TIP for Tuesday September 30th, 2008

Can’t afford a hybrid or new electric car but you want to be GREEN without having to give up your four wheels? Solution…THE BLADE RUNNER. No not Harrison Ford!! It’s device from the Sabertec Company that clips onto your tailpipe. According to their website http://bladeyourride.com it serves as a filter, decreasing emissions of CO2 and toxic particulate materials. Also, it helps the catalytic converter and your engine's volumetric efficiency run more smoothly, which in layman's terms means a more fuel efficient ride that is as good for your wallet as the environment.

TIP for Monday September 29th, 2008

Do you feel like a star because you sign your name so many times on a daily basis? Try an electronic signature service, so you won't have to print, fax, and overnight every contract that comes across your desk, just to sign it. It's great for the environment. Paper production costs us trees, oil, and water, and express mailings create a big carbon footprint. Plus nearly 400 million ink and 100 million toner cartridges end up in dumps each year. You can subscribe to some services for as little as $20 a month or check out this link for a free service that will even track and file your documents.
http://www.echosign.com/es

TIP FOR Friday September 27th, 2008

Got Mold? Did you know that there are over 80 strains of mold that have been associated with respiratory tract disorders? Get rid of the green with the GREEN weapon! Undiluted white vinegar, it kills 82 percent of mold strains, enough for most problems. Fill a spray bottle, saturate the area, and let it sit. The smell will be a bit harsh, but it typically clears out in a few hours, taking the unsightly respiratory tract-threatening green/brown patch with it.

For more resilient mold colonies, try a mixture of two teaspoons of tea tree oil and two cups of water. The smell can be overwhelming, and will linger for a few days, but tea tree oil works when nothing else will. Nearly as effective as tea tree oil, grapefruit seed extract (20 drops mixed with two cups of water) will do the trick without the smell.

TIP for Thursday September 25th, 2008

Going green doesn't have to mean losing green. There are so many ways to be eco-friendly without spending money, being complicated or inconvenient. Composting, making your own bio-fuel, buying only organic-- all are great for the environment, but unrealistic for the average person. Follow these steps to make your life greener, with less money spent.

Dry Clothes the Natural Way
Return to the virtuous days of old, when laundry was hung outside to dry. Let your clothes air-dry instead of wasting massive amounts of energy in the dryer. Not only will your wallet thank you, but your clothes will benefit from the open-air freshness.

Use Body Heat This Winter
Find someone to cuddle with by Winter. This is free and fun, and it actually works. Your body is a toasty 98.6 degrees, so hugging someone else is the best form of insulation. It's cheaper than raising the thermostat, and it doesn't put a strain on the earth.

Say No to Vampire Power
Appliances like printers, blenders, and blow-dryers that remain plugged in while not in use drain your energy slowly. It's a process called vampire power. You may think that because these items are not in use, you're not using electricity, but the truth is that these appliances are always in stand-by mode, and require small amounts of electricity constantly. The more appliances you have plugged in, the more energy you consume. And it can really add up. A simple remedy is to go around the house and unplug unnecessary things, like that old VCR that you never use, or the TV in the guest room. At night, when you shut off your computer, switch off the power strip as well. Unplug fully charged cell phones from the adapter, and unplug the adapter from the wall, too!

Digitize Your Reading
Don't allow more trees to die! Take your reading into the 21st century by reading online or using a Kindle. Of course you can still check out books from the library (or read them an hour at a time at your local bookstore), but both of those option require you to leave home and burn up some more fossil fuel! And remember that websites like Barnes & Noble allow you to buy used books directly from their site. It's cheaper than buying new, and you can feel better about your impact on the environment.

BYOB: Bring Your Own Bags
Leaving the grocery store with a heap of plastic bags is so not cool anymore that many cities are banning them. Although paper is a smidgen better, using cloth bags is that much closer to perfection. Bags are not really necessary at all if you compartmentalize your trunk with a recyclable box and put your food directly from your cart into your box. When the cashier asks, "paper or plastic," you can say "neither!" and feel good about reducing the amount of plastic in landfills. It may feel weirdly pedestrian initially, but the awkwardness will wear off!

Bye Bye Bottled Water
Recent studies have shown that filtered tap water is just as healthy as expensive bottled water. It's time to say goodbye to bottled water that pollutes the earth with long-lasting plastics. Invest in a metal bottle and a simple tap water filter. It'll definitely be cheaper than constantly buying bottled water, and it's healthier for the earth.

