What's Green with Betsy

One of my readers asked me about the proper disposal of unused or expired medications. Great question!

Wedding season is upon us and there is nothing quite as special as planning your day. Elegant gowns, elaborate flower arrangements, limos, fancy foods and party favors are fabulous, but expensive and create a lot of waste, clearly impacting your carbon footprint. A green wedding is just as lovely, and perhaps even more unique. What makes a wedding green?

They often carry Lyme disease and should be removed right away

With Earth Day over (though everyday is really Earth Day), it’s on to Arbor Day. The last Friday in April is Arbor Day, a national holiday dating back to 1874 when J. Sterling Morton, a journalist and editor of an important Nebraska paper, founded it. (Arbor Day does vary in some states based on the best tree planting time.) His idea was to set aside a special day for tree planting; it is estimated that more one million trees were planted that first Arbor Day in Nebraska. The tradition began nationwide in 1882 and continues today with individuals and groups celebrating trees and nature.

Before you pour your coffee grounds down the disposal, read this blog and find out what you can do instead with this versatile, nutrient-rich leftover.

Neutralize odors in your refrigerator or freezer with dried grounds.

Repel insects by mounding the grounds into a protective ring around plants that will ward off ants, snails and slugs.

When you clean your fireplace, sprinkle damp grounds on the ashes to cut down on airborne dust.

I’ve just discovered the greatest “green” product that I am eager to share with you! It’s one of those obvious “why didn’t I think of that” products!

I love food – fresh, healthy food! But understanding what’s healthy and safe is getting increasingly difficult. Food poisoning and food contamination are too common. Do you buy organic? Local? All natural? Sustainably grown? Free range? Grass fed? Lowfat? Whoa……….

The local and organic food movement is a good one, ensuring a tastier, more nutritious and safer food supply, while reducing carbon emissions with food grown closer to home. Many people are growing some of their own food, going beyond the typical vegetable and herb garden to edible landscaping.

Reduce, reuse, recycle…. It’s encouraging to see recycling becoming routine. Many people have recycling bins in their homes; recycling containers are in downtowns and parks, airports and shopping malls. (Shockingly though, there are many areas of the country that do not recycle.) But - we also need to reuse and reduce the amount of plastic we use. Below are some ideas on how:

One of my readers contacted me about unclogging her bathroom sink. As a conscientious environmentalist, she was surprised and frustrated when baking soda and vinegar didn’t unclog her drain. She was adamant about not using conventional, off the shelf products with lye and other toxic chemicals and wondered if there were other natural products that work better.