Environmentally Responsible
Instilling Green Values in Our Children
Instilling green values in our children is more important now than ever before. We take the time to teach our children study habits, math, and reading, to prepare them for college. We also teach them to manage their money, and spend their allowances wisely. We do these things because we care about their future. But are we also caring for their environmental future? It is important that we not only go about our own environmental efforts, but that we teach our kids to care for the environment as well. We adults often do a good job of living up to the green ideals and values that we believe in, but all too often we fail to instill green values in our children.
Start by introducing fun activities at home that demonstrate green values or principles. There are a ton of good books out there for ideas if you need it. Below are links to four of my favorites.
- 365 Ways to Live Green For Kids: Saving the environment at Home, School, or at Play — Everyday!
- The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do To Save The Earth
- Green Mama: The Guilt Free Guide to Helping You and Your Kids Save the Planet
- Everything Kids’ Environment Book: Learn how you can help the environment-by getting involved at school, at home, or at play (Everything Kids Series)
There are also many websites for kids to learn more about the environment. My favorite resource for kid-friendly sites is from the National Resources Defense Council (Find it here!). They have the largest list I’ve found of fun sites for kids of all ages. I have to admit as an adult, that even I like to play around on a few of them in my spare time. There’s also a few sites listed where kids can get involved in enacting policy change by writing letters to local legislature or identify areas for change in their schools or at home.
› Continue reading
Tools for Sustainable Investing
One way I like to try and make a difference is supporting sustainable companies that I can feel good about. There are two ways to do this, one is by buying their products, the other is by investing in their future and showing your support and investing in their future. The second way also leaves you an opportunity to benefit from the success of that company.
I try and keep an eye out for new and sustainable companies, environmentally responsible stocks and mutual funds that promote eco-friendly and socially conscious values. Honestly this has paid off for me much better (especially in the long term) than most of my other stock or mutual fund picks. I recently found and interesting investing tool called the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which are a collection of global indexes tracking the financial performance of the leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide.
A partnership between the Dow Jones Dow Jones Indexes, STOXX Limited and SAM they provide asset managers benchmarks to manage sustainability portfolios. The nice thing is that you are able to access them as well for your investment decisions. You are able to look up companies and filter them by key factors outlined by the index.
For each company, the input sources of information for the Corporate Sustainability Assessment consist of the responses to the online questionnaire, submitted documentation, policies and reports, publicly available information and SAM Research analyst’s direct contact with companies. Each sustainability assessment is verified by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Organic Foods and Produce – Better For You?
There has always been an air of skepticism about the nutritional value of organic foods, are they better for you? I believe the question is aimed incorrectly or perhaps is the wrong question altogether. Factory farms, much of the food industry and even comedians Penn and Teller have all asked the question and now they have some firepower with a recent review published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The article concludes:
“On the basis of a systematic review of studies of satisfactory quality, there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs. The small differences in nutrient content detected are biologically plausible and mostly relate to differences in production methods.”
I have a few bones to pick with this study. One, the research used many old studies, from 1980 or earlier which may have flawed methodology since many studies performed since then have showed clear nutritional differences between the different growing methods*. Secondly, the study doesn’t look at differences in certain antioxidants and polyphenols – the new hot nutrients as of late (just look at the new Rice Krispies box) which are much higher in organically grown foods. The biggest of all is: does any of this really matter?
Margaret Southern makes a good point when she asks: “Isn’t it more about what’s not in the food than what is?” Not only that but how does the farming technique impact the land, water and communities near it? We don’t live in the time of family farming anymore, where individual farmers and their families cared about the land and the food they grew.
Local Organic Vodka and Gin – Organic Nation
I recently had the opportunity to sample some of Oregon’s own wonderful Organic Nation craft distilled Vodka and Gin. Both are handcrafted by Cascade Peak Spirits Inc. in limited-runs from organic ingredients sourced locally.
Since most chemicals are removed from the spirits during the distillation process, many believe that selecting organic liquors isn’t as important as buying organic foods. Organic Nation takes the stance that local and sustainable organic farming practices are just as important as the final product, and they aren’t messing around. Organic Nation is Oregon Tilth Certified Organic, which has arguably the most restrictive organic certification in existence.
Their two current offerings (with more to come, including an organic whiskey which is aging in barrels as you are reading this) are the Organic Nation O-N Vodka and Gin. Each one has its own distinctive flavors to set them apart from everything else on the market.
Sustainable Wal-Mart? A Greening of Retail
Sounds like an oxymoron, especially to those who have long despised Wal-Mart and everything they stand for, but this leaf may be turning green.
Wal-Mart is soon to begin labeling the sustainability of their products and are even creating their own green index system that goes far beyond what most eco friendly retailers currently track. Not only will the items ‘carbon footprint’ be factored in, but also questions like:
“Did this T-shirt come from a cotton crop that was sprayed with pesticide? Was excessive packaging used to ship these diapers?”
This not only is a win for the eco-friendly community, its a industry game changer. Wal-Mart has had success with initiatives like this before.
“Because of Wal-Mart’s leadership in [only selling concentrated detergents], they were able to set a standard for the entire industry,” Mr. Len Sauers (vice president for global sustainability at Procter & Gamble) said. “That opened the door to allow it to progress very, very quickly”
One may also recall when Wal-Mart decided to start carrying organic produce, thereby increasing the volume of organic fruits and vegetables that were grown and lowering the costs to consumers.
