Our Green Streets Blog

This post comes from Jennifer Shockley, writing for Green Building Elements.

“Home” Documentary Really Hits Home (via http://greenbuildingelements.com)

As an American, we are raised as consumers. We hardly question when or how our purchases and lifestyles impact the bigger picture. An eye-opening documentary entitled “Home” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand was released in 2009. This 2 hour video, which can be viewed in its entirety on YouTube, emphasizes…

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Thankfully wood is a renewable resource. However, with our planet now home to 7 billion people and growing, guest writer Brittany Lyons believes we must be more careful in our use of this oxygen-giving resource, including the chopsticks with which we enjoy our chow mein. GRM

Disposable Chopsticks and Global Deforestation

Humans are eating up our wood resources at an incredible rate – so fast, in fact, that the forests don’t have ample time to regrow. The result? Loss of crucial forested areas. This creates more problems than just a lack of resources for wood products. Humans (and other species, too) depend on trees to create much needed oxygen. In addition, forests provide habitat for a variety of species, so without trees, these species are likely to become endangered or extinct. Finally trees help to soak up carbon emissions from human activity, which is yet another issue of concern.

What can be done to reduce deforestation? While this seems like a large issue to tackle, changes can be made by starting small. One way would be to stop using disposable chopsticks. Although people in some countries only use chopsticks occasionally, China’s growing population consumes roughly 45 billion pairs of disposable chopsticks per year, states Greenpeace China. China also exports another 18 billion pairs. The high demand for this simple and seemingly harmless product actually requires that 100 acres of forest be cut down every day.

A case study from American University claims, “If consumption continues at its present rate, valuable, non-replenishable resources such as the much-needed rain and temperate rainforests will vanish forever.”  Thus, reducing consumption of wood products like disposable chopsticks may be one of the best ways to tackle the issue of deforestation.

A number of organizations and national governments have already made the call to action, advocating against the use of disposable chopsticks. However, the movement faces strong opponents such as the potential loss of thousands of jobs in the manufacturing industry, and the increased costs to restaurants of reusable utensils.

While every issue has two sides, the repercussions of deforestation are incredibly far-reaching. Should society not be willing to pay a little more or shift some jobs to keep the very lungs of our planet intact? In this age of environmental degradation, we must become more forward thinking.

With a little education and effort, we can all create positive change. The more people around the world make the switch to reusable utensils, the more impact we can create and the faster this battle can be won. Make the vow today to stop using disposable utensils and join the movement to save our planet from deforestation.

Photo: nhanusek

Brittany Lyons aspires to be a psychology professor, but decided to take some time off from attending one of the top online PhD programs to help people learn to navigate the academic lifestyle. She currently lives in Spokane, Washington, where she spends her time reading science fiction and walking her dog.

This month’s guest post from Patty Kleen provides some practical steps people can take in order to maintain a greener and more sustainable household. Best of all, her recommendations are painless to implement and share with others.

Is your home green?  I’m not talking about the forest hue you painted your shutters to compliment your front door.  I’m not even talking about your front lawn.  These days, the term “green” is synonymous with eco-friendliness.  And these days, you don’t have to build a roof out of solar panels to be eco-friendly.  If you’re interested in doing your part to save our planet, you may be surprised to find out how easy it can be.  Here are five things you can do to create a greener household.

Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) Bulbs

Switch all the light bulbs in your house out with these little electric powerhouses.  Trading out just six traditional bulbs for CFL bulbs saves 600 pounds of carbon dioxide, and roughly $160 on you power bill, per year.

Recycling

It is not unusual for garbage collection companies to pick up recyclables, and even to provide garbage containers designated solely for recycling.  Recycling is easier than you might think.  There is no need to separate recyclable materials (glass, plastic, paper and metal) from each other; all you have to do is separate recyclables from non-recyclables.  Here is a simple way to recycle: arrange two garbage cans, side by side, and throw your garbage in either one or the other.  You may be surprised to find that your recyclables outweigh your garbage – by a long shot (I recycle about four times what I throw away).

Recycled Products

It used to be that the end product of all your hard recycling work cost more than traditional, non-recycled product.  But that is no longer true, and it is therefore no longer necessary to skip on the recycled goods to save money. Look for recycled paper towels, toilet paper, and regular paper, amongst other things.

Green Clean

Avoid using chemicals that contaminate the earth’s resources by cleaning with eco-friendly products.  You can either purchase specially-formulated green cleaners, or you can use common household items like vinegar, rubbing alcohol, club soda and hydrogen peroxide for a wide variety of cleaning purposes.

Adjusting Settings

By adjusting your thermostat by two degrees (up in the summer and down in the winter), you can save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide and hundreds of dollars per year.  Additionally, making sure your water heater is never set above one-hundred, twenty degrees and keeping your refrigerator’s freezer at zero can considerably lower your energy use.

As you can see, there are a number of things you can do right now to make your home more green, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money.  If the thought of going completely green seems intimidating, start small.  Work your way through this list and you may find that, in no time, you are calling on those solar panels.

Photo: dontcallmeikke

About the Author: Patty Kleen is a full-time writer with a passion for eco-friendly living. She also spends a lot of time researching and writing about energy sources and companies like Eagle Ford Shale, Marcellus, Bakken, and more. Knowledge is half the battle.

This guest post featuring some information on yurts is written by Bridget Sandorford. Thanks for the post, Bridget.

Photo credit: Clemson

In the vein of Simon Dale’s low-impact home, yurts have provided countless individuals with safe, earth-friendly shelter for millennia.  Known as üi in Kazakh and ger in Mongolian, yurts are felt-covered, wood lattice-framed, dome-shaped homes of traditional Turkic and Mongolian nomads of the Central Asian steppes.

Historically made from timber acquired in trade and felt from the sheep accompanying the pastoralists, yurts were designed to be built, taken down, and carried on the backs of camels and yaks in as little time as a day.  Something so simply constructed naturally has significantly less impact on the environment than contemporary homes, which is why they’ve been appearing in the western world of late.

Most yurts found in North America today have been modified from the Central Asian üi and ger to be made with steel aircraft cable and architectural fabrics.  We can thank Yurt Foundation founder Bill Coperthwaite for bringing such sustainable living options to the U.S. in the ‘60s and ‘70s, when he built the nation’s first yurt structures as classrooms and studios.  Today, individuals desiring low-impact living call yurts not only their offices but also their homes, vacation or guest houses, and even lodgings for ski resorts and campgrounds.

Moreover, contemporary North American yurts often cost less than a new car (between $5,000 and $20,000) and only take two days and five people to construct once the platform is built.  Because a yurt makes better use of its space than rectilinear homes, it is more efficiently heated and cooled (even in extreme temperatures, thanks to the NASA-developed reflective insulation that reflects radiant heat in both directions).   Despite its simple construction, a yurt’s compression ring and tension band give it surprising strength and support, making it a safe, frugal, and environmentally responsible home, just as the nomads of yore intended.

Since the 1970s, yurts and yurt owners have diversified, and many now consider yurts as their primary homes.  For more information on yurts, check out Yurt Info.

Aside from school and working part-time as an assistant chef, Bridget Sandorford is the resident Culinary Schools blogger where recently she’s been researching culinary colleges in Ohio as well as culinary colleges in Louisiana.

Her passion for food has followed her research into many different areas, such as nutrition, fitness, organic foods, gardening, and cooking on a budget. She lives outside of Charleston, South Carolina.