Go Greener Tips

Archive for the ‘Green Holidays’ Category

Cruising companies have recently felt the persuasive powers of various governments, who have asked them to clean up their act and develop ships that are more sustainable and environmentally viable. The extent to which cruise ships damage the environment really entered the public's consciousness a few years ago with a number of critical expert reports released to the media, and this is something cruise companies wish to put behind them. Couple this with the increased taxes that vessels are now receiving based on carbon emissions, and there is real motivations to innovate. Here are 3 of the latest ‘green’ cruising developments.

More Efficient Ships. The effect of ship design and construction on the environment was not top priority twenty years ago, but now ship builders are using clever materials and efficient designs. The materials are getting lighter so less energy is needed for propulsion, soft sails are often being included, and a company in Ireland have pioneered a biogas-powered engine, set to soon be used by Cunard Cruises. Hull design has also been dramatically resigned by the same Irish ship building company, allowing the energy usually lost when the boat impacts waves to be turned into forward propulsion instead.

Hybrid Engines. Automobiles that rely on both fuel combustion and battery power have been around for a little while now and have proved very popular. Now ship builders such as those making boats for Silversea Cruises are getting in on the action and making boats that couple the traditional diesel power with electrical power. When a ship comes into harbor it is connected to the shoreside power source and gets a quick charge up of its huge batteries

Sharing Cargo. A great idea being trialled by Oceania Cruises is ‘cargo sharing’. When a cruise ship has spare room onboard, they effectively rent it out to companies wishing to transport cargo to the destination on the ships path. The cruise company wins as they get money they would otherwise not have got, the cargo company does not have to charter its own boat, and energy is saved that reduces carbon emissions.

From Greenopolis

12 Weird Ways to Go Green for Festivus: The Orthodox and the Unorthodox [1].

The origins of Festivus [2] are shrouded in the mists of time, or the sleet of alcohol induced delirium, take your pick.

The Festivus website [3] traces the origins back to ancient Rome [4], but they also believe that the earth is flat, that the stork brings babies and that climate change is caused by liberals letting the heat escape from their mocha lattes. Most scholars above the 6th grade concur with Wikipedia that the holiday was created in 1965 and popularized on the comedy series “Seinfeld” in 1997 [5].

Seinfeld meets the Festivus Pole [6]

But who cares what history says! This is our time, our Festivus! What do we want it to be? Festivus is one holiday you really can make up your self, unless you are Seindfeldian Orthodox. Then you are stuck with the Festivus Pole [7], The Airing of Grievances [8] and the Feats of Strength [9] of “traditional” Festivus celebration.

But whether you are an Orthodox Zealot or a Festivus Heretic, you can green your Festivus celebration, even before you are sprung from jail for disorderly conduct. Once again the Greenopolis staff has done hours of exhaustive research, consisting mainly of researching a large keg of beer until we exhausted it. We also did a double blind study, asking two blind guys what they thought about Festivus. We came up with Green tips for both the Orthodox and the Heretical Festivus revelers among us.

Orthodox Practice

Photo: Fishline Info [10]

The Festivus Gift Creed is to give something you don’t want, to someone else that doesn’t want it either. This is perfect for reusing the useless items in your life, like that day-glow wide tie, electric dog polisher, or beautiful black velvet Elvis–as-Santa painting. They transform from being useless schlock in your home into useless schlock in someone else’s home until the next Festivus, and the one after that, ad infinitum! A gift that keeps on giving.

The first Festivus Pole Lot in Milwaukee Wisconsin [11]

The Festivus Pole is a study in conservation itself. One aluminum pole, undecorated, is a simple statement of reducing resources. Make sure your Festivus pole is made from recycled aluminum-you can buy one from
Festivus Poles [12] or make your own Festivus pole from recycled beer cans- the same way these Buddhist monks made their temple from recycled beer bottles [13].

Airing of Grievances: The core of Festivus tradition. Instead of complaining about all those things your friends and family have done that you can’t change, why not complain about slights to the planet? “Why didn’t you turn the compost? “You could have recycled that!” “How many polar bears did you kill by leaving the lights on?” I’m sick and tired of you throwing everything in the landfill!” You get the idea.

Feats of Strength: Traditionally conducted until someone wrestles the head of the household to the ground, there are many “green” ways to observe this sacred ritual. How many compost piles can you turn at once without spilling any? What’s the longest trek you can take to recycle a single aluminum can? How about recycling all the stuff left on Mt. Everest [14]? Let your imagination run wild.

Unorthodox Heretical Practices

Some new reuse/recycling/conservation traditions for Festivus:

Exchanging of the Compost. Neighbors swap biodegradable pots/bags/wagons of compost, tied tightly and wrapped in brown paper.

Reuse the Festivus Pole. The rest of the year it can serve as a flagpole, yard ornament, rolling pin, dance prop or marital aid.

Use organic olive oil and a recycled sheet of plastic for naked oil wrestling contests. This has a hint of the oil theme of Hanukkah [15] woven into it, along with the Festivus Feats of Strength theme. And you can lick the oil off afterward- see our piece on edible clothing [16]!

