Category Archives: Environment

Easy Ways to Green Your Cleaning

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By: Mary Pat Baldauf

Earth Day is the perfect time to discuss green cleaning, the growing trend of using environmentally-friendly ingredients and/or packaging for your household cleaning.

Green cleaning

Why does green cleaning matter? Consider this:
• Some cleaning products contain ingredients that pose health hazards and/or harm to the environment.
• Cleaning products are frequently involved in home poisoning, many involving children under the age of five.
• According to the US EPA, levels of pollutants indoors can be two to more than 100 times higher than outdoors, and the number one culprit for indoor pollution is our use of cleaning products.

Contrary to popular belief, green cleaning doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive or time consuming. Here are some quick and easy tips that you can start implementing today.

1. Look for products in containers that are:
• Minimally packaged
• Recyclable in your curbside or drop-off recycling program
• Recycled content, preferably post-consumer
• Large (a gallon instead of four quarts)
• Refillable
• Pump sprays (not aerosols)

2. Purchase products that you reuse instead of throwing away:
• Buy rags or cloths instead of paper towels and wipes.
• Use a mop, not one-use wet floor wipes
• Select a feather or static duster instead of disposable dusters
• Use a traditional toilet brush, not clean once and flush scrubbers

3. Look for eco-friendly ingredients like grain alcohol (instead of toxic butyl cellosolve), plant oils (rather than petroleum) and plant-oil disinfectants such as eucalyptus (not triclosan).

4. Avoid toxic ingredients such as nonylphenol ethoxylates, antibacterials, ammonia, butyl cellosolve, butyl glycol, ethylene glycol, monobutyl, chlorine bleach, d-limonene, diethanolamine and triethanolamine.

5. Be on the lookout for “greenwashing,” misleading claims regarding product eco-standards. There are no standards for words like nontoxic, eco-safe, environmentally friendly, natural and green. Read the labels and research products before purchasing them, and look for third-party certification. Also note that unless you compost them, biodegradable containers end up in the landfill, where very few things ever degrade.

6. Make your own cleaners with ingredients you already have in your cabinets. These cleaners are less expensive, safer and more environmentally friendly. One of the best sources I’ve found is Apartment Therapy’s 25 Green Cleaning Recipes for the Entire House.

Let me know what you think about green cleaning! Are you already using some of these tips around your home? If so, how do they work for you? If not, which one(s) are you willing to try? Do you have a tried and true recipe for green cleaning? Please share it!

Lexington Medical Center Leads “Green” Health Care Movement in South Carolina

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By: Mary Pat Baldauf

What’s the first thing you notice when entering Lexington Medical Center’s Medical Park Two? Perhaps it is the rich woodwork or the beautiful steel and glass stairway. Or maybe you notice just how many people come in and out of that building, as evidenced by the bustling parking lot. But one of the most fascinating things about Lexington Medical Park Two isn’t the grand design or occupancy rate, but the round glass seal designating the building as a LEED Silver Certified facility.

lmp2

As a sustainability professional by day, I hear a lot about LEED, but don’t often see it put into practice. I recently visited Lexington Medical Park Two for the first time to see my ob/gyn, who recently relocated his practice to Lexington Medical Center. While it’s hard to get excited about those annual visits, I was thrilled to see the LEED seal as I headed upstairs. I knew immediately that I wanted to feature this building in an upcoming blog post.

For those of you who may not be familiar with LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), it is an internationally recognized green building program that provides a framework for identifying and implementing practical and measurable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. LEED allows building owners and operators to impact their building’s performance and bottom line, while providing healthy indoor spaces for a building’s occupants.

