Geaux Green

by Kimberly S. Vanderbrook

Haven’t ya’ll heard? Green is the new black. Living green is not just for tree-hugging hippie types anymore. Everyone’s doing it, from Gwyneth Paltrow to Oprah—and you can too!

I know. It’s easy to think, “I’m just one person; how can the way I live really matter?” When I watch media productions like Al Gore’s “The Inconvenient Truth,” I am often overcome by the magnitude of the earth’s problems. But despite all the dark clouds, there is a silver lining. We can make a difference with a few simple changes.

We challenge you and your family to commit to at least one of these easy and painless earth-saving tips. Despite what Kermit thinks, you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to be green. Just

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Educate.
Reduce

The best way to care for the earth is to use less of it. Today’s consumerist world constantly bombards us with incentives to buy more new and “better” things. The result is a culture of waste and pollution. Reducing our use of resources takes the focus off “having more” and puts it on finding ways to use what we have. Here are some ways to reduce your consumption:

Buy local and in bulk. We are fortunate to have great farmer’s markets on the northshore offering local fresh produce that tastes great, most grown without the use of toxic pesticides. The markets support the local farmers and save on energy needed to transport out-of-area food to the area. Many groceries and health food stores, such as Rouses, Fresh Market and Springs of Life, offer bulk bins for grains, nuts, pastas, dried fruits, peanut butter and cereal, many of which are organic. Buying in bulk creates less waste in packaging and is cheaper than pre-packaged. For uber-greeness, bring your own container to the store to fill.

BYOB: bring your own bag to the store. In the United States, petroleum-based plastic bags consume about 12 million barrels of oil annually. Many are not recycled, but end up in trees and waterways where animals mistake them for food. Switching to paper bags does more harm than good, as they consume four times as much energy to produce and generate 70 percent more air pollution during manufacture than plastic bags. Toss a few canvas totes in your car and you’re good to go. A bonus: stores may offer a rebate of five or ten cents per cloth bag.

Choose fresh whole foods. Avoid processed, heavily packaged foods. Fast foods are processed, laden with fat and have lots of extra packaging. Think of the waste created by a Happy Meal! Garrison’s Global Coffee Bar in Hammond strives to provide an eco-friendly environment for its customers. One of their core values is to “create awareness about our community and caring for our environment.”

Switch to cloth. Try using dishrags, not paper towels or napkins, to clean. Cute dishtowels make great easy-to-clean cloth napkins. Microfiber cloths are an excellent stand-in for paper towels. Place a basket of them at a handy spot in the kitchen and make using them a habit.

Pack a smart lunch. Oaks Montessori School in Hammond has a “reusable only” lunch policy. Kids must bring cloth napkins and real utensils. No juice boxes, disposable napkins or plastic baggies allowed. Forgo the plastic baggies and choose an environmentally friendly alternative like the Wrap-n-Mat sandwich wrap, which is completely washable and reusable. (Available on-line at reusablebags.com or purchase them from the school—985-345-8088.) Ditch the wasteful juice boxes and try Sigg’s cute leak-proof sport-top cups available at Masseys or on-line.

Stop phantom power drain. Did you know that your television and computer draw power even when they are turned off? Invest in a power bar that completely shuts down your electronics and you’ll save money and energy while protecting your electronics from power surges.

Turn off the lights. Every time you leave the room, flip the switch. Better yet, let natural sunlight light your home. Change over regular light bulbs to high-efficiency fluorescent bulbs, available at Pine Grove Electric, ABC Lighting and most hardware stores. Replacing just one 75-watt incandescent bulb with a 19-watt CFL cuts 75 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year and up to 750 for the life of the bulb, not to mention the money savings on your energy bill. Franco’s Health Club in Mandeville has been working to reduce its consumption of electricity, resulting in $12,000 in energy savings in the first quarter of 2007.

Say NO to junk mail. Remove your name from junk mail lists. Contact Mail Preference Services; c/o Direct Marketing Association; P.O. Box 643; Carmel, NY 10512.

Invest in a programmable thermostat. Setting a programmable thermostat to switch off when you are not home saves lots of energy and money. Set it to 78° when you are home and use ceiling fans to help keep cool on hot days.

Switch to solar when possible. Solar powered HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems and solar powered water heating save energy and money. Energy and Comfort Solutions is one local company that offers the latest in green building products.

Check the SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating before buying air conditioners. Located on the yellow sticker affixed to air conditioners and heat pumps, the larger the SEER number, the higher the efficiency. 13-14 machines are average, 15 SEER is high efficiency and anything below 13 is bordering on inefficient.

