My goal to turn off the lights and TV when not in use has gone very well. I am much more conscious and aware now of how I use electricity. My goal to take shorter, cooler showers has also gone well. I am down to just under 15 minutes. My goal to eat less meat on the other hand has not gone so well. I did cut back to eating meat just for dinner but it took a lot longer than I thought it would. Its been about the last week that I finally reached that point. I think this is mostly due to my busy lifestyle. I don't have the time to find new receipts and options that are still easy and fast. I think for this quarter I will eat vegetarian dinners when I can but will not be working on my original goal of only 5 meat dinners a week. I think this is something I can revisit in the future.
Instead my new goal is to eat more organic and/or local food. I recently started shopping at Trader Joe's last week and want to check out some other new stores soon. This new goal will work towards reducing my food slice of the pie in a more obtainable way I think.
We also started composting. We set up a bowl in the kitchen to collect food scraps that we then dump into our compost garbage can that the city picks up. Its been pretty easy to do and is such a simple fix.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Method: SOLD
Method was sold to the European company Ecover for an undisclosed amount back in September. Co-founder Eric Ryan will stay on as chief brand architect and Drew Fraser will stay on as CEO. They hope to increase product reach by introducing the products to the European markets.
It will be interesting to watch Method in the coming year and see what kinds of changes Ecover makes to the brand. Hopefully Method will keep its original values and design with few changes to its environmental and social missions. I hope this is not a "sell out" of the earth friendly brand.
This also is a clue to how far we have come in terms of "green products". Brands that are based on environmental values that everything in their power to lessen their environmental impact, are being getting big enough and successful enough to be sold to larger companies. Better yet they are being sold and keep as a valuable assets and not shut down.
Some are speculating that Seventh Generation will be the next one sold. Some are indeed surprised that Method was sold ahead of Seventh.
It will be interesting to see how this all will play out and what the future holds for green companies.
Read the full article below:
http://adage.com/article/news/method-sold-european-green-cleaning-rival-ecover/237007/
Thursday, October 17, 2013
"Hello here I am" Boyan Slat is here to save the world's oceans.
Boyan Slat who is just 18 years old may have solved the problem of how to clean the world's oceans. His plan to create a manta ray shaped ship anchored to the sea floor that allows plastic to come to it is not only brilliant he says its profitable. (see below picture)
The ships, 24 of them, would be anchored in a zig-zag pattern across the pacific garbage patch where the currents of the ocean would flow through them. The ships, outfitted with filters, would catch and collect the plastic while discarding any plankton that may have been caught. The ships would run off the power of the sun and ocean currants and could clean the pacific garbage patch in 5 years he claims. If he sold the plastic collected to recycling industries who buy old plastic he could reportedly make $500 billion US dollar. That is more than his start up costs.
His website is below.
The ships, 24 of them, would be anchored in a zig-zag pattern across the pacific garbage patch where the currents of the ocean would flow through them. The ships, outfitted with filters, would catch and collect the plastic while discarding any plankton that may have been caught. The ships would run off the power of the sun and ocean currants and could clean the pacific garbage patch in 5 years he claims. If he sold the plastic collected to recycling industries who buy old plastic he could reportedly make $500 billion US dollar. That is more than his start up costs.
Here are some frightening figures about plastics:
- We produce 300 million tons of plastic each year
- 7.25 million tons of plastic is in the pacific garbage patch
- The largest plastic spill was last year off the coast of Hong Kong (6 shipping crates worth)
- In parts of the world plastic pieces are covering beaches like sand or rock
His website is below.
The website is a call for action and help.Slat and his team of 50 engineers, modellers, external experts and students are currently conducting their feasibility study and say that their report should be ready in several months. I look forward to their report and am optimistic. I really think it would be amazing to see this project completed and executed.
Monday, October 7, 2013
BMW isn't selling a car they're are selling a lifestyle
BMW of North America recently won the Best Marketing Campaign by a Green Power Purchaser award. The award goes to companies that purchase or produce their own green power and actively promote their activities in a creative or compelling way.
BMW won the award with their new ActiveE electric vehicle. BMW offers ActiceE owners exciting new "accessories" for their new car such as renewable energy certificates or discounted solar photovoltaic panels for customers homes. Your new green education comes free. According to BMW buying the RECs offsets 9,900 pounds of carbon dioxide over the course of two years. By buying the solar panels for their homes customers can offset fueling costs by making their own clean energy.
BMW partnered with Green Mountain Energy Company and Real Good Solar to make this happen.