To help legitimize the index, they have even brought some big-time environmental organizations onboard like the Environmental Defense Fund to help create the standards. Could this be true, a sustainable Wal-Mart in the making?
Eco Friendly Neoprene? Neogreene
As an avid SCUBA Diver, Surfer and water sports guy, (a few) neoprene wetsuits are a standard for myself, and anyone living above or below the equator.
Neoprene is not the most eco-friendly material out there, even so called ‘green’ neoprene. All neoprene is made from a petroleum or limestone derivative, therefore each suit is a product of either mining or drilling.
It’s not just the neoprene itself that can be environmentally harmful. Very effective as a chemical-resistant material, it is very difficult to adhere and form into products (which is why you commonly see it stitched at seams to hold better). The adhesives used are very toxic and can include VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds), toluene, formaldehyde and more.
Now a company called GreenSmart has introduced Neogreene, a neoprene like material made with a water based chemistry allowing for less toxic adhesives to be used. › Continue reading
Green Electronics
With so many choices for those looking to buy a new Television, laptop computer or other type of electronic device, why not take the environment into consideration when choosing?
Nowadays you can pretty much find four or five separate equally equipped 46 inch LCD HD televisions put out by different manufacturers. So when the specs are the same, the price is the same, why not pick the eco friendly company over the polluter? Greenpeace has come out with a Guide to Greener Electronics, and while its not perfect, it is headed in the right direction.
The basis for their ranking system is how the companies stack up when it comes to toxic chemicals in their products, recycling programs and climate change policies. While somewhat objective and compiled from cooperate website information, it helps form a reference point for companies committed to environmental stewardship.
7.1 Samsung – Holds second position for commitment to reduce absolute emissions.
6.5 Sony Ericsson – Up two places with better product energy efficiency reporting.
5.7 LG Electronics – Up two places but needs to eliminate hazardous chemicals from all products.
5.5 Toshiba – Moves up two places with an extra point for promising to cut GHGs.
5.5 Motorola – Scores higher and climbs two places because of use of renewable energy
5.3 Philips – Falls from 4th to 7th position and needs to put its commitment to responsible recycling policies into practice.
5.3 Sharp – Rises from 9th to joint 7th place with its energy efficient products.
4.9 Acer – Put out 16 new models of a monitor that are almost free of hazardous chemicals and climbed two places from 11 to 9 but still needs to sort out the power cord.
4.9 Panasonic – Advance from 12th to 10th place for energy efficiency and PVC-free product range, but still bad on e-waste.
4.7 Apple – Drops one position to 11th with no change in scores but gets kudos for their green MacBook.
4.5 Sony – Plunges from 5th to 12th place for inadequate commitments on eliminating hazardous chemicals, e-waste policy and cutting GHGs.
3.9 Dell - Stays at 13th place because of backtracking on toxic phase out.
3.5 HP – Is at 14th position and has no products on the market free of toxic substances.
2.5 Microsoft – Loses a point for a poor recycling policy but stays in 15th position.
2.5 Lenovo – Down two places with no set timeline for toxic phase out on all products.
2.4 Fujitsu – Debuts second from last with no products that are free of hazardous chemicals.
1 Nintendo – Stays put in last position with a glimmer of hope with partially PVC-free consoles.
Another website out there helping to make a difference is the Green Efficient Guide. Here you can look up energy saving televisions and compare them by their power use, making sure you get the TV that uses the lowest amount of electricity. They also track the standby power of these televisions, since no electronics are actually ‘off’ anymore.
You can even calculate the yearly cost of the television or electronics you choose by entering in the average amount of television you watch a day. You can even factor in whether or not you have a vampire energy-killing power strip.
[via ecogeek]
Forest Choppin’ Junkmail
Personally, I’m not a fan of junkmail for three reasons:
1. It’s annoying
2. It’s annoying
3. We kill trees for this?
I love the advent of online paperless billing, autopay and anything that keeps bills and ads out of my mailbox. Not only is this probably better for my safety (identity theft is not something I want to deal with), but I also have a fondness for trees and forests.
Tonic’s Mailstopper (formally Green Dimes) takes care of that by removing you from direct marketing lists, allowing you to select (and remove) yourself from mail order and company catalogs, and monitoring lists to keep make sure you stay off and junk mail free.
› Continue reading
Zulugrass Sustainable Eco Jewelry – The Leakey Collection
I just received some beautiful sustainably zulugrass bracelets from the Leakey Collection. These bracelets and almost all their jewelry are made by people of the Maasai tribe in the Rift Valley area of Kenya, East Africa from zulugrass. What excites me the most about this collection is not only how beautiful the jewelry is, but how one simple piece can have so much impact on our world.
The production of this jewelry employs over 1200 Kenyans, and allows them to live a more traditional lifestyle in this ever changing modern world. It also helps to preserve native wetland habitat by allowing the sustainable harvest of the zulugrass instead of burning it for cattle grazing.
The process begins by harvesting grass, one blade at a time. The long grass is then dried and cut into bead-size pieces and dyed in an environmentally sustainable manner giving each bead a unique hue. › Continue reading
Invest Green – Environmentally Responsible Stocks and Mutual Funds
Now may not be the best time for this post, or is it? Market wisdom dictates to buy low, sell high. Well guess what, the market is pretty low right now and some technologies seem to have a rosy future. The Obama administration has made it clear that they will be investing heavily in alternative green energy sources, breaking our dependency on oil and dirty power generation. This opens up a great opportunity to possibly make some money, and support green initiatives that are important to you as well. › Continue reading
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