Pay close attention to the Cotton Industry these days and you’ll see plenty of ads showing people lounging around in their comfy cotton digs. The ads give cotton credit for being “green” way before it was cool.

The problem is the only truly green cotton on the market will carry the Organic Cotton label. Anything else is full of dangerous pesticides.

As a matter-of-fact, the Cotton Industry uses approximately 25% of the world’s insecticides and more than 10% of pesticides. All these chemicals contribute to serous health problems from asthma to cancer.

According to the EPA, 7 out of the top 15 pesticides used in traditional cotton production in 2000 as described as “possible,” “likely,” “probable,” or “known” human carcinogens.

Whenever possible I buy organic cotton products for my family. And, of course, when buying a baby gift, I won’t settle for anything but certified organic cotton baby clothes.

It’s true — by making the simple switch to 100% wind power in my home, I will be joining the thousands of people in my area who are taking a big step towards lowering our carbon foot print!

Yesterday I received an invitation to make the switch from my utility company, Washington Gas and Energy Services. Montgomery county has set up an easy program to allow qualified electricity suppliers to to pass on a 0.5 cent per kilowatt-hour credit to customers for the purchase of wind power.

I estimate my additional monthly cost to be between $16 and $20 per month — a small price to pay for such a massive green dividend!

Effective almost immediately, my home and business will no longer be spewing sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, or carbon dioxide into the environment! And all I had to do was go to a web site and make a few clicks!

By supporting renewable energy by purchasing wind power I am also supporting something dear to my heart — job growth in the “green” industry!

This is the time of year when most people actually enjoy getting their mail! Family and friends keep in touch by sending out holiday cards full of well wishes and pictures of their children. Even local businesses and vendors send out cheerful cards. However, come January 2nd most of the cards will end up in either the trash or the paper recycling bin.

Did you know it is possible to give holiday cards a second life?

There is a well-known charity out there that will re-use the decorative part of the cards, turning them into stunning holiday cards available for purchase. The proceeds then support the charity! I love this idea because who wants to think of beautiful images of Christmas trees or Hanukkah candles being turned into paper towels or toilet paper when they could instead bring delight to yet another family — and money to a worthwhile cause?

St. Jude’s Recycled Card Program

As most people know, this well-respected charity helps children with cancer.

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children is accepting used, all-occasion greeting cards from November 15, 2008 thru February 28, 2009. You can mail your donations to:

St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Card Recycling Program
100 St. Jude’s Street
Boulder City, NV 89005

Over thirty years ago, wishing to show donors appreciation for making St. Jude’s Ranch for Children possible, the idea was conceived for turning the previous year’s Christmas cards into “new” cards for the coming season. The recipients were so delighted with their unique “thank you,” they requested the children sell them the special cards. And so, the
St. Jude’s Ranch Recycled Card Program was born.

Since then, the Program expanded to include just about any all-occasion greeting card that starts with a used greeting card front.

What I love is that the children participate in making the new recycled cards by removing the front and attaching a new back made with recycled paper. The new card is a beautiful, “green” card made by the children and volunteers. The benefits are two-fold: customers receive “green” holiday cards for use and the children receive payment for their work and learn the benefits and importance of “going green”.

So, as the holiday cards keep rolling in, please enjoy them all and then consider giving them a second life by sending mailing them to St. Jude’s Ranch.

Believe it or not, “less” really can be “more” this time of year. With the economic slump finally recognized as a recession, more and more families are feeling stressed over spending too much on holiday gifts and parties. With a little bit of creativity, we can all consider beautiful gifts from the heart rather than the pocketbook.

How about making your own gift certificates?

Consider giving your teenager a coupon good for a movie out with a friend followed by pizza at home with you providing the rides both ways. For a small amount of money, you’ll be giving your teenager something of value to them – an activity with friends. You’ll also be teaching them that time spent with people we care about is more important than buying them something they probably don’t really need or want anyway.

How about wrapping gifts in the comics?

It seems like a small thing but actually wrapping paper is very stressful on the environment. Often it can’t be recycled and commercial wrapping paper includes chemicals like polyethylene, polypropylene, and laminates! Yuck!!

I hope you will join me this holiday and wrap your gifts for friends and family in comics or how about handmade fabric bags, tied with reusable fabric ribbon?

How about sending inexpensive green gifts this year?

Save yourself time and gas by shopping from home from your computer. There are great places to go for eco-friendly, fair trade fashion And when entertaining, why not consider earth-friendly bambu products for the table?

I hope these tips are helpful and that you have a happy, safe and GREEN holiday season!

In some parts of the world, water is more valuable than oil. As the planet becomes hotter and drier due to global warming, water scarcity has become a real issue for millions of people all over the world. As shocking as it sounds,the average American uses 100 gallons of water before leaving the house in the morning! Here are some easy ways we can all conserve water:

1. Don’t run water while brushing teeth.

2. Wash the dishes in a machine — believe it or not the machine uses less water than washing by hand.

3. Taking a five-minute shower instead of a bath saves at least ten gallons of water.

4. In the garden, use soaker hoses rather than traditional sprinklers.

Consider green furniture! Prices are coming down every day as more and more consumers demand furniture made from sustainable safe materials.

