| Dear
EarthTalk: Where can I find green-friendly gifts
for friends and family this holiday season?
-- A.L. Burger, via e-mail
Reconciling
one’s green values with the urge to shop has never been
easy. Most environmental groups today decry Western consumer
habits as wasteful and a major cause of ecological degradation
in a shrinking world. And many people, environmental issues
aside, believe that the rampant commercialism we've all come
to expect at holiday times cheapens what should be a reflective
or sacred time of year.
Our buying habits are not easy on the wallet, either. According
to the Center for a New American Dream (CNAD), 60 million
American families carry an average credit card debt of over
$7,000 and pay more than $1,000 a year in interest and fees.
Further, says CNAD, “A record 1.6 million Americans
declared personal bankruptcy last year.”
For those who ply an ethic of moderation (for whatever reason)
but still have to show up at a half-dozen holiday parties
with something for under the tree, there are now more green-friendly
(and affordable) options than ever before. Steer your web
browser to any number of online merchants offering items from
clothes, bed-and-bath and organic baby products to food, the
latest books and “gifts that give back,” such
as tree-planting kits and “fair trade” crafts
that support economically disadvantaged communities in developing
countries. A few popular sites include the Green Home Environmental
Store, Global Exchange’s Fair Trade Online Store, The
Eco-Store, Abundant Earth, and Gaiam, among others. A visit
to Co-Op America’s National Green Pages Online is one
quick path to a treasure trove of such options.
While these stores all specialize in decidedly “green”
items, many environmentally concerned consumers simply want
to buy from mainstream retailers but want to feel confident
their money is going to companies that are “good corporate
citizens.” If you better fit that category of consumer,
pay a visit to Alonovo.com, which provides information on
companies' social and environmental records alongside thousands
of products for sale in partnership with Amazon.com. The website
can also simply be used as a research tool to get the lowdown
on companies before heading out to downtown or the mall. Alonovo
rates companies in five different areas: social responsibility,
workplace fairness, environmental issues, customer relations
and overall business ethics. If you do buy from the site,
the company shares from 20 to 40 percent of its profits with
environmental and other nonprofits that you as a customer
can choose.
Some other options include Consumer Reports’ Greenerchoices.org,
which rates mainstream products from cars to electronics based
on environmental criteria, and Co-op America’s Responsible
Shopper, which features detailed reports on various companies
that market “green” consumer products. Of course,
you need not buy anything if you have a little more time (and
items to re-use and recycle) on your hands than money. Sherri
Osborn, the family crafts guide at About.com, offers up a
healthy listing of “101 Great Gifts to Make” for
any season, complete with links to instructions and materials
needed.
CONTACTS: National Green Pages Online, coopamerica.org/pubs/greenpages;
Alonovo, www.alonovo.com;
Greenerchoices.org, www.greenerchoices.org;
Responsible Shopper, www.coopamerica.org/programs/rs;
About.com’s 101 Great Gifts to Make, familycrafts.about.com/cs/giftgiving/a/120400a.htm.
PHOTO
COURTESY OF GETTY IMAGES
A
number of online merchants offer green-friendly items for
the holidays--from clothes, bed-and-bath and organic baby
products, to food, the latest books and “gifts that
give back” such as tree-planting kits and “fair
trade” crafts that support economically disadvantaged
communities in developing countries.
Dear EarthTalk:
Several of my neighbors have installed outdoor wood furnace
boilers to heat their homes instead of relying on oil or natural
gas. But is all the smoke these boilers create good for my
health? -- Susan MiHalo, Michigan City, IN
As the price of fuel has risen in recent years, more and more
homeowners across North America are turning to alternative
ways of heating their homes. While some might opt for forward-thinking
alternatives--like tapping solar, wind or geothermal sources
of energy--others prefer to step back to perhaps the oldest
source of heat, burning wood. For those with easy access to
firewood and the need to heat a large house or multiple buildings,
outdoor wood furnace boilers are an obvious, though potentially
noxious, choice.
Outdoor wood furnace boilers, also known as outdoor water
stoves and outdoor wood furnaces, usually consist of a wood-burning
firebox surrounded by a water reservoir or “jacket.”
Ideally a tall chimney vents the unit of the sometimes-copious
amounts of wood smoke generated. The combustion of wood in
the firebox heats the water in the surrounding jacket, which
is in turn pumped via insulated underground pipes into one
or more nearby buildings.
Once inside a building, the heated water warms the home via
radiators or a heat exchanger duct system. Outdoor wood furnace
boilers also typically provide hot water for the home. And,
unlike with indoor wood burning stoves, no smoke gets into
the house.
While this may all seem well and good, such boilers often
become bones of contention between neighbors, as the wood
smoke produced can cause hazy banks of smog over entire neighborhoods.
According to environmental toxicologist Uni Blake, wood smoke
is a complex mixture of chemicals and particulates. It contains
carbon monoxide and other organic gases, particulate matter,
chemicals, and some inorganic gases. Some of these compounds,
such as aldehydes and phenols, are toxic, while others, like
benzoprene and cresols, are known carcinogens, Blake reports.
The U.S. and Canadian governments have yet to issue any regulations
regarding the manufacture or usage of outdoor wood furnace
boilers, so perturbed neighbors don't have much of a legal
leg to stand on. But several American states and a few Canadian
provinces have called on their capitals to regulate the emissions
of these boilers, so time will tell whether or not any formal
rules are put into place.
Forward-thinking manufacturers are not waiting to find out,
however, and have been busy retooling their units to help
maintain optimal combustion conditions and better disperse
waste smoke. Meanwhile, owners of outdoor wood furnace boilers
can use their units more responsibly by limiting operation
to wintertime when neighbors are more likely to be indoors
with their windows shut, choosing and burning dried wood so
as to minimize the moisture that leads to the creation of
smoke, and installing taller chimneys to help disperse the
smoke away from nearby homes.
CONTACTS:
Washington State Department of Ecology’s Fact Sheet
on Outdoor Wood-Fired Boilers, www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/air/AOP_Permits/Boiler/Outdoor_Boilers_home.html. |
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