2,000 Re-Uses for Beer Boxes!

This morning, a friend sent me a link to what might be the cleverest uses of beer boxes I have ever seen.

Earlier this summer, German architecture students at the University of Applied Science in Detmold designed (website in German), realized, and constructed BOXEL.  The pavilion is constructed in one week by students out of over 2,000 beer boxes that have each been in use for over 10 years donated from a local brewery; the boxes will be recycled when the pavilion is disassembled.

Boxel was conceptualized by Henri Schweynoch in his response to an impromptu competition from Prof. Marco Hemmerling.  The building shape is based on a minimal surface and is organized along free form geometry.  The structure is held together by a series of slats and screws with the additional support of bracings in some of the upper areas.  The three base points of the structure also are concrete lined boxes as load-bearing points.

These students have demonstrated (even unintentionally) great ways to reuse common items.  Organic Bug supports reusing and recycling objects in useful ways.  After 10 years of use, these beer boxes were given one last task before they find themselves recycled – what a great example of being green.

Snack Food Trying To Be A Little Greener

Sun Chips of Frito Lay is making quite the crunch this week.  From Facebook, to twitter, to the Wall Street Journal there is a steady buzz about all the noise that Frito-Lay has been making with their green line of snacks.  Sun Chips is definitely making positive strides toward a greener treat from their packaging to their actual products.

Seven months ago Sun Chips began mass distribution of their products in a newer noisier bag.  The bag is made out of a plant-based material, polylactic acid, and claims to fully decompose in about 14 weeks if put into hot active compost (pretty good compared to the nearly 100 years it takes typical chip bags).  The polymer used to make the bags has a higher “glass transition temperature” which basically means that it’s more brittle than rubbery.

One of the current production plants for Sun Chips has also transitioned to Solar Energy to help lower their environmental impact.  In Modesto, CA 145,000 bags of Sun Chips are produced and ready to ship each and every day.  The plant in Modest is one of eight separate facilities that creates and packages the noisy treats; don’t get too excited because they have a long way to go, but their efforts should be celebrated for now.

Despite their green efforts, they have yet to make the transition to an organic product.  Perhaps that will be their next step.  Don’t let anybody trick you into thinking snacks like this are “healthy,” but Sun Chips are definitely less bad for you than some of their competition.

All-in-all, Frito-Lay is making some great steps in the right direction.  Hopefully people can ignore the noisy bag due to the positive impact that it can make over the alternatives.

For more eco-friendlier products, swing over to Organic Bug for everything from organic gluten free sweet brownie treats to jewelry made out of recycled glass!

More Sunscreen Tips and Commentary From SustainLane

By now, you probably have heard about the findings from a recent study from the Environmental Working Group about sunscreens.  Many of the major brands tested by the EWP in 2010 Sunscreen Guide,  failed to make the grade.  These findings inspired a post from us last month: Is Your Sunscreen Providing Enough Protection? - and inspired me to pay better attention to my own personal summer skin care for myself and family.

SustainLane, a wonderful source of eco and health news & commentary, came out with their own recommendations and tips as a result of this study.  Though the 2010 summer season is coming to a close; we felt like this information was relevant and important enough to pass on to our readers and friends.  Here are some guidelines to choosing safe sunscreens from the article Is Your Suncreen Safe :

1. Don’t rely on SPF ratings. As we said, SPF only accounts for UVB-ray protection, which means the higher the number the more likely it is that you’re being misled about the protection. Part of the reason the EWG slagged this crop of sunscreens is because many are making claims of SPF 50 and over. In fact, some are promising SPF as high as 100 this season. (Insert eye roll here.)

2. Avoid chemical sunscreens. Chemical sunscreens absorb the rays so you don’t have to, and then they sneak into your body and mess around with your hormones. Oxybenzone, a hormone-disruptor found in 97 percent of Americans according to the CDC, is one widely used active to avoid—and if you don’t want to do it for yourself, do it for the planet: Every year, 4,000 to 6,000 tons of chemical sunscreen comes off our bodies (and into the ocean), destroying the coral reef in the process.

3. Zinc is your new best friend. This is the cleanest and most effective active ingredient you can find in a sunscreen. It offers broad-spectrum protection—that means from both UVA and UVB rays—while posing absolutely no health threat. And fear not: Advances in technology mean the zinc on the market is nothing like the stuff you used to see striping your lifeguard’s nose.

