Big hair and fluorescent clothing are how we expressed "We are tired of conserving and just want to have fun". Is an 80s-style backlash on the way?
Am I the only one who is worried that our window for major energy reforms is passing by? The clock is ticking for major environmental initiatives and all anyone is doing is Talking. We blog, we tweet, we educate.
Don’t get me wrong, talking is good. If one positive thing has come from our current economic crisis, it is that conservation has become “hip”. Making it cool to be thrifty and gauche to be ostentatious has been, well, convenient, to an American public that is quick to respond to the latest fads. And the conversation about the environment has extended beyond the marginal tree hugger crowd to the general public. I mean, gosh, Michael Pollan was even on Oprah this month! Oprah made millions of people who had never read a book embrace an “Oprah’s book club” for years, so I am willing to bet that thousands of would-be Walmart produce shoppers are probably thinking of starting their own garden this summer after that show aired. Average Americans are taking notice of issues spanning from gas emissions to solar energy because “conservation” and “recession” go hand in hand.
But where does the 2007 energy platform stand after the U.S. comes out on the other side of this debacle? And make no mistake, we will… but history is cyclical. The 1970s brought recycling and homemade clothes to the forefront only to be followed quickly by the 1980s, a decade of total excess. What will the next decade look like? It seems easy to predict that a public that is currently willing to be encouraged to “reduce and reuse” will be grow tired of being lectured. “What a buzzkill”, they will say… “I am full of hope, I have money again…. I think I will go buy some bright, fluorescent, NEW clothes”.
Tags: 1980s, clean energy, conservation, michael pollan, obama energy plan, Oprah
Earth Day 2010 is April 22 and I need some help on two fronts:
(1) Parents: Please send me ideas for Earth Day events at school. I am on the “green team” for my children’s elementary school and I want to organize something really neat for the school. Something that you know gets people involved and excited! I found this site that has some great ideas, but prefer advice from a parent organizer who has seen an idea in action!
(2) Business Owners/ Customers: What should fabricwrapper.com do for Earth Day? We promote sustainable living all year round, but feel this globally recognized tribute to the Earth is a good time to do something extra.
Thank you in advance for your ideas and comments! Let’s all start planning now for local activism that will lead to global attention.
We just got back from Steamboat Resort in Colorado and I am so impressed by their recycling efforts! It just goes to show you that anyone can do it. If this resort can have their cafeteria staff at the very top of the mountain sort through every tray to make sure it is all recycled properly, then any resort can make this effort.
When I met the Food and Beverage Director for Steamboat at a Green Festival in Denver, I wondered if her personal interest in sustainable living was reflected in Steamboat policies and I was glad to see that it is! Kudos, my family will definitely visit again.
All of us who enjoy the outdoors see a link between the way we treat the world around us and the ability of future generations to play on this earth as we do: to hike, to kayak, to fish, to surf… and to ski!
The kids added a sign to prevent parents from "forgetting after the kids go to bed"
The kids are in a trance during breakfast before school, eating off their “snack trays” in front of the TV. My husband and I turn the news on and then realize 3 hours later the TV is still on, providing constant background noise to our evening’s activities. Enough is enough! TV was making us run late and was, as I tell my kids, “killing our brain cells”. Last month our family decided to have a “No TV week”. Hard? Yes. Rewarding? Also, yes.
I challenge everyone to try it. The best part was having so much more time for the things we like to do. Homework got done early and we were outside more. The kids were super creative about coming up with games and there was less whining. Background noise can be annoying to creative thinking… turn it off and enjoy the quiet! Or enjoy music that does not get turned on often enough.
I will admit that the only time in the week we were tempted to cheat deviate from our agreement was Saturday morning. We are lazytired on Saturdays, and anyone with young children who says they do not use the TV as a babysitter on occasion is lying not truthful with themselves! But otherwise, since we don’t have a ton of favorite “programs” to begin with, this was a great week! Please check out the following stats about how the TV has taken over most households and make your own resolutions… one TV-free week might lead to less TV every week!
TV Statistics from Screentime.org (also check there for future National Turn off your TV weeks):
- How many people are in the average American household? 2.55
How many televisions do they have? 2.73
We are a society of more televisions than people!
- 50% of American homes have at least 3 televisions or more
19% of homes have only 1.
In 1975 only 11% of US households had more than 3 TVs…and 57% only had 1!
- The average American home has the television on for well over 8 hours every day. That is an hour more than just a decade ago.
The average American watches 4 hours and 35 minutes of television each day.
Tags: new years resolutions, no TV, turning off the television, TV
Our Holiday Pop Culture Commentary: Elin's Revenge. Happy fun outside in the snow! Have a great holiday and get outside and play with your family.
Tags: Elin, Snow, Tiger Woods
This year more than ever, the holidays are a time to reflect and rejoice the simpler things in life. In this economy, many families are asking themselves how they can simplify some of their holiday traditions. They want solutions that require less preparation and stress, less money spent, and also less garbage in our landfills:
Give Gifts of Time or Service
Gift cards are a good way to guarantee the gift recipient gets to pick out something they actually want and will use. Or if you really want to avoid the waste that “stuff” creates (see newdream.org for tips on reducing your overall consumption), opt for something more creative like a gift card for a local restaurant or music concert. Finally, consider the gift of your time. Handmade coupons for car washing, baby-sitting, etc. offer something valuable to your family and friends while saving your holiday budget as well.
