Natural and Sustainable

• Collect rainwater from downspouts and use it to water your won garden and plants.

• Say no to carpeting. Carpet contains more contaminants and pollen and dust than anything else in your home.

• Buy green power when you can and ask your utility company to off it if they don’t already. The typical U.S. household uses about 10,000 KWH a year.

• Repair, and don’t replace appliances. Each fix means your won’t be buying a new one and it will keep your old one out of landfills. IF you feel you must replace, then donate the broken or semi-broken one to a company that refurbishes or repairs then and resells then.

• Buy energy-efficient appliance when you do replace. Energy Star appliance use 10 to up to 50% less energy and water and must meet EPA efficiency guidelines.

• Dry your dishes on the dishwasher rack and if your dishwasher offers the air dry option, use that as well.

• Buy secondhand clothing or household items as tag sales and save the carbon cost of new production.

• Hang your laundry out to dry on a clothes line and eliminate one dryer cycle per week or more.

• Clean AC filters or replace them when necessary to keep your AC unit running smoothly.

• Run ceiling fans instead of the air conditioner in hot climates; this can save you more than a ton of CO2 waste within your won home.

• Use cold water to wash and rinse your clothes, only use hot water when the laundry is very dirty and always wash your bedding in hot water to kill bed bugs and dust mites.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Go for low flow showerheads, this switch can save you 1800 in eclectic cost and 43o in natural gas depending on how your water is heated. Not to mention the savings in water cost and waste as well. Consider putting in a low-flow toilet as well.

1. Reduce, Recycle, Reuse: If you recycle paper you use 70 percent less energy and 55 percent less water than creating paper from new source. Whenever possible, use washable cups, napkins, plates and towels instead of paper one. Pay as many bills as you can online to reduce the paper waste when a bill is sent to you through the mail. Also, please consider the planet when you go to print something from your computer.

2. Eliminate the uselessness of packaging: Use reusable shopping bags wherever you go. Drink filters water straight from the tap. Avoiding plastic containers can help save 1.5 million barrels of petroleum each year.

3. Reduce your carbon footprint at home: Replace your bulbs with CFLs or LEDs and always turn off the lights when you aren’t using them. Turn off your ceiling fans as well. Unplug your stereos, phone chargers and also your video games when you aren’t’ suing them. Set your water heater no high than 120 degrees. Vacuum your refrigerators coils monthly and keep your freezers stocked full. Consider installing solar-powered items in your home such as ceiling fans on decks or porches or pool lights.

4. Travel more green: Check your tires often and get regular tune-ups. Consider investing in a hybrid vehicle or ride a bike or scooter for shorter trips within your town or to a friend’s house. If you work near co-workers consider carpooling and walk every chance you get that means even consider taking the stairs from time to or all the time.

5. Buy organic when you can: Organic has no pesticide residue or chemical enhanced ingredients. Also many organic products have been produced sustainable, using less energy and less water. This in turn protects the animal and water supply, which in turn protects wildlife and plants

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Garden outdoors as much as possible. Plant trees and shrubs to help shade your home in the summer and block cold winds in the winter. Select organic and heirloom seeds for your garden as well. Use paper and grass clippings as much and reduce your water usage. Water your garden heavily in the early morning or late in the evening. And never ever use chemicals fertilizers or pesticides.

1. Don’t use lawn herbicides and be sure and remove your shoes inside your own house to avoid tracking in the chemicals from other people’s and business lawns that you will walk across during your day to day activities. Even some parks use them, so be aware of what you are bringing into your own homes flooring, rugs and carpeting.

2. Use plant-based kitty litter that has been made from wheat or recycled newspaper instead of clay-based littler, which is strip mined and has now become aware of what an eco-nightmare it really has become. There are many brands out on the market today that are more eco-friendly and it may take a few weeks maybe even a month for your pet to adjust, but once they do continue using the eco-friendly option in your own home.

3. Vacuum frequently and bag resulting dust to prevent reintroducing it into your house over and over again. Be sure and vacuum more often during the summer months, when in and out of the house is more frequent. Especially if you have children that run in and out a lot.