So what exactly does this mean for Lexington Medical Park Two? For starters, it boasts the following eco-friendly characteristics:

  • More than 75% of construction waste was recycled instead of sent to a landfill.
  • Construction materials had a high recycled content, including fly ash for concrete in the parking deck, reinforcing steel for concrete, structural steel in building framing and metal studs to support walls. And, materials came from regional suppliers to reduce emission caused by transportation.
  • Energy-efficient white roofing that reflects the sun, improved building insulation and energy-efficient windows reduce the amount of heating and air conditioning needed by 30%.
  • The building uses an existing retention pond to minimize the impact of storm water runoff into rivers and streams.
  • Bike racks and showers encourage workers to bike to work.
  • The building has water-conserving plumbing fixtures in restrooms.
  • The air conditioning equipment uses refrigerants that are less damaging to the earth’s ozone layer.
  • The project used paint, carpets, adhesives, sealants and composite wood products that cause the least amount of chemicals to be emitted.
  • Janitor closets are specially sealed to ensure cleaning chemicals stored there don’t get re-circulated into the building.

And you think that is impressive? How about this: Lexington Medical Park Two was the first LEED-certified health care building in South Carolina.

If you’re like me, you’re usually in a hurry when you’re headed to an appointment with your doctor. But if you have a few extra minutes, take a look around Lexington Medical Park Two; it’s as attractive as it is sustainable. And while you’re there, thank your doctor for practicing in a LEED-certified building. It’s not only a more environmentally-friendly building; it’s a healthier building for staff and patients.

“Going Green” is More Than a Slogan

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By:  Elizabeth Webber Akre

I was in the 10th grade.  Yes, that would be approximately 1984.  I was giving an oral report in Mrs. Sutton’s science class about recycling.  I had done a lot of research.  I knew what I was talking about.  As I gave my report, I looked out over a sea of blank stares and open mouths.  No one knew what on Earth I was talking about.

Oh sure, we knew about taking your glass bottles back to the store so they could be reused. Remember the deposits you used to have to pay on them?  We were starting to hear about being able to recycle aluminum cans.  But at that time, the only place my sister and I could locate in Columbia to recycle was way over on Fontaine Road.  It was a pretty heavy-duty, industrial type recycling company, but they would take our measly trash bags of cans along with the truckloads of metals that were delivered there.  Curbside recycling wasn’t even a suggestion at this point.  And, the only thing I knew then about plastics was to avoid them. This was my closing line in my report to my dumbfounded classmates:  use cloth diapers so our grandchildren aren’t wading around in a sea of dirty Pampers that won’t break down.  Crickets and tumbleweeds.  But, I got an A.  Even being an amateur, thanks to my research, I did know what I was talking about.

Here we are almost 30 years later and thankfully, the concept of recycling and reusing is not only well-known, but has become main stream.  My kindergartener was chosen to make the announcement over the loudspeaker for the school’s “No Trash Lunch Week.”  The City of Columbia has added cardboard recycling to our curbside program.  Now, we need bigger bins.  Once upon a time, “plain paper” recycling was hard to come by; now even my church has a blue recycling bin in the vestibule for all the church bulletins after the service.

I want to share a website with you.  I discovered this site a year or so ago.  It’s called Recyclebank.  You earn points by watching (very short) videos about ways to recycle, reduce, reuse and generally “green up” your everyday world.  Just today, I learned that 90% of the imported cut flowers come from Latin America.  That means, rather than employing our own people to grow flowers and ferns in greenhouses, we are buying them from other countries who then have to load them up on planes and fly them around the world.  That’s just crazy.  I had no idea.  I also learned today that Dasani water bottles contain 30% plant-based material.  I’m not exactly sure how it works, but I think it’s cool.  As you learn these lessons, you accumulate points.  What’s that for, you ask?  You can then use them to get really good coupons (like $2 off Kashi!) or free offers, or make donations.  For instance, for 250 points, you can donate a tree through American Forests.  It’s a cool thing, indeed.  Click here to check it out.

Wasn’t it Kermit the Frog who sang “It isn’t easy being green?”  Well, it’s getting a lot easier these days, but we still have a long way to go.  Check out Recyclebank and see what you can do in your own home to help “Go Green.”

Be A Modern Day Hunter-Gatherer!

