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BANG FOR THE BITE
If 10,000 Biters go with reusable utensils, in a year we'll keep almost 1.5 million disposable knives, forks, spoons, and sporks outta landfills.
COCKTAIL FACT
The Japanese company Sekon has developed a firework shell made from biodegradable plastic (from a corn-starch ingredient), wood, and rice.
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home › tip library › Eco Friendly Picnics
Wanna picnic while the night sky explodes?
The Bite
Fuse together a little green with your red, white, and blue, and have a blast. While we can't make those explosions eco, the Fourth is a great time to celebrate your independence from eco-unfriendly picnicware.The Benefits
- Cutting trash while saving cash. Reusable picnicware leads to smaller landfills and less money spent on disposables.
- Tree savings. If each U.S. household replaces one 40-count package of conventional paper plates with 100% recycled ones, we'll save 487,000 trees.
- Fair wages. Fair-trade picnic supplies are made by workers who earn a living wage.
Personally Speaking
We use Preserve utensils in the office, even though we have to wash them in the bathroom sink. A few have recently gone missing, though, and we suspect one of us is pilfering them for their own Fourth picnic...Wanna Try?
- Recycline Preserve Tableware - bright-colored 100% recycled and dishwasher-safe plastic plates, tumblers, and utensils ($6-$18).
- Ten Thousand Villages Lidded Picnic Basket - fair-trade bamboo basket opens on both ends and has two interior compartments ($44).
- To-Go Ware Action Pack - comes with a stainless steel food carrier and fair-trade, lightweight bamboo cutlery ($32).
- Abundant Earth Multi-Striped Colorgrown Tablecloth - organic cotton table cloth, colored without dyes ($29).
- Wrap-N-Mat - washable, reusable sandwich wrap and place mat that replaces plastic baggies ($7).
Jul 02,2007
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I Have Friends Who are British
I haven't gotten excited about 4th of July since I was little, when my family would walk to the manmade lake near my childhood home and watch the fireworks, with leftovers from the afternoon's barbecue in tow. I think it's become one of those holidays that doesn't mean a whole lot to most people, but fireworks are pretty cool, and I do like my barbecue.
Originally, the 4th of July was a celebration of our independence from England. I happen to have a few British friends, so instead of thinking about the war we won against the redcoats this 4th, I'll be thinking about the war against pesticides - meaning me and my friends are going organic this Independence Day. Organic ketchup, soy dogs, buns, chips, watermelon. I'm actually getting a little excited now...
-Toshio...off to pick up an organic watermelon...
Originally, the 4th of July was a celebration of our independence from England. I happen to have a few British friends, so instead of thinking about the war we won against the redcoats this 4th, I'll be thinking about the war against pesticides - meaning me and my friends are going organic this Independence Day. Organic ketchup, soy dogs, buns, chips, watermelon. I'm actually getting a little excited now...
-Toshio...off to pick up an organic watermelon...
Biter Comments...
According to this site: http://www.healthybuilding.net/pvc/SortingOutVinyls.html
PEVA is a Polyethelyne compound primarily used in shower curtains and body bags.
Ha. Good to have body bag material to wrap my sandwiches with!
Every year i suffer for days even weeks after these types of events. Since I found the Pionair unit I now can rest assured that I will not have to endure the head aches and pain full chest pains from breathing these elements every 4th of July.
The same neighborhood fireworks that may have people gasping with delight Wednesday probably also left some people gasping for fresh air.
Pollution far exceeded healthy levels for a few hours from Georgia to California on the Independence Day evening. As you could tell by the smoke filled air as the colors gleemed high in to the air the quality changed in a matter of seconds.
So many neighborhood's fireworks pumped so much smoke and heavy metals in the air Wednesday night, levels reached nearly 25 times the health standard for the fine-particle pollution called PM2.5 between 10 and 11 p.m.
PM10, the measure for larger-sized fine-soot pollution, was about six times the federal health standard for an hour. And, following the Stadium of Fireworks at the LARGER venues July 4th celebration, the pollution could be monitored as far as 10 miles away making it seven times higher than the health standard for PM2.5 and more than double the standard for PM10.
All the numbers are preliminary - officials will check the real-time monitors against an actual count of particles on their official air filters -
Healthy Environment earlier this year, found the pollution spikes shocking. He noted that heavy metals used to make the fireworks displays and the smoke they leave behind can be harmful to people, even if their exposure is only short-term.
These high pollution are "acutely deadly" and this has been noted that its harmful health effects can be seen within hours and can last for days.
"This is a kind of celebration in defiance of public health,adding that high pollution "ought to be factored into how these events are handled."
We should consider heart and lung patients and the parents of young children everyone should be cautious about exposure to fireworks smoke. Everyone should own a PIONAIR because it helps with these types of situations. www.pionair.net
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Jessica | July 02, 2007 at 06:48 AM