Green Options » Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://greenoptions.com/author/greendoc/ Post archive of Sarah Pressman Lovinger Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:47:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 en http://greenoptions.com/author/greendoc/ http://greenoptions.com/wp-content/avatars/1529.jpg Green Options » Sarah Pressman Lovinger Greening Hospitals: One Doctor’s Efforts http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/10/15/greening-hospitals-one-doctors-efforts/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/10/15/greening-hospitals-one-doctors-efforts/#comments Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:47:32 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/10/15/greening-hospitals-one-doctors-efforts/ Ravi GuptaDr. Ravi Gupta thinks hospitals need to become a lot more environmentally friendly.

Hospitals and outpatient practices use a lot of energy and waste a lot of materials.  Doctors tend to be focused on patient care rather than caring for the environment.  Hopefully, that is starting to change.

Dr. Gupta, a physician practicing hospital medicine in Virginia, had been so bothered by the lack of an environmental policy at the his job that he did something: he developed and a plan to make the hospital system where he works greener and he helped implement it.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/10/15/greening-hospitals-one-doctors-efforts/feed/ Urban Farmer Wins MacArthur Genius Grant http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/24/urban-farmer-wins-macarthur-genius-grant/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/24/urban-farmer-wins-macarthur-genius-grant/#comments Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:17:35 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/24/urban-farmer-wins-macarthur-genius-grant/ Chicago green marketWill Allen, former pro basketball player, founded Growing Power to help low-income people in Milwaukee  and Chicago grow their own food locally.

He will now have an extra $500,000 to help his efforts.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/24/urban-farmer-wins-macarthur-genius-grant/feed/ Hurricane Ike Soaks Chicago http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/17/hurricane-ike-soaks-chicago/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/17/hurricane-ike-soaks-chicago/#comments Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:18:08 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/17/hurricane-ike-soaks-chicago/ floodHurricane Ike battered Texas, causing untold damage for millions of home-owners in Houston and Galveston.  But some people in Chicago had a pretty bad weekend, too.

After raining all day on September 13 and 14, the Windy City became the flooded city.  The far-reaching tendrils of the hurricane dumped 9 inches of rain in less than 24 hours.  Roads and basements became water logged.  The Chicago River overflowed in some parts, leading to the evacuation of about 300 homes.  Flooding in Northwest Indiana led to the closure of Interstate 90.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/17/hurricane-ike-soaks-chicago/feed/ Tell Ten People To Cut Their Emissions http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/12/tell-ten-people-to-cut-their-emissions/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/12/tell-ten-people-to-cut-their-emissions/#comments Fri, 12 Sep 2008 12:24:01 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/12/tell-ten-people-to-cut-their-emissions/ carbfootIf you are an American reading this post, you probably emit 10,000 pounds of carbon ever year into the environment.  Would you like to improve that statistic?  Then join the power of 10.

This grass-roots organization is based on a simple idea: it encourages individuals to reduce carbon emissions by 2,000 pounds each year and then tell 10 people how they can do the same thing.  These 10 people tell ten more, and so on, so the effort expands exponentially.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/12/tell-ten-people-to-cut-their-emissions/feed/ Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple Pie, and Recycling? http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/11/baseball-hotdogs-apple-pie-and-recycling/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/11/baseball-hotdogs-apple-pie-and-recycling/#comments Thu, 11 Sep 2008 02:37:20 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/11/baseball-hotdogs-apple-pie-and-recycling/ sox baseballIt’s a bang-up baseball season here in the Windy City.  With both the Cubs and the Sox in first place (hopefully my writing this won’t jinx my home teams), everyone is talking about baseball almost as much as we are talking about our favorite son (Obama) and attendance at the ballparks is at capacity.  Adding to all the excitement, US Cellular Field, the home of the White Sox is hitting home runs with its recycling effort.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/11/baseball-hotdogs-apple-pie-and-recycling/feed/ The Adirondacks: Rest, Relaxation, and Compostable Toilets http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/08/the-adirondacks-rest-relaxation-and-compostable-toilets/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/08/the-adirondacks-rest-relaxation-and-compostable-toilets/#comments Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:53:36 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/08/the-adirondacks-rest-relaxation-and-compostable-toilets/ compostable toiletAfter leaving  Ontario last month, we drove to Lake Placid, NY, to spend several days enjoying the lakes and mountains of upstate New York.  We looked forward to a little hiking, maybe a few lake swims, but nothing really prepared us for the excitement of totally compostable toilets.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/08/the-adirondacks-rest-relaxation-and-compostable-toilets/feed/ My Day Without Driving: A Reader Challenge http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/05/my-day-without-driving-a-reader-challenge/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/05/my-day-without-driving-a-reader-challenge/#comments Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:16:56 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/05/my-day-without-driving-a-reader-challenge/ carI did not drive at all on Monday.

