ecology – Peaceful Reader

My search for trash bags…

What does everyone else use for garbage bags? You probably make the easy decision to just pick them up at Target or the grocery store where you shop. Here is what you need to know; it takes 1,000 years for that trash bag to decompose. That’s a helluva long time. I’m on the search for a better alternative.

After learning how much plastic (Ocean Conservancy) is in the ocean and making a mess of our precious and beautiful land as well I decided to look for a more eco-friendly choice. We ran out of the box of Glad ForceFlex 50-count bags the other day and as I broke the box down for recycling I started thinking about a safer bag. We recycle a lot and think about what goes into our garbage but what if what was surrounding our trash was also a problem. I’ve purchased other eco-friendly choices before but either they were cost-prohibitive or not easily attainable. So I turned to the internet to see if I could find an answer.

I found this great article posted on a website selling compostable trash bags. Of course they want you to buy their compostable bags yet the definitions make sense to me based on what I know already. What I learned is not to buy biodegradable bags because regular landfills do not usually have the key ingredients to biodegrade. Unfortunately the notes didn’t help me find what I need as I’m looking for a trash bag for my NON- compostable materials; the stuff that ends up in landfills. We compost a lot at our house and we just throw that stuff right outside into a rolling bin and in the springtime we used to spread it out on the garden. This is our first spring without a backyard garden so we’ll still find a new place to spread the compost love back into the earth. I don’t know why more people don’t compost; its so easy and it’s literally like giving the earth a gift back.

In my continued search I found this article from the SFGate from the city that’s already banned grocery bags! I like some of Ms. Lovering’s ideas of lining trash containers with paper bags or newspaper. According to my husband our trash pick-up is required to be in tied bags so right now I’m using the few grocery bags my husband carries home because he forgets to bring reusable bags. I have to move forward, knowing I’m working on this issue in my own time, and hopefully along this journey I will find a solution. It’s going to make a difference, maybe not in my life time but for my children and the next generation.

Anyone have a green alternative?

Vacation waste

I love vacations! It’s tough being a super green person while you travel though. There is a lot of waste in the journey and it’s painful. One quick stay at a hotel can yield a ton of waste. I tried to research about hotel waste and all I could find was statistics in the U.K.

Driving, off course, uses gasoline to get to your destination. And while you can bring healthy snacks along the way you can’t eat a main meal. Well, I can because I’m a snacker, I can eat a lot of little meals and be just fine but others in my family have to eat a bigger real meal. My husband begins to snarl if he doesn’t eat a real meal along the road and his preferred sandwich shop is Subway. We are anti-most-any-fast-food places but there are a few we are willing to stop at through any trip. Meals here are made for throwing into the trash. Gross. None of the containers are bio-degradable or recyclable (and if they were, they don’t provide a place to recycle it at the restuarant!) This could change-and wouldn’t that be great. So road trips create waste as you dine along your journey.

Hotels now provide breakfast which is a newer and good feature so you aren’t pushed out into your new location searching for a breakfast place every morning. My husband would never do that anyway-we pack cereal in that case. We’ve been to one amazing hotel in Minneapolis that used real plates, cups, and silverware for their breakfast and we loved it! Most places have styrofoam or paper plates, all meant to be tossed away, and the trash can, after a breakfast with many sleepy people, is overflowing! It’s kinda gross to us. You’ve all been there and many don’t even give it a second thought. We think about it and try to figure ways around it. One trip we actually packed our own plastic picnic plates for everyone to use. Our teens were a tiny bit mortified but they used them amidst the stares of other diners. We were only trying to impress ourselves and to not add to the huge overfilled garbage can.

Our last trip we forgot the plates until we had our first hotel breakfast and my husband and I both looked at each other and groaned. To be fair it was our first trip in our newer Prius and packing was an issue. Plates were not high on the list. Next time though I will bring them no matter what especially if it is more than a one day trip. A small thing we did to appease ourselves was to save our little plastic juice glasses and used them all three days we were there.

On the other hand when my two friends and I traipsed off to Greer’s Ferry for our reading retreat we made minimal impact on the environment. Our compost waste was bigger than the small trash bag we barely filled. That kind of travel lifted me up and made me realize how much this way of life is just part of me. I use cloth napkins everyday. I don’t use any excess paper products at home and it makes it very difficult to be that way out in the greater world. I bring my own travel mug to the coffee/tea shoppe.

Our trip was great though and it was wonderful to visit with friends for a few days. The reading retreat, our meal at The Root in LR, Mary Poppins at The Rep, the fantastic bluegrass in Mountain View and The Old Mill in Little Rock were just a few highlights.

How do you deal with this on the road? Any tricks you can pass on…

Friday Feature; Top Ten Earth Day Books! (and a Fantastic Green Giveaway)

Image licenced by Carol Eldridge Designs

This first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970 and was the idea of Senator Gaylord Nelson. He brought the concept up to President Kennedy in 1962, who agreed to tour the country to raise awareness. I find it ironic that the idea for Earth Day-a way to draw attention to the ecology of our very own planet Earth-has been around since before I was born!
Earth Day facts

Wow…and we need it now more than ever BUT just think if we had really paid attention to President Kennedy’s call for change we might have made more sweeping changes, especially in the car industry! [stepping daintily down from soap box]

I digress when we have books to talk about…

Peaceful Reader’s Top Ten Books about Earth Day/Ecology w/ mini-synopsis:

10. It’s Earth Day! by Mercer Mayer (2008): Little Critter learns about the ice cap melting and polar bears losing their habitat, which gets him motivated to change his habits and invent a climate control machine!

9. Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. (2010) Biscuit and his owner attend a local Earth Day event and learn about many ways to celebrate and clean up our planet.

8. Dinosaurs Go Green!; A Guide to Protecting Our Planet by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown (1992, 2009). A lively romp through what every good dino or human should know about reducing, reusing, and recycling so we don’t become extinct…Told through easy-to-read panels and speech bubbles.

7. Fancy Nancy; Every Day is Earth Day! by Jane O’Connor (2010). After learning about Earth Day at school, Fancy Nancy brings the message home, but creates a bit of a mess when she goes over the top to teach them.

6. We are Extremely Very Good Recyclers by Lauren Child (2009). Lola discovers how much fun recycling can be with the idea that she can earn a free tree to plant and of course, she gets all her classmates to help!

5. What Planet are You From, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child (2002). When she finds out a neighborhood tree is going to be destroyed, Clarice Bean resolves to become an eco-warrior for Planet Earth.

4. The Earth Book by Todd Parr (2010). Everyday eco-advice told with his amazing artwork will teach kids to turn off the water while they brush and so much more!

3. Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg (1990). One young boy, Walter, doesn’t think one hoot about littering and generally messing up the environment until he takes a mysterious journey in his bed.

2. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (1971). Classic tale of creating a need for thneeds (a useless item for sure) and using up all kinds of valuable resources to create and distribute until our landscape is beyond polluted and drab. A must read for everyone!

1. Arthur Turns Green by Marc Brown (2011). A class project has Arthur turning green and D.W. in a panic when she thinks she might be next!

Which brings me to my Giveaway, Giveaway, Giveaway…
and since I’m very new to creating a google form-please leave me your totals and your email with your green comment. Ooops! Thank you Diva for clueing me in…