• Plastic bags are made from petroleum OIL and natural gas.
• Americans use more than 380 billion plastic bags annually.
• The US imports 12 million barrels of oil annually to produce plastic bags.
• Plastic bags do not biodegrade.
• A plastic vortex twice the size of Texas swirls in the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Hawaii.
• Recycling is not a viable option. Consumption can be reduced by carrying reusable bags.
• The best alternative is reusable bags.
• There are a growing number of countries that are banning or taxing plastic bags. In the U.S., cities are beginning to do the same.

Remember that a great alternative is Ruthie Pearl . =)

I recently posted about Lauren Yant’s startup, Ruthie Pearl . This year she has a booth at the Farmer’s Market and due to her presence there was picked up by the Daily Style on Dooce.com . Superb! And now she is all sold out on bags and quickly sewing more. Ha ha… congrats!

If you haven’t yet, you should check out her site and try to secure an order before she sells out again. =)

A fellow SLC climber and friend, Lauren Yant, has started her own business, Ruthie Pearl , selling fashionable, earth-friendly shopping bags and gift bags. Lauren is highly earth conscience and taken her activism to the next level by creating quality products with low impact, while offsetting all business energy consumption through wind power credits, reducing and recycling wastes, and educating others on global impact and how they can have a positive influence.

She was recently quoted:

"A lot of people think that environmentalism is a political movement, but it really isn’t -climate change is something that affects us all. People in my generation look at our grandparents who thought nothing was wrong with smoking and think they were crazy. I think that’s the same way that our grandchildren will look at us."

"They’ll wonder, ‘What were they thinking?’ If there’s anything that I hope people learn from what I’m doing, it’s that anyone can make small changes to help the world become a better place – and you can even look cute doing it. I simply hope that people start taking small steps to make smarter decisions for a better tomorrow."

The current selection of bags can be seen on the site and at the upcoming Farmer’s Market . Lauren has offered a 20% discount for any of the CragBaby readers. Just enter CRAGBABY as the discount code at the time of checkout. And then of course let me know which bag you purchased, as I am still trying to decide…. =)

My friend, the Greyhghost, gave me the heads up about a phenomenal recycling service in Utah. The company, Stone Castle, is in the computer and electronics recycling business specifically but recycles everything imaginable from monitors and hard drives to batteries, electronics, glass, plastics, microwaves, DVDs, cell phones etc. The company services Weber, Davis and Utah counties through a handful of location drops, but addresseses Salt Lake County with a pickup service. They pickup and recycle everything for free except monitors and tvs which cost a mere $5 fee.

To schedule a pickup appointment, call 801-731-9444 and tell them where you will leave the items. Fantastic!

The U.S. has been years behind other countries in implementing greener solutions and controlling its carbon footprint. It seemed that we as a nation were ignorant to our impact until Al Gore created the film An Inconvenient Truth and now that our impact can visibly be seen with extreme droughts and the melting of icebergs around the world. The recent VC investment increase shows awareness and action at the ground level with the entrepreneurs and early-stage investors.

Unfortunately if companies are being funded today, that means that mass adoption is most likely 5+ years down the road as it will take years for the technology to be proven and implemented, products passed through prototypes and created, marketing teams to find interested parties and then finally into the consumer’s hands. Yet, this investment means hope for things to come. It means an investment today will equal a change in the future. It shows that not only is the U.S. finally joining the efforts to protect our environment, but that we are investing $367.9 million more than we did at this time last year (and note that this data is just for the first half of the year). But most exciting is the fact that the venture capitalist are financing these projects. The venture capitalists will be motivated to see these companies succeed in order to be able to experience a return on their investments, therefore will help to increase opportunities for the companies.

Pictured above is H.I.P. #1′s solar charger he used while traveling.

A local article was published this week in the Salt Lake Tribune recommending the website Earth911.org On the homepage of Earth911, entering an Utah zipcode will produce a list of environmental resources available, including places to dispose of CFLs.

It scared me that I had widely read that as a consumer I could take a step towards being environmentally responsible by switching my light bulbs yet had no idea of how to dispose of them properly. Shouldn’t this be written in big letters on the packaging?

