Meat Free Monday

Vegetarians… typically you hear how these people do something society thinks is crazy by choosing to give up meat because they want to help the animals, or that it’s better for your health, or to help the environment, or maybe for whatever social and economic goal they are trying to achieve.  As an environmentalist, I often get asked if I eat meat and I’m going to be honest, I do.  Just a little background of the environmental impact meat has on our Earth from PETA:

• It takes sixteen pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat.  70% of the grain we grow for things like cereals ends up being use to feed farmed animals.
• Requires eleven times for fossil fuels from the production to the consumption of one calorie of animal protein that one calorie of plant protein.
• One pound of meat requires 2,400 gallons of water while one pound of grain only requires 25 gallons.
• The fecal byproducts of the animals contaminate groundwater supply and the methane gas also contributes heavily to greenhouse gas emissions.
• Thousands of aces in the rainforests are not being chopped down for their trees to make paper, but to clear land to create animal factory farms. 
• Including the land used to grow the feed crops and land used for grazing, more than 30% of the Earth’s land mass is used to produce meat.
•  “According to the Environmental Defense, if every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off U.S. roads” - PETA

Wow huh! I typically get an array of responses and I honestly feel like a hypocrite.  I have contemplated giving up meat before, but at the end of the day I come to realization that I would be giving up so many things that I love to eat and meat makes me happy.  This was my pattern of thought for a while, until my friend suggested we try Meat Free Mondays. 

Meat Free Mondays is a campaign started by Paul McCartney with his daughters Stella and Mary.  The purpose of Meat Free Mondays is not asking you not to give up meat completely, but to do your part in reducing your environmental impact associated with the meat industry.   Not only will this help the Earth, it will help your health by eating more vegetables instead of meat, and it will also save you some money too. 

Being EGOlogical isn’t about altering your life completely for environmental change, it’s about the little steps you can do that add up.  By participating in Meat Free Mondays and giving up meat simply once a week, you will be greatly reducing your environmental footprint.  A few of my friends and I have done Meat Free Mondays for the past two weeks and I must say, it is an extremely rewarding experience.  I previously felt that by giving up meat, I would be sacrificing some of my happiness not eating the things I love.  However, each Monday I now experience a different kind of happiness from knowing that I did something great for the environment and my health.  And that happiness is a whole lot stronger and much more rewarding than any happiness, or maybe I should say, satisfaction, I have or would feel from eating meat. 

This experience has been extremely rewarding so far.  I find that I am trying a lot more foods that I would have usually ignored too.  Maybe one day you will decide to be a full-time vegetarian/vegan.  But for now, giving up meat once a week is a great step.  If you would like more information about Meat Free Monday, visit www.meatfreemondays.com and find out how this small step can have a huge impact.  Good luck!

"Where's the Core?" by Samuel

Don’t forget to send a picture of an EGOlogical tip in action to be.EGOlogical@gmail.com and have it be featured on the “Home” page and the “Share Your Photos” page!

EGOlogical Tip:  "Eat the ENTIRE Apple"

“Where’s the Core?” - by Samuel

Fix Leaky Toilets

Leaky toilets can cause a lot of problems for the environment and your wallet.  When there is a leak in the cistern (the top part of the toilet), drops of water are leaking into the bowl of the toilet, causing the cistern to continuously add more water to make up for what is lost.  This causes unnecessary water usage and increases your water bill.  Therefore, check to leaking cisterns to avoid this.

According to smarterhomes.org.nz, you can check to see if you have a leaky cistern by adding a few drops of food coloring into the cistern.  If the food coloring ends up in the toilet bowl without flushing it, then there is a leak.  If the food coloring stays in the cistern, then there is no leak.   To fix the leak, you can replace the “underwater valve seating washer,” the rubber piece that keeps water in the cistern, and these are found at most plumbing stores.  This will cost you a few dollars, however the cost is a lot less than how high your water bill would be if you didn’t replace it.  Visit www.smarterhomes.org.nz to find out more "easy ways to save water" in your home.  

