I got this idea to post this here from another group's post. Please check the ingredients of all cleaners that you use at home. The more natural, the better. I use to work at the railroad as an electrician for 23 years. I worked on locomotives. When we did maintenance on them, we were given cleaners to clean components. Written on the cleaner cans, was a statement saying "This product has been determined to cause cancer in labratory animals in California." HELLO! We were in Arkansas, and I guess that our railroad thought that being in another state, that this product wouldn't cause cancer! Our unions made the company stop using this product. But it was too late! Several of my fellow workers developed all kinds of cancers, including myself. The post in the other group had to do with our every day house cleaners causing breast cancer and other cancers. Please check the labels of all of your household cleaners. I advise using as natural of ingredients as you can find. Maybe even going on line to find some all organic recipes, and making your own.
Here is a list of resolutions, that may help you to adopt, to help make this a GREENER World. Happy New Year to everyone!
There is nothing that inspires us to start doing everything better like the prospect of starting the new year afresh. And the promise and excitement of a new year provides the perfect opportunity to pledge your allegience to greener living.
Whether you want to start with a few small changes or dive head first into a more earth-friendly lifestyle, here are a few tips to help you get started . . .
Vow to eat an entirely local meal at least once a week. Boycott at least one non-green product all year. Make it something that you like and would purchase if it were more eco-friendly. Write to the company that manufactures this product and tell them why you now choose not to buy it. Give up using paper napkins, paper towels, or both. Buy a few sets of decorative organic cloth napkins. Clean up spills with old towels cut into smaller squares and then toss them into the laundry. Change to low-energy light bulbs. Cut down on the power that your electronic devices use by plugging them into power strips you can conveniently switch off when you’re not using them. Don’t drive when you can walk. Turn off the faucet while you’re brushing your teeth. Also take shorter showers or turn off the water while you’re soaping up. Buy less stuff and really give thought before you buy something. Sometimes it helps to leave the store and think clearheadedly about whether or not you truly need the item(s). Pledge to actually remember to bring your own grocery bags when you go shopping. Hang a prominent reminder (maybe a picture of a tree stump!) from your rear view mirror to help you remember to grab your bags when you get out of the car. Don’t hesitate to run back to your car if you find you’ve forgotten them again. Have someone hold your place in the check-out line and take advantage of the opportunity to burn some calories. Be sure to talk to everyone you know about your resolutions. You’ll be much more likely to stick to them and you’ll probably inspire others to adopt similar green practices. Happy Green New Year!
In order to support recycling efforts, look for products made from high percentages of post-consumer waste, which is the waste produced by the end consumer of a material stream. Post-consumer waste is the garbage that individuals routinely discard, either in a waste receptacle or a dump, or by littering, incinerating, pouring down the drain or washing into the gutter.
Post-consumer waste is distinguished from pre-consumer waste, which is the reintroduction of manufacturing scrap (such as trimmings from paper production, defective aluminum cans, etc.) back into the manufacturing process. Pre-consumer waste has been commonly used by industries for many years, and is therefore often not considered recycling in the traditional sense.
Therefore, buying products with post-consumer content is an easy way to keep landfills lean. It avoids using virgin resources like forests and strengthens the market for recycled materials. We can separate all the metal, paper and plastic we want, but if no business remakes the scrap into something new, the cycle is broken.
Many bottles, cans, bags, boxes and packaging materials are made with recycled content these days. So check labels. Choose a product that has a high percentage of post-consumer waste over one that does not.
