Tips from Tracy
Below is recycling and conservation information copied from previous
newsletters, submitted to us by Tracy Durfee, chair of our Earth and
Social Justice commission. If you have other information to
recommend and links to other recycling and conservation sites,
please send them in!
Special Feature: Green Gifts
Did you know that between Thanksgiving and the start of the New Year, Americans produce more than one million tons of additional garbage per week? The result is mountains of boxes, oceans of "clamshell" packaging, rivers of ribbon, and forests of wrapping paper -- and enough battery power to light a small city. We all know there is a better way, and this year, the Earth and Social Justice Commission has some ideas for gifting green. Here are some great ideas:
- Endangered Species Chocolate Available at Ray's in Creswell and at PC Market of Choice in Eugene; or shop online at ChocolateBar.com (1-800-293-0160)
- Universal Giving Shop at UniversalGiving.org
- Make your own soda or sparkling water at home -- visit Sodastream.com or call
1-800-763-2258
- Equal Exchange Coffee is available at Safeway, Ray's, PC Market of Choice, and online at equalexchange.com; they are offering free shopping between now and December 15 if you enter the code motherjones (US orders only).
- Functional Organic Clothing at Maggies; order at maggieorganics.com
(1-800-609-8593)
- Stainless Steel (always BPA free) water bottles; order at Earthlust.com
- Guatemalan Fair Trade at A Thread of Hope; order at athreadofhope.org
- Heifer International online at heifer.org.
We will keep updating this list -- if you have other ideas
for gifting green, send them to secondcentury@att.net!
Environmentally Friendly Shopping Tips
1. Buy eggs in cardboard, not Styrofoam, cartons. Then
when you are done with them, bring them to church and
racy Durfee will use them again (her chickens continue to
produce a dozen eggs a day!).
2. Buy in bulk. It's cheaper and uses minimal packaging. Our own
PC Market of Choice in Cottage Grove has a great selection of bulk food items.
3. Buy carrots, onions, potatoes (and so on) loose, not in bags. Choose to leave that extra bag behind.
4. Buy beverages in glass or aluminum containers, which are easy to recycle. You can also choose sauces, condiments, baby foods, spreads, etc. that are packed in glass instead of plastic.
5. Avoid plastic containers, especially squeezable ones, which are made of different types of plastic in several layers and are dramatically nonbiodegradable.
6. Most cereal boxes are made of recycled cardboard.It's easy to tell: The boxes are gray in the inside. Look for the "recycled" logo.
For additional tips, click here!
Did You Know . . .
. . . using a screensaver doesn't save an ounce of energy? Turning a monitor off will conserve energy. It's a fact: A computer monitor uses almost as much energy as a refrigerator!
