Your special day is finally on its way! With all the bells and whistles (and stress and headaches) that come with wedding planning, you might not have considered that your wedding could ever be made easily green. But you can make it even more special as you plan ways to help out the earth by helping yourself as well when you consider these five tips to make your wedding more eco-friendly.
‘Green Living’
Eco-Friendly Holiday Party Tips
December 26th, 2011 
Tushar Mathur 
Planning a party around the holidays can certainly be a hassle, what with having a full calendar of events to contend with, not to mention shopping, wrapping, and shipping presents, baking and cooking galore, and hosting family and friends that you only see once a year. And yet, when all of your loved ones are gathered in your home, dressed to the nines and having a great time, you’re going to feel great about all your hard work on the front end – at least until you see the mountain of trash and realize that your moment of joy could have a long-term negative impact on the Earth. So if you love to throw a lavish holiday party but you’re tired of all the pollution and waste that go into it, here are just a few tips to help you green up your white Christmas (or other holiday).
- Food. Doubtless the most important part of any party (holiday or otherwise) is the food. When people come to your house you want them to leave happy and satisfied, and that starts with a good spread on the buffet table. But if you only knew how much damage can be done with even a simple slate of catering you might not be so quick to cook up the holiday faves. Luckily, there is a way to combat the chemical pollution and hydrocarbon emissions that are part and parcel of the food industry. Simply buy local and organic foods for your feast. You may even find that there are artisan vineyards or craft breweries in your area that create organic alcohol, as well.
- Serving. Plastic plates are handy, to be sure, but they’re also terrible for the planet. The problem with most disposable products is that they are non-biodegradable. So instead of increasing the size of the landfill, opt for green alternatives that are just as easy for you. Bare paper plates, for example, are sustainably created (with renewable sugar cane) and they are also compostable. Of course, if you’re looking for one-stop shopping, you may want to check out worldcentric.org. They can meet all of your serving needs with green options for plates, cups, flatware, and even containers with lids to send home leftovers.
- Decorations. This is where the eco-friendly side of party planning starts to get fun, because there are so many ways to green up the décor. For starters, get fancy with the linens. Skip the paper products and go with tablecloths, napkins, runners, and more made from organic fabrics with holiday print. And for centerpieces, use nature for inspiration. Go for a walk in the woods to collect fallen pinecones, branches, and even interesting rocks to place in a bowl with a bit of ribbon.
- Flowers. Cut flowers are pretty (and pretty easy), but on the whole, not so eco-friendly (unless you’re growing them yourself). Instead, think about adding some color to your space with potted plants (even a small, potted pine tree could be neat since you can decorate it) or get trendy by cutting out paper floral arrangements. You’ll be surprised how fancy they look and you have a million options when it comes to recycled paper products.
- Entertainment. Even if you’re doing corporate entertainment New York style or you’re planning a party in Vegas this holiday season, there’s no reason you can’t find ways to do it that are a little kinder to the Earth. Hiring local performers is a must since you don’t want to ship people in (adding to greenhouse gas emissions). But perhaps you can simply pull out the piano bench and get everyone in the holiday spirit with a few carols.
Preparing for Christmas in an Eco-friendly and Cost Effective Manner
December 20th, 2011 Tushar Mathur Christmas is a time for celebration, but also a time of excessive waste. With the copious amounts of food and drink being bought and not consumed, a great deal of money and valuable food resources get wasted. Not only is this bad for the environment, it’s also bad for your finances as you indulge in an almighty and unnecessary Christmas splurge.
How HR Can Help Make Your Office Green
December 19th, 2011 Tushar Mathur How HR Can Help Make Your Office Green
Maybe it’s because when you think of HR, you think of paperwork, or because HR takes the responsibility for employee satisfaction and more companies are realising that environmental awareness is important to their employees. For whatever reason, human resources departments are the ones who tend to institute “green” practices at the office.
Gift Ideas For Your Green Friends
December 17th, 2011 Tushar Mathur Over the last few decades our society’s awareness of the environment has grown significantly. With the evidence of the impact of our consumption on the earth and growing energy costs, we are all trying to reduce waste and our energy consumption. We all have more eco-conscious friends that are making large efforts to change their lifestyles while the rest of us are making much smaller changes.
