VOCs: How Low Can You Go?

Doing some redecorating before the holidays? Can the VOCs. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals emitted as gases from certain paints, lacquers, coverings, and surface finishes. They can cause irritation — or worse. Opt for low or no-VOC paint in your home. Skip synthetic carpets and particleboard. And consider organic bedding and home furnishings as you replace them Reclaim your Great Indoors!

Five Easy Ways to Green-Up Your Tailgate Party

That coolness in the air means football and tailgating season has arrived. But can you make a stadium outing less of a green disaster? Try these tips!

It’s that time of year again. There’s a blush of color in the trees, the air is getting crisp, and football season is in full swing. The perfect time for tailgating.

Before we go much further: a reality check. There’s not much green about the idea of transporting thousands of people to a football arena, jetting teams around the country, and cleaning up tons of trash after the final down. If you want a truly eco-friendly tailgating party, skip the stadium. Watch the game on TV and invite a few friends over for barbecue in the driveway.

But greener living doesn’t always have to mean doing without. It’s about doing better. So if you’ve got your heart set on a traditional pregame party with alumni, fans, and family, we’ve rounded up a few ideas to green-up your party and demonstrate that almost anything can be made a bit more sustainable.

The green barbecue

Your lowest-impact grilling option is propane. Sure, propane is a fossil fuel — but it burns a lot cleaner than charcoal or wood fires. Propane also leaves behind less waste, and is particularly convenient when you’re cooking away from home.

If you’re going the charcoal route, consider something like Greenlink’s All Natural Briquettes. They’re made from environmentally friendly wood sources and renewable plant wastes such as coconut husks. Unlike conventional briquettes, Greenlink doesn’t use clay or anthracite fillers.

Forget the charcoal starter: it’s rich in Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), which you don’t want in your food or in the air. Use an electric starter. If that’s not practical, a good-quality charcoal chimney will get those coals glowing in minutes using nothing more than a sheet or two of newspaper.

Earth-friendly eats

Maybe you’re easing back on your meat consumption for the sake of the environment. That doesn’t mean you’ll have to settle for trail mix at your tailgate party. Check out the Vegetarian Kitchen’s tasty suggestions for veggie barbecue.

Not ready to give up on burgers and hot dogs? If you’ve not tried Boca’s burger patties or one of the great vegetarian franks you’ll find in most grocery’s freezer sections, you’re in for a surprise. A tip: veggie hot dogs are better boiled than grilled. You can always steam them in foil when you’re ready to serve.

As for the rest of the meal, go with local, seasonal produce and plug in your favorite recipes. The great thing about tailgating season is that it coincides with the biggest selection of the year down at the farmer’s market. Bon appetit.

Organic brew

Green beer isn’t just for St. Patrick’s Day. Of course, we’re talking organic — not color.

Organic beer has really taken off in the past few years. Even big players like Anheuser-Busch have gotten into the act, which means organic brew may very well be sold wherever you normally buy groceries. Whole Foods, Trader John’s, or most local natural food stores also carry organic beer lines.

Wolaver’s is currently the largest national distributor of all-organic beers. Their Pale Ale is a good choice for warm-weather tailgating. It’s traditional to drink heavier brews once there’s a snap to the autumn air. In any case, it’s an excuse to sample Wolaver’s award-winning Brown Ale or Oatmeal Stout. You’ll find similar organic selections from Peak Brewing and Goose Island Beer Company.

Ditching the Disposables

It’s tempting to break out the paper plates and plastic cutlery when you’re eating away from home. They’re certainly convenient, but most dining disposables end up in the environment or clogging local landfills, rather than finding their way into the recycling stream.

It’s really not much of a hassle to bring some dishes from home. They needn’t be your everyday ware: picking up a set of lightweight plastic place settings is a great outdoor investment, and you can probably find them secondhand for next to nothing at a garage sale or thrift store. Carry them home for washing in a lock-top box.

If you really need disposables that won’t make a mess of Mother Nature, check out Cereplast’s line of compostable cutlery. They’re made from a bio-resin derived from corn and potato starch. For other ideas on cutting picnic waste, see our article on Dining Without Disposables.

A little entertainment

If you’re fit enough to roll with the Tour de France (and perhaps a bit crazy), you can always follow the big game on a bicycle-powered television set like these inventive fellows.

For the less obsessive, there’s the Eton FR300 Emergency Radio. You’ll probably have a great-sounding car radio to turn up at the tailgate site, but the FR300 is ideal for catching the play-by-play in the stands. It can be crank-operated, which means no need for AC power and zero battery waste. The FR300 has a TV audio section and will even recharge a dead cellphone battery in a  pinch.

It’s a smart radio to have on hand for emergencies, and a subtle way to demonstrate alternative-powered consumer devices for friends.

What can you add to this list? Feel free to leave your green ideas in the comment section below.

