With their donors running for the hills, the Heartland Institute, a right wing think tank dedicated to denying the existence of climate change, has announced that this year’s climate denial conference will be its last for the foreseeable future…READ MORE.
Green tips from Olivia Wilde, Daryl Hannah, Amy Smart, and Cedric the Entertainer at the 20th Annual Environmental Media Awards.
5 Easy Ways to Be Green at Work
It’s not always easy to control our surroundings in order to make them more eco-friendly. Luckily, there are little things we can do at work to be more sustainable both as individuals and as an office. We’ve put together a list of 5 easy ways to be green at work to get you started.
1. Keep a set of reusable cutlery and glasses/plates around. We all get hungry at work. Whether we’re biting into a mid-afternoon snack, savoring a piece of cake for a co-worker’s birthday or simply eating lunch, we should all be eating on reusable dishware. Think of how much you could save if every meal you ate at work was consumed using cutlery and dishes that didn’t have to be thrown out afterwards!
2. Bring laptops/tablets into meetings instead of printing out agendas. Weekly and even daily meetings at work are a reality. At your next meeting, rather than printing out the meeting’s agenda, why not email it instead and have people bring laptops or digital tablets into the meeting to avoid paper waste? As a bonus, taking notes on your laptop/tablet will also avoid wasting paper.
3. Keep the thermostat at a temperature that’s more than slightly above freezing. Offices usually keep cooler temperatures. People are more productive if they’re not sweating profusely. But there’s a fine balance between sweating and freezing – and that balance is usually around 72 degrees. Keeping the thermostat at a steady 72 degrees will save on energy use and lower electric bills.
4. Print double sided. Simple as that. Doing so will literally cut paper use in half! And of course, make sure you recycle when you’re done.
5. Pack your lunch in reusable containers. Bringing your lunch from home rather than getting take-out is already a greener option. Up the ante by packing your lunch in reusable glass or plastic containers (rather than throw-away baggies).
What simple things do you do to be green at work?
1Eat sustainable & healthy food. When consuming fish, opt for smaller size, they contain less mercury.
1 Reuse envelopes, wrapping paper, the front of gift cards (as postcards) & other paper materials you receive wherever possible.
2 Stinky shoes? Grab a couple of mismatched socks, put 1/4 to 1/2 cup of baking soda in each and shove into the shoes overnight.
If you can’t find fresh, forage at the freezer section. Frozen produce packs more nutrition than canned ones.
Put a halt to receiving bank statements in the mail - instead switch to online statements and save paper!
