Natural and Sustainable

When it comes to making better shopping decision you first have to think not only for the planet and its well-being, you have to look to your health and your family’s health as well. Here are a few labels to look for when buying more green.

1. Energy Star: This label shows that the appliance or other product you are buying is energy-efficient. There are guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Energy for appliance, heating and cooling systems, lighting, roof products, windows and even doors and other items. Be sure when buying an item you look for this label.

2. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): This label helps to set the standards for responsible forest management and certifies that come from certain woodland areas.

3. Green Guard Indoor Air Quality: This label insures that the products you are buying will release low VOCs into the air and the emissions let off from adhesives, appliance, ceilings, insulation, paint, etc. These VOCs are low enough that they won’t cause significant damage to your lungs or your health.

4. Green Seal: This label maintains environmental standards for products like paints, cleaners, and even alternative vehicles. When you look to new products look to ones that have the green seal of approval.

5. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED): The United States Green Building Council rates buildings, and homes in categories such as water, energy, material conservation and air quality within those structures. And whatever number that structure scores is their green level of certification in the form of silver, gold or platinum. Adding certain materials to your home that are greener and more eco-friendly can and will raise you green level of certification.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Don’t be afraid to display what you believe in and your causes on your car, your house or even on your clothes. You may end up encouraging someone else to change their habits to eco-friendly ones.

Americans throw away enough office paper to build a 12-foot-hgh wall from Los Angeles to New York. Recycling one time of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, a 380 gallons of oil. Making new paper from recycled paper used 30 to 50 percent less energy than making paper from trees, and it produces 95 percent less air pollution. Encourage everyone in your office to print and photocopy only when necessary, use both side of the paper when you do print, and try to reuse paper. Fro when you must print, here are a couple of accessories and ideas to help you work more green:

1. Recycled paper with 30 to 35 percent post consumer content, which is available at Office Depot stores.

2. Paper from nonwood fibers, such as Ecopaper made in Costa Rica from agro-waste. Paper made from agricultural residue is pricey, but this does encourage careful paper usage. The price will come down as production increases.

3. Recycled paper with 100 percent post consumer content, processed without chlorine, from The Green Office. Locating a green paper resource near your office will minimize pollution from transportation.

4. Use refillable pens made from recycled plastic.

5. Recycle your printer cartridges-for every ink or laser toner cartridge that is recycle, two quarts of oil are kept out of landfills.

6. Chlorine free and tree-free papers are the most ecofriendly choices to go.
(Source: Organic Gardening 2008)

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Always turn the lights out in a room or closet when you are finished. What’s the point of leaving the light on anyway?

VERY GREEN HOUSE: Building a new home or redecorating a room? Visit the Green House at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. It’s a 7,00-suare-foot re-creation of the Glide House, a low maintenance, affordable modernist home. Guests can check out 60 eco-friendly products from countertops to carpets. If you can’t make the trip visit the website for ides to use in your own home.

Forestry field trips and programs that invite discovery and enjoyment are available now through the Oregon Garden Rediscovery Forest Education Programs.

The Rediscovery Forest is a demonstration forest for education, research and public enjoyment. It gives students opportunities to discover the importance of Oregon’s forests, see forest development and understand how forests contribute to our quality of life on Earth.

The Rediscovery Forest contains many trails to explore, most of them are ADA accesible. The following is a list of the lesson descriptions:

1. Tree Identification
2. Wildlife Habitiat
3. Forest Ecology
4. Animal Tracking
5. Tree Treasure Hunt
6. Forest and Wetland Food Chains
7. Role of Fire in the Forest
8. Forest Managment
9. Sustainable Forestry and the Oregon Forest Practices Act
10. Natural Journaling

Planning your visit is an easy one: Rediscovery Forest Education Programs are open to the publid and reserved on a first come first served basis. Most groups arrange programs four to eight weeks in advnace. Spring is the busiest time of the season so book your trip to the Oregon Garden now and learn more than you ever thought you could about the sustainablity of a forest.

Go to Oregon Forests to find out how you can regester to be apart of this great program.

Additional Education Programs Offered Are:
• Teacher Trainings/Workshops
• Envirothon, Natural Resource High School Competition
• Natural Resource Career Fair
• Service Learning and Community Service Projects
• Home Schools/Scout Groups
• Arbor Day/Earth Day
• Group Tours

**Are you afraid of death or even the thought of death does it scare you? Over at Long Relationships, JM has a fun activity to make the thought of it all not so over whelming. Mainly putting something into prespective is all anyone has to do. Read the whole story here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Use clean energy.