I really like the whole idea and feel of this campaign. Many people view hybrid or electric cars as the end all of saving gas and fossil fuels. They seem to forget that someone is still burning coal to supply them with the electricity that goes in their car. The ActiveE is starting to solve this problem. By selling customers discounted solar panels they are truly saving fossil fuels. I also like that BMW's sustainability values are customer facing. It's great that they are encouraging and educating their customers to be conscious of sustainability issues in a very natural way. It doesn't feel forced. If BMW is truly serious about being green like they claim they have just made the customer end very green indeed and are on their way to a value chain with green on each end.
It will be interesting to see if this car/greener lifestyle takes off and if other hybrid/electric car companies start offering similar products. I think this is a much more positive direction to be moving in. Electric cars are cool but they use a lot of electricity that still comes from a very negative place. I would like to see more people powering their own cars like this. If more companies move in this direction I would definitely be more inclined to buy one myself.
You can read the full article at the source below:
http://www.hybridcars.com/best-marketing-campaign-by-a-green-power-purchaser-award-for-bmws-activee/
BMW won the award with their new ActiveE electric vehicle. BMW offers ActiceE owners exciting new "accessories" for their new car such as renewable energy certificates or discounted solar photovoltaic panels for customers homes. Your new green education comes free. According to BMW buying the RECs offsets 9,900 pounds of carbon dioxide over the course of two years. By buying the solar panels for their homes customers can offset fueling costs by making their own clean energy.
BMW partnered with Green Mountain Energy Company and Real Good Solar to make this happen.
I really like the whole idea and feel of this campaign. Many people view hybrid or electric cars as the end all of saving gas and fossil fuels. They seem to forget that someone is still burning coal to supply them with the electricity that goes in their car. The ActiveE is starting to solve this problem. By selling customers discounted solar panels they are truly saving fossil fuels. I also like that BMW's sustainability values are customer facing. It's great that they are encouraging and educating their customers to be conscious of sustainability issues in a very natural way. It doesn't feel forced. If BMW is truly serious about being green like they claim they have just made the customer end very green indeed and are on their way to a value chain with green on each end.
It will be interesting to see if this car/greener lifestyle takes off and if other hybrid/electric car companies start offering similar products. I think this is a much more positive direction to be moving in. Electric cars are cool but they use a lot of electricity that still comes from a very negative place. I would like to see more people powering their own cars like this. If more companies move in this direction I would definitely be more inclined to buy one myself.
You can read the full article at the source below:
http://www.hybridcars.com/best-marketing-campaign-by-a-green-power-purchaser-award-for-bmws-activee/
Shampoo = Toxic?
After watching "The Story of Cosmetics" I decided to do some research on my own shampoo: Garnier Fructis Pure Clean Shampoo. This shampoo is marketed as very earth friendly. The bottle is 94% biodegradable and contains 50% recycled plastic. It is also marketed as human friendly. The bottle states there is no silicone, no paraben, no dye and that it should leave hair feeling light/weightless because there is no heavy residue left behind. I wanted to check how accurate these claims really were.
Here is the list of ingredients found in my shampoo.
List of Ingredients: water, ammonium lauryl sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium chloride, pyrus malus extract/ apple fruit extract, parfum/fragrance, sodium benzoate, hydroxypropyl, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, hexylene glycol, citric acid, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, niacinamide, pyridoxine hci, caprylic/capric triglyceride, linalool, hexyl cinnamal, saccharum officinarum extract/sugar cane extract/ extrait de canne a sucre medica limonum peel extract/lemon peel extract, camellia sinemsis extract/camellia sinensis leaf extract, malpigha punicifolia/acerola fruit extract, sodium hydroxide.
First I looked up my product on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. they gave it a overall score of 5 or moderately hazardous to my health. The biggest concern was the fragrance they use in my shampoo. The EWG gave it a high score of 8 (highly hazardous) due to "Ecotoxicology, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Miscellaneous, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)". All other ingredients got a moderate to low rating based on concerns about allergies, irritation to eyes, skin or lungs, skin absorption or organ toxicity. Overall there is no caner or developmental/ reproductive toxicity concern with my shampoo.
Next I checked the toxicity list in Okala ecological design. Good news is none of my shampoo's ingredients were on the list!
