I was watching The Today Show this morning and there was this segment on deciphering eco-friendly labels. If you are searching for earth-friendly forest products like lumber and paper, look for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) logo. The FSC is a non profit organization that certifies timber companies that meet standards for sustainable forestry. Home Depot, Lowe's and Kinko's carries these products. The Fair Trade Certified logo can be seen on products like coffee, tea, cocoa, flowers, fresh fruit, sugar, rice, vanilla. It means that the producers are paid fair wages, work in a safe working environment and use sustainable production techniques. The products are usually green and organic to protect not just the land but the farm workers' health. Farm workers, male or female, receive equal pay for equal work. Abusive child labor practices are not allowed.

Casa Sugar has a green tip right now that made me laugh out loud when I saw it: wash and reuse your plastic bags! I'm not laughing in a disparaging, derisive way, it's just that it's something my mother has always done, and which I've done a few times myself. And why not? If your plastic bag didn't contain anything hideous and could be easily cleaned, there's no reason why you shouldn't use it as much as possible.

Kiefer Sutherland announced that his tv show "24" is making a commitment to fight climate change. They hope to have a carbon neutral season. The storylines may include global warming and the actors will appear in PSAs regarding reducing carbon emissions. Production will use hybrid vehicles and "green power". The set will be rewired to use electric power.

Make a difference while shopping. You can log on to Buy Change and purchase items like soap from Afghanistan, salad dressing created by inner city children, handbags made by women and children who have escaped or have been rescued from sexual exploitation and slavery. The most interesting is the paper made from elephant poo. Due to population growth, humans have been moving into the elephants' habitat in Sri Lanka. The animals have had to feed on their crops and the farmers kill them, usually with primitive weapons causing a more painful death. To resolve the man-elephant conflict, Mr. Ellie Pooh and Maximus developed a process whereby elephant dung can be turned into paper. The villagers get good jobs, the animals stop becoming just a nuisance to them and perhaps the killings will stop. The company is looking to expand into India and Africa.

Be oven-wise. Stop opening it to check food. Heat escapes, wastes energy and slows down cooking. Switch it off before your meal is ready. The temperature in the oven would still be hot enough to finish cooking the food.

Put a lid on it. Saucepans, I mean. It'll heat the food quicker and you'll use less energy.

Cool it off. Hot or warm food straight into the fridge makes your refrigerator exert more energy. Let it cool first.

Let 'em steam. Use your steamer wisely. Most steamers have removable bases. You can cook various food items in each base. All in one take.

Chill out. Defrost your fridge regularly to keep it running efficiently and cheaply.

Eat more veggies. Produce is cheaper energy-wise than raising animals.

Use a toaster, not the grill. It uses less energy.

At work, we have a container of used pens, pencils and other writing supplies. Some of them were left behind by those who left the company. Others were randomly found in the office. I try to be good. I don't go for the new supplies. I use black, blue and red pens (one each), one sign pen, two pencils, and one permanent marker. When they run out of ink or dry out, I go back to the container. They're still useful, after all.

Hmm, now this is bound to create quite a buzz. American artist Spencer Tunick and Greenpeace Switzerland are working together on an installation on a Swiss glacier to help drum up global warming awareness. And get this--they're using naked people. The page encourages people to "Expose yourself to the glacier without protection. Get undressed for urgently needed climate protection!"

Whoa.

Ohhh-kay.

I'm not entirely sure how this could educate people how important the environment is, but it will turn a lot of heads, although sadly more likely it'll be because of the naked bods rather than the cause itself. In any case, I wish them luck with this effort. Hopefully it will achieve the desired results.

Okay, I just couldn't resist using that title. So Al Gore committed a blunder quite recently at his daughter's wedding. I won't viciously jump down his throat because I believe he's done a spiffy job highlighting important issues the world should be taking notice of, but I will say that this could put a dent in his credibility as an environmental crusader.

Gore and his guests at the weekend ceremony dined on Chilean sea bass - arguably one of the world's most threatened fish species.