4. Titanium dioxide is your new second-best friend. As an ingredient, it’s not as clean as zinc—you won’t find it in your multivitamin since it’s dangerous when ingested or inhaled—but it offers the same meaningful protection and isn’t absorbed through skin. All of the 39 EWG top-rated sunscreens featured zinc and/or titanium.

5. Beware of nanoparticles. Used in some sunscreens to make titanium dioxide appear less white on the skin, nanoparticles are a hot-button issue right now. By making them that small, there is evidence that the particles can then migrate to body tissue, where they may wreak all kinds of havoc. In Europe, companies using nanos have to say so; not so over here, though.

6. Avoid vitamin A in sunscreen like the plague. While animal studies never represent conclusive evidence for humans, when other mammals are getting cancer faster—as was shown in the FDA’s study of vitamin A and sun exposure—it’s a good idea to avoid the suspected culprit. It’s packed into a lot of anti-agers and sunscreens, and should be avoided at all costs.

7. Be wary of the other ingredients in there. Fragrance (which contain phthalates), chemical preservatives like parabens (which may or may not mess with hormones), and a host of other questionable things are found in most mainstream sun products. We’ll cover these in more depth in future columns and in our book, but in the meantime, remember that the fewer ingredients the better.

8. Don’t count on sunscreen alone. Even if you’re using the good stuff, most of us tend not to apply enough, or reapply it like we should. The false sense of security offered by sunscreen is thought to be one of its biggest threats. Which takes us to…

9. Protect your head. The EWG and any doctor with a brain will tell you as much. Hats, protective clothing and shade are still your best bet when it comes to avoiding sun exposure. But…

10. Get a little unprotected exposure. While it goes against everything we’ve been taught, some doctors are recommending we get limited exposure to the sun without any sunscreen to ensure healthy vitamin D levels. If you don’t want to risk it—and we don’t blame you if you don’t—make sure to get your D in other ways, through diet and supplements.

This is the second installment in a series inspired by No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics, a forthcoming book by GOOD’s features editor Siobhan O’Connor and her co-author Alexandra Spunt.

Plastiki, please!

So plastic floats, we all know that. Well did we also know that plastic when applied correctly and with the right amount of experts can complete a voyage across the Pacific? Probably not. Take a look at David de Rothschild’s project, Plastiki. The Plastiki is a distinctive, one-of-a-kind 60-foot catamaran made out of 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and other recycled PET plastic and waste products. The craft was built with many renewable energy systems, including solar panels, wind and trailing propeller turbines, and bicycle generator and was inspired by the cradle to cradle philosophy.

On March 20, 2010, the sailing vessel set off from San Francisco to sail the Pacific. The team plans on landing in Sydney, Australia and is planning to visit sites that are related to environmental importance. The locations all are sites of environmental susceptibility with issues such as global warming, rising sea levels, ocean acidification and marine pollution.

Plastiki arrived in Sydney Harbour at 11.10 am Australia time on July 26, 2010.

Fighting Obesity through Cycling

Obesity rates are increasing every day. In fact, they have never been as bad as they are in the US, which has been a kind of cry for help. Thankfully, people were listening. Anne Lusk, a Harvard Nutrition Researcher, has been studying the ways that bicycles can contribute to reducing obesity and maintaining a healthy weight overall. Recently, Lusk did a study of walking vs. cycling in relation to keeping women slimmer.

Last year over half of the country’s states obesity rates increased and one decreased (District of Colombia) and two thirds of the states have rates over 25%. In their study Lusk looked at the change in weight in over 18,000 people being studied from 1989-2005. Related to women, on average they gain about 20 pounds every 16 years.

Looking deeper at the data she found that women who briskly walked or cycled every day for 30 minutes controlled their weight much easier than women who engaged in slower walking. They also found that even 5 minutes of cycling a day was even better than the slow walking alternative. And she found that women who walked briskly or cycled for 4 hours or more per week had lower odds of gaining more than 5% body weight.

Now you may ask why this is important, it may seem like obvious factual information. Well it’s exciting and could push us as a country in a new direction. These results show us that cycling can have the same affects on control of body weight as a brisk walk. Now there is not a lot of information that looks into cycling and health. But Lusk’s study relates it to being as or more effective than a brisk walk which could lead more people to getting on their bikes more often. Also, you can invest less time in biking and get the same results as a long 30 minute walk would give. Bottom line: biking often can be seen as a great way to control and prevent obesity.

