Green Options

As a small business owner, I am aware of the difficulty in making an existing business sustainable. Whether it is the lack of access to greener products, or just the lack of knowledge, there are many obstacles to overcome when trying to green a company. An interesting thing that I found when greening my own business was that the difficulties I was facing were also being faced by other small businesses in my area.

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This week, I began the Living Green Workshop, a six-week class developed and taught by a non-profit based in Santa Monica, CA called Sustainable Works. Though I write for Green Options and am active in the green community here, I figured I would still learn something. Boy howdy, did I!

The first class: water. An astounding 70% of Southern California’s water is transported in from other areas, mostly Northern California. Even more

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Brick may not be the first thing that springs to mind when we talk about green building. But there are qualities that bricks posess that make them worth considering as a green building material.

For starters, let’s take a look at the materials that go into brick: clay and water. That’s it. No complex chemicals, no exotic compounds, no imported components. At the end of its life, a brick is effectively

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"Be a force of nature" is the motto of Xeko, a trading card game created by the Matter Group in collaboration with Conservation International. This eco-game asks children (and adults) to take on the critical mission of creating the strongest ecosystems in the threatened hotspots of our planet. By playing Xeko, children learn about the complexities of ecosystems while trying to save them.

Xeko doesn’t just talk the eco-talk, though:

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How far away do you live from the nearest grocery store? More than likely, you pass one on the way to school, two on the way to work and maybe even three on the way to the gym. If this scenario is something you can relate to even slightly, you do not live in a food desert.

According to The Low Income Project Team, food deserts are "areas of relative exclusion

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Over my short but ultimately enjoyable tenure here at Green Options (a tenure which I hope to hold on to for a long time to come…), I have had the opportunity to write often on the recent scientific observations taken from the Arctic: that the Arctic ice sheet suffered its largest drop in recorded history. In fact, if you haven’t heard of it here at GO already, you no doubt will have heard

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Before reading this blog, go to lifegoggles.com and download their free 100 Ways to Save the Planet PDF. I’ll wait while you download it. *Whistles, looking away, twiddling thumbs* No really, you won’t get that same do-good feeling unless you can see some of the things we’re talking about on this list. When we’re all on the same page, let’s start looking at some of these 100 tips for lending a hand to

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Editor’s note: This week, Celsias writer Jessica Gottlieb takes a look at some of the practical aspects of incorporating green practices into a household’s routine. Is it easy? Not always. Is it worth it? Definitely! This post was originally published on September 25, 2007.

Yes? No? Maybe so?

The conversations all start the same.

I’d really like to be green but I don’t see myself with a compost pile at

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In an age of conspicuous consumption, one thing I don’t feel guilty about is buying books. I love books: used, new, antique, paperbacks, hardcovers. You name it, I’ll probably read it, and if I like it, I’ll buy it. I love having a house full of books. And yes, I know: books are made of paper. Paper comes from trees, and I love trees, too. Live ones. So [...]

Many residential recycling programs don’t accept yogurt containers because of the type of plastic they are made of. Many yogurt containers and margarine tubs are made with #5 plastics (polypropylene) or #2 (HDPE - High Density Polyethylene), while many clear soda and water bottles are made from #1 (PET - polyethylene terephthalate) and cloudy bottles, such as milk jugs, are made of #2 plastics. 

Why can’t the makers of yogurt switch plastics? For

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With the explosion of toy recalls lately and information regarding the dangers of plastic toys, families are searching out safe, green toy alternatives. Previously, I wrote about Plan Toys rubber wood toys, which provide children with sustainably harvested toys; however, children need soft, cuddly play items, too. Silk scarves and dress-up clothes provide children with safe, natural toys that expand their imagination.

Preschool teachers and parents often complain

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