A lot of people are changing their daily habits and adopting more eco-friendly practices - and holiday gift giving is no exception. Unbeknownst to the average consumer, many of the seemingly normal gifts are starting to look a little green.
Putting more green into your holidays means more than leaving less impact on the planet. It’s about choosing gifts that are made with durable, quality, non-toxic materials. Luckily, this often leads to quirky, one-of-a-kind items that say as much about your creative leanings as your Earth-friendliness. Giving green can mean everything from reusing gift wrap and gift bags (or do-it-yourself stenciled paper bags or comics pages), to putting all-natural lotions and beeswax candles in stockings and solar-powered electronics and vintage jewelry under the tree. Of course, if you choose to actually give green — as in plants! — that’s OK, too. (In that case, we recommend philodendron, Boston fern, peace lily and English ivy, all of which are known for their air-cleaning qualities.)
-For the gadget geek: The eco hard drive
-For children: Non-toxic toys and games
-For the outdoors enthusiast: Sustainable skis and snowboards
-For the chief household officer: Creative kitchenware
-For the hipster/fashionista: Reclaimed bags and accessories
-For the eco-economic (under $25): The waterproof wallet
Chicago Biofuels is offering a unique stocking stuffer - renewable energy. Well, not really…but you can buy eco-friendly gifts from their Web site.
Check out the new merchandise page online to see their t-shirts and bumper stickers. The t-shirts are 100% US made organic cotton that’s locally hand silk-screened with non-toxic inks and the stickers are the perfect stocking stuffer for all your bio-buddies.
There are other ways to support Chicago Biofuels in your holiday giving…consider making a donation in someone’s name…and nothing says I love you (and the earth) like a gift membership. Remember to order early to be sure your gift arrives in time for whichever holiday you choose to celebrate this season (they suggest ordering by Dec. 14th if said holiday involves a fat man in a red suit).
Mackenzie Yang, a journalist from the Columbia Spectator, hit the nail on the head: Green eating habits mean more than just broccoli.
After attending a series of workshops on food, farms and community health in New York, Yang learned some lessons that Chicagoans need to hear.
Lesson 1:
Eating organic produce translates to eating an extra serving of fruits and vegetables due to all the antioxidants and nutrients it has compared to nonorganic produce.
Lesson 2:
Vitamin content in nonorganic fruits and vegetables has decreased by 10 to 40 percent over the years.
Lesson 3:
Irradiated food—food exposed to radiation to kill off bacteria—does not have to be labeled as such, even if it’s sold in restaurants, schools, and hospitals. This is disturbing, as irradiation destroys vitamins, protein, and essential fatty acids, and produces chemicals that have been linked to DNA damage in human cells.
Watch a video that shows step-by-step how the women of WomanCraft, a social enterprise of Deborah’s Place, turn shredded office paper into wedding invitations, stationary and holiday cards. After watching the process, think about trying it out for yourself or coming by the studio to see the papermaking process firsthand.
For further reading, check out last month’s post about the non-profit organzation creating new beginnings for women in Chicago.
Direct Energy is recommending these measures to reduce usage and maximize efficiency during the holidays:
– Turn down the heat a few degrees. Doing so could save 10 percent on
heating bills. Reducing the heat before guests arrive makes sense, too,
because all their extra body heat will soon warm up the room.
— Dim the lights and have memorable holiday meals by candlelight. You
could even “go organic” and try soy candles.
— Decorate using LED bulbs, which have a rated life of 50,000 hours,
representing nearly 20 years of normal usage. That’s a bargain,
especially when compared with incandescent lights, which last just 600
to 1,000 hours.
— Wrap gifts with conservation in mind. If everyone wrapped just three
gifts in reused paper or fabric gift bags, it would save enough paper
to cover 45,000 ice hockey rinks.
— Don’t open the oven door to peek at what’s cooking. It can lower oven
temperatures as much as 25 degrees, which increases cooking time and
gobbles energy. Use the oven light and window instead.
— Remember your other cooking appliances when preparing a holiday meal.
