You washed your hands and now what? Do I blow dry, towel dry or air dry? What is the greenest option? Interestingly enough there have been studies done on this.
Dyson, the maker of air dryers actually commissioned a study by MIT called Life Cycle Assessment of Hand Drying Systems. The study claimed that Dyson’s own hand dryer produce70% less carbon emissions than the conventional hand dryers or paper towels (obviously 100% recycled paper was better than virgin paper). Greenbiz.com did a nice article review on the Life Cycle reports findings.
Overall, most studies find that hand dryers will be the greener choice in about 95 percent of circumstances. It is the option that is lowest in carbon emissions and waste. However probably the greenest option of all is to carry your own handkerchief and dry your own hands. This is a custom in Japan and some parts of Asia and has worked well. No worries on paper towel dispensers being empty or dealing with hand dryers that don’t seem to work anymore. You take your own drying into your own hands!
Eating meat has a large footprint on the earth. Here are some facts;
- Reducing meat production by 10% in the US would free enough grain to feed 60 million people. (Harvard Nutritionist, Jean Mayer)
- According to the USDA, growing crops for animal feed requires 80% of U.S. agricultural land and nearly half of the water supply. (USDA)
- More than 80 pounds of CO2 are released for every 2.2 lbs of meat consumed.
- Factory farms are responsible for 18% of green house gases worldwide. They are also the cause of 64% of ammonia emissions, the primary cause of acid rain.(Natural Home Magazine)
Although eating less meat overall will reduce CO2 emissions and help the environment, it is also important to know which meat or protein is better than others. E Magazine published an article, The Best Meat to Eat, which identifies chicken and turkey as two of the meats lower in GHG emissions. Lamb, beef and pork were rated higher in their environmental footprint.
If you would like to learn more about vegetarian and meat free diets, here are some good resources;
Vegetarian Times: They produce a monthly publication and a great source of vegetarian recipes.
Food Revolution: John Robbins, the heir to the Baskin Robbins empire is also a vegetarian and author of Diet for A New America.
Becoming a Vegetarian: A blog for those individuals and families who want to start transitioning off of meat-based diets.
Want to test your green knowledge? Well now you can with National Geographic Green Guide Quizzes.
These quizzes are 10 questions each and do a good job to see if you really know your stuff. Don’t worry if you get the answer wrong, it will give the correct information so you can get 100% the second time around. Topics range from various rooms and mechanical aspects in your home to topics such as organic gardening, plastics, water, travel and energy.
These quizzes are fun and easy to take. Consider using them before sustainability trainings or integrate them into your green team meetings.
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like to live in 500 square foot home? In fact many people in the world live in small spaces however in America we have been accustomed to our average 3,000 square foot home. But with that space, comes a cost not only to the home itself but the increase of maintenance, housecleaning and money to maintain and furnish such large spaces.
A small but growing trend is to downsize into smaller living spaces. There have been architects who have designed not only efficient small spaces but very eco-friendly as well.
Check out these small pre-fab houses;
Tumbleweed Tiny House Company: These very charming little houses were particular designed for remote areas.
Texas Tiny Houses- they use 99% recycled materials for their homes
Clayton Homes- These homes are slightly larger at 720 square feet
DGE Homes- they sell the design plans for you to build your own
L41 Homes- designed by a well known architect, these 250 square feet homes are truly an art in efficiency
There has been a lot written about plastic lately. Not only is it harmful to the environment but overwhelming studies are finding plastic harmful to your health. Consider these facts;
- Plastics production produces 14 percent of toxic air emissions in the U.S., and each plant emits an average of 300-500 gallons of contaminated wastewater per minute. (It’s Easy Being Green book)
- 100 million plastic bottles dumped in US every year. Each bottle will take over 1,000 years to biodegrade. (SIGG)
- BPA (a plastic hardening agent prevalent in bottles, cups and lined tin cans) is so prevalent in food packaging and other consumer items that prior research has detected its presence in at least 90% of Americans. A group of 20 San Francisco residents had 66% less BPA in their urine after three days on a diet of fresh, organic and unpackaged food, scientists found. (Silent Spring Institute)
- 500 billion plastic bags or wraps are thrown away in America each year and are created with 12 million barrels of oil. (DropthePlasticBag.org)
Find out the facts about plastic for yourself with these resources;
Plastic Disclosure is a great website that offers facts and information about the harmful effects of plastic.
GreenBiz released this article a few weeks ago about the plastic use in corporations.
New York Times released this article on the issue of plastic and waste
If you want a more lighthearted approach, view the movie Bag It, that was released early in 2011. It discusses all the issues with plastic. For a review, go to this blog entry.
It actually is greener to convert your Prius or other hybrid you might own to increase the battery capacity and electric usage. Although the new electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, are well –made cars, it is actually more sustainable to convert the car you have rather than purchasing a new one. The other factor to consider is that Prius cars wear better than normal vehicles. So you might also consider purchasing a used Prius and getting it converted to all electric.