4. Flea collars in ineffective and a source of constant toxic exposure to your pets and even your family. Choose an all natural pest repellant like garlic sprinkled onto their foods or clove oil on the back of the neck. Check out more pest control options here.

5. Pick pet foods that are free of chemical preservatives BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin, vary cats’ diets to limit them to seafood mercury exposure and choose organic or free-range ingredients rather than a products labeled as “by-products” on the ingredients label.

6. If you suspect your deck or porch is made from arsenic treated wood don’t let your poets underneath them at all. Regularly treat with sealant or even consider replacing it. Never power was an arsenic treated porch with a power sprayer.

7. Choose toys that are free of colored dyes and fashioned from organic and even natural fibers. You pet can’t see the color, so why should he chew on toys that have been dyed and dipped into toxin chemicals. If you wouldn’t let you child chew on it, why let your pet chew on it.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: To find out how many trees it would take to make up for your carbon emissions check out Green Puppy and join the zero impact movement and go carbon neutral today.

Shopping more green for your household may be a bit confusing. Here are some simple suggestions to help reduce your impact when you shop.

• Always Choose Recycled: This should be no matter what. Remanufactured fibers require as little as 30% of the energy needed to produce first time fibers.

• Always Buy Local: Shipping any product requires petroleum of some kind. And at times it requires quite a lot of petroleum. So buying local is definitely reducing your carbon load and the plus side is, it keeps the money in your own community.

• Don’t Buy Things in Packages: It is hard to avoid this sometimes, but other times it’s not. All the cardboard and even the plastic ends up in the trash when you get home.

• Always Buy in Bulk: Food, fuel and other essentials are often much cheaper in bulk then they are in the regular packaging. And the benefit of bulk is there is less packaging which reduced landfill waste and even reduces your carbon footprint.

• Maintain Your Gear: The main reason is, your gear will last much, much longer that way. If you can keep your gear from falling apart, it will hold out for more and more years and seasons ahead.

• Reduce the Shipping Cost: Make sure when you order something it comes from a company that helps reduce and has efficient distribution centers and that have a smaller carbon footprint than regular shipping methods.

• Never Use Disposable Bags: Use your own tote or even make your own tote bag made of bamboo or even canvas is a great choice. You will end up saving trees and a lot of petroleum.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Shut down everything you your house when you go to leave on a weeklong or longer trip. Turn off all appliances except your refrigerator and if it’s an Energy-Star approved refrigerator you will acquire much less of a carbon footprint while you are gone from your house.

1. When it’s trade-in time opt for a hybrid or the new water ran vehicle.

2. Reuse your hotel towels.

3. Offset your travel with carbon credits.

4. Choose close-to-home adventures and cut your driving distance can save your big.

5. Travel by bus or train whenever possible. Air travel and driving long distance alone have very high carbon costs. Pubic transportation is almost always the most efficient way to go with traveling.

6. Rent a hybrid or a biodiesel car at your destination city or country.

7. Carry a fork and travel mug in your car and say no to the plastic utensils, disposable cups, and paper napkins.

8. Use the sun to help recharge your electronics when you can.

9. Borrow, rent or share sleeping bags or even a tent.

10. Use an efficient camp stove. Recycling used canisters also keeps your carbon costs lower.

11. Reuse the sip-lock baggies.

12. Buy foods in bulk and package it yourself in reusable, glass containers or the like.

13. Take a low-carbon vacation. A 4-0day backpacking trip saves over a golfing trip of the same duration.

14. Maintain and repair your things so as to replace less and less to go to the landfill.

15. Donate your used gear when it’s time to get something new or take on a new adventure.

16. Wipe with natural material such as snow, leaves, or even moss when out in nature.

17. Use a cotton bandana that can be rinsed and reused,. not baby wipes when you need to wipe something off of you or your child. They can even be used as napkins.

18. Replace your old gear with greener gear as it wears out. An old polyester fleece with a recycled poly or even one made from hemp or bamboo is a great start.

