Connecticut Green Living

I had the pleasure of trying several green products in 2019. From eco-friendly make-up remover wipes to distilled spirits, plant-based sesame milk to a long-lasting totable LED flashlight . This isn't hard news, but it isn't fake news either. I shy away from writing about products in a way that implies an endorsement, but I also hate to call out products that don't meet my criteria: eco-friendly but pleasant smelling or tasting, in the case of food and cleaning products. Let's be honest - cleaning solutions, for example, do have a long way to go. The mosquito repellent I raved about nonetheless has an odor that requires my keeping it in a special bag. I am still willing to sacrifice a little of the smell/taste comfort zone for lightening my footprint on the climate change scale. One product that has really grown on me is Greenerways Organic chemical-free all-purpose cleaner. The company also makes what is billed as "a skin-soothing, kid and pet safe line of SPF...

Vivint Solar just released a new report highlighting the states with the "naughtiest" and "nicest" relationship to coal, based on percentage of their energy that has historically come from burning it. "According to our analysis, while many states are moving away from coal, there is still a concerning number of states that get the vast majority of their energy from this dirty energy source," the company said in a statement. When coal is burned to create electricity, it emits carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and particulates that contribute to poor air quality and climate change. That's why Vivint has listed several states on its Naughty List and some on the Nice List. Where does Connecticut fit in? We're doing okay . Using data from The US Energy Information Association , the company compiled a report that highlights the percentage of coal each state used last year. They culled the total amount of electricity generated (megawatt ...

As a half Jew, half Christian, I was immediately intrigued when I received the promo from Take My Face Off . Also, it's a pretty cute name (and trust me, this time of year there are plenty of days when I'd love to take my crusty old winter face off.) But I'm rather picky about how I remove my makeup. Traditionally I've favored petroleum jelly or Noxema with a tissue. My mother used to use cotton balls but I have found that those shed and then I have stringy cotton enmeshed in my foundation (ok, I rarely wear foundation). The thrust of Take My Face off's solutions is they are environmentally friendly by virtue of being washable, but also smooth to the face. No messy tears. Nothing in the waste bin. Happy Hanukkah Called The Mitty Mini Menorah Gift Set, the kit comes with (obviously) eight disposable washcloths shaped like flames, along with the cardboard menorah for placement. Pockets in the back mean they slip easily over the cardboard prongs or your fingers. The...

LEDs are light-emitting diodes, a semiconductor light source that issues light when current flows through them. Battery life is much longer than with their counterparts, incandescent bulbs, creating a greener solution not only this Halloween but every day. I was offered the opportunity to try out two LED products, and even though I have no Halloween-age kids, I immediately recognized the importance of reviewing the products. According to a Consumer Affairs report, pedestrians are far more likely to be hit by cars on All Hallows Eve than on any other night of the year. The author wrote: "The researchers found that the early evening hours -- between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. -- were the most dangerous times, and that Halloween night was responsible for four more pedestrian deaths than any other night of the year. Nearly all of the deaths were suffered by children or young adults." In that vein, I'm happy to recommend both of these LED offerings this Halloween: 1. NanoTorch Twi...

Connecticut doesn't have any cities that make it to the top largest 100 in America, so there is no way to know exactly how well we stack up against America's greenest. However, in the new WalletHub feature comparing various criteria of America's largest cities, clear lessons and practices can be learnt. For one thing, recycling and abandoning plastic bag use is a huge plus. Connecticut is on its way with the plastic bag tax (10 cents at most stores for a plastic bag ), encouraging reusable bag or no bag use. People (some people) gripe a little but most I've spoken to are very enthusiastic! WalletHub's top green cities from amongst America's largest 100 cities are: 1) San Francisco; 2) San Diego; 3) Irvine, CA; 4) Washington, DC; 5) San Jose; 6) Seattle; 7) Fremont, CA; 8) Sacramento; 9) Portland; 10) Oakland. The worst are: 91) Virginia Beach; 92) Jacksonville; 93) Detroit; 94) Cleveland; 95) Gilbert, AZ; 96) Mesa, AZ; 97) Lexington-Fayette, KY; 98) Toledo;...

Starting today in Austin a conference designed to bring a confluence of parties together, from environmentalists to business leaders, hopes to make a dent in the nation's water crisis. It is not just our country, of course, that is suffering myriad challenges when it comes to water. One Water Summit 2019 is being billed as "the premier national conference focused on sustainable, integrated, and inclusive approaches to managing water, our most precious natural resource," according to Water Research Foundation. The new mindset or movement aims to change "siloed" thinking and make it a more "holistic" concept. For example, waste water and storm water should not be wasted and in many cases in 2019 are not. Laura Huffman, Texas State Director of The Nature Conservancy , spoke to me by phone yesterday and shared that "waste water can be refillable" and that in places such as Las Vegas, fountains have reused such water. In San Antonio at the Ri...

I have been saying for years that our state claims to be green and blue yet its not so secret dirty habit is plastic bags. Plastic bags strewn all over the trees outside Stop 'n Shop. Plastic bags spilling out into the waterways. Plastic bags inevitably choking the life out of fish. It is with great relief to note that our ban goes into effect this Thursday. Here's what you need to know: For the period starting August 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2021, each store including supermarkets and drug stores will charge a fee of ten cents for each single-use checkout bag provided to customers at the point of sale. But, the exciting part is that on and after July 1, 2021, no owner or operator of a store will be allowed to provide or sell a single-use checkout bag to a customer. A "single-use checkout bag" means a plastic bag with a thickness of less than four mils (one-thousandth of an inch, or 0.001 inch) that is provided by a store to a customer at the point of sale. It...

