Horizontal Spinning Compost Mixer

Composting reuses food garbage and waste and turns it into rich, natural soil that can be used throughout your garden, in flowerbeds, and in landscaping projects. Composting is a great way to serve the environment as it provides a way to reuse food garbage, and diminishes excess waste. If you’re interested in starting composting efforts, the process is as easy as investing in a garbage pail. Drill holes in the bottom of the garbage pail so that the compost will drain, and be sure to set the compost bin on something (bricks, wood panels, etc). Start your composting bin with some soil on the bottom. Begin sorting your food garbage and placing it into the compost bin, and be sure to rotate the soil with a shovel every week.

Another method of composting involves denying the waste oxygen, by filling a plastic bag with food waste, lawn clippings, etc. Add a little amount of water to help break down the waste. Tie the bag off when full, and let sit while you start another bag. With these two options for easy composting you’ll be creating nutrient rich soil in no time.

For those of us that already recycle, we either no the answer to this questions or just assume it’s the right thing to do. What most of us never see is the result of NOT recycling. There are masses of amounts of materials from tin to plastics and even toxic chemicals that lie beneath the earth as well as collecting in our seas that are tucked away so we don’t have to face the facts of what we are doing as a people of the earth to our planet. This is not a United States issue; it is a global issue. However, if each of us does our part then we begin to make a dent in the collection of all this trash that will not decompose.

The other reason is for the recourses that are saved by recycling. If we use recycled paper then it saves trees. If we use recycled plastic it saves petroleum for other uses. And the last reason we need to recycle is for future generations that will already have to figure out what to do with the mass of trash on this planet. The more we can use biodegradable materials the better off those generations will be.

When I first heard this term I had no idea what it meant so first let me tell you what it is; green wiping is when certain products or services are said to be green for marketing services but there is little to back it up that says it really is a green product service. So now that you know what it is, let’s talk about what you can do to protect yourself from being bamboozled into thinking it is a green product.

The first is to ask the person why they believe this product or service is green and listen to them very carefully. A green product must be better for the environment, sustainable and good for the planet. One could argue that battery powered cars are not really green because even thought they are better for the air and can be considered sustainable with a low carbon source, the batteries are not good for the environment and there is no good way of disposing on them making them not so good for the earth. Now you have to decide if this product is “green enough”, or has been “green wiped” and make your decisions from there.

What shade of green are you? If you look at what living green really is then you know there are all kinds of shades depending on “how green” you go. If all you do is replace your light bulbs with the energy saving kind of bulb then you are a light shade of green. If you walk or bike everywhere you go and eat only locally grown plants and animals, save your rain water and take a bath with recycled water you are a very dark shade of green. If you live in one of Michael Reynolds Earth Ships that is self sustaining and incorporates grow houses to grow your own food then you are so dark green you are almost black!

Very few of us stop to think what color green we really are and even fewer stop to think how far we would like to go. However, our world and the world of our children and grandchildren depend on us making decisions and commitments as to how green we are willing to go. To do this we will have to put our attitudes of entitlement behind us and get to work because being green requires us to get involved with our transportation, energy and food supplies, not to mention our water use. So what shade of green are you and how green do you want to go?

Bridgestone-Firestone is a huge international corporation, more known for its tires than for being friendly to the earth. But the company has a strong “green” philosophy and corporate culture that values conservation and environmentalism. The company, which bases its U.S. headquarters in Middle Tennessee, pushes innovation and awareness of the environment from top to bottom. The company is rather low key about their commitment to the environment, yet it is being recognized by conservationists and organizations that track environmental performance. In 2008, the company was named Industrial Conservationist of the Year by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. Bridgestone’s commitment is as much about little details, such as using energy efficient light bulbs, as it is about the big picture. Manufacturing of industrial products is done with minimal environmental impact, or at least that’s the goal. Every single employee is encouraged to make a difference and to participate in the company’s greening efforts.

Each Bridgestone manufacturing location has an environmental manager. For example, the plant in Warren County, Tenn. has surfaced as a leader among production facilities for its energy-saving innovations and land preservation efforts. The plant uses hydrogen fuel cells for engines used at the plant, a cutting-edge “clean energy” method that emits water instead of carbon into the air. The water-efficient toilets installed at the manufacturing plant save hundreds of thousands of gallons of water a year. And, there are plenty of other examples of the company’s vision. Bridgestone’s La Vergne, Tenn. plant was able to reduce the,use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerant was reduced by 88 percent. CFCs are widely blamed for contributing to depletion of the Earth’s ozone layer.

You could say that saving energy is one way to go green but it’s not the only thing that you can do to live a green lifestyle.  It is obvious that it is in the best interest of the individual and the environment that we do all we can to save energy.  However, as we transition from one energy source to another it is important to have a long view and make sure we aren’t moving from one environmental hazard to another.  Case in point is going to electric cars.  While it is great for cutting back on greenhouse gases we must make sure we can either reuse the batteries or dispose them in a clean way so we don’t end up spewing toxins into ground water, oceans and soils through dumping these batteries in landfills, etc.

The best way to look at the energy situation as well as living green is through the eyes of sustainability.  This is looking for ways where we can accomplish what we need to accomplish with as little impact as possible on the environment or the pocketbook that can be sustained no matter what.  A very simple example is to trade your clothes dryer for a clothes line.  The dryer is traditionally one of the greatest energy drains in a household and throws all kinds of particles into the air.  Using a clothes line to dry your clothes takes that energy drain off the grid as well as improves your local air quality.  While it may take more work, the benefits are great.  This is the optimum of what to look for when looking for ways to live green.

A strange as it may seem, finding gardening tools and other items to till the soil in your back yard has not always been easy.  Just take a look at the tools and you will see a lot of wood and plastic.  That means trees are coming down and when you’re done with it, the plastic could end up in your local landfill; and for a very long time.

You can’t avoid plastic and wood altogether when buying those tools and supplies for your garden. So what’s a gardener to do?  The best solution is to find tools and other items made from organic or recycled plastic products and to support those companies who are actively saving plastic from landfills. It is fortunate that many companies are using recycled plastic to make garden products and are willing to take them back and reuse them.  The more we encourage these companies to be and go green with their products, the more common these types products are becoming.