Archive for November, 2008
Speaking of Saving Resources: Water
Friday, November 28th, 2008
Eartheasy has 25 ways to help you save 10 gallons of water a day in your home.
And we’ve got a list of tools to help you as well:
Faucet aerators can reduce your water use by up to a gallon per minute (280 gallons per month)! And they’re easy to install and super inexpensive to boot. Perfect for kitchen and bathroom sinks.
Evolve showerheads reduce water flow to just a trickle once your shower is the perfect, toasty temperature. So, if you’re doing something else while waiting for the water to warm, you won’t waste nearly as much to the pipes.
Showerhead shut off valves are simple and super-savers. Just flip the switch while you’re lathering up or shaving instead of having to mess with the bath fixtures. Flip again when you need water again–a navy shower made easy.
Smart faucets operate similarly. When you’re not pushing a convenient lever, the water flow stops at the sink to give you time to lather your hands with soap. When you’re ready to rinse, you simply lean on that lever again.
Shower timers will keep you on track for your desired water-conserving shower.
Shower buckets can be used to collect water while you’re waiting for the stream to get hot enough–instead of going down the drain, it can be used to water the plants!
Time to get saving.
Posted in saving water los angeles, water conservation products, water conservation tools | No Comments »
bring your own bag
Tuesday, November 25th, 2008
Since it’s Saving Energy and Resources month at All Shades, we want to share with you a tried and true way to save both that’s so simple it has its own acronym: BYOB.
By bringing your own shopping bag to the grocery store, farmer’s market and any other place where you leave with more than you walked in with, you save the materials and energy that go into making those throwaway bags. Sure, you can reuse them, but why not go farther to reducing first? That saves petroleum, water, and trees at the start.
We know you’re on board with this, which is why we carry Chico bags, Ecolution bags of all kinds, and our very own ASOG variety.
My Own Bag, has a whole host of facts and figures on bags and bag consumption worth checking out. For example, the plastic bag was introduced in 1977 and we now use 14 billion of them in the U.S. alone every year, requiring 12 million barrels of oil to produce. (And those bags that seem harmless do harm thousands of marine animals and stick around for hundreds of years.)
Read even more on the subject of ever-present bags here.
To bringing your own this holiday shopping and eating season!
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More T-Day Tips
Monday, November 24th, 2008
We wanted to share with you the incredible, edible tips from last weekend’s podcast of KCRW’s Good Food.
There are plenty of recommendations for how to have a truly memorable, creative Thanksgiving from the perfect bird-brining solution to sweet potato salad to serving only foods for which your kids are actually grateful.
There’s also a feature on a contributor to SuperVegan who shared plenty of meat and poultry-free ideas for a green, grateful feast. The recipe for chestnut soup with porcini mushrooms and root veggies is on the Good Food site here.
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Thanksgiving: A Merry, Green Meal
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
We at All Shades wish you a merry, magical Thanksgiving on Thursday!
In that spirit, we want to tell you about some T-Day tips.
First, The Pioneer Woman has some wonderful recipes (along with how to brine a turkey) to take care of your menu snafus.
And if you have yet to choose your turkey, we want to recommend making yours a free-range, organic bird. If you want to go the extra mile, you can even choose a heritage variety. Heritage birds are breeds that were foregone for the industrial tom breed we’re used to seeing at the supermarket. By getting one, you’re supporting farmers, preserving traditional breeds, and getting delicious poultry to boot.
There are still some sustainable turkeys left at LocalHarvest, an organization bringing local farm products to chefs and eaters like us (a great resource all year round).
If you’re skipping the turkey altogether, you can find some unique, delectable vegetarian recipes that will please as much as the 45 million birds that will be served on Thanksgiving from Nava Atlas.
And finally, here’s our absolute favorite vegan pumpkin muffin recipe (just be sure to use vegan margarine!). They are doughy, moist and a giant hit! Enjoy.
Posted in green thanksgiving, heritage turkeys, the pioneer woman, turkey tips, vegan pumpkin muffins, vegetarian thanksgiving | No Comments »
FREE Solar Workshop!
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
We want to invite you to our first Solar Workshop with the folks from Phat Energy.
Solar 101
Thursday, November 20th
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Find out everything you need to know to go solar.
** Please call (323) 665- 7454 for details and to reserve your space. This event is FREE. **
Posted in phat energy, phat solar panels, solar 101, solar workshop los angeles | No Comments »