The Reel Deal in Lawn Care: Pushing Your Way to a Healthier Planet July 25, 2008

9 am- Saturday morning. You’re roused out of your deep sleep by the sound of your next door neighbor mowing his lawn with a gas powered mower. Ugh! Not only are gas powered mowers loud, but they are really bad for the environment! Well, what other ways are there to mow your lawn, you might ask? A great option is a manual (push) reel mower. A reel mower is a mower in which the blades spin vertically using a scissoring action to cut the grass. They typically have between 3 and 7 blades. They’re fairly inexpensive to buy, and easy to use and maintain.

Some good, green reasons to use a reel mower:

• Air Pollution- Every weekend, 54 million people mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year and producing tons of air pollutants.According to the EPA, a traditional gas powered lawn mower produces as much as 43 new cars being driven 12,000 miles. Or put another way, 1 gas mower running for an hour emits the same amount of pollutants as 8 new cars driving 55 mph for the same amount of time.
• Noise Pollution- A bathroom exhaust fan noise level is 55 decibels. A snowmobile at 50 feet is 80 decibels. A reel mower noise level is 55 decibels, whereas a noisy gas powered mower noise level is 80 decibels. It would take 17 quiet reel mowers to make the noise of 1 of the quietest gas lawnmowers!

There are other options out there. If for some reason a reel mower does not work for you or your lawn, there are electric mowers. Electric mowers don’t totally eliminate pollution, but they produce no harmful emissions, are quieter than gas powered mowers, and eliminate gas spills, refining, and transportation.

That being said, a manual (push) reel mower is your best option. They’re better for the planet and better for you. With a 0 carbon footprint, the grass really is greener on the other (reel mower) side!!! Happy mowing…

Everybody’s workin’ for the (Green) weekend! July 19, 2008

It’s summer time and now more than ever Americans are thinking about what to do, and especially where to go, when the next long weekend or vacation rolls around. The environmentally conscious among us would love to take a green vacation of the ecotourism variety.

If you’re like most, when you think of ecotourism, you probably imagine rappelling through the mid-level canopy of the Costa Rican rainforest. But most of us don’t have the time or money (especially with the depreciating dollar) to fly to Central America or Southeast Asia to enjoy the benefits of an idyllic green holiday.

To make matters worse, ecotourism companies in the developing world were some of the pioneers in “green-washing” techniques that flaunt eco-superficialities – their practices were not only destructive to the environment, but also economically detrimental to the indigenous populations.

So how do you enjoy an environmentally responsible getaway without worrying that someone is pulling the merino over your eyes? Stay in the US!

Keeping a local mindset is one of the keys to a sustainable lifestyle and supporting the fledgling green travel options in America might be your greenest option. Or as Outside magazine recently touted in this year’s green issue: “Near Is the New Far”.

While America is still lagging when it comes to greener travel options, the focus on sustainable travel is on the rise in our urban areas. Here are four American hotels leading the way in environmentally sustainable design without compromising on the luxuries or service of modern hospitality:

Proximity Hotel – Greensboro, NC
147-room luxury hotel uses 37% less energy and 30% less water than its peers and is on its way to becoming America’s first LEED Platinum hotel.

Sun Ranch – Cameron, MT
Domestic Eco-lodge on a 26,000 acre ranch whose conservation agenda extends from re-vitalizing trout spawning grounds to de-fencing elk migration routes.

Orchard Garden Hotel – San Francisco, CA
Posh new hotel with eco-innovations like guestroom energy controlled key-card system (finally we are catching up to Asia).

Gaia Napa Valley Hotel and Spa – Napa, CA
Organic Vineyard and the only LEED Gold hotel in the US.

Your hotel isn’t the only part of your trip that is increasing your carbon footprint, so Travel + Leisure magazine put together a list of 10 green travel itineraries in American cities that takes into account everything from greener intra-city transport to organic foods. The Huffington Post has their own too. While you’re out exploring, don’t forget to keep in mind your carbon emissions (i.e. go by train, share a hybrid, and offset your emissions!). Happy travels!

