EnviroCitizen

EnviroCitizen.org, the internet's largest eco-friendly superstore, wants you to give and receive green, eco-friendly Holiday cheer this year. Their product offerings span the gamut from solar and other alternative energy items, personal products for the entire family, thousands of household items, lawn and garden supplies, pond supplies, eco-friendly bags, gift wrap, appliances, furniture, baby care, camping and RV supplies, educational kits and projects and much, much more.

Located in Northern Texas, Broadstone Centreport is an eco-friendly apartment community built to Green Built North Texas's energy-efficient standards, a regional set of green building guidelines. Broadstone has the convenience of apartment living combined with single family home features and spacious interiors. There are some single family homes in the area as well as multifamily homes to create diversity in the environment as well as to promote more density to the area.

EnviroCitizen.org recently became acquainted with yet another eco-conscious community. Prairie Crossing is known as the Conservation Community, and for good reason! Located in Grayslake, Illinois, Prairie Crossing was created to conserve open land, increase the availability of local transit and encourage its residents to take part in an eco-friendly lifestyle. Prairie Crossing operates an on-site organic farm, which yields produce sold at their local farmers market.

Eco-fashion is not really fashion- at least that's probably what most of us think. It conveys a message, usually with a sassy or informational phrase, but doesn't show a sense of style or show your individuality. It shows you care about the environment, but not really your appearance. However, eco-friendly clothing is on the rise, and there are many places to purchase trendy clothes that are fashionable and cute. Last week we saw a great example of this in New York City.

Achieving a green office is getting easier. With all sorts of organizations specifying greener products, there are increasing environmental options. Both large and smaller companies offer goods made from sustainably harvested woods and recycled, bio-based, or nontoxic materials, and made with glues, paints, foams, and other ingredients that don't give off noxious odors.

When we go to bed, we want to have a sound rest. This can be made even better by using bedding that is sustainably made. Synthetic materials, such as polyester, are very common. These are made from nonrenewable chemicals rather than all-natural products that can be grown. There are also some health issues that may arise from the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) in these materials.

It may be shocking, but the greatest source of pollution isn't our cars, it is our homes. Several of the things we use daily require lots of electricity. Fortunately, there are ways to curb the amount of electricity that we use so the pollution is lessened. Using energy efficient appliances is one way to accomplish this.

We all know that ozone is what helps protect the Earth from Ultra Violet rays, but not all of us know that ozone can actually be toxic when it's in the wrong place. Air purifiers are often actually ozone machines. These devices are not always safe and effective in controlling indoor air pollution. Health professionals, such as the American Lung Association, http://www.lungusa.org/ have alerted us to the danger.

Phantom energy load is one of the worst ways that we waste energy. Phantom energy is the energy used by things that are plugged in and continue to draw power even though they are not in use. Almost all computers, computer accessories (printers, modems, scanners, etc.) and home entertainment products (stereo, DVD player, TVs, etc.)

We use printers and copiers all the time. Reports are printed for work and school. Our presentation materials at work are reproduced endlessly. It's no wonder that Americans use approximately 31.5 million tons of printing and writing paper each year, an amount requiring over 535 million trees and more than 12 billion gallons of oil to produce.