Also known as Patagonian toothfish, the species is under pressure from illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activities in the Southern Ocean, jeopardising the sustainability of remaining stocks.

Ah, we all have plenty of things to learn about environmental issues. If only he didn't come across as an environmental expert before, this news item wouldn't sting too much.

Trees For Life, one of the Green Army and DENR's pet projects, formally launched today at the La Mesa Watershed. Top notch. I know I'm critical of an environmental drive solely involving tree-planting projects, but yeah, you gotta applaud every effort.

Planting for Trees for Life will go on for six months with the participation of numerous non-government organizations, civic groups, government agencies, indigenous peoples, students, youth organizations, and groups aligned with the Green Army Foundation, the DENR’s social mobilization partner. Aside from those who actually planted seedlings, participants included those who will provide donations and contributions, such as transport services, water, and garden tools, along with community partners who will be tasked with nurturing the trees to maturity.

Speaking of La Mesa Watershed, the president declared it a national park today as well. Woohoo! Now I can say I've been to two national parks in the country (the other one being Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park).

Former Manila mayor Lito Atienza, whom I greatly dislike, has apparently been appointed as the new secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the same man who ordered the Arroceros Forest Park closed and chopped down 70% of its trees. What does he know about the environment anyway? The man is an idiot. Yeah, I know insulting people won't do any good, but seriously. To think that the president is currently claiming to be stepping up the fight to save the environment. I was already surprised when Angelo Reyes, former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, held the post, but this one just takes the cake. One has to wonder what credentials the government looks for in someone who's supposed to be in this position.

On Earth Day 2007, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a plan for charging car drivers $8 and truck drivers $21 a day to enter Manhattan's central business district from 6 am to 6 pm. The money collected would be used to improve public transportation and roadways. Congestion pricing, already in place in London, Singapore, and other European cities, aims to reduce vehicle use and traffic, improve air quality by reducing pollution and encourage use of mass transit. The New York State legislature shelved the proposal on July 16, 2007.

Your bank has probably sent you an e-mail urging you to sign up for e-statements. In fact, you probably signed up for it already. If not, look at it this way: it's yet another way to do your share in taking care of our environment. You'll help reduce paper waste.

A study conducted by Starwood Hotels and Resorts found that most people drop their eco-friendly habits when they are in a hotel. They want their beddings and towels changed daily and are more likely to keep the lights on. On a trip to Singapore in 2002, Lynn and I found out that because of its geography and meager water resources, the city-state had to import water from Malaysia. We stayed at the Oxford Hotel and found signs in the room encouraging water conservation. That was probably the first time I ever thought about how much water is wasted by long showers, by changing sheets and towels everyday, even how much cleaning solutions are released into the environment by this practice. If you stay hospitable to the environment, then Mother Earth can hopefully stay hospitable to us for many years to come.

Some of you must have already heard about certain sites that offer benefits for their users just by surfing the Internet as usual, like pay-per-surf plans. I recently found out that there are new search engines which offer incentives to people if they just do online searches. Getting paid to search sounds like fun, but what's more outstanding is to search AND do something good at the same time. Enter GoodSearch. Just by running a search, you can already earn money for the charity or cause of your choice, and you wouldn't have to shell out a single penny either. Also, other startup search engines don't come out with lots of results yet, but GoodSearch is powered by Yahoo! so it generates plenty of results for your query. Sounds like a winning idea to me.

Support green companies.
Isn't it great that more and more companies are changing the way they do business? For the longest time, the environment was ignored or sacrificed in the pursuit for profit. Now, more and more businesses are trying to reduce their environmental impact by minimizing environmental waste, implementing green practices, lessening pollution, recycling, and even encouraging their employees to carpool.

Invest the green way.
Check out if there are green funds you can invest in that are available through your company's 401(k) plans. If not, let your plan administrator know. If there's demand, they'll supply it.

Exercise your green option.
Given a choice between a green or non-green company, go for the green one. It's ultimately good for all of us.

