Super Bowl Sustainability: What is Being Done to #Green the Super Bowl? #SB47

Super Bowl Sustainability: What is Being Done to #Green the Super Bowl? #SB47

January 31, 2013 by · 2 Comments

As the Super Bowl approaches, millions of people are getting ready to watch the big game on TV.  They will eat junk food, yell at coaches and spend a few hours watching funny commercials with friends and family.  However, in New Orleans there is a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes to put that game on TV for you.  Fans are flying in from miles away, security is being put in place, food is being prepared to feed the masses and of course, football players are working on plays.  All of this for a game that will only last a couple of hours.  Those few hours will have a HUGE impact on the environment and Super Bowl sustainability has been discussed only sporadically over the last few years. This year, however, organizers seem to be making a conscious choice to reduce the game’s carbon footprint.  So, when the game is over what is the impact on the environment for those few hours of mindless enjoyment?

Think About This Thursday

super bowl sustainability

Super Bowl Sustainability:  What Position Do YOU Play?

 

According to the Greening the Super Bowl Fact Sheet the powers that be in charge of this year’s big game have a sort of three pronged plan for improving Super Bowl sustainability this year.  They will focus on greening the fans, the game itself and the community of New Orleans itself.  I am actually pretty impressed with the efforts that organizers are going through to improve Super Bowl sustainability.
1.  Energy usage at the Super Bowl is being offset by the purchase of carbon credits.  You can check out the Geaux Green website for more info on how that works.   They have a cute game you can play to help do your part to improve Super Bowl sustainability this year.

Going to the game? What can you do? Head over to the Geaux Green website and choose what simple changes YOU are going to make to offset the energy being used during the big game!

2.  Trash reduction will be seriously reduced by recycling everything possible, including the food!  Non perishables and other salvageable items will be donated to non profit organizations.  Banners, signs, etc will be reclaimed and turned into promotional items like shower curtains and tote bags.  I still cringe a little bit at how much trash will probably still end up in the landfill but this is an impressive effort.

Going to the game?  What can you do? Make sure you look for recycle bins throughout the dome.  Don’t just throw your waste in the closest bin if it is something that can be recycled!

3.  Greener travel around New Orleans will be possible with a bike share program but obviously the majority of people will be traveling from pretty far distances just to GET to the game.  For a small fee, they can purchase carbon offsets to help balance out their carbon footprint but I would love to find out how many people actually do this.

Going to the game?  What can you do? Rent a bike if you are traveling around town and consider purchasing those carbon credits.  With 150,000 fans, a few dollars from every single one adds up to a lot of money.

4. Greening the Community will be accomplished through an urban forestry initiative to plant and/or give away 7,000 trees.  Many of the trees in New Orleans were devastated by  Hurricane Katrina so this is a much needed donation.

Going to the game?  What can you do?  Donate a tree to help reforest Louisiana!

When I first starting researching this topic, I honestly expected to be horrified at the amount of waste surrounding this year’s big game.  Instead, I am pretty impressed with the efforts being undertaken to improve Super Bowl sustainability.  Of course, a lot of it depends on how much each individual person cares about their own carbon footprint.

 

Once again, I am reminded of that very last part of The Lorax by Dr. Seuss:
Unless someone like you…cares a whole awful lot…nothing is going to get better.

 

Filed Under: Green Living, think about this thursday · Tagged:
Fast Food: Can It Be A Part of Your Green Living Plan?

Fast Food: Can It Be A Part of Your Green Living Plan?

January 24, 2013 by · 9 Comments

I have a confession to make:  I eat fast food.  Not every week of course or I would not fit into my pants but I have been known to go through the McDonald’s drive through on occasion and indulge in fries and a diet soda.  I find myself feeling guilty about that some days….how can I possibly say that I am striving to reduce my carbon footprint yet still eat fast food? I am sure that I am not the only one who has a weakness for salty fries or the occasional cheeseburger.  While fast food isn’t exactly healthy, it fits in some days to our chaotic lifestyle.  So, I started researching fast food.  Why?  I was curious to see what fast food restaurants are doing to reduce their own carbon footprints and I was actually surprised at what I found.

