Photo By IntangibleArts

The state of consumerism has turned into a revolving door of buying poorly made, environmentally unfriendly, disposable products manufactured with planned obsolescence in mind.  The only thing that the average consumer seems to care about now being how low of a price something can be obtained at. This in turn has led to our culture becoming more wasteful than at any point in human history.

It hasn’t always been this way though, it is actually a fairly new phenomenon, taking shape over the last twenty or so years. Before that, when you bought something you bought it to last. And in many cases these well built products are still in use today. Unlike their newer counterparts which if lucky, barely last a decade. Even worse, most corporations have outsourced their production to countries with little to no environmental regulations just to save a few pennies on the dollar which are used to entice you with lower prices.

You may be asking yourself, what can you do? how can one person make a difference? Well it can be done, you can make a difference. And for those who want to break this cycle and help the environment, here are a few easy steps to make your shopping more environmentally friendly.

Get To Know The Company Before You Buy

As difficult as this may sound, it has become beyond easy to do a little bit of research from the comfort of your own home. When you have a purchase in mind, find a few different makers, Google their corporate practices in regards to the environment, labor and quality. Then make an informed decision on which to buy. It really is that simple. And by doing so, it also helps the bottom line of the corporation you feel is meeting your standards.

It’s Cheap For A Reason

That old saying of, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is, couldn’t be more correct. From child labor, environmental pollution, or just plain old poor quality. You get what you pay for. And if what you buy breaks, forcing you to buy it again and again, all you are doing is wasting money, and natural resources that could have been put to better use by building a sound, quality product the first time around. Ikea would be a prime example. Sure they have great deals on furniture, but that savings comes at the expense of deforestation of old growth forests which supply a large portion of Ikea’s supply of exotic woods. And every time that cheap piece of furniture breaks, you have to replace it again with totally new resources that will yet again be wasted on something that is not made to last.

Demand Responsible Corporate Practices

If your like many people, you probably think this is just a naive fantasy of hippies. But in truth, your voice, and actions can go a long way in making even the largest corporations change their course. Just look at all of the corporations abandoning the US Chamber of Commerce these last few weeks over their stance on global warming. Corporations like Nike, Apple, PG&E, and Exelon didn’t leave the organization because they felt it was the right thing to do, they did so because they knew it would damage their credibility with consumers who want action taken to combat global warming.

By Mark Johnson

“What we need to do is we need to accept responsibility at a local level to reduce the amount of plastic that’s making it’s way down our waterways into the ocean,” says Steve Fleischli, now huffPo blogger and former president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, in the above clip.

Accept responsibility at a local level — it’s a concept heard again and again when discussing the environment. In fact, it’s the one of the basic tenets of the modern green movement, but we can’t remind ourselves of this responsibility enough.

Last Saturday was International Coastal Cleanup Day sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy along with countless other organizations.A grassroots style cleanup like this one is perhaps one of the best examples of people embracing this idea that acting locally can make a huge difference. The Ocean Conservancy’s 2008 cleanup organized 400,000 volunteers and collected 6.8 million pounds of debris, according to their web site.

The event, as you can tell from the video, was much needed although it may be too late to clean up the Great Pacific Garbage Dump. Unfortunately, the best we may be able to do now is prevent it from getting worse. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, “marine litter is one of the most pervasive and solvable pollution problems plaguing the world’s ocean and waterways.”

This year, the international cleanup celebrated it’s 25th anniversary, and while Saturday’s collection data is not readily available, it’s safe to assume the event was another success and a big help. But there is more that we can do, says the Ocean Conservancy. They offer 6 recommendations in their 2009 report:

1. Expand public and private sponsorships to monitor and reduce debris. The Ocean Conservancy says that in order to solve the problem, we must work past reduction in waste and aim for zero-waste. This requires the participation of every corporation, organization and person.

2. Fund research on the sources and impact of debris. “Bolstered by information about what these things are, where they originate, and their quantities, we can
work more efficiently and effectively to reduce litter at the source in addition to cleaning up what’s already out there,” the report says.

3. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The Great Pacific Garbage Dump is made up mostly of plastics that could have been recycled. We must continue to think about reducing wasteful packaging and the like and always, always recycling or reusing what we can. Plastic grocery bags were among the most-collected items in 2008′s cleanup — imagine what we could accomplish by eliminating their use all together.