Use Our Reusable Gift Wrap
To reduce the mountain of paper, tissue and bows that go in your family’s trash can each year reuse your gift wrap. Fabricwrapper.com’s Holiday Line offers a beautiful selection of reusable gift-wrap for the holidays. Founder Stephanie Lancaster, a mother of two, comments, “Many families are exchanging reusable gift-wrap year after year; reducing their gift wrap budget and carbon footprint at the same time”. The Sierra Club points out that if every American family wrapped just three gifts this year in reusable gift wrap it would save enough paper to fill 45,000 football fields. The site carries the signature Fabricwrapper for boxes and gift cards in addition to fabric gift bags and furoshiki, all made in the USA. The company belongs to 1% for the Planet, donating one percent of all sales to environmental non-profit groups.
Compost/ Recycle Holiday Waste
More than 10 million Christmas trees will end up in a landfill this year. Don’t let your tree be one of those sent to a garbage dump – compost it instead. Also, don’t forget the mounds of kitchen scraps from Christmas dinner or the uneaten latkes after lighting the menorah. There are plenty of opportunities during the holidays to compost. Think of the wonderful planting soil you will create for spring. And keep in mind that the biggest composting and recycling opportunities are at holiday parties, when large numbers of partygoers create large amounts of trash.
Party Responsibly
If you are hosting a holiday party this year, consider washable rather than disposable tableware and linens, and be aware that “less is more” when it comes to cheap party favors and decorations that will end up being thrown away. Send an “evite” rather than mailing invitations. Also, be aware of the food you are serving. Pre-prepared foods may seem simple, but they come at a high cost to the planet. Serving fresh local, organic food whenever possible will taste and feel better. To reduce costs, serve more foods that are lower on the food chain and stay away from costly meats. Or consider reducing the guest list. Any party that is obligatory rather than fun shouldn’t be on your radar. Remember to simplify and focus on the friendship of the people you are inviting. After all, that is what the holidays should be about!
Tags: composting, eco-friendly holiday, fabric gift bags, green christmas, holiday parties, reusable gift wrap, unique gifts
Spread the Word!
Click here to check out unique and beautiful gift-wrap! OK, you guys know I don’t “advertise” much on my sustainability blog, but you have got to check out the new arrivals we have for the holidays! They are awesome, and as usual, 1% of all sales go to environmental non-profits.
Use the back of a closet door to organize your chargers!
I know you have one too… that “junk drawer” that barely closes, the place you put everything in your house that does not have a permanent home.
We are electronic junkies and lately I realized that half of our junk drawer was full of chargers. All of our devices seem to come with a cord or battery re-charger… the cell phones, the camera, the portable DVD, the video recorder, the GPS, the ipod… you get the picture.
I went on-line to find a solution (yes, I know most people get these organizational urges in January but I am procrastinating on real work!). All of the solutions I found alarmed me because they keep the cords plugged in ALL THE TIME. Have you seen these boxes for your chargers? The cord is hidden, plugged in, and whenever you need it, it is ready. Sounds great, but many cords still pull energy when plugged in, even if they are not attached to the device.
So, the picture above is my solution, and an inexpensive one too! These organizers can be found at any retail giant or organizer store. They are normally used for shoes or accessories, and they hang on the back of any closet door. We keep ours in a closet near the kitchen where all of our chargers are convenient to the whole family. I labeled all of the slots (OK, I am revealing my geek nature, I do own a label maker). We love it!
Tags: battery chargers, organizers, saving energy, Sustainable Living
Top Five Reasons to Give Up Bottled Water from www.newdream.org
My material is usually original, but I think this is important enough to duplicate! New American Dream is the non-profit that we (www.fabricwrapper.com) support as members of 1% For The Planet.
1. Disposable plastic water bottles are not meant for multiple uses.The #1 polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is fine for a single use, but reuse can lead to bacterial growth and leaching of dangerous chemicals.
2. Bottled water is full of oil. Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water requires more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel some 100,000 cars for a year. To put it another way, the entire energy costs of the lifecycle of a bottle of water is equivalent, on average, to filling up a quarter of each bottle with oil. (Pacific Institute)
3. Bottled water is expensive! Drinking the recommended daily amount of water using bottled water can cost an average of $1,400 per year; drinking the same amount from the tap costs around 49 cents for the year. (NY Times)
4. Your tap water is fine to drink. Tap water is more highly regulated than bottled water and over 90 percent of water systems meet EPA’s standards for tap water quality. (If the taste or color is a little off from your tap, your pipes are probably at fault—a simple filtration system should do the trick to take both aesthetic problems away.)
5. At least 40 percent of bottled water is tap water anyway. That’s right: you are paying a huge premium on water that you could have just gotten from your tap in the first place. (Natural Resources Defense Council) You probably like tap water more than bottled water, too!
Tags: bottled water, new dream
