Archive for the ‘Announcements’ Category

Green Living Consulting is excited to announce that we  have launched a monthly green guide, with helpful seasonal tips and handy calendar pages to remind you when it’s time to turn your garden, time to start planting or time to pull out that bamboo plateware for the 4th of July.

Feel a little lost trying to remember green trends all year round? Order our Green Living Consulting 2011 Green Living Guide! Yep, we’ve got you covered every month with tips on saving energy and water, reducing waste, improving indoor air quality, caring for the earth and your own personal health.

Through the  11th of February, get the guide for only $10 ($5 off) in PDF format – electronic access at your fingertips, all year round. TO ORDER, email us at orders@greenlivingconsulting.com. We’ll send a payment request via Paypal and once payment is received we’ll email you the guide. After 2/11, the guide will be available on Lulu.com at $15.00.

By Sasha Windes

Thanksgiving is just a few days away.  People keep looking for different ways to make there holiday a little more eco-friendly.  Here are a few tips on how we can improve our carbon footprint over the holidays. Again always remember the three all encompassing R’s of conservation: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.  Always remember … there is a reason Reduce is listed first.

1. Dinnerware and Silverware. There is nothing wrong with using your good dishes or even your regular dishes for Thanksgiving, but if that is not an option, look into biodegradable or bamboo disposable dishes bamboo disposable dishes.

2. Buy local produce. Buying only locally grown food is one good way to have an eco-friendly Thanksgiving. Locally grown food is good for your table, your health and the environment. Participate in the 100-Mile Thanksgiving challenge from Treehugger. If you haven’t heard of it yet click on the link here.

3. The Turkey Compromise. Each year 250 to 300 million turkeys are slaughtered for food in the U.S.— more than 45 million for Thanksgiving alone— resulting in thousands of birds being tightly confined in dark, filthy sheds, de-beaked and de-toed without anesthetic and bred to reach a crippling weight at an unnaturally fast rate.

The most obvious eco-solution is to not buy a turkey and just have a complete vegan meal. Here are a couple links for vegan and gluten free Thanksgiving recipes. If you’re having Turkey as part of your dinner, search the Eat Well Guide. You can find types of meat by production methods and locations where you can purchase an organic turkey. The “production methods” section allows you to select items labeled 100% vegetarian fed, grass fed, free-range, non-confined, no antibiotics, organic, etc.

4. Organic. Organic free-range turkeys can be expensive so if it doesn’t fit in your budget this year, consider another alternative. Buy a regular turkey and the rest of your food organic. Local Farmers market is a good place to look for organic fruits and veggies, but if there isn’t one near your area buy organic from your local grocery store.

5. Travel. Thanksgiving weekend is one of heaviest for highway travel in the United States. This year, why not reduce global warming and improve air quality by lowering your auto emissions at the same time that you lower your family’s stress level? Skip the stressful holiday travel and celebrate an eco-friendly Thanksgiving at home. If you do decide to travel, use less fuel and lower your emissions by making sure your car is in good working order and your tires are properly inflated. If possible, carpool to reduce the number of cars on the road and lower the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to air pollution. If you fly, consider purchasing carbon credits to offset your portion of the carbon dioxide emissions generated by your flight. A typical long-haul flight produces nearly four tons of carbon dioxide.

6. Reuse or Make Your Own Eco-Friendly Decorations. Reuse your old decorations from last year in new way or just make some new ones. Use items from your back yard and fall fabric colors if you have any to make a nice centerpiece. Colored construction paper can be cut or folded into simple Pilgrim, turkey and harvest decorations. Later, the paper can be recycled. Nature always decorates best, especially this time of year as the trees shed their brightly colored leaves. Gather found items such as pinecones, colored leaves, seedpods, branches and colorful berries and leaves.

Fall decorating ideas Fall Decorating Ideas

7. Packaging and Waste. When you go to the store buy things that have the least amount of packaging and try to buy packaging that is environmentally friendly. Carry reusable bags when you do your shopping, and use cloth napkins that can be washed and used again.

Recycle paper, and all plastic, glass and aluminum containers. If you don’t already have a compost bin, use your Thanksgiving fruit and vegetable trimmings to start one. The compost will enrich the soil in your garden next spring.

8. Beautiful weather outside. A lot of bodies in one house can make the place warm so if its cool outside open up some windows to help the place cool down, instead of turning on the AC.

9. Donate your turkey fat.  Can you believe that the actual fat from cooking a turkey can be recycled into biodiesel?  Check to see if a company in your community does too.

10. Say Thanks..