Someone mentioned to me today that studies say that producing ethanol or biodiesel uses up six times more fossil fuel energy units to produce one, thus defeating the purpose. I looked it up and found this article about a 2005 Cornell University and University of California Berkeley study that concluded the same thing. Critics say that the study was based on old farming and ethanol production technologies. A 2006 study refuted the earlier findings, stating that corn grain ethanol and soybean biodiesel do produce more energy than is needed to grow the crops and convert them into biofuels. However, they all agree that biodiesel is not enough to meet U. S. energy demands. I saw a show on the Travel Channel featuring Brazil, one country that has reduced its dependence on gasoline by producing ethanol fuel from sugarcane. Brazilian cars can run on alcohol or gasohol, and the cheaper alternative at the pump is often the ethanol. U. S. ethanol production is based on corn, a more expensive and lengthier process. The debate here in the U. S. will continue.

Did you know that if we recycled even a tenth of our papers, we'd save about 25 million trees per year?

Here's where your local library comes in.

Libraries don't loan books and periodicals only. Lots of them lend out videos and dvds, even console games. Save yourself some money. Stop building up your own collection. Stop subscribing to magazines that you don't have time to read. Don't buy.

If you receive them as gifts, well and good. But if anyone asks what gift you want, why not ask for cinema or concert tickets? Better than disposable goods, I daresay.

I came across this blog post from The Green Guide. It references these two articles from the New York Times and Time Out New York. Very interesting reads. The TONY article humorously assesses Manhattanites' ecological impact and assigns shades of lifestyle greenness from not green at all to puke green. The other article presents criticism of green consumerism, particularly the "light greens". I am probably light green (LG) myself and find nothing wrong with it. LG is about being mindful of wastefulness and educating myself about healthier and eco-friendlier products. It is not about being trendy. I think most people would fall into the light green spectrum. I don't think they believe that the solutions to global warming are as simple as buying organic products or hybrid cars . But there is nothing wrong with doing your part individually to conserve natural resources, care for wildlife and to consume less. It is just a necessary first step.

• Turn off the tap while lathering up in the shower, shaving,washing your hands and face.
• Use faucet aerators to maintain steady water pressure.
• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth. Use a glass of water to rinse your mouth.
• Rinse your dishes in a plugged sink rather than under running water.
• Thaw frozen foods instead of running them under the tap.
• Check for leaks in taps, pipes and hoses. Replace washers as soon as they start to leak.
• Only purchase water saving and energy efficient appliances.
• Take shorter showers and use low-flow showerheads.
• Store drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the faucet run while you wait for cool water.
• Never pour water down the drain if you can use it for cleaning or watering plants.
• Replace toilet handle if it sticks and the water is running.
• Use phosphate free and eco-friendly laundry detergents and dishwashing liquids.

for more tips check out this site.

Just checked out the tips at the sidebar right now and the one about mercury in CFLs grabbed my attention. The Green Guide answered a query expressing concern about the mercury content of CFLs and this is what they had to say:

The amount of mercury in CFLs is relatively small, approximately 5 milligrams (mg), which is roughly enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). For comparison, older mercury-based thermometers contained about 500 mg, or 1/10th of a teaspoon.

The post goes on to provide tips on handling mercury spills from broken bulbs as well as a link to Earth 911 where you can find recycling facilities for all used bulbs.
This question actually reminds me of an incident in second grade when the boys in my class were horsing around in the classroom and one of them accidentally broke a fluorescent tube with a ruler. This caused some alarm, mainly due to the shards and whispers that the substances in a broken bulb can cause blindness. None of us knew anything about the other dangers it posed, not even the teacher. Disposing of broken bulbs should normally be done carefully and make sure they're properly bagged, but the maintenance man simply swept it up and dumped it in the trash can.

Yesterday, my mother and I decided to take a look at the nearest SM Hypermarket, where I finally saw the reusable bags they offer. It would have been nice to get one, except it would seem that they require customers to first purchase PhP500 worth of Unilever products before being able to avail of one bag. I didn't think it prudent to buy stuff I don't need just for the sake of the bag, and in the first place, we don't really shop at SM Hypermarket :D You might say I could use the bag in other supermarkets, but reusable bags haven't really caught on in smaller ones. And apparently, neither have they gained much of a following in SM Hypermarket. Many of the people were still using plastic bags, ones which proudly declare themselves recyclable. Now if they were indeed made of eco-friendly materials, I'd be highly impressed.