• Change your lightbulbs – implement compact fluorescent lightbulbs with the Energy Savers label. Impact = 2.
• Get blueprints for a green house – if thinking about building a house, simply planning energy savings into the blueprint can save 40% of energy costs. Impact = 6.
• Light up your city – If you city is still using normal lightbulbs rather than LED’s. Contact your mayor and ask why. Impact = 4.
• Ditch the McMansion – Large houses require lots of energy, so one should live only in the space needed. Impact = 5. That is a pretty large impact for simply cutting back on wasted space.
• Hang up a clothesline – Even if you don’t want to use a clothesline, just washing clothes on colder cycles or not driving as long saves energy. If buying appliances, look for energy efficient models. Impact = 2.
• Give new life to your old fleece – Patagonia collects used clothing made from Polartec and Capilene to melt and reuse. Impact = 2.
• Vintage clothing – buying vintage or used clothing saves on the energy used to create new clothing. Impact = 2.
• Letting employees work close to home – This obviously cuts down the fuel needed to get to work. Impact = 6.
• Ride the bus – Riding the bus helps to subside the carbon dioxide released from transportation (30% of US emissions). Impact = 7.
• Move to a high-rise – the article states that the greenest people live in New York because they often don’t own a car, ride a bike or walk everywhere and live in compact areas that require less of a commute. Impact = 7.
• Pay our bills online – Not only does this cut down on paper use, but rids the need to transport the letter. Impact = 3.
• Open a window – Rather than using AC, opening a window has an impact of 5.
• Buy green power – Power companies, like Rocky Mountain Power, have the option of using green power for you home. Impact = 6.
• Check the label – buy items with the Energy Star. Impact = 3.
• Cozy up to your water heater – putting an insulating blanket around your heater prevents lost heat. Impact – 2.5.
• Skip the Steak – The article poses the questions, “Which is responsible for more global warming: your BMW or your Big Mac? Believe it or not, it the burger.” This is actually due to the manure and the cow waste. Vegetarian lifestyle gets an impact of 5.
• Just say no to plastic bags – Only 3% of the 500 billion plastic bags are recycled. Skipping the plastic bags has an impact of 5.5. If you have a pet and need bags to pick up waste, there are bio-degradable ones available through petshops.
• Buy local – buying things from local farmers reduces the transportation energy used. Impact = 5.
• Remove the tie – Japan laxed the business dress code and set office temperatures to a fixed 82.4 degrees in the summer. This small changed cut an estimated 79,000 tons of CO2. Impact = 6.
• Shut off your computer – Unplug or shut off all electronics when not in use. Impact = 3.
• Wear green eye shadow – It is possible to buy makeup that is 100% biodegradable (plastic tube, wrapping, etc). Impact = 2.
• Kill the lights at quitting time – Offices should have a pre-set time when the lights kick off. Impact = 4.
• Rake the fall colors – rather than using a leaf blower, a rake can save energy. Impact = 2.
• End the paper chase – Americans recycled 42m tons of paper last year, equaling 50% of what we use. Buying products with recycled paper saves 60% of energy costs. Impact = 5.
• Think outside the packaging – give back extra napkins or unused sugar packets. Even take your own cup to Starbucks. Impact = 4.
• Fill’er up with Passengers – carpool! Impact = 4.
• Make your garden grow- using alternatives to fertilizer, such as compost or cut grass, or planting wildflowers has an impact of 2.
• Check your tires – Maintaining your vehicle (changing the air filter, keeping tires filled, giving the engine a tune-up) can increase mileage, resulting in decreased CO2 emission. Impact = 4.
• Make one right turn after another – UPS has starting using routes that allow drivers to only make right turns as to avoid having to idle while waiting for a left turn. Impact = 2.

The last one is my favorite as I really try to live a simple life.

• Consume less, share more, live simply – “The chance to buy a carbon offset – in essence, an emissions indulgence – appeals to the environmental sinner in all of us. But there is an older path to reducing our impact on the planet that will feel familiar to Evangelical Christians and Buddhists alike. Live simply. Meditate. Consume less. Think more. Get to know your neighbors. Borrow when you need to and lend when asked. E. F. Schumacher prasied that philosophy this way in Small Is Beautiful: ‘Amazingly small means leading to extraordinarily satisfying results.” Impact = 6.

The list that I plan on integrating includes the pledge from Utah Clean Energy, plus some ideas of my own.

Pledge Ideas

1. Change 5 frequently used lightbulbs to energy saving bulbs .
• Status: So far I have changed two.
2. Install a programmable thermostat.
• Status: Done. Instead of a programmable thermostat I wear more sweaters and keep a small space heater on for my dog so she doesn’t freeze.
3. Use sleep-mode on my computer and turn off my computer and other appliances when not using them.
• Status: Done. I think I have now made this a habit.
4. Tell friends and family about the importance of energy efficiency.
• Status: Done. My goal was to tell at least 20 people (besides this blog) by April 14th.

Ideas of My Own

1. Setup household glass recycle bin for the three apartments and tell the household about it.
• Status: Done
2. Use windpower to power my electricity.
• Status: Done. Called in on Friday and made the switch.
3. Carpool every time I go to the gym or jog there rather than driving.
• Status: Done… I can’t remember the last time I drove by myself to the gym. However, I need to focus on always carpooling up the canyons.

That is the current list. I will keep brainstorming and encourage all the readers of this blog to do the same. I would love to hear anyone’s ideas ….