Image from CookForLife.com

When it comes to eating healthy many people forget to factor in the cookware they are using to make their meals. You could be buying fresh vegetables and only natural or organic foods and still not get all the nutrients you hoped for. Your cookware could be thwarting your efforts to go green, plus it could be adding toxins into the “healthy” food you are making.

Just like you can pick your vehicle based on the form of gasoline, diesel, bio-fuel, alternative fuel or fuel additive used to make it more fuel efficient and better for the environment, the same idea applies to choosing your cookware.  What kind of cookware is best to ensure your food stays healthy after you cook it? What kind of cookware is better for the environment?

Well, there are many you can choose from, but from my personal experience, I’d recommend going with Kitchen Craft® Cookware, made by Americraft. You won’t find them in department stores or your local Bed, Bath and Beyond, but you can find them at most State Fairs or Home Shows.

It’s made from stainless steel and while it isn’t as “easy to clean” per se as non-stick cookware, it doesn’t release chemicals or toxins into the air or into your food as some non-stick cookware can do. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather put a little more elbow grease into cleaning rather than worry about toxins or little pieces of plastic getting in my family’s food.

Now I may be a tad bit biased as my sister sells Kitchen Craft cookware and she did give us a basic set as a wedding gift about six years ago. But, since I pretty much use the cookware every day, I’d say it was one of the best gifts I received.

Not only is the cookware stainless steel, but it is commonly referred to as “waterless cookware“, which is a great way to cook while saving water and energy at the same time.

Now I’m no chef, by any stretch of the imagination and my hubby does do a lot of the cooking, but having this cookware really does help with making good quality, healthy meals. That’s why I thought it would be worth mentioning!

Here’s a simple video that shows you how simple it is to make chicken and potatoes without a lot of fats, oils or grease:

And another that shows you some of the green benefits of Americraft’s manufacturing process, including:

• No harmful chemicals are used in the manufacturing process
• Renewable wind energy provides the electricity to power their machines
• Energy-efficient windows allow natural light in
• Their containers are made from 30-100% recycled fiber
• They use reverse osmosis to reduce water consumption and filter discharge
• No VOCs
• They use natural cleaning methods

Some of the benefits experienced by people using their cookware include:

• Saving energy, as it only requires low-medium heat to cook to perfection
• Saving space, as you can not only stack the cookware when not in use, you can stack the pans on top of each other during cooking – requiring only one burner to be in use.
• Saving money, as your cookware will last longer and you can get more nutrients from your food than other types of cookware. You can even take advantage of their $50 off coupon or email healthycookware@gmail.com to see what offers are available.
• Improving health, if used properly this cookware will allow you to prepare your meals using less water, less oils and fats, have less cholesterol as a result, etc. You can even do things like cook fried chicken without grease or boil an egg without a pot full of water.
• Saving time, as there is less prep time involved with most cooking and less need to constantly check your food.

So if you want to improve your health and make sure the food you are cooking maintains its nutrients, invest in a long-lasting, reliable cookware like Kitchen Craft cookware (aka The Healthy Gourmet). They definitely get a green plus in my book for healthy cookware.

Image from superbowlflorida.blogspot.com

Last year an estimated 98.7 million Americans tuned in to the watch the big game on Super Bowl Sunday. That’s not including the 70,000+ people who actually attended the game. But do you have any idea of the costs, both monetary and environmental, of the Super Bowl? Well, let’s review some of those facts and figures as well as go over some environmental tips for your own personal game day activities.

If you attended Super Bowl I, you would have paid about $6 per ticket. Advertisers paid an estimated $42,000 for a 30-second ad spot. Today if you wanted to see Super Bowl XLIV, you’d pay anywhere between $1275 and $5650 per ticket.  Advertisers are paying an average $2.65 million for a 30-second ad spot…and that’s down from the last two years.

Some past advertisers including General Motors, FedEx and Pepsi, have opted out of this year’s advertising slots. However, despite complaints received by the Treasury Secretary, Chrysler plans on being the only U.S. auto-maker to run an ad during this year’s Super Bowl.

