Earlier this year, I joined a local campaign against single-use plastic, and it's been great working with like-minded, enthusiastic people and feeling so much hope about making the world a better place before it's too late! But there was one blind spot in the organizing of our first several meetings that just stunned me: On … Continue reading Zero-Waste Name Tags
Now is the cool of the day. It's time to get serious about taking better care of our Earth, and it's easier than ever to do! You might think it's gotten more complicated, though, because of the recent news about recycling: China is no longer accepting recyclable materials from the United States for processing in … Continue reading Go Green in 2019: New Opportunities to Reduce Garbage!
In this particular household of Earthlings, we all have about the same color of skin, and if we wanted to wear makeup we'd get the second-lightest shade in most brands: We are not the palest people on the planet, but we're fairly fair. That said, we're not especially prone to sunburn, so we don't wear … Continue reading Sunscreens that Save Your Skin Without Hurting the Earth
Earlier this year, I wrote about strategies for eliminating disposable plastic garbage from your daily life. Then we needed a paper document on the subject, to hand out at some showings of plastic-trash documentaries here in Pittsburgh. I made this, and people seem to like it! Click here to download "12 Easy Ways to Cut … Continue reading 12 Ways to Cut Back on Single-Use Plastic PRINTABLE
This year I've been helping with a local challenge to reduce single-use plastics. My church hosted a screening of Plastic Paradise, a documentary I highly recommend for learning more about where plastic stuff goes when we throw it "away." Of course we wanted to serve some snacks to welcome people to our parish hall and … Continue reading Party Without Plastic! How to serve less trashy refreshments
Here are some upcoming events in our Challenge to reduce single-use plastic products in Pittsburgh: Tuesday, March 5, Allegheny County Council will consider a resolution on plastic reduction, 5:00pm at the City-County Building. Saturday, March 9, a "No Plastic, Please" Awareness Blitz will train volunteers to visit (the same day) restaurants in Squirrel Hill to … Continue reading Help Save Pittsburgh from Instant Garbage!
Here in Pittsburgh, we're having a challenge to reduce consumption of single-use plastic (SUP) products. If you live somewhere else, launch a challenge in your area! Even if you make it just your personal challenge to use fewer SUPs yourself and to ask the stores and restaurants you visit to stop pushing so many SUPs on … Continue reading Go Green in 2019: Cut Back on Single-Use Plastic!
Like last year, this was a year in which The Earthling's Handbook drew more readers to the articles that have been here a long time (and therefore have been linked to more often, on other sites as well as in my own articles) than to new articles. The list of overall most-popular articles is so … Continue reading Top 18 Articles of 2018
"Wildlife" sounds like something that lives out in the wild, right? We picture wildlife in the jungle, in the desert, or at least deep enough into the forest that it can't hear motors. But wild animals live in almost every acre of Earth's surface. Squirrels are wildlife. Ladybugs, ants, and even pigeons are wildlife. Leopards … Continue reading A Certified Wildlife Habitat in an Urban Churchyard
Twenty years ago, I saw a catalog filled with practical household products that were better for the environment than the stuff we'd been using: laundry and dish and cleaning products made from plants and natural minerals, paper products made from recycled paper, tampons and cloth towels made from organic cotton. I was excited! But I'd … Continue reading Go Green in 2018: Can You Afford to Buy Greener Products?
One of the most effective things you can do to reduce your environmental impact is to drive less. Every gallon of gasoline burned puts 24 pounds of pollution into our air! Of course we should work toward powering more cars with cleanly generated electricity or other alternative fuels, but we also need to move away … Continue reading Go Green in 2018: Get Out of the Car!
I first heard about the amazing usefulness of hemp when I was in college, 25 years ago. I had gotten onto the mailing lists of various environmental organizations, and from time to time they mentioned that hemp is excellent for making biofuel, food for humans and animals, rope, clothing, paper, plastics, construction and auto-body materials, … Continue reading Peeking Over the Hemp Horizon
This is a guest post by Rick Blanchard, an expert on sleep product materials and manufacturing for BestMattressReviews.com. His research covers the entire life cycle of mattresses and bedding, including production, wear over time, and disposal. Rick lives in Tarrytown, New York. We welcomed this article because we will soon need to shop for a … Continue reading What You Need to Know About So-Called “Green Mattresses”
I've been on this Earth-friendly journey for a long time, and some parts of it have gotten a lot easier. Twenty years ago, you couldn't buy plant-based cleaners or chlorine-free toilet paper at target.com and have them show up on your porch two days later! I saw a tiny ad for Seventh Generation brand products … Continue reading How the East End Food Co-op Keeps Me Fit and Happy
It's Girl Scout Cookie time! I was a Girl Scout from second grade all the way through high school, I am a Lifetime Member, and I was a leader from 2002 to 2010. I've sold a few thousand boxes of Girl Scout Cookies. Girl Scouting is an important program that had a huge influence on … Continue reading How to support Girl Scouts without buying cookies
Happy new year! This is a great time to start a new habit to make a little less garbage, use a little less energy, or otherwise reduce your environmental impact. I made my new year's resolution on a sudden whim when I was in the supermarket on December 30, stocking up on fresh produce after … Continue reading Go Green in 2018: Try Something New!
Earthlings have been discarding too much plastic too irresponsibly for the past five decades, and a lot of it has ended up in our oceans. Plastic never goes away. It just swirls around, breaking into smaller pieces, harming marine animals. method, a company making cleaners that are safer for the Earth and human health, teamed … Continue reading Hand Soap of the Zygons [method ocean plastic soap review]
Improve soil quality and prevent erosion without spending a cent! Just take a few minutes to collect this free resource from your neighborhood.
We Earthlings are planning to renovate and slightly expand our small, shabby, 1950s kitchen, so I'm very interested in this guest post by Sofia Lockett, a freelance writer based in Auckland, who is passionate about travel, technology and innovation. Sofia has written for New Zealand businesses such as seacontainers.co.nz. Kitchens are the heart of the … Continue reading Eco-Friendly Kitchen Renovations
Today is the first day of seventh grade for my son Nicholas and the first day in the new Bigger Sprouts classroom for my three-year-old daughter Lydia! Even if you're not in school and have no kids in your life, this is a great time of year to start something new. As the leaves begin … Continue reading Go Green in 2017: Something New in September!
