Take a look at your wallet.

This is something you bring with you almost everywhere and is a great representation of yourself. Avoiding leather and cruelty towards animals, there are a lot of different fun ways you can store your money.

Option 1:

Make your own wallet, there are many steps online to re purpose some old duct tape and make yourself something useful.
Old keyboard? take the screws off and the circuit sheet inside is perfect and durable enough to hold your monetary items.

a step by step video to help you make your own one of these

If you’re not the creative type, I would highly recommend a mighty wallet. Made of Tyvek material, it is durable and waterproof. It comes in various designs, most of which don’t look like wallets at all. From maps to comic strips, there are plenty to choose from.

Check out http://www.mightywallets.com/ and find your own recycled wallet.

Believe it or not, there are many things you can do with your tap water besides washing your car and showering. Rumor has it that it is actually clean enough to consume.

To urge the use of drinking tap water, Concord, Massachusetts has recently placed a ban on single use plastic water bottles. With over 50 billion bottles of water being produced in America annually, this is a great start to decrease those numbers. More shockingly, the amount of oil used to produce these bottles of water is enough to power 1.3 million cars for one year.

There are plenty of opinions against this new law.  The first to point out is taste.
How many times have you heard “I don’t like the taste of tap water”?
People seem to have a preconceived notion that tap water is dirty or not good to drink, when in fact it is bottled water that has less regulation than the city or towns water department. On top of all this, blind taste tests prove that people actually prefer tap water to bottled water.

Want some Aquafina or Dasani? Turn on your faucet and there it is. These brands are purified tap water put in water bottles and sold to the public with the marketing idea that it is safer to drink. Not to mention drinking the recommended amount of water per day from the tap would cost about $0.49 per year versus $1,400 in store bought bottled water.

Stores will surely still sell bottled water, the fine is minimal at $25 for a first offense and only $50 for each offense afterwards.  But not to fret, gallons of water are still on shelves as well as cases of water bottles may be had in the event of an emergency.

Drinking bottled water is for the arrogant and uneducated.

To learn more visit

http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/

Its great when being sustainable saves you money.

I came across Ecofont the other day. Ecofont is a font type that, when printed, saves a significant amount of ink, especially when used in large scale printing. Their more sustainable version of the Arial font saves 28% more ink and toner. The font works by putting tiny holes in the lettering,something which is nearly unnoticeable while reading it.

www.Ecofont.com allows you to download a free sample of this font by clicking on “Download” and then “Free Ecofont Vera Sans.”

How Ecofont works

Walk into any store, classroom, restaurant or home and look around at the people you see.  I guarantee that half of them (especially the younger generation) have their eyes glued to the screen of their smartphone.  Since the iPhone was released in 2007, it has gained tremendous popularity. In 2011 alone, Apple sold 72 million iPhones.  I, myself, have had an iPhone for a few years, and I find that having the Internet in my pocket is incredibly useful.

I’m not the crazy texter type, and I much prefer to read a book than to be on a computer or a cell phone, but that doesn’t mean I don’t need to charge my phone.  I may not charge it as often as some, but it still needs to be done.  Every time I need to charge my phone, it gets plugged into a wall outlet and uses the power that my lovely coal-burning electric company has so kindly provided for me. So, when I came across this product, I immediately thought, “Waaaay Cool!”

Misemet Company has some really awesome green products, one being the Soladec Hybrid Solar Power Charger.  This really neat charger works for most USB devices, such as the iPhone or Andriod phones.  Not only does this charge your smartphone, or iPod, or whatever other nifty USB device you have, but it also has and LED light in case you’re stuck in the dark somewhere.  In addition the Lithium battery can hold its charge for up to two years, which could really come in handy in case of a power outage (oh no!) when you feel disconnected from the world.

Just in case you aren’t basking in the sun, you can still plug this charger into the wall or a USB outlet to juice it up so you can charge your devices on the go. I was just talking to a 16-year-old girl who told me she charges her phone four times a day (….what!?).  I would love to buy her this, and I think anyone that is constantly searching for an outlet to charge their things should invest.

The Soladec charger has fantastic reviews across the board.  Although I don’t personally own one (yet), others really seem to be loving it. Of the reviews on Amazon, an overwhelming majority gave this product four or five stars.  The biggest critic, who still gave the product three stars, was an engineer, who, of course, had to point out design flaws.  However, he still mentioned great functionality. He just would have made it more watertight, you know, in case you think it’s a good idea to charge this device outside on a cloudy, rainy day. (And why would you ever do that, anyway?)

The Soladec Hybrid Solar Power Charger is not sold directly from the manufacturer online, rather from other companies. The cheapest that I found this product was around $78, new on Amazon.  I think it seems like a really cool product, and I definitely think I’ll look into it.  If anyone else has tried this, let me know what you think!

Do it yourself!

How to make your own homemade laundry detergent

Making your own laundry detergent is better for the environment and can save you money.

There are dangerous chemicals found in your average laundry detergent like phenols and synthetic surfactants.

Phenols are toxic chemicals that can cause damage to your lungs, heart, and kidneys and liver.  I don’t mean to be a downer, and I’m not saying that if you use commercial detergents you’re going to cause serious harm to yourself.  BUT, phenols are easily absorbed into the skin and can be harmful to those with highly sensitive skin.

