Green Gal

Stores that sell college dorm "necessities" give out those lists every fall with tons of awesome gadgets, furniture, and other "essentials that every college student needs"! Of course, you want to be comfortable and have all the stuff you need for college so you can focus on getting good grades and having fun. But as a third year college student who thinks she might have finally gotten the system down, I'm here to tell you that while those lists can be great reminders for the things you really do need, you do not need to get those items new and you certainly don't need to buy all of the latest "dorm" accessories--if truth be told, you don't have room for all of those things in your dorm. One of my boxes Green Gal brought to her first dorm room at UC Santa Cruz. If you want to save money, reduce your environmental impact, and still have the stuff you need to be comfortable and happy as you study and enjoy college, you first have to take th...

This week, I took Beth Terry (of MyPlasticFreeLife.com )'s  Show Your Plastic Challenge . I met Beth last Sunday at a lecture she gave for Science Sundays at the Seymour Center at Long Marine lab, and I was inspired to be more conscious of plastic in my life and begin the process of living without it. You can read a little about Beth and the lecture that I attended  here . I purchased a copy of Beth's book at the lecture last Sunday, and I am LOVING it. She has not only great resources and facts about plastic, but she also includes practical solutions. I will be writing more about her book in future posts. The challenge is to " Collect all of your own plastic waste, both recyclable and non, for a minimum of one week ." I tried my best to do the challenge this past week, but I went home for the weekend (I spend most of the year on campus at UC Santa Cruz) and lost track of a few of the plastic items that I used while out to lunch with family. I also didn't pr...

Photo from the book Deeper Than Gold On Friday afternoon, my family drove up to Nevada County to visit my step-mom's parents in Grass Valley. Saturday morning we drove to Empire Mine State Park for a family portrait. I had never been to Empire Mine before, but unfortunately we didn't really get a chance to look around. We took the portrait on the well-manicured grounds and walked around the gift shop. While looking at the interesting rocks and knick-knacks in the shop, I spotted some carved rock hippos, which happen to be my sister 's favorite animal of all time (no doubt, pictures of the various hippos she acquired this weekend will appear on her hippo blog soon!). Surprisingly, they had a variety of different stone hippos for her to choose from. She bought a pink-colored rhodonite one. I found some bear fetishes carved from various stones with a description about what they signify. Bears are my favorite animals. The first time I saw a bear was while hiking with my dad ...

I have found that walking can slow down time, force you to live at a slower pace for a bit and make you aware of your surroundings. Driving is so fast and so much about what's next, where you're going, how fast you can get there. Walking is about the journey, or at least it lends itself to be. I've been walking to and from school when I've had time and it's a lovely mode of transportation when you can slow down and appreciate your environment. Part of my walk home takes me through a park which I have been in thousands of times but have never truly slowed down to appreciate. When I ride my bike, I have hardly enough time to appreciate the sunlight on the leaves, the curve of the paths, the bark on the various trees or the hills and dips of the grassy knolls. Walking offers you quiet time to think and observe. It creates a sense of place. Fall 2006, A picture I took at the local pumpkin farm. Reduce Footprints's Change the World Wednesday challenge for this ...

First off, a quick update: my hair is still not super oily. I can feel the oil when I touch the top of my head, but no one can tell. The make-it-yourself deodorant works, as long as you don't go on a bike ride at top speed and sweat it off (however, I may not have applied enough that day because I used a blush brush...still have not found a suitable applicator. I tried a powder puff and that put too much. Cotton balls come apart and they aren't reusable.) Veganism is still going strong...but you'll see in a few moments why I've been challenged by my options and why it hasn't been at the forefront of my mind every time I eat something (although it's not like I've eaten meat or cheese...just things that may contain small amounts of dairy). Since Saturday, my family and I have been in and out of the hospital with my sister. She had a kidney transplant on Monday and is doing great! We plan on being here for a few weeks, staying nearby at a Ronald McDonald Hou...

Our society and economy center around a cycle of purchasing, using, and throwing away. But this cycle is devastating to the environment due to its wasteful mindset. Most of what you buy comes in packaging, which is instantly disposed of. Recycling helps, of course, but it would be so much better if the packaging simply didn't exist, or was at least reduced to a minimum. Try to purchase things without packaging--produce from the pile rather than from the cellophane-wrapped pack. It's also important to keep in mind that consumerism is very much ingrained in our culture, and that this needs to change. Advertisements for the next best electronic make us greedy for the newest gadget--but we need to stop ourselves before we rush out the Apple store. We needn't buy the new appliance until our current one has died, otherwise we're continually fueling the landfills with perfectly good appliances. And even if we donate or recycle the old, it will eventually reach the landfill and...

The word "used" tends to have a connotation of bad, old, broken, or gross. But it doesn't have to be. Consignment boutiques sell used clothing, and oftentimes the boutiques are upscale and sell only lightly used, in-style clothing. In my hometown, there's one called Savvy Seconds. According to their website, they "accept only the highest quality, brand name merchandise for consignment." Not all used clothing has to be old or out of style. However, there is an upside to shopping at those funky, old-style thrift shops. You can find unique clothes that no one else will have. My favorite thrift store is on Haight Street in San Francisco, which was made famously funky by hippies in the 1960s. The store is called Held Over, and it has clothes from all over, but most prominently from the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s. It's a very random place. Most of the stores in the Haight sell interesting, fun, and sometimes over-the-top clothes. I can always find...