green living Category
January 18th, 2010 by ecojoe in energy conservation, event, green living, health, plastic, reusing, transportation
Holy moly, it doesn’t seem that long ago that I last hosted the Carnival of the Green, but it’s been almost a year! Truly, time waits for no man. Just last week, Eco New Mexico hosted the Carnival, and next week it is moving on to good ol’ Enviroblog.
But enough talk of time and such; let’s take a look-see at this week’s Carnival of the Green submissions:
Health
Surbhi brings the ruckus with this in-depth look at natural ways to stay healthy.
The venerable Fake Plastic Fish continues her one-woman war against plastic with a shocking exposé on a nasty chewing gum ingredient: plastic. After reading that, I think I’ll steer clear of gum for awhile and maybe check out Glee gum, made from natural chicle.
Gracy Queen wins the award for best blog post title, with her piece on vegan food choices entitled, I Can’t Has Cheezburger. I, myself, am not a vegan, but if you’re gonna be, here’s some good tips on what to eat.
Jourdan asks if being “green” makes you feel stressed out, and breaks it down to the basics to show that you can make some small, simple changes to be greener.
Climate Change
Dr. Kneidel exposes the plight of the noble trees, brought about by recent climate change.
Green Linguistics
Colin Doyle is trying to export a linguistic gem from Australia; calling fossil fuel energy “black energy“. It might make it a lil’ easier to have talks about green vs. black energy.
Beverly decides to make a New Year’s resolution to “grab a tiger by the tail” and go green. However, she then delves into what exactly this mysterious saying means.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
The aptly named Mrs. Green contributes 11 ideas on how to reuse coffee grounds. I’ll be using some of her tips, since I do enjoy the occasional coffee.
Stuff With A Purpose has some good tips on how to reuse plastic bags. The best thing to do is avoid them altogether, but barring that, he has some good ways to reuse them.
A shorty named Renee that I met one day has some good tips for how to compost during these frigid winter months. Since my current compost bin is overflowing, I plan on using some of her advice to figure out what to do.
Do It Yourself
Emily Moser, of the strangely named Becoming A Radiologist website, has listed some good resources for making some homemade soap.
Around the House
Brenda Pike got herself a Kill-A-Watt (I got one of these a year ago and it’s great!) and ran around her house measuring how much electricity various appliances used. Very interesting, and it convinced me to fully turn off my Wii instead of putting it into standby with the Wiimote.
Stacey Doyle decides to look at some easy ways to live in a more eco-friendly way.
Case examines the pros and cons of compact fluorescent light bulbs, including examining just how green these CFLs are.
Mark Donovan show us some easy yet effective ways to reduce your home’s ecological footprint while also saving money. Sounds like my kind of post, if you know what I mean.
Pure Natural Diva has some general tips on how to go green for today’s on-the-go diva.
Transportation
Vihar tells the world of how St. Louis has opted for a tiny tax increase to help fund its public transportation system. Kudos to Vihar for breaking this story.
Phew! Welp, that about does it for this week’s Carnival of the Green. Hopefully we all laughed a little, cried a little, and, just maybe, learned a little. I leave you with the Top 5 EcoJoes Posts of 2009:
Happy Carnival!
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May 7th, 2009 by ecojoe in free, green living, reusing
Edit: I received an email from the owner of the site that was giving away bags. It turns out that their sponsor backed out at the last second. So no bags for anyone 
If you want a free tote, try this. I do apologize for any inconvenience.
Remember, all these free tote bags don’t do any good unless you actually bring them to the store and use them instead of plastic bags, so get on that!
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April 21st, 2009 by ecojoe in food, green living, organic, plants, projects
Kick off Earth Day by starting a neighborhood garden. Gather around a bunch of neighbors and locals, find a vacant lot, and help “green” it by cleaning it up and turning it into a majestic garden. Here are some great tips for community gardens…
Hopefully those tips will aid you on your journey to your very own community garden.
From the incomparable Onion.
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March 30th, 2009 by ecojoe in eco footprint, eco hero, energy conservation, event, green living, organic, save money, solar power
Bienvenidos al Carnival o’ the Green!. Last week Evangelical Ecologist did a fine job hosting it, and next week GreenDealsDaily is ‘posed to host it.
But enough idle chit-chat; let’s get this show on the road.
Organic Mess
Have you ever wanted to compost, but it just seemed too dang complicated? Then you’re in luck, for Talia has provided some tips on simple composting.
Neighbor Nancy shows y’all how to get some free vegetable seeds and how you can grow a ton in small containers. I’m about to go plant even more plants in old containers now.
Julie has ten reasons why organic lipstick is the way to go, to get that special bee-stung look that’s all the rage.
Jennifer took composting to the extreme and even composted her finger! What a true eco hero!
Ed Biado spouts off about organic this and that. While I approve of most organics, I don’t think they’re always the best option.
Go Green and Save Green
Ah, helping the environment whilst helping your wallet. That’s what EcoJoes is all about.
ishan is all about that, too. He dared to ask the question “Do hybrid cars really save you money?“. His conclusion is much the same as mine.
JT has some leftover stuff, but doesn’t want to throw it away. Here’s how he makes money by selling used mess.
Energy
FreeOrganicNews ponders what exactly is solar energy? His findings may shock you; then again, they may not.
Big Mack has found some zany CFL designs, and he brought them for show-and-tell.