All electric Prius conversions are becoming more popular especially in Colorado with aggressive tax rebates. The State of Colorado is now offering an incentive to convert your Prius to plug-in through a refundable tax credit of 85% of the cost with a maximum credit of $6,000. This is only good through the end of 2011 and might be extended through 2012.
Recommended Prius Conversion Vendors in Colorado:
For Denver residents try Green Gears.
For Boulder residents try Boulder Hybrid Conversions.
In a recent article on food waste by e-magazine, they cited that roughly one-third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year—approximately 1.3 billion tons—gets lost or wasted. This was based on the report, FAO report Global Food Losses and Food Waste, which was released May 2011. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found that Americans are responsible for most of this food waste—more than 34 million tons of food was tossed in the U.S. in 2009, which amounted to more than 14% of the nation’s total municipal solid waste stream. And only 3% of food scraps are recycled into compost—the remaining 97% is sent to landfills where it rarely decomposes and instead rots and produces harmful methane gas which contributes to global warming.
Here are top 5 tips you can do to reduce food waste in your home;
- Create a Shopping List and Menu Plan: Plan out the week of meals and figure out how much you need to purchase for your family. You will reduce food waste by only buying what you need.
- Make Smoothies: instead of throwing away wilted veggies or fruit, convert them into a smoothie. Go to Smoothie Recipes for some ideas.
- Buy Only What You Need: consider purchasing in bulk, when possible, and only buy the quantities of food that you need. You can also freeze un-used fruit and vegetables and use them at a later time.
- Compost: The best way not to feel guilty about throwing away unused food, is to compost it. Consider getting a home-based composter for your yard. Go to composters.com which has a broad range of composters plus information on how to get started.
- Portion Control: Start with smaller portion helpings on plates and let each family member take more if they want. This is the quickest way to reduce food waste.
DIVE! is an excellent movie on food waste. Learn more about it on our past blog post DIVE!.
Imagine a grocery store with no packaged goods– no jars, no cans, no plastic packaging—just food. Well a new store opened in London that is just that, a store with no packaged goods called Unpackaged. 
Customers bring in their own reusable containers and have them weighed before shopping. Then, consumers fill up their containers with the products they need in only the amounts they desire. No more packaging to throw away, less food waste and no need to worry about the plastic BPA issue in your food.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, packaging waste contributes to about a 1/3 of our waste in our U.S. landfills. They also show that over 10.4 million tons of plastic packaging is thrown away annually by Americans. With 95% of the ecological damage of packaging is from the energy used and the toxins created in the package manufacturing and delivery process. If packaging waste could be reduced, it would be a considerable impact on our waste stream, energy use and toxins in our environment.
Unpackaged was voted as the #48 best shop in London, to take a virtual tour visit the CNN video, Shoppers Weight Up Green Premiums.
We hope it might catch on here in the States!
Earth Aid, is a software company that is helping consumers reduce their utility bills. The company recently named one of the Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in energy by Fast Company magazine, provides an incentive to members when they reduce energy to also accrue points. Customers establish an account on Earth Aid which is connected to a user’s utility information including power, water and gas companies. Available to U.S. customers in all 50 states, it is a great way for consumers to be mindful of resource conservation and get some free products from Starbucks and other local businesses.
For more information and articles about Earth Aid:
E-Magazine , “Follow the Bills”
New York Times, “Devises That Help Plug Electrical Leaks”
Fast Company, “The 10 Most Innovative Companies in Energy”
There are some great green apps now available that can help consumers make conscious choices on products and
services and improve their green footprint. All these apps are free:
Find Green: This app provides a directory of green retail establishments in your area. It uses the GPS system on Android phones and can direct you to the nearest green establishment from where you are located.
Good Guide: An app that the developers have been working on for years and is very well regarded. You can scan the barcode of a product with your smartphone and it will provide you a sustainability ranking of that company and product.
Fooducate: An app that provides more information on ingredients and labels of food products. It has a rating scale and does offer alternative products that might be better or healthier for you.
Animal Free: Is able to help consumers know which ingredients contain animal products. This is useful for those individuals who want to be completely animal free.
Ecorio: This app also uses the GPS system on your smartphone to track your carbon footprint as you travel. Then, it also provides a quick way to purchase carbon offsets through Google.
PedNav: This is an app that helps plan the best route and transportation option with the activities of your day. It encourages walking and biking instead of a vehicle and helps route the best way to travel.
For a more extensive listing of Green Apps, see Treehuggers list of over 100 green apps.
You washed your hands and now what? Do I blow dry, towel dry or air dry? What is the greenest option? Interestingly enough there have been studies done on this.
Waste Reduction | eco-officiency January 31, 2012 | 
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