Wash on cold. Cold water cleans clothes just as well as hot, and your clothes will stay looking newer longer. Use a non-phosphate detergent such as Mrs. Meyers or Seventh Generation from Target. Hang clothes to dry on sunny days. Try Method dryer sheets, which are both reusable and biodegradable, to keep your clothes static free and smelling fresh.

Institute a NO BUY week. One week each month, don’t buy anything except necessities. Use the food in your pantry and freezer. Don’t eat out. When you do buy, skip the cheap stuff and buy only well-made things that you need and love.

Buy recycled. Look for products that use recycled materials. HFA Imports offers furniture made from reclaimed teak. Le Magasin makes furniture out of reclaimed and recycled wood. Discoveries offers hand-crafted stained cabinets made from salvaged teak wood and an extensive range of furniture made from old railroad ties. Franco’s new expansion used recycled slate tiles, bamboo floors (a sustainable resource) and reclaimed teak.

Reuse

We throw away seven times our body weight in garbage each year. Most of it ends up in incinerators and landfills, which is not good for the environment or our community. Take a careful look in your garbage and consider how you can reduce what ends up in the landfill. Here are some easy tips on reusing:

Buy used whenever possible. Thrift stores and consignment sales have great finds. Wabi Sabi is a consignment resale shop. I have found many cute things at Goodwill in Covington and the Samaritan Center in Mandeville. When building or remodeling your home, visit the East St. Tammany Habitat for Humanity’s “Renovation Station” in Slidell. These ReStore locations are donation drop-off points for new, used and recycled building materials. You can find accessories, cabinets and even the kitchen sink, while helping Habitat for Humanity. According to Slidell’s ReStore Web site, every $2 spent at a ReStore buys one 2x4 for a Habitat House.

Donate. Donate or give away used clothing, toys, sports equipment, computers or household appliances. Paralyzed Veterans of America will come to your house to pick up donated items. Pass magazines along to the local hospital or library and exchange old paperbacks at The Bookrack in Mandeville for ones you haven’t read.

Repair. Don’t buy new when the old can be repaired. Just a few minutes’ research on-line or in the telephone directory can locate resources to repair almost anything.
BYOC. At work, use a regular cup for coffee instead of Styrofoam. Use a reusable water bottle instead of the wasteful one-use bottles.

Consider composting. Composting is easy, fun and it’s great for your garden. Simply put your organic and kitchen waste in a compost pile to create nature’s best all-natural mulch and fertilizer. For tips on getting started, see compostguide.com.

Recycle

After you have reduced and reused all that you can, recycle what is left. Unfortunately, at this time there are few, if any, recycling systems on the northshore. Contact your city and parish officials and ask that one be implemented.

An excellent recycling Web site is lime.com. Here you can find the answer to any recycling question, from “How do I recycle my formal dresses?” to “How can I recycle old thermometers?”

Some local businesses that recycle certain goods:

• Battery World, 52 Park Place, Covington. Rechargeable batteries (no mercury batteries).
• Habitat for Humanity Renovation Station, 2418 Carey Street, Slidell. Household supplies, furniture.
• Habitat for Humanity ReStore, 1400 North Lane, Mandeville. 898-0642. 919 N Columbia St., Covington. 893-3172. Building materials, usable paint, non-working computers, clean aluminum cans.
• Office Depot. All locations. HP inkjet or laser cartridges.
• St. Tammany Parish Humane Society, 20384 Harrison Avenue, Covington. Towels, sheets, cleaning and pet supplies.
• Wal-Mart, Winn Dixie. All locations. Plastic grocery bags.

Educate

One surefire way to have a lasting impact on the long-term health of the earth is to teach our children that their actions matter and will make a difference in our future, for better or for worse. I couldn’t be prouder than when my four-year-old stoops to pick up forgotten trash while on a walk or insists on turning the water off while brushing her teeth. Instilling the value of being environmentally conscious at a young age will create earth-healthy habits that become a way of life.

Lead by example. Show your kids that you care about the environment by implementing the changes in this article.
Take time to explain. Tell kids the reason why leaving the faucet running or leaving a light on is bad for the environment. Use everyday experiences as an opportunity to show them the importance of being mindful of their actions and the impact they have on the world.

Invest in earth-loving books. Some examples: “Where Does the Garbage Go?” by Paul Showers; “The Lorax,” by Dr. Seuss; “The Gift of Nothing,” by Patrick McDonnel.

One step at a time

Living green is not accomplished overnight. Many of us have life-long habits that are hard to change. Don’t try to do everything at once. Just implement small changes at a comfortable pace until, one day, you realize that you, too, are living green!