get only one green school supply, go for recycled paper. It’s an easy, convenient start to greening up the school supply purchase, and kids use a lot of paper during a school year. Recycled filler paper and spiral notebooks are usually stocked right next to the conventional paper. Look for the highest percentage of post-consumer fiber, and wire bindings that aren’t coated in plastic so that the wire can be recycled with your steel cans.

Post-consumer materials are the recyclables from your curbside containers, which might not get recycled without an active market for the resulting materials. Pre-consumer waste is scrap material salvaged from the operations at manufacturing plants, which is often reclaimed during the manufacturing process anyway. Any recycled content is better than virgin resources, but post-consumer material supports community and curbside recycling initiatives. (continue reading…)

ⓒ iStockPhoto - ongap

Chances are if you don’t scrapbook or rubber stamp, you know someone who does. And if you scrapbook or rubber stamp, you use markers, paints, and all sorts of art equipment. Most moms are happy to get a few spare minutes to work on their crafts, so spending time thinking about how safe their materials are or whether they’re environmentally friendly usually doesn’t make it on the radar.

One of the most common tool is the marker, and many of them have issues that make them not the best choice for continued use. Often they run out quickly, either from use or because your small child got to them and left the caps off. Many of them smell bad, which can be a big problem if you work in a small area that doesn’t have much ventilation. (continue reading…)