Buy "Local" Books Online

O.K., by now you know I don't really like to shop.  (Oh, if my teenaged self could see me now!)  When I have to get something, I try to find it used.  Buying used usually means that it takes a lot more time to find.  That is unless you're looking to buy used books!  Amazon.com has made it so easy.  In fact, it's so easy that there's almost no point in buying one new anymore.  (Almost!)  Here's a simple little tip for greening your used book buying, which is inherently green already.  Find the one that's closest to where you live. Obviously, if there's a used book store in your town, you've already found the one that's the most local.  If you're not so lucky or they are out of what you want, here's an example for buying one of my favorite books on amazon:

In the third column (Seller Information) it lists specifically where the book ships from so all I need to do is figure out which state (in this case Utah, Oregon, Maryland, or Virginia) is closest to where I live and buy that one because the price and condition of each are all similar.  Ebay and Etsy also list where your goods will ship from.  

The shorter the distance the book has to travel/ship, the less gas it will take to get to me, Yeah for a smaller carbon footprint!

That's it.  Easy enough, huh?  Happy shopping! 
Peace,
Stacey

Bringing Home My Recyclables

I have a confession.  I bring home as many recyclable things as I can.  I pick up recycling around town and I bring it home from vacation when I can't find anywhere to recycle it.  And this is why:

When we were in Wyoming over the summer, there was this great public building with bathrooms and big bins for all types of recycling in pristine Jackson.  Chicago has recycling and solar powered compacting trash bins all over the city.  But our last two trips were harder.  Miami was difficult with the seemingly endless stream of plastic cups but Aruba was impossible!  

After several failed attempts to locate anywhere I could take plastic, glass, or paper for recycling, I finally made room in my backpack and come home with this:

We try to travel light by each taking a single travel backpack, so I wasn't able to bring home much of my nemesis, plastic, but I did manage to bring back and recycle all the paper we (somehow) accumulated.

You might be wondering why this is a confession.  It's not a secret that I recycle.  But bringing it home on an airplane?!  I know.  I know!  I have a problem.  I can't even bear to figure out if it's a net energy loss since I'm flying it home.  (My guess is that, yes, it is.  I told you I have a problem!)  It's just so disheartening watching the trash can fill.

Seriously, I can't stop.  I'd already put this in our car before we discovered that beach in the first picture.

Let me explain.  Not my own habits but the reason the beach looks like that.  Arubans are not going around throwing plastic on their beaches.  (Well, probably some are.)  No, that beach looks like that from people like us.  Trash that doesn't make it into a landfill, more often than not, ends up in the water somewhere.  And things that end up in rivers, lakes, and oceans end up on a beach or in an animal - including humans!  This book gives a wonderful explanation about the whole waste/water/gyre cycle.  I'm glad I read it before seeing this beach.

At least then I knew not to tut-tut the friendly people of Aruba.  That didn't do much for my growing "obsession" with picking up after others though...

Peace,

Stacey

31 Days of Green Little Things: Read an Eco-Book

Welcome back to my 31 Days of Green Little Things!  This is my place to talk about the little things that I do to help the environment.

O.K. so I mentioned last week that I enjoy reading.  I failed to mention that I read mostly non-fiction books: travel books, memoirs, environmental, foodie, self-improvement.  I read them all.  I have no doubt that my Book Club friends just love when it’s my turn to pick our read. ;)

Today's little thing is to find an eco-book that interests you and read it.  I'm even including some of the ones I’ve enjoyed the past few years.  In lieu of a synopsis, I’ll just tell you one of things that stuck with me most from each book.  Without further ado, here they are:

Moby-Duck by Donovan Hohn. I don’t see a lot of container ships living in the Midwest, but I can’t see a semi-truck pulling a shipping container (especially Evergreen) without thinking about the North Pacific Gyre. This is not the “best” book that I’ve read but it is the one that I think about most often so that says something.

No Impact Man by Colin Beavan. Every time I use a tissue instead of handkerchief, I can’t help but think that I’m using a dead tree to wipe my nose.  I thought his description of this was hilarious.

Restore, Recycle, Repurpose: Create a Beautiful Home by Randy Florke with Nancy J. Becker. I’m keeping my eyes open for some burlap coffee bags to make cushions for my dining room.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. If my great grandma wouldn’t recognize it as food, I shouldn't eat it. Oh, and don’t trust bread!

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope by William Kamkwamba. I learned about Malawi, electricity, and some fabulous TED videos thanks to this book.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingslover. Eating local foods can be hard but is worth the effort AND everyone should get one non-local treat – my weakness is dark, dark chocolate, too.

