Every year, the holiday season brings joy, fellowship, and an extra 1 million tons of waste per week to our landfills. Yes, you read that correctly: Americans create an additional 1 million tons of waste per week during the holiday season. No matter what your holiday season may look like,…
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Whenever I see an old unused building like this one it makes me sad. There are so many possibilities, assuming it would not cost more to make repairs than to build a new building. This old fortress looking building is one of many structures in the Citadelle Petersberg in Erfurt, Germany….
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Visiting Sweden I discovered many interesting things, including the fact that there are many Swedish innovations. I did not know that the metal bottle cap was invented here, or that the author of Pippi Longstockings was from Sweden. Of course we all know about IKEA. But did you know that…
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Hopefully you got to experience the solar eclipse on August 21. If you missed it, the next eclipse visible in the U.S. will be on April 8, 2024. That’s only 7 years from now. So, now what happens to your glasses? The best thing to do is to donate them…
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A garage sale is a great way to share your treasures with others. You benefit by decluttering your home, and earning a few dollars. Each year the second Saturday in August is designated as National Garage Sale Day. If that weekend doesn’t work for you, find another day or participate in a…
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Every day in the United States, about 130,000 computers are thrown away. The recyclable material that makes up a computer includes plastic, metal, and glass. Even the attachments you use with your computer can be recycled, like the keyboard, the mouse, the computer speakers, external hard drives, printers and scanners….
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Composting is a fun and easy way to live a little greener and boost the nutrient value of your soil. Start with a compost bin. This can be stationary or rotating. The key is to periodically turn the materials inside to aid the decay process by providing oxygen. The more the bin…
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It’s easy to be overwhelmed by the eco-friendly messages that seem to be everywhere. My philosophy is to start where you are right now and take a few steps forward at a time. Below are five tips to help you become a greener consumer. Reduce your consumption. This is one of…
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Managing waste is a major issue for countries around the world. When I am visiting somewhere one of the first things I look for are recycling containers. If they are easy to find, then that place is usually doing a better job encouraging people (tourists and residents) to recycle. In…
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During the holidays Americans produce excess amounts of trash, much of which comes from holiday entertaining. In 2012, Americans generated around 251 million tons of trash. That’s 4.38 pounds per person per day! According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) we are recycling 34.5 percent of what we throw…
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I have always enjoyed gifts – both the giving and receiving of them. According to researchers, I am not alone. Gift giving is an important part of human interaction and psychologists say that the givers often reap the biggest psychological gains. When someone takes time to thoughtfully select a gift…
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What can you do this year to show your love for both your “Valentine” and the earth? The first thing I think of is to REDUCE consumption. Just don’t give anyone anything this Valentine’s Day. Of course, if you choose this way to green your Valentine’s Day you may end…
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This past week I saw a cool green roof on the Pittsburgh Convention Center. I was in Pittsburgh for the Galaxy IV conference, which is a joint meeting of Extension Professionals. I was impressed with Pittsburgh. It is a nice city to visit and the green roof on the David…
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In the U.S. we are increasing our recycling rate. What do we do with all those plastic bottles? We have been exporting a lot of them to China. Now China is saying “no more.” What will happen to all those “recycled bottles?” Article: US states banned from exporting their trash…
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When my husband and I married we were both college students and money was always earmarked for the books, lab fees, and tuition – furniture and household items were either hand-me-downs or finds. We furnished our first home at Oklahoma State University from grandma’s toss-aways and things found on the…
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Planning your summer getaway? Five things to consider: 1) Leave the place you visit better than you found it – whatever you take to the picnic bring home – trash receptacles often become filled to overflowing. Debris will take wing – so remember to take a trash bag and bring…
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Recycling seems to be a part of everyday life for most Europeans. I saw large recycling bins along the roads in Spain, France, Germany and Austria. All of the containers I saw required people to separate their trash (i.e. glass, paper, cans, etc.). Interestingly the university in Spain where the conference…
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Over the holidays I was admiring the photos in the Montana Outdoors magazine. All of the photos are amazingly beautiful. There are photos of elk and foxes at play, birds in flight, fish swimming, wildflowers in bloom and reflections of nature throughout Montana. The one photo that really stuck out…
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Drought is a word being tossed about in the media far too often these days. This year we saw corn withering in the fields, giant cracks in the soil and lakes 12 to 15 feet below pool. We are definitely experiencing a rainfall deficit. Here in Athens we just got…
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Is your house like mine and filled with stuff? Lately I have been cleaning and trying to downsize. I am finding things that I no longer use, but they are still in good condition and could be useful to someone else. Yes, I know I can donate things, but what…
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We have been back from Australia for a little over a month now and time has flown by. It is well past time for a new blog posting. Our goal is to add something new about living greener at least once a month. There are several things we can all…
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Take a look at this great campaign aimed at conserving wild habitats and saving trees. The loo! It’s one more place we can use recycled materials and help to cut down on new waste.
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You probably can! I recently discovered this great article outlining “10 Things You Never Knew Were Recyclable” on Earth911.com, and there are some great options listed: -Crayons -Keys And, yes -Hair! How else do you think they clean up dangerous oil spills? And it’s great for composting! Give it a…
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