Paper Clips vs Staples

Homework and papers are all a part of being a student and when completed, the final task to print them (double sided), and attach them so each page stays together.  Most students reach for the stapler to staple their papers together, however do they ever stop to think that that little piece of steel cannot be reused and most likely cannot be recycled?  An alternative to stapling papers together is to use a paper clip.  Now some may argue that paper clips are made of more metal than a staple, which is true, however paper clips can be reused many times.  Typically, homework assignments and term papers are returned to the student so the paper clip can then be reused again. 

By eliminating staples and reusing paper clips, you will be reducing the amount of pollution caused in the mining of precious metals and by the production and transportation of the staples.  If you invest in paper clips, they will last you a long time therefore saving you some money by not having to buy more staples.  Also, staples require a stapling device, which is another cost for the environment and your wallet.  You may not think that a tiny staple will hurt the environment, but just keep in mind that every little thing adds up to one big change.


Update: from Be EGOlogical Reader, Richard, "I used this thing called the Lowen staple. You fold the corner of the paper. Then make 2 rips about half a cm apart and fold the little tab over. It holds the papers together and uses neither!"

How To (EGOlogically) Unclog A Drain

When your sink is clogged, the most common solution to clear it up that people turn to is to pour some expensive toxic chemicals down the drain!  Having a clogged sink is a hassle, however pouring chemicals is not the only option.  Next time you have a clogged drain, simply pour some baking soda and vinegar down the drain.  Let that sit for a few minutes, then pour boiling water down the drain and use the plunger to add some extra power and push all the gunk out.  This method will prevent toxic chemicals from entering the sewage, reduce sewage treatment costs, and prevent the chemicals from entering larger bodies of water that could impact aquatic life.  Using the baking soda and vinegar technique will cost only a fraction of the price of buying chemicals to fix a clogged drain.  Who knew simple kitchen ingredients would save the environment and a little extra money in your wallet?

Alternative Method to Heat Your Home

During the winter months, heating systems or fireplaces in your home can be costly to run and maintain.  It is difficult to avoid using these systems, so the key is to reduce the amount you use them.  There are a few ways to go about doing so, including lowering your thermostat at least 2 degrees (you can lower it more if you would like to), putting on a few extra layers of clothing or a blanket while at home, and making sure you turn off your heating systems when you are not home. 

Another method you can use to add a little extra heat to your home is to leave your oven open AFTER you used it for cooking or baking.  (If you open it constantly while the oven is in use, you will lose about 25% of the heat inside.  This makes the oven use more energy to make up for the heat lost when it was opened). The heat now warming your home won’t last forever, but you are utilizing the heat that would have otherwise been trapped in the oven.  This could prevent one extra log from entering the fireplace or cause your thermostat to turn off for a bit since it is already warm enough in your home.  Therefore, the amount of energy and resources, such as wood, coal, and natural gas, are reduced and you will also be saving some extra money.

What Are Your New Year's Resolutions?

Happy New Year everyone!  2011 marked a great year for Be EGOlogical as it started to change people’s environmental awareness and impact readers from 41 different countries around the world to date!  I am extremely thankful for the support from my readers and I am excited to share more EGOlogical tips for 2012. 

A new year often calls for new beginnings or more often resolutions/goals we hope to attain throughout the year.  Popular New Year's resolutions may include to eat healthier or to spend less money, however it is common for people to lose track of the goal and go back to previous habits.  There is another New Year's resolution that most people forget about and if implemented into the things they do everyday, they will succeed.  Therefore, your 2012 New Year's resolution can be to reduce your environmental impact.  Whether that is to recycle more (or start recycling), print on both sides of the paper, or use a reusable water bottle, there are many ways to help the environment.  For some, this may not be easy because typical New Year's resolutions are for personal gain and improvement and let’s face it, helping the environment has “nothing in it for them.”  However, they are wrong!  By helping the environment, there are many opportunities for a person to learn new ways to appreciate, preserve, and conserve Earth’s natural resources for current and future use as well as save money at the same time. 

Be EGOlogical provides many tips for help people accomplish their New Year's resolution and there are many more to come.  All it takes is that first step for habits to develop and change to begin.  Just remember that every act adds up and you are making a difference.  I wish you all the best of luck and may you have a happy, healthy, and EGOlogical New Year!  

