Are you Buying Tap Water For $4 a Litre?

Today I'll be talking about bottled water and recycling. "The Story of Bottled Water" is a quick illustrated video (by the same woman who narrated "The Story of Stuff") informing you about the realities behind bottled water. I apologize for the bad formatting of my blog (there was nothing I could do about it), but please sit back and watch it right now:

Recycling, although not 100% effective, is very important. DoSomething.org has partnered with Nestle (which is weird, because Nestle is known as one of the most socially and environmentally irresponsible companies on the planet) to encourage recycling. Please go to http://www.dosomething.org/trashy/gallery for the rest of these funny pictures and statistics:

People often think that buying some bottled water and then throwing it away afterwards doesn't really hurt the planet. But it does. Here is a rather ironic article, "'How Bad For The Environment Can Throwing Away One Plastic Bottle Be?' 30 Million People Wonder", that sums up my point nicely: http://www.theonion.com/articles/how-bad-for-the-environment-can-throwing-away-one,2892/.

I understand how you might already have a bunch of water bottles stored away in your cupboard or ready to be recycled. There's nothing you can do about all those water bottles you consumed in the past, but you can become part of the movement by not buying any more and by reusing those which you already have!

I took this picture of a water bottle bird feeder while out walking with my aunt and cousin:

You can also use old water bottles to store change, nuts/bolts/nails, collections, and as pencil holders and cookie jars (once you cut the top off). Don't store anything wet or moist in water bottles, though; that could make you sick. For the birdfeeder above, I recommend only using it in dry weather, and if it rains, you should change it.

On the whole, bottled water should be avoided! If you haven't watched "The Story of Bottled Water" yet, please scroll back up and watch it or go to http://www.storyofstuff.org/movies-all/story-of-bottled-water/ to see it at it's original website. If you are really interested in this sort of thing, you should go on a movie marathon and watch all of "The Story of..." videos. I've only seen three, but that was three really good videos I spent my time watching!

10 Easy Ways to Save Water

Water is everywhere, but clean water is not. We must conserve water in order to: 1; prevent it from becoming polluted after it goes down the drain, and 2; to stop whole lakes from being drained in order to provide for the consumption of this precious resource.

Here are a few ways to save water:

1) Place a sealed plastic container in the tank at the back of your toilet. This will prevent the tank from filling up so high, which will mean that less water goes into the bowl every time. Of course, you could always install a low-flush function to your toilet instead.

2) Install a low-flow showerhead in your shower. This can save a lot of water, while still having the same amount of pressure as a regular showerhead.

3) Use aerators on all of your taps. These, too, maintain a good flow, so you'll feel like you are using a regular tap. All the bubbles in the water can significantly reduce your water usage.

4) Stop those leaky taps! See an old blog post of mine for details: http://hugatreetodayseriously.blogspot.com/2011/12/stop-those-leaky-taps.html.

5) While brushing your teeth and doing similar activities, make sure to leave the tap off!

6) When doing the laundry and dishes, only wash full loads.

7) Use the dishwasher instead of washing by hand. It actually saves water! (Relieved?)

8) Grow plants that are well-suited to your region. These plants are probably less finicky and will use less water. For those of you who live in Canada, you can get some truly fantastic information about which plants are native to your region at http://www.cwf-fcf.org/en/what-we-do/habitat/resources/native-plant-encyclopedia/. I'll talk more about gardening, however, as spring approaches.

9) Place a rain barrel outside your house to collect rainwater. This can be used to water houseplants and your garden. Snow can also be used to water house plants, but be sure that it is properly melted first-- you don't want to freeze your plants!

10) Lastly, when cleaning your driveway, sweep it instead of washing it with the garden hose.

Fun Fact!
Water is so essential to life that it has collected many names over the years, and, of course, it exists in many different languages. Here are some other names for water:

• H20
• Aqua/ Aqua Pura
• dihydrogen monoxide
• Adam's ale (Australian slang)
• eau (French)
• agua (Spanish)
• shui (Chinese)
• fisherman's daughter (Cockney slang)
• ten furlongs mile and a quarter (Cockney slang)

"Pass the ten furlongs mile and a quarter, please."
"Okay, but make sure to conserve it, otherwise we won't have any aqua pura left!"

Online Activism: A Catalyst for Change?

