Making Memorial Day Green

It is summer holiday season, which means barbeques and backyard bashes. Like always The Green Collegiates would like to have make these events as green as possible!! Memorial Day is awesome! Plus, its awesome for the environment. Most of the time is spent outside, playing games like badminton and corn hole (which use absolutely no energy but your own) and eating food off the grill. This is a great opportunity to make an event even more green. So, of course, here are some great tips to make your memorial day party super green!

1) Open up those windows and turn off the air conditioning! While everybody is already outside enjoying the sunshine why keep the air on? Open windows up on both sides of the house to create a draft wind to ventilate the house.

2) Use reusable plates, napkins and silverware. The tradeoff is extra washing but why not take advantage of all the extra hands you have anyways to wash the dishes! If you are inclined to use non-reusable plates and utensils make sure they are at least compostable. Be careful with that seal "biodegradable" it could still be a hundred years before it fully "biodegrades"

3) Encourage people to bring dishes so you don't have to cook everything at your house. Also encourage people to bring their food in actual dishware, and not throw-away items, to take home with them.

4) If you have a lot of people coming, especially from the same area why not suggest carpooling? Or if you are going to a memorial day picnic try and find a relative or friend who will share a ride with you.

5) Whats a party with out a little beverage? The new cool thing is micro-brews! Go to your local brewery (I'm sure you have one nearby...) and get some local beer! Not into beer? Try a local vineyard or at least domestic wine. Use actual glasses instead of the hard to recycle solo-cups and be a real green machine!!

6) Speaking of food, make sure to utilize those farmer's markets opening up for local produce, breads, cheeses and even meat.

7) Make your activities green. As mentioned above try badminton, corn-hole, ladder golf, horseshoes, and other fun games that require no energy other than your own. On top of that these games are actually really easy to make on your own! Skip the endless TV watching and have some good American fun!

I hope these seven lucky tips help you make the most out of your summer holidays. Wishing you the best of summer vacations, and giving all our respect to the men and women who served our country, The Green Collegiates!

Sustainable Seafood

Seafood is a great, healthy food! But have you ever thought about where your tuna comes from? Fish populations are beginning to dwindle because we are overfishing and not allowing the populations enough time to reproduce enough. Farm fishing is an option for some fish, but many fish require too many resources to gain enough weight to be marketable.

So what is a green collegiate to do when they want to eat fish sustainably? Do what every college student does, watch TV!! One of my favorite shows, Good Eats, features an entire episode on green fish! Alton Brown supports sustainable seafood, is there any better reason for us to eat sustainably? For those who don't have enough time to watch, here is the down low!

1) Eat lower on the food chain! These fish are smaller and therefore, can reproduce faster. This allows their population to recover from fishing. Some examples are: Sardines, Herring, Trout. Basically any small fish!

2) Eat seafood like squid, oysters, and muscles! They are also lower on the food chain.

3) Buy American (that is, if your from the USA, I wouldn't support buying imported fish...) The USA has stricter farming and fishing standards than other parts of the world.

4) Ask for sustainable, when you go to your fish market, counter, monger, ask for sustainable options! If they don't have it, tell a manager they will be able to order some in to your grocery store.

5) Eat Local. If you live on the coast make sure you buy locally to support your local fisheries and the environment. In land-locked areas buy as local as possible. (look at the labels!!!)

6) There's an app for that! Download the Seafood Watch app for Android and iPhone. It provides you with recommendations, a regional guide, sushi guides.

Remember to have your "Good Eats" sustainably :)

Thrifting your way to being Green

There are many reasons to start thrift shopping. Visiting your local Salvation Army, Goodwill or other used clothes store is a great way to get a great deal on a lot of products, while being green too. These stores have been growing in popularity, and no you don't have to be a hipster to thrift!

Thrift stores sell used goods such as clothes, toys, kitchen ware, furniture, movies and music. These shops give you amazing deals on these products too, a $20 product can be sold for just a few dollars! Shopping at these thrift stores is also reusing! These are products that people donated, and would otherwise have ended up in a landfill. Instead they are being sold to be used again. Shopping at thrift stores saves you money, saves products from ending up in the landfill and gives you an opportunity to try older products.

To get the best out of thrift shopping try these tips!

 1) Shop frequently, these stores typically get new products once a week. If you find out when they get their new products go then before it is picked over!

2) To be as sustainable as possible only buy things you will actually use! If you just buy it to live in your closet forever it will probably end up in a landfill and cost you money.

3) Make a list before you go. This helps you avoid getting lost in the huge mass of products in the store. So instead of looking through everything you can beeline to the racks you need.

4) Try on the clothes you pick out. These stores usually have changing rooms so try on the clothes to avoid having to throw out the clothes (most places don't take returns).

5) Donate! This isn't exactly a tip on shopping, but one on staying green. Instead of throwing away old clothes that don't fit, or plates you don't use anymore donate them to give them another life.

Remember one man's trash is another man's treasure. Keep reducing, reusing and recycling!

Solar and Wind, Mobilize

Renewable forms of energy is attractive to the American people because it reinforces what we value so much; freedom. Clean renewable energy allows the country to one day be independent from finite fossil fuels and the complications they possess like corporate and federal corruption. To support the renewable energy movement is to support and protect our freedom as Americans and as human beings. In so many ways, it is evident that these values are strongest to the men and women of the U.S. Army.