Newspaper Gift Wrapping

Happy Holidays!  Gift giving is not the most eco friendly activity since it requires buying new things that we don’t necessarily need.  However, around this time of the year it is difficult to avoid due to societal pressures and traditions.  Therefore there are some things we can do to reduce your holiday environmental impact such as buying “eco-friendly” products, making labels out of old cut-up holiday cards, or wrapping gifts with newspaper.  Watch the video, “8 Eco-Friendly Ways to Wrap Gifts With Newspaper” shown below to learn how you can give an extra flair to something as simple as newspaper.  One extra EGOlogical tip to keep in mind, use a small piece of tape to hold the paper together.  I guarantee that two inches of tape can be reduced to a centimeter and still hold the paper together and your wrapping will still look beautiful.  Good luck and Happy Holidays.  

Say NO to Consumerism and Support Buy Nothing Day

     http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/

     http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/

Happy Thanksgiving 2011!  Thanksgiving is a time to spend with your family and friends to eat a wonderful meal and give thanks to the Native Americans for helping the early settlers survive in the North American harsh lands.  However, Thanksgiving holiday has turned into not only a time to give thanks, but a time to spend a lot of money on stuff.  Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving and is known for being the number one day of the year that has the best deals.  People wait in line for hours or even days to snag these deals, but what for?  Do we really need to buy a bunch of stuff we don’t really need?

Well, I hope after eating all that turkey you are ready to fall asleep because that is exactly what you should do!  Instead of going shopping on Black Friday, say no to consumerism and support Buy Nothing Day.  Buy Nothing Day is a day to “unshop, unspend, and unwind.”   Just relax and do nothing for yourself or the economy for the day.  All the ads may say that these are the “lowest prices of the year and you cannot miss out on these steals!” but why give in?  By supporting Buy Nothing Day, you will be saving many resources that must be extracted to produce stuff and you will also be saving a lot of money since you won’t be tempted into buying these “amazing deals.”  Buy Nothing Day is not about changing your lifestyle for just one day, it’s about making a commitment for one day to hopefully open your eyes to make smarter choices for your future consumption choices.  I know this may be hard, so if you can’t ultimately support Buy Nothing Day, then try cutting back on buying only the things you need.  This will still save excess resources and some money in your wallet.  Visit the Buy Nothing Day website to find out more information. 

Say NO to Sunflower Seeds

When you’re out, a common snack or a way to stay busy is to eat sunflower seeds.  Now with sunflower seeds, the only part you eat is the inside and then you’re left with a broken shell covered in your nasty saliva.  The shells become very messy and a common way to containing them is by spitting them into an empty water bottle.  Whether you’re a baseball player eating seeds in the dugout or eating seeds in a car while on a road trip, avoid spitting the seeds into a bottle.  Or you can simply say NO to sunflower seeds. 

Sunflower seeds have little nutritional value, so getting rid of them in your diet will not severely affect you.  It may even help you because there is a large amount of salt on the shells of the seeds that provide an excess amount of sodium in your diet.  Also, you will be saving money by not buying them.  By saying NO to sunflower seeds will reduce the amount of pollution created during the production of sunflower seeds and it will also reduce the amount of waste generated by the shells.  When the shells are thrown in empty plastic bottles, they will not be able to decompose for hundreds of thousands of years until the plastic bottle decomposes.  This creates a build up in landfills that create a large amount of methane gas.  Sunflower seeds are also a hassle to clean up in public areas where they are thrown on the ground and can eventually cost taxpayers a lot to clean up the litter.  


I understand that eliminating the consumption of sunflower seeds may be difficult, therefore you can reduce the amount you eat maybe find a reusable brown paper bag to spit them in.  That way the shells can biodegrade at a faster rate than if they were spit into a plastic bottle.  If you choose to eliminate eating sunflower seeds and you are craving a snack, try eating a healthier alternative that does not create any waste.  Ex: Apples (and be sure you eat the ENTIRE apple)

Half vs Full Flashcards

There are many methods when it comes to studying for a test.  Some people rewrite their notes, type out study guides, or wastefully make flashcards.  For some people making flashcards are an extremely helpful study technique and that's awesome!  However, making flashcards also wastes a lot of paper.  More specifically, flashcards are used to typically for remembering definitions with one vocab word per card...  ONE!  This technique becomes an extreme waste of paper because there is a lot of empty space on the notecard, therefore excess amounts of paper are being wasted.  Next time you want to make flashcards, try cutting them in half or in fourths (depending on how much information you are writing on them).