Nancy Miller has found 50 blogs that have good info on energy. Not to be one to judge, but her site is kinda weird and spammy.
Getting out and Enjoying the World
TravelCat4 has some handy eco-tips for how to travel in an Earth-friendly manner. My favorite tip was the ‘grow a beard’ one; zero effort required, plus you get that rugged look that draws all the ladies in!
The Barefoot Badger proclaims, “Ain’t nothing like the real thing baby“, and I wholeheartedly agree. All our new-fangled technology is no substitute for the real world and real life. Get out and enjoy the real world now, people!
Global Warming
Not content with one submission to the Carnival, Mack also wrote this Debbie Downer article about global warming. Heed his warnings, people.
Sally decides to go all the way to the top, and ask Mr. Barack Obama to help prevent future extinctions.
Other Green Mess
Another post by Ed Biado gives some tips for living a greener life.
The aptly-named Mesquite Pete is all about some DEET. He has had enough mosquito bites, and decided it’s time to fight back.
Earth Day is right around the corner (April 22). Astrid Lee has provided this handy chart of ways to celebrate this planet we live on.
Beth Terry contemplates the pros and cons of recycling plastic into oil. I think it’s great that they’ve found a way to do this, but I do understand Ms. Beth’s concerns.
Ryan and Leslie help us visualize the huge number of plastic bottles used in the U.S. in just five minutes.
Alex has some easy ways to save car fuel, and it looks like he’s from England, talking about “tyres” and “boots”.
Scott is eager to let you know that this recession is a great time to start a green business.
Dang, that about wraps it up for this Carnival. Thanks for all the submissions; hopefully I didn’t forget anyone or mess up a link. Until next time, this is EcoJoe, signing off.
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February 10th, 2009 by ecojoe in free, green living, reusing
Gadzooks, this made the front page of Care2. Vote for it, por favor.
Man oh man, it seems the free tote bag offers never stop. I already have about 4 or 5 reusable cloth bags that I got for free at mi casa, but just in case you need a reusable cloth tote bag, hur ye go:
Free Tote Bag Numero Uno
This is only available to our brothers to the north, the mysterious “Canadians”. Simply sign up for Heinz’s baby newsletter, and they will repay you with your very own tote bag. Fill in your “province” (Canadian slang for “state”) and address, and ye shall receive.
Free Cloth Tote Bag Numero Dos
Mantra Energy is giving away a free tote bag also as well too. Simply fill in their short form, mash the “Submit” button, and twiddle your thumbs whilst awaiting the arrival of your eco-friendly reusable bag.
La Tercera Bolsa GratÃs
Cancer patients only! This here free tote bag is only for people with cancer. If you don’t have cancer, then you just mosey along and don’t click THIS LINK. If, however, you or a family member or close friend has cancer, then go on and get them this cancer tote bag.
Welp, that about wraps it up for free tote bags. Once you get them, bring them to the grocery store and amaze everyone with your eco-savvy by using reusable cloth bags. Until next time, this is your host, Joe.
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January 11th, 2009 by ecojoe in cleaning, green living, projects, reusing, water
Deep in the sprawling Peck Estates there is a meandering brook, full of plants, wildlife, and brisk, babbling water. Whenever I grow weary of my toils to better this planet called Earth, I cast my eyes upon this creek, and tears of wonder carve clean trails down my dusty face.
But it’s not “all good in the hood”, as Mister Rogers would say. Over the last month or so, I’ve cleaned out a LOT of litter just from my small part of the creek. The litter has ranged in size from tiny shards of broken glass to a metal chair to a freaking stop sign.
After cleaning all that mess out, me and Tiff decided to make some creek animals out of the junk, since all the trash had come from the creek. What follows may shock and even horrify you. Prepare to look upon the creek creatures.
CLICK THE PICTURES TO SEE A BIGGER PICTURE
Glassy the Turtle
Tiff’s abstract masterpiece.
Turkey Thing
Made from a gen-u-ine 40 bottle (and maybe an old racquetball?).
Glass Frog
If you use your imagination, this pile of reused glass might look remotely like a frog.
Simple Snail
Another Tiff creation. My blurry picture does not do this glass snail justice.
Parrot with Coke Bottle Body
He’s all spirally and mess.
Snake made from Broken Glass
That’s his tongue on the left.
Glass Hell Monkey
Its tail is made from a LipSmackers brush. He is one menacing mamma jamma.
We recycled all the leftover broken glass and old cans and bottles. All in all, it was a good way to reuse some litter, and make some “art” from it. If anyone else has done cleaned up litter from a creek or stream and made something from it, por favor let me know!
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November 13th, 2008 by ecojoe in free, green living, reusing
The Free Cloth Tote Bag Bonanza continues with a superbly crafted tote bag from Stouffer’s. Yes, Stouffer’s, maker of famous frozen dinners, is giving away free grocery tote bags. Here’s how to get your very own so next time someone asks if you want flimsy plastic or wasteful paper bags you can rudely thrust your cloth bag into their jealous face.
- Go to Stouffer’s and register
- You will get 100 points
- Donate at least 20 points to get a free tote bag!
- Send me $4 via Paypal
It’s just that easy. That last step is very important people! So register for that site, donate your points, getchoself a cloth bag, and start eschewing plastic and paper bags once and for all.
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