For the soldiers of the U.S. armed forces who have to be able to adapt to environments that lack resources and require fuel to be transported to remote locations, it is a major challenge powering important devices such as GPS units and radios. Army engineers and scientists are devising methods to utilize solar and wind power to make the lives of the soldiers easier as well as allows them to focus on their missions. The method called Microgrid utilizes renewable forms of energy to be stored and used by the military where fuel is reserved for the most important purposes.  There are two main challenges that the Microgrids are created to tackle; adaptability (previously mentioned) and compatibility. Instead of having separate batteries for each device, the aim is to have a system that is supportive of all demands for onsite devices. As long as there is power being delivered daily via Microgrid, it would be able to support at least 2 laptops continuously. The storage unit should also be able to provide 5 hours of power when the renewables are not generating power. 

So what exactly can this do for the U.S. besides support the armed forces in protecting the country? Well, the Microgrid itself will not solve the energy crisis, but it seems like the foundation to the vision of a country where its residents live sustainably and are independent from the fuel industry. Don’t worry, I understand that this dream is still very far off, but I can’t help but consider the possibilities of the Microgrid.

Information and photos from this article are from the U.S. Army website. 

Renewable Energy for the Body

Disclaimer: The Green Collegiates has not accepted any funds from Steaz for this blog post. All claims made are from the company website and our own experience with their products.

As a college student, it seems like a necessity to find and extra kick to get myself off the TV and into the books. I have tried coffee, tea, and sugary energy drinks that have all seemed to wake me up but instead of helping me focus on my school work, they made me jittery or uncomfortable. I then turned to my local convenient store and found the extra boost I needed that didn’t come with the unwanted and distracting side effects.

Steaz provides an energy drink that is made of sustainable ingredients and actually made me feel healthy while drinking it. Besides being lower price than other energy drinks,  it contains vitamins and organic teas and berries that keep you going. I appreciate the organic and fair trade ingredients and also encourage how Steaz strives to have an environmentally responsible low CO2 certification with Native Energy.

The difference between Steaz and other energy drink providers is that instead of advertising as something that will make you unstoppable or affiliate with high intensity sports, Steaz actively participates in many charities such as The Whole Planet Foundation, Global Green USA, Reef Check Foundation and The Hunger Project. When I buy a product from Steaz whether it’s a tea or energy drink, I don’t think of the change I make in myself, I think of the difference I make for the charities, organizations, local farms, and the movement towards a more sustainable lifestyle. 

If you would like to learn more about Steaz products or the charities they work with, visit http://www.steaz.com/ for details. I tried Steaz before I was aware of the charity and sustainability of the company so I encourage those who do not partake in energy drinks to at least visit the website to educate yourself to support the claims made in this article.

Show Children the Meaning of Green Energy

Sustainable energy is a concept that adults today must adapt to in order for our planet to move towards a cleaner and brighter future. To some who have passionate interest in the environment, it seems as though using renewable energy over fossil fuels is just common sense.  How can we share this attitude for generations to come?

Meet Quad, the green toy from Endrit Hajno. This little interactive humanoid requires solar and wind power in order to charge its batteries. He is able to stick to most surfaces with its suction cup hands and feet in order to demonstrate how the efficiency of solar or wind is dependent on location of wind currents or sunlight. While Quad sits next to the window taking in some rays or hangs around catching the wind, he is connecting to the internet via Bluetooth uploading his energy intake to a fun online game where you can compete with others. This allows children to have fun and interact with others while learning about green technology!

I think this toy would make a great gift to kids (especially those who aspire to be scientists or engineers) because it always promotes curiosity of how it works, why it works better here than there, and allows them to innovate when they see that another Quad across the country is getting better or worse results. In other words, Quad helps children learn even if they don’t know their learning. Quad encourages children to ask questions and even do their own research as well. Overall this toy is a great idea and I even consider buying one myself.

If you liked learning about this toy and want to hear more about green products leave a comment!

Green Mother's Day

Mother's Day is coming up! Here at The Green Collegiates we want every occasion to be green, so here are a few tips and ideas for making your Mother's Day as sustainable as possible!

Take your Mom on a trip to support your local natural areas! Pack a zero waste picnic (use cloth napkins, reusable containers, reusable silverware) and treat her to what mother nature can provide! A hiking trip or a simple picnic is a great way to say I love you while being green.

If your Mother is into beauty products I would suggest Burt's Bees products! They have great, all natural products that you can get at either Target, or their store online. It can be a bit pricy; however, they really work well while being made of almost 100% natural material! (I promise I don't work for them, just addicted to their chapstick and lotion!)

Getting your mother flowers try the local farmer's market in your area? A lot of times they also sell flowers and they will be a lot more local than the ones you order from online! Plus you get the personal touch of asking for exactly what you want! If there are no flowers are your farmers market (or it has not opened yet) go to your local greenhouse!

Lastly when wrapping your mother's day present don't use typical paper wrapping! It is just thrown away, that's a waste maker! Reuse something around your house such as a cloth bag, a scarf, a basket or an old newspaper.

 This Mother's Day don't only make your mother happy, make Mother Nature happy!