Eco-friendly tools and advice for environmentally responsible living

Auld Lang Syne is on my mind today, not only because it's what is traditionally sung at midnight, but because of what it means.  Auld Lang Syne is sung at this time because it symbolizes endings and new beginnings.  The noise and bustle of the holidays is over and we are entering a hopeful new year.  As you look back over the previous year and prepare to ring in the new, think about how you can make your year, your community, and your world better.

You can start by composting live Christmas trees and wreaths instead of sending them to the landfill.  Many cities offer this service, so check with your waste collector or contact City Hall to find out more.  There's even a National Christmas Tree Association that has more information.

If you live in a place where ice is common, consider chopping it up manually with a shovel.  It's great exercise and is much better for the environment than salt, which can harm your lawn and garden and run off into the water supply.  If you need traction, try scattering a little sand.  For snow, bring out your trusty shovel again - snow blowers consume fuel and generate air pollution and noise pollution.

Sniffles are common in the winter, so use a handkerchief or bandana instead of disposable tissues.  Bonus for the gents: If you get in the habit of carrying a handkerchief, you'll impress the ladies.

You may still be working on the leftovers that never seem to end.  I've always been a big fan of cooking once to eat many times, but if you get tired of eating the same thing, consider a leftover swap with friends.  Or freeze your leftovers in meal-size portions and pull them out a few weeks later to take to work or school for lunch.  Remember:  Waste not, want not!  Much of the time, you can add to your leftovers and create new, different dishes, so it's like you're not eating leftovers at all.

Speaking of storing food, set your fridge temperature between 37 and 40 degrees F for the fresh food compartment and at 5 degrees F for the freezer.  Every six months, unless you have a "no-clean condenser" model (check your owner's manual), gently vacuum or brush off the condenser coils, located on the bottom or back of your fridge.  Also, check the door seals by closing the door over a piece of paper so it is half in and half out.  If you can pull the paper out easily, the latch may need adjustment or the seal may need replacing.

If you travel often, bring your own cup or bottle so you can refuse a plastic cup offered by the flight attendant when they bring the beverage service around.  Reusable bottles are easily found these days and quite affordable.

If you have a choice of using revolving doors instead of regular ones, choose the revolving doors.  You'll keep cold air out and warm air in, thus helping to conserve energy and cut costs.

Throughout the year, when you receive catalogs that you don't want or won't use, take a moment to call their toll-free number and ask to be removed from their mailing list before tossing the catalog in the recycle bin.

The holidays consume a lot of our time and resources.  There's a saying that hind sight is 20/20, so while this year's festivities are still in mind, think about how you can make next year's a little greener.

1.     If you usually have a holiday party, skip the disposable serveware and opt for renewable and biodegradable party products like plates, bowls, cups, and utensils made from cornstarch, sugarcane, potato, or bamboo.  Better yet, use non-disposable dishes and utensils.

2.     Consider sending holiday postcards instead of cards with envelopes for a huge paper savings.

3.     If you're in the market for new holiday lights, consider LED (light-emitting diode) lights.  They use 90 percent less electricity than standard holiday bulbs, emit hardly any heat (low fire risk), and often last up to 20 years.

4.     Make your next Christmas tree a live one.  The most environmentally friendly option is a live tree that can be planted outside after the holidays.  However, planting an evergreen in the winter can be difficult, so if you don't have a place to put it, the resources to plant it well, or someone to give it to, consider decorating a tall houseplant, such as a ficus, instead, or simply decorating a large vase full of evergreen branches cut from your backyard.

5.     Make natural decorations: String popcorn and cranberries; get creative with spices such as star anise, nutmeg, and cloves; decorate pine cones; create stars from twigs or pine needles.  These will add a homey and pleasantly fragrant air to your celebration, you can spend time as a family making them, and your holiday will have a smaller footprint.

6.     Fill stockings with all-green treats: organic, free-trade chocolate; nylon grocery totes; monogrammed handkerchiefs; reusable water bottles, insulated mugs, and silverware sets; and (used) books about the green movement to spread awareness.

7.     If you're looking for a gift for a child, give something that gets them outside and excited about nature: a guidebook to rocks, birds, plants, or flowers in your area, a membership at a local science or nature center, or a plant or animal of their very own.

8.     Recycled wrapping paper is a must, but you can go one better by buying or making reusable cloth sacks, or buying recycled paper boxes that can be used from year to year.  Dress them up with new ribbons or usable/edible decorations.  Or go really rustic, with newspaper or pages from magazines, giving them one last hurrah before they head off to the recycling bin.  Save torn gift wrap to shred and use as packing for shipping.

