Green Leaf

Watching butterflies and birds or spotting a rabbit contribute as much to enjoyment of the summer garden as the plants themselves. When winter comes, we often forget about the garden and the wildlife that loves it. But while we are cozy indoors, the animals we enjoyed watching all summer are still out there trying to survive. How can you make your landscape friendly to wildlife in winter? The Care and Feeding of Birds Regardless of the season, the placement and contents of your bird feeder must be appropriate to the local species if they are to use it. Many of the birds you feed in summer may migrate away in winter, while others may fly south to where you live. Many species that stay put change their habits in winter, adding berries to their diets or forming flocks. Some hummingbirds rely on winter feeders. Use Audubon’s app to identify the birds you see near your home and use a local bird guide or contact your local Audubon chapter to learn about their needs. Providing suet or a ...

Are you a recycling trivia champion? In this Earth911 quiz, you’ll test your knowledge of the latest U.S. recycling rates from our friends at ISRI , the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries. Earth911 Quiz #40 : Be a U.S. Recycling Trivia Champion   We all know there’s nothing cooler than talking recycling trivia around the coffee machine at the office. Sports? Forget it! Politics? Who wants to talk about that these days? But recycling rates keep the gang at work fascinated. In this Earth911 Quiz, you’ll test your knowledge of the latest U.S. recycling rates from our friends at ISRI , the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries.   Every week, Earth911.com challenges you with quizzes that test your sustainability savvy and help you make environmentally friendly choices when you shop, use products, and dispose of unwanted items. How many jobs does the scrap recycling industry support in the United States?   We’ve done the research on salaries paid to waste/r...

Paper recycling might seem like the sort of thing best left to the recycling experts, but did you know you can recycle your own paper at home without too much trouble? You’ll be able to eliminate some household waste — like junk mail, used printer paper, or old newspaper — and create something unique and handmade at the same time. Paper recycled by hand works well for making cards and gifts. Photo: Flickr/ myhsu What You’ll Need Waste paper (almost anything will work — just avoid glossy paper like magazines) Water A blender or food processor An old picture frame or wood to make your own frame Mesh or screen (together with the frame, this will make your paper mold) Felt, cloth, or sponge A rectangular bin or pan to hold water (it needs to be bigger than your frame) Decorations like dried flowers, confetti, or seeds (optional) Plenty of instructions exist online for how to make your own paper. Make Something offers a video tutorial and Instructables has written instructio...

The New Year is a good time to try something new or to revisit an old favorite. And the cold weather (and the pandemic) is conducive to long afternoons at home cooking. It’s the perfect time to try out my new slow cooker. I have very few places to go or things to do on the weekends now, so I have time to experiment and mind my slow cooker. I like the idea of making up a big batch of stew or soup while I am at home all day. As Mom would say, “The hours pass anyway!” To tell the truth, I’ve had a few challenges with my slow cooker. Although I carefully follow the directions that came with it, sometimes the results aren’t what I expect. The soups have been excellent, but what do you do with a chicken cacciatore that comes out too watery? My solution: Turn it into spicy chicken cacciatore soup by adding pasta and grating cheese on top. With a nice piece of bread, my “mistake” became a hearty, satisfying meal. Yesterday, I made a curry. It turned out wonderful! First, I grilled the chick...

Clean water is a must to maintain good health, and for other uses in the home or office of for irrigation. Conventional water treatment methods include chemicals which get into… The post How Environmentally Friendly is Merus Water Treatment appeared first on Ecofriend . from Ecofriend https://ift.tt/3hr1Yqq https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Are you thinking about shopping with home delivery during the lockdown? You need to know Loop , the home grocery delivery service that picks up and recycles what you buy when you are done. Earth911 talks with Benjamin Weir, North American business development manager at Loop. Launched by TerraCycle , the innovative recycling company, Loopstore.com currently offers 173 food and personal care products to customers in the U.S. Northeast and in France. Like the traditional milkman, Loop drops off and picks up product packaging. The packages are cleaned and reused by TerraCycle. No mess, lots less recycling hassle. The Loop Häagen-Dazs container can be reused without recycling. Loop has developed new returnable and reusable packaging for products that include a steel Häagen-Dazs ice cream pint, Tide purclean detergent, and Love Beauty Planet personal care products. Customers receive their orders in an insulated tote bag, which is picked up when full by UPS and returned to TerraCycle. ...

Electric vehicles (EVs) have made huge technological strides since they were first introduced, and they’re more popular than ever before. Yet some drivers are still hesitant to make the switch from traditional gas-powered cars, in large part due to misconceptions that EVs still suffer the same shortcomings they did in their earlier years. While electric cars do, indeed, have their downsides, there are also considerable benefits to owning one. 6 Benefits of Electric Cars The benefits of owning an EV arguably outweigh any cons — from spending less money in the long run to making fewer trips to the repair shop. And it doesn’t stop there. 1. They’re easier on the environment. For many motorists, simply knowing that electric vehicles are better for the environment is reason enough to make the investment. EVs don’t even have an exhaust system, meaning they have zero emissions. And since gas-powered vehicles are large contributors to greenhouse-gas buildup in the earth’s atmosphere, maki...