Take a look at this 1969 Super Bowl commercial from Chrysler:

Even though Pepsi is not having an ad during the Super Bowl, they are the official drink of the NFL and are debuting their new energy-efficient, HFC-free coolers at the Super Bowl, so I’m sure they will get plenty of promotion.

As far as the stadium and those in attendance for the big day….there are 20,000 parking spaces available e.g. a potential for 20,000 vehicles. The EPA estimates there is about 19.4 pounds of CO2 emitted for every gallon of gasoline burned. Even if each car only drove 20 miles to get there, that would still be over 7 million pounds or over 3500 tons of CO2 emissions. (NOTE: That doesn’t factor in trucks used to bring in food, supplies or any other CO2 emissions generated during game day preparations.)

When you factor in the trash generated on game day from left-over food containers, promotional flyers, etc you are talking even further environmental impact. Did you know at the 2004 Super Bowl, over 428 tons of trash was collected during the four-day event?

Luckily the the NFL has the “Super Bowl XLIV Environmental Program“ in place this year. Their program is designed to help lower the environmental impact of Super Bowl XLIV.

Solid Waste Management/Recycling: They intend to have recycling containers at all major event facilities where Super Bowl related activities will take place.

Prepared Food Recovery: Excess prepared food will be collected up and donated in coordination with Daily Bread Food Bank. Last year over 65,000 pounds of food was donated, due in part to activities like this and the annual “Taste of the NFL” event.

Materials Donation: After the Super Bowl, the NFL plans to donate as many supplies and materials as possible, so as not to waste them. This includes building materials, non-perishable foods and drinks, decorations, live plants, etc.

Sports Equipment/Book donation project: The “Super Kids-Super Sharing” project will be working to collect used sports equipment and books from local schools and school children for donation to other under-equipped schools and school children in South Florida.

Climate Change Initiative: Last but definitely not least, this initiative has a variety of facets, including using renewable-sourced energy to “power” the stadium and other facilities. Basically, the NFL has teamed up with NextEra Energy Resources who will supply Green e-certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to match electricity consumption during the Super Bowl and related events. They will also be decreasing transportation emissions from the Super Bowl fleet by using hybrid vehicles or alternative fuels. Providing sources for alternative fuels to all vendors and partners, including the broadcast media, for use in powering their on-site generators. Planting trees in coordination with the US Forest Service and local community groups to help offset carbon output, etc.

So, with the NFL doing their part to help lessen their environmental impact on Super Bowl Sunday, here are a few tips for you:

1) If you are driving to another location to watch the big game, car-pool with friends. If you are unable to do so, a proven fuel additive could help lower your emissions.

2) Use recyclable or bio-degradable plates, cups, etc. Try to recycle as much as you can.

3) Make your own game day treats, don’t have food delivered. Delivery means someone has to drive food to your home (emissions) and your food will probably come in non-recyclable containers inside a plastic bag. Be prepared and get your food ahead of time.

4) Don’t waste food. Most Super Bowl parties will have more food than people will eat, so package up what you don’t eat and save it for later.

If you really want to offset your Super Bowl Sunday and help the environment, you can always purchase a “Super Bowl Party Offset” from EarthEra. For $10, they say they will offset 1200 pounds of carbon dioxide. And 100% of their revenues from EarthEra product purchases apparently go to build more solar and wind energy project in the U.S.

What are your plans for Super Bowl Sunday? Do you have any tips you use to help lower your environmental impact on game day? Hope you have a great weekend…and don’t forget to get outside a little bit (before or after the game).

Image by Wayne National Forest (via Flickr)

When it comes to “going green” you’ve probably heard companies use the excuse of cost as a reason for not switching to a more environmentally-friendly method of doing business. This is true of individuals as well, but is this really just an excuse or is it the truth? Is the cost of going green too much for some businesses or individuals to afford?

