Recycling bags

Design Within Reach has come up with a new take on recycling containers: recycling bags. The handled bags come in a set of 4, and are 2 ft x 2 ft x 3 ft — so they hold more recycling (meaning less trips to the recycling center for you!). Made of industrial-strength tarpaulin (a heavy double-warp fabric that is plastic-coated), the bags are waterproof and can be quickly washed out in the sink or outside with a garden hose.

Recycling bags – set of 4 for $22 at dwr.com

Solar beach tote

For those of you who can’t stand to be without your iPod/cell phone/camera at the beach (or the pool) this bag’s for you. The “Juice Bag” comes with thin, ultra-light solar power panels built into the sides of the bag. You can re-charge your gadgets by plugging your device’s usual car adapter into the bag.

Can’t say I can justify spending $250 on a beach bag, but it’s a neat concept…

Donate your old cell phone

I recently read that there are over 500 million used cell phones in the U.S. sitting in people’s drawers or worse, in our landfills, and another 100+ million will be added this year alone! (You should never throw away a cell phone — they contain a lot of toxic materials).

I just got a new cell phone, but have been hanging on to the old one, unsure what to do with it until I came across Phones4charity. The program sells used phones to refurbishing plants and hands 80 percent of the money to more than 500 charities, including the American Red Cross and the National Wildlife Federation. Refurbished phones are sent to emerging countries and areas of the U.S. where cell phones where there is “an economic necessity for cell phones for both safety & communication.” Even if your phone does not work, they will recycle it in accordance with federal and local environmental standards for its metal and plastic.

All you need to do is send your old phone(s) in a padded envelope or box to the address, and specify which charity you wish to donate to. Nice!

Urban Outfitters – urban renewal

Urban Outfitters’ eco-friendly line, Urban Renewal, is now available online! Each item is hand-finished and completely unique, so you’re guaranteed a one-of-a-kind original design, crafted by hand and created using vintage, deadstock and surplus materials sourced from rag mills around the world. Fun idea to reuse and recycle old fabrics into new things!

Tip of the Day – Check your tires

Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3 percent. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Here is a how-to, in case you need a little guidance.

Whiten whites (without bleach!)

Bleach is hard on your clothes and on the environment, so try an effective retro alternative: Launder cotton whites in cold water with a spoonful of cream of tartar (sold in your grocery’s spice aisle) in addition to your usual detergent.

Earth911 – How to dispose hazardous waste

As the technology for electronics is ever-changing, companies are quickly putting out multiple versions of their products. But what do we do with obsolete items like computers, cell phones, printers, fax machines and other electronic equipment that we no longer use? Many of these items end up in landfills, when they should be properly disposed elsewhere. The problem is that many people do not know how or where to dispose of these materials.

Enter Earth911, a site which provides specific categories for you to classify whatever waste that you need to dispose of, and provides a search option for you to find the nearest hazardous materials recycling center. Enter your zip code and the material you wish to discard and you’re provided with a list of centers near you where you can drop items off.

Beat the Heat

Today is the first day of summer, and it was a scorcher! Cranking up the A/C is one way to beat the heat, but it is expensive and wastes a ton of energy. First of all, set your thermostat to 78 degrees when you are home, and up to 85 degrees when you are away. Anything lower increases the cost by about 5% for every degree below 78. Try some of these tips to cool off this summer…

• Keep curtains and blinds closed during the day to block the sun. You can reduce the amount of heat that passes into your home by as much as 45 percent!
• Use ceiling or room fans . Air movement will cool the room, and allow you to set the thermostat higher.
• Keep windows and doors shut when the outside temperature is over 77 degrees.* When outside air is hotter than inside air, the hot air will come in (didn’t we learn that in physics class?)
• Turn off lights and appliances (don’t forget your computer) when you don’t need them. They generate heat and make your A/C work harder — and that costs your more money!
• Stay hydrated! As your body loses water, your body temperature rises. Replacing fluids is essential to keeping cool.
• Give your clothes dryer a break, and skip the dry cycle on the dishwasher

*Interesting fact: most people start to sweat at 78 degrees.

Do you have any other tips for keeping cool? Feel free to share!

Baby Clothing – Kate Quinn Organics

I don’t have kids (nor am I planning on having any in the near future) but I couldn’t resist posting these adorable baby clothes from Kate Quinn Organics. All the clothes are made from 100% certified organic cotton and dyed only with low-impact dyes. And did I mention that they are super cute?

Visual effects of climate change

Sometimes it takes more than words to get a point across. Artist Eve Mosher is aiming to do just that, bringing awareness to the effects of global warming through the public artwork High Water Line. Throughout the summer, Mosher will be marking with chalk a line along 70 miles of New York waterfront to demarcate a point 10 feet above sea level, a boundary now used by federal and state agencies and insurance companies to show where waters could rise after a major storm.

This in-your-face representation of the effects of climate change has the ability to raise awareness and encourage action. What if your neighborhood fell on the flood side of this line? Can you imagine traveling by boat through canals in NYC, like in Venice? If we don’t make a change, this could be the future of New York City and other cities along the coast.

NY Times article: The Handwriting on the Road