Work From Home
Everyone knows that gas prices are going up, but so are all energy prices. Carpooling is so yesterday. If you can convince your boss to let you telecommute a few days a week, you'll be saving both you and your company money. With freely available remote access technology at your fingertips, you can easily work from home without skipping a beat.

These are just some of the many low-to-no-cost things you can do to make a positive impact in the environment, have a lighter carbon footprint, and make the world a little greener. Don't just sit there: be the change you wish to see in the world.

TIP for Wednesday September 24th, 2008

The question of the day for all new parents…Would you wear chemically treated paper underwear? OK when it’s put that way it really make you think. Disposable diapers are made of heavily treated pulp paper, polyethylene, glues, dyes, synthetic perfumes, and sodium polyacrylate, a substance that gives them that "dry feeling". Disposable diapers also use 3x more energy, 10-20x more raw materials, and 2x as much water than reusable cloth diapers, even when you factor in washing them. Going au-naturel also prevents those cute little tushes from becoming red and irritated. When disposable diapers first hit the market, from 1955 to 1991, disposable diaper usage increased from 0% to 90%, and the occurrence of diaper rash increased from 7% to 78%. The solution? Rent cloth diapers from a diaper service. They pick up used diapers, leaving a fresh supply once a week at your doorstep.

To find out everything you wanted to know about cloth diapers check out http://www.diapernet.org/whycloth.htm

TIP for Tuesday September 23rd, 2008

Going to some home renovations this fall and get rid of that old carpet? Once you rip it up what do you do with it? The amount of carpet sent to landfills each year could cover an area bigger than the GTA. Most carpet's made from petroleum, which is a nonrenewable resource. So…some things you can do is reuse the carpet at home for floor mats, runners or even cat scratching posts, or donate it. Some nonprofits organizations accept relatively clean carpet for reuse.
Check out the link below for some carpet recyclers in Ontario
http://www.frasers.com/public/basicListingDetails.jsf;jsessionid=9D3C60C44CF1488A3F7874A999361AA4?cmoid=501751&listingId=27566
What do you replace it with? An eco option! Carpet made from recycled plastic!
http://www.greenlivingonline.com/HomeGarden/pop-bottle-carpets-gorgeous-and-guilt-free/

TIP for Monday September 22nd, 2008

International Car Free Day is an annual event celebrated by 100 million people on every continent and supported by the European Union, the United Nations, the Government of Canada and the leaders of 1500 cities around the world. Car Free Day street events and forums highlight the many problems caused by our dependence on the private automobile, including air pollution, global warming, stress, and safety issues. The Problem of Car Dependence a) Air Pollution: 1,700 premature deaths and 6,000 hospital admissions in Toronto b) Car Accidents: 77 deaths and 24,000 injuries per year (one every 22 minutes) in Toronto c) Economic Cost of Gridlock: $2-Billion per Year in Toronto Plus: Global climate change, obesity, stress, community safety, noise, social isolation, etc.

International Car Free Day also emphasizes the rights of pedestrians and cyclists, the need for more and better public transit, and helps people rediscover their local community, outside the confines of their vehicle.

If you go car free what other mobility choices do you have? Walking, cycling, carpooling and car sharing, public transit and working from home. For more on these alternatives check out http://www.carfreeday.ca/alternatives.php

TIP for Friday September 19th, 2008

Now that the cooler weather is here we’re pulling out our darker colored clothes and sweaters, and bringing our pets to work!! If you’re like me you have to back out the door in the morning so your dogs can’t rub up against your clothes! I know you have special relationship with your lint brush. But is it GREEN? Lint roller with replacement tape only costs a few dollars but it’s not recyclable. It’s ends up in landfills taking up space. Look for a lint brush that lasts forever, like ones with rubber bristles and even better one that’s made from recycled plastic. If you have sweater pilling problems (the little balls that form under the arms) get a sweater comb.

TIP for Thursday September 18th, 2008

Coffee is my drug of choice and I always make sure that I drink fair trade. BUT that’s not all…when buying coffee look on the label for the trinity of perfection…fair-trade, organic and shade grown. Fair-trade means fair wages for workers and guarantees that foreign producers get a decent price for their beans. Organic coffee means you’ll avoid the risk of consuming pesticides. Shade-grown means that farmers let trees grow on their land, giving migrating birds a place to nest. This trinity means that your cup of coffee is not only delicious, but also GREEN!

Is anyone thirsty?