Beat Toxic VOCs in Your Home with Milk Paint

Concern about the safety of many wall coverings has led to a revival in milk-based paints. Here’s how to clear the air in your home — with style.

Got milk — in your paint? By now, you’ve probably heard about the hazards of VOCs — Volatile Organic Compounds. In this case, “organic” doesn’t mean they’re good for you.

VOCs are a toxic soup of carbon-based molecules such as ketones, aldehydes, and hydrocarbons. Indoors, they escape from a variety of things you probably take for granted: certain kinds of treated wood, carpeting, plastics, cleaning supplies — even cosmetics. And VOCs vapors tend to hang around.

How big a problem is this? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has research showing that indoor air can be 2 to 5 times more polluted than the air you breathe outside. Exposure in effected homes and businesses is chronic, and VOCs are a big contributor to “sick building syndrome.”

A major source of VOCs is household paint. Fortunately, paint manufacturers are getting on the low- or zero-VOC bandwagon, from specialty companies like AFM to old-guard names such as Sherwin Williams.

Concern about VOCs has also led to a revival in milk paint. Milk has been used as a pigment base for thousands of years: it’s cheap, widely available, and imparts a rich glow that was very popular until locally-made paint was displaced by the convenience of non-perishable oils around the middle of the 19th century.

Milk paints hung on as a craft item and for the restoration of historic wall and furniture finishes. But now modern companies are turning out milk paint with the explicit purpose of providing zero-VOC wall coverings for healthy indoor environments.

One such manufacturer is the Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Company. Their one concession to convenience is that they’ve chosen to use dried milk, which allows customers to mix as they go. Otherwise, Old-Fashioned Milk Paint sticks to tradition, choosing clay, ochre, iron oxide, and other natural pigments to arrive at about 20 mixable colors. In theory, you could drink their paint. That’s about as green as it comes.

Got a home project coming up, or are you looking for a way to cover-up a conventional wall finish? Perhaps milk paints are for you. Visit the Old-Fashioned Milk Paint Company website for color ideas, or try one of these other milk paint manufacturers: Real Milk Paint, The Original Milk Paint Company, or Vintage Paint Works.

Feeling a bit do-it-yourself? Check out Pioneer Thinking’s 1870 Milk Paint Formula. Sounds like eco-friendly fun.

How to Get a Natural Night’s Sleep

You’ll spend a third of your life in bed. But mattresses and bedding may contain harsh — and possibly harmful — chemicals. Here’s how to rest healthier and easier.

Oh, the busy routine of green living: We worry about secondhand smoke, buy low VOC-paint to reduce exposure to offgassing, support clean air legislation, and do what we can to reduce the toxins in our food and water.

Then we retire for the night to a nest of powerful chemicals and allergens.

You’ll spend about a third of your life in bed. For most of us, however, the bedroom is one of our least healthy living spaces. The main problem is this: mattresses and bedding materials are frequently treated with a family of flame-retardant chemicals known as PBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ether ). Health groups have been concerned about the cumulative effects of PBDEs on the human body for almost a decade, and certain varieties are already banned in places like the European Union.

A Healthier Mattress

If you’re chemically sensitive — or if the idea of chronic exposure to PBDE is causing you to lose sleep — replacing your mattress might be a good place to start.

Quality bedding represents a significant financial investment, but given how much time we spend in bed and our close proximity to its contents, options such as natural latex or organic cotton mattresses make sense. Latex offers the dual benefit of being resistant to dust mites, which are second only to pollen in causing allergic reactions.

Not in a position to replace your existing mattress? A latex or natural wool mattress topper will put some distance between you and PBDE. And while it won’t stop offgassing, zippered mattress covers can dramatically reduce your exposure to dust mites.

The Rest of Your Bedding

Speaking of wool: consider replacing treated blankets and quilts with more natural equivalents. Wool wicks moisture, is inherently flame-retardant, and provides year-round sleeping comfort.

Pillows are another hiding place for mites and chemicals. Fortunately, there are now a wide variety of options these days featuring buckwheat hulls, natural latex, wool, and organic cotton. Just like mattresses, pillows can be protected with washable covers.

Organic cotton is the material of choice for sheets. Line drying or an hour’s exposure to direct sunlight will kill any mites which survive the wash.

Other Bedroom Improvements

Like bedding, draperies are often chemically treated. The same materials which make good blankets work well for window coverings. You might also consider blinds made from untreated wood products.

Most carpets are synthetic. Replacing them with washable throw rugs is a great way to reduce allergens and chemical offgassing. Once again, wool proves its versatility as a safe and durable household fiber.

For those particularly sensitive to airborne allergens, a hepa room air filter can produce immediate health benefits.

Sleep Tight

You’ll rest easier with natural mattresses and bedding. Looking for more ideas? You’ll find plenty at Gaiam, The Clean Bedroom, and EcoChoices.