How Green Are U? Take the Earth Day Quiz

There are celebrations taking place across the globe today in honor of Mama Earth. Come and join us! More and more people are jumping on the green bandwagon and are learning how they can benefit themselves and the planet. What a perfect time for a little personal reflection. How can you personally can make a difference?

It could be something little. Like giving up paper towels, or planting trees, or recycling. Or it could be more like getting a more fuel effecient vehicle, maybe even a hybrid or installing solar panels. No matter how much or how little you do, there are many shades of green, and every little bit adds up.

So go for a fresh start and take inventory of how you live life! Take IDOG's Earth Day Quiz and get a few shades greener!


Answer the following questions. Each "yes" gets 1 point.

1. Do you drive to work and opt-out of mass transportation, if available?
2. Do you drive an SUV?
3. Do you own more than 1 SUV?
4. Does your home have more bedrooms than the amount of persons in your household?
5. Do you own a vacation home?
6. Do you travel a lot for work or pleasure? A lot meaning once a month + ?
7. Do you eat non-organic food? More than 50%?
8. Do you NOT recycle?
9. If a parent, do you use disposable diapers?
10.Do you drink bottled water?
11.Do you mainly shop at giant superstores like Walmart vs. local vendors?
12.Do you consume alcohol more than 5 days a week?
13.Have you NOT switched to compact fluorescent bulbs?
14.Do you keep your cell phone charger plugged in at all times?
15.Do you think global warming is a total crock?
16.Do you consume red meat?


Scoring Results
# of Yes'
12+ You are a disgrace to this planet! Reduce your consumption! Minimalism is in. You are caught up in the daily grind of material life and are clueless about the current state of affairs on this planet. I highly recommend you contact me directly for an intervention.

10+ You are attempting to make strides to get on with this green movement, but you have a long long way to go. Take a close look at your personal lifestyle, your home, your career and your family to determine areas of improvement. You need to learn about the benefits and detriments, so read this blog and visit our new Eco Shop at GreenKristine.com!!!

8-10 You are a semi respectable person, really striving to do the world and your family some good, well done, but you still need some work. Keep educating yourself about the products and ideas that can help you make a difference. IDOG can help!

4-8 You are a legitamite greenie!! Nice work!! Keep it up and don't get lazy. Your results will pay off with a higher quality of life.

1-4 You are a super star and should be commended!! Join clubs and organizations that will help spread the good word of going green and call me if you are looking for work!

In conclusion, I am here to help you achieve whatever green goals you have set for yourself. This blog and my new shopping website, GreenKristine.com, (coming soon!!)will arm you with all the information and products your need to get to whatever shade of green you want to be. Cheers! Read more!

Live from NY: "Green This House"

So I had this great idea: Renovate an old, ugly house in the suburbs of New York using as many green, sustainable features as possible. Then showcase the house in all it's green glory to prospective buyers and folks who want to learn more about a healthier, energy efficient home at a series of Open House Events.

I will be documenting the entire project from start to finish on this blog so join us while we attempt to answer these questions:

What sustainable materials and products will we use and why?
Does renovating green really cost more?
Can a renovation be green?
What's the popularity of green residential construction in NY and everywhere?
Do people care at all?
Will we sell the house or will we be stuck with it?
Was buying a home in the worst real estate market in 10 years a really stupid idea or am I a freakin' genius?!

Follow this ground breaking series while we uncover the story behind greenovations!!! Read more!

Your Plastic Recycling Checklist

Are you throwing out perfectly good recyclable plastics? If you aren't recycling the following list, you are adding garbage to the landfill for nothin'.

While it's important to recycle your plastic, it's a little known fact that plastic containers are not recycled to make new containers, but to make other secondary materials. Consumers who recycle plastics think they may be helping to reduce the amount of plastic used and our reliance on petroleum, however, recycling will do little to stop production overall. Not to discourage you from recycling though! Many new items are being made from plastics like shoes and even clothing, so keep it up. But the best thing to do is to limit consumption by purchasing items with the least amount of packaging.

Depending on your municipality, you can recycle most items with a recycle symbol with a number in it, like the one shown above. Contact your town to find out how high of a number they will accept.

Items to recycle:
Prescription drug bottles
Vitamin and supplement bottles
Yogurt cups
Pudding cups
Sour Cream, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, cream cheese
Peanut butter and honey
Ketchup, mustard
Mouthwash
Shampoo and conditioner
Moisturizer bottles, skin care, nail polish remover, most skin/body care bottles
Some Tupperware type containers
Cleaning supply bottles
Dish washing and laundry detergents
Plant containers from the garden center

Plastic supermarket bags are NOT included on this list, but again, ask your town (NYC does). Also, you can check your local market to see if they will recycle the bags. Stop & Shop takes the bags back to allegedly recycle, however, I would highly recommend that you use reusable bags.

For more info on plastics and their strange little numbers, go to the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resin_identification_code Read more!