Midwinter Sod Roof Contest. Go out and shovel the roof and lay sod until all the winter white is preplaced with Green. Artificial turf [17] from recycled or bioplastics is ok. Green paint is not.

Photo: Gizmodo [18]

Capture your personal methane. Holiday food can produce a lot of gas-methane to us braniacs. Festivus revelers would stick tubing in the appropriate places (you can look it up) to capture that methane [19], and use it to heat the home, cook holiday meals or light up the neighborhood.

Serve Snails as appetizers. Not from France, but your own garden varieties [20]. They are Free Range, organic locally produced, high in protein, easy to outrun and animal rights advocates don’t care about them because they are not cute [21].

Save Holiday Urine. There’s always a lot of beer drinking during the holidays, and researchers have been creating bioplastics from urine [22], so Festivus celebrations could include collecting the urine and making bioplastics from it. At least pee outdoors or save it in buckets and use for watering outdoors plants—saves water and recycles a resource rather than peeing it away.

Cast Iron Roadkill Cooking Contest. See how many new holiday dishes from leftovers [23] or roadkill [23] you can cook in cast iron [24]. My favorite is yesterday’s oatmeal with snails.

You can find out more about Festivus and get ideas directly from Allen Salkin, the Author of Festivus: A Holiday for the Rest of Us [25] in the video below:

Have a Happy Festivus from the Rest of Us at Greenopolus!

[26]

Buzz up!

Featured Content - Front Image:

Featured Content - Page Image:

Gloria Camposon of Daily Green Tips

Thanksgiving is around the corner for some of us. If you celebrate it you know how non-environmentally friendly it can be. If your are looking for ways to green it up this year, here are some quick green tips to make your Thanksgiving as eco-friendly as possible.

1. Turkey Compromise. The most obvious eco-solution is to not buy a turkey and just have a complete vegan meal, especially if you’ve recently filled you head up on all the recent news on the environmental impact of eating meat, but your family has decided to go against the idea. You want you and your family to be happy so you make a compromise (no, not a soy shaped into a turkey). To compromise you can do several things:

a. You can buy and cook the turkey give it to your family and not eat it yourself. Eat a delicious organic salad, with cherries and nuts and homemade dressing, but unless you are already vegan or vegetarian, do you really have the will power to smell the turkey and not eat it?

b. Buy an organic Free-Range Turkey. An organic free range turkey is suppose to be turkey that is not in cages and is allowed to move about the yard. Some informative sites to turn to to make sure you are getting exactly what you are looking for are Really Natural and Free Range Turkeys.

c. Yes, organic free-range turkeys can be expensive so if it doesn’t fit in your budget this year consider another alternative. Buy a regular turkey and the rest of your food organic. Local Farmers market is a good place to look for organic fruits and veggies, but if there isn’t one near your area buy organic from your local grocery store.

2. Organic. Buy everything you can buy organic, milk, meat, veggies, fruits, etc. This includes any boxed or canned items you may purchase. Remember to go online and search for Organic coupons. This will help cut down the cost of your Thanksgiving feast

3. Packaging. When you go to the store buy things that have the least amount of packaging and try to buy packaging that is environmentally friendly.

4. Don’t cook so much. Yes, “it is better to have more than not enough” but is it really necessary to count 3 servings per person? Isn’t that a bit much? Think about all the left overs you had last year and then cut down on that amount of servings if you are going to have the same amount of people over this year. . Between the turkey, the many side dishes and the desserts there is plenty of food to stuff everyone and more. If you accidentally do make too much food or someone cancels, give the leftovers away to family and friends, Don’t let them mold up in the fridge.

5. Dinnerware and silverware. It’s okay to use your good dishes or even your regular dishes for Thanksgiving. It is a celebration after all, but if the thought of washing so many dishes is terrifying look into biodegradable or bamboo disposable dishes.

6. Beautiful weather outside. A lot of bodies in one house can make the place warm so if its cool outside open up some windows to help the place cool down, instead of turning on the AC.

7. Decorations. Reuse your old decorations from last year in new way or just make some new ones. Use items from your back yard and fall fabric colors if you have any to make a nice centerpiece. As always the Internet is a great resource for creative ideas. Any bought decorations should also be environmentally friendly, that includes flowers, plants and so on.

8. 100-Mile. Participate in the 100-Mile Thanksgiving challenge from Treehugger. If you haven’t heard of it yet click on the link here.

9. Plant a tree. Winter season is a good time to plant trees and shrubs so take this time to plant a tree and keep the green growing.

10. Carbon credits. If you must fly or drive to visit family this Thanksgiving consider purchasing carbon credits to make up for it.

11. Donate your turkey fat. No, not the fat you put on from eating the turkey, but the actual fat from the cooked Turkey. Can you believe a Tucson-based company recycles Turkey fat into Biofuel? Check to see if a company in your community does too.