I read that McDonald's is planning to make biodiesel from their own waste cooking oil and use it for its delivery trucks in the United Kingdom. The oil will be collected from approximately 900 of its 1200 UK restaurants. Its fleet of 155 vehicles should be converted to biodiesel in about a year. Hopefully the plan can be expanded to other countries as well.

They've already been accepting old cellphones, chargers, PDAs, pagers and digital cameras for recycling, apart from rechargeable batteries. Then they came up with collecting inkjet and laser cartridges for recycling.

Guess what Staples came up with now?

Staples is helping all of us get rid of our old computer equipment like monitors, desktops and laptops (also printers, faxes, all-in-ones). Small items like keyboards, mouse and speakers are accepted at no charge. There's a $10 per item fee. They don't care what brand it is, they'll accept it. Just bring your old items to Staples during business hours.

Now finally, we have somewhere to bring our old computer equipment. I don't really mind the $10 per item fee. As long as I know the equipment will end up doing something good.

According to their website, they also practice recycling company-wide. Now that's one company who's doing its share. Check out their green statement here.

I daresay Staples is a great model. Recycling is often promoted, but in some places, pretty hard to put into practice. I'm glad a company out there is making an effort in making recycling easier for all of us.

I confess, I went to this year's Macy's 4th of July fireworks display, because well,they're pretty. Before this year, I never even gave a thought to how environmentally safe fireworks are. Not very, as the metals and chemicals in the fireworks contaminate the water supply, not to mention the litter on the ground. There are alternatives, such as Sekon fireworks. Pioneering Disney has been using compressed air instead of gunpowder to launch fireworks in their shows. Other ways that Disney has been greenifying? Since January 2007, the trains at Disneyland have been running on soybean oil. The Jungle Cruise Ride already runs on compressed natural gas. They are looking into using biodiesel for their other attractions and backstage equipment. But I digress. Next time a holiday rolls around, contact your town officials and ask them to look into biodegradable or gunpowder-free "air launch" fireworks. A simple parade, concerts or laser light shows are other options. Like the Disney parks, you can make your town the happiest place on earth, the eco-friendly way.

Being a non-cook, I seldom have to wash a lot of dishes or pots and pans. According to this article, dishwashers are more environmentally-friendly as long as you only wash a full load and do not pre-rinse the dishes. Buy energy-efficient dishwashers, open the door after washing to dry the dishes and avoid heat-dry, rinse-hold and pre-rinse features. For smaller jobs, good old handwashing is sufficient.

I wrote a cheque for our monthly car loan payment last night. It made me realize that I'm probably still part of that group of people who hasn't jumped on board the online bill paying bandwagon.

Yes, I admit, I still write a cheque, stuff it in the envelope, stick a stamp and mail it out. I should probably stop that because:
1. stamps cost money;
2. the envelope is not reused (not that I know of anyway); and
3. the cheques? I have no idea what happens to it after it gets processed – whether it even gets shredded and recycled.

Anyway, I saw this article. Something I can definitely consider, so I can look into online bill paying to lessen all the waste.

I watched part of the Concert for Diana rerun tonight. I remembered reading how Global Cool was involved in reducing the show's carbon footprint. Even after the concert, they are still involved in offsetting the event's greenhouse gas emissions through a clean development mechanism project in KwaZulu-Natal, Africa. Now that's a jolly good show.

I saw this on a bumper sticker yesterday: Recycle yourself: Be an organ donor.

I spotted an ad for evaporative air coolers along Quezon Avenue yesterday. They're distributed by Victor Hardware and all look quite promising save for one catch: the price tag. The cheapest one costs nearly $1,200 and, well, I don't think I quite have the guts to shell out that kind of cash. Still, it looks good, and perhaps when prices have simmered down, I might take a second look at this.