Great Way to Go Eco: Kick Junk Mail to the Curb

More than 100 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water are wasted to produce junk mail. Producing and shipping junk mail produces more greenhouse gas emissions than 9 million cars. The average adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail each year, 44% of which goes to the landfill unopened, and wastes 70 hours each year dealing with junk mail.

Kick junk mail to the curb using these eco-friendly tips:

-        Switch to paperless billing

-        Opt out of direct mail marketing by contacting the Direct Marketing Association (DMA)

-        Remove yourself from lists that send credit card offers, mortgage refinancing offers, and other preapproved offers by calling 1-888-5OPT-OUT or visit www.optoutprescreen.com

-        Finally, cancel all unread catalogs and mailings

Remember that these specialty mailings often use high-gloss color-printed paper or cardstock, which wastes even more resources. Start cancelling your junk mail now, and make a difference by making less of an impact.



Earth Day Fun Facts

Earth Day is this Friday, April 22^nd (Yah)! And although us Greenista Girls love to celebrate it every day, this day is especially close to our hearts. So do something nice for the planet today and spread the word with these Earth Day eco fun facts.

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to watch a TV for three hours – it’s equivalent to half a gallon of gasoline.

Earth Day is a relatively new holiday and was first celebrated on April 22 in 1970. More than 20 million Americans participated in this first Earth Day celebration

Earth Day was founded by a senator of Wisconsin and the day is credited for creating the environmentalism movement.

April 22 is the first official day of Spring in the Northern hemisphere and of Fall in the Southern hemisphere and was chosen to be Earth Day for this reason.

Never underestimate the importance of recycling: if every newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year. Unfortunately only 27% of all American newspapers are recycled.

More than 20,000,000 Hershey’s Kisses are wrapped each day, using 133 square miles of tinfoil. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.

Only 11% of the earth’s surface is used to grow food.

The world’s first national park was started in 1872 at Yellowstone National Park in the US.

The first major international conference on environmental issues was held in Sweden in 1972 and was sponsored by the United Nations.

The first wildlife refuge was formed on Pelican Island Florida in 1903.

The patron Saint of ecologists is St. Francis and the first proclamation of Earth Day was made by the mayor of San Francisco in 1970.

Tell us how you’ll celebrate Earth Day on Facebook or Twitter.

4 Ways to Green Your Easter

The little Easter bunny is hopping closer and closer and as with every holiday there is excess waste. With Christmas it’s the wrapping paper, at Halloween it’s the costumes … so this upcoming, follow our 4 tips on how to have an eco-friendly Easter.

Organic Chocolate: Skip the name brand bars you’re used to and stock your Easter basket with organic chocolate. Not only will you not be ingesting pesticides, chemicals, and preservatives but you’ll also be supporting countries in which chocolate grows – most organic chocolate is also fair-trade, shade-grown, and part of the Rainforest Alliance. Our favorite brands are Green & Blacks and Newman’s Own.

Eco Easter Grass: Forgot that plastic Easter grass you still find 6 months later and instead fill your basket with old shredded paper or fabric. You can even grow some grass in a tin and use that as your “living” Easter basket.

DIY Dye: Food coloring is loaded with chemicals and can cause a myriad of illness. Although you’re not eating the eggs you dye, your hands are still coming in contact with it and the dye can leach into your skin and blood stream. Instead make your own dye from natural food items. Get the recipe for Easter egg dye.

Reusable Basket: Instead of that plastic basket that’s petroleum-based, use something that’s reusable or eco-friendly like a tote bag, bucket, or jute basket … the possibilities are endless. Get creative!

Tell us how you’ll green your Easter on Facebook or Twitter.

Written by Greenista Girl Brianne

Image by She Knows

Smarty Pants: Top 6 Green Colleges

Already contemplating on where to send your little greens off to college when the time comes? Check out these top green colleges that impress both academically and environmentally!

• University of Colorado, Boulder – At the foot of the Rocky Mountains CU created the first student-directed recycling center in 1970.
• University of Washington, Seattle – This top school is currently the pilot site to test the first compostable paper soft drink cups.
• Middlebury College, Vermont – Middlebury’s biomass gasification plant reduces the school’s carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent.
• University of Vermont, Burlington – Biodiesel buses, green buildings, and the eco-conscious student body keeps this college on the top of the list.
• College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor Maine – Over 90 percent of this campus’s lighting comes in the form of compacted fluorescents and a new wood-pellet furnace heats 20 percent of the school.
• Evergreen State College, Olympia, Wash – This college purchased a convoy of electric vehicles and runs a sustainably-managed farm where it teaches courses in organic agriculture.

When your little birdies are ready to leave the nest or even when you are ready to set sail, consider these top green colleges.

Written by Greenista Girl Brianne

Photos by Wonderlane

That’s Amore: How to Green Your Sig-O

Want to encourage your beau to be more eco-friendly? Here are 10 simple ways to green your sig-o without being too bossy!

1. Plan a date for the two of you outdoors and walk or bike to your destination. This will show your sig-o how going green can save some dough too.
2. Take a trip to your local farmers market and point out all the yummy organic and local goodies.
3. If your other half is a java drinker, get your sig-o their very own reusable mug to take the coffee to go.
4. Buy their first organic T-shirt, once your sig-o feels the difference they may never go back to conventional tees.
5. Go shopping together and bring along two reusable bags, one for you and one for your sig-o
6. Introduce your sig-o to low-energy lights bulbs, they last longer and will knock off a chunk of the light bill.
7. Switch your sig-o to a water filter instead of those pricey bottles of water.
8. Help your sig-o make their own organic cleaning products.
9. Whip up a vegetarian meal and show your sig-o just how yummy veggies can be … not to mention cheaper and healthier than meat.
10. Get your sig-o their very first recycling and compost bin! Then give a lesson on what goes in and what doesn’t.

Written by Greenista Girl Brianne

Photos by Corbs Images