Do you want to go green – or get greener – but you’re not sure how? Our expert is here to help!
Betsy of eco-novice.com wants to help you go green without losing your mind or spending lots of money. She'll be here all next week to answer YOUR questions and offer her best tips for living a more eco-friendly lifestyle.
Please post your questions for Betsy in the replies below. Betsy will post her responses here as well.
Welcome and thanks for joining us, Betsy!
I've been recycling every piece of garbage that is allowed for over 20 years now. I've been using canvas bags for grocery and smaller item shopping for at least 10 years. I tried some "Eco friendly" dish soap and dishwasher soap, and they did a lousy job. I draw the line at those MERCURY filled light bulbs that our "all knowing" government has declared we must use...although they extended the date for another year. They don't last for years as claimed, plus the first ones were so dim that you couldn't read by them. Now you can get brighter ones, but they are too bright. The only fluorescent light bulb I have in my home is in the laundry room, and that's where I need one. And if you drop one and break it, the EPA has instructions on how to clean it up...like remove all kids and pets from area, open windows, put on gloves, don't touch the glass. Hey where does all of the mercury go? Into your local garbage dump where the mercury from those billions of broken bulbs will eventually leach into the earth and ground water!!! Because of that edict, GE & other companies closed their light bulb plants in this country and moved them to China. Because China is the only place that makes them, and it's so
much cheaper to make them there, we now will have to buy the ECO FRIENDLY ones from China only. And if you need a 100 watt (I think that's the one) bulb, it will cost you $50, because China doesn't make theirs yet in that wattage. It took me years to get my adult daughters to recycle. My oldest has a condo in Chicago and they aren't provided with a recycling dumpster, so she brings hers up here...that's when she remembers. Her sister, now, recycles most of her trash too. I also finally shamed them into using canvas bags.
Quoting grandmab125:I've been recycling every piece of garbage that is allowed for over 20 years now. I've been using canvas bags for grocery and smaller item shopping for at least 10 years. I tried some "Eco friendly" dish soap and dishwasher soap, and they did a lousy job. I draw the line at those MERCURY filled light bulbs that our "all knowing" government has declared we must use...although they extended the date for another year. They don't last for years as claimed, plus the first ones were so dim that you couldn't read by them. Now you can get brighter ones, but they are too bright. The only fluorescent light bulb I have in my home is in the laundry room, and that's where I need one. And if you drop one and break it, the EPA has instructions on how to clean it up...like remove all kids and pets from area, open windows, put on gloves, don't touch the glass. Hey where does all of the mercury go? Into your local garbage dump where the mercury from those billions of broken bulbs will eventually leach into the earth and ground water!!! Because of that edict, GE & other companies closed their light bulb plants in this country and moved them to China. Because China is the only place that makes them, and it's so
I'm with you on steering clear of mercury. I've heard this complaint from other green folks about the mercury in CFLs, although proponents will point out that by saving energy you are preventing mercury (from coal plants) from entering the environment. But I probably wouldn't risk the exposure myself given my propensity for breaking things. LED lightbulbs might be a better alternative, although I'm not sure where they are manufactured usually. I'm a renter, and haven't purchased a light bulb in a very long time.
Here is a good resource for "green" lighting: http://www.ewg.org/greenlightbulbs
A fellow green blogger, Retro Housewife Goes Green, managed to just recently get recycling in her Oklahoma community. I dream of the day when all packaging will be a closed loop with no waste.
Hey Betsy Eco: I'm glad to hear others share my distaste and fear of CFLs. Obviously the gov't didn't research the final results of this law either before they instituted it. It was supposed to go into effect on 1/1/2012. But they extended it a year. If the Republicans get in, perhaps we can get it thrown out. I have been stockpiling regular 40 
and 60 watt bulbs for over a year. You would be surprised how many people I have run into at my local Lowe's hardware store who have been doing the same thing for the past year. I don't really know anything about LED's yet. But according to the man in the electrical department there, they also come from China (because all of our light bulb plants are now closed), and are much more expensive than CFLs.
One of the things I found about going green, is gradual is indeed the way to go. The perfect is the enemy of the good, Voltaire. Sometimes there is an unrealistic expectation to be super green, when even some green is better than nothing! Just get started, and use the basics - reduce (do you really need that next kitchen gadget), reuse (fix it), recycle, recover.
Actually, it's very much true that regular incandescent bulbs are responsible for 3.5 times the mercury emissions than a CFL. CFLs are definitely the better way to go. Check out this reference by energy star: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CEYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.energystar.gov%2Fia%2Fpartners%2Fpromotions%2Fchange_light%2Fdownloads%2FFact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf&ei=DMaOT7fOL-nx0gHF-fn_Dg&usg=AFQjCNHZp77l35a0Bk604tfrNbmFo242Gg&sig2=7U7ehHVlxTJNf7eHci4cXA
I'm a scientist, so I insist on looking at the full facts of the entire life cycle of a product. When you do that, you'll see that CFLs are indeed the best option for us - so far. LEDs will be much better.
Quoting staceywinter04:
I also am going gradually. I have always made my own body scrubs, lotions and lip nalm. Now, I switched to making my own detergent and using wool dryer balls. I would like to be more 'green'come with food choices. So many foods w/chemicals, preservatives and dyes. Organic is much more expensive, so I'm trying to steer clear of the biggest offenders, but trying to be frugal. Any advice?
That's awesome that you are making so many of your personal products? A lot of toxins are absorbed through the skin. As far as food, my advice would be don't feel like you have to do it all at once. And make costly changes while making cost-saving changes so your budget doesn't suffer too much. Try to cook more, and cook more from scratched. Purchase as few convenience/ processed foods as possible. Michael Pollan suggests not buying anything with more than 5 ingredients or with any ingredient you couldn't buy yourself in the store (yes flour, no high fructose corn syrup). In addition, I would look for a farmer's market near you -- check localharvest.org, and look for organic vendors or ask non-certified organic vendors if they use pesticides (some don't). My top priorities when I started going green were natural meats (no hormones, no antibiotics, humane treatement), hormone-free milk, and organic produce for the "dirty dozen" published by EWG. I just BARELY switched to organic cheese though. I think the first thing I cut was conventional beef. Look for local, affordable sources, and change a few things at a time. Hope that helps!
A guess a part of our green contribution is to just not use certain products. Our family is rather low maintenance, we really don't use very many personal products, aside from tp we don't use any paper products either. I have a few cleaning recipes that I use...so I make our own laundry/dish/body soap as well as our own household cleaners. We get most of our produce from our own garden, I reuse as much as is physically possible, and I have composting plans in the near future. What else is there? I really can't think of anything else to do.
Grow Your Own Drugs
Baby booties made from donated breast milk... weird or sweet?
- Cafe Kristin
on Apr. 11, 2012 at 5:10 PM