What is so bad about traditional furniture?

Even the name brand stores typically sell book shelves made from medium-density fiberboard that contains formaldehyde and lacquer. Yuck! Furthermore, the lacquer often releases volatile organic compounds into the home.

Look for products certified by GreenGuard, an independent certification system for products with low levels of toxic emissions.

Wood is better than fiberboard, but consumers can avoid non sustainable, exotic woods by looking for the seal of approval from the Forest Stewardship Council, which certifies lumber cut in an environmentally responsible manner.

One advantage of working from home is the ability to make your own decisions about greening your work place. If you are fortunate enough to work from home, be skeptical of carpets.

Carpets may look nice but they trap lots of nasty things like dust, mold and phthalate particles. Furthermore, new carpets often contain formaldehyde and other harmful substances that tend to off gas for quite some time.

Wood, tile or stone floors are easier to keep clean than carpeting and are less likely to trap pollutants or to exacerbate asthma.

If you already have carpeting, consider not allowing shoes on in your home in order to avoid bringing in pesticides and other toxins commonly used in lawn and garden care. A “no shoes rule” will also keep the carpets and whole house cleaner in general.

If you want to add interest or warmth to a room, consider smaller rugs made out of organic cotton or wool as they can easily be removed and cleaned from time to time.

Hybrid cars (but not SUVs) use about half as much gas as conventional cars — a big savings to consumers in the current era of wildly fluctuating gas prices. Even after factoring in the higher upfront cost of a hybrid (typically around $4,000), these cars will save their owners 20% more than that in lower fuel costs over the life of the vehicle.

The other big advantage to hybrid cars is that they produce half or less toxic emissions. As the general public has come to understand the real threat posed by global warming, hybrid cars have surged ahead in popularity.

“About a third of CO2 produced in the United States comes from transportation, and 90% of that travel is by automobile.” An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore (Rodale, 2006)

Over the last few years, the forward-thinking Japanese automakers Toyota and Honda have taken the lead in developing hybrid cars. On the other hand, domestic automakers continued to back gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles. While the Japanese won over American consumers, Detroit fought all attempts to “green” their industry — either through improved fuel standards or innovation. The result is that today the domestic automakers are begging the feds for a piece of the bailout while Toyota has rolled past General Motors as the leading car maker for the first time in history.

Personally, I always root for the greenest company out there. Although I’d love to see the domestic automakers get their act together but I’m not sure taxpayers should pay for their mistakes. At a bare minimum, if Detroit receives taxpayer money to stay above water I hope the government fires its top management and encourages the new leadership to green the domestic auto industry. I believe consumers would respond favorably.

What do you think?

If you live in the suburbs like I do, you most likely get in the car to run errands without even thinking of other options. Lately, I’ve been making an effort to walk more. I have children who bug me several times a week to buy stuff at CVS or get a hot chocolate at Starbucks. Now when they ask there is a good chance — weather permitting — that I’ll say, “Yes, but… let’s walk!”

According to the International Bike Fund, 40 percent of trips are within two miles of home. In addition to saving on gas and generating less pollution, walking or biking allows you to exercise. Walking in particular lends itself to conversation. When I walk alone, I find the experience to be very relaxing. In contrast, when we drive, I have to contend with noise pollution — all the dumb, repetitive songs that young people never tire of hearing. I also have to deal with the stress of traffic.

So whether you’re alone or with children, consider walking or biking around the neighborhood and you’ll reap benefits you never considered.

Lisa Jo

Most people are unaware of this simple fact. Most would believe the reverse to be true. However, within the last decades, the medical and scientific communities have begun recognizing the dangers posed by indoor air pollution.

One of the main causes of indoor air pollution is exposure to various chemicals found in everyday household products. While certain people may be more sensitive than others (including those with compromised immune systems, fetuses, children and the elderly), and some chemicals may bring on adverse reactions only after years of repeated exposure, ordinary household products are full of toxins linked to cancer, birth defects, genetic changes, and heart disease — just to name a few health risks.

Household toxins are present in such common products as cleaning supplies, cosmetics, personal care products. Every 13 seconds in this country a family calls a poison center due to a problem caused by a common household product. In contrast, the Europeans are much more careful about regulating which chemicals are safe for household use.

According to the EPA, most homes have airborne concentrations of hazardous chemicals that are two to five times higher than outdoors. A consequence of working from home may be increased exposure to indoor air pollution and all of its health risks.

My suggestion for today : stop using traditional cleaning products! That one act will eliminate or reduce the presence of many toxic chemicals in your home such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, and formaldehyde.

If you’d like to go further than just cleaning up your own home, keep in mind that there is a successful home business model that promotes the use of effective, inexpensive line of non toxic cleaning products.

Lisa Jo