Comments on: Going Green: Tell Everyone Your Story http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/ The Blog of GreenAndMore.com Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:45:09 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: coolchick13 http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-11 coolchick13 Tue, 18 Sep 2007 14:32:40 +0000 http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-11 Stopping the use of MarketBasket plastic Bags... I almost always bring my lunch to work in a plastic MarketBasket bag and also give my 9 year old daughter one for her snack for school, now when I go to the supermarket I ask for brown paper bags (which I may add are also good for covering books, crafts and school projects)and both of us now have fabric bags that are reusable. Stopping the use of MarketBasket plastic Bags…
I almost always bring my lunch to work in a plastic MarketBasket bag and also give my 9 year old daughter one for her snack for school, now when I go to the supermarket I ask for brown paper bags (which I may add are also good for covering books, crafts and school projects)and both of us now have fabric bags that are reusable.

]]> By: paul keiter http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-10 paul keiter Mon, 17 Sep 2007 20:48:49 +0000 http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-10 Your learning section seems extensive and gives me a chance to take a look at options for "going green". Glad to see there is a lot of info available without listening to lectures about how bad I currently am. Thanks Your learning section seems extensive and gives me a chance to take a look at options for “going green”. Glad to see there is a lot of info available without listening to lectures about how bad I currently am.
Thanks

]]> By: Mercia http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-9 Mercia Sun, 16 Sep 2007 12:22:53 +0000 http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-9 STOPPING USE OF PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES However much I have exhorted my husband to stop using bottled water and cited that it takes 1000 years for a bottle to degrade in landfills- my pleas have fallen on deaf ears until now. Yesterday, he went on a tour of our local water treatment plant which is a private one for our housing development and realized what I had been telling him all along - that we had wonderful,pure,chlorine free water right out of the tap.He then declared he would never buy expensive,dead bottled water again! He also agreed to my buying him a refillable water bottle. Of course, if you are in an area without good water,you can get far better and less expensive water from filtering your water in your own home than expensive and ultimately polluting bottled water. You would not think it would need to be such a battle to get even ones spouse to do the right thing,but old habits die hard and the bottled water business is booming.If it was up to me I would ban sales or tax the heck out of them.Of course I feel the same about SUVS but that is another story. STOPPING USE OF PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES
However much I have exhorted my husband to stop using bottled water and cited that it takes 1000 years for a bottle to degrade in landfills- my pleas have fallen on deaf ears until now.
Yesterday, he went on a tour of our local water treatment plant which is a private one for our housing development and realized what I had been telling him all along - that we had wonderful,pure,chlorine free water right out of the tap.He then declared he would never buy expensive,dead bottled water again! He also agreed to my buying him a refillable water bottle.
Of course, if you are in an area without good water,you can get far better and less expensive water from filtering your water in your own home than expensive and ultimately polluting bottled water.
You would not think it would need to be such a battle to get even ones spouse to do the right thing,but old habits die hard and the bottled water business is booming.If it was up to me I would ban sales or tax the heck out of them.Of course I feel the same about SUVS but that is another story.

]]> By: Mercia http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-7 Mercia Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:54:42 +0000 http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-7 <p>Stopping Use of plastic Storage Bags.<br /> Like many people I have fallen prone to the convenience of the ziplock bag for food storage and I confess that after a couple or washings and reusings they looked so cruddy, I would just throw them away. Now I bought for 2 for 1 sale dishwasher plastic storage containers in a variety of sizes[a bit like the old tupperware but more sturdy].Still plastic of course but they will last forever and no more ziplock plastic bags! Saves money to boot!</p> Stopping Use of plastic Storage Bags.
Like many people I have fallen prone to the convenience of the ziplock bag for food storage and I confess that after a couple or washings and reusings they looked so cruddy, I would just throw them away. Now I bought for 2 for 1 sale dishwasher plastic storage containers in a variety of sizes[a bit like the old tupperware but more sturdy].Still plastic of course but they will last forever and no more ziplock plastic bags! Saves money to boot!

