The T-Cozy

Vintage is Green

And now, we interrupt our regularly scheduled program for a public service announcement from the Etsy Vintage Team . . .

It's important to remember that our ordinary, everyday actions can alter our planet. So it is up to each and every one of us to do our part, no matter how small, to reduce our impact on the earth. One very simple way to do that is to buy vintage.

Given a choice, I always choose vintage items with good karma over new things with no soul. As you may know, one of my pet peeves is new "vintage-inspired" items made to look old. Do we really need to keep manufacturing these things when there are so many amazing relics still around? 

In my book, real vintage pieces will always win out. Purchasing something old is a creative and satisfying way to recycle. So let's keep the wonderful old stuff out of landfills. Buy vintage!

For a peek at the inspiring offerings of my teammates on the Etsy Vintage Team, click here.

Susan

A Farmers Market with a Mission

Bright and early last Saturday morning, my family and I headed over to Baltimore's 32nd Street Farmers Market. Such luscious produce and beautiful baked goods! There is nothing better than enjoying these sights, smells and tastes on a crisp fall morning.

 

 

 

Baltimore's 32nd Street Farmers Market, founded in 1980, is a non-profit organization offering baked goods, produce, fruit, prepared foods, and flowers to patrons from all economic, social, and ethnic backgrounds. And like many outdoor independent markets around the country, they have a worthy mission. As stated on their website: Our Market's mission is to provide a vehicle for independent vendors to survive large agribusiness competition, while making available a variety of produce, meat, bread, and plant selections to an under-served city community. Our vendors provide an opportunity for farmers to sell their products directly to the public, and for the public to benefit from access to fresh food that they would not otherwise have available to them in the immediate area. All funds collected from Market vendor space fees and membership donations are put toward market expenses. Any profits after expenses are paid are donated back to the community in the form of annual grants to local nonprofits.

I hope you are able to frequent a market like this in your town. To find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, go to the Local Harvest website here.

Susan

Views from an Autumn Morning

On this Halloween, I am sharing views from my morning walk with you. Along my way today, I took a little detour into a nature preserve. This forest and tidal marsh, called Farm Creek Preserve, is a parcel of land located on Hart Peninsula in the Rowayton section of Norwalk. What a lovely autumn morning! 

On my way out of the preserve, this cute little squirrel was kind enough to pose for me. He knows just how densely populated and over built this area of Connecticut is. Thank goodness for the Norwalk Land Trust and their initiative to save this open space from development. Now it will stay pristine and untouched so plant life, birds and animals can thrive.

I hope you've enjoyed these views from an autumn morning. Have a Happy Halloween!

Susan

Giving Clothes a Second Life

I spent the morning parked in front of my dresser and closet. Now that autumn is here, I performed the annual task of switching my lighter, summer weight clothes over to heavier, winter ones.

I love doing this switch because my dresser drawers get a much needed clean up. And it feels like a fresh start when I reacquaint myself with favorite winter clothes I haven't seen in a while. I make sure to remove the clothes I no longer wear. I just took those over to Goodwill and the homeless shelter in my town.

Remember the book I sometimes mention called 365 Ways to Save the Earth? Here's what it says about unwanted clothes . . .

Give your clothes a second life.
Fashions change and clothes gradually accumulate in wardrobes. If they are in good condition, they can be put back into circulation on the second-hand market, sold cheaply, or distributed to charities. The second-hand market offers an economic, environmentally friendly alternative to new clothes. On average, the manufacture of 1,000 items of clothing produces 500 pounds of waste cloth, paper, and packaging. To work, however, the second-hand market needs consumers.
Sift through your clothes, and donate those that have gone out of fashion to charitable organizations (such as the Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries International, Inc.) that put out collection containers, or organize door-to-door collections. Your town hall can also tell you about clothing collections. And remember to patronize second-hand shops.

For more simple ways to be kinder to our planet, click on the category in the right-hand column of this blog entitled "Save the Earth Saturdays."

Susan

Making This Picnic Season More Green

Now that the warm weather is upon us, don't you feel the urge to pack a picnic and dine outdoors?

Whether you head to the seashore, a local park or your backyard, having a picnic is the essence of summer. And one way to make outdoor meals a little more Earth friendly is by setting your picnic table with reusable dishes and cutlery.