9.     Polish your holiday sterling the natural way:  Use plain white toothpaste or baking soda and a sponge.  For stubborn tarnish, leave a baking soda paste on the piece for an hour or so.  Or do a whole batch at once by lining a pan with aluminum foil, filling it with water, and adding one teaspoon each of baking soda and salt, then bringing to a boil before you drop in the silver.  Turn off the burner and watch the tarnish slowly collect on the foil.  In all cases, buff polished pieces with a soft cloth.  To avoid tarnish in the first place, store silver in airtight containers with a couple of pieces of white chalk.

10.  When family and friends visit for the holidays, many of us pull out the air fresheners.  Or maybe you use them in the office.  Use caution: They may emit harmful levels of toxic pollutants, particularly those with pine, orange, and lemon scents, especially when used repeatedly or in small, poorly ventilated rooms, report researchers at the University of California at Berkeley.  Make sure that your office is as free from them as your home, and ask that cleaning staff use natural cleaning products, combat tough odors with baking soda and citrus, and open those windows to let in the breeze.  In communal bathrooms, or any bathroom, for that matter, lighting a match combats odor quite well, as do soy-based candles scented with natural oils.

11.  If you're participating in a gift exchange at the office, give a homemade gift or buy something environmentally friendly.  Make sure to include a note with your holiday wishes and the philosophy behind the gift.

12.  Candles are a great gift, but commercial candles often contain a fair amount of lead.  Make sure that all the candles you're using or giving as gifts are lead-free, soy-based, and scented with natural ingredients.  It's best to buy plain candles and place them in reusable holders, but if you do buy scented candles in their own receptacles, remember to reuse their glass containers.  Soak them to remove the wax and use as juice glasses or vases.

13.  Music is also a wonderful gift and musicians are going greener all the time, thanks to biodiesel tour buses, their enthusiasm about carbon offsets, and their habits of making generous donations to environmental charities.  If you want to support some environmental heavyweights, check out Jack Johnson, Pearl Jam, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, Guster, Perry Farrell, Sheryl Crow, or Bonnie Raitt.

14.  When making your holiday shopping list, consider all the ways you can minimize pollution and waste:  Give people experiences instead of things (but go easy on travel, with its associated fuel costs), choose edible gifts in recyclable containers, or opt for donations to an environmental nonprofit, such as Sierra Club, Conservation International, the National Resource Defense Council, the Conservation Fund, and the Trust for Public Land.  For close friends and family, consider making a pact to skip gifts and spend time together instead.

The most important thing for you to know going into the new year is that you are empowered - your actions matter, what you do makes a difference!  So do something.  Barry Lopez said, "One of the great dreams of man must be to find some place between the extremes of nature and civilization where it is possible to live without regret."  Howard Zinn said, "We don't have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change.  Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world."  Carry this idea into the new year with you!

1.     Live as locally as possible and live smaller.  Get to know what is available from your community and utilize those resources.

2.     Start recycling and composting if you don't already - break that cradle to grave, 'disposable' mentality and look for ways to reuse things.

3.     Grow something edible, even if it's in a pot.  If you have room, plant a tree (properly!), preferably one with edible fruits or one that provides food and/or habitat for local wildlife.  It should be native or adapted to your area.

4.     Eat one vegetarian meal a day, vegan if possible.  This is a healthier option for you and food animals are a tremendous tax on our resources and environment.  Think you can't?  Sure you can!  Care2 has some great recipes.

5.     Consider those less fortunate than you, for there always are those who are less fortunate.  Play a game to donate rice and click every day at The Hunger Site and Care2.

6.     Seek out like-minded people.  Care2 (link just above) and The Compact  link are good places to start.

7.     Learn.  One of the best gifts you can give yourself that also benefits those around you is knowledge.  Don't be one of the 'sheeple.'  Take the time to learn more than you know right now and be more than you are right now.  The world is so much bigger and there is so much more going on than we can see when we operate in our limited piece of it.  Take a step outside of your little world and look around.  This is the first step toward thinking in the way that is going to become absolutely necessary in the near future.

Well, it's almost that time, friends.  Reward yourself for a year of living green and toast link the new year with a glass link or two of organic or biodynamic bubbly link (bonus points if it's locally made).  Here's hoping for a year without regret, between the extremes, and full of small actions.  Cheers!  Should auld acquaintance be forgot...