How We Reduced Our Energy Usage by One Third

We recently compared our electric bill from this past March to March 2009 and we were pleasantly surprised!  While last year, we used 830 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity, this year we used only 554 kilowatt-hours (kWh) through conscious efforts to reduce the amount of energy we use each day.  That's a difference of 33.25%.  We attribute this savings to 3 things:...

Earth Day’s 40th Anniversary

 Happy Earth Week!  April 22, 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.  It's a good time to reflect on the changes you can make to your life to live more in harmony with nature.  Whether you make simple changes at home or at work, or go all out and participate in a large-scale Earth Week activity...

Product Review: HydroRight Dual Flush System

Save water.  Save money.  Save the environment. Here's an interesting water conservation tool!  Toilets with dual-flush features have been on the market for quite some time, but they cost significantly more than a standard commode.  This handy-dandy device is available to convert any toilet into a dual flushing machine just by replacing the valve and...

Sun Chips in Compostable Packaging!

As if we didn't love them enough for their whole grain, low-fat, crunchety goodness, Frito Lay (a division of PepsiCo North America) is now packaging Sun Chips® into 100% compostable packaging starting on Earth Day, April 22, 2010 thereby eliminating the use of petroleum based packaging material for the product.  This is an industry first.  What exactly does this mean? ...

Spring Cleaning in a Way That’s Green

It's weather like this that makes me want to throw open the windows, wash the curtains, sweep off the porch, and nag Silverback to move the furniture so I can exterminate the dust bunnies hiding beneath.  It's so important to keep our environments healthy, but is there truly a "green" way of cleaning?  Should we just...

From Seed to Kitchen: Phase 1 – Planting the Seed

  On February 25th, the day of the great snowstorm, I decided to start my broccoli and cauliflower seeds.  It was about a week overdue, but it shouldn't matter in the long run.  With my 2 1/2 year old Pookah by my side, together we planted more than 18 seeds each of broccoli, cauliflower, rosemary,...