Greener Living #26-27

#26 Buy Recycled Products: There has to be a market for products made with recycled products. Support this movement by purchasing recycled goods--you will save virgin materials, conserve energy, and reduce landfill waste. Recycled paper products include toilet paper (which is no longer scratchy like it used to be), copy paper, paper towels, and tissues. Look for garbage bags and liners labeled "recycled plastic," and buy recycled toner cartridges for your fax machines and printers. (Now we don't all have to be like Ed Bagley, Jr. who's white picket fence is made of recycled milk containers. His show Living with Ed is pretty funny but informative too. The easiest ones to use are copy paper and toner/ink cartridges. Think of all the printer paper we use that ends up in the trash. Office Depot's recycled cartridges are just as good as new ones, plus they give you credit if you bring in your empty ones to be recycled.)

#27 Plane Better: Air travel is currently responsible for 3.5% of the global-warming gases from all human activity and is growing fast. Cargo transport by air is increasing by about 7% annually and passenger air travel is up in the last few years by between 4 and 7%. The impact of air travel is enormous; a round-trip between New York and Los Angeles emits one ton of CO2 per passenger. (To determine CO2 emissions for your next flight, go to co2.org.) Try to limit the number of flights you take. If you're traveling within a country, why not take a train? (Air travel releases at least three times more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than rail travel does.) If you're planning a business trip, consider whether a video linkup or a conference call will suffice.