Surfactants are substances that bind oils and wash away in your washing water. Natural surfactants are safe for people and the groundwater, but synthetic surfactants are not. Synthetic surfactants are found in a lot of commercial detergents.

All in all, making your own detergent is better for the environment , cheaper, and better for your health.

Check out this great TED talk about moving forward to more energy efficiency by mastering the electron.

Justin Hall-Tipping: Freeing energy from the grid

Buy it, use it, trash it, repeat.  In our culture, one time use, is a reoccurring theme in products.  This behavior produces extra trash, is wasteful, bad for the environment, and costly.  So next time instead of buying or using a disposable product, instead try using something a little more eco-friendly.  In order to help you out, I’ve complied a list of some common disposable products, an eco-friendly alternatives.  Let us know what you think.

• Paper  towels  -  towels, old rags
• Tissues  -  handkerchief
• Disposable razor  - straight razor with resharpen-able blade, or electric razor
• Batteries  - re-chargeable batteries
• Plastic/paper plates and utensils  -  regular plates
• Ballpoint pens  -  refillable pens
• Diapers  - cloth diapers
• Plastic shopping bags  -  cloth shopping bags

Also for more information on this topic visit   http://ecosimply.com/avoiding-disposable-products-what-are-the-alternatives-993.html   and http://blog.ecycler.com/2010/09/03/reduce-reuse-recycle/

Though many modern luxuries have certainly brought comfort and convenience to contemporary life, many of us have begun to take these comforts for granted, while forgetting the cost we pay for such amenities in energy and natural resources. Many times, there are simpler, better, methods for achieving our goals, without sacrificing natural resources, or our quality of living in the progress.

Take refrigeration, for example. For thousands of years, people managed to make food last without the help of refrigeration, however today we have become so acclimated to having access to refrigerated goods and storage, that many of us cannot see living without it. Ironically enough, keeping food in your refrigerator may not be the best way to keep certain items fresh, and the average refrigerator can produce anywhere from 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of CO2 in a year. In this article, published at Treehugger.com, designer Jihyun Ryou shows you simple ways to keep food fresher for longer, while adding to the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen décor and reducing your carbon footprint.

And while we’re on the topic of food, think about this the next time you’re staring at a seafood menu: one 3.5oz serving of shrimp is responsible for producing a carbon footprint equivalent to 436 pounds of CO2, according to this article, also published at Treehugger.com. Though I wouldn’t suggest storing your shrimp cocktail anywhere but a refrigerated space (save, for maybe the ocean, in the case of live prawns), the when you add the carbon cost of raising, transporting, processing, and storing the shrimp, it sure adds up to one environmentally expensive meal.

Well, it seems that “actual winter” is finally upon us, with all that it typically brings: snow, cold, and, of course, ice. One of the iconic winter images is of picturesque icicles dangling from roofs across New England. But have you ever paused to consider what those icicles actually signify, and what they might be doing to your home?!

This Tuesday at 6:30 pm, join the Energy Challenge and Next Step Living for a short, informative workshop on Ice Dam Prevention. Learn just what those dangling beauties are doing to your home, and how to stop them from forming! Plus, learn more about home weatherization opportunities, what to expect when expecting a home energy assessment, and how to best navigate the Mass Save program to your advantage.

We hope to see you all there! Download the PDF flier.

WHAT: Ice Dam Prevention Workshop

WHERE: Southworth Public Library, 732 Dartmouth St., Dartmouth, MA, downstairs meeting room.

WHEN: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, at 6:30 pm.

WHY: Learn some do it yourself techniques for preventing ice damming, and much much more!

Why do people love showers so much? Well, they’re cleansing, they’re warm and comforting, relaxing and energizing, and just generally awesome, all at the same time. It’s no wonder that people occasionally  overuse the privilege!

While doing some research for the Energy Challenge, I was looking into barriers that keep people from taking various energy saving actions. One really excellent action to take is installing a low flow shower head–an action made easy by home energy assessments, where you can get just such a shower head installed, at no cost! During my research, I discovered a startling fact: Seinfeld is actually one of the largest barriers to switching to the low flow!

I am here to clear up a widespread misconception, and hopefully eliminate that particular barrier. There is a general feeling out there that “low flow”  mean weak, drippy, unsatisfying showers. That is INCORRECT!! Even bottom of the line modern, low flow  shower heads DO NOT reduce water pressure! Many of the new ones actually have increased water pressure. The design reduces the volume of water per second, but maintains good, strong pressure, by forcing water through smaller holes, often surpassing pressure levels of traditional shower heads.

That particular Seinfeld episode is actually one of my all-time favorites, but let it be known that it is also WRONG! Is it still hilarious? Yes, obviously. The hair “don’ts” crack me up. But is it accurate? No!!

Don’t take my word for it! Register NOW for your no cost, Mass Save home energy assessment, and get your own efficient shower head today! You will save a lot of energy, a ton of water, and a tidy bit of money on your utility bills! You can register for a no cost assessment right here. I assure you, you won’t regret it.