 

Think About This Thursday

Fast Food French Fries

Greener Fast Food Choices

 

McDonalds:  They are striving to reduce energy usage and reduce and/or recycle what they can within their supply chain. They are studying new ways to build greener restaurants including energy-efficiency equipment and lighting, high efficiency plumbing fixtures, and permeable pavement and rainwater collection for irrigation. Currently, 82% of McDonald’s consumer packaging is made from renewable materials. They are beginning to address the issue of sustainable beef, which is probably their biggest ecological impact.  They have a long way to go but it is something they are concerned about.  They will soon begin using a Marine Stewardship Council seal on their fish products, to denote that they are certified sustainable.  They pledge to stop purchasing pork from farms that use gestation crates.

So, eco friendly choices at the Golden Arches would probably be a salad and a fish sandwich!

Burger King: Accord to the Burger King Corporate Commitment to the Environment,  (and I quote here) they are  ”committed to purchasing beef from suppliers that source only beef that has been raised in environmentally responsible ways. As a result, none of our beef comes from recently deforested tropical rainforests.”   Of course, they threw in that word ‘recently’ so not sure what to make of that.  They have begun holding ‘ BURGER KING® Green Sessions’ to study how they can reduce their carbon footprint and were awarded PETA’S “Most Improved National Food Chain” award.   Napkins and kids meal bags are made with 100% recycled material. They are  pledging to switch to 100 percent cage-free eggs by 2017 and to eliminate gestation crates for breeding pigs.  While personally I think these things should have been outlawed completely, that is a larger issue than just fast food restaurants.

So, a greener choice at Burger King might be an egg and cheese biscuit?

Arby’s: I have a horrible weakness for Arby’s Chicken Tenders.  Honestly, they actually look like real chicken, as opposed to something that was smashed up and squished together before breading.  In April, the first energy efficient Arby’s restaurant opened in Magnolia, TX.  At least 35% of it’s energy comes from renewable resources.  They are also working hard to reduce their overall energy usage.  They, too, are working to remove gestation crates from their pork supply chain. Other than that, I could not find any information about sustainability initiatives at Arby’s.

I have no suggestion here for a greener Arby’s meal…which is a bummer because I love their curly fries!

Wendy’s:  I am not usually a big fan of any restaurant that automatically puts mayonnaise on my hamburger but there are plenty of loyal Wendy’s fans out there, I’m sure.  After the Wicked Wendy’s campaign from PETA a few years back, Wendy’s agreed to a few changes in how they monitor their food supply chain. Number one was eliminating the gestational crates for pigs (as many other fast food restaurants have done as well) and to work harder to ensure humane treatment of it’s chickens.  I did find a nice page on Wendy’s environmental sustainability initiatives that indicate they are using recycled materials and reducing plastic, which is nice.  According to the research I found, a portion of the eggs used in U.S. Wendy’s come from “cage-free” hens.  Personally, I think if Burger King can switch to 100% cage free eggs, they can, too.

If you want a greener choice at Wendy’s I suggest meat free options of baked potato and salad!

Subway: I was seriously impressed with the Subway’s sustainability initiatives.  They use skipjack tuna, considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as a species of least concern.  They strive to use sustainably sourced palm oil whenever it is available.  In the UK & Ireland, their restaurants serve only Rainforest Alliance certified coffee & tea.  They are working with the USDA to increase the number of local farms that meet their quality and audit standards so that they can be included in their supply chain.  Their pork breeders do not use gestational crates but only4% of the eggs served in the US and Canada are from cage free hens. (this is apparently a supply issue…they are slowing increasing that percentage).  One of their bread bakeries has installed solar panels to reduce their carbon footprint.

