You will save the Earth by sharing and/or tweeting (corny right?)
Whether you are a college or high school student, someone who's been out of school for a little while or you consider yourself a baby bomber, everyone needs a fresh start at the beginning of a new year. With 2015 in full motion, put your resolutions list to what I like to call the “Green Test”. Unlike some tests we’ve taken in our lives, this one is pretty easy to pass. The only prerequisite is, make sure these tasks are beneficiary to not only you but your environment. Here, you’ll find simple and quirky projects you can start to reduce your ecological footprint and get an A+. Some are even perfect for fun family activities.
That one week is upon us again as we finally remember that it is Valentines day. The scramble is not only to get a gift for your significant other but to also purchase something thoughtful which can sometimes become a hassle. But it doesn’t have to be. This gift or idea will not only be thoughtful but will also help you score extra points for showing your eco conscious side.
Valentine’s Day evokes a combination of opinions, emotions and conflict normally saved for religion, politics and banking. While there are those that spend weeks planning a perfect day for their loved one, there are just as many, if not more that huddle up as couples hiding from the balloons, cupids and PDA gone rampant; of course there is also the group that is ostracized for being single on a day of coupling.
When you look around and see the state of the world nowadays, when you pay attention to how you wake up and realize everything seems like routine, when you take a look at the paper and everything seems like bad news, that’s when you need to press your “green button.” What is that green button I’m referring to? Your green button is your space, your twenty seconds of peace where you close your eyes and visualize your lungs as these massive tall green trees, surrounded by forest; you are floating above all these trees, you feel their breeze, their humidity, you hear their sound, branches moving, birds chirping, nature. That’s your safe place where you can go relax when needed; but what is about trees that make us feel at peace?
What says Happy Valentine’s Day better than a bouquet of Roses? You know, those sweet smelling flowers, grown in factory farms, doused in pesticides, genetically modified, dyed for colour, and shipped halfway across the world? Maybe not the best picture of love, but if your Valentine really wants some nice flowers, make sure you know what you are getting.
70 to 80% of flowers sold in the United States are imported from Latin America (mostly from Colombia and Ecuador). These flowers can take up to 2 weeks from the time they are cut to the time they reach your florist. The flowers are covered in pesticides and preservatives to ensure they reach their destination looking good. Recently, there has been growing demand for fair trade and local flowers.
With Valentines’ right around the corner, what to buy is on the minds of many. The pressure of buying cards, gifts, chocolate, and all the extras can often distract us from the environmental impact of this holiday. It is estimated by the National Retail Federation that in the U.S. alone, $15.7 billion was spent on Valentine’s Day in 2011. Now that’s a lot of money, but the environmental consequences of this are also quite significant.
2014 ended too soon. Many of us would have a hard time letting go of that year, while others are certainly eager and ready for 2015! I’m pretty sure that you all have already set your main new year’s resolutions and I am assuming that they would be the line with “I will start saving up this year,” “I will eat healthy,” or “I will pray more.” As you can notice, these are personal resolutions. Honestly speaking, I have already set my personal goals already but after a month, I added more. I kissed goodbye to many and bid hello to some more!
This year, I considered adding environmental resolutions to continue my 2015!
Sometimes trying to come up with ideas for Valentine’s Day can be a difficult, but if you are trying to come up something sustainable as well it can be even more so. We have put together a short list of ideas that may come in handy this Valentine’s Day for those of us looking to keep it green:
It is known that New Year´s resolutions are common and also ancient customs. Civilizations, like the Babylonian, and the Roman, for example made promises to their gods at the start of each year. Unfortunately we don’t have details of people’s promises to their gods going back to the middle ages. However, according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute of the Scranton University, Pennsylvania, USi, when it comes to our civilization the Top 10 Resolutions for 2014 were about individual accomplishments such as to lose weight, to stay fit and healthy, to spend less and or to save more.
Green weddings? Really? Aren't there bigger issues to think about? Maybe, but did you know that there are over two million weddings a year in the United States alone. According to the GreenBrideGuide.com, each one of those weddings includes an average of 150 guests and produces an average of 62 tons of carbon dioxide and 400 to 600 pounds of garbage. That's over 120 million tons of carbon dioxide and over one billion pounds of garbage each and every year in the U.S. alone. I'd say that's a pretty big issue!
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