Green Living Tips & Tools for Everyday Life

- Daniel Goleman, Ecological Intelligence

For example, take junk mail. We know junk mail is a pain and a drain, but do we really get just how BIG that drain and pain is?! According to ForestEthics Climate Report, American households receive more than 100 billion pieces of junk mail annually which takes more than 100 million trees to produce and creates 51,548,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases. And a whopping 44% of junk mail ends up in landfills unopened which contributes greatly to the hundreds of millions of dollars our state and local governments spend to remove it. Whoa! Those are crazy big consequences for an already personal nuisance that poses the more serious risk of identity theft to boot. Now that we know, we can take action -- use these simple tools to clean up your junk mail habit.

The What, Why, How & Wow of Greening the Daily Grind

Our Featured Pick does what it's always done so well: it vividly brings the larger world into our own world and gives reason, context and some nifty tools for living green. We've also included a running list of all kinds of clever and convenient finds for ordinary things we do every day but that help us do them a little greener, leaner and more aware.

Personal Tools for Living Green

Mavenjoy
Featured Pick

National Geographic Society
The What: National Geographic is an oldie but a goodie and for good reason! It has mastered the art of "show and tell" to inspire and educate us about environmental, social and historical conservation, and does so with unparalleled excellence in content and format.
The Why: To inspire us to care about our planet. It's what they do, and what they've always done...since 1888, in fact.
The How: National Geographic's sweeping body of work has always pointed us to the "whys" of stewardship by giving us a front row seat to the awe of our world, our universe even, and now its Green Guide makes the possible doable for being better stewards of the natural world and each other. You get useful green living tips with super practical tools and actionable steps.
The Wow: Love the Energy Diet's step by step approach for monitoring and tempering personal energy use (including your personal water footprint calculator, energy meter and even mini appliance and daily chore calculators) plus their Buying Guides for what to consider when buying just about anything.

Mavenjoy Extra: GoodGuide is another nifty consumers guide to finding healthy, safe and green guidance for household and personal care products (including toys and food). Everyday items are scored according to their impacts on our health, environment and society.
• Environmental Working Group (EWG)
  Our trusted "go-to" for answers about the environmental impacts of anything and everything we might come across in our daily lives -- from soy to cell phones and talc to Teflon. EWG provides solid information for the things we need to know to make better decisions for how we live and what we live with. They make the "scary" of pollutants, toxins and chemicals into information we can use and act on as so conveniently demonstrated with their Skin Deep Guide to Cosmetics & Personal Care products, Cell Phone Radiation Guide and Shopper's Guide to Pesticides.
• Earth911
  Find a recycler for all of your disposable needs! And we do mean all, so be sure and check them out before tossing out -- metal coat hangers, paint, batteries, computers, medicines, carpet, corks....

• Stop the Junk Mail Effect
  As we noted above, junk mail is one of those pesky annoyances we've come to live with, but really shouldn't and don't have to either. ForestEthics "Do Not Mail" campaign provides the phone numbers and emails of some of the biggest junk mail offenders and a nifty Opt-out Tool that allows you to pre-print your requests for those companies requiring written notice. Use Catalog Choice to set up a free account that allows you to find and set mail preferences for thousands of companies, including catalog mailers, financial services, and phone books. As one of THE largest direct mail providers, DirectMail.com's National Do Not Mail List provides a free online process to add and remove your mailing address from various mailing lists. And to opt out of those relentless credit card and insurance offers that can also carry the risk of identity theft, visit OptOutPresscreen.com, the official consumer credit reporting industry's website to process your opt-out request.
  

• Erideshare
  Carpooling like you never knew it! Erideshare is a free service connecting commuters and travelers headed in the same direction. Cut your auto and transportation costs plus greenhouse gases by sharing rides with fellow travelers. Whether for your work commute, a cross-country road trip or ride to the airport, rediscover the possibilities of carpooling for your lifestyle. They also offer a carpooling service with additional features for large employers.

Print Friendly

~ More from Mavenjoy ~

Finding & Buying Organic Food and Homemade Goods Locally
Finding the best in sustainable food and buying organic food locally is easier than you think no matter where you live... READ MORE »

Healthy Cooking Recipes: Homemade, Hip and Oh So Tasty
Current favorites for healthy cooking, recipes and food-related fun for health nuts who love to eat seriously good food! Read more »

Green Jobs: Making a Living that Makes a Difference
Finding the job that's right for you, the green is just gravy...READ MORE »

Natural and Organic Food: Eating Well While Making a Difference
A fresh and simple take on tips and finds about loving food and loving life while feeding the soul....READ MORE »