19. Use rechargeable lithium batteries instead of the throw away one-time-use standard AA or AAAs.

20. Give up on the gas-powered lanterns in favor of candle lanterns or an LED rechargeable lantern.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Wear leather hiking boots instead of synthetic ones when looking for hiking gear and apparel.

1. Combine your errands into one trip and save 500 miles of driving a year.

2. Lighten your load in your car. 100 pounds of junk in the truck can reduce gas mileage by 2%.

3. Keep your tires inflated to the manufacturer’s recommended pressure, which in noted on the sidewall of the ties.

4. Check your car’s air filter monthly and replace it when it looks grimy.

5. Don’t top off the tanks at the pump. You will eliminate accidental spillage and reduce toxic emissions.

6. Don’t idle for more than 10 seconds in traffic or at a drive-thru. Instead turn the engine off completely.

7. Walk or ride your bicycle when running errands if you can and cut your driving by 10%.

8. Carpool or bus to the office instead of driving yourself.

9. Use your ac sparingly or even not at all.

10. Remove your roof rack on your car when you are not using it. A car rack can reduce fuel efficiency by 5%.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: With this past year’s pet food scares and even deaths a lot of pet owners are switching to organic products that are meat-based and don’t contain wheat-gluten, which is an allergen for some cats and even some dogs. Chemically laced wheat gluten is what was imported from China and caused the pet deaths. When you are looking at ingredients, some type of meat should always be first on the list and avoid wheat gluten all together. Try companies such as Catwell’s, Dogwell’s, Newman’s Own, and even Karma and Natural Pet.

Residents of Santa Cruz, California are now getting paid to ride a folding bike. This effort brought forth to encourage more people to take the bus instead of driving everyday. The local nonprofit organization Ecology Action is using state grant money to offer a rebate of up to $200 on a folding bicycle purchase. Along with that rebate comes discounted buss fair and bus passes to residents who completed a two hour bike-safety and urban cycling course within the county. The folding bikes have tiny wheels and narrow handlebars and don’t look like the normal bicycle but, their ability to fit inside a bus make them the perfect ride for commuters, who may not have the time to stand and wait on another bus to come through or the bike rack on their bus ride is full. The bikes can be brought into the office. The plus side is they are less likely to be stolen, which is a big plus to Natural and Sustainable.

For more information on this grant and the folding bicycles please log onto Ecology Action and read how you can get involved or get your own community involved.

See you in the bike lanes!

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: The Earth Day Network works year round to document environmental concerns and mobilize people to action. In 2007, celebrators in Venezuela took an oath as citizens of the world; the Somali Human Rights Organization planted 500 trees. All told, an estimated one billion in 175 countries took action at the most recent Earth Day. Check the internet for the yearly Earth Day event in your own state or town and get involved as much as you can.

Here’s how to reduce it.

1. Recycle old plastic bags from your daily newspaper for poop detail when you take your little furry friend for a walk.

2. If you buy cat litter, avoid clumping clay, which tend to be strip-mined and may contain dust that’s harmful to felines. Instead, look for green litter products, made from corn, recycled newspaper, sawdust, wheat or other green ingredients.

3. Consider and organic pet bed from of synthetic dyes or choose one made from hemp and stuffed with a natural filling like organically grown bu8ckwhat hulls that won’t release dangerous fumes the way a foam pet bed would.

4. Look for hemp collars and leaches, as well as recycled cardboard cat trees.

5. Look for used beds, bowls, dog houses, leaches, and pet toys at neighborhood yard sales.

6. Instead of toxic to your pet flea collars and tick collars and sprays, feed your pets brewer’s yeast. Sprinkle a half to one tsp. daily on your cat’s food; give a big dog a quarter cup of yeast and for smaller ones less.

7. Brush or comb pets frequently and vacuum often throughout your home. That will capture about 96 percent of all adult fleas.

8. Use nontoxic pest repellent collars and sprays with cedar, citronella, eucalyptus, lemongrass, rosemary, sesame, and other natural fragrances. Fill an envelope with cedar, lavender, mint, rosemary, or sweet woodruff, and stuff them between the sofa cushions or in between your mattresses and box springs. Put them also where pets sleep inside and outside the home as well.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: This summer, while enjoying your swimming pool, use greener cleaners to clean your pool and your pool water. If you wouldn’t let your kids swim in it, why let the environment swim in it.

