Green Options

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Excerpted with permission from Raising Baby Green: The Earth-Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care by Jossey-Bass, A John Wiley & Sons Imprint.

For such a little person, a baby sure goes through a lot of laundry: diapers, bibs, sleepers, undershirts, blankets, sheets, socks, pants . . . and of course all the items the baby spits up on that also need to be cleaned—often. That’s why having a baby in the house turns the mundane washer and dryer into wonder machines of incredible convenience. This increase in laundry loads is also a good reason for you to focus your green efforts on the laundry room.

The Green Washing Machine

If you’re buying a new washer, remember to look for Energy Star models. Traditional top-loading washing machines use about forty gallons of water per load, whereas Energy Star washers use only about 25 gallons per load. That’s a 40 percent savings in water, which translates into an energy cost savings of almost 50 percent.10Make that new machine a front-loader. Front-loading machines work on a horizontal axis that saves both water and energy. A top-loading machine must be filled with water in order to keep the clothing wet and then an agitator swirls the water around, but a front-loading machine uses less water because the tub does not need to be filled completely; the tub itself rotates, making the clothes tumble in the water.

If the five easy steps in this video are not enough for you, then take a look at this list from Seoul’s 2008 Earth Day organizers of ten more ways to go green, Korean style.

Q: Some of my friends don’t seem to care as much about the environment as I do. How can get them to care?

A: I say stuff their tailpipes with potatoes and look menacingly at them. No, I’m only kidding. Your friends are probably really great people, and there are lots of great ways to encourage them to do well by the environment. It can even be fun.

Let’s imagine your neighbor and friend, Joe, has

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In grocery stores all over the world, you'll find all types of people bringing their own reusable bags. Canvas bags printed with company names are the most common, but are there other options? Started in Australia by husband-and-wife team Belinda and Mark David-Tooze, Envirosax offer lightweight, compact, durable totes with unique, expressive designs. "Envirosax believes in environmental sustainability. Plastic bags clog drains and cause flooding. They pollute rivers and streams, killing

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