Top 10 Greenest Cities

Well Maryland did not make the list of the top 10 greenest cities. The cities that did were acknowledged for putting their residents first and are obsessed with clean air and water, renewable energy, reliable city buses, trams, streetcars and subways, a growing number or parks and greenbelts, farmer's markets and, very important, opportunities for community involvement. The list (in no particular order) is: Portland, Oregon; Austin, Texas; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Boulder, Colorado; Burlington, Vermont; Madison, Wisconsin; New York, New York; San Francisco, California; Santa Monica, California; and Chicago, Illinois.
I was shocked to see New York and San Francisco on the top 10 list. The list was published this past May of 2007.

EVO Mission 1

EVO's and our mission is big. We want to harness the power of millions of tiny decisions that happen every day by average people just like you and me -- what products we buy, what we do with our waste, how we get to work, how we energize our homes.

A Guilt-Free Bag Lunch

I was looking through The Sun paper today and came across an article called "A Guilt-Free Bag Lunch." In this article, it suggests other things to use instead of baggies, plastic utensils, etc. "Lunch time can be a wasteful time." 1. Get a To-Go Ware Utensil Set. It comes with a fork, spoon, knife and chopsticks stored in a cloth napkin. The utensils are made of bamboo which is a much more renewable resource then plastic. 2. Wrap-N-Mat. Wrap your sandwiches securely in a reusable cloth-backed, food-grade PEVA plastic (again and again) to keep plastic bags out of the trash. 3. Zyliss Water Bottle. This is a wide-mouth water bottle made of polycarbonate plastic (which has fewer of the potentially troublesome chemicals found in many bottles).
These are all good ideas that we should consider when packing our next lunch!

Impact

I just did my first load of laundry since Tuesday's class when we watched the Wear episode of Big Ideas for a Small Planet. I have ALWAYS used the hot or warm water option on the washing machine...except for today. I took the video's suggestion to wash your clothes in cold water to save energy and greenhouse gas.

Cool Recycled Products

These are shoes made from coffee sacks, surplus jackets and jeans that are all 99% recycled. The soles are made from recycled car tires!

These are newspaper coasters made completely out of recycled paper!

Maryland Recycles

1-800-GOT-JUNK? located in Baltimore removes and accepts all non-hazardous, non-liquid waste, debris, or household junk.
Best Buy's recycling program allows you to drop-off old and unwanted electronics during special collection weekends.
Biomedical Waste Services in Baltimore picks up items such as batteries, electronics, dental mercury, fluorescent lamps, motor oil, anti-freeze, paper, mercury thermometers (no radioactive waste is accepted).
CDM E-Cycling located in Baltimore recycles refurbished electronics such as computers, wire, phones, televisions, scanners, printers, monitors, etc..
Learn Shop, Inc. in Maryland donates used items such as school/art supplies, computers, tools, sports equipment, automobiles to underprivileged children.
Office Depot collects and recycles cell phones and rechargeable batteries.
Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc. located in Baltimore accepts used computers, clothing, wooden furniture, and small appliances.

*These are just a few local Maryland recyclers. If you have any materials that you want to give away or get rid of (when moving, cleaning, etc.) then you should consider contacting a local company that can reuse and recycle your products. For a list of more local listing you can always visit: mdrecycles.org

Mastering the Elements

I was reading through August 2007's issue of American Style and came across an article called "Mastering the Elements." It shows house as art on a high desert plain. A couple has built their home in New Mexico almost entirely by themselves out of natural materials. Rainwater is stored from the roof beneath a fountain and is used for gardening. Construction was low cost with mud-brick walls and recycled windows. I was amazed reading this article and how the home was constructed. The walls actually look like the houses in the Flinstones!
Here is the link to a portion of the article online. There is more info in the actual magazine.
http://americanstyle.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=154FE50916A844A3BBF46BD27DF204DC&nm=Recent+Articles&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=31443F9CF5024199ADF13DE7EC39AF11
For the American Style website with more great information you can go to:
http://www.americanstyle.com/ME2/Default.asp

Hello!!!! Blogosphere

HI all! This is my first blog ever and I am extremely excited to be finally blogging and learning new things!