[links] a TreeHugger kind of day

[kettunainen]

Consumerism

LS: 10 Ways to Green Your Spending

Simple: Buy Green Shoes (when your current ones wear out, of course)

Water

TH: Global Warming to Dry Up Ganges River

TH: How to Green Your Water

Grist: ...Smart Money is on Filter Systems

TH:Case Study for Flushless Urinals

TH: Argentinean Water Recycling Toilets

TH:How to: Eco-Laundry

TH

Comments

[feonixrift]

I do wish, when trying to "green" stuff, that people would pay more attention to the prevalance of latex allergy. All to often the natural products are ones that people like me can't use.

[kettunainen]

The only mention of latex in any of the above links that I was able to find was the use of the latex condom. If you're not concerned about STIs and only about pregnancy, then lambskin works just fine, unless you're vegetarian, of course.

What other natural products have you encountered that contain latex?

[feonixrift]

Of those listed in the post, iirc the soles of the 'green shoes' contain latex. I don't recall all the places I've run into the problem, but it has seemed pretty common. (Ok, so my pet peeve is yoga mats, which maybe increases the apparent prevelance, but details.)

[kettunainen]

I don't know much about latex allergies, other than it's not good to have skin-to-latex contact, as it results in badness. Are the soles of the green-toe shoes going to cause that much of an issue for you? They've got plenty of lining between the soles and where you put your foot. Like I said, I don't know how bad latex allergies can be, so I don't know how much of an issue this can be.

And yeah, latex-made yoga mats... ugh. I never even though of that one! However, a little googling gave me this: http://www.yoga4beginners.org/yoga-equipment/gaiam-yoga-mat.htm

Apparently, Gaiam carries 2 or 3 different latex-free yoga mats. Happy shopping! *grins*

[sgeimh_solais]

Curious that the eco-laundry listing does not mention the use of more eco-friendly detergents, beyond saying 'make sure they're phosphate free' or that stain-removers are roll-on. In fact, the change in use of detergents from products like All or Tide or whathaveyou to products like Ecover and Seventh Generation goes far beyond just the elimination of phosphates. Such companies use eco-friendly production of their goods, among other things, thereby reducing environmental impact much more than just the use of a phosphate-free detergent would allow

[kettunainen]

I think a lot of these sites are catering to the common denominator, so not using phosphates is a giant step for some people. For others, it's getting them to not use the hot cycle any more.

We are lucky with respect to hang-drying clothing. Our apartment has good circulation and plenty of places to hang things. We ended up getting an over-the-door drying rack from Ikea that has been incredibly helpful for us. And we don't air dry everything: sheets, towels, socks, undies, and certain other items of clothing all get dried in a machine (until we're in a place where we can safely air dry on a clothes line).

[sgeimh_solais]

oooo, an over-the-door rack...hmm....i could use it for small items...