Great for cooking or for heating up holiday dinner leftovers,
microwaves use about 50 percent less energy than conventional ovens.
— Use your dishwasher for cleanup. A dishwasher requires 37 percent less
water than washing dishes by hand.
— Buy miniature decorative lights, which use about 70 percent less energy
and last much longer than bigger bulbs. Connect them to an automatic
timer to reduce the chance of leaving your holiday lights burning all
night or while you’re away.
Will the new recycling carts be rolled away just as Chicagoans were getting used to their benefits?
Since recycling helps the environment, cuts back on landfill waste and promotes a sustainable lifestyle, you would think cities would make it as easy as possible for businesses and residents. In Chicago, think again.
According to the Chicago Reader, city officials recently said they were willing to expand the bluecart program, but the verdict is out on whether the proposed expansion was incorporated in the new budget. Looks like the future of a greener city will come down to money the 2008 city budget and people are not reluctant to voice their opinions.
If the plan is approved when the City Council votes on the 2008 budget ordinance Wednesday, the city’s source-separated recycling program, in which residents served by city garbage crews place all of their recyclables into blue containers in the alley, will be extended to an 131,000 additional households on top of the 81,000 already included. That would mean that about 30 percent of the 700,000 residences with city garbage service–all Chicago dwellings with four or fewer units, known as low-density residences–will be covered by the program.
In addition, The Chicago Tribune states, “If Daley is serious about going green, he should stop finding excuses to stick with the blue.”
The Chicago Sun Times weighs in with, “The city needs to deliver a recycling program that makes sense. It’s not rocket science — it should be easy being green. ”
Want to make your Thanksgiving a little more environmentally-friendly?
World Wildlife Fund offers some easy steps to make your celebration more sustainable:
1) Purchase locally grown, seasonal produce in the bulk bin. Locally produced products require less gasoline to ship to market — and usually taste fresher too. Local seasonal produce can include root crops such as potatoes, turnips, beets, rutabaga, parsnips, salsify, pumpkins and squash. Use bitter greens and hardy vegetables that are available in the fall, such as collards, kale and Brussels sprouts. They’re good for you and good for the planet. Look for them in the bulk bin to cut down on individual packaging waste.
2) Buy organic foods — turkeys, produce such as apples, celery, and many of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner trimmings are now available in organic version, usually better for the environment as they reduce the use of pesticides.
3) Shop online or order by phone and save the gas you’d burn driving from store to store. It saves the planet from exhaust emissions, which add to global warming.
4) Look for natural materials such as pinecones, dried leaves, Osage oranges, and other natural materials from your own backyard to make your holiday centerpiece.
5) Serve tap water instead of bottled at your holiday table and cut down on plastic bottles which will need to be discarded.
6) Purchase ingredients with a minimal amount of packaging around them. Cardboard and plastic packaging just ends up in the waste basket.
7) Serve wine sealed with a cork not a plastic stopper. Cork extraction is one of the most environmentally friendly harvesting methods, and cork production provides a sustainable livelihood for people in many parts of the world.
Although Thanksgiving is supposed to be a feast, don’t prepare more food than will be eaten. American’s throw out nearly 40 percent of their food. This year, encourage guests to clean their plates.
9) Remember — leftovers are half the fun! Find new and interesting ways to serve leftovers.
10) Share food with those that have less and invite people for Thanksgiving that don’t have anywhere else to go. Sustainable societies are built on sustainable agriculture and food systems but also sustainable communities — be part of one.
With these tips, the holidays can no longer be an excuse to flush your green lifestyle down the toilet.
• I’D LIKE TO START SMALL. HOW MUCH ENERGY CAN YOU REALLY SAVE WITH LIGHT BULBS?
A lot. A 25-watt compact fluorescent produces about as much light as a 100-watt conventional bulb but uses only one-quarter of the electricity. Because of that, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the average 25-watt compact fluorescent will save the equivalent of 100 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. That’s about as much as a car generates driving 93 miles, assuming it gets a typical 23.9 miles per gallon.
