TheGoGreenBlog.com

Be eco-friendly by renting instead of buying things brand new. You can save money and go green at the same time.

Top 5 Things to Rent Versus Buying New:
1- Use Pay-Per-View or rent movies instead of buying a new DVD
2- Borrow books from the library or a friend instead of buying them new
3- Rent party supplies such as tents, tables & chairs instead of buying new
4- Use a green car sharing service instead of buying a new car
5- Rent your tux for that special night instead of buying a new one

If you’re a cat owner, I’m sure you think clumping kitty litters are great because they are so convenient & easy to use. Well, what you may not realize is that two ingredients found in most clumping litters have been implicated in many diseases and even the deaths of animals & humans.

Sodium bentonite is added as a clumping agent to traditional cat litters to create the “scoopable” clay litters. Sodium bentonite acts like an expandable cement and can swell up to fifteen to eighteen times it’s dry size. Cats often lick themselves after using the litter box, ingesting pieces of the litter. The litter then expands inside of them, causing your kitty great pain. Also, the dust from such litters can coat our cats’ lungs, leading to respiratory problems. The other major ingredient used is Quartz silica, which is known to cause cancer for both humans and pets when inhaled.

I recommend switching your kitty litter to one that is more eco-friendly and better for your pet. There are many products available using renewable and biodegradable ingredients, some include compacted pine shavings, cedar, newspaper, or corn cobs, all of which contain no toxic chemicals for felines or humans.

TreeHuggerTV and nutrition expert Marion Nestle take us grocery shopping where they teach us the pros & cons of selecting organic fruit and vegetables in the supermarket.

Do you buy your food or cleaning supplies, or pet food in bulk? If so, thumbs up to you! If not, you should consider doing so, because buying in bulk is one of the easiest ways to go green & save money at the same time.

When you buy in bulk the manufacturers use less packaging materials and in turn you produce less waste. Plus, because you buy more product at once you then make less trips to the store in the future which can save you time, money and fuel.

So, why wouldn’t you buy bulk? It’s easy!

Want to go green, but don’t know where to start? Well, every little bit helps so here are the top 10 easy ways to go green ASAP.

10 Ways to Go Green Now!
1- Unplug appliances & battery chargers while not in use
2- Use compact fluorescent light bulbs
3- Ride a bike or take public transportation, if you must drive think about using a car sharing program
4- Use reusable shopping bags at the grocery store
5- Compost your kitchen scraps
6- Conserve water by turning it off while brushing teeth
7- Use natural cleaning products
8- Stop using disposable stuff like diapers, napkins, plates, cups, razors, etc.
9- Recycle things like glass, plastics, newspapers, etc.
10- Eat organic, local or fair trade foods

So you’re working late in the computer lab or office, just finished & printed your document, now it’s time to staple it & turn it in…but you ran out of staples! Now what do you do?

How about trying this new innovative and very cool Staple Free Stapler. Wondering how it works…well, it cuts out tiny strips of paper and uses the strips to stitch up to 5 pieces of paper together.

Staples are now a thing of the past, as you will never run out of them, fight with them, or get poked in the finger again! This stapler is not only impressive, but extremely eco-friendly and totally safe for kids. It is also available in 6 colors and can even be customized.

It’s Friday afternoon of a 3 day weekend and you’re planning a road trip. The only question is…What time do you hit the road?

If you leave right after work, it will be rush hour and you’re bound to face some traffic. The stop and go driving will reduce your fuel efficiency, and make a three hour trip seem like three days. Instead, think about leaving just a few hours later. The traffic will have die down, which will give you smooth sailing to your weekend destination with better fuel efficiency.

An aquarium in Japan has come up with a novel way of generating free electricity to light up a Christmas tree. An electric eel!

Two aluminum panels inside the eel’s tank work as electrodes to catch its power. Cables attached to the panels supply the lights on the nearby tree with electricity. The eel is able to generate up to 800 watts of energy every time it moves. Way cool!

Having trouble trying to find that special someone the best Christmas gift ever? How about going green. Here are the top 10 eco-friendly gifts to give this holiday season and lessen your carbon footprint on the environment.

1- Donation to a charity or an organization
2- Tickets to a concert, sports event, or a play at the theater
3- Fair Trade products like chocolates, coffee, or fruit
4- Organic products made from hemp, bamboo, or soy - candles, clothing, soaps, etc.
5- Gift certificate to an eco-friendly spa
6- Membership fee to a museum or an organization
7- Live plant or tree
8- Solar powered gadget
9- Homemade goods - pies, cookies, etc.
10- Reusable shopping bag (can also be used as the wrapping for another gift)

There is this new non-profit company committed to economical and environmentally sound transportation choices in Chicago. Their name is I-Go, and they are committed to reduce car ownership rates, lower family transportation costs, reduce urban congestion and improve air quality in all neighborhoods. How does I-Go do it…well, with car sharing. Car sharing reduces the individual and the societal costs of driving, making it an eco-friendly choice for transportation.

They made the whole process really simple, and very green by providing members with access to energy efficient vehicles on an hourly basis, that are reserved online or over the phone beforehand. I-Go’s has all types of vehicles which are located all over the Chicagoland area and are often within a five-minute walk of members homes or work…very convenient.

Not only is I-Go convenient, but they are also very affordable. No more car payments, insurance payments, maintenance, etc. using I-Go can save Chicago residents up to $3,000 per year. There is a one-time membership fee of $75, but after that you pay by the hour, and the hourly rate includes gas, plus insurance.

To use I-Go is a simple 6 step process:
1- Join
Becoming a member takes 5-7 business days.
2- Reserve the car
Reserve a car via the web or over the phone.
3- Pick up the car
Parked in easy, safe and accessible 24-hr reserved parking spots. No paperwork & no lines.
4- Drive the car
You use a Smartcard to unlock the door & the keys are located in the glove compartment. You use your keys to lock the car during your trip.
5- Return the car
Return the car to the reserved parking spot. Keys go back into the glove compartment and you lock the door with your Smartcard.
6- Billing
Onboard computers tally the number of hours and miles that you drive on each trip.