30 Easy Green Tips

Usually, you'll see just one green tip daily on our Twitter profile, but thirty? Yup, thirty awesome tips on going green, from water conservation to how you can cut back on your junk mail, found right here.

Fair Trade, Organic Chocolate for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day wouldn't be Valentine's Day without a heaping helping of chocolate. The problem is, that $3 box of chocolates doesn't taste so good...and it may not be so good for you. The farming practices used to cultivate and grow the cacao beans may also be a little unscrupulous.

The Daily Green has suggested 12 Decadent, Organic and Fair Trade Chocolates for this Valentine's Day. You might be thinking that it's not worth it to spend a little more on these chocolates, but think again! Many full-priced "luxury" chocolate companies like Godiva, Lindt's and Ghirardelli are offering non-organic, non fair trade chocolates at the same price or more than some of fair trade organic chocolates.

So what is the taste difference? In some cases, the chocolate will taste the same. In some instances, the chocolate tastes fresher, more flavorful, and robust. Most fair trade organic chocolate companies are smaller, and pay more attention to the small batches of chocolate that they produce. You, the buyer, the farmers, and the seller can feel good about buying these more earth friendly alternatives that are more ecologically responsible.

What makes fair trade organic chocolate more ecologically responsible? The lack of pesticide use, which encourages plant and wildlife growth, the fair trade practice, which helps the farmers out by giving them a fair wage, and the encouragement the farmers are given to utilize more responsible farming techniques.

So this Valentine's Day, consider the options before you buy your chocolate! There are plenty out there. Some may be available by mail only, so you may want to shop early to get in time.

Biodegradable Trash Bags

Normal plastic trash bags are huge sources of landfill waste. They add contain hazardous chemicals, and they never truly break down into the environment. Since they do not decompose, they are very prone to blowing around in the wind, landing in forests, waterways, and oceans. These trash bags are sometimes ingested by wildlife, causing them serious harm or death, suffocated them from the inside and on the outside.

What's the Solution?

The solution is to use biodegradable trash bags. These bags will break down into the environment instead of taking thousands of years. These bags also use less energy to produce, so from inception, these bags will be a bit greener. Chartreuse's biodegradable trash bags in particular, break down into natural organic compounds safely into the environment and are specifically engineered to safely decompose in landfill environments. It's important to make the switch to biodegradable for wildlife, the planet, the drinking water supply, and ourselves. You can order your biodegradable trash bags here. Use the shop for now link on the right side of that page.

Backyard Birds Contest -- Win a Free Reusable Tote Bag!

Backyard Bird Count Contest
Birdwatching is ordinarily just a fun, purposeless activity, but during the Backyard Bird Count, it has great importance! Taking a bird tally in your backyard can give more information about birds--whether they are in decline, needs to be conserved, has changed migration route, or if the bird population has increased. Take part with your children, or have fun with someone you know by taking part in the Great Backyard Bird Count!

We are also holding a contest until February 28 to win a free reusable tote bag. Visit this link:
http://www.squidoo.com/backyard-bird-count-contest

...to enter the contest and submit birds that you've seen in your backyard. Spread the word! Email this to friends and get more people to participate and help out the birds!

Please Stop Recycling!

Stop the recycling! What??

Recycling is much better than throwing things away for our environment, but reusing is even better?

Why?

Reusing your household items can:

• Save energy. Recycling actually does use some energy to transport the items to their recycling destination, and to convert the items back into something usable.


• Save money. If you are reusing an item, you won't be wasting the money on recycling. To recycle an item does cost some money!


• Make you more organized. Glass jars and containers can help organize your home, your cellar, garage, barn or bedroom.

Need more ideas on what you can reuse?
Visit our lens that features 50 ways to reuse things in your life!

Have a Green Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day always sneaks up on you...it's that period of time after Christmas where no one wants to buy anything else but they feel like they should...and maybe they shouldn't! The day is supposed to be more about spending time with your significant other and your family and showing them that you appreciate them. You can be different and have a lot more fun without the stress of having to worry about expensive Valentine's Day gifts by being greener this year on the big V-Day. Find more tips on having a green valentine's day here...from ecards to organic chocolates, there's a bunch of ways to show them you care without being wasteful, thoughtless and predictable. Try these out!

29 Tips to Go Green in the New Year

Lensmaster Megal has featured 29 tips to go green, a great resource for your New Year's green resolutions. There's tips on minimizing your waste, using less electricity, and save you more money. One of the more interesting tips (there's a bunch) is this:

"Use Matches instead of lighters. Lighters are usually considered disposable so they will most likely end up in land fills."

Think of the waste from the creation of disposable lighters to the plastic that they're made with, as well as the metal parts that will never biodegrade. Matchbooks are made of cardboard, so most of them will over time biodegrade.