Light green stairs

I saw something extra silly at Bed, Bath & Beyond a few days ago.

A Rachael Ray garbage bowl.

Well, I just had to read the box. Apparently she’s been promoting the use of a garbage bowl to save time while cooking. You throw your scraps in the bowl instead of making more trips to the garbage can.

Maybe it isn’t such a horrible tip to give on a cooking show, but do you really have to manufacture a whole new product with packaging for this? Why can’t cooks just use an existing bowl in their kitchen? This thing is nothing more than a large plastic mixing bowl anyway.

Rachael Ray’s garbage bowl struck me as extremely wasteful and a good example of consumerism. I don’t have anything against perky chefs, but she’s cashing in on her popularity in a bad way.

Flowers are lovely, but flowers grown using toxic pesticides take the fun out of it.

Pesticides pollute water and harm wildlife. Worker exposure to pesticides is also a great concern, particularly in countries where some pesticides that have been restricted in the US are still used.

The best way to stop the pollution caused by toxic pesticides is to create more demand for organically produced flowers.

So, give both Mom and the environment a hug this Mother’s Day.

Visit Organic Bouquet to order organic flowers.

Image via flickr.

How do you plan on celebrating the upcoming Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22?

Earth Day has come under attack by greenies who say you shouldn’t just think about the earth one day a year, but I don’t think that’s the idea. Earth Day started in 1970, and its principal founder, Senator Gaylord Nelson, had this to say about the very first Earth Day:

“Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.”

The seeds of Earth Day were planted back in 1962 when Nelson persuaded President Kennedy to go on a conservation tour, which began in 1963. The conservation tour didn’t have a dramatic effect, but it put the wheels in motion for the first Earth Day, seven years later.

So, sure Earth Day may seem like an old, unnecessary idea to some, but we need to remember how it represents a time when environmental issues came to the forefront of national attention for the first time.

I’m not really sure what happened to cool the fire between 1970 and now, but we obviously haven’t done enough to protect the environment. Will your children look back and smirk at the idea of this Earth Day that accomplished nothing? What might another 38 years of nearly no change bring about? We don’t really need to find out.

Make some new green goals this Earth Day and celebrate them throughout the year.

Top Button, a consumer source for info on fashion and beauty trends, is adding a new green section — Eco-Button. The section officially launches on April 18, and you can visit it here.

Features will include:

• Celebrity news and designer updates on who’s going green.
• New eco-friendly products, boutiques and online shops.
• The scoop on exclusive industry and trade events.
• TOP Green Tip of The Week

It’s really a nice site. I would have never known that JCPenney is adding The Simply Green Label due to consumer demand. I’m not exactly a mall person, but I do plan on checking out the new label.

Sign up for Eco-Button for free here.

It’s a blog about reusing what might be considered junk. I’ll feature fascinating junk artists, doable junk projects and some worthy retail junk creations.

Right now I just wrapped up a Straw Dispenser Reuse Party, but it’s not too late to check in. I photographed all the party guests.

I hope to see you at Junk Creation.

Livan left a comment on My SIGG bottle about a magical, educational video on the wastefulness of bottled water: What’s Tappening? Seriously, Livan and Liberty are magicians. And if they aren’t, they fooled me.

Here’s what they say on their YouTube page:

This video is for educational purposes. We are not making any money from this video and we are not sponsored, we made this video because we truly believe in the message of Tappening and because we love Magic.

Check it out, and please think about giving up bottled water if you haven’t already. I think this video will help inspire you.

I’m categorizing Doggie Dooley under “Green Products,” but I’ll let you decide.

Since my only pet Choco is a cat, I don’t have to contend with piles of dog poop in my yard. He’s nice and always goes in his litter box. I don’t have to poop hunt.

The Doggie Dooley from Gaiam is an underground steel bucket with a foot pedal for opening the lid. You put the hunted-down and scooped-up poop inside. A natural enzyme and bacteria formula that you add breaks the poop down into an odorless liquid that is supposed to be harmless to lawns. I guess that means it’s harmless to people too.