In my travels yesterday, I came across this 42 piece set of 1960's Melmac picnic ware designed by Alexander Berna. In white and aqua with touches of gold, the set mixes and matches solid colors with a pretty floral pattern. The teacups have a very cool shape and I love the handles on the bowls.

Keep your eye out for vintage picnic ware when you explore flea markets, estate sales or thrift shops this summer Sets like these are dishwasher safe, are virtually unbreakable and will save you money since you'll never need to purchase paper or plastic plates again.

A "green" picnic is good for the environment. By using reusable dishes, you'll be keeping one-time-use paper and plastic plates and cups out of the trash. And best of all, vintage sets like these add a fun, retro vibe to the meal.

Happy picnicking!

Susan

Every Day is Earth Day

Today is the day to focus on how we can be kinder to our planet. But shouldn't every day be Earth Day? There are so many simple ways to save the Earth. Here are some things we can do to be a little more green . . .

The single-most important step we can take is to reduce our emissions by driving a fuel-efficient car. That's what I did three years ago when I bought my Prius. On it is my one and only bumper decal; a simple and striking EARTH sticker created by painter and sculptor Philip Krohn. You can order yours at earthsticker.com. They're only $2.50 each, with a four sticker minimum. All net proceeds go to nonprofit organizations working to protect biodiversity and wilderness.

Another important step is to reduce the need for plastic and bring your own reusable bag with you when you shop. Here's my favorite bag I always have in the car with me.

The most recent Earth-friendly step I have taken is to purchase a refillable water bottle. So no more plastic (PET) water bottles for me. Did you know that scientists say you can fill a PET bottle ¼ of the way with oil to symbolize how much energy goes into every bottle? Yikes!

The water bottle I tote everywhere with me is a SIGG. They make bottles that are ecologically sound, reusable and ultimately, recyclable. SIGGs are extruded from a single piece of pure aluminum for seamless, leak-proof durability. It's liner is one-of-a-kind and is a proprietary formula (containing no BPA) which is baked on for the life of the bottle. It remains flexible and crack-resistance despite how dinged up the outside of the bottle might get. Plus, SIGGs come in an array of beautiful designs. You can visit their website to order your own bottle here.

Over several months, I've been sharing excerpts of a favorite and engaging book with you. (To read all of those "Save the Earth Saturday" posts, click here.) 365 Ways to Save the Earth is filled with stunning pictures by Philippe Bourseiller, a field photographer whose talents as a climber, caver, and diver enable him to capture extraordinary images of our planet. The book is presented in a simple format consisting of a full-page photograph along with a daily practical step we can take to help maintain the beauty and health of our planet. Each day of the year has a different photo and action we can take, so it's easy to make every day an Earth Day.

So have yourself a green day, week, month, year . . .

Susan

The Earth is Art

I'm not into bumper stickers. But I came across one recently that was different. It spoke to me so much that I purchased it and, for the first time, placed one on my little Prius. (After all this snow, I really need a car wash.)

Just like art, the meaning of this sticker is open to interpretation. To me, it says that the Earth is Art; just as we wouldn't think of defacing a precious work of art, we should think of our planet in the same terms and treat it with the same respect. What does this bumper sticker mean to you?

Simple and striking, the EARTH sticker was created by painter and sculptor Philip Krohn. All net proceeds go to nonprofit organizations working to protect biodiversity and wilderness. If you're like me and this sticker hit home, go to earthsticker.com to purchase one. They're only $2.50 each (with a 4 sticker minimum).

So now that I've joined the ranks of the bumper stickered, I'm glad that mine offers a gentle reminder to those drivers who happen to be tailing me. For if we all do what we can to preserve our planet's riches, our combined efforts will truly have an impact.

Here's what the inspiring book 365 Ways to Save the Earth has to say on this topic . . .

Act to preserve the environment without waiting for someone else to do it first.
It is easy to think that one small, damaging act does not endanger the Earth's future. In practice, however, such actions are never isolated events! It is the repetition and accumulation of all these small acts that take on dramatic proportions. In the same way, a small, isolated gesture to preserve the environment will not improve matters on its own. It is all the simples gestures, repeated every day by millions of people, that will have a significant effect when added together. If the majority adopts them as a new way of life, they will contribute to preserving the planet and its riches for future generations.
Do not wait for your neighbor to act. Make the first move.

