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Happy Earth Day!

casasugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:00:43 -0700

To celebrate Earth Day when I was in grade school, my friends and I rewrote the lyrics to TLC's "Waterfalls" with verses like "Don't go littering the earth, Please stick to the recycling bins," and sang them to the tune of the song playing on my boombox. Even though that is an utterly awesome image, I think I'll save you the pain of hearing my voice this Earth Day. Instead, I thought I'd round up some of my favorite Casa Verde posts that I've written.

I hope that's enough for you to chew over on this special day. And, when you've finished reading, remember to unplug your computer from the wall.
Source

How Have You Made Your Home Greener in the Past Year?

casasugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:00:56 -0700

Happy Earth Day! In the past year, what have you done to make your home greener? Source

How Have You Made Your Home Greener in the Past Year?

I put in CFLs.

I cut down on our energy use.

I put in energy-efficient appliances, windows, or insulation.

I switched to using green cleaners.

I started a garden, and it's organic!

I'm trying to be more conscientious about what products I buy, and trying to keep it green.

I make sure I power down all of my small electonics so I don't waste energy!

I've done all of this and a lot more!

I'll tell you in the comments!

How-To: Making Your Wedding a Little Greener

casasugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 06:30:30 -0700

Unfortunately, just because you're holding your wedding ceremony in the great outdoors that doesn't mean your celebration is good for the planet. If you want some ideas for cutting down on the environmental impact of your big day, take a look at my tips.

For a Greener Wedding

Who doesn't love flowers? You can keep your flowers eco by buying organic blooms or buying the flowers locally.
When considering where to hold your wedding, think about where most of your guests are located. Midwest? East Coast? The Southwest? Then, consider holding your ceremony there. It will cut down on travel expenses as well as the environmental cost of planes, trains, and automobiles.
You can now buy compostable cups, plates, and utensils for your shindig. This means that your guests' plates will end up enriching the soil instead of sitting in a landfill.
If guests are traveling from a long distance, ask them to offset the carbon produced from their travel. It's cheap, quick, and easy. In lieu of wedding favors, which are often thrown away or forgotten, you could also offset your entire wedding guest list's carbon output. You could have a message telling them about the carbon offset "gift" printed up on wildflower seed cards that are left on each guest's plate. Make sure the guests take the cards home and plant them.

For the rest of my tips, just

DIY: Botanical Prints

casasugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:15:57 -0700

I found this great DIY on Design Happens, and it fit so well into this month's theme and Earth Day that I had to share.

Here's What You Need

Plant cuttings from your yard or a nearby park (remember to only take one from each plant)
Clear acrylic finish
Plexiglas frames to match number of cutting you want to frame
Matting to match number of frames
Watercolor paper
Hot-glue gun

To find out how to put these botanical prints together,

Cool Idea: Living Wall Systems

casasugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:30:00 -0700

To kick off Earth Day here on Casa, I thought I'd show you a very cool way to bring a little green into a cramped-for-space home or garden. The ELT Easy Green Living Wall ($39 - $249) is a modular-living wall panel that you can buy pregrown or that you can plant on your own. Made of 100-percent recyclable plastic, it is environmentally friendly, not to mention aesthetically pleasing. A vertical garden of sorts, it's a great option for those lacking green space, but it also has a wonderful, modern visual quality that I've seen nowhere else. Each Living Wall looks unique, as its appearance all depends on which plants are used. There are numerous ways to use Living Walls; you can take a traditional route, using it as decor (like a planter), give it function, using it as a fence, or take a modern approach, livening up an exterior wall, as shown. What do you think? Would you buy one (or several)? I kind of want one . . .