Design & Architecture

Earth Day is really just around the corner (Sunday!), and we hope that as the day draws near, you've been thinking about what you can do to make our world a greener, healthier place. When it comes to equating everyday behavior with saving the planet, few things are as high on the list as recycling. Here are some tips and resources for incorporating recycling into your life, not just on Earth Day, but every day.

1) Recycle your stuff: it can be fun (and sexy) with the EcoPod; with programs from Dell, Apple (remember, iPod has its own program) and more, there's no excuse not to recycle your computer; the online community at Superuse has user-generated ideas, pics and descriptions to help you do-it-yourself and keep it out of the landfill; and, as if you needed more incentive, Recyclebank pays you to do it. More tips on recycling something today can be found here.
2) Get recycled and second-hand stuff: just about anything can be made with recycled content or given a new home, from toothbrushes to computers to home insulation and apparel.
3) Give recycled and second-hand stuff: 'tis better to give than receive, so rather than chucking it in the garbage, help it find a new home with services like FreeCycle, Craigslist, Material Love and Swap-O-Rama-Rama.
4) See the results: recycled stuff doesn't have to "look recycled". To wit: you can recycle a 747 into a house; build a yacht entirely from recycled materials; get a ring from recycled precious metals; create art or fancy lighting; and create a couture dress from umbrellas. The sky's the limit.

For more examples and ideas, check out our How to Green Your Recycling guide and dig in to our category dedicated to recycling. Happy Earth Day!

Science & Technology

As Earth Day draws ever nearer, we'll focus on ways to save the planet some trouble with some of the things that we all use just about every day: personal electronics. Computers, batteries, radios and the like can really add up when it comes to energy use and e-waste; here are some ways to keep connected while keeping your gadgets' footprint small.

1) Check out our top five tips for reducing computer energy use; if you're shopping for a new one, take a peek at Asus' bamboo notebook (the greenest laptop yet?) and watch for RoHS and EPEAT certifications, and when your through with your 'puter, be sure to recycle it.
2) When it comes to batteries, rechargeables are the way to go for alkaline; read this guide to learn more about caring for other rechargeables (like the one in your cell phone).
3) Crank power can replace many common plug-in chargers; we picked a handful that include wind-up cell phone chargers, remotes, flashlights and radios. XM is reportedly working on a wind-up satellite radio, and some even combine functionality, like this cell phone/flashlight combo.
4) For greener listening, speakers like these hemp cone jobs, Panasonic's bamboo speakers, Pioneer's reclaimed whiskey-barrel speakers and these crazy gourd speakers are just a few of the options available for the discerning green music fan.

Check out our guide to How to Green Your Electronics for more tips on green gadgetry, and stay tuned for more ideas for a greener life in preparation for Earth Day.

Take Action

Cleaning products are everywhere in our homes, and get everywhere when we use them; on our dishes, countertops, floors, hands...the list goes on and on. They're so pervasive that we follow this general rule: if you don't want it on your skin or in your body, don't use it. Thankfully, there is a large (and growing ever larger) contingent of green cleaning products, strategies and ideas to help you keep your house clean and green.

1) Products from Seventh Generation, Method, B_E_E and Ecover are just a few that eschew toxics and nasty chemicals in favor of essential oils and earth-friendly ingredients. Actor Ed Begley even has an eco-friendly cleaning product worthy of the prestigious Cradle to Cradle seal of approval.
2) If you don't have time to clean up yourself, we've seen a growing trend in eco-friendly home cleaning services that clean your house without leaving toxics behind.
3) These natural scrubbers take a tough, green approach to cleaning dishes and last longer than their plastic counterparts.
4) Taking a DIY approach to cleaning clogged drains could save you from busting out the caustic drain cleaner.
5) When it comes to dry cleaning your clothes, there are greener alternatives that stays away from the standard solvent in favor of liquid carbon dioxide and other less harmful cleaners.

Learn more at TreeHugger's How to Green Your Cleaning guide, and stay tuned for more tips to help you go green and get ready for Earth Day.

Science & Technology

We've covered water on two occasions before in our Earth Day guides, and today we'll concentrate on being smart with the water we drink.

