Green Options

Editor's note: We're sorry to announce that today's Tip o' the Day will be the last from Rebecca. As one of our founding writers, Rebecca's work for GO has been integral to building the blog. We wish her well as focuses her attention on Ecorazzi and Greener Miami. We'll miss you, Rebecca!Do you work in an office park? Sit in a cubicle all day long? These "parks" are often filled [...]

Hungry? It's said that women "eat" or ingest 6 pounds of lipstick over their lifetime. If that's the case, then we want to make sure that we are eating the best lipstick possible!By checking out Skin Deep, the cosmetics database, it's obvious that there are a lot of lipsticks out there that are full of very questionable ingredients. Revlon's Moon Drops & Super Lustrous lines are among the worst offenders. But [...]

Farmer, farmer, put away your DDT. I don't care about spots on my apples, just leave me the birds and the bees, please. Sometimes we listen to the songs, and we can even sing along with them, but we don't actually hear the words. "Big Yellow Taxi" just might be one of those songs. It's worth your time to learn the words (and if you have children, teach them).Though many of us in the [...]

Today's tip is pulled from an amazing organization across the pond called We Are What We Do. In the land of the tea-drinkers, kettles are electric, and they say: "Only fill your kettle with the water you need. If everybody did we could save enough electricity to run all the street lighting in the whole country."It's true. And it relates to more than just tea! Boiling water for pasta or potatoes? Why fill [...]

Sometimes the best way to cut down on your consumption is just to use less stuff. Green Options writer Maria Surma Manka gave me a tip suggestion recently that will help you do just that: "Wash your hair every other day. I started doing this about 1 1/2 years ago and besides spending less time in the shower using up water, I buy shampoo and conditioner much less (half as much, actually). [...]

Since we announced free wind credits for tip suggestions last week, the tips have been rolling in. Today we'd like to focus on a tip suggested by John of Santa Barbara:

Green Options is pleased to announce an extra incentive for suggesting a Tip o' the Day to Amy & Rebecca. If you suggest a tip that is later published, you'll receive two $5 Wind Power Cards from Renewable Choice Energy. That means you not only get to pass on the good word to our readers, but you can also offset your carbon emissions for one month, plus that of a friend or family [...]

So many times once our concern about the environment is peaked, we become aware of so much more - our connection with the earth as well as what we put into our bodies. So how do we know "what's in" the stuff that we wash, slather, and spray our bodies with everyday? Cosmetics are not regulated by the FDA, so how do we know what's really in these things?

You don't have to start a blog to let your voice be heard! Use an existing form of media, like your local newspaper or favorite magazine and write a letter to the editor! Respond to an article that was recently written, or comment on something going on locally.

Faxes - you would think that they are outdated, but we still use a ton of them. Instead of sending something electronically from one person to another via email, we print it, fax it, and then it comes out as another piece of paper on the other end. One document, twice the paper, instead of no paper at all.