Well said! (I really like that book.)

So now, my bumper talks to people. It says, "Our planet EARTH is precious ART. We should hold it in the highest regard." What does your bumper say?

Susan

Four Ways to Help Save the Earth This Holiday Season

Time for another Save the Earth Saturday! Here are four informative excerpts related to the holiday season from 365 Ways to Save the Earth by Philippe Bourseiller. This book is filled with extraordinary images and practical steps we can take to help maintain the beauty and health of our planet.

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Give a waste-free gift.
You have to buy a present, and you are tempted to give a product of some sort that bears the words "Made in China." It is likely that this item has been manufactured under unfair working conditions and has been transported thousands of miles to the store at the cost of burning fuel and polluting the atmosphere. You will wrap it in paper tied with ribbon, which will probably go straight into the trash. This gift is much more than an expenditure of money--it is also environmentally expensive.
Why not give a waste-free gift instead? How about tickets to a community theater, a massage, or a home-cooked organic meal? Why not give your time to share the pleasure of a trip to the movies, a concert, or sporting event.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *   *  *  *  *  *
Use less wrapping paper.
Every second an area of the tropical forest the size of a football field vanishes from the planet. Every year 78 million acres of rainforest are destroyed, including the extinction of 137 plant and animal species every day. Tropical forests are home to more than half of the world's biodiversity.
Each year, millions of trees end up as wrapping paper. Use ribbon or cord, instead of sticky tape, to fasten your gift wrappings; then you can reuse the wrapping paper instead of tearing it up and throwing it out.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *   *  *  *  *  *
Give fair-trade toys as presents.
At a time when half of humanity lives on less than $2 per day, Americans spent $6.4 billion dollars on Christmas decorations alone and more than twice that much on presents. Sixty-three percent of toys are made in Southeast Asia, sometimes by children and with no regards for the social rights of workers, to meet the demands from wealthy countries.
If you have had enough of receiving useless Christmas presents, gadgets that soon break and are eventually discarded, plastic toys that pollute, and packaging that contributes to wastage and produces more waste, then give fair-trade toys and waste-free presents. Pay more attention to the social and environmental quality of your purchases.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *   *  *  *  *  *
Celebrate Christmas sustainably.
When Christmas approaches, the developed world becomes gripped by a frenzy of consumption, and good environmental resolutions are temporarily forgotten. A fifth more trash is thrown out at Christmas than during the rest of the year.
You can be creative and make your own Christmas tree decorations rather that buying a plastic angel that was manufactured on the other side of the world and will perch at the top of the tree for just a few days before being thrown out. Make a donation or give your time to charity.

Let's all take a moment to think before we buy this holiday season.

Susan

Buy Used, Sell Used

Today I'm listing a few more items on Kitsch Encounter, the T-Cozy's whimsical little sister blog. Have a look . . .

This set of faux fruit is from the 1950's. Kitschy indeed! I love how this set of 12 is scaled down in size so it will fit in smaller sized items, like this vintage milk glass trio below.

These pieces were made by Westmoreland in their beautiful "Old Quilt" pattern. Very heavyweight, solid and opaque, just like quality milk glass should be. I am particularly intrigued by the vase. After some research, I found out that this item is called a celery vase. Apparently the Victorians considered celery a status food because it required precise hothouse conditions. Special vases like this one were used for presenting the raw stalks at the table.

These vintage items are right in line with the next topic in my Save the Earth Saturdays series. As you know, given a choice, I will always choose to buy vintage items with good karma rather than new things with no soul. And here's what 365 Ways to Save the Earth has to say . . .

Buy used. Sell used.
In 2050 there will be almost 3 billion more people on earth than there are today. Many will be living in developing countries, and what will happen when the inhabitants of these countries want to live more comfortably, buy their own cars, and use more water or more electricity? The Earth's resources cannot be increased at will, and we don't have a spare planet at our disposal.
Rediscover the joy of used goods, second-hand stores, garage sales and bargaining to buy or sell used items.

Why do we need to manufacture so many new things when there still are lots of wonderful used treasures out there? Like these sweet little baby dresses, probably from the early 1960's . . .

I'm selling these cute frocks with vintage children's clothes hangers. How adorable would these tiny dresses look hanging on the wall of a baby girl's nursery or even on the wall of a sewing room?

