How to Go Green: In the Community
Sustainable living has certainly become a buzz phrase. More and more people are looking at ways to reduce their ecological footprint: driving less, eating less meat, wearing sustainable fashions. As individuals, we are increasingly aware of the impact we have on the planet and our fellow humans. But is greening our own lifestyle enough?

By taking the concept of sustainable living beyond the narrow, individualistic approach, we can learn to see our interconnectedness to our environment and its inhabitants. By getting involved in our communities, by talking to our neighbors, by supporting local groups, and by re-imagining where we live, we can green not only our own lifestyles, but our streets, neighborhoods, towns, cities and, ultimately, our societies. Who knows, we may even make friends doing it.

  Wilshire Eco Friendly Challenge: Committ to some of these Top Ways to Go Green and tell us what you did.

1. Make your own Green Cleaners
   
   All-Purpose Cleaner
   1/2 tsp washing soda
   A dab of liquid soap
   2 cups hot tap water
   Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag.
   
   Tip: If you're out of washing soda, use 2 1/2 tsp of borax, instead.
   
   Window Cleaner
   1/4-1/2 tsp liquid detergent
   3 tbs vinegar
   2 cups water
   spray bottle
   
   Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up a bit, and use as you would a commercial brand. The soap in this recipe is important. It cuts the wax residue from the commercial brands you might have used in the past.
   
   Creamy Soft Scrubber
   
   Simply pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a bowl, and add enough liquid detergent to make a texture like frosting. Scoop the mixture onto a sponge, and wash the surface. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn't leave grit.
   
   Tip: Add 1 tsp of vegetable glycerin to the mixture and store in a sealed glass jar, to keep the product moist. Otherwise, just make as much as you need at a time.
   
   Oven Cleaner
   1 cup or more baking soda
   water
   A squirt or two of liquid detergent
   
   Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface it totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top, then let the mixture set overnight.
   
   You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven. If this recipe doesn't work for you it is probably because you didn't use enough baking soda and/or water.
   
   Mold Killer
   2 teaspoons tea tree oil
   2 cups water
   
   Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse.
   
   Furniture Polish
   1/2 tsp oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)
   1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice
   
   Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.
    
2. Repair rather than replace. In our consumer-driven material culture we tend to replace something rather than repairing it. Does that TV really need to be replaced or can it be fixed? Maybe your favorite boots can be re-heeled, rather than replaced. Take the eco-friendly approach and have it fixed or give it to someone who is willing to have it fixed.
    
3. Purchase reusable shopping bags.  The plastic bags you bring home from the supermarket probably end up in a landfill. Every year, more than 500 billion plastic bags are distributed, and less than 3% of those bags are recycled. They are typically made of polyethylene and can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade in landfills that emit harmful greenhouse gases. Reducing your contribution to plastic-bag pollution is as simple as using a cloth bag (or one made of biodegradable plant-based materials) instead of wasting plastic ones, cost is about 5.00. For your next trip to the grocery store, BYOB.  Still want the plastic bags?  Recycle their use for picking up after pets or drop off for recycling at Giant Eagle stores
    
4. Skip the Steak.  Which is responsible for more global warming: your BMW or your Big Mac? Believe it or not, it's the burger. The international meat industry generates roughly 18% of the world's greenhouse-gas emissions—even more than transportation—according to a report last year from the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization.
    
5. Watch your electricity usage be actually reading your monthly usage amounts. A screen saver is not an energy saver. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, 75% of all the electricity consumed in the home is standby power used to keep electronics running when those TVs, DVRs, computers, monitors and stereos are "off." The average desktop computer, not including the monitor, consumes from 60 to 250 watts a day. Compared with a machine left on 24/7, a computer that is in use four hours a day and turned off the rest of the time would save you about $70 a year. The carbon impact would be even greater. Shutting it off would reduce the machine's CO2 emissions 83%, to just 63 kg a year.  Keep tags on your usage and see if you are really being eco-friendly, and not being a resource hog.
    
6. Find a commuting partner or walk when you can. Going green also means cutting down on your fuel usage.
    
7. Recycle those old fleece apparrel.  Where do old fleece jackets go to die? Back to the mountain. Outdoor-gear label Patagonia is collecting used clothing (regardless of brand) made from Polartec and Capilene to melt and make into new fabric and clothes. (Some of that fleece is especially virtuous, starting out as fabric made from recycled plastic.) The company estimates that making polyester fiber out of recycled garments, compared with using new polyester, will result in a 76% energy savings and reduce greenhouse gases 71%. To shear your own fleece, visit patagonia.com/recycle.
    
8. Change Your light bulbs.  The hottest thing in household energy savings is the compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL), a funny-looking swirl that fits into standard sockets. CFLs cost three to five times as much as conventional incandescent bulbs yet use one-quarter the electricity and last several years longer. They are available virtually everywhere lightbulbs are sold. Most labels don't say "CFL" (GE calls its bulbs Energy Savers), and in some cases the telltale twist is enclosed in frosted glass. The wattage gives them away: many 7-watt CFLs are comparable to a regular 40-watt bulb, 26 watts is the typical CFL equivalent of 100 watts and so on. Or just look for the Energy Star label.
    
9. Buy in bulk to cut-down on packaging costs and waste.  Share a produce purchase with some neighbors.  You will save yourself money and can likely purchase organic foods at a more cost effective rate in bulk.
    