Cutting the notecards in half will reduce the amount of paper you waste because you aren't wasting as much plain space as before.  If your information is small, you can even cut your notecards into fourths and this will reduce your notecard consumption even more!  The production of notecards can be costly because the paper is much thicker than a normal piece of paper.  This will reduce the pollution produced in the destruction of forests for paper pulp, carbon emitted during the production and transportation of the item, and the actual cost of buying the notecards from your wallet.  Since you will be using less flashcards you will save a lot money because you won't have to buy them as frequently.  And don't forget the EGOlogical tip to write small.

Happy (EGOlogical) Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!  Today is the day we get to dress up in crazy cool costumes we will only wear once and knock on people’s doors to collect candy that creates a lot of garbage waste after its eaten!  Sounds harmful to the environment, but since Halloween is more like a societal tradition it is difficult to expect people to change.  Therefore I am going to point out a few things you can do to have a more EGOlogical Halloween.  From the costume to the candy, the idea is not to enjoy Halloween at all, but more how to reduce your environmental impact your Halloween celebration.

Costume: Try searching thrift stores to put together a costume using used clothing or props.  This will reduce the amount of resources extracted and pollution created during the production and consumption of the product.  Also, use recycled products such as cardboard or plastic bottles to create a neat homemade costume.  You can also spread awareness with your costume by being something with an environmental theme like a Recycle Cop or a Mermaid hit by pollution.  Visit Do Something to view a list of environmental Halloween Costumes.  Be creative! 

Candy: The amount of candy received can add up and create a lot of garbage waste.  Most candy wrappers cannot be thrown into your recycle bin, so they get thrown into the garbage.  However, there is a company that does recycle candy wrappers called Terracycle.  Terracycle works by mailing in your recyclables in a box and shipping it to them where you will receive a certain amount of credits towards purchasing Terracycle products or you can donate those credits in dollar amounts to your school or charity of choice.  Terracycle pays for your shipping too so all you have to do is just collect the waste and you and the environment receives the benefits.  Visit www.terracycle.net to learn more and find out how you can start recycling your candy wrappers!    

Say NO to Toothpicks

What is the purpose of a toothpick?  Maybe you use one to see if your cupcakes are done or maybe you grab a toothpick on the way out of a restaurant to get something out of your tooth.  These are each things that are unnecessary and can be avoided.  So next time you reach to grab a toothpick, stop yourself and just say NO!

By saying NO to toothpicks you will reduce the amount of wood or plastic that is produced to make the toothpicks.  Reducing the amount of toothpicks produced will reduce the amount resources that must be extracted and it will also reduce the amount of pollution produced during the production and transportation of the toothpicks.  Since toothpicks typically get food attached to them, they cannot be recycled because they are now “contaminated.”  Therefore they are a nonrenewable resource that should be avoided. 

You will also save money because you won’t have a buy them for your home or restaurant (if you are in the food industry).  If you want to get something out of your teeth, too bad.  Just wait until you get home that night to get it out when you floss, I guarantee you won’t even notice it’s there after a few minutes of leaving the restaurant.  If you are checking your cupcakes, try to use a knife instead.  Works perfectly and you can wash it and reuse it.  

Who Said Tails Was Bad Luck?

How many times have you been walking somewhere and see a penny on the ground?  You bend down to pick it up, but stop because you notice it is facing tails-side up, not heads.  So you get back up, leave it there, and walk away.  Since we were young, society and culture has taught us that picking up a penny on the tails side is bad luck.  However, I am going to encourage you to go ahead and pick that penny off the ground!

I don't know whoever made up the story that pennies facing tail-side up are bad luck because finding any type of money on the ground should be a sign of good luck, especially in today's economy!  Since pennies are made of copper, they cannot decompose.  We also need to Recirculate to Recycle and prevent new coins from being minted.  This will reduce extraction of precious metals ad reduce the pollution caused during the production of coins.  Picking up any coins off the ground, regardless if they are facing heads or tails, will make you a richer person! Yes you might be only one penny richer, but every cent adds up.  Just think, if you've picked up every coin you've ever walked past, you would have more than "just a penny."

