I love magazines. In fact, JB and I often go to the local Barnes and Noble just to spend some quality time browsing the newsstand. I mean, where else would I have been able to find Reminisce Magazine?But before magazines become Car and Driver or Vogue, they are trees. And so we’ve been looking for ways to get a magazine fix without physical magazines. One solution might be Zinio.com, which is building a digital newsstand. They scan whole magazines and put them online, ads and all. (for a fee)I’ve tried it, and it works surprisingly well. Because they scan the whole magazine, its a much more authentic experience than visiting the magazine websites. The scans are extremely high quality, and they have links from the table of contents, so you can jump around. They even have a iPhone version!If you want to check it out, I posted a free link to a free issue of Dwell.
I don’t know about you, but when recycling trash, I usually throw my paper, glass, plastics, etc. into the corner of the room - and when that pile gets too big to ignore, I’ll take everything to the dumpster, sort and recycle. It’s a pretty inefficient system, not to mention ugly. Imagine stacks and stacks of paper, or a box full of empty cans.
It’s not that I want to be so unorganized, but I’m just too lazy to get anything to help me with my organizational needs. However, I came across these bags online, which I’m thinking of purchasing. I like the fact that they allow you to sort easily, have handles for easy transport, and most importantly, are machine washable! The price isn’t bad either… only $15.
How do you sort your recyclables?
I’m planning a wedding. Actually, I’ve been thinking about planning a wedding. The thought of wedding planning - to me - is so completely overwhelming that I’ve procrastinated for a good 2 months now.
As any of you who have been involved in wedding planning know, there’s a never-ending list of things to consider, like the food, flowers, and venue. With all of these items, I’m trying to think of ways to incorporate some green elements while making it a very personal and lovely affair.
Here are some things I’m considering… in no particular order.
- Have the wedding and reception in the same venue to cut down on transportation
- Organize a carpool for guests
- Serve organic, locally grown food
- Use locally grown flowers for the bouquet
- Use potted plants & flowers for the centerpieces
- Refrain from using disposable items (e.g., paper napkins)
- Use a minimal amount of paper for invitations (e.g., no bulky inserts) - and use recycled paper
- Note to self: investigate inks as some can be toxic
- Rent a wedding gown (some of you women may shudder at this, but I personally have no desire to keep a dress post-wedding, nor do I wish to spend much $$$ on a dress)
There’s probably a lot more I can do, but this is a start. If you have any suggestions, let me know!
Seemingly inspired by my post, NY Times has an article today about how the FTC is asking about carbon offsets, and whether marketing claims about them are true. The article states that $54MM was spent last year on carbon offsets, including some offered by companies to bolster their green image. Many of the offsets that are sold are actually pretty lame, based on some of the criteria I noted in the aforementioned post. For instance, some of them count carbon offset by planting trees. Tree-based carbon offsets are dubious because:
- It’s unclear whether planting trees is actually beneficial in slowing global warming, or sequestering carbon and…
- Trees grow slowly, so even if it were effective, the carbon you think you offset won’t be offset for 50 years. So that will be good when we’re all underwater.
Also, there were lots of offsets based on RECS, and projects where additionality is questionable. Definitely worth a read, but also really illustrates why offsets can’t be the only answer - because alot of times they don’t do anything but excuse bad behavior.
I love magazines. In fact, JB and I often go to the local Barnes and Noble just to spend some quality time browsing the newsstand. I mean, where else would I have been able to find Reminisce Magazine?But before magazines become Car and Driver or Vogue, they are trees. And so we’ve been looking for ways to get a magazine fix without physical magazines. One solution might be Zinio.com, which is building a digital newsstand. They scan whole magazines and put them online, ads and all. (for a fee)I’ve tried it, and it works surprisingly well. Because they scan the whole magazine, its a much more authentic experience than visiting the magazine websites. The scans are extremely high quality, and they have links from the table of contents, so you can jump around. They even have a iPhone version!If you want to check it out, I posted a free link to a free issue of Dwell.
