The US Environmental Protection Agency reports that the average American household loses about $370 per year as wasted food. While this may not look like much, it is serious money when the national figure is tallied. This happens in the face of the fact that an estimated 800 million people in the world are going hungry.  Food wastage takes away much-needed resources in water and energy, not to mention that the money could also be used for other needs. What can you do to reduce food wastage in your home?

Inventory the fridge

Many people will usually make a cursory look at what is in the fridge, then head out to the store. It is important to do an inventory on what is needed. Aim to shop for that week only. This can be done with better organisation of the menu. Shop with your week’s meals in mind. This way, the fridge holds only what is needed. When you bring in new items, place them at the back of the fridge and bring the old stuff to the front for prioritized use.

Avoid buying on impulse

There is a lot of impulse buying in food, more than any other household items. This is because it is easy to pick of that carton of fruits that has 25% off. Deals like these always look inviting regardless of the fact that it is hard to go through these perishables in a week. Don’t buy food items especially vegetables and fruits in bulk just because the price looks good.

Proper storage

It is surprising how much food spoils from poor storage despite all the cooling and preservation technology available. Proper storage is more than just placing items in the fridge. Lumping fruits like bananas and apples together will lead to spoiling as these are fruits that emit gases which affect other foods around them. Washing berries before storing is highly likely to grow mold. Learn proper storage techniques for different food items.

Smart cooking

Have menus that build on each other. If, for example, you will be having chicken burgandy on Monday, plan for a menu that can use the leftover chicken the next day. This way you get to eat the leftovers in healthy dishes instead of throwing them away.

Learn to donate

There are many people that need that food you are throwing away. Work with charitable networks which provide free or affordable food to those who need it. A good example is the MEANS database which matches those with excess with those in need.

10 Ways You Can Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

The talk about climate change has been going on for some time in the media with everyone talking about the devastating effects of global warming. There are erratic weather patterns, food insecurity and rising sea levels among others. Carbon pollution is to blame for the most of the climate change. Reducing the amount of carbon that we release into the atmosphere can help lower the effects of climate change. Here are ways we can cut down the carbon footprint. 

 Vehicles release lots of carbon into the atmosphere. Reduce the emissions by carpooling with friends or using the public transport. 

Look for energy star rated equipment at home. They use less energy and help you avoid over-utilizing the available energy resources.

Use technology tools such as video camera to connect with clients and offices around the world rather travel to where they are. It helps lower the unnecessary emissions. 

 Use renewable energy sources like wind, hydroelectricity and solar instead of fossil fuels. The green energy sources do not pollute the environment. 

Re-use containers, recycle as much material as possible. This way, you will not have to spend more energy to produce similar items. 

Go for the bike or take a walk when going for short distances. This reduces carbon emissions from the vehicle.

 Consider growing your plants in the backyard garden, moreover, avoid using fertilizers and compost the kitchen waste for healthier food. Fertilizers contain metal ingredients that pollute the environment. 

 Do not print unnecessarily. Use email communication to share documents. Printing paper comes from trees. If the trees are not cut down, they can help lower the carbon levels in the atmosphere. 

 Support initiatives that support action against climate change such as tree planting, reduction of the use of plastics and bio-fuels initiative. You can do it by donating to the initiative or taking part in the events.

Insulate your home properly to avoid loss of energy. Moreover, conserve energy by installing automatic sensors for your AC and lighting system. It helps conserve the amount of energy spent on heating and cooling the house.   

By reducing the carbon footprint, we are able to lower the rate of climate change and reverse some of its ill effects.

Few high-profile politicians have taken up the cause of combating climate change as Al Gore has done. The former Vice-President of the United States (1993-2001) has been involved in  environmental activism for decades and has been a co-recipient of the coveted Nobel Prize (2007) for his work on the environment. Al Gore has been involved in a number of high-profile environmental conservation projects notably:

Film-making

An inconvenient Truth (2007) - This is an award-winning documentary that showcased Al Gore’s work in highlighting the dangers of global warming. The film was directed by David Guggenheim with input from Al Gore. The film takes the form of an illustrated presentation in which Al Gore reaches out to the whole world and warns of a ‘planetary emergency’ which has largely gone unnoticed but whose consequences will be very grave for the world. The film won two Academy awards for its role in highlighting this global issue on the environment.

An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (2017) - This is a sequel to the first film. The sequel was done to highlight Al Gore’s continuing activism on the environmental including rallying world leaders to take solid steps to combating climate change. These efforts have partially borne fruit as can be seen in the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016.

Climate Reality Project

This is an environmental awareness project bringing together leaders in environmental activism from all over the world. The aim of this project is to reach out to as many people as possible across the world and educate them on issues around climate change. The project uses methods such as personal outreach, social media, and storytelling to educate any willing learner who is then expected to take up the cause and reach out to others.

Green Investment Management

This is a London fund management firm established by among others Al Gore to help channel funds to green investments. With its headquarters in London, the management fund targets pension funds, foundations and high net worth individuals to influence investment in green projects.