1. Wear a cotton t-shirt instead of a polyester or wool one: The footprint of cotton skyrockets if you wash and dry it on recommended hot/warm cycles, so always wash in cold water. (Savings: 2.2 to 2.9)

2. Boil your water instead of filtering or chemically treating it: Boiling is the most carbon efficient option. (Savings: .2 to .3)

3. Snack on gorp, granola or home made trail mix instead of an energy bar: Because the packaging causes more of a carbon footprint than making a mix yourself. (Savings: 3)

4. Buy a down sleeping bag or comforter instead of a synthetic (polyester) one: The petroleum cost of making anything polyester is a huge impact on the world. (Savings: 6.9)

5. Wear a wool sweater instead of a polyester fleece coat: Natural materials will always beat out synthetics any day despite the written documents stating that sheep produce a lot of methane, even without wool production, sheep wool still exist. Right? (Savings: .7)

6. Hike in leather boots, instead of nylon-upper boots. (Savings: 23)

7. Use a candle lantern instead of a AA-battery LED lantern: A candle lantern will give off less light but it’s environmental impact is over the top. Mainly the throw-away batteries aren’t used. (Savings: 13.3)

8. Print your maps at home instead of buying the at the store: This will eliminate the transport of the maps from the print factory, to the store, to your hand, then your home. (Savings: 5.1)

9. Drinking from a hydration reservoir instead of using a polycarbonate bottle: It’s all based on the materials used here. (Savings: 2)

10. Cook over a campfire instead of a canister stove or gas stove: Burning wood is part of a natural cycle within the world. Getting your wood from a sustainable forest is that much more important. Gas stoves are all about the burn off of carbon. (Savings: 0.002-0.004)

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Use more concentrated products than the single use take home variety. There are many products now such as dish soap, laundry soap and even some body products that come in a concentrated form and will save on packaging cost, as well as your money in your pocket book in the long run.

• CFLS: The Philips Soft White CFL comes in a recyclable packaging and according to Philips, they claim that it contains the lowest mercury levels of any CFLs on the market. To find a CFL disposal site near your own home, visit Earth 911

• Local Eating: You can’t get anything better than something that is organic, locally grown and even purchased from your neighborhood farmers’ market. So Support them. Do it for yourself, your family and your local farmer. Find farmers’ markets in your own area by visiting Local Harvest.

• Hybrids: The Toyota Prius (48 mpg city/ 45 mpg hwy) leads for a fifth straight year in a row as the best hybrid purchase anyone can make. The Honda Civic Hybrid (40 mpg city/ 45 mpg hwy) also places high with U.S. News, and CNET.

• Biofuels: Not everyone knows how to make up an alternative fuel in their own garage, but there is help. By going to Biodiesel America you can find someone that can and has. You can start today in converting your own vehicle to take an alternative fuel source.

• Bioplastic: Opt for a durable, reusable carryall like the compact Chicobag or Baggu tote. And some markets now offer their own, like Safeway, Fred Meyer, Whole Foods, and even Wal Mart now.

• Bamboo Clothing: Bamboosa and Certaintees are tow of the most environmentally responsible brands that carry the best clothing line from bamboo materials. Their clothing is soft and durable and will last a lifetime if they are taken care of.

• Mineral Makeup: Companies like Larénium Mineral Makeup and Afterglow Cosmetics, they are both free of nano-particles and bismuth oxychloride. Companies like Avon and Mary Kay also have their own line of mineral makeup that is great for your skin. Just be careful when picking a mineral makeup product and read labels.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Save water all the time. Take shorter showers and if it’s yellow, let it mellow. If it’s brown, flush it down, when it comes to your toilet that is.