Click here for more information, descriptions and prices for each of these vintage items. And please try to "buy used, sell used" whenever possible.

Susan

It's Not Easy Going Green

Our ordinary, everyday actions alter our planet. So it is up to each and every one of us to do our part, no matter how small, to reduce our impact on the earth. Some ways are easier than others; some take a little more effort.

The single-most important step we can take is to reduce our emissions by driving a fuel-efficient car. That's what I did about two years ago when I bought my Prius. It gets 47 miles to the gallon and I just reached 10,000 miles on the odometer. Why is the mileage so low after almost two years of driving? Because even though I have a Prius, I leave it in the garage as often as possible. I walk or ride my bike to the post office and bank, and when I do have to drive, I combine my errands so that I'm not running out and making separate trips for every little thing.

If you're not in the market for a new car, there are so many other ways to go green. The easiest of all is to reduce the need for plastic and bring your own reusable bag with you when you shop. Here's my favorite bag I always have with me . . .

It's a large Planet Green bag that my kids got free at a concert this summer. It's made from 80% post consumer waste and is big enough to save me from needing several plastic bags at the store. The key is remembering to take it with you. I keep it right in my car, or I hang it on the doorknob so that I'll be sure to remember it on my way out. If you like to sew and want to get creative, why not make your own shopping bags? Old floral feed sacks would be pretty, or you could use vintage sheets. Goodwill usually sells some cool flowered ones that would make great tote bags.

Here's what 365 Ways to Save the Earth has to say about this topic. These statistics are staggering and certainly shocking.

Use reusable shopping bags.
Each year, the United States uses 30 billion plastic shopping bags, which require 12 million barrels of oil for their manufacture. If dropped in nature, a plastic bag will last for 200 years. If incinerated, they produce pollutants. In the sea, they prove fatal for crustaceans, which swallow them, mistaking them for jellyfish. And they are not biodegradable in the ocean. A single square mile of ocean may be contaminated by as many as 46,000 pieces of plastic.
Bring reusable bags when you visit the supermarket, and rediscover your trusty old shopping bags, baskets, and boxes. Keep bags on a hook by the front door so you can grab them on your way out to the store.

So you see, something as simple as not using plastic shopping bags can make a real difference. Philippe Bourseiller, whose amazing photography graces the pages of 365 Ways to Save the Earth states, "The lifetime of one human being is nothing on a geological scale, but the traces he leaves behind can be unbelievable destructive."

Susan

Closet Overhaul

At this time of year when the weather turns cooler, I partake in the ritual that I'm sure many of you do; changing my closets and dresser drawers from summer to winter clothes. I'm really not fond of this task, but it has gotten easier over the years as I've learned to pare down my wardrobe. The rule I follow is if I haven't worn something within that current season, out it goes! I am left with my absolute favorite garments that I aways feel good about wearing.

I can also feel good about what I do with the items purged from my closet. Goodwill, the 100-year-old charity, is where I donate these unwanted garments. And they will even take old clothing with excessive wear. If textile donations are too worn out to be given to secondhand shops, Goodwill sells them to textile recyclers where the fabric fibers can be transformed into polishing rags for industrial use, insulation and padding, car mats, fancy cotton-fiber paper, and more. These proceeds help fund employment programs for disabled and disadvantaged people.

Here's what 365 Ways to Save the Earth has to say about recycling clothing . . .

Recycle clothing.
Each American disposes of about 35 pounds of clothing and other textiles every year. An additional 10 pounds are recycled. Of all the old clothing donated for recycling and reuse, almost 50% ends up as second-hand clothing somewhere in the world, 20% is used for cleaning rags, and the remainder is used for other fiber products.
Give your unwanted clothes to charities or to collection programs. They will be recycled as second-hand clothes or as rags, or shredded and reused as raw materials for textiles or packaging, thus saving energy and natural resources.

So get out there and give those closets an overhaul!

Susan

Bicycle Friendly

What a busy week! It was the home stretch of the work I needed to do for my new website. I barely left the house so that I could finish designing the last of the site's 24 pages and get them off to Dave who is doing the production of my site. (A few more weeks, and I hope to have it up and running.) And what a lovely week of weather we had, too. So even though I was confined to my studio, I made sure to have my windows open wide to enjoy the fresh, cool air.