4. Seek better technology. Developing environmentally friendly materials is important to safeguard our oceans and waterways.

5. Support the inclusion of marine protection in climate change initiatives. Governments must include ways to protect the ocean in initiatives to combat climate change, and citizens must demand and support these as well as projects to reduce marine debris.

6. Engage in community efforts like the International Community Cleanup. Get active! Water is our most precious resource, and life in our oceans makes up for 97% of all life on earth. Cleanups really do make a difference — not only by removing debris but by creating community awareness as well.

To read more, you can access the entire report here.

By Amelia Harnish

Photo By Bracketing Life Via Flickr

We live in a world where we are constantly on the move, constantly buying things and always creating waste. It has become such a normal part of everyday life that we rarely think about the impact it has on the planet. Even for those who are aware of it, they seldom take action for fear it will cost too much, or take too much time. But the truth of the matter is that every single one of us can easily lesson our impact by slightly adjusting our daily routine to that of a more eco friendly one. Here are some simple tips to help you do just that, without drastically altering your lifestyle.

1.  Reduce Your Home Water Use

For this tip, you have many ways to go about it. You can reuse the water you boiled food with to water your plants, take shorter showers, or even just turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth. Write down a list of all of your daily water uses at home and figure out just what can be cut back, or what can serve a dual purpose. With proper implementation everyone can save at least 5-50 gallons of water a day.

2.  Ditch The Chemical Cleaning Products

Get rid of all those nasty chemicals you use to keep your house clean. All of them can be replaced by something earth friendly at little to no added cost. From dish soap and Windex, to laundry detergent and bleach, you can find a cleaner safer version for all of it that works just as well as the petrochemical filled version.

3.  Walk More, Drive Less

We have legs for a reason. They are the cheapest, cleanest and healthiest way to get from point A to point B. So quit taking the car when your going less than a mile from home and not coming back with a ton of stuff. It’s like a free gym membership that saves you money, and helps the planet at the same time. Plus, you just might actually get to know those in your neighborhood and community in the process.

4.  Quit Using One Use Products

Why waste resources on something that will only get used once when a suitable reusable option is available? Bring your own thermos or cup to the coffee shop/stand, most places will let you. Toss a couple canvas bags in the trunk and keep a few by the door so you never get stuck using paper or plastic bags.  The list of one use products you can do without is almost endless,  you just need to figure out a way that works for you to not use them.

By Mark Johnson

Photo By Cimexus Via Flickr

With summer just about over and the colder months fast approaching, now is a great time to consider winterizing your home to make it more environmentally friendly.  Not only will you be kinder on the planet, but with these cheap and simple  tips, you can also save a few bucks over winter as well.

Reverse Your Ceiling Fan

Everyone knows that warm air rises, but many people aren’t aware that most ceiling fans can reverse their direction and move that warm air back down to where you want the heat.  So this winter, instead of turning off the fan, keep it going but in reverse. All that is required it to see which direction the fan blades are going. counter-clockwise for summer, and clockwise for winter, its as simple as that.

Check Your Air Ducts

This may be a bit challenging depending on how your home was designed, but if possible inspect all of your heating ducts. the DOE estimates that the average home could be losing as much as 60% of the hot air blown from your heater if it is not properly installed and maintained. The most important things to be on the lookout for when inspecting your ducts is any gaps or holes that need repair. But also just as important is to fix any crimped or heavily bent parts that could be reducing the optimum airflow of your heating system.

Wrap Your Pipes With Insulation

Find out which pipes in your house have hot water flowing through them, you can usually do this just by touching the pipes to see if they are warm. Once you have identified which ones are flowing with hot water pick up some simple foam pipe insulation along with some duct tape and get to work.  This is such a cheap and simple task that anyone can do it in an afternoon.

Block Unused Rooms

While this won’t be a problem for those with small houses, those with larger homes with unused rooms  can really see a huge difference in your heating  bill by doing this. Just turn off the heating to the room(s) you don’t plan on using, close the door and place a towel or other piece of cloth under the gap in the floor of your door frame.

By Mark Johnson