Greener ways to "Deck the Halls"

Well, it's Thanksgiving week. Sort of the unofficial start of the Holiday Season. Many families have their traditions this time of year, which often include decorating the house for Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/New Year's. The bright lights and sparkling tree, for many, help get them into the "Holiday Spirit." The wide variety of "green" products on the market shows that some people have started to consider the environmental impacts of their traditions. If you have (or maybe if this post inspires you to do so), consider some of the following ideas to make your "White Christmas" a little greener:

• Consider green options for your tree (and/or wreath) - There are pros and cons to various types of Christmas trees, as far as their environmental impacts. A plastic tree may require more resources initially, but can last for several years. Lessen this impact by buying a used one or one made from recycled materials. Cutting a tree may be greener because it absorbs carbon dioxide while growing and can be composted, but you need to get a new one every year, which can also waste resources.
• Use fewer lights - One or two strings of lights should be enough to put you in the Holiday Spirit and contribute to the festivity in your neighborhood. There is no need to double your electric bill (and your carbon footprint) just to enjoy the Holidays.
• Switch to LED Christmas lights - LED lights use significantly less energy (reports of as much as 90% less) and the price has been dropping significantly in recent years. The prices are comparable enough to traditional lights that you may recapture your investment in the first season's electric bill, depending on how much you use them. Even greener? Try solar powered light strings, that come on automatically at night, using the energy they have accumulated during the day.
• Avoid the yard blow-ups (or at least stick to 1 or 2 at the most--for the love of God!) - With the constant fan and lighting these must be very big vampires (sucking energy constantly). I couldn't readily find any info about their energy use or their durability, but they seem like they would be something you'd end up having to throw away in a few years too, which is another negative in their environmental footprint. I did see an eBay listing that said they use the same energy as a "standard string of Christmas lights." I wonder if an LED bulb can be used to conserve some energy (still doesn't do anything about the constant fan.....)
  
• Unplug everything before you go to bed - Use a power strip to make this easier, or you can also use a timer--especially for outdoor lights.
• Don't clog the landfill - If you upgrade to greener holiday decorations, drop off your lights, artificial trees and other decorations at a thrift store, consignment (make a little money too!), or local nonprofit organization.
  
• Buy used decorations - Buying some of your decorations at the local nonprofit agency thrift store is a great green option! You can save them from the landfill, while supporting a good cause.
  
• Make your own decorations - Besides being greener, this is a fun family activity to create Holiday memories, which is really what it's all about anyway, isn't it?
  

For more ideas check out this great book, "Green Christmas: How to Have a Joyous, Eco-Friendly Holiday Season" for only $7.95.

Green your banking

With the world's financial markets in turmoil (and perhaps your own financial woes), everyone's thoughts are on the color of money these days. But there may be some steps you can take to "green" your banking that may also help save you money, reduce your impact on the planet, and vote for a better, more sustainable future at the same time.

• Switch to online only banking. You can do this with your current bank by using the ATM/debit card they provide and their online bill pay services. Most banks do not charge for this service, or have a way to get around any fees (for example, Wells Fargo has free bill pay service if you have a direct deposit into your account). Also, some banks (like ING Direct) have "paperless" accounts that eliminate checks and paper statements, instead providing a debit card, ATM access and online bill paying service (you can usually have them issue a check for you if you need one).
• Get your bills electronically. Eliminate the shipping, paper statement, envelope (or 2 if they send a return envelope) and any extra leaflets they include. Saves not only paper and gas, but time and money as well (no stamps or trips to the post office). Check with your bank(s), utility companies, credit card issuers and more to see if they offer this option. Then pay through your online bill pay service.
• Nix the receipts. When you have the option, decline a copy of your receipt (i.e ATM machine, fast food, restaurants, etc.) Collectively this can add up to a lot of paper (saving trees and reducing the chemicals like chlorine used in processing), and in your household can leave you with less paper clutter to sort through.
  
• Buy recycled paper checks. Most banks and check services have a limited number of check designs made from recycled paper content. Choose from these. Or, you can buy your checks from The Check Gallery, Inc. which has a wide variety of designs and images, all of which are made from recycled paper. Another great benefit is that with many of these designs, 10% of profits are donated to environmental, conservation or other social causes.
• Choose a "greener" bank. Local credit unions are one great option. They are member-owned, not-for-profit, and many of them also invest in the local community. You can also find some larger regional or even national banks that follow sustainable and environmental business practices and invest in local communities and/or developing countries. A good place to start a search for these larger banks (also some local banks in larger cities) is the National Green Pages directory.
• Green your investment portfolio. Investments may be trickier in today's market than your day-to-day banking. We don't know yet if the market has "hit the bottom," but when it does economic experts say it will be a great time to buy and get some great deals (some even suggest now may be a good time to buy). There are companies that will screen your portfolio for social and environmental causes (by both "negative" and "positive" screens. Negative screens will eliminate things you don't want in your portfolio--like tobacco, alcohol, or other factors that may be important to you. Positive screens will include certain things that matter to you--like companies with strong environmental or social commitments.) You can also find these companies through the National Green Pages.