I decided to look more closely at sodium hydroxide because it was one of the ingredients described as
"Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)". Sodium hydroxide is commonly know as lye. I found that Sodium hydroxide "Is used in many industries, mostly as a strong chemical base in the manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, drinking water, soaps and detergents and as a drain cleaner." It is also used in the food industry in the "Washing or chemical peeling of fruits and vegetables, chocolate and cocoa processing, caramel coloring production, poultry scalding, soft drink processing, and thickening ice cream. Olives are often soaked in sodium hydroxide for softening; Pretzels and German lye rolls are glazed with a sodium hydroxide solution before baking to make them crisp"
When I looked at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention page it warned about coming into contact with sodium hydroxide on your skin or eyes and that it may cause hair loss, skin burns and irritation. It is also listed as incompatible with water or "when in contact with water may generate sufficient heat to ignite combustible materials". It's interesting that a chemical that can cause hair loss and should not be mixed with water is in my shampoo that I mix with water and use on my hair!
I think I will keep using my shampoo even in light of what I have learned. The health risks I found steam from coming in contract with the pure substances used in the shampoo not the shampoo mixture itself and none of the ingredients stood out as being very serious. I feel like I can live with the risks listed and I have never had any problems with allergies or irritations to the product. I do know now though, that I should never get this stuff in my eyes or mouth! I do not think that there is enough of any one ingredient to hurt me so I'm not going to worry about it. If I do decide to stop using the product I'm sure I could find a substitute shampoo that is less harmful.
Citations:
Here is the list of ingredients found in my shampoo.
List of Ingredients: water, ammonium lauryl sulfate, cocamidopropyl betaine, sodium chloride, pyrus malus extract/ apple fruit extract, parfum/fragrance, sodium benzoate, hydroxypropyl, guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride, hexylene glycol, citric acid, salicylic acid, benzoic acid, niacinamide, pyridoxine hci, caprylic/capric triglyceride, linalool, hexyl cinnamal, saccharum officinarum extract/sugar cane extract/ extrait de canne a sucre medica limonum peel extract/lemon peel extract, camellia sinemsis extract/camellia sinensis leaf extract, malpigha punicifolia/acerola fruit extract, sodium hydroxide.
First I looked up my product on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. they gave it a overall score of 5 or moderately hazardous to my health. The biggest concern was the fragrance they use in my shampoo. The EWG gave it a high score of 8 (highly hazardous) due to "Ecotoxicology, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Miscellaneous, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)". All other ingredients got a moderate to low rating based on concerns about allergies, irritation to eyes, skin or lungs, skin absorption or organ toxicity. Overall there is no caner or developmental/ reproductive toxicity concern with my shampoo.
Next I checked the toxicity list in Okala ecological design. Good news is none of my shampoo's ingredients were on the list!
I decided to look more closely at sodium hydroxide because it was one of the ingredients described as
"Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)". Sodium hydroxide is commonly know as lye. I found that Sodium hydroxide "Is used in many industries, mostly as a strong chemical base in the manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, drinking water, soaps and detergents and as a drain cleaner." It is also used in the food industry in the "Washing or chemical peeling of fruits and vegetables, chocolate and cocoa processing, caramel coloring production, poultry scalding, soft drink processing, and thickening ice cream. Olives are often soaked in sodium hydroxide for softening; Pretzels and German lye rolls are glazed with a sodium hydroxide solution before baking to make them crisp"
When I looked at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention page it warned about coming into contact with sodium hydroxide on your skin or eyes and that it may cause hair loss, skin burns and irritation. It is also listed as incompatible with water or "when in contact with water may generate sufficient heat to ignite combustible materials". It's interesting that a chemical that can cause hair loss and should not be mixed with water is in my shampoo that I mix with water and use on my hair!
I think I will keep using my shampoo even in light of what I have learned. The health risks I found steam from coming in contract with the pure substances used in the shampoo not the shampoo mixture itself and none of the ingredients stood out as being very serious. I feel like I can live with the risks listed and I have never had any problems with allergies or irritations to the product. I do know now though, that I should never get this stuff in my eyes or mouth! I do not think that there is enough of any one ingredient to hurt me so I'm not going to worry about it. If I do decide to stop using the product I'm sure I could find a substitute shampoo that is less harmful.
Citations:
"Garnier Fructis Haircare Pure Clean Fortifying Shampoo." Envirnmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database (2013): n.pag. EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Datebase. Web. 6 Oct 2013.
Okala Learning Ecological Design. 2nd ed. Phoenix AZ: 2009. 17-21. Print.
"Sodium hydroxide." Wikipedia. 2013.
United States. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Sodium hydroxide. Atlanta GA: , 2010. Print.
United States. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.Sodium hydroxide. Atlanta GA: , 2010. Print.
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