Let’s take a look at a few examples of some real costs of going green:

Solar Energy: We all know there are costs involved in turning your home or business into a solar-powered one. Of course these costs depend on what kind of solar power you are looking at installing. Are you looking for a solar water heater? Solar panels for your roof? Or are you looking at tapping into solar energy in a more passive way?

As of right now there is a 30% federal tax credit on solar energy systems including solar water heaters and solar panels. Many local utilities also provide incentive programs for individuals or businesses who install solar panels. In Los Angeles, the Department of Water & Power caps their residential incentive program at 75%, but per their website, most customers have received a payment of between 30-50% of their solar system costs.

So let’s say your solar panel installation costs were about $9-10 per Watt to install. With the average installation being approximately 3 Kilowatts (3000 Watts), you are looking at anywhere between $27,000-$30,000 minimum costs.  With the 30% federal tax credit and let’s say only a 30% tax incentive from your local utility, that cost comes down to around $12,000.  Factor in how much you will save on monthly/annual utility bills and installing solar panels becomes a lot less costly than originally thought.

Water Conservation: Water conservation has many facets, you can go all out and get a solar water heater, low-flow or tank-less water systems, replace all the water fixtures in your home with water-efficient ones, etc.  You can also go simple and do things like take showers instead of baths, turn off the water while you brush your teeth, use bath water to water your plants, run the dishwasher only when it’s full, etc.

If you want to take it to the next level you can buy things like this Deluxe Water Green House EcoKit™. For less than $60 you get water-saving tools such as a hand-held massaging showerhead (that uses less water without sacrificing water pressure), leak detection tablets (to help you find any leaks your toilet may have), a swivel aerator for your kitchen (to help save water while washing dishes), toilet tank bag (which can displace 0.8 gallons per flush) and more.

Of course if you are going to go all out, check out this EcoLogic™ toilet. It’ll run you about $300, while other eco-toilets can run anywhere between $100-$2000 a pop. However this one received the EPA’s WaterSense® label for using at least 20% less water than a standard 1.6-gallon toilet, while still maintaining strict flushing performance guidelines. (Which we all know is a good thing to maintain!)

Cutting down on chemicals/toxins: For an individual or family, this can be as simple as getting rid of your toxic cleaning supplies and buying eco-friendly cleaners. Or better yet, making your own cleaning supplies.  Cutting down on our use of chemicals and toxins is a simple way to go green. However, for some businesses, it may not be so simple.

Take for example a dry cleaner. Cost is a real concern for an independent dry cleaner who is looking to turn over a green leaf. Many dry cleaners still use perc machines to dry clean clothes (although I’m not sure why considering the EPA classifies perc as a Toxic Air Contaminant). If they need to purchase a brand new machine, it could cost them upwards of $175,000.

However there are a few options…if a dry cleaner is currently using a hydrocarbon machine, they could potentially convert their machine over to a greener cleaning method, such as GreenEarth® Cleaning, without having to purchase a new machine. Other options include switching over to a CO2 dry cleaning machine or wet cleaning equipment. All are greener choices than using perc, so take a look at this chart and see which you would prefer be used on your clothes.

Another example of someone cutting out chemicals is the Organic Farmer. You’d think it would be simple to switch from growing fruits/vegetables using toxins or pesticides and become an organic farmer, right? Well, did you know in order for the USDA to certify a farm as organic that farm has to submit a list of all substances applied to the land for the previous 3 years? That means it has to be free of all prohibited pesticides for 3 years running in order to be certified as an organic farm.

I also came across this document from the California Certified Organic Farmers about the costs involved with and the importance of Handweeding in Organic Farming.

There are many more examples I could give you, but hopefully you get the idea. Going green doesn’t mean you need to spend a lot of money. Yes, there are costs involved as you move over to a more eco-friendly building or business. But if you do your homework and research out potential tax credits, your costs may soon balance out.

As a final note, I suggest checking out these smart conservation tips that can save you a lot without costing you a lot! And if you have been considering making energy-efficient changes to your home, please take a moment to figure out what changes best suit you and why now may be the right time to make those green changes.