Lawn Composition: Animals, Recycling, and Compost, Oh My!

Ladybugs--who are attracted to sunflowers and marigolds, among other common plants--and ground beetles eat certain kinds of aphids which can be harmful to garden or lawn vegetation. Additionally, hanging bird feeders and nesting boxes can attract birds who can take care of pesky caterpillars and slugs. What this adds up to is a mitigation of the need or want to use harmful pesticides to take care of bug problems that one might encounter. Plus, those who employ the above methods gain the added benefit of a lively atmosphere around their lawn and garden!

Recycling is a good way to reduce one’s contribution to manufacturing processes that put harmful chemicals in the atmosphere. One way to decorate a lawn or garden is to re-use salvaged items, such as glass bottles, wooden pallets, and empty containers. In many instances, recycling itself is a manufactured process because of the need to clean and sanitize materials, so re-purposing items before they even need to be recycled circumvents the need for this process altogether, and it lends a very unique look to the lawn.

Composting is a natural and efficient way to fertilize lawns, plus it provides a self-contained method of recycling one’s own organic material. Be careful of the items used for compost, as meat or bones could attract unwanted pests or rodents! Composting eggshells, vegetables and fruits, coffee grounds, and weeds then using it as a natural fertilizer aids soil by aerating it, supplementing it with nutrients, and helping it retain moisture. 

These are just a few tips to go green in gardens and lawns. There are many other ways to reduce one’s own impact on the environment by simply considering and researching simple ideas like the ones described here. 

The Reliability of Biodegradation

The United States makes over 200 million tons of garbage each year. That is 400,000,000,000 pounds of garbage, weighing more than one million adult blue whales!

In order to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills, there have been large-scale campaigns to increase recycling of consumer materials. Consumers have become more aware of their waste production as of late, and many companies use branding on their products in order to appeal to the ecological awareness of their consumers. Some of these branding campaigns do not live up to the consumer’s interpretation. The one example I want to focus on is product packaging labeled as ‘biodegradable’.

Landfills have numerous stipulations imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that require the landfills to reduce sunlight, air, and moisture, and prevent contaminants from reaching groundwater. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requires packaging labeled as ‘biodegradable’ to completely decompose within a reasonably short period under customary methods of disposal. Due to the way landfills are presently designed, many items such as biodegradable packaging will not break down. This fact in addition to the lack of supportive evidence for these companies’ claims has resulted in the FTC going after companies with misleading environmentally friendly marketing. Despite the legal recourse, many companies continue to mislead or lie to their consumers.

There are a lot companies that are making an effort to be environmentally responsible due to the increase in consumer demand for it. But be aware that many of these claims are not supported or are misleading due to the nature of their use. By reading into misleading labels and determining how your purchases and consumption affect waste production, you will help protect the environment while being a more informed consumer and advocate for moral business practices.

http://www.sustainablebrands.com/news_and_views/packaging/tom_szaky/myth_biodegradability_plastic_consumer_products_packaging

http://www.doyourpart.com/green-living/terris-top-5-misleading-green-labels/

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/08/natural-on-food-labels-is-misleading/index.htm

http://www.green-buildings.com/articles/what-is-post-consumer-recycled-content/

Climate Change Survey Trends (so far)

It's still fairly early-on, but here are some of the trends in the results from our ongoing Climate Change survey (take it if you haven't already: http://goo.gl/fw6oby):

• 75% of the people recycle at least half the time

• 50% of the people do not compost at all

• 25% of the people have definite interest in environmental topics, while 37.5% "sort of" have interest

• 62.5% of the people don't really consider themselves to be green

• 50% of the people prefer to view data in chart and graph form

• 50% of the people have no preference between global, national, or local environmental topics --- or simply don't care

• 50% of the people are concerned with climate change, while 37.5% of the people are not at all concerned with it

• 87.5% of the people believe a combination of factors are the primary cause of climate change

• 37.% of the people are definitely interested in learning about ways they could possibly slow down climate change

• 40% of the people are definitely interested in a website where they can learn about things they could do on a daily basis to help slow down climate change

Once more results are in we will go ahead and post the full results of the survey. Take the survey to contribute to these results.

Follow @ecopol_project

What you can do?

What you can do?

CO2 is a major contributor to climate change, or "global warming. We burn fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil, coal, and natural gas to run our vehicle engines and to heat and light our homes. Burning fossil fuels increases the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. How can we slow down climate change? There are several ways. Drive less, weatherproof you home, changes your lights, cut hot water use, adjust your thermostat, turn off power, purchase green power, plant trees and vegetation, recycle and reuse, shop smart. These actions are not hard for each person it is easy to do but it is the key to slow down the climate change. Let us protect our environment by doing little things.

By: Hanxiang Yu

Recycle Your Obsolete Devices!

by Eliot Woodrich

Did you know that you could recycle your used electronics in a more sustainable way than disposing them in the trash, and sometimes you can even be paid for it?

©Robert Scoble. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPad_1_vs_iPad_2.jpg

If you have an old cell phone, tablet, computer or other that has been made obsolete and replaced, you can often return the device to the manufacturer, or to your mobile provider for a cell phone. Sometimes, if the device is in suitable condition or valuable to the manufacturer, you may or may not receive a rebate. This depends highly on the device and manufacturer.

Here is an example from Apple:
https://www.apple.com/recycling/ipod-cell-phone/

And from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/locations/recycle

As well as Samsung, the largest Android phone manufacturer.
http://www.samsung.com/us/aboutsamsung/citizenship/usactivities/environmentalinitiatives/recyclingdirect/


Many more exist, and in some cases, asking the company directly may be the 

best option to determine whether a recycling program exists or they may suggest an alternative. Consider recycling your electronics next time they become "obsolete" and help yourself and the environment.