Going Green With The River

939 The River has some tips for our listeners who are concerned with our environment and our communities.  We will continually update this page to give helpful tips on how you can make changes in your lifestyle that will make a difference to our world.  If you have any suggestions or tips, feel free to share them with us at gnyp@939theriverradio.com

 Happy Halloween-Throwing a Green Party

1)  Local, seasonal fruits and vegetables are affordable and plentiful at your local farmer's market .Present guests with organic popcorn, pretzels and potato chips. Provide your friends with organic peanut butter, jams and salad dressings to add extra flavor to the the treats.  It wouldn't be a Halloween party without candy! Check out fair-trade, organic, natural candies

2)  Embrace the season by serving local apple cider – check for pre-made versions at your local farmer's market or make your own
- Check  for local shops that have sustainable candies, local food, and seasonal decorations!

3)  Encourage your guests to travel to the party together, whether that means carpooling on organizing a Halloween walk through the neighborhood.

4)  For city dwellers, public transportation should always be choice #1 – provide guests with bus and train routes that are closest to your home so they can easily plan their trip to the party.

5)  Buy LED Halloween lights to add some ambiance to your spook-fest or wrap them around your mailbox to let folks know, "the party is here!"

 6)  Use washable plates, glasses, napkins and (if needed) utensils; you'll have trees and landfill space. If you need extras, buy compostable tableware.  Provide clearly labeled recycling and composting stations for your guests. Post a list of goods that belong in each bin – with a bit of foresight, you can have a 100% waste free party.

Critter Care

As members of the family, don’t pets deserve the healthiest care you can give them? And don’t forget: Exposing your pet to toxins means exposing yourself to them, too, every time you pet or hold the animal. "The less chemicals we use with food and grooming, the better it is for all of us

1)   Pet food ingredients are regulated in the United States, but it is legal to contain factory byproducts in kibble, and some brands include quite a bit of filler in their ingredients. Look for natural and organic pet food. It’s good for Fido and supports responsible land management.

2)   It’s important to keep fleas and ticks at bay, both for your pets’ comfort and to reduce the risk of Lyme disease. But dousing a pooch in harsh chemicals, such as toxic organophosphates, can be harmful to him — and to you. If you let your animals sleep in your bed, you're getting dosed with whatever toxins are in their flea treatments all night long.  Look for flea and tick treatments, shampoos and other grooming products that contain non-toxic, natural and organic ingredients.

3)   You know it stinks. But did you know doggie waste can be a major source of bacterial pollution when rain washes it into waterways and onto beaches? Keep biodegradable, non-petroleum-based bags on hand, like biobags http://biobagusa.com/and always clean up after your pet. Or better yet, compost your pet's waste in your backyard. You can make your own http://www.cityfarmer.org/petwaste.html or buy one to install http://www.americas-pet-store.com/details/prodid/235.html.

4)   Clay litters aren't good for your kitty's lungs, and the mining process to obtain the clay is destructive. Clay isn't compostable and doesn't biodegrade.  There are tons of eco-friendly litter alternatives, from pine pellets (made from waste sawdust, a byproduct), to recycled newspaper, to wheat and corn. Plant-based litters can be composted and will biodegrade if they end up at the landfill.

Wedding Season

Wedding season is just around the corner and it is possible to give green to the happy couple.  You could go out and shop from their registry or you can find unique and green gifts to give to the newlyweds.

1)  Buy Bedding made of organic cotton and low impact dye : The honeymooners can come home to sleep in sheets not treated with pesticides and other harmful chemicals.

2)  Purchase blankets made from recycled materials : The blankets will be sewn together from old wool sweaters in unique patterns and colors.

3)  Look for shops that offer classic gifts made out of recycled or sustainable materials : a decanter made from recycled glass and organic wine is a great gift as is a recycled paper picture frame and a photograph of the couple from the wedding.

4)  Gift Certificates for dinner : You can splurge on a gift certificate on a restaurant that offers organic and delicious dining or better yet, take the couple out yourself and insist on picking up the tab.

Saving Paper

1)  Choose Paperless Billing : Stop snail mail billing from your bank, utility company, credit card company and others by asking to receive e-mail and other electronic notification.

2)   Reuse Paper : Use the unused side of paper in your printer for printouts that don't have to be distributed or as scratch paper.

3)   Stop Junk Mail : Contact New American Dream : this do it yourself approach will take about 20 minutes of your time and you will be removed from mailing lists for 3-5 years.

                                 Call your credit card company and ask them to refrain from selling any of your information.

                                  Read the fine print on any contests or sweepstakes because many times personal information is sold to third parties.

4)   Send e-Cards : Send greetings for birthdays and holidays by electronic means.

5)    Write On Boards :  Use and erasable board instead of using paper for messages.

6)   Buy Recycled Paper : It is obvious but worth a reminder

Saving Energy At Home

1) See the light : Compact fluorescent light bulbs use less energy than incandescent bulbs, generate less heat, last longer, and reduce power plant energy output and greenhouse gas emissions.

2) Turn it up, turn it down : turning your home's thermostat up only three degrees in the summer and down three degrees in the winter can save more that a thousand pounds of CO2 emissions a year.

3) Unplug it : Chargers for cell phones, digital cameras, iPods and other electronic devices waste energy when not in use.

4) Wash well : Wash your clothing in cold water to save on heating, your clothes will clean just as well without hot water.

5) Charge it right : Convert your batteries to rechargeable one, which can be used again and again and won't end up in landfills.

6) Compute it : Set your computer to go into sleep mode when not in use.  Screen sacers prevent your computer from going into sleep mode and are not needed to preserve your screen.

