Happy Earth Day

When does a day turn into a month?

Building for the next century

Hoarding - it's not always bad

Detox Your Life

Would Love to Hear From you

When does a day turn into a whole month?

A day turns into a whole month when it becomes Earth Day/Month.

Image credit - Corbis

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970. It has been celebrated ever since but apparently one day is not enough because now the month of April is known as "Earth Month."

The cynic in me thinks this has happened so that businesses and non-profits alike can take advantage of "Earth Month" and make money. This is based on the fact that I have so many emails and "ads" from green businesses and organizations that contain sales or gifting opportunities.

The optimist in me (that is mostly how I am anyway) says that maybe celebrating for a whole month will bring more awareness, more change and a healthier plant. Here are some things I have done or will do to honor Earth month:

Drove less

Bought more local food

Ate out less

Reduced my water usage even more (less than 1,000 gallons in a month)

Reduced my utility usage (easier now with daylight savings and a sunny office)

Recycled a whole bunch of useless paper

Library donation of over 20 books

Clothes and house goods donation

Cleared my home office of all clutter

Clearing my guest room of all clutter (closet full of it)

What are some of the things that you are doing to honor Earth Month?

Building for the next century

As much as I would like to see existing buildings reused, the reality is that there will probably always be some sort of new construction. Ideally this new construction would be accomplished with the least amount of ecological disruption and use the most environmentally sound materials (yes I am a dreamer). I believe that as building materials continue to advance our buildings will become smarter and less taxing on our environment.

While Hempcrete is not a brand new building material, it seems like a pretty amazing one. I am not sure why it is not taking the building world by storm. Actually I can think of a few reasons such as building codes, resistance to new and unusual building materials, and the need for a paradigm shift in the current building industry.

Here are some reasons why I think this material is worth taking a look at. Hempcrete uses some readily available materials (hemp shives), contributes to a healthy indoor and outdoor air quality, materials require less energy to produce, it reduces the need for heat and air conditioning and is usable in a variety of climates. Check out the Hemp house built in Asheville, North Carolina.

Hoarding - it's not always bad

It seems that it is getting harder and harder to find healthy food not littered with genetically modified organisms (GMO's) or chemicals or little nutrition value. So it is understandable that we might want to hoard healthy seeds to grow our food. But growing your own food does not always guarantee it is healthy or safe to eat. You must take precautions to prevent food-borne illness (does a cat use your garden as a litter box or are their bird droppings all over the garden?). Here are some resources for growing your own healthy food; saving your own seeds as well as information on how to obtain heirloom seeds.

Detox Your Life

Detoxing your life can include getting rid of clutter and items that you no longer need.

I am on a mission to rid myself of all unnecessary paper. I have been going through old files and documents and recycling everything I don't need. Of course I am shredding documents with personal information. You can often find some fundraising event where they will shred your documents right before your eyes for a small donation.

Part of the paper purge includes old receipts. To prevent future build-up of receipts my new approach is to request that a receipt not be printed or to have it emailed to me. A lot of "thermal paper" on which our receipts are printed contain BPA (Bisphenol-A). On April 12, 2013, California added BPA to the list of chemicals that cause birth defects. There are other countries such as Canada that have declared it a toxic substance. Canada did this back in 2010 but more recently (last week) backed off a bit and declared it safe for food packaging.

There are plenty of studies that indicate it may be an endocrine disruptor as well as a recent study which indicates it may be related to childhood asthma. For safety sake I am trying to reduce my exposure to BPA.

Would Love to Hear From You

I hope that Earth month helps us all become more aware of what we can do to help our planet survive and thrive.

Eco-Chic Design would like your feedback. Please email marie@eco-chicdesign.com and tell us what topics you would like to see in your monthly newsletter.

Sincerely,

Marie L. Brown, LEED AP ID + C
Eco-Chic Design