Want a greener choice?  I would say a tuna or veggie sub is a good choice at Subway!

fast food sub

So, while fast food isn’t something you should indulge in frequently, it is possible to make greener choices when you do end up indulging.  In general, choosing options that use less meat are smarter since conventionally raised animals in our food supply chain have a huge carbon footprint.  Salads may not be made with organic veggies but their impact on the environment is a lot lower than the cows that go into making those burgers.

Think About This:  According to Statistic Brain,  there are 160,000 fast food restaurants in the US that are feeding 50 million people ever day.  44% of Americans say that they eat fast food once a week. That is a rather staggering statistic!  The amount of food waste generated from home kitchens AND restaurants has increased by 1.2 million tons in the last 25 years.  That is a lot of trash to be throwing into our already crowded landfills.  So, what is a busy mom to do when faced with the temptation of a fast food restaurant?  Here are a few suggestions on how to make your fast food indulgence a little easier on the environment:

1.  Skip the drive through if there is a line:  I am always amazed when I see 10 cars idling in the drive through line.  Don’t people realize that they would get their food much faster if they just parked and went into the restaurant?  I am assuming that they are just too lazy to get out of the car but maybe there is a sleeping baby in the back seat.  If you have the choice, skip the drive through and make your fast food faster by walking inside.

2.  Consider eating in:  There is a lot of packaging waste that goes with a take out meal.  If you aren’t in a hurry, consider dining in.  That way, you can skip the bag alltogether.

3.  Think before you grab:  Taking 47 napkins and 12 packets of ketchup is not good for our environment.  Take only what you need and leave the rest for the next customer.  You create less waste and the company doesn’t have to spend extra money to feed your napkin habit.

4.  Recycle what you can:  If yo DO hit the drive through, save your trash for when you get home so you can recycle it.  Those cup lids are made from recyclable plastic and that paper bag can be recycled with the rest of your paper and cardboard.

 5.  Skip the straw:  This is hard to do if you are driving but if you are eating in, consider filling your cup and skipping the lid and straw.   Many straws are made from polypropylene, a petroleum bi-product, and not really necessary, either.  In fact, research suggests that too much straw sucking can cause wrinkles!  Just one more reason to skip the straw!

So, while I encourage you to bring a cooler filled with your own healthy lunch, I am not going to tell you that you must give up fast food in order to go green.  Honestly, some days I can just hear those french fries calling out my name as I drive past the fast food restaurants!   I do encourage you to make smarter choices in terms of the type of foods you buy, not only for the environmental aspect but also to improve your health.

Want to encourage fast food restaurants to reduce their carbon footprint even more?

Change.org has dozens of petitions to sign to make your voice here. Go HERE to check them out!

Filed Under: Green Living, health, think about this thursday · Tagged: ,
Global Warming, Hamburgers and Maple Syrup

Global Warming, Hamburgers and Maple Syrup

January 10, 2013 by · 2 Comments

The other day I was using Stumbleupon to browse through some websites that focus on a range of environmental issues. I came across 3 sites in a row that seemed to be about completely different topics but were actually very closely linked.  The first website I came to was an article about the downfall of the maple syrup industry.  As a native New Englander, I was horrified at the concept of this world running out of maple syrup.  And NO, I cannot just switch to that artificial garbage in the plastic squeeze bottle with the cabin on the front.  That stuff is an insult to real maple syrup!  If you don’t know the difference I recommend you got out and buy some of the real stuff right now.  If you wait much longer, it is going to get harder to find.  WHY?  Because global warming is causing rising temperatures and maple trees are having trouble making enough of their sweet goodness to provide for our needs, along with their own.

Maple trees need a long, hard freeze with a deep protective layer of snow to stay healthy and provide enough sap for converting into maple syrup without harming the actual tree.  If you want a nice science lesson on the process, check out The Daily Green but to summarize, the weather up north isn’t so good for sugaring any more.  Trees are dying off younger and younger and not reaching the size they used to.  The result is less maple syrup for us to put on our pancakes in the morning, which in my mind is a tragedy that somebody needs to fix!   Scarcity of maple syrup is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the effects of global warming and it is something we ALL need to think about if we are going to survive as a species.

