How to Green your indoor air! #NLAM #landarch

Many of us spend so much of our day indoors - especially in the winter time.  It is obvious that the air indoors is not as "fresh" as outdoors but do you know that there are many chemicals and toxins that prevent us from getting really fresh air indoors?  Synthetic materials release many volatile organic chemicals (VOCs)  into the air - chloroform, ammonia, acetone and formaldehyde, just to name a few. These toxins are found in almost every item in the home from furniture and carpet to cleaning solvents.  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ranks indoor air pollution as one of the top five threats to public health.  On their website, the EPA also states: Children are more susceptible to air pollution because they breathe a greater volume of air relative to their body weight. To make matters worse, schools tend to be at a higher risk of poor indoor air quality because they can have 4 times the occupants as a regular office building for the same amount of floor space and generally less maintenance making air quality in schools an area of a particular concern.

Poor indoor air quality can lead to or contribute to a host of problems including irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat, sinus congestion, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, respiratory infections, allergies, and asthma.  If you already suffer from any of those symptoms, entering or residing in a room with poor air quality can cause you to become more sensitive to allergens, dust, and VOCs.  Learn more about Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) at the EPA's website: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/ia-intro.html 

So...What do we do to control or reduce indoor air pollution and improve air quality?  Grow Plants!

Plants remove air-born toxins through tiny openings in their leaves called stomata as they absorb carbon dioxide then release oxygen in a process called photosynthesis.   Plants also emit water vapor that creates a pumping action to pull contaminated air down around a plant’s roots, where it is also converted into food for the plant.  This was studied in the late 1980s by NASA, lead by Dr. Bill Wolverton, and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) when they researched to find ways to purify the air for extended stays in orbiting space stations. The conclusions of the study not surprising proved that the plants did clean the air but what was groundbreaking was that the plants also were greatly successful in reducing the high levels of toxins found in closed environments (sealed buildings) - the study showed that many houseplants remove harmful elements such as trichloroethylene, benzene, and formaldehyde from the air. Formaldehyde is used in many building materials including particle board and foam insulations and can be found in furniture, carpet and drapes. Additionally, many cleaning products contain this chemical. Benzene is a common solvent found in oils and paints. Trichloroethylene is used in paints, adhesives, inks, and varnishes.

The advantage that houseplants have over other plants is that they are adapted to tropical areas where they grow beneath dense tropical canopies and must survive in areas of low light. These plants are thus ultra-efficient at capturing light, which also means that they must be very efficient in processing the gasses necessary for photosynthesis. Because of this fact, they have greater potential to absorb other gases, including potentially harmful ones.   Dr. Bill Wolverton highlights the NASA / ALCA study as well as the best plants for removing toxins in his book, "How to Grow Fresh Air: 50 House Plants that Purify Your Home or Office". 
I highly recommend this book if you are interested in the study and want to learn more about the cleaning abilities of houseplants.

Bamboo Palm

Based upon Wolverton's book, here are the TOP 10 plants most effective in removing:
 Formaldehyde, Benzene, and Carbon Monoxide from the air:

Bamboo Palm - Chamaedorea Seifritzii
Chinese Evergreen - Aglaonema Modestum
English Ivy Hedera Helix
Gerbera Daisy Gerbera Jamesonii
Janet Craig - Dracaena "Janet Craig"
Marginata - Dracaena Marginata
Mass cane/Corn Plant - Dracaena Massangeana
Mother-in-Law's Tongue - Sansevieria Laurentii
Pot Mum - Chrysantheium morifolium
Peace Lily - Spathiphyllum
Warneckii - Dracaena "Warneckii"

These plants are all pretty common and can be found at your local florist or plant store.

Wolverton recommends having two or three plants in 8- or 10-inch pots for every 100 square feet of floor space to successfully remove toxins and provide enough fresh air for living comfortably.  I will highlight several plants in the coming weeks along with my own experience with these plants.
Stay tuned!
~Sprout

Earth Month:EPA's Pick 5 for the Environment

Saving the entire planet is a huge task that could not possibly be accomplished by just a few people but if we all do something small to help protect the environment we live in, our collaborative effort can be BIG!  That is the mantra of the Environmental Protection Agency's Pick 5 for the Environment program.

Pick 5 for YOUR environment!



Environmental action can mean doing different things in different places, but it begins by taking the simple steps where you live. Doing your part means doing what you can do. By choosing five or more of these ideas and sharing your own, you are joining thousands of others who are doing the same. Together we can make the biggest difference, so make your actions count today!

Pick 5 is the U.S. government’s official web portal to make your environmental action count. Pick at least 5 eco-actions you can take where you live, and watch the green grow around the world! Register your choices and share ideas and inspiration with others who have done the same – all from one easy location!