12. Say Thanks..

(CBS) You can have an eco-friendly Easter without too much trouble.

On The Early Show Friday, contributor and environmental lifestyle guru Danny Seo outlined simple, fun ways to turn the holiday green.

(CBS) You can have an eco-friendly Easter without too much trouble.

On The Early Show Friday, contributor and environmental lifestyle guru Danny Seo outlined simple, fun ways to turn the holiday green.

E EASTER EGGS WITH NATURAL INGREDIENTS

Boil water and add red cabbage, turmeric, and coffee beans to dye those eggs -- naturally!

THE EASTER BASKET

Start by raiding your attic, closets and basement for inexpensive wicker baskets with handles. Many baskets can also be found at stores such as Goodwill for very little money. Then "de-petal" old silk flowers -- gluing just the petals to the front of the baskets. Another option: Take a sturdy shopping bag and make it into an instant basket. All you have to do is cut off a left and right corner and tape the remaining connecting strip together as a handle.

ECO-FRIENDLY BASKET FILL

Natural materials are best. If you can't get fresh hay or woodland moss, think office paper. Shred colorful office paper into fine pieces using an office shredder and add two or three perfume advertisements to gently "scent" the light, papery nest. Use it to pad baskets.

For inside fill, stock up on yummy organic chocolates, lollipops and other treats. While they still aren't healthy choices, since they're full of sugar, they're greener choices, since they use cocoa and sugar grown without pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Add large apothecary jars and bowls filled with colorful treats. After, Easter recycle chocolate boxes to store jewelry or office supplies.

Among the companies making organic chocolate are Dagoba, whose offerings you can buy at various stores and specialty shops, and online at dagobachocolate.com, and Theo, whose products you can also purchase at various stores and specialty shops, and online at theochocolate.com.

CENTERPIECES

Decorate empty soups cans by wrapping with newspaper or pages from a large book, allowing enough paper to protrude past the edge of the can. Then use scissors to trim strips all the way down to replicate grass. Finish by decorating with stickers and filling with flowers or candy.

RECYCLED PAPER DECOR

Use the Sunday comics to trim cake stands and your Easter table. Replicate spring grass by cutting into paper or fold and cut patterns, as if you're making a paper snowflake, to create an intricate effect. Make rabbit cutouts and put them together with string to make banners.

PROJECT WITH MARSHMALLOW PEEPS

Pick up a pot or tray of wheatgrass from the health food store and poke long bamboo skewers in it. Skewer marshmallow Peeps on top, and display.

GIFTS FOR GROWNUPS AND KIDS!

For grownups, recycle empty Altoid tins and fill them with hay or moss from the yard. Fill each Altoid tin with "sweet" gift cards. You can also put jellybeans in the Altoid boxes for a sweet treat!
Boil water and add red cabbage, turmeric, and coffee beans to dye those eggs -- naturally!

THE EASTER BASKET

Start by raiding your attic, closets and basement for inexpensive wicker baskets with handles. Many baskets can also be found at stores such as Goodwill for very little money. Then "de-petal" old silk flowers -- gluing just the petals to the front of the baskets. Another option: Take a sturdy shopping bag and make it into an instant basket. All you have to do is cut off a left and right corner and tape the remaining connecting strip together as a handle.

ECO-FRIENDLY BASKET FILL

Natural materials are best. If you can't get fresh hay or woodland moss, think office paper. Shred colorful office paper into fine pieces using an office shredder and add two or three perfume advertisements to gently "scent" the light, papery nest. Use it to pad baskets.

For inside fill, stock up on yummy organic chocolates, lollipops and other treats. While they still aren't healthy choices, since they're full of sugar, they're greener choices, since they use cocoa and sugar grown without pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. Add large apothecary jars and bowls filled with colorful treats. After, Easter recycle chocolate boxes to store jewelry or office supplies.

Among the companies making organic chocolate are Dagoba, whose offerings you can buy at various stores and specialty shops, and online at dagobachocolate.com, and Theo, whose products you can also purchase at various stores and specialty shops, and online at theochocolate.com.

CENTERPIECES

Decorate empty soups cans by wrapping with newspaper or pages from a large book, allowing enough paper to protrude past the edge of the can. Then use scissors to trim strips all the way down to replicate grass. Finish by decorating with stickers and filling with flowers or candy.

RECYCLED PAPER DECOR

Use the Sunday comics to trim cake stands and your Easter table. Replicate spring grass by cutting into paper or fold and cut patterns, as if you're making a paper snowflake, to create an intricate effect. Make rabbit cutouts and put them together with string to make banners.

PROJECT WITH MARSHMALLOW PEEPS

Pick up a pot or tray of wheatgrass from the health food store and poke long bamboo skewers in it. Skewer marshmallow Peeps on top, and display.

GIFTS FOR GROWNUPS AND KIDS!

For grownups, recycle empty Altoid tins and fill them with hay or moss from the yard. Fill each Altoid tin with "sweet" gift cards. You can also put jellybeans in the Altoid boxes for a sweet treat!

© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.