The contamination of seawater due to oil pour because of human error, or natural calamity is termed as an oil spill. Over the past four and a half decades, research… The post Things We Should Know About the Current Oil Spills Situation appeared first on Ecofriend . from Ecofriend https://ift.tt/3hq4bCt https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

It’s no secret that the pandemic has been hard on the restaurant industry . And the holiday season is when many restaurants earn the bulk of their yearly revenue. Although restrictions on indoor dining abound, many people want to support their local cafés and eateries. Keeping our distance outside seems safer than being enclosed in a restaurant with other patrons, but how will winter outdoor dining work? Despite the cold outside, more restaurants are offering outdoor dining options . Where allowed by local health authorities, restaurants are offering dining in a variety of outdoor locations, including gardens, patios, and rooftops. Some establishments in municipalities like New York, L.A., and Washington D.C. are even receiving grants to winterize their patios . Before you brave the cold, here are some tips for dining outdoors this winter safely and sustainably. Know the Facts Outdoor dining is safer than indoor dining because poor ventilation, enclosed spaces, and prolonged exposu...

Even though we can’t see them, we are surrounded by electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Our computers, microwaves, cell phones, power lines, cell phone towers, fitness tracking devices, smart meters, televisions, routers, X-ray machines, and radios all emit them to varying degrees. “Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that is all around us and takes many forms, such as radio waves, microwaves, X-rays, and gamma rays. Sunlight is also a form of EM energy, but visible light is only a small portion of the EM spectrum, which contains a broad range of electromagnetic wavelengths,” according to Live Science . Because most of us have significant exposure to EMFs throughout the day, it is important to determine if they are safe . Some studies show a connection between certain types of cancer and EMF exposure in lab animals. Other studies show health threats including neuropsychiatric effects, cellular DNA damage, and endocrine changes. Unfortunately, the telecommunications and electr...

Ninety-one percent of all plastic ever manufactured is still unrecycled. And how much have we manufactured? During the six decades that humans have been mass-producing plastic, we’ve created 8.3 billion tons of it. That number grows daily. We didn’t plan ahead for the proper disposal of plastic and now we have a plastics crisis in the U.S. and around the world . Data source: Here’s How Much Plastic Trash Is Littering the Earth . Print or share We Earthling posters to inspire others with your stories. This poster was originally published on March 3, 2020. You Might Also Like… 5 Tips to Safeguard Against Electromagnetic Radiation Dec 29, 2020 We Earthlings: 91% of All Plastic Is Still Unrecycled Dec 29, 2020 Uncovering Greenwashing: Vague Promises & Irrelevance Dec 28, 2020 The post We Earthlings: 91% of All Plastic Is Still Unrecycled appeared first on Earth 911 . from Earth 911 https://ift.tt/38kJGRu https://ift.tt/32PuxGL

Consumer demand is supposed to drive product development. But even though 78% of Americans believe companies should be environmentally responsible, a seminal study on greenwashing found that nearly all green marketing claims are false or potentially misleading. Unfortunately, it is much easier to manufacture a green marketing strategy than a truly green product. In fact, there aren’t any products with no environmental impact. When you shop your values , you are looking for the most sustainable product available – which may not be very sustainable at all. Greenwashing makes the task even harder, but you can uncover misleading environmental claims if you know what to look for. Greenwashing Guides The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) produces Green Guides that provide guidelines to help responsible marketers avoid making environmental claims that mislead consumers. But greenwashing is not illegal unless it reaches the level of false advertising. Most of the time, greenwashing does not ...

Listen to “Earth911 Interview: Talking 2021 Global Climate Progress with The Economist’s Catherine Brahic” on Spreaker. Catherine Brahic, the environment editor at The Economist , joins Earth911’s Mitch Ratcliffe to discuss her November 16, 2020, editorial, “ The world could turn a corner on climate change .” She explains that the United Nations’ upcoming COP26 meeting — when world leaders will renew and update their climate change commitments — was postponed to fall 2021. Brahic shares her assessments of climate progress to date and the pivotal roles of China and the United States in 2021 when scientists and policymakers say aggressive action is essential to preventing a 1.5 degrees Celsius increase in average atmospheric temperature. Yet, Brahic is optimistic because of the return of the U.S. to the Paris Climate Accord under Joe Biden and recent corporate investments in green bonds and greenhouse gas reductions. Catherine Brahic, environment editor at The Economist is our guest. ...

The biological maintenance and conservation of our state of health is hygiene in scientific terms. When we are talking about natural hygiene, which means utilizing items that come directly from… The post 5 Natural Hygiene Products You Need To Try appeared first on Ecofriend . from Ecofriend https://ift.tt/2KwWVZO https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Think one person can’t make a difference? Think again. With every American producing 4.5 pounds of trash per day , the little things we do to reduce our impact can make a huge difference. Here are 20 little things you can do to help the environment and your world in less than 20 minutes. This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase an item through one of these links, we receive a small commission that helps fund our Recycling Directory . 1. Shop local for produce Next time you’re headed out for groceries, take a few minutes to make an extra stop at a farmer’s market for fruits and veggies. Buying local reduces your footprint and helps support farmers in your community. Local fruits and vegetables are also packed with way more nutrients than produce with a passport, and they’re tasty too! 2. Click to give The web is full of sites that allow you to contribute to charitable causes with a click a day. That means no cost, just clicks! Use the power of your right index finge...

The Earth911 Reader is on hiatus until January 9, 2021. Dear Earth911 Community, Imagine no landfills and all the materials that currently go to waste finding a new life as recycled goods. Imagine a green prosperity that resolves the oil-fueled inequities tearing our world apart, creating millions of jobs that do good for the planet. This vision kept the team Earth911 going through a difficult year, one that has tested all the peoples of the world. This coming year will determine if society takes the pandemic’s lessons as an opportunity to create a sustainable world or simply falls back to the wasteful, environment-damaging ways that brought the atmosphere to the brink of irreversible global warming. It will be one of the most important years in history. And we’ll be here to help with recycling how-tos and sustainable shopping guides that emphasize precycling and the best options for your budget. Our friends worry that we’ve taken on a quixotic vision of a world without landfills,...