Hello, Friends! Any fun plans for the weekend? I am anxiously waiting for the mister to come home, we are going out for sushi! We have the best local restaurant that specializes in local, sustainable fish – I have been craving it all day.
Tomorrow, Eben has another bowling tournament. The mister said that it will be a guy’s trip – so I can stay home and get caught up on projects that I am working on for Halloween! He is the best!
While, I get ready for date-night with my guys – here are a few green things to take you into the weekend:
NOTE FROM SWEET GREENS: This post wasn’t written by me, thank you for supporting the companies that help keep Sweet Greens in business. —————————————————————
In recent years, concerns over global warming and the sustainability of fossil-fuelled transportation have led to the development of a number of hybrid electrical/petrol and fully-electrical vehicles, such as the hybrid Toyota Prius, the first generation of which was launched in 1997, and the fully-electrical Nissan Leaf, the first zero-emission car from a major manufacturer to reach the mass market. However, despite the recent activity and attention, the birth of the electric car came much earlier â the 1830s, in fact.
INITIAL DEVELOPMENTS
The initial invention of the electric vehicle has been attributed to a number of inventors. Hungarian Ănyos Jedlik was responsible for the invention of an early type of electric motor in the late 1820s, and built a small model car powered by it.
Shortly after, an American inventor, Thomas Davenport, took his design of DC motor, and also powered a small model car around a short electrified track. A pair of Scotsmen, Robert Davidson and Robert Anderson, developed their own basic electric locomotives and carriages between 1832 and 1839, but the main limitation holding development back at this stage was the lack of a viable means of storing electricity on board the vehicle, in the form of rechargeable batteries. These did not emerge until the mid-1850s. A number of other variants followed, but it wasnât until the 1890s that an electric car in the sense that we know it today appeared. This was developed by William Morrison of Iowa, and was a vehicle capable of carrying six passengers.
Following initial interest and development, electric cars began to lose ground to those powered by the newer internal combustion engine. Their low range meant they could not traverse long distances, and the development of improved road infrastructure required cars that could cover these distances. Petrol became more affordable, making internal combustion cars cheaper to operate over a distance, and the lack of public recharging facilities was another of the main limiting factors for the electric vehicle.
REVIVAL OF INTEREST DUE TO GLOBAL WARMING CONCERNS
The Western World went through two oil and energy crises in the 1970s and 1980s, and during these periods, and into the 1990s, scientific bodies began to express concern about the sustainability of transport systems based on the use of fossil-derived fuel, as in petrol (or gasoline). One of the major events that focused public attention on the direction that the motor industry would take was the unveiling in 1990 of General Motorsâ Impact concept car, and their announcement of the intention to design and build electric cars for the general public.
A further energy crisis in the 2000s proved to be a tipping point, however, and this, along with increased public focus on energy saving solutions, brought about a significant jump in the sales of one of the high-profile hybrid vehicles, the Toyota Prius. Toyota had launched the Prius to some markets in 1999, to limited appeal, but the energy crisis, combined with its purchase, use, and sometimes public endorsement by high-profile Hollywood stars, sealed its popularity.
A number of other makers jumped on the bandwagon, with the release of other hybrid vehicles, and more time and money was given over to the development of fully-electrical vehicles.
The global recession of the late 2000s led to public demands that the motor industry scale back its production of large, fuel-inefficient vehicles, which some saw as symbolic or representative of the excesses which led to the recession in the first place, in favor of smaller cars in general, as well as hybrid and fully-electrical cars.
Models to have emerged since then include the Nissan Leaf, which was the first fully-electric zero-emission car to be produced for the general public by a major manufacturer, and the Tesla Roadster, first introduced in 2008. The Roadster was the first âhighway capableâ electric vehicle to use lithium-ion batteries, and also the first production all-electric car to achieve more than 200 miles range from a single charge.
Note from Sweet Greens: The following green baby showers tips was submitted by Andrea Boley. Andrea is a writer and busy mom to twins. She is always happy to share her passion for life and experiences through her work, and in her space time works as a freelance writer for Storkie.
I was recently put in charge of a baby shower for a mom-to-be who lived by the green rule. This shower was going to be a challenge because going-green wasn’t something that I was too concerned with. I had no idea how I could ever implement this theme into the beautiful baby showers that I was familiar with planning. To make a very long story short, I did it! I planned a green baby shower that exceeded even my own expectations. After planning the shower, I had one very happy expecting mother and tips that I can pass on to you if you are planning to go green with a baby shower.
Tip #1: Decor This is a great place to put going green into practice. Instead of buying balloons and streamers for the shower – that will only go to waste, decorate with nature. Bring in plants, water, rocks, and glass. Make centerpieces out of natural surroundings. Soy candles with earth scents such as lavender or pine also make a great addition to green baby showers.
