Eco-friendly Easter Eggs
The best Easter egg is the one you can eat afterward! If you go the hard-boiled route, choose eggs that are cage-free and organic like Organic Valley Organic Eggs or Sparboe Farms Organic Eggs.
But what about the Easter egg dye or paint? You can actually make your own natural Easter egg dye from common foods, like grape juice, tea, lemon peels, and more.
If you don't think you'll eat the hard-boiled Easter egg, consider the Mexican tradition of cascarones (or confetti eggs). Here's how to make them:
1. Take your (organic, cage-free) egg and open the top of the egg. You can use a pin, a knife, or even a chopstick.
2. Empty out the inside of the egg into a bowl. (Tip: Sometimes it helps to make a very small hole at the other end of the egg and blow through to get the yolk and white out a little faster.)
3. Rinse out the inside of the egg.
4. Decorate with your natural egg dyes.
5. Fill the egg shell with a bit of confetti (if you can, try to find some made from recycled paper or make your own from junk mail).
6. Cover up the end with a bit of glue and tissue paper.
7. Make scrambled eggs! (Or your other favorite dish with eggs.)
If you're looking for fillable eggs, check out these crocheted Easter eggs from SalvagedExpression -- not only are they handmade, they're reusable, and you avoid any plastic.
But if you do already have the refillable plastic eggs, don't fret! Just make sure to keep them out of the trash and reuse them for as long as you can. And if you don't want yours any more, take them to Goodwill or Freecycle them.
Organic Easter candy
Easter candy is a tradition! You've got your chocolate bunnies ... chocolate eggs ... even jelly beans. Instead of grabbing the standard Hershey's stuff or marshmallow Peeps that have been sitting on the shelf for ages waiting for Easter day, opt for organic and natural candies.
For your organic chocolate bunnies and eggs, try: Allison's Gourmet Vegan Chocolates, Sjaak's Organic Chocolate, and Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates.
For organic jelly beans, try Surf Sweets organic jelly beans. Or if lollipops are more your thing, try Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops.
Eco-friendly Easter toys and gifts
If you love giving away (or getting) stuffed animals on Easter, there are tons of lovely eco-friendly toys.
For soft and snuggly organic cotton bunnies and more, check out:
* miYim plush toys made from organic and natural cotton
* Under the Nile toys for baby and infant toys made from 100% organic cotton
* Naturel by Kaloo soft toys made from organic cotton
* Sckoon organic cotton plush toys
Reusable Easter baskets
Whether you make Easter gift baskets or have baskets for your kids (or yourself) to partake in an Easter egg hunt, choose a reusable basket. Not only will your baskets get used over and over again, they can be put to good use during the rest of the year as napkin holders or even as fruit bowls.
And try to avoid the green "floss" grass in the bottom of your baskets -- the most common kind is made from plastic and usually ends up in landfills. If you really miss the look of grass in your basket,there's always natural raffia ribbon which you can reuse later for gift wrap. You could even try edible Easter grass -- and even if you choose not to eat it, it will at least biodegrade. Or use up some junk mail, magazines, or old newspapers. Just shred them up and you'll have a great nest for your Easter eggs.
Organic Easter menu
There are all sorts of great recipes for Easter. For an eco-friendly meal, the best rule of thumb is simply to get as many organic and local ingredients as possible, regardless of where you get your recipes.
Beyond that, if you're looking to lower your impact, try serving a vegetarian meal.
For ideas for vegetarian Easter recipes, check out:
* VegParadise.com
* About.com
* VegCooking.com
Eco-friendly Easter fun for the family
* Along with the Easter eggs and Easter candy, hunt for or give away packets of seeds. Not only are they super eco-friendly, you can have fun planting them together.
* Go for a walk. It's spring time! Get outside for a bit.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
When to switch off your lights
Does switching the lights on and off use more energy than leaving them on? The answer is no, despite the common misperception that turning a light on creates a power surge. The thinking is that it's more economical to just leave a light on rather than pay the costs of flicking it back on.
In reality, that "surge" lasts for only a fraction of second, according to Francis Rubinstein, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Any "start-up" energy costs are minuscule at best and are more than offset by the money you save from turning your lights off, even if it's only for a short time.
So if you're strictly concerned about saving energy (and money), you should turn your lights out when you're not using them.
The bigger issue with turning lights on and off frequently, though, has to do with shortening the product's lifetime, says Christina Kielich at the Department of Energy.
It doesn't affect the lamp life of an incandescent bulb very much, says Rubinstein. So it makes sense to always turn them off when you a leave room, even if it's only for a few minutes.
Compact florescent light bulbs, on the other hand, are a somewhat different story. Flicking them on and off repeatedly will affect how long they last, although, Rubinstein points out that the impact is minimal for most households.
How much flicking on and off is too much? The general consensus is that it's best to turn off CFLs when you are leaving for 15 minutes or longer. In fact, Energy Star recommends installing florescent bulbs in fixtures that are used for at least 15 minutes at time. So it doesn't make sense to use them in places where you'd need to switch them on and off constantly.
The rule of thumb is a little different when you're at the office, according to Rubinstein. Turn out florescent lighting when you're leaving for at least 5 minutes. The reason? Full-size florescent systems aren't as sensitive to frequent cycling as CFLs and won't impact the life of the bulb as much.
In reality, that "surge" lasts for only a fraction of second, according to Francis Rubinstein, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Any "start-up" energy costs are minuscule at best and are more than offset by the money you save from turning your lights off, even if it's only for a short time.
So if you're strictly concerned about saving energy (and money), you should turn your lights out when you're not using them.
The bigger issue with turning lights on and off frequently, though, has to do with shortening the product's lifetime, says Christina Kielich at the Department of Energy.
It doesn't affect the lamp life of an incandescent bulb very much, says Rubinstein. So it makes sense to always turn them off when you a leave room, even if it's only for a few minutes.
Compact florescent light bulbs, on the other hand, are a somewhat different story. Flicking them on and off repeatedly will affect how long they last, although, Rubinstein points out that the impact is minimal for most households.
How much flicking on and off is too much? The general consensus is that it's best to turn off CFLs when you are leaving for 15 minutes or longer. In fact, Energy Star recommends installing florescent bulbs in fixtures that are used for at least 15 minutes at time. So it doesn't make sense to use them in places where you'd need to switch them on and off constantly.
The rule of thumb is a little different when you're at the office, according to Rubinstein. Turn out florescent lighting when you're leaving for at least 5 minutes. The reason? Full-size florescent systems aren't as sensitive to frequent cycling as CFLs and won't impact the life of the bulb as much.
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