Posts tagged organic cotton

Our good friend and guest blogger, Anne Hogan, is at it again – this time reviewing the highly-praised book, The Lazy Environmentalist. You can find her last review on the movie Food Inc. here, or visit here for her fabulous blog.

I love the blog The Lazy Environmentalist and I’ve been wanting to read the book by the same name for a while now, so I was thrilled to find it on a recent trip my used bookstore. The book was made with wind energy, and I bought it second hand, which the publisher might not love, but I look at it as being double green.

I really love the way this book is set up, each chapter deals with a different aspect of life where you can go green, Clothing, Bedroom, Kitchen, etc. At the end of each chapter there’s a listing of brands, retailers, and websites where you can go to learn more about eco-friendly options in that particular category. So if you’re too lazy to read the whole book, you can just use it as a quick reference.

The chapters go into detail about why it’s important to green each aspect of your life and home as well as highlighting some companies that have great products and services. (This is actually where I learned about WalMart’s organic clothing, which I ran right out to purchase.) The style is fun and easy to read, it’s more like talking to a friend than reading a stuffy book about being more environmentally friendly.

I want to highlight some of my favorite sections and tidbits from the book.

Did you know that regular cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world? It accounts for almost 25% of all insecticides and 10% of all pesticides. Those chemicals stay in the cotton even after it’s manufactured into clothing. Yikes. These chemicals not only seep into your body (double yikes), but also into groundwater, soil, air, and food supplies. And here you thought the biggest benefit to organic cotton was how super-soft it is.

Energy is another big area where going green can make a huge impact. Most electric companies offer the option of switching to some combination of wind energy, hydropower, and traditional electricity (made by burning fossil fuels). There is a premium, but typically it’s between $4 and $18 per month (depending on your electric company and which option you choose). For less than you’d spend on two fast food meals, you can make a huge impact in not only reducing the carbon footprint of your home, but also in letting electric companies know that you want green options. If your electric company doesn’t offer these options (mine doesn’t), you can purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (REC’s). Now, I’d heard a lot about these in the past, but wasn’t 100% sure how they worked. Here’s the “quick and dirty”. Green energy costs more to produce, so electric companies don’t want to buy it. When you buy and REC you’re basically paying that price difference so that the green energy costs the same as regular energy. That way, the electric company has more incentive to purchase it, since it doesn’t cost them any more. It’s a neat idea, and definitely worth looking into if your electric company doesn’t offer more eco-friendly options.

Another great option (that would give my HOA a coronary) is the Skystream 3.7 – a personal windmill with a sleek design that you put right in your backyard. You generate your own wind energy to power your house and whatever more you need comes from the electric company. On the flip side, if you create more energy than you need, the Skystream 3.7 stores that energy for you to use later. Neat, huh? Your house has to meet certain criteria to have one (space, average wind speeds, closeness to power lines, etc).

In cleaning products, Method and Seventh Generation both score high marks. Plus, after Christmas you can get holiday Method scents on clearance at Target, making it a score for your wallet and the environment.

To show you a little bit of what I like so much about the writing style of this book, I want to share some quotes from the chapter on bedrooms.

“The bedroom is where we dream, and with any luck, it’s also where dreams come true. So whether you’re sleeping or entertaining a guest, creating a health, eco-aware bedroom is the surest way to achieve personal contentment and induce planetary afterglow.”

See what I mean?

The Lazy Environmentalist is available from Amazon.com or wherever it is you buy your books.

Here are some links from the book that might interest you if you want to learn more…

www.lazyenvironmentalist.com
www.thegreenloop.com
www.walmart.com
fabulouslygreen.blogspot.com
www.renewablechoice.com
www.skystreamenergy.com
www.bodyandsoulmag.com
www.dwellmag.com
www.goodmagazine.com
www.ecologicalhomeideas.com
www.treehugger.com