I put off writing my new year’s resolution this year because I wanted to try it out for a month – see how I did. I don’t want to preach, I want to DO. I’ve been a classroom teacher for awhile now and in every classroom community I’ve been in it is expected we clean up the classroom. At the end of the day everyone pitches in to organize their areas and clean the trash off of the floors. Inevitably I will ask a student to pick up a piece of trash and I am met with “It’s not mine”. As time goes on they learn that it doesn’t matter if it is theirs or not, we all work together to create a pleasant educational environment. As a teacher my class is expected to take care…
2020 is almost here! Before I start making new resolutions, I figured I should look back on how I did with last years. So how did I do in my quest to save the world? I was definitely not perfect but I really did make some changes! Reduce my plastic use My first area of focus was to reduce my plastic use. While it is really difficult to quit cold turkey I did start paying attention to the plastic in my life and made a lot of small changes to reduce the amount I bring home. My bathroom has had the most changes – gone are shampoo bottles, plastic razors, liquid soap in plastic containers and even our plastic toothbrushes. Watch for future blog posts on the changes I made and even some how to’s for our own liquid soap and eye makeup remover. I plan to work…
3 Eco Friendly Ways to Dispose of Fall Pumpkins I know I’ve talked about it before… disposing of food waste into a landfill creates methane gas. There is a long scientific explanation, but basically food waste in a landfill is more tightly compacted, which doesn’t allow food to decompose the same way it would in your backyard compost pile (using OXYGEN). Eventually methane producing bacteria take over decomposition. According to this article by Scientific American, methane gas is 23 times as potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide! . So what is a Halloween reveler to do when those Jack O’Lanterns must make way for other holiday decorations? Here are my 3 favorite ways to make your pumpkins demise a little more eco friendly. . Compost it – after you have removed all the seeds, simply add it to your compost pile…
So for a lot of people coffee is a way of life. It’s not just an early morning pick me up, it’s a trusted friend throughout the day. It can also be a plastic nightmare. The lids, stirrers and straws. One cup a day, 5 days a week for a year equals 260 cups, lids, stirrers and straws. Per person. The paper cups can’t be recycled due to the polyethylene they are coated with to make them liquid resistant. We already know the straws and stirrers can’t be due to their size. That just leaves the lid, and only a small percentage of those are ever recycled. Bringing your own reusable mug will not only save the waste, it could save you money, as some places will offer a discount on refills. What about your coffee packaging? The invention of single cup coffee makers drove me…
The single greatest source of ocean trash I write this blog because I care about the environment, but a lot of what drives me is my connection to the ocean. I was not born in a coastal state nor do I live in one now but I visit as often as I can and the ocean gives me a sense of peace and tranquility. All of us are connected to the oceans, all our waterways lead to the ocean. There is an amazing fractal map of US waterways by Robert Szucs that really illustrate that point – make sure you take a peek. The ocean also supplies us with 70% of our oxygen, SEVENTY percent! So, we are connected to it in a myriad of ways – even if we don’t live close by. On my trip up Highway 1. I kept stopping, I couldn’t help…
Taking a look at my plastic full toiletry bag So, I’m veering a little off course today, actually I’m jumping ahead, to examine plastic and travel. I am on my way to California and after packing this morning I thought it would be a great time to examine what my toiletry bag looks like and how it can be improved, and boy can it be improved! Ignoring my makeup bag – I’ll tackle that another time because I pack my daily beauty products, today I am looking at my separate travel kit that I like to have packed and ready – that way I’m less likely to forget things. Yikes! This was an eye opener – not plastic friendly at all. From my shampoo and conditioner to my body wash, face wash, plastic razors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, toothbrush covers, dental floss, and deodorant. My shampoo and conditioner are…
said 7.5 billion people. Obviously I’m exaggerating, a little, but only a little. In reality approximately 500 million straws are thrown away every day. In the United States alone. Straws are one of the most commonly found plastic items in ocean cleanups. Straws can’t be recycled, they are too narrow and too lightweight to be sent through mechanical sorters. In the best case they will end up in a landfill where they will break down into smaller pieces, never fully decomposing. Worst case they are left in our ecosystems, even making their way to the oceans. Thinking about the amount of straws I have used and disposed of in my lifetime hurts a little. I can’t do anything about my my past actions, but by being better informed now I can make better choices. I know not everyone uses straws and also that…
Plastic free alternatives in the bathroom So let’s face it. Plastic is everywhere. It is impossible to go through your day without plastics being a part of your life in some way. From your car to your toilet seat, most of the plastic we encounter we don’t give much thought. Plastic has made so much in our lives easier, no doubt about it, but it is becoming an ever increasing problem. I’m all about finding plastic free alternatives and right now I’m focusing on the bathroom. So let’s start with what I think is the easiest, and least expensive, plastic free change I’ve made. Remember when liquid soap wasn’t a thing? All we had was bar soap? Maybe you aren’t old enough, but for me that is all we had growing up. So my…
Not all bags are created equal. Every time we visit a store we are making an impact on the environment in a myriad of ways. Currently the most talked about way is through how we choose to take our purchases home. In my last post we talked about how inexpensive plastic is to manufacture, so it makes sense that plastic bags became so popular and widespread. Now they are facing much controversy, New York just became the second state after California to pass a statewide ban, all of Hawaii’s counties have banned plastic bags resulting in a statewide ban, hundreds of US cities have implemented bans as well. What is surprising is that when considering the manufacturing process plastic bags actually have the smallest ecological footprint. Paper bags use 4 times as much water to manufacture, cotton is also a crop that requires a lot of water as…
Day #1 of July’s Plastic Free Challenge 2019 So on this first day of my very first Plastic Free Eco Challenge I thought I would start off by examining what plastic is, the benefits and the downfalls. Plastic is a synthetic polymer composed of petroleum and other fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas. Plastic is lightweight, inexpensive and easily molded, it was originally believed it could actually save the planet – by relieving the demand on other natural resources such as wood, metal and stone. Plastics can be found everywhere, and have very important uses in construction, sports, medicine, technology and transportation. From airbags to helmets to heart valves, plastic has definitely changed our lives, so what’s the big deal? The problem with plastic begins with the extraction of the fossil fuels that are needed for its production. Those fossil fuels must then be…
