Friday, August 31, 2012

Go Green School Supplies!!

So because this blog was made as a class project, though I intend to keep it going even after I have finished the class, I thought a perfect first non-homework post would be about different green school supplies that I use and highly recommend :)
First is a company called Greenroom Eco!
www.greenroomeco.com/
 This company was started by a husband and wife team in Santa Monica, California, and is still based there today. They create sustainable and recycled notebooks, binders, planners, pencils, and more! Plus they have fun designs ;P Currently their products are only available at Target.
Second is the Pilot B2P, Earth Friendly Writing!

www.pilot.us/Bottle2Pen.aspx
 This is a pen made from recycled water bottles!!! They come in a variety of colors and I LOVE them! Each pen is made from AT LEAST 86% post consumer recycled content, and they are refillable. Did you know that "Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour!" and "Less than 1 in 3 of those are recycled. " This is the Worlds first pen to use recycled water bottles and the company sponsor's Keep America Beautiful; "A nationwide nonprofit, combining education with hands-on stewardship to make Americas communities clearner, greener, and more livable. " (www.kab.org/)



Thursday, August 30, 2012

My Global Footprint

For a class project i was asked to go to www.footprintnetwork.org/calculator and find out my global footprint. Basically it shows you how many Earths we would need to sustain us if everyone on Earth lived like you, not fun but very informative. I think of myself as environmentally friendly but after taking the quiz my results came back as it would take 4.2 Earths!!!! Along with 18.8 acres of the Earths productive area to sustain my lifestyle. A break down showed; services as 47%, food 18%, goods 17%, shelter 15%, and mobility 4%.

I would highly encourage all of you to go and take this test also, not because i want you to feel ashamed or guilty but because of what it provides you after you're done with the quiz. Once you have your results it will give you the option to see what you can do to help reduce your footprint. They are easy suggestions and if taken can reduce your foot print by at least one Earth!

My suggestions, that i plan to take very seriously and will archive here on my blog, is:

1. Reduce animal product intake by at least half (down to 4 Earths)
2. Purchase more environmentally friend packaged products (down to 3.7 Earths)
3. Install solar panels, expensive but maybe my mom and I could find a way? If not when I get my own house that is a must! (down to 3.3 Earths!)

Just those few suggestions reduce my footprint by one Earth, and there are so many other things we can do to reduce our footprints! Throughout my blog I will try to keep this in mind when I talk about products. I will also try to keep track of how I am doing in reducing my footprint, and would love if you share your results and how you are reducing your footprint!

'Till then, have a great environmentally friendly day!

P.S. I put a link to the quiz under my Fav. Enviro Friendly Sites link to the side --->
:)