Think About This Thursday

global warming and ocean levels

Maple trees aren’t the only trees that are having issues lately.  Coconut trees on the island of Tuvalu are dying,too, at least according to the next page I that came up in my Stumbleupon lineup.  Why are they dying?  Because their roots are being drowned by rising ocean water.  Tuvalu is one of the smallest countries on this entire planet and dying coconut trees (while inconvenient) are the least of their concerns.  Their homes are also getting engulfed by rising tidewaters, their airport runway is partially underwater, and their buried dead are washing out to sea.  What is causing the seas to rise and Tuvalu to flood?  Rising temperatures cause previously frozen ice caps to melt and all that water has to go somewhere.  The resulting ocean levels rise, leaving low lying places like Tuvalu underwater.  Global warming strikes again….

global warming and hamburgers

Is Your Dinner Causing Global Warming?

So, what else did I learn about on Stumbleupon this week?  I learned that hamburgers are causing global warming.  Well, what is actually contributing to global warming is the fact that humans are eating way too MANY hamburgers.  According to a study in the Lancet, If people in America and other wealthy nations could limit their consumption of meat to the equivalent of one hamburger per day, it would significantly cut global warming,  What amazes me is that there are people who are eating MORE than that every day!  Are there really people out there eating meat 3 times a day?  You do NOT have to become a vegetarian to reduce your carbon footprint!  Environmental Defense is encouraging people to eliminate just ONE meal of meat per week. The reduction in carbon dioxide that would result would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads.  How can you do this?  Find alternative sources of protein and join the Meatless Monday revolution.  You don’t have to eat tofu…choose beans, nuts, eggs, or cheese for your protein source. Or, eat a salad.  An organic one!

I hear a lot of people insist that global warming isn’t ‘real’. They argue that the rising temperatures we are experiencing are a natural cycle that the earth is going through and it has nothing to do with our glutinous, carbon producing lifestyle.  Who knows?  Maybe they are right….but regardless of whether global warming is real or not, we have only been given ONE planet on which to live and it is in our best interest to take care of it the best we can.  When the Atlantic ocean starts encroaching on my currently landlocked home I am not going to CARE what the cause of global warming is.  I just know that somebody better figure out a way of cooling things off before I run out of maple syrup!

So, what do YOU think about global warming?

 

 

 

Filed Under: Green Living, think about this thursday · Tagged:
Green Living: Make it a Priority in 2013!

Green Living: Make it a Priority in 2013!

January 3, 2013 by · 15 Comments

This month, everyone is talking about making resolutions to change the way they live.  Some people want to lose weight, others want to stop smoking, and many of us just need to get organized and find a balance between work and life.  I would like to encourage you to make changes in your life that are good for not only your own health but also the health of our planet.  Green living should be on the top of everyone’s list of resolutions this year.  WHY?  Because we have  only been given ONE planet on which to live and it is in our best interest to take care of it!  Does global warming exist?  Who knows!  Are organic foods really healthier for us?  Your guess is as good as mine.  However, I DO know that there is not another viable planet nearby for us to live on if we screw this one up totally!  So, for your New Year’s Resolution, why don’t you join me in taking a few small steps towards a healthier planet.  Green living is not an all or nothing goal…every baby step counts.

Think About This Thursday

New Years Resolution Button

 

Green Living:  10 New Years Resolutions that are Good For The Planet

1.  Drive Less:  You don’t have to drive a hybrid to reduce your car’s effect on the environment.  Make one of your green living goals for 2013 to use less gasoline by being more organized.  I KNOW we are all planning on being more organized this year, right?  Make a list of errands you need to run and plan them accordingly.  Make it a point to stop by the dry cleaners when you pass it on the way home from the gym instead of making a separate trip after dinner.  Also, make sure your car is in tip top shape to improve it’s fuel efficiency.  Poorly inflated tires and dirty oil do not make for a cleanly running car! Also, if you can bike or walk to the store you would be getting some great exercise as well as improving the quality of our air.

organic food for green living

Green Living Tip:  Buy Organic when you can!

