Green Gifts for Any Occasion
It’s truly the thought that counts, it’s a little late for Mother’s Day, but heck, every day should be Mother’s day, so this year (or next year) how about giving mom something that fits her personality and your environmental values? Here are some eco-friendly ideas to inspire you and help you find the perfect gift this mother’s day:
* Shop Green Living (http://www.green-living.com/index.asp) for a little bit of everything eco, from clothing to home goods to purses and jewelry.
* The Organic Consumers Association (http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc/buyingguide.cfm) offers an extensive database of stores and products covering everything from food to outdoor recreation to house wares and body care.
* Organic Style’s online store (http://www.organicstyle.com/l_342/organic/Mothers-Day-Flowers-Gifts.html) Contains gourmet goodies, gardening gear, and eco apparel and accessories themed for Mother’s Day.
* Diamond Organics (http://www.diamondorganics.com/prod_detail_list/84) Our organic flowers and organic bouquets are grown exclusively by American flower farmers in California and Hawaii.
* Fresh Fruit Baskets (http://www.freshfruitbaskets.com) Fresh Fruit Baskets’ mission is to offer customers the best organic fruit baskets and fruit of the month gifts available.
Floating Plastic
Did you know that Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) plastic does not float? PET is used to make the bottles you use everyday for; soda, water, juice, etc., and beverage containers are just the tip of the iceberg. Almost everything we drink from is made from PET plastic, and it doesn’t float.
What does this mean?
If you Google “Pacific Ocean Gyre” and look at some of the documentary from various informational programs, you will see the staggering issue we have created in our oceans. The really bad news is that the stuff they are reporting on is a different kind of plastic that is used for the lids and caps of these beverage drinks, as well as more industrial applications, and is the stuff that floats. So basically we are aware of the problem on the surface literally.
Greenpeace reports that 70% of our plastic that ends up in the ocean is found at the bottom of our ocean. We have no idea what the effect will be on our deep ocean ecosystem. We know that when fish and other marine life mistake the plastic for food, they are being injured and dying as a direct result of plastic pollution. Plastic has become an integral part of our lives and is probably going to stay around. We need to develop plastics that are more earth friendly, that won’t harm our oceans or future generations.
ENSO bottles provide such a solution in that they are truly biodegradable through microbial digestion. If ENSO bottles end up in the ocean, landfills or litter, they will become food for microbes found iand biodegrade into biogases and humus. Our goal is to have plastic that doesn’t become part of our food chain. If all plastics were biodegradable then plastics that end up in oceans or any other microbial environment would biodegrade by microbial activity.
We all need to do more if we want to make a difference. We need to change the way we humans look at our environment, we need to recycle more, and purchase responsibly. There is a growing interest in becoming better stewards of our planet. I believe we will come together to help, not hurt our environment. It’s for all of our future well being, besides, who wants to order a plastic sandwich instead of a fish sandwich?
By Del Andrus
Biodegradable Plastic are You Confused?
Biodegradable Plastics, what does it mean and why is there so much confusion about something that sounds so simple to define? The ASTM defines biodegradable plastics as “a degradable plastic in which the degradation results from the action of naturally-occurring micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi, and algae”. Sounds simple enough, so why all the confusion? The confusion really comes from two aspects; 1) confusion between using the term degradable vs. biodegradable and 2) the loose use of the word biodegradable.
Plastic Ocean Soup
Let’s talk about something near and dear to our hearts…the ocean gyres. Just in case you haven’t heard of a gyre let me explain. A gyre is a swirling ocean vortex caused by winds and ocean currents, causing things that float to accumulate in these vortex areas. The North pacific gyre is about the size of Texas.
One Step to Success
The other night I was helping my daughter with her math homework. She was frustrated and overwhelmed with the amount of problems and the difficulty level. After several hours of this, she stopped cold in her tracks. “I am not going to do this anymore, this is too hard, there are way too many problems and I don’t even know how to solve them! I might as well just quit.”
Can your company pass the “Sniff” test?
Nestlé expecting sustainability-savvy suppliers
By Mike Verespej
CHICAGO (Nov. 21, 4:15 p.m. ET) — There are a lot of things companies can do that create an appearance of being green and sustainable. But Kim Jeffery wants to do things that actually enhance sustainability and the environment.
“Are you trying to look good, or are you trying to do good?” asked the president and chief executive officer of Nestlé Waters North America, in a Nov. 6 interview during Sustain ’08 in Chicago.
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