10. Check out the label.  You wouldn't buy a car without knowing its gas mileage. Why not do the same when choosing energy-efficient ovens or even supermarkets and hotels? Energy Star, a rating system by the Environmental Protection Agency, will help you find them. Approved products can be pricier, but they cost less to power. Commercial buildings account for nearly 18% of U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions, but those with the Energy Star label consume 35% less energy than the average. By using Energy Star appliances at home, consumers can reduce their utility bill as much as 30%.
     
11. Pay your bill online, not only is it better for the earth but it also is a great fraud prevention tool.  Eliminating your paper trail by banking and paying bills online does more than save trees. It also helps reduce fuel consumption by the trucks and planes that transport paper checks. If every U.S. home viewed and paid its bills online, the switch would cut solid waste by 1.6 billion tons a year and curb greenhouse-gas emissions by 2.1 million tons a year, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. Worried about security? Don't be. Just ignore e-mails "phishing" for personal data, and monitor all (electronic) statements for any unauthorized debits. Report problems immediately, and your credit won't take the hit. To avoid unnecessary carbon dioxide-emitting car trips to the bank on payday, ask your employer to directly deposit your paycheck. You'll get your money faster that way too.
     
12. Open a Window.  Most of the 25 tons of CO2 emissions each American is responsible for each year come from the home. Here are some easy ways to get that number down in a hurry without rebuilding. Open a window instead of running the AC. Adjust the thermostat a couple of degrees higher in the summer and lower in the winter. Caulk and weatherstrip all your doors and windows. Insulate your walls and ceilings. Use the dishwasher only when it's full. Install low-flow showerheads. Wash your clothes in warm or cold water. Turn down the thermostat on the water heater. At the end of the year, don't be surprised if your house feels lighter. It just lost 4,000 lbs. of carbon dioxide.
     
13. Support the Local Farmers.  Fruit, vegetables, meat and milk produced closer to home rack up fewer "petroleum miles" than products trucked cross-country to your table. How do you find them? Search localharvest.org by ZIP code for farmers' markets, greengrocers and food co-ops in your area. The website, which includes handy contact information in its directory listings, also identifies restaurants that specialize in regional and seasonal ingredients. If you really want to get close to the farm, join a Community Supported Agriculture project, which lets you buy shares in a farmer's annual harvest. In return, you get a box of produce every week for a season. It will take more than a few visits to the farm stand to reduce the carbon impact of the U.S. food supply. In the meantime, here's another reason to go local: the taste is great.
     
14. Stop the paper Chase.  Americans recycled 42 million tons of paper last year—50% of what they used—but still pulverized the rest. Paper does grow on trees: 900 million of them every year become pulp and paper.
    
    We can reduce that number by buying more recycled paper. It uses 60% less energy than virgin paper. Each ton purchased saves 4,000 kW-h of energy, 7,000 gal. of water and 17 trees, and a tree has the capacity to filter up to 60 lbs. of pollutants from the air.
     
15. Check the Tires.  So you own a plain-vanilla, nonhybrid, gas guzzler. Now what? Just giving your engine a tune-up can improve gas mileage 4% and often much more. Replacing a clogged air filter can boost efficiency 10%. And keeping tires properly inflated can improve gas mileage more than 3%. The bottom line? If you can boost your gas mileage from 20 to 24 m.p.g., your old heap will put 200 fewer pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere each year.
     
16. Simplify:  Consume Less, Share More. The chance to buy a carbon offset—in essence, an emissions indulgence—appeals to the environmental sinner in all of us. But there is an older path to reducing our impact on the planet that will feel familiar to Evangelical Christians and Buddhists alike. Live simply. Meditate. Consume less. Think more. Get to know your neighbors. Borrow when you need to and lend when asked. E.F. Schumacher praised that philosophy this way in Small Is Beautiful: "Amazingly small means leading to extraordinarily satisfying results."

Tell us ways that you go green and share them with your neighbor and friends.  Together we can make a difference.  

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has released a new top 10 list to help pet owners go green with their furry companion. Some of them are a bit out there, to say the least, but whatever helps make a difference.

1. Instead of throwing out old towels or bedding, contact a local shelter and donate it. They also accept old pet toys, or used litter boxes.
2. This should go without saying, but don’t give your pet bottled water. Give them tap water. They won’t care.
3. Use biodegradable bags to scoop up your dog’s mess, or for cat owners, use eco friendly cat litters.
4. Earth-friendly (and pet friendly) shampoos and grooming products are available, so why not use them.
5. If you have a really small pet, think about giving them home grown veggies, free of insecticides.
6. If your pet makes a mess, use an all natural cleaning solvent like vinegar, rather than bleach.
7. If you have reptile or fish tanks, use energy saving lights, and put them on timers.
8. Wearing shoes in the house can bring in extra dirt and pesticides that your pet doesn’t need exposure to.
9. If you buy pet treats, make sure they come in recyclable cardboard. Or better yet, make your own!
10. Buy pet food in bulk - less packaging, plus less cost overall.

Hopefully the tips that weren’t insanely obvious will be a help to all the pet loving readers out there.

What are some of your favorite Green Resources?
http://www.go-green.ae
http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/gogreen
http://green.yahoo.com
http://www.go-green.com
http://www.dadsgogreen.com