Here’s the link: https://www.fvap.gov Applicable for any US citizen living outside of the US! Request a ballot and even register to vote if needed 🇺🇸 Do it today so the paperwork is done well in advance. It should last for the whole year. At election time, they’ll mail (or email) the applicable ballot to you.…
Link to automatically e-mail your representatives: https://www.climaterealityproject.org/act/buildbackbetter The climate crisis is too big to tackle alone. We need our governments to act. Right now, there’s legislation in the US Congress that could allow the US to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement. We NEED this. You can help. Step 1: Tell your political leaders…
The climate crisis is too big to tackle alone. We need our governments to act. Tell your political leaders that you’re worried about the climate and extreme weather. Ask them to support clean energy and other mitigation measures. Right now, Congress in the US is working on 2 bills which support clean energy and emission…
Food waste in landfills generates a lot of greenhouse gas emissions. The first step is to reduce food waste. Then, I encourage everyone to learn about compost options and consider if it is something they could do. However, I understand that composting isn’t right for everyone. No judgement. Let me know if there are any…
I am thrilled to venture into the world of Instagram with @Environmentalist_Mama. This new venture matches my new life adventure of being a stay-at-home mom. Recently, I became a mom of two with the birth of my beautiful son. Also, our family of 4 moved internationally (during COVID!) from the United States to Switzerland to…
My sister asked me to do a short video about cloth diapers for her zero waste/vegan project. I’d been contemplating something like this for a while, so I was really happy when she reached out. Cloth diapers are not portrayed in the mainstream anywhere, and I realized that many people don’t know what cloth diapers…
First things first. I had a baby! My daughter is a happy, healthy, 8 month old. And I’m grateful for that, and for her, every single day. I never considered cloth diapers until I learned that my friend was using them. And she’s not even a crazy, green, hippie. She is a regular person. But…
A few months ago, I worked with our local government to implement food recycling. (Thanks to the Village for listening to my idea and taking action!) What is food recycling anyways? It’s when food scraps are collected and then recycled by turning them into compost. How does it work? There is a collection bin at our…
In regards to shaving, there are a few ways that I reduce my environmental impact: Number One: I have a razor with replaceable cartridge heads. It is the Schick brand and I love it! With replaceable cartridge heads, I’ve been able to use the same handle for more than 5 years. Back when I bought…
Our garage door opens directly into our family room, and in cold weather, I can feel a draft. So, I decided to add weatherstripping. The door already had some weatherstripping, so at the hardware store, I looked for options that could easily be added without removing the existing weatherstripping. I purchased a rubber sweep to…
My latest green home project was to insulate the water heater. Our 50 gallon gas-fired water heater was installed in 2009. Various websites recommend insulating your water heater if the R-value is less than 16 or 24. I couldn’t find the R-value, but since ours was warm to the touch, I figured it couldn’t hurt to add…
At work, we played a fun game called Cool Choices. To earn points, every day for 6 weeks, players make environmentally sustainable choices such as carpooling, driving the speed limit, and turning the water off when brushing teeth (duh). Different actions are worth different points. The game made sustainability more fun and competitive. It was…
Even with our Nest thermostat, heating our home will be a big energy cost. Our heater uses natural gas which produces 11.7 pounds of CO2 per therm. This means, that during each winter month, we are responsible for ~1,665 pounds of CO2 from heating. For comparison, that’s as much CO2 as 83 gallons of gasoline.…
The ultimate of eating local is growing your own food. This summer, my husband and I planted a raspberry bush and a blackberry bush. When the plants are mature, we’ll have delicious food that is organic, didn’t require fossil fuels to be transported, and didn’t come wrapped in packaging destined for a landfill. Also, when I…
As far as appliances go, they say clothes dryers use quite a bit of energy. According to the EPA, dyers can use more electricity than a refrigerator. To check electricity use from my own house, I noted the meter readings over a few days. For a nerd like me, the results are interesting: I found…
Pearls of Green Wisdom 