Check it out today and pledge to make 5 small changes to help make our environment more green:
http://www.epa.gov/pick5/index.html

*~ Sprout ~*

Earth Month Day 5: Amazon Green

In 2008, Amazon.com launched their new Amazon Green section, listing all eco-friendly, natural and sustainable products they sell.  If you are looking for a specific eco-friendly item or just browsing for books to help you live a more green, sustainable life then Amazon.com Green should be your starting point.  They have made it so easy to go green by offering millions of Green products and great prices. They have everything from home improvements to books to toys and clothes.

AmazonGreen is a cross-category program that includes a list of products that customers have selected as the best green products offered by Amazon.com and a place for customers to discover Amazon's entire green product selection. Customers can easily find products that meet U.S. environmental rating systems, including EPEAT® (the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool), ENERGY STAR®, WaterSense and USDA Organic, when shopping on Amazon.com. 

Check it out: Amazon Green



Also see Amazon's Earth Day 2011 - it's a great page sharing Amazon's top ways to live green.



Go Green!
*~Sprout~*

Practically Green - How Green Are You?

I'm now Adventurously Green! 

I've moved up to the next level on Practically Green by checking off a few more green tasks.  My most recent green additions to my daily routine include using all natural feminine products, mouthwash, hair coloring, and purchasing an eco-friendly backpack.  Some of the items I was already doing was using compostable trash bags, eating vegetarian at least once a week (more like 3 times usually) and using all natural cleaners, laundry and dish soap. I am also now #2 in New York City with 2985 points!

If you haven't gone to Practically Green to take their quiz, sign up now - it really is a fantastic way to guage how green you really are and give you pointers on additional things you can do to be more eco-friendly.  And it's Fun!

On another note, please stop by my sister site, Made in MY State and follow along.  I just posted my favorite ad from the Super Bowl... so check it out! http://madeinmystate.blogspot.com/

I will be adding many more posts there for each state in the near future so sign up for email newsletters to be informed when I add a new post (trust me, you won't be receiving a ton of emails - just occationally!)

Also, if you would please, follow me on Facebook and sign up for newsletters on this blog as well!  I could really use more followers AND I am working on a new, exciting website that I hope to launch soon, so stick around!!

Thanks and Have a great week!!

How GREEN are You?

Do you think you are GREEN?  Whether you are already green or have made a resolution this year to be more green, Practically Green is the perfect stop!  First you take a quiz asking you questions about how you currently live, what types of products you use and what you currently do to be more eco-friendly.  It's a pretty detailed quiz so be patient.  When you are done, it will give you a score of how GREEN you are now AND it will give you recommendations on how you can be MORE GREEN!  You can use the site to set goals for yourself and family and earn more points and badges as rewards for accomplishing your goals.

I did the quiz about a week ago and have been dubbed "Solidly Green"!  I have 2445 points and am actually ranked 4th in New York City!

You should definitely check out this website and take the quiz: http://practicallygreen.com/

Practically Green also has a great Blog: http://blog.practicallygreen.com/ and you can also follow them on Twitter and Facebook

Have and Be GREEN!

Green your YEAR! ...v2011

Happy New Year! Let's resolve to make it a GREEN one!

Every New Year we all make resolutions to make our year better, healthier, happier... how about making it Greener as well!  This year I resolve to discover new ways to live more eco-friendly and support my local producers of eco-friendly products and organic food.  I also resolve to share these ideas and information more with family, friends and fellow bloggers, tweeps and followers!  I hope to blog more often and start building my other blog, "Made in My State", all about going local and learning about the products that are made in each of the 50 States to help us all go local!  I also plan to start a new website that I am keeping secret for now but it will promise a great, fun service for kids and parents. (I'll keep you posted!)

So now, to get ideas for future blog posts, I am asking my readers to post comments on how you all plan to be GREENER in 2011...  I will select as many comments as possible to highlight in future blog posts so give me some interesting comments!!  ALSO, just to encourage more posts, I will throw in a GIVEAWAY too!

On January 15 (9pm EST), I will randomly select one post to receive a bundle of Sustainable Earth note pads from Staples and pack of recycled pens and pencils.  All you have to do is follow this blog on Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs or Twitter and leave a comment answering the question above: How do you plan on being Greener in 2011?

Please pass this on - tweet, post, share, etc... to get as many comments as possible.
Thanks so much for following me over the past year and to new followers: Welcome - we're glad you joined us!!

Happy GREEN 2011!

Giveaway is closed - the lucky winner is... #16, Jess and the boys!

Thank you all for your comments.  Stay tuned as I will use your comments throughout the year!