Lectures and conferences

Al Gore is a notable speaker on climate change. He has been involved in a number of high profile talks making policy on climate change and environmental sustainability. He is the unofficial US representative in the UN Climate Change Conference that is aimed at coming up with agreements on among other things, greenhouse emissions.

Vegan diet

Al Gore became a vegan in 2013 as a personal project in contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gases emitted by the millions of livestock bred for meat, as well as reduction in water use. 

As much as poor industrial practices have been blamed for damaging the environment and the climate crisis, human activity has contributed a lot to this damage as well. Inefficient water usage, energy wastage, pollution with household waste, and other harmful personal practices has done a huge amount of damage to the environment. There are several habits you can adopt to have a more sustainable environment and help slow down climate change.

Cold showers

A cold shower is not only good for your skin, but it also feels invigorating and refreshing after a stressful day. Taking a cold shower avoids using electricity to heat the water which in turn means less electricity needed and lower amounts of natural resources needed to produce electricity.

Better water usage

Why take a bath in a full bathtub while a shower can serve the same purpose? You do not need to water your garden with fresh water from the tap. Better water usage helps conserve good drinking water which is increasingly becoming a scarce commodity.

Insist on recycled toilet paper

Expensive brand toilet paper is made from freshly cut trees, which is a damaging industrial practice. By insisting on recycled or tree free bamboo toilet paper, you discourage the production of these destructive brands and promote green options. 

Stop printing documents

Printing emails and other electronic documents is futile and wasteful. With today’s advances in cloud storage, your documents are safe and do not have to be in hardcopy to stay safe.

Learn to compost

Eliminate ground water pollution by relying on natural fertilizer. Composting is easy as all you have to do is dump all your organic and plant trash in one heap and wait for it to ‘cook.’ You can use this compost in your garden or lawn.

Switch off the lights

Installing an intelligent home system is the best bet in ensuring that lights go on and off when needed. In the absence of this, develop a habit of switching off the lights when getting out of a room.

Carpooling

Gas emissions from vehicles are the second biggest contributors to green house gases after industries. You can reduce your emissions by carpooling. In a normal sedan will carry 4 people plus the driver, which means that 4 cars stay off the road.

Learn the 3 R’s

Learn to recycle, reuse and repurpose. There are plenty of material that can be recycled including paper, glass and plastics. Reusing basically means using an item over and over again, for example, honey jars to store sugar. Repurposing is finding another use for an item, for example, a shoe box to become a plant nursery.

Does walking by a trashcan filled with empty water bottles or a pile of paper make your blood boil? If yes, then you’re not alone. However, what you need to understand is the fact that there are many people in the world that don’t share your sentiments. These people aren’t on the same page as you when it comes to being eco-friendly.

There are many reasons why these people don’t recycle. Even though we’ve already talked about ways to encourage people to recycle, knowing the top reasons people don’t recycle will help you to devise the most appropriate ways of encouraging people to do so.

Lack of personal incentive

Unlike refundable bottle returns, recycling does not come with any financial payouts. Unless there’s personal gain involved, most people don’t feel compelled to recycle. You need to make these people understand that dumping everything in the trash can is a hazard for everyone.

Tell them that certain metals, electronic waste, printer cartridges, foam, rubber, and other materials contaminate ground water and landfills. Just make them understand that there’s a lot to gain by not throwing everything away.

No motivation for living a ‘green’ life

There are some cities or municipalities that don’t even offer a recycling service. Also, some people don’t have recycling bins in their apartment complexes. As a result of this, people have to take out time just to find out about and where the recycling centers in their area are. Most people see this as an unnecessary trouble and thus, decide against recycling. If you know people that don’t recycle as a result of the above-mentioned things, you can motivate them by doing the following:

Lack of Time

Some people see washing out items, bagging recyclables separately and dropping them off at a recycling center as a time consuming activity. This serves as another reason for them not to recycle on a regular basis. You need have people understand that by dedicating half an hour each day to recycling, they can help make a big impact. Inform them that paper takes five months to break down in a landfill, milk cartons take five years, plastic bags take 10-12 years, and a glass bottle takes about a million years!

Lack of Money

Many people avoid recycling as they don’t want to pay for the gas to commute to a recycling center or see the monthly expense of paying for a recycling service as a burden.  Additionally, paying extra for reusable items like shopping bags is something they don’t like. When people cite the above-mentioned reasons for not recycling, tell them the following fact: An economics study found that curbside recycling delivered an average environmental savings of $68 per household per year. This equated to $424 million per year.

Inappropriate knowledge

Another major reason people don’t recycle is because they have been misinformed about certain things.  Most people have incorrect information about the urgency of the growing waste problem in the world which includes the challenge of limited space and its impact on the Earth. Most of them believe that Earth’s resources are in abundance. Therefore, they don’t feel the need to recycle.