Ahimsa literally means, “the voidance of violence.” Your tax dollars that you pay in each year go to support violence more than you know. And anymore the violence you go to support is quite high on the scale of “things you don’t want to help pay for.” But, your tax paying dollars also go toward a lot of good thing as well, such as, road construction, public schools and assisting the poor, including some $4.4 billion in aid to Africa alone. Our taxes have a negative and positive effect on our world currently, but you can’t know whether the dollars you pay it will go for good or to the bad. But failing to file taxes will lead to jail time, interest, penalties, and tax liens.

Americans overpay the government an average of $1 billion every year, some 11 million people fail to take the Earned income Tax Credit and various education credits. Hire a tax professional (a CPA or and Enrolled Agent) to make sure you are maximizing the deductions available to you.

Do your duty by paying taxes, but be aware of not overpaying. Here are four ideas for making your contributions count in a good way toward the earth:

• Give to charity, engaging in voluntary (rather than involuntary, government-directed) philanthropy.

• Contribute more to your 401 (k) or other tax-deductible retirement accounts, or set one up if you are self-employed.

• Invest, with your tax adviser’s blessing in municipal bonds instead of bank savings, CDs, or table bonds. Many of these securities pay interest that is tax free.

• Avoid giving Congress an interest-free loan. Most people allow their employer to withhold more than they end up owing in taxes, leading to a big refund each April. Instead, work with your payroll department to lower your withholding so that they more closely match the actual amount of tax you will owe come year’s end. (Source: YJ 2008)

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip:
What Counts:

• 1/3 Amount of earth’s natural resources that have been mined, chopped, blown up, or otherwise extracted in the past three decades alone.

• 3 to 5 Number of extra planets we would need if everyone consumed at American rates.

• 5 Percentage of earth’s population living in the U.S. (yet Americans use up to 30 percent of the world’s resources and create 30 percent of the world’s waste.)

• 100,000 Number of synthetic chemicals used in commerce today, many of which wind up in our bodies (human breast milk is the food at the top if the food chain with the highest level of many toxic contaminates.)

• 99 Percentage stuff we harvest, mine, transport or otherwise produce that is trashed within six months (many products are specifically “designed for the dump”).

• 30 Percentage of kids in Congo ho have dropped out of school to mine metals, the majority of which end up in cheap and disposable electronic products bought by Americans.

• 75 Percent of global fisheries that are fishes at, or beyond, capacity.

• 4.5 Pounds of garbage each American makes each day (twice as much as we made 30 years ago).

• 3000 Number of advertisements targets at American consumers each day.(Source: Conscious Choice 2008)

By following park rules you can help keep your pets from creating a carbon footprint in the same manner you or I would. Here are some National, State and local park rules to keep in mind when you bring your pet along.

• All types of pets should be kept on a leash (maximum 6 feet long), or in a wehicle or tent. The pet must by under physical control at all times. Your roaming per can scare, hurt or even kill local wildlife or plant life.

• Bring your own cleanup bags for your pet. You must clean up after your dog, and dispose of waste in to the proper receptical. This is not only a health issue but your pets carbon footprint is just as important as yours.

• You are responsible for your pet’s behavior. Barking dogs (or other noisy animals) can wreak havoc on a peaceful campground and surroundings.

• Exercise pens should be moved daily to maintain the best possible condtions for the grounds.

• Pets must be properly licensed ande inoculated. And indentification tag is a smart idea. The tag should include a number where somebody can be reached when you are away.

• Animals found loose may be seized and subjected to laws pertaining to stray animals. Should your animal become lost, immediately call the local authorities to find the locations of the nearest stray holdings facilities.

• Most, but not all, State Parks allow dogs on their trails. Check with park staff if you are not sure.

Even though it is good practice to obey the laws of parks, but reducing the carbon footprint of our pets, some think is craziness. There are however ways to still help our pets walk the carbon-neutral line without looking like a whack-o. Over at Environmental Talk, Mark Jabo talks about the stand he takes on that very matter. Read his story and leave a comment here or there on where you thoughts on this topic take your thinking.

*Natural and Sustianable Living Tip: Reuse all your plastic baggies whenever you can. A dish strainer works the best for air drying them to use again.