TIP for Wednesday September 17th, 2008

With the price of gas public transportation seems like a better choice. Driving produces about three times more pollution than taking public transportation, and it also wastes money. Tips that will save you some money and help keep our air cleaner are simple things like keeping your engine properly tuned (that can save up to 750 litres of gas or more than $600 per year), making sure your tires are correctly inflated and aligned (that will increase your gas mileage by about 3.3%), and drive slower and less aggressively. Aggressive drivers use an extra 570 litres of gas and spend about $500 more than the average driver each year. Plus public transportation is less stressful than having to deal with a daily commute and traffic!

TIP for Tuesday September 16th, 2008

When you reach for your razor think about this…2 billion disposable razors end up in landfills every year and contribute an annual estimated 2 million lbs of plastic waste. Look for razors with recyclable parts, such as plastic handles or razor cartridge sharpeners that will extend the life of your blade, and reduce the number of disposable razors you use by up to 75% per year. If you want a real eco friendly shave, kick it old-school with a straight razor and hard soap. The blades are permanent, offer the closest shave, and a good vegetable-based soap is better for the environment. Last use an electric razor, they can last for years, many have rechargeable batteries, and they provide a good shave without the packaging and chemicals in creams or gels.

TIP for Monday September 15th, 2008

Do you like to take hour showers? I know cleanliness is next to godliness, but by shortening your shower by 30 seconds you could save 4 gallons of water and be earthly!! If you want to see how much water you use to shower just put the stopper in the tub and see how much water collects. You’ll be very surprised. Another water saving trick is to turn the water of while you soap up or lather your shampoo.

TIP for Friday September 12th, 2008

Got any travel plans for the weekend? If you suffer from motion sickness leave the synthetic antihistamines at home and travel with natural motion sickness cures. You’ll help prevent unwanted drugs from entering our water systems. During government tests, researchers routinely find antihistamines in our water sources. Try the following tricks;

*Avoid loading up on a heavy meal before you set out on your trip.

*Pick the seat least affected by motion: up front in a car, over a wing on a plane, or midship on a boat.

*Avoid nausea triggers such as alcohol, cigarette smoke, and intense odors, as well as watching movies or reading while on the move.

*Get some air: crack a window, turn on a vent, or get out onto the boat's deck.
*Sniff some peppermint or suck on a mint

*Pop a couple organic ginger capsules to settle your belly

TIP for Thursday September 11th, 2008

All natural laundry stain removers are not only GREEN but they are safer. Cleaning products such as traditional stain removers are responsible for nearly 10% of all calls to poison control. If you use a natural stain remover to treat stains when they happen, then let them sit until you've got a full load of laundry, you also will save water (the average washer uses 40 gallons per load). Look for Eco stain removers or try these all natural home remedies;

* Beer (and any kind of liquor): For washable fabrics, presoak in cold H2O, then wash in soapy H2O.
* Blood: For a little spot, you can actually spot treat with your own spit (sounds gross, but hey, it's your blood). For bigger stains, rinse with cold water, then soak in a solution of 3 Tb of ammonia to 1 gal of cool water for an hour. Then wash as normal.
* Candle wax: Let the wax cool and remove with a dull knife. Place a paper towel on either side of the stain and press with a warm iron. Wash away any color stains with soap and baking soda in hot water.
* Chewing gum: Apply ice until the gum hardens and then scrape the gum off with a knife. Next, soak the stain in a mixture of water and liquid detergent.
* Chocolate: Soak the stain in a mixture of 4 Tb of borax and 2 1/2 cups of warm water.
* Coffee or tea: Stretch the fabric over a bowl. Pour boiling water (use your coffee maker or hot pot) through the stain from a height of about 3 ft. If the coffee had milk in it, spray with a stain remover first.
* Grass: Rub the stain with detergent. You can also try a mixture of 1 part alcohol to 2 parts water and let it sit for 15 min.
* Lipstick: Rub with white vinegar and rinse.
* Sweat: Soak the stain in salt water for an hour. Next, rub a half and half solution of white vinegar and water on the stain. Rinse well and wash.
* Tomato sauce: Soak in cool water for about half an hour. Apply a stain remover and rinse, then apply clear vinegar and rinse.
* Wine: For white and red wines, soak the area with sparkling water as soon as you can. Pour salt over the stain and then stretch it over a bowl. From a height of about a foot, pour boiling water through the stain.

TIP for Wednesday September 10th, 2008

The green and cheap way to stay hydrated…use a home water filter and make your own purified bottled water. On average, tap water costs 1.5 cents per gallon. A 16-oz bottle of store bought water can cost you anywhere from $1.50 to $3. Another bonus is that you’ll create less plastic waste. We consume more than 2.5 million bottles of water every hour, and only around 10% are recycled. Last, by using a home filter you are preventing chemicals like chlorine, giardia, lead, and pesticide that can get into unfiltered tap water, from contaminating your H2O. And up to 40% of bottled water actually comes from regular old city water systems. Know your bottled water source!