Some of these may seem like tiny steps. That's precisely the point. If it's easy for you, you will be more likely to make the change. Added together and multiplied, however, these baby steps on each of our parts can really contribute to a greener future for our children.

Special offer from green cell phone provider

On October 10, I told you about CREDO Mobile, a green, socially conscious cell phone service provider. In that post, I mentioned their contract buyout offer, where they will pay up to $200 towards termination fees with your current provider. I linked to this buyout offer on their website here. How does this work? They say they will credit your CREDO Mobile account thirty days after they receive a copy of your prior carrier's termination fee charges. The great thing is that this will cover up to $200 per line for up to 3 lines per family plan.

On October 21, I received an e-mail from Organic Consumers Association with a special offer I thought you might be interested in. Just use offer code 500205 to get a free LG 350 camera phone, free solar charger, stylish carrying case made from recycled Colombian banana truck tires, as well as the contract buyout and other benefits of membership in the CREDO Mobile network.

These benefits include a cell phone company that lives your green values: offsetting their carbon usage, planting trees (over 2.5 million so far!), and donating to progressive and environmental causes (over $60 million to date)--all for rates similar to conventional carriers. For more details you can read my previous post or visit the greenest cell phone service on their website.

D-Tox Foot Spa.....Ewwww......Ahhhhhh

This D-Tox foot spa is an experience that made me say first "ewwwwww" then "ahhhhhh." I had an intro session (15 min) done for free at a health fair I went to a few months ago. I had seen it at another one but hadn't had a chance to take advantage of it at that time. This video explains how it works.



The woman that did it for me said it had pulled a lot of toxins from my joints (she can tell based on the color and other characteristics of the yuck at the end). The water looked pretty nasty by the end, making me think about how all that had once been in my body ("ewwwwwwww") but then the rest of that day and even the next day I felt noticeably better ("ahhhhhhhhhh"). She recommended another session within a week to get out more toxins after the first session had loosened them up, followed by another 2-3 sessions to complete the detox. At $50 a session that wasn't something I could do then (or now).

I would LOVE to buy one of these D-Tox foot spas someday when I can. It would be more convenient, and cheaper in the long run, than going to sessions at a chiropractor's or other holistic health practitioner's office. The other cool thing is if you can get one now, Gaiam is running a great sale on this for the holiday season this year (through December 31, 2008). 20% Off - Regular price $250; Sale price $200

Hypermiling experiment: Failure?

Ok, so I haven't been posting my experience with hypermiling lately. Does this mean the experiment has failed? Well, if my HS science teacher were to get involved, she might think so. (She was quite a character! I remember one time my friend asked to go to the bathroom during her class. Her response? "But you just went last Tuesday!" She, of course, meant during science class last Tuesday. She considered those 50 minutes a day "her time" NOT ours. Needless to say, that became quite the joke among my friends and I.) She would certainly not have approved of my little hypermiling experiment. I just haven't been able to continue collecting data.

Life has interfered significantly with the tracking of my results. My lifestyle will alternate between stretches of barely leaving the house (I work at home), to long road trips for work where I will have 6-7 gas receipts stuffed in my checkbook at the end of the week (among various other snack and meal receipts, sometimes hotel receipts). In the beginning I would take a second to write down the mileage on each receipt, promising myself to return later to actually calculate the mileage. As the weeks went by (and the receipts piled up!) without ever having done so, I gave up on writing the mileage on them as well. By the time I sift through the papers in my checkbook, I simply want to get rid of the clutter as quickly as possible (and before my pre-schooler and toddler scatter them around or need me for something else!).

As a result of this experiment, I would say I have come to some conclusions.:

• First of all, for me, I will never be able to perfect the art of hypermiling (or turn it into an obsession, as some do) without MPG monitoring equipment that will be able to tell me my "real time" MPG as I'm driving (as well as calculate averages, etc.)
  
• Secondly, the techniques used by hypermilers require you to really pay attention on the road. I travel remote roads frequently for long stretches of time, with little more than scattered farmhouses and an occasional tree or cow to look at. My mind tends to wander during these times. I think I only did any real conscious hypermiling for extended stretches once or twice on these roads.
• Third, there are significant differences between highway hypermiling and city hypermiling, both in terms of techniques and results achieved (speculating here somewhat, since as I mentioned above, I didn't track very much data before coming to this conclusion).
  
• Finally, just being aware of the gas mileage effects of certain behaviors (like speeding up to a red light only to slam on the brakes) will have some effect on your driving style, if you want it to. Even though I don't religiously hypermile, my driving habits have changed for the better. I guess in that way it's not a failure.