Green Volunteering July 11, 2008

Looking for that golden opportunity to advertise and help build teamwork within your company and benefit the environment? Consider volunteerism! Many companies, large and small, are setting up employee volunteer days, with benefits for both the company and the environment. Here are some reasons you should consider it:

• Increased and better communication between employees – Most respondents reported that volunteering helped them to develop their interpersonal skills. They were better able to understand different personality types and motivate others. Furthermore, they were better able to deal with difficult situations. This can be attributed to the differing types of activities and situations your employees will find themselves in.
• Advertising and community recognition –Volunteering will allow your company to get its name out to the community at a low cost. Volunteer organizations often recognize those that help them through publications or signage at events. This creates opportunities to increase name recognition and build goodwill within a community!
• Increased awareness – By giving your employees the opportunity to volunteer you are helping them increase their own awareness of related environmental issues. Sixty three percent of those who volunteered said that doing so helped them to be more attune issues affecting their volunteer activity. You will be doing your part to increase the public’s awareness of environmental issues.
• Benefits to the environment – Your company can do a surprising amount of good for your local ecosystems such as helping clean local parks or putting in plants to benefit local species. Man(or woman) power is essential for effective rehabilitation of ecosystems. Volunteering also helps to ease the burden on governmental and non-profit groups. This allows them to spend their money on big-ticket items, like land conservation.

So you’ve decided to orchestrate a company volunteer day. Now what? You need to decide how to set up an event. Good places to contact include county parks department’s, state natural resource departments, or non-profit groups like the Nature Conservancy. They should know of projects or existing events that you and your employees can be a part of.

Company volunteer days have had a positive environmental impact all over the nation. Hopefully you can add yours to that list. Good Luck!

Green Your Sole: Eco-friendly Footwear July 2, 2008

A shoe is a shoe is a shoe, right? Not necessarily. We all need shoes. But, we don’t have to be pedestrian adj. COMMONPLACE, UNIMAGINATIVE pedestrians. There are a growing number of footwear companies that are offering environmentally friendly footwear. Some of those companies along with sample shoes and materials they use (or don’t use) in making their shoes (and we’ve included the links to give you an idea of the look — not as a recommendation to buy from any of these vendors, since there are quite a few vendors that offer these shoes and it’s best to comparison shop):

• Vans Mesa- hemp and premium textile upper, bamboo charcoal lined midsole, and water based inks
• Ethletic Flip Flop- fairtrade, biodegradable, 100% FSC-certified rubber soles, no animal glues, PVC, or EVA
• Nike Trash Talk basketball sneaker- upper sole is leather and synthetic waste, midsole is scrap foam, and outsole is Nike Regrind material made from footwear manufacturer scraps
• Simple Sno Tire- organic cotton canvas uppers, organic cotton linings with PET (recycled plastic bottles) laces and pedbeds, and the outsole used to be a car tire
• Keen Ventura- natural canvas uppers, recycled aluminum eyelets
• Chaco Hipthong Ecotread sandals- outsole is made from 25% recycled rubber
• Patagonia Pau- natural wool lining, sustainable harvested 70% hevea-milk latex outsoles that are stitched, not glued
• Teva Lennox sandals- straps are partially made of PET canvas, outsole is made of 50% post-consumer recycled rubber
• The North Face Creede- spun bamboo textile lining, plant cellulose fiber foam sock liner, 40% recycled rubber outsole
• Adbusters Blackspot Sneaker V1- 100% organic hemp, rubber sole and toe tip is 70% biodegradable
• Timberland has gotten creative with their industry first nutritional label that allows the buyer to see the Environmental Impact (energy used to maker per pair, renewable energy used), Community Impact (hours served in our communities, % of factories assassed against code of conduct, and child labor usage- always %), and where the shoe was manufactured. Their Mountain Sneaker has a lining made from sustainable, biodegradable merino wool, organically tanned full grain leather and fast growing hemp, and an outsole made with 30% recycled rubber.
• Po-Zu USA- offers a shoe called the Flynn that is made of un-bleached, un-dyed, organic tannec leather and pur vegetable rubber made from the silky sap of the Lectae Hevea tree. They also sell an edible shoe cream made from 100% coconut oil that is described as an ‘all-in-one’ beauty product that can be used as lip balm, skin moisturizer, hair conditioner, etc… and yes, you can even spread it on your toast!!! Does it get any better than that?!

These companies are not only environmentally friendly, but creative and innovative, as you can see from their products. Let’s hope that more and more footwear companies get into the eco-friendly shoe business- the more green choices we have, the better!