Candid and sensible green living advice since 1999.

Napkins: A Culture Clash

It certainly won’t surprise anyone familiar with my blog that I use cloth napkins for every meal. In fact, the only paper napkins I have laying around are a few I’ve collected here and there when grabbing a bite to eat on the road. With only a couple Starbucks and Chipotle paper napkins in the … Continue reading

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The Quick and Dirty On Dry Cleaning

Soon we’ll be emptying our dressers and closets of wool sweaters and winter coats preparing to send them off to the cleaners for their final cleaning before storing them. If you thought the bill for dry cleaning half your winter wardrobe was the worst part of this seasonal ritual, guess again.  Many dry cleaners have … Continue reading

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Latex Paint Clean-up


A reader, Doug, sent us this question on how to clean paint brushes. 

QUESTION:  How should I clean latex paint out of brushes, rollers and trays?  Is it better to rinse them off in the sink so the water goes to the treatment facility, or to rinse them off outdoors over the ground so the … Continue reading

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How to Manage Aerosol Can Waste

Aerosol cans didn’t go away with the US ban on CFC propellants (due to ozone depleting properties) in the 1980s.  Then and now, alternatives with lower ozone depleting potential have allowed the aerosol can to live on.

Aerosol containers are pressurized products that sometimes contain flammable or poisonous chemicals. And about 90 percent of them … Continue reading

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Tar Sands Kill, Pipelines Spill

Mining tar sands for low-grade crude oil is devastating huge swaths of Canada’s wilderness. The get to the tar sands, the oil industry is scraping up hundreds of thousands of acres of a vast ecosystem including forests and wetlands. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, tar sand mining uses massive amounts of energy and water, causes significant air and water pollution, and produces three times the global warming pollution of conventional crude production.

This video presentation by conservation photographer Garth Lenz shows and explains the devastation of tar sands mining, and it’s a video everyone ought to watch.  If you are moved by it, please remember to give your vote to clean energy candidates this election year.

You can also sign a petition to stop a massive 1,700 mile pipeline project, called Keystone XL, that would transport tar sands crude oil into the United States from Canada and with it a highly corrosive blend of thick raw bitumen and volatile natural gas liquid condensate. Pipelines are notorious for leaking, and the risk of transporting toxic materials through America’s heartland includes damage to water supplies and communities along its path. Sierra Club Chairman Charles Wesner—quoted in a recent Business Week article—said, “It’s not a matter of if [the pipeline will leak]; it’s a matter of where and when. It’s going to cause a great deal of destruction, somewhere at some time.”

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Home Perimeter

Bathroom

Outdoor Spaces

Heating & Cooling

Laundry Room

Housekeeping

Special Occasions

Kitchen

Bedroom

Home Office

Pets

Wardrobe

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© 1999-2012 Crissy Trask, Green Matters

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