]]> By: Mercia http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-6 Mercia Sat, 08 Sep 2007 01:26:40 +0000 http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-6 <p>I finally decided that I could not stand it any longer, and now insist that my drycleaners recycle my metal hangers. I think they see me as a bit eccentric, but they are accepting them back anyway. I am encouraging them to put a recycling bin out for all their customers to do likewise.</p> I finally decided that I could not stand it any longer, and now insist that my drycleaners recycle my metal hangers. I think they see me as a bit eccentric, but they are accepting them back anyway. I am encouraging them to put a recycling bin out for all their customers to do likewise.

]]> By: kp http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-5 kp Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:48:32 +0000 http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-5 I went online to pay my NSTAR bill this afternoon and found the following: "Starting in January, pending approval from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, NSTAR will be offering electricity supplied by renewable sources to interested Basic Service customers." "Customers will be able to choose to have half or all of their electricity come from NSTAR Green. As proposed, there will be an additional premium of 1.75 cents (half option) or 3 cents (full option) per kWh." see more at http://www.nstar.com/residential/customer_information/nstar_green/nstar_green.asp For me, living in an 850 sq. ft apartment, this would mean an additional $9 - $15 a month if I choose to do the full option. Done and done! NSTAR will apparently be advertising this option in the coming months. Stay tuned, greenophiles! I went online to pay my NSTAR bill this afternoon and found the following:

“Starting in January, pending approval from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, NSTAR will be offering electricity supplied by renewable sources to interested Basic Service customers.”

“Customers will be able to choose to have half or all of their electricity come from NSTAR Green.
As proposed, there will be an additional premium of 1.75 cents (half option) or 3 cents (full option) per kWh.”

see more at http://www.nstar.com/residential/customer_information/nstar_green/nstar_green.asp

For me, living in an 850 sq. ft apartment, this would mean an additional $9 - $15 a month if I choose to do the full option. Done and done!

NSTAR will apparently be advertising this option in the coming months. Stay tuned, greenophiles!

]]> By: kp http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-4 kp Wed, 05 Sep 2007 18:45:00 +0000 http://greenmusings.com/2007/09/01/going-green-tell-everyone-your-story/#comment-4 I had the chance to live and travel abroad for much of the past two years, and from Singapore to the Arctic Circle, everywhere I went, climate change was something that would arise in casual conversation with local residents (whether Singapore and the Maldives would sink as water levels rise, how much the monsoons in south India had changed in recent years, the extraordinary recent summer heat waves in Central Europe, the rainy winters in Finland where once it was only snow). I moved back to Boston in June '07 and decided that I would try to go without a car for a few months and see what it was like. Initially the financial reasons were as much a factor as the environmental issues. Now, three months later, I don't ever want to own a car again unless I can get one that runs only on air or love. Or biodiesel. I'd settle for a car that smells like a french fry. The payoffs are ever growing - I save money on car payments, insurance, gas, etc., I save myself the stress of parking around town and moving the car on street cleaning days. My clothes fit better (I seem to have lost a few pounds from walking and carrying groceries). I've realized that things are actually a lot closer than they seemed when I was driving everywhere. I've discovered just how much things like parks and urban density mean to me. I have re-committed myself to being more environmentally minded in other areas of my life. I had the chance to live and travel abroad for much of the past two years, and from Singapore to the Arctic Circle, everywhere I went, climate change was something that would arise in casual conversation with local residents (whether Singapore and the Maldives would sink as water levels rise, how much the monsoons in south India had changed in recent years, the extraordinary recent summer heat waves in Central Europe, the rainy winters in Finland where once it was only snow).

I moved back to Boston in June ‘07 and decided that I would try to go without a car for a few months and see what it was like. Initially the financial reasons were as much a factor as the environmental issues. Now, three months later, I don’t ever want to own a car again unless I can get one that runs only on air or love. Or biodiesel. I’d settle for a car that smells like a french fry.

The payoffs are ever growing - I save money on car payments, insurance, gas, etc., I save myself the stress of parking around town and moving the car on street cleaning days. My clothes fit better (I seem to have lost a few pounds from walking and carrying groceries). I’ve realized that things are actually a lot closer than they seemed when I was driving everywhere. I’ve discovered just how much things like parks and urban density mean to me. I have re-committed myself to being more environmentally minded in other areas of my life.

]]>