The End of Suburbia

This documentary, The End of Suburbia, is worth your time.  It concerns itself with how Suburbia(s) came to be built up – the why and how especially, with healthy doses of what was used, when, who(se) desires made them possible, and where they are located (believe it or not, there are concentric rings of suburbias to be qualified and quantified.)

The documentary has interviews with practicioners (designers of suburban neighborhoods), theoreticians (writers, researchers, academics), and economists (the energy industry, especially) whom all speak to the changes that Suburbia’s represent (past and present tense), the changes they are experiencing (present tense), and those that are yet to come (future tense).  Kind of like Dickens’ A Christmas Carol for the geographically distributed American Dream.  The “cast” includes:James Howard Kunstler, Peter Calthorpe, Michael Klare, Richard Heinberg, Matthew Simmons and many more.

The topic is a must if you are interested in the energy industry, the future of urban and suburban areas, supply chain management, cost of living, ecologically conscious motivations that will be motivated by the  power to move goods from point A to Z, peak oil, and genearly what the next 50 years will do to your living situation/community.

You can get the movie HERE.  Please – if you watch it, comment to us here on the blog and let us know your thoughts.  This documentary severely affected the way we see the everyday world – supermarkets, gas stations, recycling, waste, ecology, our neighborhoods, our cities, the highway system, and much, much more.

Peace…ecosumo

The FACTS About Swine Influenza

It’s on everyone’s minds because the media is stirring up a panic – Swine Influenza (check out the Center For Disease Controls definition HERE).  We at ecosumo take the possibility of a pandemic flu seriously, especially when its been partially caused by unhealthy and environmentally unsound business practices.  However, we want to be certain to spread this message – remain calm, yet alert.

As well, we wanted you to get quality information regarding the situation.  Therefore, we’re going to just link you to some great content already published about this from our friends at treehugger.com.  There article about this strain of influenza is, per usual, balanced and fair.  Check it out…

“If you’ve managed to avoid the incessant coverage thus far, here’s what you need to know about swine flu. If you haven’t, then you know that 150 people are dead from the disease in Mexico, Europe has encouraged travelers to cancel travel plans to the North America, and the disease has hit as many as 4 different continents. The disease itself frightening, yes—though perhaps no reason for all-out panic. But the…” MORE

What Does the Recycling Symbol Mean?

We typically see the the Recycling triangle/multi-arrow symbol in a variety of ways on a multitude of product containers – from disposable water bottles to cardboard boxes, yet there are over 40 variants of the symbol (that we could find) and many have different meanings…and then there are the ones with numbers in the middle.  There is one MAJOR difference between the symbols – one means Recyclable and the other Recycled, the distinction being that one product has the POTENTIAL of being used again and the other is already made from recycled materials.  Being aware of these symbols meanings AND your local communities laws for what can be recycled and what cannot is critical to an effective recycling system both locally and nationally.

Below we’ve collected a list of facts that will help understand the Recycle triangle and how to decipher its purpose.  We also included some links…

Barkwheats…We Don’t Even Eat this Well!

• Baked with certified organic dark buckwheat flour
• Free-range organic eggs
• Safflower oil
• Ginger
• Parsley
• Sea vegetable
• Chamomile

This list of ingredients has us salivating.  And it’s not from the local 5-star restaurant…its the mighty fine bones of Barkwheats dog treats.  And those are on the Ginger and Parsley, we also carry their SeaVeg and Chamomile.  Our pooches love these treats (yeah yeah – dog’s love just about everything edible), but we know that these are actually healthy for them, which means we’re doing what our canine can’t do for themselves…eat right.

Healthy dog treats

These treats are grain (and gluten) free, sugar-free, salt-free and preservative-free, 19 calories per biscuit (Fido is watching that muffin top) and there are approximately 40 biscuits in each box (227 grams).   As well, Barkwheats actually scavenges heavy metals from the blood and promotes healthy digestion so your dog’s ‘toots’ won’t chase you from the room.  Sea vegetables contain many micro-nutrients essential to a healthy life and chamomile is a popular treatment for anxiety and sleeplessness.  We also love the fact that Barkwheats uses compostable packaging.

So throw your mongrel a new bone with some wicked healthy ingredients and see how it makes her a new dog…one with exotic tastes!  Peace…ecosumo

ecosumo Gets Some BMore Love…

Thanks B magazine for the COVER STORY about ecosumo!

And HAPPY EARTH DAY everybody!  We hope you’ll all mark today the way you would New Year’s eve and firmly commit to some resolutions that benefit your health and the health of Mother Nature.  Don’t forget to check out our LIST OF 10 THINGS you can do to reduce waste (stop using disposable plastic bottles), conserve energy, and go Green without going broke.

Plastic Water Bottles and Leaching

We’re going to take a break from our Green-ing the supply chain topic to return to the topic of disposable and reusable water bottles. As we kick that peanut around during conversations and reading more and more about it, we realize that this is one ENORMOUS issue that WILL have profound positive effects on multiple industries and ecologies.

Today we’re talking about Leaching and plastic water bottles. Leaching is, quite generally, “the extraction of certain materials from a carrier into a liquid (usually, but not always a solvent).”  We got that definition from the Wikipedia article on Leaching which, although its not robust by any means, had the clearest and most precise definition we found in our research.  So, if you’re drinking out of a plastic bottle, Leaching is a concern.  As we’ve written about before on this blog, there are certain bottles you don’t want to drink from (DING: DISPOSABLE ONES!!!!!!  Terrible for you AND Mama Earth so PLEASE STOP DRINKING FROM DISPOSABLE WATER BOTTLES) and there are those that are healthier for you.