 

2.  Buy Organic:  The amount of pesticides and fertilizers used on traditionally grow crops is staggering.  I won’t get into number here but suffice it to say that the numbers are huge.  Those chemicals are not healthy for our bodies OR the planet.  Runoff of agricultural  chemicals ends up in streams, rivers, and oceans and has an extremely detrimental effect on those ecosystems.  You do NOT have to buy 100% organic food to make a difference.  Just choosing one or two organic items per week is a step in the right direction.

3.  Recycle:  Hopefully, all of you reading this have a recycle bin and if not I hope this is the first change you make in your green living plan for 2013.  Our landfills are filling up at an alarming rate and what we need to do as a species is to stop creating so much trash!  Check out Earth 911 for a list of recycling facilities in your area and what type of products they accept.

4.  Buy Less Stuff:  I bet your credit cards are a bit maxed out and your bank account has dwindled over the last couple of months, right?  Now is the perfect time to re-evaluate exactly how much STUFF you really need.  Declutter your house, make donations to charity, and stop carrying those credit cards around with you everywhere.  Every item that you buy will eventually have to throw away and in order to be successful in your green living plan you need to get out of the mindset that you need MORE of everything to be happy.

5.  Start Eating Locally:  Think About This:   The average American meal has traveled almost 1500 miles to get from farm to plate. This is rather staggering considering how many things are growing practically in our own backyards that are perfectly edible.  Use Local Harvest to find farmers, co-ops and markets near you that help support local farmers.  It is also helpful to choose produce that is in season wherever you live.

6.  Eat out less:  This is one green living resolution that is not only good for the planet but also good for your waistline.  Fast food creates a huge amount of trash.  Fast food restaurants also support mass produced animal and plant products that are not sustainably raised.  Nothing says you can’t have a restaurant meal occasionally as a treat but try not to make it a regular occurrence.

7.  Bag your lunch:  Packing your lunch (or your husbands and kids) is a great way to go green, get healthy AND save money.  Use cloth napkins, reusable bags and/or containers and a reusable sack or lunchbox.  Throw in things with ‘natural wrappers’ like bananas and apples,  divide a large bag of pretzels up into many reusable plastic bags, and use a stainless steel water bottle instead of a plastic, disposable one.  By packing your own lunch in a sustainable way you can make a huge reduction in your carbon footprint.

garden seeds help green living

8.  Plant a Garden:  Depending on where you live, you may have to wait a few months to start tilling up the soil but you don’t need a huge garden bed to put in a few cucumbers or radishes.  A garden is a great way to get kids to eat healthy but it also helps reduce your ecological footprint as well.  Need parsley for your recipe?  Don’t run to the store!  Just send your kid out to the garden with some scissors!  Wondering what is for dinner tonight?  All those snow peas and peppers in your garden would go great in a stirfry.  It is nice when dinner is only a few steps out the back door!

9.  Reduce Your Utility Usage:  If you are one of those people who likes to keep your house at 80 degrees in the winter and 60 degrees in the summer you are wasting a huge amount of money AND resources.  Turn off lights when not in use, take shorter showers, install a programmable thermostat to help regulate your home’s temperature.  Every step you take to reduce your utility bill is also a step on the path to green living.

10.  Remember to take one step at a time:  Do not get discouraged because your tomatoes didn’t grow or you can’t afford to eat organic food every week.  The important thing to remember on your path to green living is that it is a LONG process that starts with just one simple step.  One change today will lead to more changes next year and the year after that.  Just get used to the idea of asking yourself ‘What effect with this have on my carbon footprint’ and you will slowly start seeing a difference.  And please, share the message with your kids…it is never too early for them to start learning how their actions effect the world around them!

What is YOUR green living plan for 2013?  I would love to know how you are going to make a difference! .

