Eco statistics that make me sad

I am always overwhelmed by some of the environmental statistics I read, especially when it seems like this overwhelming problem will never be solved. However, when statistics are broken down into my daily activities I can actually see where my small effort can really make a difference. So today I thought I would share some interesting eco facts to inspire us all to make small changes:

1. If 10,000 people drink only organic beverages for one week, we'll avert 32 full cocktail shakers of pesticides from pouring into the environment. (Source: Ideal Bite)

2. The US has less than 4% of its forests left and equally devastating is that 80% of the total world's forests are gone. (Source: Bikeroute.com)

3. Recycling 1 ton of paper saves: 17 trees, 2 barrels of oil (enough to run the average car for 1,260 miles), 4,100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space, and 60 pounds of air pollution. (Source: Trash to Cash)

4. The U.S. is 5% of the world's population but uses 25% of its natural resources. (Source: Environmental Protection Agency)

5. If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 1,000 sheet virgin fiber bathroom tissues with 100% recycled ones, we could save: 373,000 trees, 1.48 million cubic feet of landfill space, and 155 million gallons of water. (Source: Seventh Generation Company)

6. Recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to operate a TV for 3 hours. (Source: Eco-Cycle)

7. Recycling collection and processing, and manufacturing with recycled materials employed
952,614 people in 2001, and paid $34 billion in wages. (Source: National Recycling Coalition, 2001)

8. The average American home contains more synthetic chemicals today than the average
chemical plant of 100 years ago. (Source: Windstar Foundation)

9. Globally, 58% of coral reefs are imperiled by human activity such as overfishing, sewage runoff, sedimentation, and dredging. (Source: Environmental Defense Fund)

10. Tropical rainforests in the Amazon store 75 billion tons of carbon dioxide in their trees and plants. When the forests are burned, carbon dioxide is released into the air. It has been estimated that 25% of total global CO2 emissions are from the burning of tropical rainforests. (Source: Rainforest Action Group) Read more...

Can cars be green?

We are starting to see the terms hybrid car, electric car and solar car more and more these days and it got me thinking: Is there such a thing as a truly green car? What exactly do these terms mean? These questions, and the fact that the gas station down the street from me now has 87 octane gas selling for the bargain $4.19/gallon, prompted me to look into the answers. To start, here is a link to a useful article explaining the differences between gas-powered cars, electric-powered cars, and the combination of the two - more commonly known as hybrid vehicles. With the soaring oil prices these days, the thought of finding a car that is capable of driving 35-55 miles/gallon is pretty appealing. There are some very helpful sites and blogs out there that are really breaking down the advances in the hybrid industry, as well as comparing what is available on the market. Here are a few links of note:

1. Hybridcars.com: This site has a few nice features including a database that compares hybrid vs. non-hybrid cars, a robust research section covering topics from the environmental impact of cars, fuel options and buyers guides, as well as the latest technology coming to the forefront in the industry.
2. The Green Vehicle Guide: This site is housed within EPA's Transportation section, and covers the greenest vehicles and their emission ratings relative to gas-powered cars.
3. The Green Rating: This is a site Yahoo advertises that ranks vehicles on a scale of 1-100 (measuring their environmental friendliness). The site goes on to rank the top 100 cars by that green rating.

In addition to hybrid cars, we are starting to see smaller vehicles here in the States that have long been staples of the road in Europe, and other high-priced gas countries. The first of these vehicles to cross the Atlantic was the Mini Cooper. Most recently, and my personal favorite, the Smart Car has been introduced. While safety ratings for these cars could be an issue, I imagine more and more of these energy-efficient cars will be brought to market. I hope the days of the huge Hummer's may be coming to an end.... Read more...

Love mom, love our planet

With mother's day just around the corner, I thought it would be nice to provide some suggestions for some eco-friendly products. And by this, I do not suggest you go out and buy your mother some energy-efficient light bulbs, instead find something she will really love.

1. Not sure about you, but my mom still maintains a bit of her 'hippie' persona from her days of living in SF and doing God knows what at Jimi Hendrix concerts (love you mom). For many mom's going organic is like stepping back into a tight pair of bellbottom jeans, it just feels right. Organic candles (using soy instead and natural aromatherapy oils) is a fun gift that you mom can truly appreaciate. Not only do these candles have less toxins when lit, but use less chemicals to produce. Q Candles are some of my favorites (www.qcandles.com).

2. What mom does not want a great bottle of wine on her special day, especially when they can have one of the eco-friendly variety. These wines are created without chemicals using a biological sustainable method. Trader Joe's and Whole foods have great selections. Toast to mom and the fact that she has put up with you for all these years!

2. Let's face it, girls love flowers. We love the way it feels to receive them (maybe its the inner beauty queen in all of us). Why not give mom organically grown flowers this mother's day. Not only are you making a better choice environmentally, but you are protecting farm workers from working with dangerous chemicals. (www.organicbouquet.com)

So what are you going to give your mom next Sunday? Read more...