Nonetheless, many cities and states are banning plastic bags now and there are numerous things you can do to limit the plastic takeover of our world, such as:

1. Use reusable plastic bags
2. Use reusable water bottles
3. Use reusable lunch boxes
4. Use silverware, not plastic-ware
5. Avoid high-plastic products
6. Not buy plastic products you don’t need (or any products you don’t really need)
7. Bring a reusable mug to work… and much more.

Interesting plastic facts, eh? Are you going to take some steps to start kicking plastic out of your life?

Zach is the director of CleanTechnica.com and Planetsave.com, where he writes about global warming causes and effects, endangered plant species and animal species, interesting new clean energy technologies like vertical-axis wind turbines and solar shingles, and much more.

About half of the list is coal mine disasters. No wind or solar disasters seem to have happened in the last year.

It’s just a reminder that fossil fuels are pretty dangerous even before we burn them and they get into our air, water, and soil.

Image by Sister72, used with Creative Commons license

More on EcoScraps:

• Arctic Resource Rush Holds Nuclear Risks
• Georgia Tech’s Carbon Capture Technology Breakthrough
• Rolls Royce Tests Luxury Electric Vehicle

The lobster golf balls are said not to fly as well as traditional golf balls, but they get the same distance.

The lobster shells come from the lobster canning industry and currently end up in landfills, so this will make a significant dent in the amount of garbage in Maine’s landfills.

Interestingly, the raw materials for the lobster golf balls cost about 19 cents per ball. Pass the savings on to the consumer and lobster golf balls could become very popular.

Image by Beau B, used with Creative Commons license.

More on EcoScraps:

Board Game Monopoly Goes Green
Zebra Mussels Declining in Hudson River
Save the Tuna: Eat Lower on the Food Chain

While I like anything that takes up less space in my car or house, the origami steel grocery bags are especially useful in the packing industry. Experimenting with different sizes and shapes of bags could lead to quicker construction of moving boxes and other packaging.

As Zhong You, one of the origami engineers, said, “If you have moved house, you know how much time is wasted constructing the base of the box before you can put anything in it, and it’s even worse on a factory assembly line. Making cardboard boxes that can be folded flat, even with their base in place, will speed up automated packaging in factories.”

Source:  Weina Wu and Zhong You, “A solution for folding rigid tall shopping bags”, Proc R Soc A 2011 : rspa.2011.0120v1-rspa20110120.

Image by Weina Wu and Zhong You

More on EcoScraps:

Folding Bamboo Houses in Response to Catastrophe
Saber-Toothed Vegan
Plastic from Inside One Endangered Sea Turtle

This post is the first in a series as I work through some of the amazing books I’ve been sent to review. The pile of books nicely arranged on my desk represents about half of the books I have in the review pipeline. I am woefully behind in my reading . . .

I have a little bit of a book addiction and I get offered several books to review EVERY day. The 30 or so I have on deck are just the ones I couldn’t resist! I’m working on it. I can’t promise to read from cover-to-cover, but I do promise to try and to make sure to share the books and the wonderful ideas that come from them.

Here are 5 books that have landed on my doorstep over the last few months that I think have the potential to provide insight, to offer some hearty chuckles, to make you think and most of all to inspire.

Sleeping Naked is Green, by Vanessa Farquharson is a hilarious and insightful diary of her year of exploring the realities of green living. Here’s a sample entry: “July 3, Day 125 – Shower in the dark – why have I never taken a shower in the dark before? It’s the perfect way to wake up while still denying the existence of daylight and all forthcoming responsibility.” We interviewed Vanessa, but sadly it wasn’t recorded for podcast posterity. Good reason to get her back on the show! A very refreshing read.

Inquiries into the Nature of Slow Money: Investing as if Food, Farms and Fertility Mattered, by Woody Tasch is the highly inspiring basis of what I hope will be a significant movement towards thoughtful, sustainable investment in creating stronger local economies and communities. I am quite passionate about creating healthier regional food systems and this book provides some clear pathways to how we can invest in our health, the health of the earth and create healthier local economies while we’re at it! We are interviewing Mr. Tasch on the 3.31.11 show. If you miss the show, don’t miss the podcast or visit our archive page!

Four Fish: the Future of the Last Wild Food, by Paul Greenberg is a surprisingly fascinating and detailed look at the history and impact of four specific types of fish that we are most familiar with – salmon, sea bass, cod and tuna. There is a lot of depth to the reporting and accounting of how these fish have evolved into our world and onto our dinner plates. Probably more than I really wanted to know, but it offers a fresh and unique perspective on a food source that has been a staple in the human diet for as long as we’ve been foraging for food near a shoreline.

Hope Beneath Our Feet: Restoring Our Place in the Natural World, edited by Martin Keogh is a compilation of the thoughts and words of the leading minds in the movement towards a more thoughtful and truly sustainable world. They were all asked to answer the question, “In a time of environmental crisis, how can we live right now?” The thought-provoking answers from Paul Hawken, Barbara Kingsolver, Bill McKibben, Michael Pollan and others offer a wide variety of perspectives and refreshing ideas. How would you answer the question?

Plastic: A Toxic Love Story, by Susan Freinkel is a frightening and necessary look at how we (as a culture) have become dependent on plastic. The realities of what happens to plastic and how it interacts with the environment and our own bodies is startling. I just did a plastic-free month in February with Rodale.com and was entirely discouraged by it initially, but once I surrendered to the impossibility of eliminating plastic entirely and got into a realistic mode of considering responsible use and re-use of this crazy material, I came to the conclusion there is a LOT to learn and this book is an entertaining way to educate yourself about the pervasive plastic thing we’ve got going.

Many more books to come. Look for next installment! 

eat. blog. be merry!
green diva meg

Related info

From Mother Nature Network: Eat your dandelions
From Natural Papa: Backyard Pharmacy: Can Your Garden Help Cut Your Drug Bill?
From Treehugger (2): Colony Collapse Disorder and the Epic Fight to Save the Bees and Beekeeping Alternatives: Top-bar Hives, Warré Hives and Natural Approaches to Honey Bees

Show ur love for green-themed humor. Tweet “@GreenCartoons, I’m a #hankhead!” and share your favorite Hank D and the Bee cartoon with the world! Thanks.

If you’re looking to donate to help Japan earthquake survivors, Roxy at Feelgood Style has some excellent tips for finding the right charity.

Image Credit: Graphic courtesy of Geary Interactive, a digital marketing agency.

via WellHome and Planetsave

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Coupon Sherpa: Saving Trees With a New iPhone App
Get ‘Snippy’ About Good Reading Light! (Solar-Powered E-Reader)
Free Global Warming E-Book

Around the world, cities, groups, and individuals are joining in.  Hong Kong suspended its harbor light show for the evening.  Thirty-seven provinces in Vietnam participated.

This year, World Wildlife Fund, sponsors of the Earth Hour, is encouraging everyone to go beyond the hour.  The exact method of going “beyond the hour” is left up to you.  Brunei chose to go “bag-free”.  Bollywood star Vidya Balan has decided to be more conscious of her energy usage and is asking everyone else to do so as well.

EcoScraps has had a series of posts on how to conserve energy which might help with some ideas for going beyond the hour.

• Install a Programmable Thermostat (video)
• Use a Draft Dodger
• Seal Those Windows
• Top Five Eco-Friendly Insulation Options
• Tips for Buying Energy Efficient Appliances

Image courtesy of Earth Hour Global.