Carnival Of The Green #217

Here’s a little weekend reading for you. Welcome to the 217th edition of the weekly Carnival of the Green, a collection of environmentally-focused blog posts which moves from one blog to the next each week and is managed by Tree Hugger.

Last week, the Carnival of the Green was hosted by Ethical Superstore. Next week’s is scheduled to be hosted by Love Eco.

These posts cover a broad assortment of topics, including my favorites: plastic and waste. So please grab a cup of whatever you think appropriate, sit back, and enjoy!

Plastic in the Bathroom

This week, Crunchy Chicken gets in the shower, presenting her post Body Wash Fascination. “Look at your man. Now look at me. I’m using an unnecessary product in a plastic bottle. And I’m on a horse.” I believe this article is just Crunchy’s excuse for posting one of the funniest commercials EVER. And who can blame her? I’ve embedded it too, at the end of this post.

Linda Anderson from Citizen Green presents March’s Stupid Plastic Crap. Each month, Linda Anderson, another plastic-free advocate, nominates one product as her “Stupid Plastic Crap” of the month. March finds her in the shower, not far from Crunchy Chicken.

Pure Natural Diva offers a Foaming Hand Soap Recipe. If you love foaming hand soap, here is a recipe for making your own so you don’t have to constantly buy new plastic containers.

And Leslie from Recycle Your Day gives us an update on her No ‘Poo plastic-free “shampoo” experiment. Think it’s weird to wash your hair with baking soda? It’s not. We are gaining converts every day, and I’m happy to see it’s working out for Leslie. Look at the photos of her pretty hair.

Glass Lovers Unite

The Non-Consumer Advocate Katy Wolk-Stanley shares with us A Love Letter to Pyrex. Why store our food in toxic plastic containers?

And Tiffany from Nature Moms agrees. In her post, 10 More Ways to Reuse Glass Jars, which follows up on her previous post, “10 Ways to Reuse Glass Jars,” Tiffany gives us 10 more. Some might surprise you.

Reduce! Reuse!

And it’s not just about reusing glass. David from The Good Human brings us 17 Easy Eco-Alternatives To Everyday Disposables.

From across the pond, Mrs. Green from My Zero Wastepresents Ditch the Disposables. She says, “Recycling is great, but reducing the amount of disposable items we buy is even better!” Mrs. Green also wonders about the Pros and Cons of Paperless Billing. “If every household in the US switched to paperless billing, we could save 16.5 million trees per year, but paperless billing is not without its problems.”

RecycleCindy from My Recycled Bags.com presents an idea for creative reuse in her post Thrift Store Sweater Upcycled.

And Micaela Preston from Mindful Momma suggests Shopping in the Basement instead of buying new stuff. Micaela discovers forgotten treasures by “shopping” her own basement. In the Bay Area where I live, shopping the attic would be more likely. Which is scarier?

What are we eating and breathing?

Green is not just about reducing waste. Several bloggers submitted posts this week about chemicals in our environment.

Marie Snyder from Project Earth insists that Everything Does NOT Cause Cancer. Marie says that instead of throwing up our hands and sighing, “Oh everything causes cancer these days,” we should find healthier alternatives. They do exist.

Karen Hanrahan from Best of Mother Earth is alarmed by an event that happened in her area. In her post Phenol Spill Causes Evacuation, Karen questions the need for phenol after a spill in a local health center leads to an evacuation.

Lisa from Condo Blues has a question. Are Low VOC Paints Long Lasting? She wants to avoid the chemicals from paint, but she wonders if low VOC (volatile organic compound) paints last as long as the toxic variety. Please weigh in and leave your thoughts in her comments.

And Diane MacEachern from Big Green Purse asks What Does Natural Mean? There’s no standard for the word “natural” so it can mean anything a company wants it to mean. The Natural Products Association, an industry group, wants to clarify the meaning of the word. But Diane questions whether their standard goes far enough.

Loving animals

Sally Kneidel, PhD from Veggie Revolution presents Recovery of Endangered Fox a Model for Conservationists. She tells us that in a chain reaction caused by ocean dumping of DDT, red foxes on the US West Coast had become endangered. But in a model partnership, organizations have found creative ways to save them.

And Beata Antoszek from Mom and Dad Camping offers Best Ways to Watch Wildlife at Night. Tips on watching wildlife with your kids while camping. She says, “This must be an ultimate family- and eco-friendly activity.”

Gree Design

Jennae from Green Your Decor loves furniture. In My Search for the Perfect, Affordable Green Desk, she compares 7 different desks made from sustainable/recycled materials.

And Marianne from Shoulderache & The Closet presents Interview: Deborah Lindquist. Marianne interviews fashion designer Deborah Lindquist, who creates her looks from organic and recycled materials.

Green Without Guilt

And finally in one of my favorite posts, David from The Good Human confesses his eco-sins in the post, Please Forgive Me, For I Am An Eco-Sinner. But then goes on to say, “The only way for this environmental movement to move forward is through encouragement and understanding – not guilt.” I love this post because it follows on the heals of my interview with Annie Leonard who also urges us to let go of guilt as an unproductive emotion.

And now, please forgive me. Some of my friends think this is the stupidest thing ever. But like I said on Monday, I’m a Philistine. On a horse.