Socially & Environmentally Responsible Living
Our Polluted Planet- The High Cost of Poor Air Quality
Having trouble breathing? It might be because it’s summer, and air quality goes down as air temperature goes up.
On hot days, you need to pay attention to the Air Quality Index, especially if you have respiratory problems, or if you exercise outdoors regularly.
Air Quality Index , or AQI, is an overall measure of the […]
Popularity: 1% [?]
24Jul2008 |
Lisa | 0 comments | Continued
Are We Heading Towards a Four Day Work Week?
I’ve been working four ten hour days on and off for over ten years now. As a biotechnical product support specialist living in the Boston area, I work for a team that supplies customer phone support for North America. Working the four long days helps my manager more easily schedule west coast phone […]
Popularity: 64% [?]
7Jul2008 |Lisa | 8 comments | Continued
Global Warming: Fact or Fiction = Democrat or Republican
Forget that scientific research totally supports it, and the rest of the world is trying to find ways to combat it: In the United States, global warming is debatable.
We’ve thrown science out the window, and especially at government levels, it’s become purely a political issue. The “fact” vote is avidly democrat supported, while […]
Popularity: 67% [?]
27Jun2008 |Lisa | 20 comments | Continued
Fluorescent Light Bulbs Can Now Be Recycled at Home Depot
Home Depot has just announced that they’ve started a recycling program in the USA for compact fluorescent light bulbs.
For those of you not yet aware, these bulbs each contain 3-5 mg of mercury. The EPA has determined that this level of mercury is high enough to be considered a health hazard, especially with repeated […]
Popularity: 53% [?]
24Jun2008 |Lisa | 4 comments | Continued
NASA Meets Trash, and a Poetic Moment on Trash With Shel Silverstein
News Flash
In an attempt to solve the world waste problem, U.S. Congress, in a bipartisan moment, has voted to commission the U.S. Space Program to develop a method for shooting our garbage completely off the planet.
Where it goes once it’s off the planet, well, no one really cares.
OK, I’m joshing ya. But I wonder […]
Popularity: 42% [?]
18Jun2008 |Lisa | 1 comment | Continued
New Website Outs Companies With Poor Corporate Responsibility Records
I like buying from companies that stick to socially and environmentally responsible business practices.
The new catch phrase is called “greening my life.”
Whatever.
I just want big business to care. And sometimes they need a little nudging to do that.
Otherwise, I can drive my Prius until the cows come home, and I’ll still never make up […]
Popularity: 26% [?]
13Jun2008 |Lisa | 4 comments | Continued
Does Your Lawn Really Need to Look Like Astroturf?
My grandfather was named the neighborhood “lawn manicurist.” I don’t think he particularly enjoyed the title. It was a little,um, feminine, for him.
And I don’t think the neighbors particularly enjoyed his lawn. It wasn’t the lawn itself - even though it rivaled Fenway Park’s turf - if […]
Popularity: 44% [?]
23May2008 |Lisa | 5 comments | Continued
How Politics Can Mess Up a Perfectly Good Environment
Here’s just one example. If you breath air, you might want to take a look.
The Bush administration and EPA have developed a reputation for interfering with resultant policy based on scientific research.
The latest-
March 11th, 2008 - The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proudly announces that it has reduced ground level ozone ( smog […]
Popularity: 46% [?]
17May2008 |Lisa | 5 comments | Continued
Healthy Food on the Cheap
You can eat inexpensively and still eat well.
1, 2, and 3) Shop around, look for sales, and use coupons. No brainers.
4) Put aside a little prep time. Homemade tastes better, and is better for you. Make double batches and freeze for up to two months. I’ve gotten into the habit of […]
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13May2008 |Lisa | 4 comments | Continued
Support the United States Post Office With Your Own Junk Mail
A Tip From Uncle Mike:
I am sure that you are inundated with continual mail for you to switch credit cards. This and others. Here is what you do.
And, as you know, I always want more than one advantage from what I do.
a. When you receive a junk mail solicitation do […]
Popularity: 46% [?]
13May2008 |Lisa | 2 comments | Continued
My Personal Carbon Footprint
I wanted to find out what my personal contribution to global warming is.
This is called a carbon footprint - a measure of the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) generated and released to the environment. Carbon footprints can be calculated for anything- individuals, products, businesses, industries, communities, countries.
They’re computed either as a “Life Cycle Assessment […]
Popularity: 37% [?]
9May2008 |Lisa | 4 comments | Continued
Going Paperless: The Post Office Fights Back
The Washington Post reports that the US Postal Service (USPS) says they need junk mail to survive, and are working to thwart legislator’s proposals that would allow consumers to set up blocks on unwanted mail.
The USPS says the economic benefits of standard - their term for junk- mail outweigh the environmental benefits, and claim […]
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8May2008 |Lisa | 3 comments | Continued
How Long Could You Go Without Buying Something New?
I can’t buy my free range chicken hot dogs used, but what about everything else?
Would it be that hard? Wouldn’t one of the the golden rules of a sustainable planet be to make less garbage-? I have nightmares of floating around in the ocean surrounded by big white trash bags.
I found this on […]
Popularity: 47% [?]
25Apr2008 |Lisa | 2 comments | Continued
Remember the Tomatoes? Heirloom Seeds
In between discussions of high blood pressure, and the upcoming dreaded first colonoscopy, those of us of the “I owned an 8-track once” generation, will sometimes sit around reminiscing about the good old days. One sunny spring afternoon recently, amidst the usual memories of the firsts- first communion, first part time job, first […]
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22Apr2008 |Lisa | 3 comments | Continued
Shall I Take the Hummer or the Bicycle?
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (AS) directly challenged Rajendra K. Pachauri, the head of the Nobel prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), and it wasn’t pretty.
“Going Green Can be Fun” said the governor, at a recently held climate change conference at Yale University. Stating that he “isn’t about to give up his jacuzzi, […]
Popularity: 37% [?]
21Apr2008 |Lisa | 1 comment | Continued