If you live in New York City, London, Paris, or on Mackinac Island, and you either have access to a great subway system or cars are banned from your small island, going for 24 hours without driving is not a big deal.  But here in Chicagoland, despite a decent public transportation system, driving is a way of life.  So I decided to spend a day without getting into my car or any other car, and see how I would fare.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/05/my-day-without-driving-a-reader-challenge/feed/ Oh, Canada: We Are Green With Envy http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/03/oh-canada-we-are-green-with-envy/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/03/oh-canada-we-are-green-with-envy/#comments Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:10:23 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/03/oh-canada-we-are-green-with-envy/ morning commuteWhy is it so easy to be green in Canada?

I spent the first night of my summer vacation in a bed-and-breakfast in Toronto with my family.  (Yes, I blogged while on vacation.  That’s what happens when free wireless is available everywhere and you have obsessive-compulsive disorder.)  We drove from Chicago in our Toyota Camry.  It’s not exactly a Prius, but while averaging about 30 MPG, we had a smaller carbon footprint than we would if the three of us traveled by plane.  We brought most of our own meals and snacks in reusable containers, printed out travel and maps on previously used paper, and reused our water bottles.  So we thought we were being green.  But a morning walk around Toronto made us feel only light green, at best.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/09/03/oh-canada-we-are-green-with-envy/feed/ Gore’s DNC Speech: Our Oil Dependence MUST CHANGE http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/08/31/gores-dnc-speech-our-oil-dependence-must-change/ http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/08/31/gores-dnc-speech-our-oil-dependence-must-change/#comments Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:55:10 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/08/31/gores-dnc-speech-our-oil-dependence-must-change/ al goreThursday night was Barack Obama’s night, and when he delivered his magnificent capstone speech, he hit one out of the ballpark with the bases loaded.

But former Vice President Al Gore was on fire.

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]]> http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/08/31/gores-dnc-speech-our-oil-dependence-must-change/feed/ We Have a New Mattress–How Do I Recycle The Old Mattress? http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/13/we-have-a-new-mattress-how-do-i-recycle-the-old-mattress/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/13/we-have-a-new-mattress-how-do-i-recycle-the-old-mattress/#comments Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:24:38 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/13/we-have-a-new-mattress-how-do-i-recycle-the-old-mattress/ my new bedMy husband and I are quite pleased with our brand-new king size mattress.  It’s firm, yet comfy, and because we also indulged in some new down pillows, we are sleeping much better these days.  But what should we do with the old mattress?  I know the mattress delivery company removes it, but I am sure that they just send it to a landfill.  I would like to dispose of our old mattress in a more eco-friendly way.

In looking for green suggestions on how to handle the old mattress, I googled ‘mattress recycle’.  Nothing really useful came of my web search, however.  Health department laws prohibit donating the mattress to the Salvation Army or another charitable organization, and I could not find a local mattress recycling company.  I could try a local freecycle group, but the health department restrictions would probably come into play again.  So we have a nice, new mattress, and we just don’t know how to handle the old mattress in an environmentally-responsible way.

I invite you, dear reader, to weigh in on this one:  what’s the best way to dispose of an old mattress?

Photo from my personal collection.

]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/13/we-have-a-new-mattress-how-do-i-recycle-the-old-mattress/feed/ BYOB Stirs Controversy http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/08/byob-stirs-controversy/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/08/byob-stirs-controversy/#comments Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:36:46 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/08/byob-stirs-controversy/ Henry’s Farm, a local organic farm that brings a wide range of produce every week to my local farmer’s market, stirred the pot a bit lately when they asked shoppers to byob, or pay $0.25 for a biodegradable bag to tote their produce home.  BYOB?  It stands for Bring Your Own Bag.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/08/08/byob-stirs-controversy/feed/ Recycling at Outdoor Concerts: Wecycle Has a Better Idea http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/30/recycling-at-outdoor-concerts-wecycle-has-a-better-idea/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/30/recycling-at-outdoor-concerts-wecycle-has-a-better-idea/#comments Wed, 30 Jul 2008 19:26:29 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/30/recycling-at-outdoor-concerts-wecycle-has-a-better-idea/ It’s summer, and you are sitting outside on the Great Lawn of Central Park, listening to a concert in New York City.  You are surrounded by friends, you are enjoying a delicious picnic, and the music is great.  The only way to improve this event would be to devise a smarter way for you and the thousands of other people at the concert to dispose of the plastic cups they are using to drink beer, soda, and water.

Enter Emery Goossens and Evan Eichorn, two New York Univeristy college students. 

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/30/recycling-at-outdoor-concerts-wecycle-has-a-better-idea/feed/ Mini Extreme Recycling: What Are You Doing? http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/28/mini-extreme-recycling-what-are-you-doing/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/28/mini-extreme-recycling-what-are-you-doing/#comments Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:25:47 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/28/mini-extreme-recycling-what-are-you-doing/ I admit, I am not an extreme recycler.  But I am trying to recycle more and encourage others to do the same.  It just takes a little creativity.

