Category Archives: sustainability

What’s your cell phone radiation level? Is it safe?

Posted on September 18, 2009 by

Look it up with this tool: http://www.ewg.org/cellphoneradiation/Get-a-Safer-Phone My phone (Treo 650) has high radiation. In fact, among the Top 10 Worst PDA/Smartphones!  (The super-popular iPhone 3G is not among the top 10, but it’s a high-radiator, too.) What to do? Should … Continue reading →

Posted in efficiency, environment, health, recycle, sustainability, technology | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

how to get extra life from a printer toner cartridge: black tape

Posted on July 30, 2009 by

Don’t you hate having to replace the toner cartridge, especially when the printing seems to be fine? Surely, there must be more life in the toner. Well, here’s a workaround in the spirit of responsible consumption: use up what you … Continue reading →

Posted in conservation, efficiency, energy saving, everyday, office, paper, sustainability, sustainable | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

could you wear the same dress for one year?

Posted on June 15, 2009 by

Sheena Matheiken is! 1 dress. 365 days. But then she has a strong creative sense of fashion, and an apparently bottomless collection of accessories in her closet to make it work. Not only is this a creative experiment and inspiration, … Continue reading →

Posted in clothing, design, everyday, recycle, reuse, shopping, sustainability, sustainable | Leave a comment

Food, Inc. movie opens Friday (watch trailer)

Posted on June 12, 2009 by

Food, Inc., a new documentary about the US food supply opens today in NY, SF and LA. I wonder if it has anything new to say to those of us who have already read The Omnivore’s Dilemma and Fast Food … Continue reading →

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kids after my creative-reuse heart

Posted on June 1, 2009 by

Alexandra Lehrer, 5, and her classmates at Beginnings Nursery School in New York are my kind of people! “I like building stuff,” she said. “If you throw everything away, there will be just a big pile of garbage, and you … Continue reading →

Posted in children, conservation, environment, everyday, recycle, reuse, second life, sustainability, sustainable | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

when was the last time you vacuumed your refrigerator?

Posted on May 22, 2009 by

NEVER, probably. At least that was true for me until recently, when I cleaned the heat-exchange condenser coils, which are what cool your refrigerator by releasing heat. If the coils are covered in a blanket of dust, the refrigerator has … Continue reading →

Posted in cleaning, energy saving, everyday, food, health, kitchen, sustainability, sustainable, utilities | Leave a comment

Yoplait and other no-no snacks

Posted on April 7, 2009 by

How bad can Yoplait be? Sure it’s way too sweet for me these days, thanks to tons of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS),  but hey, it’s yogurt. Apparently, HFCS is not the only problem. According to Good Guide’s Five Snacks … Continue reading →

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got old Crocs? recycle them!

Posted on March 19, 2009 by

Just got new Crocs. The info sheet included their recycling program! Wear your Crocs until they’re all worn out. Drop them at a participating retail shop, which you can find on their site. (I found 11 places within 25 miles … Continue reading →

Posted in children, clothing, environment, everyday, green products, recycle, second life, sustainability, sustainable | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

water audit

Posted on March 17, 2009 by

Take shorter showers! That’s the big take-away for today’s Water Wise House Call. The Ssnta Clara Valley Water District offers it free as part of their water conservation program. I signed up a few weeks ago as part of my … Continue reading →

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fill your fridge, save energy and money

Posted on March 4, 2009 by

Two climate change-fighting volunteers from Green@Home came by for a housecall today. I learned, among other things, that my refrigerator is too empty. Why is this a problem? Because –here comes my simplified explanation–an empty(ish) fridge has little to “hold” … Continue reading →

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