P.S. Yes that circular spot on the ground in the picture that looks like another penny is gum.  Make sure you Say NO to Gum so the ground won’t be covered in spots that look like coins!

Disposable vs Refillable Pens

The use of pens are almost unavoidable in today’s society.  You use them at school, work, meetings, to sign autographs…  You know, just the important things.  When you start using a new pen, it feels like you will never run out of ink.  However, eventually the ink will run out and you will have to get a new pen.  Unfortunately new pens typically cost more than we expect, but I have an EGOlogical tip that will not only cut on the costs of new ink, it will reduce the amount of plastic you consume! 

The answer: buy pens that can fit refillable ink.  The initial cost may be a little more than a disposable pen, but I promise the cost is worth it.  Ink refills are fairly cheap and they don’t have the unnecessary extra plastic casing around it that you already haveso there is less plastic being produced and consumed.  They also reduce the amount of pollution produced from packaging and transportation costs.  If you already own a pen that supports ink refills, great!  Just buy the ink refills that are supported by that pen the next time you go to the store.  If you don’t have one, consider investing in a pen that can support ink refills.  Now some may argue buying a new pen is promoting excess plastic consumption, however in the long run you will be saving money and plastic from the landfills because you putting time and money into an investment for your future pen usage.  

Eat the ENTIRE Apple

Since we were kids, culture has taught us to eat an apple just to the core and throw out the rest.  We would see pictures of apple cores in books or comic strips and would connect that image to garbage.  As seen in the comic Todd and Penguin by David Write below, apple cores are correlated with garbage.  However, I am going to encourage you stop thinking of apple cores as garbage and to eat the entire apple.  I had actually never done it until recently because the thought of eating the ENTIRE apple was just odd to me, but I tried it and it doesn’t taste any different than the rest of the apple.  By eating entire apple, you are reducing the amount of garbage that will be thrown into the landfills therefore reducing greenhouse gasses. 

    http://www.toddandpenguin.com/

When you hear the phrase, greenhouse gasses, the first thing you may think of are carbon dioxide emissions polluting the atmosphere.  Humans can be blamed for contributing 9 - 26% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, however there is another type of gas induced by humans: methane.  Methane gas naturally comes from livestock, however the number one cause of methane gas is from landfills.  When garbage is put into a landfill, the chemical reactions and microbes breaking down the waste produce methane gas.  Therefore, by eating your entire apple you are preventing excess breakdown to occur in landfills when your body can benefit from the healthy nutrients an apple has to offer. 

Don’t be afraid to try it, I promise it’s not bad at all.  Eat the seeds too, they don’t taste weird!  If eating seeds is weird to you… don’t let it be because just think, strawberries are COVERED in seeds and you eat those!  So next time you’re eating an apple, be EGOlogical and just think of all the methane you’ll be saving just by eating the “weird” part culture taught us to know as garbage, but what we now know is just a normal part of the apple.    

Heated vs Natural Hair

Sorry men, this tip is for the ladies… but you are more than welcome to use this tip too if you wish to.  However you can apply this tip, keep reading and it’s at the end.  Now this is a “touchy” subject because “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” but what does having beautiful hair mean to you?  In today’s society, soft, smooth, and well-pampered hair is highly desired and all it takes to get that is a little bit of heat.  That heat is generated through electrical devices such as hair dryers, curlers, and straighteners.  Every person has a different hairstyle and uses different techniques to style it.  However, I am going to encourage you to let your hair flow naturally every once in awhile. 

There are many different hairstyles that still look nice and don’t require electrical devices.  Visit the youtube channel, Loepsie, and view her tutorial videos on how to create cute natural hairstyles.  By eliminating the use of your electric devices, you are reducing your electricity consumption.  This will reduce the amount of greenhouse gases produced during energy production and electrical consumption.  This tip will also reduce the cost on your energy bill. 