1) Bottled water is tremendously wasteful -- prepare to catch your jaw as it drops when you see the final numbers -- so we recommend staying away from it, when at all possible.
2) Aside from having a terribly high ecological cost, it can have some pretty strange stuff in it, like stuff to make you skinny, infused with good intentions, and gold.
3) Though some bottled waters like Biota and Jivita are being bottled in biodegradable, compostable plastic, they aren't recyclable and chances are they won't break down in your backyard compost heap.
4) Other companies like Ethos and HtoO are using their bottled-water monies for good, but there's no escaping the fact that it's a huge waste.
5) TreeHugger's advice? Drink tap water, which is cleaner and healthier than bottled in a surprising percentage of locations (learn more at the National Tapwater Database); if you're on the go, plan ahead and fill up a durable, non-toxic container to take with you.

Get more water-efficiency tips in TreeHugger's How to Green Your Water Guide and stay tuned for more tips in preparation for Earth Day.

Food & Health

Yesterday, we mentioned some tips for growing some of your own food, a process that can be tricky, especially if you don't have your own garden or a particularly green thumb. When it comes to strategies that help your garden grow, adding compost is a great way to mulch and add nutrients without using industrial fertilizers (not to mention a good use of food leftovers and other organic waste). Here are some tips and products that can help you compost and help the planet for Earth Day.

1) BluePlanetSMART's globe-shaped composter is faster and more functional thanks to its spherical shape, and is better-looking than a lot of composters we've seen.
2) The Stiga kitchen composting system allows you to inject your fresh kitchen scraps into the bottom of the pile using a lever ram system, which helps the new scraps get composting faster and keeps the stink down.
3) NatureMill's onboard computer controls the mixing and air flow, brewing up delicious compost about every two weeks without funky compost odors or having to hand-turn the mixture.
4) Compostadores is the first (and only, so far) company that we've seen that specializes in domestic composting in Europe.
5) New York City has its own map that shows you where to take your kitchen scraps and organic waste so it can be composted and naturally recycled into rich soil, with tips and tricks for starting compost yourself.
6) San Francisco has incorporated composting into its recycling system, taking food scraps from 2,000 restaurants to make compost, and the city is offering free classes in composting this weekend!
7) Vermiculture (composting using worms) has caught Martha Stewart's eye and you can do it, too, with this Can-O-Worms Condo.
8) Artist Amy Youngs' digestive table gives new meaning to the term "dining table," using worms to compost your leftovers right at the table.
9) The Happy Farmer Kitchen Composter is made from 70% recycled plastic and, according to a TH reader, doesn't smell at all.

Happy composting! For more info on greener eating practices, check out TreeHugger's How to Green Your Meals guide and stay tuned for more tips in anticipation of Earth Day.

Food & Health

As we are wont to mention, making green food choices is one of the best ways to live a more TreeHugger-friendly lifestyle every day; eating local food is a great way to do this, but certainly no the only way. With spring in full bloom in many parts of the US and the world (and Earth Day right around the corner), now is the perfect time to start thinking about growing some of your food for yourself -- it doesn't get any more local than that -- and you don't have to have a garden or a green thumb to do it.

1) Hydroponic gardening is a great alternative to in-ground growing, requiring less space, dirt and sunlight than traditional gardens.
2) Aeroponic gardening, the waterless cousin to hydroponics, can be even easier: just drop the pod in place and wait a couple weeks for your own indoor garden to grow right in your kitchen.
3) Things like the Hortuba table and the Leopoldo City Vegetable Garden offer space-efficient container gardening for those without a plot in the ground to call their own.
4) You can grow mushrooms just about anywhere, from in a bag at home to your desk at work.
5) You Grow Girl is a great resource for DIY gardening, including tips on growing cascading herb pots in tiny spaces and making beauty products from the plants in your garden.
6) Check out our top five spring gardening tips and top five gardening ideas for more ways to grow more with less.

For even more ideas on growing your own food, check out TreeHugger's guide for How to Green Your Meals, take a spin through the food section of our site and stay tuned for more info on getting ready for Earth Day.

Recent Comment by cd : "Aquaponics is another growing system that is pretty interesting. It combines an aquacul..." [read]