Tip #2: Food Eating organic is a big part of going green. Create a menu from organic foods that the mom-to-be will enjoy. Some ideas includes organic fruit salad, salad with organic vegetables, spring rolls and smoothies. Your menu needs to be fun and healthy but still appeal to all of the guests.
Tip #3: Invitations Invitations are a great way to go green. Buy eco-friendly stock and design your own baby shower invitations. Be sure to include on the invitation that the shower will be a “green” affair and that eco-friendly gifts are encouraged. To go even further, consider sending evites instead of paper invitations.
Tip #4: Favors Let the shower guests leaves feeling inspired to go green! Give them a favor that will serve as a reminder to do well by Mother Earth. Potted plants, flower seeds, and organic cookbooks are all examples of favors that work well.
Tip#5: Gifts For the gifts I gave the mom-to-be, I used this amazing wrapping paper that had flower seeds embedded into it! Not only were the gifts wrapped beautifully, but she was able to actually plant the wrapping paper! Great gift options include eco-friendly + organic toys and layette, organic baby bathing and diapering supplies and lovely eco-friendly goodies for mom.
A green baby shower is not impossible to plan. Use the tips that I have provided to help you plan a beautiful shower for the green mom-to-be in your life. Family and friends will be raving about the beauty of the eco-friendly baby shower. Happy planning!
The school year is now in full swing! If you are like many families, this means that your evenings are jam packed with homework, appointments and after school activities. I am the mother to an only child, and keeping up with his after school schedule can feel like a nightmare, I have no idea how parents of multiple children do it. After all of the errands have been run, all of the appointments completed and the extracurricular activities and homework are finished, that can leave very little time for parents to reconnect with their children — especially if they are older.
Even if you have only a few minutes each night to really reconnect with your child, you can do so in a way that is meaningful to both of you. The best part, all of these ways to reconnect with your child are free, take no-time to prepare for, won’t harm the environment and will keep you connected to your child every day of the school year. Jump over to Inhabitots to learn seven green ways to reconnect with your kids on busy school nights.
Going green starts with small steps – it’s those little choices that can equal a huge impact in the long run. Many small steps are easy, affordable and start with the choices that you make when doing your marketing. Here are my 10 favorite ways to green your home – these are very affordable, in fact they all cost less than $10.
1. Ditch It Paper towels and napkins are used only once and then tossed in the trash. Ditch the paper and choose reusable organic cotton dishcloths and napkins instead. This simple step alone will save countless resources and eliminate the gas emissions created during the manufacturing and transportation of these paper products.
2. Bottle It Instead of buying beverages that come in plastic or even glass containers, pick up a BPA free reusable bottle for each member of your family. Keep the bottles with you at all times, attach your child’s to their backpacks when sending them off to school and throw one in your handbag or car for drinks on the go.
3. Bag It If you, your spouse or children take their lunch to school or work everyday, invest in a great reusable lunchbox or bag. Paper and plastic lunch bags are wasteful, since they are tossed after being used only once!
4. Recharge It The next time you need to pick up batteries for the TV or Wii remote, choose an eco-friendly, rechargeable version. Not only do rechargeable batteries save hundreds of single-use batteries from being tossed, they save you money too. Win, win.
5. Trash It Most trash bags on the market are not biodegradable, which means that it will take thousands of years for the trash bag to break down (not to mention the contents inside). Instead, pick up trash bags that are biodegradable and will break down in only a few months.
6. Compost It Instead of throwing those leftovers or salad scraps into the trash, compost them instead. Regardless of the type of home you live in, you can compost. There are many different composter options available, including ones that you can build out of recycled or leftover materials, rolling composters and even small electronic composters for inside a small home or apartment. (However, the later option is more expensive.)
7. Clean It One of the most dangerous, toxic and harmful items in your home, may be your cleaning products. Not only are these conventional products dangerous to the environment, they are dangerous to the health of your family. There are many all-natural household cleaning products available that are eco-friendly and non-toxic, you can even make your own.
8. Go Low-Flow A low-flow shower-head will use less than 2 gallons of water per minute, that is still a lot of water going down the drain. However, it is much better than the 5 gallons per minute that an older shower-head will use. The best option is to turn off the shower while you soap up or shampoo your hair.
9. Bulk Up When you can buy products from the bulk section, not only is it more affordable, but you can bring your own reusable containers, eliminating the need for product packaging.
10. Hang It Instead of drying all of your clothes in the dryer, hang them up to dry. You can utilize a clothesline outside or hang them up in your laundry room. Not only does this save a lot of energy, your clothing will last longer and smell fresher too.
What simple, affordable choices do you choose when greening your everyday routine?
