I consider myself to be a pretty eco minded person, I wouldn't go so far as too say I'm extreme when it comes to conservation and minimizing waste, but I do exert a fair amount of effort to try to minimize my impact, especially when it comes to over consumption and blatant waste. And I certainly would consider our (Americans) use of plastic a blatant waste.

For my part, I always bring my reusable bags when I go shopping, and I even go so far as to use an empty bread loaf bag to pick up dog poop rather than throw it out unused. These days when I make my lunch I reuse one ziplock bag for several weeks, rather than dispose of it daily, and I also use a tupperware to pack my sandwich and vegetables. Right there, assuming that I make lunch 3 days (and eat out 2) per week, multiplied over 49 weeks (52 minus a measly 3 for vacation), that would ordinarily be 294 bags if I used one for chips or snack, and one for sandwich. But typically I reuse one bag for three or four weeks in a row before it becomes too nasty, and my use of a tupperware removes the need for half of them right away. So that puts me down to only 37 per year for 147 days of lunch. Not great, but a significant reduction from average.

But we all know that you can be the most efficient person in the world, and it's just a drop in the bucket compared to the waste of a business. So I now have a way to save another 245 plastic bags per year by doing nothing. How do I do this? I realized a year or so ago that the cleaning people swap out the bag in the trashcan at my desk if there is anything it.

So the solution? It's simple. I bring my trash to the office kitchen to dispose of it. And just like that, I don't use my trash can and they don't change the bag. (I've experimented to ensure that this is the case.) Just like that 245 bags removed from the landfill.

So above and beyond the hundreds (likely thousands) of plastic bags I save per year by carrying my reusable shopping bags and implementing these simple strategies, I now can include another 500 bags (a low estimate combining lunch and work strategy) that I am saving from our landfills.

If every person made these three simple adjustments, we could save hundreds of thousands (probably millions) of plastic bags from the landfills. Even at a small company of 20 people, these three virtually unnoticeable lifestyle changes would save 10,000 bags from our landfills over one year.

As you can see, making a difference is not that hard.

Labels: conservation, consumption, eco-friendly, how-to, lifestyle, resources

I have seen some people posting recently asking for green product recommendations, so I guess this is as good a time as any for me to post my own. Green products are sometimes a catch 22, they are clearly better for the environment and most often for us as well, but a lot of times the products are much more expensive, and worst of all, sometimes they just don't work! Well, here are the products that I have found to work for me and would definitely recommend (though I can't control the price), based on five years of trial and error.

Just a heads up, these links below take you to Amazon, as much as I'd love for you to head over there and buy stuff so I can make a few bucks, keep an eye on the prices, check some of the third party sellers on Amazon for the same products. I don't know why some of the listed prices are so expensive

Cleaning Products

• Seventh Generation Dish Soap
  • 2nd runner up Ecover Natural Dishwashing Liquid, but it doesn't foam as nicely which makes you use more
• Seventh Generation Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Ecover Dishwasher Powder or tablets


• Green Works (yes I know it's a Clorox product, but what can I say, it works. I also use a water/vinegar mixture)

Personal Hygiene

• All of Dr Bronners Soaps
• Avalon Organics Shaving Cream
• Earth Science Tea Tree/Lavendar Deodorant
• Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean Face Wash
• Lily of the Desert Aloe 80 Organics Shampoo
  & Conditioner
• Seventh Generation Baby Wipes
• Avalon Organics Lotion
• Tom's of Maine or Desert Essence Tea Tree Toothpaste
• Desert Essence Tea Tree Oil or Blemish Stick

I'd like to note that I have found a few good cheap soaps (bar, hand, and washing machine soap) at Trader Joe's. I know TJs is debatable, but when I look at the ingredients they seem to be ok. That said, I'm looking for a new all purpose hand soap that is not outrageously expensive, so feel free to comment.

What green products do you use?



Related Links:
Green & Eco Friendly Products

Labels: biodegradable, eco-friendly, organic, sustainable

Everyone thinks summer is the best time of year in San Diego, but I'm here to tell you otherwise. Actually let me back up. Everyone thinks that San Diego is 75 degrees and sunny year round. While it comes close, I can tell you that's not the case. I might even go so far as to say there are seasons here.

Having grown up in New England, I can attest to the fact that the seasons here are quite different than what many people are used to, but still, we have seasons. Summer goes from May to mid September, then some fall weather kicks in until November or December, then a month or two of moderately chilly nights and cool days with some rain, then spring for another month or two, then summer. Summer is hot and dry, so everything turns brown, and winter is the green season. So ok, not what most people would consider seasons. (Note: the weather here varies considerable as you move away from the coast. Coastal weather has less variation, during the day it's not as hot and at night it doesn't drop as much. As you move inland the nighttime temps go lower and the daytime temps go higher. It is not abnormal for the high/low temps during the summer at the beach to be 75/71 and then just 10 miles from the coast to be 100/65.)

Anyway, this time of year, October and November, are the absolute best! The heat of summer is finally gone, as are the tourists, the air clears up (and there are finally wispy fall clouds!), and the nights cool down. Instead of the dog days of summer where it's 75 degrees in the middle of the night and sleeping is uncomfortable only wake up and have the mercury well into the 80s by 8AM, we now have 75 degree days and once the sun goes down the it cools off enough to even pull out the long sleeves and sweatshirts. And that cool breeze that comes in overnight and actually makes the extra blankets appealing!

There is just something in the air this time of year (and during spring as well). The breeze is cool and refreshing instead of hot, and the sunsets without the summer haze and fog are just amazing. Even though I always talk about wanting to get out of San Diego, this time of year is what makes it for me. And the best part? Don't let anyone hear me say this, but maybe it will rain soon... The last actual rain storm that I can remember was probably six months ago.

Labels: random, San Diego