First thing you want to stay away from is BPA (Bisphenol A).   Many plastic bottles made with polycarbonate plastics may leach BPA.  Bisphenol A is what is known as an Xenoestrogen (dun! dun! dun!), a known endocrine disruptor, which means it disturbs the hormonal messaging in humans.  Synthetic xenoestrogens can cause breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in the fellahs, and are DEVASTATING to babies and young children.  For more of the science on the effects of BPA on our endocrine system etc. see these studies: Environmental Health Perspectives Journal.  ecosumo provides BPA-free reusable water bottles for on-the-go folks, stylish/around the office type bottles, and active lifestyle needs such as hiking and biking.

Reusable water bottles - KOR Hydration Vessel

Follow the…Leader?

We found a great article in the Times the other day (the 7th – sorry we’re a bit tardy spreading the word.)  The article is concerned with the Obama administration’s imperative to create new economies of scale with alternative energies and Big Oil’s rather obvious hesitancy to walk-the-walk that they talk up in their marketing these past five or so years.  The article is balanced, fair, and, for being as brief as it is, chock full of details (such as experts names to Google and research).  We just thought it raised one VERY important question that goes unanswered, even unexplored – who is leading?  What collective of individuals is empowered (and using said power) to make positive, habitable changes which affect the population overall?

“The Obama administration wants to reduce oil consumption, increase renewable energy supplies and cut carbon dioxide emissions in…“  More…

Earth Day Approacheth…

On Planet ecosumo, it’s always Earth Day.  However, most of the humans on planet Earth get together only twice a year to officially represent the Love for Mother Nature.   One of those days is April 22nd (the other is a United Nations affair celebrated on the March Equinox).  Being that April 22nd is next week on Wednesday, ecosumo would like to encourage you to plan ahead.  We’ve provided a list of ten things that you can do ALL WEEK LONG, rather than just Wednesday, to show appreciation for environment.  Our list is below.  (You can read up about Earth Day at earthday.net, Wikipedia, and a zillion other sites by typing EARTH DAY into your favorite Search engine.

Tips:

1. NO MORE DISPOSABLE WATER BOTTLES!!  Promise yourself to get a reusable water bottle and use that genius device to hydrate yourself.  Disposable water bottles are POISON for the planet, eat up massive amounts of fuel in transportation, and create millions of tons of plastic waste every year.  Plus, with a reusable water bottle, you BUY ONCE!!  ecosumo makes it easy for you – we have 15 choices of water bottle on the site.

2. Replace indoor and outdoor bulbs with Compact Flourescent Light-Bulbs (CFL’s).  They last on average about 4 years longer than standard bulbs and use 75% less energy.

A Better Way to Bottle Feed Your Baby

Keeping in line with our non-disposable water bottle theme, we’re going to talk a bit about the Adiri Natural Nursing feeding bottles we have at ecosumo.com.  Now, it’s no secret that neither of us are women and that we don’t have children…however, we do have moms and sisters and female friends.  We asked them to judge the product and let us know their thoughts.   One of the biggest compliments these baby bottles received from real mothers was the way it resembled a real breast, rather than the multitude of bottles that are cold hard plastic.  That’s a ringing endorsement in our book.

And the Adiri was designed to have that realistic feel.  Their nurser bottles are designed by a team of doctors, lactation consultants, and most critically, mothers.  These nursers are also 100% polycarbonate-free and bisphenol-A free.  With the Fill, Twist and Feed system, the Adiri’s are designed for caregivers in mind so that preparation can be quick when on-the-go with a hungry baby requesting noursihment.  Adiri’s nipple design also enables babies to feed with low air ingestion which reduces the chances of colic (the bottle’s twist-on cap lets air flow slowly into the bottle as the baby drinks, preventing the nipple from collapsing.)

The bottle has a cover design that protects the nipple from getting dirty and leakage.  There are 3 different models designed for different flow stages with each stage holding 8 oz. of fluid.  And these nursers are dishwasher safe and can be boiled or sterilized using a basic sterilizer.

Think about it, not only are you using a well designed, healthy, and eco-conscious alternative to plastic bottles, you’re contributing to the reduction of displosable water bottle landfill waste.  Give yourself a pat on the back, Mom’s…and don’t forget to burp.

Peace…ecosumo

1 Year Later…Whole Food and Reusable Bags

We’re avid readers of Whole Foods blog, The Whole Story.   Being that it’s April – the month within which Earth Day is celebrated (we’re pushing for it to be every day) – and also the month where a year ago Whole Foods completely discontinued using disposable plastic bags in their stores.  We recently wrote about the topic here on the ecosumo.com blog and just wanted to give a nod to Whole Foods for reducing waste and helping its customers make their shopping as Green and eco-conscious as possible.  Check out the full article by clicking “see more”:

“It’s been a year now since we eliminated disposable plastic grocery bags in our stores. (Feel free to insert lame joke here about time flying.) We thought customers would support this move but we’ve been blown away by how much: reusable bag use has tripled and we estimate that together we’ve kept about 150 million plastic bags out of landfills since last Earth Day….” <see more>