Angry Green Girl's Personal Blog

No matter how hard you try not to, you’re still bound to generate some garbage. Even if you’re recycling your beer bottles and composting your kitchen scraps, there are some things that are just junk -- kinda like your old Converse kicks. So does that mean you just chuck it all in a bargain trash bag?

Nope.

Conventional trash bags are made from polyethylene -- a petroleum-based product. It takes 1,000 years for a traditional plastic bag to break down, and when it does, it releases toxic chemicals into the ground. Don’t despair. You have options when it comes to bags... even if you don’t when it comes to women.

If you need a suggestion, check out BioBags! They’re made from organic, non-GMO starch, and they do break down in an open landfill. 

BioBag products range from kitchen storage bags to trash bags, and from pet waste bags to litter box liners. 

You can order them here. 

So, you’ve brought your new dog home and you have your stash of biodegradable poop bags ready for your first walk. Nicely done.

I promised you I’d hook you up with the info on green beds, toys and leashes, and I won’t let you down. I may not give you my real number at the dog park, but I won’t let your dog suffer because she came home with you.  

If you think it isn’t important to buy a natural bed for your pet, you should know that the Environmental Working Group found more than 48 different toxic substances in dogs’ and cats’ bodies. Many of the chemicals have been linked to cancer. The toxic stuff came from flame retardants used on dog beds, stain-proofing chemicals on carpet, and plastic softeners called phthalates that are used in a wide range of products from shampoos to toys.

Now that I've sufficiently freaked you out, here are a few green pet bed suggestions. West Paw, Bella Dogga and Jax and Bones. Jax and Bones has a variety of green choices from eco bedding to a 100% organic line. Even the classic line is filled with an eco-friendly material made from recycled plastic bottles.

If you want some natural toy ideas, keep clicking around the Jax and Bones site. They offer natural woolies as well as rope toys dyed with natural, non-toxic dyes. The proceeds from the rope toy sales benefit an animal rescue organization. Double bonus. 

Lastly, if you want a sustainable collar and leash, take a look at The Good Dog Company. They use hemp for their leashes, collars and toys. Hemp can be grown without toxic pesticides and is also a sustainable product. Whole Foods carries The Good Dog products, and you can also find them online.

Now get off your ass and take your new dog for a walk. You just might meet someone as hot as me while you’re out on a stroll. 

Not all green ideas are as grand as converting your house to wind power. Sometimes small, simple changes can make a huge difference. Example? Tupperware. Yeah, I’m talking about the stuff your mom used to buy from her friends in the ‘80s.

Bring it with you when you go out to eat. By bringing along your own reusable container, you’ll save an aluminum, cardboard or Styrofoam box each time you bring home leftovers.

You can also take Tupperware with you when you go to the farmers’ market or the grocery store. You’ll eliminate the plastic bags you’d normally use to hold your lunchmeat or your apples. Since the deli weighs your meat by the pound, just ask them to print the label for you, and you can stick it on the side of the reusable container. If this is too geeky for even you, at the very least consider transferring your produce to airtight containers when you get it home. It will make your food last longer. Sure you could compost your rotten tomatoes, but wouldn’t you rather save a little money by making them last longer?

Worried about looking like a dork toting around your Tupperware? Too late. You’re already a dork. You might as well be a green one.

The Tupperware site has even more sustainable tips. Take a look! 

We all know we’re supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day. That honestly shouldn’t be complicated, yet somehow we’ve managed to make even that difficult.

Remember when you used to just stick your glass under the faucet to get a little water?

Now the market is saturated with bottled spring water, delivery services, and a whole host of other options. Most of them are expensive and not terribly earth-friendly either. 

Bottled water is bad because it takes energy and limited resources to make and transport the plastic bottles. Plus toxic chemicals can leach into the water -- particularly if you reuse the plastic containers or if you leave them in a hot car. Another problem with this option is that many jackasses throw away the plastic bottles when they’re empty instead of recycling them.

Delivery services are not a great alternative either. The thick plastic jugs that show up on your doorstep are made from petroleum, and they arrive on a big, air-polluting truck. 

Tap water, while more economical than delivery or bottled water, can contain harmful chemicals. Filtering water is the way to go. Whether you buy the faucet-mounted variety, a filter pitcher, or a fancy reverse osmosis kind, you will save a ton of money and energy. 

Brita and Pur both make economical options. Think of all the beer you could buy with the money you'll save....

We all have things we can’t live without. Your list probably includes World of Warcraft, a kegerator and a vast porn collection. If coffee’s your thing, there are ways you can make your addiction a little less harmful to the planet. And your wallet.

Many coffee shops offer discounts on your beverage if you use your own mug. They’ll also give you a significant discount on same day refills if you reuse your cup.

