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What can you do?
The first one is easy. If you only use your DVD once a week, un-plug it. If you don’t want to have to manage this yourself all over the house, and easier answwer is to get a Smart Power Strip. These turn off the power to the device when it senses you’re not using it.
Want to see how much power your devides are using when you’re not looking? Get a Watt Meter, you may be surprised at how much you could save by turning some things off.

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Organic food has the following benefits:

• Grown or raised by a producer whose methods are in balance with nature, and do not harm or destroy the environment.
• The farmer is committed to the environment and the quality of his produce and fostering healthy soil and growing conditions.
• Land on which organic food is grown has been free of toxic and chemical pesticides and fertilizers for three years prior to certification.
• Sustainable farming practices arte in use, like crop rotation to allow fields to recover from year to year, and cover crops are planted to add nutrients to the soil and hold back weeds.
• Organic meat, poultry and egg products come from farms that do not administer antibiotics or hormones, use organic feed, and give animals access to the outdoors.
• Processed food has been minimally processed, with no artificial ingredients, preservatives, radiation or genetically modified organisms.

So, how do you know?
Ask. Ask the farmer at the farmer’s market, the local grocer or the butcher if their food is organic. Read the labels, especially on packaged foods.
Only USDA certified-organic foods are allowed to use the word “organic” in the product name.
BUT, organic ingredients can be listed on the packaging of products that are not organic (for instance, “contains organic barley”).
In addition, if a company is certified as an organic producer, it can use the word “organic” in its company name, even on products the company makes that are not organic.

Regulation
Since 2002 Organics have been regulated by the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Program.
The National Organic Standards Board defines organic agriculture as “an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.”

All that said, the regulations are getting stretched now that big business is getting interested in providing organics to the customers. The Organic Consumers Association tells us about these “sneak attacks” to try to bring more conventional ingredients into organic products.

Oh, and speaking of regulation, you may find farmers at the local market who bristle at the idea that their produce is not worthy of notice because it’s not organic. The fact is tht getting certified can be prohibitively expensive for a small farmer, and some have simply opted out. They grow their produce as if it were certified though, and they will happily share with you how their produce is raised. Some farmers use the natrual certification instead for this reason.

A recent article in the Loudount Times noted “To be certified organic, a farmer must go through a rigorous certification process by the United States Department of Agriculture, typically a three-year initial process with certified agents and inspectors studying the land, extensive documentation and daily record-keeping. In 2002, the USDA established the program to federally regulate farming with no chemical substances.”

To buy organic or not is still a good question. Automatically buying something because it says organic on the label is probably not the best answer. You still have to think about your purchases and know where they come from and what’s in them. Take the time to educate yourself about local products and make your choices based on what is healthy for you.

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They’ve reduced their chemical usage and carefully select the ones the do use and they are increasing their organic consumption. They’re also making sure their suppliers are stepping up by conduction environmental audits for tanneries that supply them. They are also creating strategic partnerships with organizations that share their values to expand their impact on the industry and the world.

Find out more about Timberland’s dedication to corporate social responsibility, and next time you go out to but hiking boots, ask how the company you’re buying from makes the world a better place.

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1. Don’t buy water in plastic bottles. Fill your own from a filter instead.
2. Buy items in bulk or from loose bins when possible to reduce the packaging wasted.
3. Avoid products with several layers of packaging when only one is sufficient. About 33 of what we throw away is packaging.
4. Buy products that you can reuse.
5. Maintain and repair durable products instead of buying new ones.
6. Check reports for products that are easily repaired and have low breakdown rates.
7. Reuse items like bags and containers when possible.
8. Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.
9. Use reusable plates and utensils instead of disposable ones.
10. Use reusable containers to store food instead of aluminum foil and cling wrap.
11. Shop with a canvas bag instead of using paper and plastic bags. If you have plastic bags re-sue them as long as you can.
12. Buy rechargeable batteries for devices used frequently.
13. Reuse packaging cartons and shipping materials. Old newspapers make great packaging material.
14. When you buy packing “noodles” buy the kind made from corn products. They are totally recyclable as animal feed or compost.
15. Compost your vegetable scraps.
16. Buy used furniture – there’s lots and it’s cheaper too!

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This seems like a pretty good alternative to the usual compost bin. The compost is heated so it degrades faster and the bin turns itself so there is no handling necessary. when the compost is ready it drops into a receptacle in the bottom, ready to add to your garden.

The best part for me is that you can keep it right in the kitchen, where it’s easy to toss in the trimmings and dinner leftovers as they occur instead of trudging out to the compost bin and mixing it in.

Take a look at Nature Mill.

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Check out their store online of products from a wide range of purveyors, ranging from Fair Trade sporting goods to cleaning products that won’t trash your home’s internal environment.

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Statistics vary, but the common figures are these:

• It takes approximately 430,000 gallons of oil to make 100 million non-degradeable bags.
• 4-5 trillion bags are used worldwide per year.
• According to the US Environmental protection agency, less than 1% of these bags get re-cycled per year.
• Plastic bags are estimated to take about 1000 years to decompose.

What about paper?

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