Entries tagged with 'green'
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The much-maligned microwave--conjuring up images of scary invisible waves and mysterious molecular science--isn't what most of us think of as environmentally friendly. (After all, how could "nuking" something be good for the planet?) But though it sounds counterintuitive, the microwave is one of the most energy-efficient options for cooking our food. Think of the microwave as a high-pressure shower, and the oven as an overflowing bathtub. The shower delivers only the blast of water to clean you off, whereas taking a bath requires you to fill a whole sloshy tub of water, just so you can soak inside. In the same way, heating up a whole oven for the sake of a little potato uses a lot more energy than...
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On Earth Day, some of us are making an effort to turn off lights, or take shorter showers, or bike to work. But putting us all to shame, Jones Soda is taking its entire headquarters off the grid—powering their offices with human-generated cycle power. With ten custom-make bikes hooked up to their electric system, Jones staffers and visitors will be pedaling all day. And if you drop by Jones Soda Central in Seattle and hop on a bike, you’ll score a free soda for your pains. Can’t make it out there? Follow along on their webcam, or on Twitter. [via Girlhacker]...
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Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, Cooking Up a Story offers up Baby Steps to a Green Kitchen, a collection of tips ranging from shopping and food choices to kitchen clean up: "Trying to step more lightly on the earth is a daunting task, but we do believe that small, seemingly insignificant actions can make a major, positive impact." What are you doing to green your kitchen?...
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The country hopes to encourage its citizens to buy products that are more environmentally friendly....
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U.K.-based website Do the Green Thing gives its community members one green thing to do each month. August's "green thing" is asking for tap water. To illustrate the point, the site has produced this video (after the jump), which mocks the myriad designer bottled waters out there....
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Get rid of those plastic bags without feeling guilty. I can finally get rid of some plastic bags I've accumulated without feeling guilty. The New York City Council passed a bill yesterday that will make large stores in the Big Apple collect and recycle the bags they pack groceries and other goods in. There will be bins in stores where you can bring your plastic bags, which can be from any store, of course....
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Andrew Martin in his Feed column in the New York Times business section questions just how green the locavore movement is. What spurred his question? Researchers at UC Davis are conducting studies trying to determine the actual carbon footprint of local food. Isn't this kind of a silly academic exercise? We don't need a study to tell us that driving to a farmers' market every day in a gas-guzzling SUV to buy a pound of local produce leaves a heavy carbon footprint and is bad for the environment....
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Photo from dslrninja on Flickr.com When I order takeout from my local Thai restaurant, the amount of nonrecyclable plastic that is used to carry all that delicious food to me is absolutely out of hand. There are the thick, round plastic containers (which are no doubt a huge improvement in quality over their aluminum predecessors) as well as plasticware I simply don't need, plastic soup and rice containers, and, of course, the plastic bag that the whole thing was delivered in. And then when I think about the fact that all this plastic gets used only once, the real guilt begins to set in....
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If I didn't tell you these colorful, beautiful bags were meant to carry your groceries, would you ever think it? Designed in Australia (and made in China), the Envirosax are meant to replace the 500 or so plastic bags that each one of us uses once and then throws away every year. $33 for a set of five bags, each of which is lightweight but strong enough to carry the contents of two supermarket shopping bags, and they roll up into a pouch you can keep in your glove compartment. I buy groceries in small amounts but frequently, like a good New Yorker, so maybe I'll buy a set, keep two bags rolled up in the bottom of my...
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A couple in Manhattan is living "No Impact" for a year, which means eating only organic food grown within a 250-mile radius of Manhattan, composting in their apartment, and no carbon-fueled transportation. Oh, and did I mention no paper, and that includes the toilet variety? They've been making vinegar at home from fruit scraps, and shopping at the Union Square Greenmarket. On one hand, Manhattan seems like a great place to do attempt this experiment. You can walk to so many places, or use a scooter or skateboard or roller blades. On the other hand, eschewing elevators means walking 115 flights of stairs in one day, which is what one participate estimates he did! The idealist in me loves to...
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