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Eco Friendly Fashion: The right choice can reduce your Carbon Footprint

Eco Friendly Fashion: The right choice can reduce your Carbon Footprint

November 8, 2012 by · 6 Comments

Every once in a while my husband comes to me with an idea that he thinks I need to blog about.  He is very helpful when it comes to my blogging inspirations!  This weekend, he came across an article about fashion designers who are trying to reduce their environmental impact by creating eco friendly shoes, clothes and accessories.  There are a ton of eco friendly fashion companies on the web but this article really focused on the big name brands going green.  Designers are coming up with all sorts of ideas, some of which are still in the developmental stage (like the shirt you can tear up and bury in the garden for compost!).  I was really staggered by some of the statistics quoted in the article (which you can see HERE).  I am not typically a clothing or shoe addicted kindof girl and had a hard time believing some of these facts!

 

Think About This Thursday

Eco friendly Fashion is becoming trendy!

Think about this:  On average, each person throws away 54 pounds of clothes and shoes each year.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, that adds up to 9 million tons of shoes, jackets, etc. that are sent into the waste stream every single year.  When you think of how many people in this world are going around WITHOUT the proper shoes or clothing, that number is not only depressing from an ecological standpoint but also from a humanitarian one.  Thankfully, designers are starting to come out with a few new eco friendly fashion items that are a little easier on the environment than traditionally manufactured clothing items.  Here are a few examples of up and coming eco friendly fashion trends …maybe you should put them on your Christmas wish list!

Gucci sunglasses and footwear made with biodegradable plastics (apparently made with castor seed oil)

Stella McCartney dress shoes for women with biodegradable rubber soles. (only the sole is biodegradable but it is a start!)

Puma T-shirts and sneakers that can be ripped up and buried in the ground as fertilizer. (this eco friendly fashion idea is still a work in progress)

The Dutch footwear company Oat has been making a completely biodegradable sneaker since 2011

Dizm Eyewear sells sunglasses with biodegradable frames

 

eco friendly fashion ideas

Think about how many clothes, shoes, hats, mittens, sunglasses and other fashion accessories come through your doors in one year.  Kids grow fast, they are hard on jeans and wear holes in the knees, you get bored with that brown purse you bought on sale, etc. The impact of your shoe addiction goes far beyond the balance on your credit card!  If you would like to do your part to reduce your family’s impact on the environment, here are a few eco friendly fashion ideas to keep in mind the next time you shop or clean out your closet:

1.  Buy second hand:  Not only is this a great way to save money but you get to skip all that packaging that comes with new clothes.  No more shoe boxes, hangers, plastic wrap or little annoying plastic tags!

2.  Buy eco friendly fashions whenever you can: Sure, you could have 5 purses from Target all in some hot shade of spring color but do you really need them?  Consider buying ONE purse made from eco friendly materials in a neutral shade that will match with most of your wardrobe for the whole season.  Sure, that might not SOUND fun but it is a much greener choice than throwing those 5 neon purses in the landfill to NOT biodegrade for 100 years!

3.  Consider a clothing swap!  Get your neighborhood together for a clothing swap.  Everyone get together with the clothes that don’t fit or aren’t stylish to you any more.  Your neighbor might LOVE that red hat that you think is hideous or maybe they have a daughter who wears the exact size your child can’t fit into any more!

4.  Donate what you can’t re-home:  Organizations like Good Will or the Salvation Army are always happy to take clothes that you don’t need any more.  Help the less fortunate while cleaning out your closet.

5. Find new uses for old shoes:  Programs like Nike’s Reuse a Shoe  or the Souls for Souls campaign are great ways to recycle or rehome your shoes when they have outlived their usefulness.

6.  Get crafty!  Make those old T-shirts into a dog blanket or turn those old jeans into a purse!  Even if you just turn holey socks into puppets for your kids you are doing your part to reduce your carbon footprint!

7.  Recycle it!  Some cities actually have textile recycling!  Search Earth 911 for a clothing recycling center near you!

There are a lot of ways to reduce your fashion footprint if you stop and think about your purchases (and your discards!) before you act.

Do you have any eco friendly fashion ideas to share?

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