TIP for Tuesday September 9th, 2008

While recycling paper products is great, reusing is even better and requires less energy and resources. Whether you're moving house or shipping items consider using used cardboard boxes. They’re cheaper because most of the time they are free! Cardboard boxes are everywhere and more than 90% of all products in North America are shipped in corrugated cardboard and make up nearly 14 percent of the nation's municipal solid waste. It's a huge industry, with around 10,000 paper and paperboard mills in operation globally. It's really important that we recycle paper products, including cardboard boxes. Here's some interesting statistics:

Each ton of paper produced consumes

• 17 trees
• 79 gallons of oil
• 7000 gallons of water
• 42,000 kilowatts of energy
• 60 gallons of air pollution
• 3 cubic yards of landfill space

TIP for Monday September 8th, 2008

Walking short distances instead of taking the car means big savings on gas, less air pollution, and its better for your figure! Even at a slow pace, you'll burn around 100 calories per mile, and consistent exercise from walking reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease. But lets talk about how it will benefit the environment! Walking instead of driving 10 1-mile trips each week averts 500 pounds of CO2 emissions per year. Plus walking 1 mile each day instead of driving will save you about 15 cents on gas. It adds up!

TIP for Thursday September 4th, 2008

Need some more light in your home? Install a sun tunnel, a variation on the skylight that's cheaper and easier to put in. Sun tunnels are flexible, so you can install them around rafters. A big bonus is that they barely disturb and won’t destroy your roofing unlike skylights, which can require major modifications. They will give your home more natural FREE sunlight. Great news because about 11% of the energy we use at home goes to lighting.

TIP for Wednesday September 3rd, 2008

The largest number of occurrences of poisoning is due to cleaning products like drain cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, bleach, soaps and detergents. Go green with your cleaning and get that fresh scent with out the danger! Eucalyptus oil can be used around your home to replace many environmentally harsh synthetic chemicals. Use it as a cleaner and a general disinfectant for toilets etc. Use it to remove sticker/decal residue from glass. Add it to your load of washing for a fresh scent along with the antimicrobial benefits plus it a great stain remover. Use the oil directly on paint, grease and ink stains and throw them in the wash! If you have a hanging car air freshener that's almost dead, reinvigorate it by adding a few drops of eucalyptus oil. Half a teaspoon mixed with half a liter of water makes for a good bug repellent for plants and last bring your stainless steel counter tops to a brilliant shine with Eucalyptus oil.

TIP for Tuesday September 2nd, 2008

Fall fashion is here even thought the summer weather is still lingering. Turn you fall wardrobe GREEN by looking for natural fabrics and organic cotton and wool. Besides being warm and beautiful, organic wool has so many benefits, like no chemicals! Conventional wool is first dipped in pesticides then in a chemical bath that strips away the natural lanolin and this in turn can cause allergic reactions. Plus organic sheep farmers must maintain pastures without chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or pesticides, and sheep feed must be certified organic, without antibiotics or hormones. Last sheep re-grow wool very fast, some breeds producing as much as 40 pounds per year. Look GREEN and sharp in your organic wool jacket this fall!

TIP for Friday August 28th, 2008

Go Green for Back to School. Teach your kids to love our Earth. The younger they learn the importance of making environmentally responsible buying choices, the easier it will be for them to fully integrate the green movement into their daily lives. The amount of trash generated each day in schools across our country is staggering, and a big part of it comes from our kids' packed lunches. Instead of using convenience food, pre-packed in plastic or cardboard choose reusable containers and bottles for drinking or a recycled lunchbox. Stay away from individually packaged pre-made or processed food, especially with the recent listeria scare. This will not only decrease the amount of materials going to landfills but also make your child a lot healthier. Cook a big lasagna or chicken at the beginning of the week and save you time when it comes to preparing the lunches in the morning.

Tip for Wednesday August 27th, 2008

Send the kids back to school with their favourite, PB&J, just make sure it’s organic. Organic versions avoid groundwater-contaminating pesticides such as methyl bromide, which depletes the ozone layer.

They also don’t contain the artery-clogging trans fats and hydrogenated oils found in most butters. Plus organic peanut butter from a jar (that you always remember to put in the fridge) is less likely to contain the mold aflatoxin).