Going Green For The Holidays

1. Turn down the heat before the guests arrive. You’ll save energy while the extra body heat of your guests will warm up the room. 
2.  For formal affairs, consider renting seldom worn party clothes or buying them from consignment shops. 
3.  You can also rent dishes and glassware, making your party more elegant and eliminating the need to buy special holiday china. 
4.  Walk to neighborhood parties, or carpool (with a designated driver!) with friends if it’s too far to walk. 
5.  After the party, don’t throw away the leftovers! Put them in plastic containers or bags and send them home with guests, or donate to food banks. 
6.  Plan meals wisely and practice portion control to minimize waste in the first place

7. Get outdoor light strands that are wired in parallel. These have separate circuitry so that if one bulb blows out the rest will keep shining; all you have to do is replace the bulb. Those strands sold with series wiring stand or fall together, making it almost impossible to find and replace a single blown-out bulb. 
8.  Remember, the smaller the bulbs, the lower the wattage. Low wattage has two advantages: it consumes less energy and gives off less heat, making your lights safer. 
9.  Bring your own camera instead of using disposable cameras to capture holiday memories.
10. Faster film speeds, such as 400 or 800, reduce the use of flash and extend battery life.

11. During the nation’s busiest shopping season, bring your own shopping bags. Paper, plastic and cloth are all good; the latter two can be folded easily into purses and pockets until used.
12. Consolidate your purchases into one bag rather than getting a new bag at each store on your shopping rounds. 

13. Plan your shopping in advance. Consolidating your shopping trips saves fuel (and aggravation), and you’ll avoid those last minute frenzies when you won’t have time to make careful gift choices. 
14. Rather than piling up "stuff" under the tree, think about what friends and family really want or need. Try giving gift certificates if you don’t know what someone wants, or simply make a donation in his or her name to a favorite charity. 
15. Give gifts that encourage others to use less stuff, like a book about making crafts from reusable items, cookbook for leftovers, reusable tote bags. 
16. Or simply set a good example by giving homemade food or something you’ve made yourself from reused items. 
17. For kids, start a savings account or give stocks or bonds. It’s fun to watch money grow and it teaches children the value of financial conservation. 
18. Shop for gifts at antique stores, estate sales or flea markets, since one person’s trash is another’s treasure. 
19. Donate unwanted gifts, along with last year’s gifts that the kids have outgrown, to charity.

20. Think of gifts that don’t have to be wrapped at all: tickets to concerts, museums, or sporting events, gift certificates, house plants, or even gifts of your own time. 
21.  When giving oversized gifts like bicycles or CD racks, instead of wrapping them in paper, just tie a bow around them. 
22.  Wrap gifts in old maps, newspapers, Sunday comics or fancy holiday gift bags. Kids’ art work is a perfect wrapping for presents to proud grandparents.
23.  Use brown paper grocery bags to wrap small-to-medium size boxes that have to be mailed. 
24.  Make the wrap a part of the gift: Putting cookies in a flower pot or hiding jewelry in a new pair of gloves will keep your gift under wraps and the "wrapping" out of the trash.
Did you know...if every family reused just two feet of holiday ribbon, the 38,000 miles of ribbon saved could tie a bow around the entire planet?
25. Get a tree that can be planted or mulched afterward, or buy an artificial one.
26. Compost your food waste. Fruits and vegetables and their peels, pits and seeds are all perfect for composting – a great natural fertilizer.

For More Information about Greening Your Holidays, check out www.use-less-stuff.com

Choosing Personal Care Products

1)Look for organic and all-natural : The cosmetics industry is not very regulated and companies do not need to seek approval oby the Food and Drug Adminsitration or other government agencies for the chemicals that are used in products.  Buying organic items or items that contain organic and all-natural ingredients will ensure that you are not using harmful and toxic ingredients.

 2)Avoid synthetic and chemical ingredients : Many cosmetics and personal care products are made with parabens, artificial fragrances and colors.  Avoid products with these ingredients : mercury, thimerosol, lead acetate, formaldehyde, toluene, coal tar, dibutyl phthalate and potassium dichromate.

3)Use safer hair dye : Buy non-toxic hair dyes for home use or bring your own non-toxic hair dye to the salon.  Most dyes contain ammonia, which can transfer  into the blood stream via the scalp.

4)Use natural essential oils : Essential oils derived from plants are nourishing and non-toxic.  Using organic or all-natural oils on the skin and hair will ensure that your body is not absorbing anything toxic.

How To Be Greener: Cleaning Your Clothes

Everyday huge amounts of water are used to clean our dirty clothes as well as huge amounts of energy, plus harmful chemicals are used for our dry cleaning.  The are some very simple steps that can be taken to clean your clothes so that they are better for you and our environment.

1)  Cut back on laundry by spot-cleaning and hand-washing.

2)  Save energy by washing with cold water.

3)  Make sure your detergent does not contain phosphates, which can cause an overgrowth of algae in water and harm  aquatic life.  Plus many detergents contain synthetic fragrances and chemicals that are not biodegradable.

4)  Do you really need to dry clean that garment?  Many items can be hand-washed or washed on the delicate cycle.

5)  Consider alternatives to conventional dry cleaning.  Many dry cleaners use a toxic agen called percholoroethylene(perc) which is a chlorinated solvent that accumulates in body fat and is recognized as a possible human carcinogen.  Alternatives are wet cleaning and carbon dioxide cleaning.

6)  No mather which cleaners you use, bring your own reusable garment bag to reduce your use of plastic.

Ingredients you should avoid in products: 

Perc(dry cleaning)

Phosphates(in detergents)

Chlorine Bleach

Find out even more online:

 

Greenopia, the urban dwellers guide to green living