The product costs $76. A one-year enzyme replacement supply costs $18.

Gaiam lists the Doggie Dooley with their composting products. And they promote it as saving plastic bags. You just scoop the poop and place it in the Doggie Dooley.

What do you think? Would you use this product?

Photo from Gaiam.

Roll about in rattan. I don’t know. That’s really what it looks like you’d do in this expensive wicker-bag that ecofabulous is writing about. I do like that blog though. But not sure about this rattan thing. Rattan is sustainable and springy though.

Tree Hugging Family co-blogger Jennifer wrote about 60 Eco-friendly Ways to Celebrate Spring. It’s like a nice spring breeze. Really, the ideas and the images are all so springy. Can you tell I love spring?

Put some spring in your step with SoyJoy. Or at least enter for a chance to win a full month’s supply at Pretty by Nature.

I’m going to shamelessly promote my own post at Tree Hugging Family now: Ten Ways to a Greener Easter Basket. Also, a cool contest for free and adorable kid shopping bags from Envirosax.

A neat case for reuse: a Walkman soap dish at Junk Creations. I can’t tell if it drains though. That’s important.

Green Living Tips is talking about Avoiding mosquito bites. Hmm, something that comes with warmer weather, but I still love spring anyway.

I’ve been thinking about that Green Works post I did at the end of February. And about the Clorox buying Burt’s Bees post.

The problem I have, and that a lot of people who write about the environment have, is what to think of Clorox and similar companies that are suddenly going green. And are they really going green?

The environment aside, chlorine bleach is bad for you. Of course it will kill you if ingested, but it can also irritate your lungs just from breathing it. People with chronic heart disease and asthma are advised to avoid it. Does this sound like something that should be used to clean laundry or bathrooms or anything?

And Clorox is proud of their bleach. But, now they own Burt’s Bees. And they got Sierra Club to endorse their new Green Works line of cleaners. So, is Green Works greener than cleaning with bleach or with some of the chemical-laden cleaners out there? Yes, it is. Does that mean you should support Clorox?

That’s the trouble. If they think this Green Works is so great, then why still make the other stuff? My really smart husband told me that he thinks a company can’t be half green. They should be environmentally responsible in every way if they claim to be green. And I have to agree. There are lots of all-green companies that sell green cleaners. Here’s a list of some recommended brands of cleaners:

•Bi-O-Kleen

•Method

•Seventh Generation

•Bon Ami

If you can’t find these products in your store, ask your grocer or other store manager to order the products. Don’t want to hunt down the manager? When they ask you at the checkout, “Did you find everything you were looking for today?” say no. That’s when most stores call the manager for you. Or do it by phone, or use the Internet. Many companies now have surveys you can fill out online.

Over at Big Green Purse, you can find recipes to make your own green cleaners. These are simple ingredients like vinegar, baking soda and salt.

My co-blogger Jennifer over at Tree Hugging Family did a great post about natural green cleaners — 25 Safe, Non-toxic Homemade Cleaning Supplies. Speaking of natural cleaners, ammonia for cleaning bathroom mirrors really is overkill. I actually get the same results with just water! End of rant.

So, do you agree that a company can’t be half green, or do you think all us green hippies should just shut up and praise Clorox for trying to turn a new leaf?

Marye at Baking Delights is having a contest. You’ll want to check it out soon if you like French desserts. Je t’aime.

And while I’m here, I might as well remind you that it’s much more eco-friendly to bake at home than to buy packaged products or mixes. You can do it. Plus, it makes your place smell so good — muffins, cupcakes, cheesecake, bread, brownies. I need a snack.

I know that it might take more time to bake stuff than it does to buy it at the store, but homemade can be so much better. And you have control over your ingredients. You can also help the environment by purchasing organic flour and butter and chocolate!

I’m trying to do more home-baking myself. My latest from-scratch creations include coffee cake muffins, chocolate chip muffins, baked cappuccino custard and shortbread of all kinds.