When I did need to go out for an errand or two, I hopped on my bike instead of using the car. Luckily the post office, bank and a small neighborhood market are just down the street. It felt good to break up the busy days with a little invigorating exercise.

Along those lines, here's another interesting tip from 365 Ways to Save the Earth . . .

Use public bicycles in your city or create your own program.
For transportation in town, the bicycle has some unique advantages: it is clean, silent, compact, fast, and economical. The city of Rennes in France decided to make 200 bicycles available to its citizens, free of charge. Users must first obtain a magnetic card from the city council, which gives them access to the bicycles between the hours of 6 a.m. and 2 a.m. The bicycles must be returned after use to any one of the 25 pickup points provided all over the city. The system has been running since 1998 and has some 2,000 regular users.
If you find this idea ingenious and would like to see its benefits reproduced in your city, let your town hall know. It has had varying degrees of success in the United States in Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; and Saint Paul, Minnesota under the name "Yellow Bikes."

With gas prices soaring, it sure is nice to have an alternate form of transportation for in-town errands. And it's nice to know several cities are becoming more bicycle friendly. I know New York recently added more bike lanes. I've even seen people who take their bicycles with them on the commuter train from here to the city. But I don't have the courage to ride among the crazy drivers in Manhattan. I'll just stick to riding down the road and back!

Susan

Saving Water, One Toothbrush at a Time

As we wait for the rains of tropical storm Hanna to approach the Northeast this afternoon, I got to thinking about water. They say we can expect up to six inches of rain. That's a lot of water. But then I remembered something I read in 365 Ways to Save the Earth. I was blown away by the analogy below . . .

Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth.
Earth has been nicknamed the "blue planet" because of its abundance of water. This is misleading, however. If all the water on earth could be contained in a big bucket, the frozen fresh water at the poles and in glaciers would fill a small cup, and all the fresh water available to people—lakes, rivers, and ground water—would fit into a teaspoon. Our natural fresh water reserves are not expandable, and they must be shared among an ever growing global population.
Turning off the tap during the time it takes to brush our teeth saves almost five gallons of water. That is more than an average citizen of Kenya makes do with throughout an entire day.

Turning off the tap . . . it's such a simple little thing! And all of these simple little things can add up and help to save our big blue planet.

Susan

Computers: A New Environmental Problem

These days, it's hard to imagine getting along without our computers. And we've certainly come a long way from when units filled entire rooms like in the photo, above, from 1954 and one from 1956 below.

Photos courtesy of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

But what to do when our computers are too old to function properly? My Mac G4 Cube has that problem. It's too outdated to be able to use a current operating system but it's only about eight years old! Luckily there are collectors who want old Macs like these so I should be able to sell it on eBay. If that doesn't work, I'll recycle the computer through Apple. Did you know that Apple Computer offers a free recycling program?

Here's an old Mac just like one I first learned on back in the mid 1980's. I guess it's obvious that I'm a big fan of Macs. Because of my years spent doing graphic design, they were the computer of choice and I have never strayed.

 

But computers are designed to have a way-too-short lifespan. At least Apple recognizes the need for environmentally responsible production. They do their best to use recyclable materials and restrict having chemical compounds (like lead and mercury) in their products that can harm the environment. I like that.

In that vein, here's another valuable and relevant tip from 365 Ways to Save the Earth . . .

Computers: a new environmental problem.
Over the past 25 years, we have witnesses the birth and proliferation of the personal computer. The lifespan of PCs is absurdly short, and they are out-of-date almost as soon as they are out of the box. A recent U.S. study estimates that over 315 million computers became obsolete over the past 4 years. This represents more than 1 billion pounds of lead, 4 billion pounds of plastic, and hundreds of millions of pounds of other materials.
Although computers use relatively little energy when they are in use, the combination of intensive manufacturing process and short lifespan put its lifetime environmental-related energy impact about equal to a refrigerator, which is near the top of the list of energy-intensive home appliances. Use your computer for as long as possible, and when you finally get rid of it, donate or recycle it to keep it out of the waste stream.

I despise "planned obsolescence." To have a functioning product, we are forced to buy things sooner than necessary. Resources are wasted and we feel exploited. There must be a better way, especially since we need to be gentle on the environment.