Harvard’s School of Public Health was so impressed by her study that they allowed her team to pursue the creation of legislation in the next Transportation Reauthorization Bill to require putting at least 10 miles of bicycle tracks in every U.S. State.

Although small, the new tracks that could be implemented are going to be a fantastic first step for incorporating biking into a daily routine opposed to a daily dreaded visit to the gym. Also, you have a greater chance of riding further than the 10 mile track which is going to encourage legislation to expand the 10 mile required track.

Lusk is hoping her “10 Miles of Cycle Tracks per State” initiative might be introduced into the next Transportation Reauthorization Bill, and she is working on Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) to support the idea.

Is Your Sunscreen Providing Enough Protection?

Are You REALLY Protecting Your Skin?

A recent study from the Environmental Working Group caught my attention in a big way.   According the EWG, a nonprofit organization dedicated protecting public health and the environment with research and public information, many of the top sunscreens we depend on to protect our health may be causing us more harm than good in some cases.

How is this possible? In their comprehensive 2010 Sunscreen Guide the EWG researchers took issue with a surge in exaggerated SPF claims (above 50).  The group reports that the higher SPF claims gives us a false sense of security- so consumers are more prone to exposing their skin to the damaging rays without realizing the danger. There have also been new disclosures about potentially hazardous ingredients found in sunscreens.

So how do you protect your skin from the harmful UVA rays this summer?  First and foremost,  EWG  strongly urges the old fashioned approach when it comes to skin care:

Cover Up. Shirts, hats, shorts and pants shield your skin from the sun’s UV rays.  Sunglasses protect your eyes from the sun’s UV rays.

Stay in the Shade. Picnic under a tree, read beneath an umbrella, take a canopy to the beach. Keep infants in the shade – they lack tanning pigments (melanin) to protect their skin.

Avoid the Sun during peak hours. If possible be outdoors in early morning or late afternoon when the sun is lower in the sky. UV radiation peaks at midday, when the sun is directly overhead.

In addition to the rules above (which we all know but do not always follow), become a savvy sunscreen sunscreen shopper.  The organization provides the following recommendations:

Avoid Sunscreens that Contain the Following  Ingredients:
Oxybenzone (linked to certain cancers)
Vitamin A (retinyl palmitate) government data links vitamin A to accelerated growth of skin tumors and lesions
Added insect repellent

Ingredients to Look For: Sunscreens that contain Zinc, Titanium dioxide, Avobenzone or Mexoryl SX

Use Sunscreens that provide Broad-spectrum protection and are “Water-resistant”  for beach, pool & exercise

Use SPF 30+ for beach & pool

Download their EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Safer Sunscreens for more tips!

Check Out Blue Gold: World Water Wars

As a world we are rapidly losing our fresh water supplies and as with anything, there are massive politics behind ownership and distribution. This factor naturally worsens the situation due to the unfair distribution and withholding of water to those in need. The questions and scenarios of what will happen as water becomes increasingly scarce is answered in the documentary Blue Gold: World Water Wars.

The documentary looks at how we are using up water faster than it can be replenished through natural systems – we are mining as much as 15 times more groundwater than is being replenished, at the rate of 30 billion gallons a day. To add insult to injury, we are polluting it beyond use, destroying the wetlands that are natural filters, and blocking the rivers that carry nutrients that keep the water healthy and lands fertile. To top it all off, leading scientists state that we are essentially decertifying the world and are approximately 50 years away from a water crisis.

The solutions we’ve come up with are addressed as well. Anything from shipping water to desalination and the side effects that negate the benefits is documented and looked at.

We have to completely overhaul the way we use water if we want to avoid serious wars over this precious resource in the near future.

Our only choice as individuals is conservation, being an advocate for the world’s resources and for our future. Ultimately, the world’s water supply is at risk of disappearing rich or poor alike. If you are interested in getting informed and involved, we highly encourage you to watch this film.

Oil Spill 2010: Facts and How to Help

On April 20, 2010, an explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig leased by the oil company BP, set off ablaze that killed 11 crew members. Two days later, it sank about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast and crude oil began gushing out of a broken pipe 5,000 feet below the surface. A month later, after a series of failed attempts to plug the leak, oil had begun to stain the coasts and marshes of Louisiana. The spill appears to be the worst oil disaster in American history: by the most conservative of the government estimates released May 27th, the spill by then had released almost twice as much oil as the Exxon Valdez, which spilled about 250,000 barrels of oil into Prince Williams Bay in Alaska in 1989.

