Going Green in Comfort

Solar power (Photo by Chance Agrella/ FreeRangeStock.com ) One of my high school friends lived in a house that her father, who I think was an architect, built himself. I was in awe the first time I saw it, mostly because it was — and probably still is — the largest home I've ever set foot in. I have no idea how many square feet it had, but my friend was one of six children, and each had his or her own bedroom. It also had solar panels, a rare thing in my hometown back then. Though even today, I can't think of another house I've laid eyes on that is powered, a least in part, by the sun. My friend's family moved away in the 1990s, and she and I lost touch not too long after graduation. But even today, a couple of decades later, when I pass by the house, I am still fascinated by it, oddly enough, because of those solar panels. Were they enough to power the whole home? Or did they just mitigate what otherwise would've been a large electricity bill? What does th...

Driving into work in early September, I had my radio tuned to an episode of "Morning Edition" highlighting Tom's of Maine 's efforts to create a deodorant free of petroleum derivatives . As interesting as Tom's journey to develop its products was, my biggest takeaway from the show was the realization that fossil fuels are in my deodorant (and toothpaste and shampoo, by the way). Now I realize that most green-thinkers might've been aware of this already, but I wasn't. And I was shocked. Knowing that now have a fossil fuel-free option for deodorant with Tom's, I turned my efforts to finding a more natural shampoo. It didn't take much googling to find that baking soda can sub for shampoo and apple cider vinegar for conditioner. Baking soda and apple cider vinegar The baking soda works well as a cleanser, though it seems to be kind of drying in my hair. I have yet to try apple cider vinegar as conditioner, mostly because I still have some re...

Working toward a greener planet. (Photo by Jack Moreh/ FreeRangeStock.com ) I'm on a quest to make some changes in how I shop. Like many Americans, I've heard people argue for and against the idea that climate change is manmade. I have my own opinion, but I'm no scientist. I can't say for certain. This NASA page , however, seems pretty convincing to me. Beyond that, though, continuing to invest in pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure seems short-sighted to me. Fossil fuel energy sources are finite, right? Yes, it's true that scientists hypothesize that one day the sun will burn out, but I bet if nothing changes, we will run out of crude way before that happens. As I pondered why we aren't making more progress toward renewable energy sources, I realized I'm part of the problem. I am a big consumer of fossil fuels. Not only do I drive a gas-guzzling 18-20 mpg vehicle, I also buy products, including this computer I'm typing on, tha...