Green Living

So I’m sure you have heard all the hype over plastic bottles, they contaminate our landfills, are hard to recycle, and if re-used can disperse harmful chemicals into your water. Well last weekend I was fed up with the hype and finally gave in a drove myself to REI to pick up a few re-useable plastic bottles. For a whopping $12 dollars (and only 24 oz.) I purchased 3 Camelbak bottles to cart around with me everywhere I go. Now I know this sounds like complaining, but after I got home I was directed to a site that gave me a little more information on why we shouldn’t use so many water bottles. It really made me feel better about purchasing the new re-useable bottles. So here are a few new things I learned…..

1. Did you know 3 gallons of water is used to create just 1 gallon of the bottled stuff? It’s true, the processes (I use plural because there are many different processes) the water goes through for “purification” cause evaporation to take place.
2. Every ton of PET plastic for the bottles produces 3 tons of carbon–adding 2.5 Million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
3. Visit www.choosetoreuse.com for more

Now, I like to think of myself as a realist, so I’m not saying strike against all water bottles and the companies who produce them, you’ll still catch me drinking from one on occasion. But it really was an easy, simple thing to do, and I feel really good about it. So next time your just down the street from your local sports store, pick one up and give it a try. Here are 2 good options.

• Camelbak – these are the ones I bought, they even have trendy neoprene carrying cases.
• Nalgene – These have been around forever, great for hiking

What if you could buy a newly constructed house that was so water-efficient it used only 80 percent of what an average new house in the United States uses, without calling for any sacrifice? Well, soon, you will have that choice—WaterSense is developing a program to bring water-efficient homes to a neighborhood near you!

In pursuit of this goal, EPA will soon unveil its draft WaterSense specification for new homes. The draft specification incorporates EPA’s criteria for product categories earning the WaterSense label (toilets and faucets) and requires many other practices and technologies aimed at bringing water efficiency into the entire home.

The movement to make new homes water-efficient couldn’t be happening at a better time. Residential water use accounts for more than half of publicly supplied water in the United States—more than is supplied to both business and commercial industries combined. In fact, a family of four uses approximately 400 gallons of water every day. When final, this new specification will hopefully provide a starting point for homeowners to lower these staggering numbers and for builders to incorporate water efficiency into all aspects of new home design. On average, and of course depending on homeowners’ water habits, a WaterSense labeled new home will be designed to use about 20 percent less water per year than other new homes built today.
In addition to WaterSense labeled toilets and faucets, as well as other water-efficient plumbing devices, WaterSense labeled new homes will feature ENERGY STAR® qualified dishwashers and washing machines. They also will feature a hot water distribution system that decreases how long hot water takes to get to your tap. This will help prevent homeowners from running the tap and shower while waiting for hot water, a practice that wastes thousands of gallons of water per year.

WaterSense labeled new homes will be water-efficient outside, too: if an irrigation system is utilized in the home, it must be installed by a WaterSense irrigation partner, and the surrounding landscape should feature native plant species that require minimal watering.
These new specifications can have a significant impact not only on water efficiency but on energy efficiency as well. Water heating accounts for 24 percent of the energy consumed in a household, and an average household spends about $250 per year for hot water. If one in every 10 homes in the United States upgraded to WaterSense labeled toilets and faucets in the bathrooms, it could save more than 120 billion gallons of water per year and more than $800 million per year in household utility bills.

No, I’m not talking about those things under your eyes after a long week at work. I’m taking about the plastic and paper ones, millions being used everyday. Reusable bags help reduce waste and pollution from plastic and paper bags, and promote earth conscious alternatives.

Do your part to reduce the amount of plastic and paper shopping bags that saturate our landfills, pollute our oceans and litter our highways. Reusable, recyclable and functional bags satisfy the need. They now come in many different styles and materials. Below are a few links to find what’s perfect for you. Just keep them in the trunk of your car to have them handy.

www.reusablebags.com – All types can be found here
www.ecobags.com – a large variety and great woven bags
www.leftoverbags.com – made from recycled materials
www.sackaroosreusablebags.com – great prices
www.greenworldbags.com – for the fashionista
http://baggubag.com – to cary anything and everything