I love my new reusable bag by Flip & Tumble. It’s attractive, roomy, has a shoulder pad on the strap and rolls up into a small, lightweight ball that fits easily in my purse. I showed it to my cat Boo. He didn’t think much of it as a ball. I shook it open. That [...]
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Holiday Guide to Reuse & Recycling
After the holidays, we’re often left with the problem of what to do with all the waste — from the platters of uneaten food to the Christmas tree to the old things that the shiny new gifts replaced. The answer: reuse or recycle them. See my new “Holiday Guide to Reuse & Recycling” for practical, [...]
Green Giving for the Holidays
I still remember virtually every gift I received in childhood, not because the gifts were so special, but because they were so few. Though I was a comfortable child of the post-war boom, the times were thrifty compared to today. I never had more than a few dolls, games, crayons, records, books, a bike and [...]
Keep Drugs out of Drinking Water
Disposing of old, expired and/or unneeded medications is tricky. You don’t want kids, teens or pets to get a hold of them (or drug abusers for that matter), so you might think the old recommendation to flush them down the toilet is good advice. But this practice solves one problem only to create another. With [...]
Green Living in Summer
Summer, in a temperate climate, lends itself to a more natural, less energy-intensive way of living, as I explain in my July column for NRDC, Summertime and Green Living is Easy. (In hotter regions, make that “spring and fall.”) The key is working with the weather, not fighting it. Don’t insist on the same habits [...]
Raising Environmentally Aware Kids
My father, Jack Eisenberg, circa 1971, in a land reservation near our home How do you raise environmentally aware kids? In seeking the answer, I look back to my own upbringing in the 1960s shortly before the first Earth Day. Like our neighbors, my family had recently begun using paper napkins instead of cloth and [...]
Why Compost
The virtues are obvious if you’re a gardener. What if you’re a person eager to live more sustainably with only so much time to give to the cause? You can’t do better. Composting not only reduces the waste you send to the landfill, but converts it into a useful product without requiring additional resources. Meanwhile, [...]
Composting: Good for Garden & Climate
Composting your lawn and food waste yields triple benefits. (1)It provides fertilizer to help your garden grow. (2)It reduces the waste you send to the landfill. (3)And it sends carbon present in the waste back to the soil where it belongs, rather than allowing it to go up into the atmosphere where it would contribute [...]
Is Environmentalism a Religion?
If you come across something with this question in the title, it’s probably put out by anti-environmentalists and the answer is yes. Either yes, environmentalism is a false religion threatening the “true” religion, whatever that may be, or yes, it is “just” a religion, unfounded in science or fact. The last assertion — that environmentalism [...]
Green Gifts and Entertaining for Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s
Interested in having a high-spirited, low-impact holiday celebration, but stymied by the culture around you — maybe even within your own family? You can make it happen! Just do the usual things — from gift-giving to feasting — sustainably. For instance, buy durable gifts that will last, avoid overly packaged products, use real plates and [...]
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This Green Blog is the companion blog to NRDC's This Green Life, a green living column written by Sheryl Eisenberg for the Natural Resources Defense Council. (Subscribe to get it for FREE each month.) Sheryl has also written Greentips for the Union of Concerned Scientists and designs websites for environmental groups and others with her firm, Mixit Productions.
Holiday gifts that save the environment
I go to NRDC Green Gifts when I need presents for friends who care about the planet and don't need more stuff. These gifts are very meaningful for the right kind of person—and do real good in the world. My fave: Revive a Rainforest. For just $15, NRDC plants a tree in the Costa Rican rainforest for your friend or family member.
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