Susan

A Community Garden Takes Root

I've never been much of a vegetable gardener. I guess it's because our home is surrounded by large oak trees and we are cloaked in shade. But recently I have been intrigued by a new community garden that has sprouted up a couple of miles from our house. What was once an overgrown and unused property is now the "new" Fodor Farm located on the grounds of one of the last working farms in Norwalk Connecticut.

What an unusual but very welcome sight in congested and densely populated lower Fairfield County! Back in April, families and community groups registered for a total of 220 garden plots, each measuring 4 ft x 12 ft and costing $5 for the growing season. All 220 plots sold within two hours!

This wonderful project was financed by a $98,000 state grant intended to encourage projects to promote healthy lifestyles and help prevent obesity. Some of the funding went toward installing water lines and spigots throughout the garden. To encourage organic practices, the city provides natural fertilizer, compost and mulch, in addition to tools.

 

The grant also provides for education sessions on cooking and nutrition as well as a farmers market every Sundays from June to October. The farmers who sell at the market share growing tips with the community gardeners, too.

So on to another valuable and relevant tip from 365 Ways to Save the Earth . . .

Support Community Sponsored Agriculture.
The average American-grown tomato may travel as much as 1,500 miles from vine to salad bowl in a journey that leaves a trail of serious environmental and societal consequences. The food shipping industry relies heavily on cheap energy sources, and air pollution from food transport contributes to our smog-choked atmosphere. Farmers see only a fraction of every dollar spent on their produce while the rest is paid to various middlemen in the food production process. Unable to compete with large-scale farms, small farmers are forced to close up shop.
Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) programs seek to alleviate these problems by localizing food production and consumption. Consumers who invest in a farm at the beginning of the growing season receive regular deliveries of seasonal, usually organic, vegetables that have been locally produced, and are able to develop a relationship with their farmer and food provider.

Wouldn't it be great if we could all have access to more homegrown organic foods? Community gardens are certainly a step in the right direction toward raising awareness of the environmental and the health benefits of eating locally grown food.

Susan

The Audible Environment

It's Saturday morning and since I no longer have to rise early to rush to my tearoom, I can enjoy taking my time getting up. But today, I awoke at seven to the sound of a very loud lawn mower, which leads me to my next valuable tip from 365 Ways to Save the Earth.

Mow the lawn at reasonable times.
If you need to do something noisy at home, take care not to cause a nuisance in your neighborhood, or disturb its quiet. A drill can produce between 90 and 100 decibels; the threshold of discomfort is 60 decibels.
We all contribute to the audible environment. Be aware of the time of day that you run a lawn mower, or revert to using a manual mower. Rake leaves instead of investing in a leaf blower. Enjoy the time in your yard with the sounds of the birds and the wind in the leaves, not your machinery.

I would much rather wake up on a Saturday morning to the sound of bird song than a lawn mower. Wouldn't you?

Susan

Save the Earth Saturdays

John came across this book while in a customer's waiting room. From the few minutes he was able to peruse it before his meeting began, he decided we needed to purchase it.

365 Ways to Save the Earth is presented in a simple format consisting of a full-page photograph along with a daily practical step we can take to help maintain the beauty and health of our planet. This engaging book is filled with stunning pictures by Philippe Bourseiller, a field photographer whose talents as a climber, caver, and diver enable him to capture extraordinary images of extreme environment. 

Each day of the year has a different photo and action we can take. Easy to look at a few pages at a time, this book's format is effective because we can learn practical actions bit by bit, making it easier for us to work these actions into our daily lives. 

When time permits, I will share some of these important tips with you on Saturdays. In no particular order, here is my first installment in this series I'm calling Save the Earth Saturdays . . .

Do not use chemicals near water.
A garden is like a miniature field; even on this very small scale, it is essential not to contribute to water and soil pollution by using too many chemicals. Sixty-seven million pounds of lawn pesticides are used in American gardens every year. Homeowners have been found to be much worse about application of pesticides than other users. They apply 3.2 to 9.8 pounds of lawn pesticides per acre; agricultural land generally receives 2.7 pounds of pesticides per acre.
Do not use fertilizers. pesticides, or herbicides if you are near water, such as a well, stream, pool, or marsh. After each application, these products soak into the soil, sometimes permanently polluting aquifers.

Feel free to share these important tips with your friends and family or on your own blog. Let's all spread the word and take part in preserving our planet.

Susan