Wildflower: An Extraordinary Life and Untimely Death in Africa by Mark Seal. One person can make a difference.

Sustainable Sailing:  Go Green When You Cast Off by Dieter Loibner. One of my favorite suggestions is to challenge others to “out green” each other with practical and environmentally-friendly prizes like homemade granola or organic bottle-fermented beer. 

Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too by Beth Terry. I’m reading this one now so I don’t know what will stick with me the most but I did have a really awesome experience when I was checking it out at the library.  The librarian got excited about it and said that she hadn’t known about it (until right then) but was going to read it.

There are many, many more but I just wanted to list some of my favorites on a wide range of topics.  What are some of your “green” book suggestions?

Peace,

Stacey

To follow other "31 Days" journeys, check out The Nester.  She's hosting this party.  Thanks for the motivation to join this year.
I started a Facebook page for my blog.  "Like" it if you're so inclined.

31 Days of Green Little Things: Check Out The Library

Welcome back to my 31 Days of Green Little Things!  This is my place to talk about the little things that I do to help the environment.

Have you been to the library since you graduated?  If not, you’re missing out on a wealth of opportunities!

Most libraries these days have more than “just” books.  You’ll find eReaders, CDs, DVDs, and, of course, books.  Many offer classes, children’s programs, e-recycling, and internet access, too.  Oh, and most offer all these things for FREE!

I read a lot!  Like about 3 books every month, a lot.  Where do I get all these books?  My local library!  (Actually I’ve borrowed a couple from friends and my husband bought a few used ones from Amazon.)  This year, I read a powerful book that I thought would be worth putting on my shelf so I could refer back to it but I was lucky enough to find it at a local used book store so there are options for you if you just have to own every book you read.  (*cough*there's this little thing called minimalism*cough*cough*)

If you read dozens of books each year, an eReader might be a good choice for you but the library is still going to save your carbon footprint.  According to this article, it looks like we each need to purchase more than 40 books just to offset the fossil fuel, water, and mineral usage that goes into making an eReader.  That doesn’t account for the global warming or human health consequences, which are each about double that figure.

Next time you want something, see if your library has it.  

What’s your favorite thing about libraries?

Peace,

Stacey

To follow other "31 Days" journeys, check out The Nester.  She's hosting this party.  Thanks for the motivation to join this year.
I started a Facebook page for my blog.  "Like" it if you're so inclined.

Walking for Trash??

I just finished reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (no, not Bill McKibben that would make more sense on a "green" blog but really Bill Bryson - the funny one) and at one point he said, "93 percent of all trips outside the home, for whatever distance or whatever purpose, Americans now get in a car.  On average the total walking of an American these days - that's walking of all types: from car to office, from office to car, around the supermarket and shopping malls - adds up to 1.4 miles a week, barely 350 yards a day.  That's ridiculous."  Keep in mind that this book was published in 1998.  Have we gotten any better???  Really.  Have we?

I'm not going to get into how we should all be walking or riding our bikes when we go on any trip under 1 mile or 2 miles or 10 miles or whatever!  (I don't want to have to point a finger at myself, of course.)  This post is about a little thing that's much smaller than that.  Let me tell you what I did yesterday.

I took a walk.  A walk that wasn't for pleasure but to actually get some place.  Actually, I took two walks... but they were both so small that I can't in good conscience call them "walks" at all.  I walked 2 blocks - twice.  Honestly, I was just exploring my neighborhood.  Anyway, on the first walk I hung a right out of my driveway, walked two blocks to take a picture (you'll see that another day), and walked right back home.  I came home with these:

In the afternoon, I turned left out of my driveway.  I walked two blocks again, talked to some neighbors, and came straight home.  Other than crossing a side street, I never even left the sidewalk but I still came home with these:

Let me explain.  I didn't consume any of these things.  I didn't even walk far enough to get to a store.  I found them.  Then I brought them home and recycled them.  I do this.  It's one of my weird quirks.  I pick up other people's trash.  Someone has to do it, right?  Seriously, I think it's become a compulsion.  Last week I went passed a smashed up gatorade bottle without picking it up.  A block later, I turned my bike around so I could get it.  I couldn't get my brain to stop saying, "well, now, who is going to pick that up?"  Well, me, of course.  I was going to go pick it up.

I know what you're thinking.  And, no, I don't live in a trashy area.  I live in a nice, ("snooty" is too harsh, right?) quiet neighborhood in an upmarket (my thesaurus told me to use that instead of "snooty") kind of town.  People take pride in this town!  Yet, I still can't go for a walk or bike ride without coming home with trash.

Please, tell me you do this too.  Please.  Please...

Peace,

Stacey