Being Green, Good for You, Good for the Planet
December 10th, 2011 Tushar Mathur 
There seems to be a lot of debate over whether being “green” is a good strategy for people to adopt. Those that argue for it claim that being “green” helps to save the planet, while those that argue against it claim that the effort is not worth the outcomes.
How Green is Your Love Life?
December 6th, 2011 Tushar Mathur 
Think back to your most recent date night. If it was your average, run-of-the-mill sort of date, you probably did a lot of damage to the environment in the process. First you probably picked up your date and drove to a restaurant, polluting the air with hydrocarbons the whole way. Then you ate a meal that consisted of meats, vegetable, grains and so on that were full of chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and potentially a whole host of chemical dyes and preservatives. You may have thought it tasted pretty good, despite the fact that the growing, raising, and manufacturing processes spread massive amounts of pollutants into the soil, water, and air (and that’s not even considering the shipping). Maybe you went to a movie after and spent two hours in an air-conditioned theater being entertained by energy-guzzling electronics. Finally it was time to return to your place for a little romancing, complete with electric lights and music, not to mention disposable prophylactics.
Eco-Friendly Ways to Exterminate Bed Bugs
November 29th, 2011 Tushar Mathur 
A few short years ago, you probably only heard about bed bugs when it was time for the kids to go to bed and you told them to sleep tight before cryptically warning them not to let the little buggers bite. These days the fast-spreading parasites have become so prevalent in large cities that there are task forces (complete with bed-bug sniffing dogs) to ferret them out and bug-bomb them into oblivion. Of course, the chemical pesticides used to exterminate bed bugs are probably more harmful than the biting blighters themselves. So if you’re concerned about bed bugs in your home and you’re looking for a few less-toxic methods of removal, here are some green treatments that will help to get your home bed-bug free.
- Rubbing alcohol. It is extremely rare to find bed bugs on people or pets simply because they come out to feed nocturnally and then return to a hiding place during the day (and they don’t like to be disturbed). However, should you wake up to find them using you as a buffet, you can effectively kill the little freeloaders with rubbing alcohol (also known as isopropyl alcohol). It is safe to use on both humans and animals (although you should rinse after as it can dry out your skin).
- Heat. This is one of the most effective ways to kill bed bugs, especially if you’re not interested in throwing away your mattress, carpeting, and other plush furnishings. Clothing can easily be treated by throwing it in a washing machine with hot water, and a handheld steam cleaner can be used to go over your mattress, furniture, and carpeting (pay special attention to edges). However, you may have no real choice but to toss some items (like a headboard, which will warp if treated with steam).
- Cold. There may be small items that you don’t necessarily want to expose to steam heat, and luckily, cold works just as well. You can place small items in a freezer to kill any bedbugs that may be hiding on them. But remember to vacuum thoroughly after treating with heat or cold to remove bug remains and larvae left behind.
- Green pesticides. Unfortunately, there’s really no way to guarantee bed bugs are all gone without the use of pesticides. However, there are green options; diatomaceous earth is a good place to start as it is both natural and a known insecticide.
- Forethought. Okay, so this isn’t very useful after the fact, but if you’ve had bed bugs, you definitely won’t want to deal with them again. And if you know the history of bed bugs, then you’re probably aware that once they move in, they’re darn difficult to get rid of for good. In fact, it took a targeted regimen of continual chemical bombardment to remove them in the first place (at least on a large scale). Although we got a good 30+ years without any major infestations, who knows what the price to the environment and our health was. So if you suspect that you’ve stayed in a place with bed bugs, your kids are exposed at school, or you simply hear that they’re in your area, take all precautions to ensure that they never make it into your home in the first place.
Sarah Danielson is a contributing writer for bedbugs.org where you can find information on what causes bed bugs and learn how to eliminate them from your home.
Want a Greener City? Let Loose the Cabs
November 18th, 2011 Tushar Mathur Green Cities are not only the dream of ardent environmentalists but also the hope of residents of densely populated areas on both coasts. Many believe the logical solution, taking cars off the street, will help. So they restrict the number of cabs allowed on the streets.
Want An Eco Friendly Yard? Try Front Yard Farming
November 17th, 2011 Tushar Mathur Did you know that many people are replacing their front lawns with gardens that offer fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other edible goodies?
It’s called “front yard farming” and it can help you live a greener lifestyle. This article will cover front yard farming and what to keep in mind if you’d like to try it.