You need to make these people understand that the need for recycling is growing with each passing day. There’s plenty of room for improvement as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that 75% of trash is reusable/recyclable.

You are the difference maker and the encourager we need to steer our global community in the direction of sustainable. There are so many benefits now and for the next generation.

This may surprise many people, but recycling has many benefits that can contribute to a robust economy. So how does this happen? An efficient system is what defines a strong economy. Having to pay for resources that are exceedingly growing scarce can severely stifle an economy. Recycling is the solution and can help the economy in more ways than one. Recycling helps to prevent paying for a number of things including purchasing fossil fuels from other countries, mining iron ore and not having to plant as many trees because of deforestation. Also, when we incorporate sustainability and develop better recycling processes, the economy gets a boost and more jobs are created and employment increases. Additionally, all the money saved is diverted to where it is needed the most when the cost of maintaining the current waste disposal system goes down. So lets take a look at a few more benefits of living a green lifestyle.

Saves Energy

We can save production and energy costs and reduce the impact of raw materials’ extraction and processing on the environment by reusing and recycling plastics, glass, paper, and other materials.

The principle of resource efficiency is what recycling strictly follows. The principle states that products should be utilized to their utmost potential.  We can conserve natural resources and energy by using recycled materials instead of raw materials to manufacture new products. By adopting recycling as a part of their production strategy, companies will lower their own costs in addition to saving energy and helping the environment.

Keep New York City Clean Campaign

Reduce Greenhouse gas Emissions

You save energy when you recycle products. This will result in fewer greenhouse emissions which is a major contributor to the global warming crisis. By minimizing the number of pollutants that are released into the environment, we become a part of the solution and part of the climate action task force. Recycling also helps in reducing water and air pollution. Recycling 50 million tons of waste is equivalent to taking 20 million cars off the road. This clearly shows the environmental benefit of recycling. Moreover, recycling reduces contamination risk from landfills, pollution, and environmental impact from mining or extracting new materials.

More utilization of ‘green’ technologies

People are slowly moving towards ‘greener’ or environmental friendly technologies as the use of recycling products increases. Recently, there has been an increase in the use of renewable energy sources such as geothermal, wind and solar. This increase in use of renewable energy sources has helped to reduce environmental pollution and conserve energy.

There are many economic benefits of recycling and living sustainable lives. Every person can contribute to a greener environment by simply incorporating daily sustainable habits. There was a time when making the green change was an option, but today it is unfortunately a necessity. The climate crisis is upon us, and it is causing global devastation. We must make changes now in our individual lives as well as incorporate sustainable practices in government and the business communities. The decisions we make today greatly impacts the economy of tomorrow.

The air is crisp, leaves are falling, temps are dwindling, and that means one thing: the Halloween season is right around the corner! Well, did you know that you can make your own Halloween costume using recycled items?

If you are like most of us – the environment-conscious, you might want to DIY a sizzling and dazzling Halloween costume using the following recyclables. Check out the step by step guide and ideas below:

Old Denim Shirts/Trousers

Bring out all those denim attires you’ve amassed over the years. Truth be told, you have never worn some of them. With a little ingenuity, you can convert denim into at least three Halloween costumes: Rosie the Riveter, a train engineer or Western-style Sheriff.

Cardboard

Who knew cardboard could be this fabulous? Churn out near-real cardboard warrior mask for your little boy. It’s ideal for Spartan or Gladiator warrior costume.

Two-Liter Soda Bottles

Two-liter soda bottles can be used to make a cool sci-fi jetpack. Mount them to a small piece of cardboard for steadiness and spray-paint them gray. Add a serrated clothe to showcase a flame.

Old Socks

Do you have a bunch of colorful pairs of socks lying around the closet? Stuff them with cotton balls to create amazing octopus legs. Complete the look with a larger one sewn with two buttons for eyes.

Prom Dresses

Sure, you or your daughter looked like an angel in that prom dress that has been sitting in your closet for ages. The beauty of it is that it can become almost any kind of princess dress.

Black Dresses

Any black dress can be converted into a Gothic themed Halloween costume. The bodice can be embellished with red and black rose ribbons.

Milk Jugs

Looking to dress as a fairy tale? Use milk jugs as the base of the wings the cover it with faux leaves and flowers for a classy and whimsical look.

Old Suit Jacket

An old suit jacket is an excellent choice for DIY zombie jacket. Add some make-believe moss for a spooktacular Halloween. You’ll definitely look like someone who has just come out of a grave!

Grocery Bags

This one is a no-brainer for environmentally conscious Halloween fan. From giddy up cowboy to Wall-E and every costume in between, ideas are truly unlimited with grocery bags.

Old Umbrella

An umbrella would make for excellent wings and ear for a bat Halloween costume.

Foam and PVC Pipes

PVC pipe cuts off, and foam core can help you create a gorgeous Scout Trooper Halloween costume. 

Have some fun this Halloween by being creative right out of your closet. Happy Halloween!