Are you searching for a way to help save the planet and incorporate it into your daily routine? Look no further! Today I am going to be writing about two of my favourite activism websites, The Rainforest Site and Care2.
Deforestation is a serious problem in the modern world. Ancient species are disappearing off the face of the Earth-- literally-- and the natural processes of our planet are being disturbed. Just thinking about it can be overwhelming, and you may not even believe that it is possible to stop deforestation right in it's tracks.
Take heart! Have you heard of The Rainforest Site (http://www.therainforestsite.com/)? It's a website devoted to saving the rainforest in many ways:

• First, it has a "daily click" opportunity, in which Internet users can click on a button once daily to help protect 11.4 square feet of rainforest. You see, for every click, their sponsers pay a certain amount of money to buy that land. Spiffy, isn't it?
• This website also has many petitions that you can sign, all of which are to be presented to important decision-makers. (You may have heard about Hug a Tree Today, Seriously on The Rainforest Site. I always post the urls to my blogs beside my name when I sign those petitions!) Just click on "Take Action!" at the right-hand sidebar to get to the lengthy list of petitions.
• Another way you can help is by shopping at The Rainforest Site for gifts and clothing (only if you need it, of course!). All sales contribute to helping the rainforests. For more information, see the store yourself at https://www.therainforestsite.com/store/trs/site?0 or see the left-hand sidebar on The Rainforest Site.

Care2, on the other hand, encompasses many different topics, including green living. Head on down to http://www.care2.org/ to set up an account, where you can set up a profile telling the world about your beliefs and initiatives. Then go and sign petitions, join groups, read articles, and more-- online! By participating on the website, you earn points which, over time, accumulate to let you "buy" things that help others and the environemnt. You don't have to pay with money; instead, you use your points to buy these things. You can look up my profile, by the way-- my username is "rabbit-cat".
Of course, The Rainforest Site and Care2 are only two of numerous organizations devoted to making a difference. And there are ways to make a difference in your own life, too. So keep an open mind always, and have a nice week!

Planning Your Summer Vacation?

Right around this time of year, people are starting (or already have started) to think about their long-awaited summer vacation. Although it is only February, there is research to do, reservations to make, and trips to plan. But how can you ensure that your trip is sustainable as well?

First of all, there are some awesome tours around the world that have a focus on low-footprint tourism, or eco-tourism. And when I say around the world, I mean it-- you can catch a tour in South, Central, and North America, as well as Africa, Asia, Australia and Oceana, Europe, and the Middle East. You can start your search at http://www.ecotourdirectory.com/ or http://ecotours.com/.

Don't want to travel with a large group? Okay-- but there are still ways to make your trip more eco-friendly. Here is another one of my handy-dandy lists of eco-friendly ideas!:

Consider taking a train instead of driving a car or flying when you have to go long distances over land.

                        

• Avoid flying! Flying airplanes has a devastating impact on the Earth. Most of the time (if not all of the time), make your holidays close to home. Even for the wealthy, travelling the world need not be a yearly activity-- as long as you have a few special experiences overseas in your lifetime, that should be enough, don't you think? There may well be some interesting cities right near your hometown-- and there are wonderful campgrounds to visit in many countries.
• If you happen to stay at a hotel, check out their environmental policies first. http://www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com/ shows you which hotels around the globe are committed to sustainability.
• While exploring an area of the city, again, don't bother with the car-- it's always a hassle to park those things anyway. You can cycle, bus, walk, or take the subway to get around.
• If a car is definitely going to be part of your travel experience, rent a hybrid or electric car.
• Search ahead of time for vegetarian restaurants in the city that you are travelling to. After all-- veggie meals have a smaller environmental impact. See http://www.happycow.net/ for a directory of vegetarian restaurants.
  
• Souvenirs? Do you really need them? Ask yourself how many of your old souvenirs are currently gathering dust in the back of a closet. Remember the old saying: "Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints." This applies to visiting cities, too! And remember that souvenirs that come from animals (including wildlife souvenirs) often are a product of cruelty.
• Pack any food that you'll bring along in reusable containers. Try to use what you already have on hand instead of buying new containers, but if you don't have enough, make sure to buy some metal ones, as opposed to plastic. If you don't think you have enough packing space, use some reusable sandwich bags (http://www.snacktaxi.com/).
• Treat the city or country that you are visiting as you would (or should!) treat your hometown. In other words: recycle, don't litter, don't trod on people's flowers, etc. Simple enough!
• Investigate ahead of time what sort of volunteer work you could do while on holiday. You may get some ideas from http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/eco-travel-volunteer-vacations-50022309. If there are no volunteer opportunities being offered, take matters into your own hands and organize a litter cleanup with your fellow travellers, plant a tree, give some of the locals organic vegetable seeds (especially in impoverished countries), and drop environmental organization flyers into mailboxes. Come up with your own ideas-- volunteerism can make you feel surprisingly inspired!

In summary: Green travel is possible, easy, and fun! So go for it. And come back next week for new tips!