Now men, this is where you can apply this tip.  Encourage your significant other that their hair is beautiful all the time.  When it’s strait, curly, or natural, it’s always beautiful.  This will also cut electrical costs personally and environmentally.  I’m not telling you to never make your hair look nice, maybe just reduce the amount of heat you apply to it.  You will also be saving your hair from making it dead faster.  Your hair does not define your beauty, it’s how you love it, own it, and work it!    

Normal vs Shorthand

How often do you find yourself in class or in a meeting furiously writing down mass amounts of information as quickly as you can?  It’s commonly a difficult task to write down information slide per slide or verbatim out of the speaker’s mouth, therefore you should develop a system of shorthand to help you write more efficiently as well as gain more information in the same amount of time. 

Developing your own system of shorthand can be a difficult task if you’re not used to it, but once you get it down you will be happy you switched.  Not only will it let you write more, it will save the environment!  Since your shorthand will reduce the amount of words/letters you write, it will reduce the amount of ink used in your pen and the amount of paper you will go through.  By reducing your ink and paper consumption rates, you will reduce the amount that needs to be produced.  This will save pollution in production, transportation, and consumption costs as well as save you some money because you won’t have to buy as many pens and notebooks as often AND on top of that you have more notes!  Don't forget to the EGOlogical tip to write small!  


Tips to creating legible shorthand: be patient and figure out what works best for you and if it helps tell yourself you’re doing it for the Earth!  Good Luck!  

Thank You World!

This is my 50^th post on Be EGOlogical and I just wanted to say thank you to all of the people around the world that read it!  Saving the Earth is not only local activity, it’s a global effort that we all need to be aware of.  My tip for you today is that spreading awareness is one of the best ways to educate your peers and there are many ways you can do that.  Whether is volunteering in community clean ups or sharing this blog with your friends, word gets out and people’s lives can change.  Every little effort adds up and does really make a difference.

There are 23 countries the Earth would like to thank for helping change the world by applying EGOlogical tips to their lives are:

Australia

Brazil

Cambodia

Canada

China

Denmark

France

Germany

Hungary

India

Indonesia

Italy

Kenya

Malaysia

Netherlands

Norway

Pakistan

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Sweden

United Arab Emirates

United States

Vietnam

As a global entity, it’s our duty to work together and help the Earth.  I challenge you to continue spreading awareness and taking action throughout your community.  Please Contact Me, I would love to hear your stories and feedback about your endeavors and how the EGOlogical tips are being implemented in your life!  Keep up the great work!  Looking forward to hearing from you!  

Toothpaste Squeezer

We brush our teeth when we wake up and when we go to bed, and what do we put on toothbrush…TOOTHPASTE!  Toothpaste is a commodity we use in our everyday lives… at least I HOPE it is for everyone.  Since we use it everyday, we have a tendency to go through a tube of toothpaste quickly.  When it seems like you’re almost out, you might roll it up to get the remaining toothpaste to squeeze out or you might simply throw it away because it’s too much work to get a little toothpaste out.  So why throw away good toothpaste?  Well I have a solution for you!  Invest in a toothpaste squeezer to push all the toothpaste on the bottom to the top.  You’ll be surprised to find out how much toothpaste is still in the tube when you think it’s empty.  You can find a toothpaste squeezer typically anywhere you can buy toothpaste and you can find some for less than a dollar. 

Yes this is a piece of plastic you a buying, but the key element to this EGOlogical tip is the concept of REDUCE.  By investing in a toothpaste squeezer you will be prolonging the life of your toothpaste tube, therefore throughout your life you will greatly reduce the amount of toothpaste you buy.  This will reduce the amount of pollution since you are reducing your toothpaste consumption rate and it will reduce the amount of toothpaste tubes you throw into the landfills because you won’t go through them as fast.  Investing in a toothpaste pusher will also save you money because you won’t have to buy toothpaste as often.  You can reuse your toothpaste squeezer for a very long time as well.  I’ve had mine for over ten years and it still works amazing.  As hypocritical as it sounds, this little piece of plastic will save a ton of plastic from the landfills!    


One last tip, when shopping for a new tube of toothpaste after you've squeezed everything you can out of your old one, go ahead and buy the bigger tube.  You know you're going to use it all anyway so you might as well.  Buying in bulk reduces the amount of packaging over time and will also save you money.