A few weeks ago, I helped my 9-year-old daughter host a lemonade stand to raise money for her teen-age baby sitter’s annual service trip to Costa Rica.  We sold lemonade and home-made rice crispy treats.  The recycling angle?  We asked everyone to give us back their plastic cup, and I brought them home, rinsed them out, and added them to my recycling pile.  So Sara (my daughter’s baby sitter) will head off to Costa Rica to help low-income women and children with a slightly smaller carbon footprint.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/28/mini-extreme-recycling-what-are-you-doing/feed/ An SUV Vanishes: OneFewer.com Makes it Happen With Your Input http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/25/an-suv-vanishes/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/25/an-suv-vanishes/#comments Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:00:23 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/25/an-suv-vanishes/ onefewer SUV

If you drive an SUV, the easiest way to cut your carbon footprint drastically is pretty clear: ditch the gas-guzzling monster.  But what do you do with a large car you no longer want?  Tune in to onefewer.com starting today, to find out.

Ryan Mickle spent $60,000 on his Range Rover Sport in 2006.  He loved driving it to work or to go hiking with friends.  But since moving to San Francisco recently, he finds his fossil fuel-emitting sidekick to be more of an albatross than a positive force in his life.  He could sell it, but that would not take the mean machine out of existence, just pass it on to someone else who would then assume Ryan’s carbon footprint.  Pushing it off a cliff seemed a little drastic (and sort of illegal).  Ryan created onefewer.com to spread the word about his SUV, now up for adoption, and ask readers:  what is the most Earth-friendly way for me to part company with this mechanical mistake?

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/25/an-suv-vanishes/feed/ Growing Your Own: Another Victory Garden http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/23/growing-your-own-another-victory-garden/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/23/growing-your-own-another-victory-garden/#comments Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:47:03 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/23/growing-your-own-another-victory-garden/ As I mentioned in a previous post, more and more urban dwellers are growing their own produce.  As fuel prices rise, inflation sets in, and corn becomes scarce, starting and expanding a home garden becomes more than just a fun past-time; it offers an opportunity for food security.  Here’s how Pamela Price of Texas describes her garden:

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/23/growing-your-own-another-victory-garden/feed/ Hidden Victory Garden #1 http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/16/hidden-victory-garden-1/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/16/hidden-victory-garden-1/#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 02:11:18 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/16/hidden-victory-garden-1/ Alley GardenA few months ago, I watched some members of my community prepare a garden in the alley behind their house. As of mid-July, they have created a veritable produce stand as raspberries, Swiss chard, peppers, and cucumbers are flourishing. Dinner, anyone?

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/16/hidden-victory-garden-1/feed/ got water? http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/11/got-water/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/11/got-water/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:01:08 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/11/got-water/ We do. 

In the Great Lakes region that includes the upper Midwest and parts of southern Canada, we have the largest fresh water system on earth.  Did you want to start siphoning off our water and selling it to China?  Not so fast…

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/11/got-water/feed/ Iowa Flood Waters Contaminated http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/02/iowa-flood-waters-contaminated/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/02/iowa-flood-waters-contaminated/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:21:07 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/02/iowa-flood-waters-contaminated/ I am still waiting to hear back from a spokeswoman at the USDA to find out the answer to the question I posed last week: who is in charge of protecting us from crops affected by flood water? In the meantime, I got an alert from the Centers for Disease Control about contaminated water in Iowa.  I can tell you, dear reader, that while you may not want to eat food grown along flooded riverbeds, you most definitely do not want to walk in that water, particularly if you have open sores or cuts on your feet and legs.  Exposing a sore on your skin to contaminated water puts you at risk for a nasty infection.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/02/iowa-flood-waters-contaminated/feed/ Contaminants in Flood Waters Threaten Food Part I: Who is Watching? http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/06/23/contaminants-in-flood-waters-threaten-food-part-i-who-is-watching/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/06/23/contaminants-in-flood-waters-threaten-food-part-i-who-is-watching/#comments Mon, 23 Jun 2008 23:03:34 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/06/23/contaminants-in-flood-waters-threaten-food-part-i-who-is-watching/ Farming near a river bed is a great idea until it floods.  Soil near riverbeds tends to be more fertile, producing more abundant crops.  But when the river beds flood and drench contiguous farm land, the water can drag unwanted contaminants to the farmland, exposing health risks to anyone eating the crops from the flooded land.  What kinds of contaminants?  Anything in the flooded water: machine oil, sewage, garbage, medical waste, manure.

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]]> http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/06/23/contaminants-in-flood-waters-threaten-food-part-i-who-is-watching/feed/ Hot Fun in the City? http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/06/18/hot-fun-in-the-city/ http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/06/18/hot-fun-in-the-city/#comments Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:56:53 +0000 Sarah Pressman Lovinger http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/06/18/hot-fun-in-the-city/ It’s not even summer on the calendar yet, and the temperature has already topped 100 degrees on several occasions in New York City. According to the Centers for Disease Control, global warming leads to more heat emergency days. In addition to the discomfort, increased need for air conditioning that strains the electrical grid in any region (remember the blackout of 2003?) and generalized lassitude that a lot of really hot days strung together brings, why are excess heat emergency days a big deal? For one simple public health reason: more people die.

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