And compact fluorescents won’t cost you an arm and a leg. In California, for instance, utility rebates and volume discounts have driven down the cost of a four-pack of 25-watt compact fluorescents to about $2 — versus $40 or more for the 100-watt equivalents in 1999. Prices have gotten so low that some compact fluorescents pay for themselves in energy savings the first month.
• IT SEEMS LIKE MY REFRIGERATOR IS A BIG ENERGY HOG, BUT IT’S SUCH A COSTLY ITEM TO REPLACE. WHEN DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO BUY A NEW ONE, AND SHOULD I PAY EXTRA FOR AN ENERGY STAR MODEL?
First, let’s clear up a misperception. Compared with other household systems, refrigerators don’t use that much electricity. In fact, they account for only 8% of an average household’s annual electricity use, behind items such as water heating (13%). And they’re dwarfed by real hogs like climate-control systems (45%).
With that in mind, here’s a rough guide to replacing your fridge: If your unit was manufactured before 1993, it’s probably time to make the move. Today’s Energy Star models are twice as efficient as the average older unit, according to the EPA, and will make up for their higher initial cost within five years. In places where energy costs are high, they may completely pay for themselves in energy savings within 10 years. On average, you’ll likely save $40 to $90 annually in electricity bills.
Plus, a new unit that uses half the power of an older unit is responsible for about half the greenhouse-gas emissions. Of course, the actual environmental impact depends on where you live. States with a lot of coal-fired power plants have higher carbon-dioxide emissions per kilowatt-hour of power consumed than states that rely more heavily on nuclear power, hydroelectricity or natural-gas-fired plants.
• HOW MUCH ENERGY CAN I SAVE BY TURNING DOWN MY THERMOSTAT ON WINTER NIGHTS?
A rule of thumb is that a two-degree reduction in the temperature setting on your furnace cuts energy use by 1%, the EPA says. Moreover, houses that are well sealed and insulated, including heat ducts, use less energy because the furnace doesn’t have to run as hard.
You might also consider replacing an old furnace. Replacing a 1980s furnace with an Energy Star model costing $4,000 could produce $3,269 in net savings for a New England family, according to an EPA calculator at energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=furnaces.pr_furnaces. The move would also cut lifetime carbon dioxide emissions by 96,450 pounds — equivalent to the output of a car for 10 years.
People across the nation are steadily becoming more interested in finding ways to buy local and organic produce. This week Chicago’s first permanent, year-round urban farm could make supporting local farmers a little easier.
What: Groundbreaking for Chicago’s First Permanent, Year-Round Urban Farm
When: Wednesday, November 14, 9:00 am
Where: Wood Street Urban Farm, 5814 S. Wood St., Chicago
Growing Home is a six-year old certified organic agricultural business with a social mission of providing transitional employment for homeless and low-income adults. Program participants are difficult-to-employ people, most of whom have criminal backgrounds.
The Wood Street Urban Farm is the third site for Growing Home, which also operates a 10-acre farm 75 miles southwest of Chicago at Marseilles, Illinois and a half-acre urban farm on the south side.
The new farm is a part of the larger Quality of Life Plan for the Englewood community, which calls for developing an Urban Agriculture District in Englewood that will lead to healthy and sustainable living among neighborhood residents.
According to the Growing Home website, the U.S. organic sector is expected to grow from $13 billion in 2003 to over $25 billion in 2007. However, less than 3 percent of organic produce available in Chicago is grown locally.
Dr. John Biernbaum, Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences at Michigan State University & Director of the Student Organic Farm will present a program on how to extend the growing season using hoophouses and unheated greenhouses. The Hoophouse Handbook can also be purchased at the event ($15). For More information and to register YOU MUST email or call our Chicago office 773-288-5462.
Cost: $20, includes materials.
Although Thanksgiving is supposed to be a feast, don’t prepare more food than will be eaten. American’s throw out nearly 40 percent of their food. This year, encourage guests to clean their plates.