Whether you bring your own mug or recycle the disposable cup, your civic responsibility doesn’t end with the vessel either. Many places feature coffee made from sustainably grown, fair trade beans. Starbucks, Peet’s and Caribou all have green initiatives. Show your support for the planet (and its farmers) by buying the sustainable java. Starbucks plans to use only sustainably grown beans by the year 2015, but until then there are plenty of great options available.

You could also make coffee at home. It’s so easy that even you could handle it. It’ll save you tons of time, cardboard, and money. If you’ve already figured out which compartment the water goes in, congratulations. Now consider purchasing a reusable filter. They come in all shapes and sizes. 

Another bonus to brewing at home is that you can use your coffee grounds to fertilize many kinds of plants (if you haven’t killed them already). Coffee grounds are also fully compostable if you’re into that sort of thing. 

In the unlikely event you find a girl drunk enough to come home with you, make sure your place doesn’t smell when you get her inside. This doesn’t mean you have to scrub your toilets, counters and floors with toxic chemicals in the vain hope that someday you’ll get lucky, however.

There are natural and inexpensive ways to clean up your filth without releasing noxious fumes into the air.

You probably have a ton of cheap, natural cleaning products lying around and you don’t even know it. For example, you can use lemons to clean sinks and counters. Not only do lemons eliminate bacteria, but they also eradicate the nasty odors associated with said bacteria.  

Out of lemons? No problem. Baking soda is an excellent, non-abrasive cleaner. White vinegar will kill mildew, club soda tackles carpet stains, and you can even use a blend of baking soda and salt to clean the inside of your oven. (That’s the metal thing with a door next to your fri -- never mind.)

If you have a particularly vile toilet situation, and I’m betting you do, just mix a little baking soda and vinegar together and use that instead of the nasty toxic stuff hiding in the back of your bathroom cabinet.

If being green is not incentive enough, consider this: one in three people suffer from allergies, asthma or some form of sinusitis. One of the best ways to manage these conditions is to reduce exposure to synthetic chemicals. (Oven and bathroom cleaners are some of the most toxic cleaning products, BTW.)

If baking soda alchemy isn’t your thing, there are also some great green cleaners on the market. Check out Method and Seventh Generation. You can usually find both brands at Target as well as many grocery stores.

Now quit wallowing in filth and self-pity and for the love of god, start cleaning your kitchen. No one wants to smell that. Even your roommate thinks you’re disgusting. And he drinks his own bong water. 

So, you want to get a dog because you think it might help in your pathetic quest to get laid. I’ll admit, it’s not a TERRIBLE idea, but don’t be a caveman about it. After you find the perfect pup (preferably from a shelter or Petfinder), there are a lot of ways you can be a green dog owner. 

If you see me on a walk, taking long strides with my tan, toned legs, don’t even think about approaching me if you’re not using biodegradable bags to pick up your dog's poo. Leaving it on the lawn is not an option either. Not only is it illegal, but animal waste can get into the storm drains and lead to harmful bacteria entering our water (totally uncool).

If you’re looking for other ideas, check out this dog waste composter. You can’t put animal waste in your compost bin, but this offers a great alternative.

More on my favorite green leashes, toys and beds later. I promise. 

I love nothing more than savoring the rich flavors of a meal prepared with organic food. There’s nothing unnatural about my body, and I don’t put anything fake in it either. That’s why I buy my produce at farmers’ markets, food co-ops and organic grocery stores. 

If you’re interested in finding an organic grocery store near you, visit this site. 

If you don’t know why going organic is a good idea, here are a few things to consider: the produce is grown without the use of the typical toxic pesticides that are totally terrible for the planet. Plus the meat is from animals not pumped up with unnatural growth hormones and antibiotics.

If that’s not enough to convince you, maybe the added incentive of meeting a hottie who takes care of her body will do it. 

It’s Saturday night around 10:30. You down a couple of cheap beers and get ready to go out. And by get ready -- I mean you change into a different wrinkled shirt, leave the light on after you’re done, and you brush your teeth with the water running the whole time.

You head down to your favorite bar with a couple of your equally unfashionable buddies, and then proceed to down jager shots until you have the courage to start approaching girls who won’t even make eye contact with you.

You strike out the first, second and fifteenth time you try, but you keeping doing it anyway.

That’s basically the same thing that’s going on with all of those ads in your mailbox. 98% of it is crap you throw away without even reading. 98%. That means companies are killing trees that would have helped remove carbon dioxide from the air, spending money and energy to print ads you’re just going to throw in a landfill somewhere. It’s ridiculous. It’s almost as ridiculous as you thinking you can hit on me. Companies are wasting our resources hoping if they send their crap to everyone, someone will actually want it.

There’s a service out there hoping to solve the problem. They help companies target people who might want what they’re selling and not bother other people who aren’t actually interested. That’s like you increasing your closing percentage by looking for the girl who is so drunk she’s falling off her barstool.  

Check out Dukky to get more info. As for you, think about turning off the lights before you leave your apartment and maybe some day a sober girl will give you her real phone number.