"There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places."
Wendell Berry (from EcoHearth)
We’re back with Rick Theis, cofounder and executive editor of the green-lifestyle website EcoHearth.com. In Part 1 of the interview, he shared some green strategies that can save energy in the office and home. Today he has even more green ideas as well as information about what’s available at the EcoHearth.com!
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| Rick Theis |
With spring-cleaning comes a desire to improve our working environment. How can we freshen up our workspace but still be environmentally conscious?
Theis: Low/no VOC paints and recycled furniture are great ideas. Beyond that, I like growing plants in my office. Not only do they keep me better connected with nature, but they reduce carbon dioxide and increase oxygen in the air, which I believe makes me more productive and keeps me awake without coffee. There are even plants that filter the air and reduce indoor pollution (see Clearing the Air: Best Plants for Improving Indoor Air Quality).
Theis: Low/no VOC paints and recycled furniture are great ideas. Beyond that, I like growing plants in my office. Not only do they keep me better connected with nature, but they reduce carbon dioxide and increase oxygen in the air, which I believe makes me more productive and keeps me awake without coffee. There are even plants that filter the air and reduce indoor pollution (see Clearing the Air: Best Plants for Improving Indoor Air Quality).
If we need to upgrade our office equipment, what are some aspects to consider in terms of energy efficiency and environmental aspects?
Theis: Never replace equipment before you have to. For example, folks often trash computers when they become slower (usually when running newer, processor-hungry programs, or because they need to be tuned up). EcoHearth’s article, How to Refurbish or Recycle an Old Computer, offers numerous tips on how to get more years of service from your computer.
Theis: Never replace equipment before you have to. For example, folks often trash computers when they become slower (usually when running newer, processor-hungry programs, or because they need to be tuned up). EcoHearth’s article, How to Refurbish or Recycle an Old Computer, offers numerous tips on how to get more years of service from your computer.
Sometimes it’s as simple as reinstalling your operating system or upgrading to a new one. In other cases, a cheap hardware fix, such as increasing your RAM, will do the trick. If you absolutely have to replace your machine, make sure to buy an energy efficient model and properly recycle your old one.
What are some often overlooked ways to be “green” at home or at work?
Theis: The absolute best is buying less. Everyone has heard the mantra: “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” However, we often skip over the first two steps. If we reduce the amount of things we “need” and reuse what we already have, we will save huge amounts of energy, reduce pollution and limit global warming—much more than recycling does. We’ll save money, too!
Theis: The absolute best is buying less. Everyone has heard the mantra: “Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.” However, we often skip over the first two steps. If we reduce the amount of things we “need” and reuse what we already have, we will save huge amounts of energy, reduce pollution and limit global warming—much more than recycling does. We’ll save money, too!
For more ideas, see my article, The Top 10 Things You Can Do to Save the Earth—and Recycling’s NOT One of Them. Our site’s Eco Tips page offers dozens more.
What are some misconceptions people have about being eco-friendly?
Theis: That it is hard work or that you have to be 100% green or you might as well not try at all. In fact, every little bit helps, and for everyone going green is a process. No one is perfectly green. It’s important for each of us to do as much as we can and always strive to learn and do more.
Theis: That it is hard work or that you have to be 100% green or you might as well not try at all. In fact, every little bit helps, and for everyone going green is a process. No one is perfectly green. It’s important for each of us to do as much as we can and always strive to learn and do more.
Theis: EcoHearth’s mission is to provide a unique, authoritative voice and robust angle on all things environmental to inform and inspire our readers to be eco-smart and live sustainable lives. To this end, we offer original ecology articles, environmental blogs, eco commentaries, ecology videos, a shop for buying eco-friendly products, green job listings and environmental activism opportunities. We have something for everyone, wherever they are on the path to going green.
Theis: We couldn’t find a comprehensive site on the Web where a reader could go to learn more about living an environmental life including job listings, an eco-store, activism opportunities, etc., so we created one. And we added things like Eco Quotes to inspire our readers to remain hopeful and stay on the path.
What are three important takeaways you want to share about the environment, energy efficiency or ecology?
Theis: First, I believe that each one of us has a sacred responsibility to live a greener life—other species and future generations depend on it.
Second, going green is a process. Make whatever changes you can make now and then keep moving toward an ever greener lifestyle by learning from and being inspired by what others are doing (frequenting EcoHearth.com and other ecology sites can help in this regard).
Finally, don’t be discouraged by bad news in terms of the environment. Sometimes it looks as if progress isn’t being made, when actually we are building the foundation for a great spurt in progress at a later date.
Theis: First, I believe that each one of us has a sacred responsibility to live a greener life—other species and future generations depend on it.
Second, going green is a process. Make whatever changes you can make now and then keep moving toward an ever greener lifestyle by learning from and being inspired by what others are doing (frequenting EcoHearth.com and other ecology sites can help in this regard).
Finally, don’t be discouraged by bad news in terms of the environment. Sometimes it looks as if progress isn’t being made, when actually we are building the foundation for a great spurt in progress at a later date.
Anything else you want to include?
I hope all of your readers will visit EcoHearth.com, leave comments after the articles and send us suggestions on improving the site. They can sign up for emails about certain topics and to get Eco Action Alerts.
I hope all of your readers will visit EcoHearth.com, leave comments after the articles and send us suggestions on improving the site. They can sign up for emails about certain topics and to get Eco Action Alerts.
They can also add us as an RSS feed, become our fan on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and join one of our Flickr groups, such as Ecology and Nature Photography and Healthy Dishes (Recipes and Photos). EcoHearth also has a new-article widget and banners.
And thank you, Nancy, for your interest in our site and providing information on leading greener lives to your readers. Both EcoHearth.com and the Earth thank you!
And thank you for being part of The Writer’s Place Blog! Okay, writers, now that you know how to be more green, share your improvements here! And be sure to visit the EcoHearth.com website for more eco-information!
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