I will admit, I find it laughable that we're worrying about mosquitoes in Connecticut. I spent seven months in South Texas and couldn't even venture outdoors to rake for 10 minutes without coming back looking like I had measles on my legs. Not just bites, but huge blotches. That said, I am aware that we do have mosquitoes in the Northeast and I do not want any of those nasty bites, especially considering the risks attached to them (e.g. Zika virus). Enter PARA’KITO™. That's a very fancy way to write the name of a product to keep bugs away, but I will indulge the company's creative team. I am told that it touts "a unique blend of essential oils, patented slow-release technology and super-smart product design" and PARA’KITO™ products "offer the ultimate mosquito protection in a stylish way". Stylish, yes. For example, the wearable bands and clips are waterproof, easily adjustable and offer a slow release of mosquito-get-the-heck-away protection over ...

Today I have to decide whether I'm up for the challenge of going out and waiting for the bus and schlepping out to my storage unit. I need to go out there and pick up my suit for my interview on Tuesday, but I also don't want to become overheated. In the past I have suffered from heat rash, and clearly today is one of the hot weather days to take very seriously. The feels-like temp will be over 110 F once humidity is factored in. But this is not just a blip, a heat "wave" that will hit us today and perhaps not again for many years. It is indicative of the plight we humans have put ourselves in, destroying the precious ozone layer with our assault of C02 pollution born of selfishness and laziness. That anyone would question a person's decision not to buy a car and bike or Uber instead is appalling. That anyone would throw her empty water bottle (it's bad enough to even buy them!) in the litter bin is appalling. That anyone would throw out food waste without so...

I am not a scientist or even an expert on the effects of preservatives called parabens on the human body, but increasingly I have become worried about all the deoderant I use. My late mother rarely broke a sweat, but I did not inherit that gene. Perhaps due to a slight thyroid disorder (still indeterminate) coupled with being slightly overweight, I have a harder time staying as sweet-smelling as a lady should. That said, I have resisted so-called 'natural' deoderants. I tried one from Whole Foods, maybe it was Tom's (a perfectly good brand), but it did not do the trick. I jumped ship and returned to my Suave roll-ons. In London, where I attended grad school, I became addicted to the spray version of Suave (I do not think it's as dangerous as the old-school aerosol varieties). However, as a green living writer I began to realize I was a hypocrite, and I did not like how this smelled one bit. Problem solved, more or less: CRYSTAL Mineral Deodorants are paraben-free and ...

UPDATE: I feel silly, but I had not read the directions for the SoapStandle prior to using it, so was confused because the soap stuck to it. Turns out, it was meant to work that way ! ( See tutorial.) The soap and stand are meant to stick together. Here, then, is my edited version of the original review: I love the premise of using a soap "standle" - that all the plastic waste from those disgusting pump liquid soap dispensers is killing ocean life. However, if one is more inclined to use a soap dish, as I have become accustomed to, it may seem a little odd when the soap sticks to it. That said, there are clear benefits to the SoapStandle, and I'm all for greening my bathroom. The publicist for SoapStandle tells me via e-mail that in the green home movement there is a trend to turn away from liquid soap. She claims that "during a typical trip to the sink, we use almost 7 times more liquid soap (2-3g) than bar soap (0.35g). That means more chemical feedstocks, more ...

When I lived with my mother in Texas, she worried about the way I would reuse my straws. "I'm not sure it's sanitary," she said. I told her there was a big movement to curtail plastic use and reuse straws. I had been sent a metal straw a couple years earlier. Mom didn't use straws, but she immediately understood. I was happy to see that there is a nationwide university movement toward this end. Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia has announced that students there recently became "champions" in the nationwide Pledge Against Plastic Straws Campus Challenge 2019. The contest was organized by California-based Simply Straws, which sells reusable straws and encourages college campuses to shutter plastic straw use. Longwood collected 878 pledges from students, staff and the community to “Kick the Straw” habit, putting the university ahead of 71 other institutions. Indiana State came in second place. All one has to do to understand the ills of plasti...

I was inundated with press releases leading up to today. I couldn't even respond to some of them. However I read several and culled some of my favorites. In addition, let me start with some tips of my own: consumers should stop using plastic bags, and markets can help curtail this nasty habit by charging 5 or 10 cents immediately (worked in London) for use of same; swap or recycle clothes rather than discard; do less laundry by wearing shirts a few extra days; change bath linens less often; grow your own herbs and stuff spices in bottles you've already recycled (e.g. old jam jars); walk more (also good for your health!!); and tap public transportation whenever possible. Here are other ideas: WATER: Colgate (www.colgate.com) is asking Americans to turn off water while brushing teeth. The turn-off-the-faucet campaign is being led by Michael Phelps. Today, 130 million Americans live with severe water scarcity, according to Science Magazine, for at least one month every year. Yet...

My dear fellow Numeggers: Having recently returned to Milford after fourteen fabulous months in England to earn my M.A., it's almost my duty to share what I've learned. I'm not even talking about Hume, Paley or Hogarth, or the Elgin Marbles that grace the British Museum. I am talking about a greener way of LIFE. For example, stores charge 5 p. (pence) if you need a plastic bag. The implementation of this practice has significantly reduced plastic consumption and waste in Britain. Further, using public transportation even outside the City is seen as positive. Here in Connecticut, how many people turn up their noses at the bus riders (me) standing at the bus stop? Considering what Man is doing to the environment, the heroes are the bus and train riders. Bicyclists are so ubiquitous even in the downtown area that a black cab driver told me he's feared he will hit one. In my entire tenure in jolly old England I don't think I ever saw styrofoam. Car sizes appear to be...