Several attempts have been made to contain the oil spill with boom oil spill equipments, oil separators, and huge oil spill containment dome, all of which have failed. The latest and most promising to date is the latest action by BP called Top Kill. According to this oil spill containment plan, BP will attempt to drill mud into the well to possibly block the gushing gallons and gallons of oil spilling into the ocean. These huge amounts of mud are said to block the broken pipe causing the oil leakage.

The Top Kill procedure to plug the leaking oil well in the Gulf of Mexico seems to be working though there is still a waiting period to confirm whether this is true.

Many people find it hard sitting at home with nothing to contribute. Although it may be best that you do stay home (many organizations have enough volunteers), there are still ways to contribute to this heinous disaster.

Dawn Soap Purchase

With Dawn raising more than $406,000 for the cause, the dish soap is giving $1 to the International Bird Rescue Research Center and the Marine Mammal Center for every bottle purchased. Once you make the purchase, remember that you have to activate your donation online by submitting the code on the bottom of your bottle. Follow Dawn on Twitter and Facebook page for constant updates, and suggestions on how to help.

Donation and Information

The National Wildlife Federation’s Twitter profile provides a stream of news and updates on the spill, including ideas and ways to help and donate. If you text Wildlife to 20222, you give a $10 donation. (They also have an online store). The Gulf Coast Fund also features news, ideas, and an active Twitter.

Protect Our Coastline is accepting donation at protectourcoastline.org. If you can’t donate now, text “GULF” to 77007 to receive updates. Your credit card won’t be charged, but they will let you know how to help those that this crisis has affected.

Volunteering

Out-of-work fishermen can submit their vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system or submit alternative response technology, services or products: (281) 366-5511

Volunteer to help with the clean-up efforts.

For more oil clean-up volunteer/job opportunities visit the Facebook Page or the abc26.com website.

Please be sure to exercise caution when volunteering, as several clean-up volunteers have already been hospitalize:

State to State Volunteer Positions

Louisiana: http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/

Mississippi: http://www.volunteermississippi.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.do

Florida: http://www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/

Alabama: http://www.servealabama.gov/2010/default.aspx

40 Years of Earth Day Will be Celebrated April 22

Where Were You When You First Heard of Earth Day?

April 22 will mark the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, a global movement to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.   While there is much work to be done to banish unsustainable practices; I believe that we should feel proud about how far this movement has come over the years.

I first heard of Earth Day myself when I was 14 years old.  My parents decided we should attend an Earth Day rally in Raleigh, North Carolina and hear some guy named Ralph Nader speak (I laugh now that I had no idea who he was at the time….).  Though I was not impressed with the speaker, I remember the passion and the enthusiasm expressed by the crowd; and I believe that small rally held on the NC State Campus left a life long impression on me and helped to foster a true desire to improve our environment.  It inspired me to lobby my high school administrators to put a recycling bin for soda cans in our lunchroom; a radical concept at the time- and a major pain, I had to personally haul those things to the recycling center!    I would like to think if a small rally held over 20 years ago could inspire me so much- I wonder what all the attention from the media, celebrities and the President of the United States are doing for young people today?

I am thrilled to see how much attention Earth Day gets each year.   What started as a vision to bring greater visibility to environmental issues from Senator Gaylord Nelson has evolved into one of the most significant global movements in human history with a range of initiatives and events all over the world.  Not to mention, Organic Bug is celebrating with it’s largest contest in history: we are giving away 40 prizes to 40 lucky winners who enter between now and April 22.    So I am curious to hear from you- where were you the first time you heard of Earth Day?

“As we continue to tackle our environmental challenges, it’s clear that change won’t come from Washington alone. It will come from Americans across the country who take steps in their own homes and their own communities to make that change happen.”-PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

60 Minutes for the Planet: Participate in Earth Hour 2010 on March 27

Organic Bug alert!  At 8:30 pm (your local time) tomorrow- Saturday March 27- millions will be turning off their lights to make a statement about climate change during Earth Hour. Please join this powerful movement by spreading the word and sharing the video below!  This is so simple and has such an enormous impact on the future of our planet!

What is Earth Hour? Earth Hour is World Wildlife Fund’s global initiative where individuals, schools, organizations, businesses and governments turn off their lights for one hour to cast a vote in favor of action on climate change. By voting with their light switches, Earth Hour participants send a powerful, visual message demanding action on climate change. Last year, nearly one billion people participated in 87 countries on seven continents and exercised their vote for change.

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