TIP for Tuesday August 26th, 2008

Have you got a little artist on your hands? Make sure they make their next masterpiece is green! Up to 36 billion pounds of toxic acrylic polymer solvents, found in many traditional art supplies, are produced each year. Plus, many standard art supplies emit asthma-inducing chemicals. Look for ones that don't contain ammonia, formaldehyde, or turpentine, especially since supplies can sometimes end up in kids' mouths.

TIP for Monday August 25th, 2008

Foil, plastic or wax? How do you wrap it up? If you want to be green foil is your best choice. Unlike waxed paper and plastic wrap, aluminum foil is available in 100% recycled form and is recyclable when it's clean. Foil withstands heat and cold and works better than plastic and waxed paper at keeping moisture in. PLUS foil's not made from petroleum, the way that wax and plastic are. One thing to remember is that aluminum reacts with anything salty or acidic and could end up in those kinds of food.

TIP for Friday August 22nd, 2008

I know you drive by it almost everyday but do you know anything about it? I’m talking about the wind turbine on the Lakeshore, the modern day wind mill. I was constructed in December 2002, and stands 30 stories tall and is the first URBAN-sited turbine to be constructed in North America. The ExPlace wind turbine generates an average of 1,000 megawatt hours of power per year, equivalent to the electricity needs of over 200 homes. It helps to displace up to 380 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which is the equivalent of taking 1,300 cars off the road or planting 30,000 trees each year.

TIP for Thursday August 21st, 2008

Cup or cone? Enjoy a sweet treat without the guilt because you’re creating less waste. Here’s the scoop: one less paper cup or plastic spoon isn’t going to save the world, but it’s one of those little things that add up. Ice cream sales in North America average $12 billion a year. That’s a lot of single cup and spoon use! In one year we throw away as much as 25 billion polystyrene cups, that’s Styrofoam, and 500 years from now it will still be in our landfills! So tell the ice cream man cone and be green!

TIP for Wednesday August 20th, 2008

Green baby food! Prepare your own baby food at home and be healthier and save cash. Per ounce, pre-made baby food can cost five times more than homemade. The money you save you can use to splurge on organic produce. Plus commercially processed baby foods sometimes contain added fat, fillers, salt, and sugar that your baby really doesn't need. Last think of all the baby jars you’ll prevent from ending up in landfills. In just their first year, babies eat about 600 jars of food, and we recycle 15% of our baby food jars.

Just bake or steam fruits and veggies like; apples, bananas, plums, carrots, peas, squash, or sweet potatoes, and puree them in a blender or food processor and serve (just make sure they're cool). You can even freeze the puree in an ice cube tray and cover with foil to use later. Thaw and use the frozen cubes within a month of freezing them

TIP for Tuesday August 19th, 2008

Gorgeous weather ahead all week….tons of sunshine that’s great for hanging your clothes on the line. Be green, save money, energy and get that fresh spring breeze scent without paying for it! Line drying is free and you could save up to $100 in energy costs. Plus your clothes will last longer and you won’t have to worry about static cling. In the winter months, drying your clothes indoors can give you an extra benefit, acting as a humidifier!

TIP for Monday August 18th, 2008

Have you made the switch? Replaced those old bulbs with LED’s? Even though LED’s are a bit more expensive, replacing an incandescent bulb with one LED can save you more than $700 over its lifetime. LEDs use less energy, about 1/10th, than standard bulbs and generate half the heat. LED’s last about 60,000 hours compared to 1,500 for regular bulbs which is why they are great for bulbs in hard to reach places, because you almost never have to change them. So what are you waiting for? Make the switch.

TIP for Friday August 15th, 2008

Ants bugging you? Try effective but less toxic than conventional options and be green! Researchers have linked the ingredients in the conventional pesticides to cancer and other diseases, plus ant-killers can cause nervous-system issues and other problems in dogs, birds and fish. Options made from naturally occurring minerals, such as borax/boric acid, work great without the health concerns. Try to keep your place spic-and-span and the ants will have fewer reasons to invade. Look for organic sprays made with neem, clove, sesame and thyme oils. Or try my mother's homemade pest killer; fill a spray bottle with 1 part white vinegar,1 part dish detergent and 5 parts water, and fire at will. Or, bay leaves, cayenne pepper, chalk, cinnamon, and/or mint placed at the ants' entry point will turn 'em right back around.

TIP for Thursday August 14th, 2008

Turn off the faucet while you're brushing your teeth. You’ll save bucketfuls of water and money. Turning off your faucet while you brush your teeth, saves about 90 glasses of water each time you brush. Don’t take our water sources for granted. Our neighbours below, the U.S., is currently experiencing its biggest drought in 500 years. For more info on green dentistry check out http://www.ecodentistry.org