The Green Change We Need

By Megan McLaughlin

New Year, New President; there was no better way to usher in 2009, than by experiencing a much needed change. President Barack Obama certainly has his work cut out for him and although Environment may not be number one on the list, it is certainly an area in which he has promised some long-awaited changes, some of which may already be under way.

According to TIME Magazine Online, “From the green perspective, the Bush Administration has been an unmitigated disaster, with sins of omission (the failure to do anything significant on climate change) and commission (stealthy attempts to weaken environmental protections such as the Endangered Species Act).” Bush has simply ignored these issues and has encouraged others to follow suit; “The new American Climate Values Survey, commissioned by environmental groups, found that only half of Republicans think global warming is real, compared to 90% of all Democrats.” It’s shocking when you hear these statistics for the first time. It’s very hard to swallow the concept of a person who believes that global warming is not real.

Although Bush was aiming to dissolve many environmental regulations, Obama’s promises of a greener future are already coming into play. TIME Magazine Online reported that during Obama’s first full day in office, a memo was sent out, ordering a halt on any and all pending regulations. “For the environment, that meant Obama was able to save the gray wolf from being removed from the Endangered Species Act and block a pair of new air-quality rules, including one that would prevent the regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions from oil refineries.”

President Obama may be hard at work already, but will he be able to cross off all of the items on his list? A few things the Obama-Biden New Energy for America plan will be held accountable for are prices at the pump, creating new jobs and getting more hybrids on the road – all targeted at solving our current economic and environmental crises.

Snow Removal

by Anikka Wattem

As we got pelted by a major storm over the weekend I stayed home waiting to get “bailed out” by the plows. However due to budget cuts, our local government didn’t plow our street until late Monday afternoon. My city has alternate street side parking and so on Sunday we had to switch despite the street being under several feet of snow. We bundled up, grabbed a shovel and literally dug our cars out and then dug a new spot for them. It was invigorating and fun (not to mention bone chilling!).

The next morning, I woke up much earlier than I wanted due to neighbors blowing and plowing themselves out. We had a good time, got some exercise and slowly but surely got the job done.

If you're like me and don't always have the benefit of government funded plowing, try and brainstorm a few economic and environmentally friendly ways to get the job done. I know I'll be much better prepared for the next storm!

Actions Speak Louder Than Words...

By Anikka Wattem

I've often felt the need to do something big and bold to change my office into being more sustainable. Although we are going through a process to analyze our sustainability, it is very slow moving and often very frustrating. Yet I know I can't change the procedures and policies of our organization on my own.

I am glad and lucky to work from a very forward thinking non-profit organization with lofty goals even in these tough economic times. But as mom always said "actions speak louder then words"; in that spirit here are a few actions you can take yourself:

1. Bring a cloth towel to your office kitchen and take charge of keeping it clean. I must admit from what I hear the keeping it clean part is essential. People won't use it if they suspect it's full of germs! I can just imagine the number of paper towels this would save in our office. It would save money and trees.

2. Print/Copy Double sided. If you can set your print settings to default to this then even better (although I wouldn't recommend changing the whole office without a discussion). If you print everything double sided you'd use half as much paper. Many people don't even know how to print double sided. You might become the office techie and end up training everyone how to do this. And if you don't know how already then run a quick search on the search engine of your choice.

3. Use "garbage" paper as scratch paper or for unimportant printing. So many times people print more copies then they need or don't notice a mistake until after they print. So much paper is wasted this way in our office. I bet if you start doing this you'll never need a new notepad again! I collected our "oops" print jobs for just 1/2 a day and had enough scratch paper to last me at least 6 months.

4. Put machines in sleep at night. Some automatically do so but others do not. Volunteer to be the one to turn them off and on as to not inconvenience someone else. Eventually it will just become habit in your office that the machines should be off just like the lights should. I promise it wont' be your responsibility forever!

5. Carpool or use public transportation. Talk to your neighbors and coworkers. Someone may live closer then you realized and it may be little or no inconvenience for you to carpool. And in many cities you'll get to use the carpool lane! Not only will you be influencing others by the discussion but your spreading the green by inviting someone to car pool that may not have thought of it before.

As always these are just a few ideas. I'm sure some of you are much more creative then I am -- see what you can come up with!

Bamboo's Various Uses

By Anikka Wattem

I recently fell in love with bamboo fabric when we needed new sheets. I didn't want anything scratchy. I walked up and down the aisles of my local Target store feeling the fabric samples from the lowest thread count on up. As soon as I touched the Bamboo sheets I was sold.

Although the thread count was on the low side, the sheets were inexplicably soft. Although the price was a little higher then I had planned on spending I threw them in the cart and brought them home. Once again sustainability was an afterthought in my purchasing process I was very happy to find that bamboo is renewable. It's actually a grass and it's roots generate new shoots when they are cut off. It grows very rapidly and is therefore naturally is sustainable. This is great news.

So what else can be made of bamboo? I'm particularly excited to try bamboo clothes! If they are anything like my sheets they'll be the softest thing that I have ever worn. I was also excited to know that bamboo can be used to make just about anything wood can. It can replace particle board that releases toxic fumes. Just looking around my house I realized how many chemicals I'm probably breathing off all the particle board products. You can even build a house out bamboo (using different kinds of insulation depending on your climate) or just go for bamboo floors. It seems the possibilities for bamboo are almost endless. Plug bamboo into your favorite search engine and you'll be amazed at the quantity and variety of bamboo products available.

Tip: Remember to do some research into the company's environmental practices (or lack thereof) before you make a purchase!