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By: Shannon Shull

How do you fuel your body? Think about it…what did you feed your body the past few days? Can you say with confidence that you properly fueled your body? Do you even know what your body requires in order to be properly fueled?

My husband’s best friend sent this video from TED.com.  My husband watched it, was inspired and naturally sent it to me with bold letters, saying WATCH NOW. I only wish I had actually watched it right away. Of course it sat in my inbox for weeks before I finally took the time to sit down and watch it. Once I finally did, I was not only astounded by the information, but my eyes were opened in an amazing way.

I’m no biology wiz and I’m certainly not a crazed health food nut, BUT you don’t have to be a genius to understand that if you fuel your body properly, it will in turn operate better for you on every level. I mean come on, let’s use our common sense – if we eat fast foods, processed foods and junk foods and drinks on a daily basis, nearly eliminating any foods rich in real vitamins and goodness, then naturally our bodies will feel and show the negative effects. It’s basic logic. But as smart as we all are, do we actually commit to properly fueling our bodies? For most of us, that answer is no and that’s because we give in to the convenience and cheap costs of the poor eating habits of our current society.

Do you know what mitochondria are? I remember the word from biology class years ago, but I couldn’t tell you what it is. I now know that mitochondria are basically the power centers of our cells. They are power houses, the power producers that manage the energy supply for our cells. I have learned that they are critical to our lives! Check this out…without mitochondria we would be no larger than bacteria!

I personally would prefer to have VERY healthy mitochondria! Our bodies need B vitamins, sulfur and antioxidants for our mitochondria to thrive. Now here’s where the hunter-gatherer thing comes into play. Think about our long gone ancestors and the ways they obtained their foods. They had to hunt their meats and fish and gather their veggies, roots and fruits. The fuel for their bodies was locally obtained and organic, not to mention their fuel was RICH in all the goods that our bodies need to thrive.

It’s not enough to just take vitamins. We also need to get our nutrients from food.  We need to develop a food plan to best fuel our brains and our mitochondria. By NOT properly fueling our bodies, we set the stage for chronic disease, smaller brains, you name it – the list of the negative effects go on and on. It seems like such a simple, logical thing yet most of us do not commit to it.

We all want to be healthier, we all want our children and family to be healthy, yet why is it that in most cases it takes being diagnosed with a life-threatening disease to get our attention? Well, I personally have decided that I’m not going to wait for any health scares to knock some sense into me. I’d rather fuel my body properly now and reap the benefits of a long, healthy life. Yes, it costs more to eat healthy, but would you rather pay the price now by taking the time and money to commit to eating food that restores your health and vitality or pay the price with doctor visits, prescription drugs and surgeries? As Dr. Terry Wahl’s says in this priceless video, we can continue to eat that delicious, convenient, processed food and watch ourselves and our children grow steadily overweight, depressed, diabetic and watch our healthcare costs soar out of control OR we can eat for our mitochondria and have more vitality! The healing powers of food are out of this world.

I urge you to make watching this video a priority. For your own sake, for your family’s sake, become a Modern Day Hunter-Gatherer and together let’s watch and feel our bodies thrive with vitality because we are fueling it properly!

Daily I will try to commit to having more….

Green Leaves , Sulfur Rich Veggies, Bright Color Fruits – and, at least once a week – Grass-fed Meats, and Wild Fish.

I may not always succeed, but I am making a conscious effort to be a Modern Day Hunter-Gatherer.  How will you fuel your body?

A Family Tradition

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By: Crissie Miller Kirby

Wow!  Thanksgiving is almost here and with that comes the knowledge that November is almost over and Christmas will be here in about a month.  Part of what makes this season so special for so many are the traditions that we have developed with family and friends.  In honor of those traditions, I thought I would use this posting as an opportunity to share with you one of my family’s most treasured of traditions.

For some of you, you may have a tradition of pulling your Christmas tree from the attic or the garage.  Others of you may make a run to your local grocery store or roadside lot to choose an already cut tree.  Still others prefer the trip to a rural community to one of South Carolina’s choose-and-cut Christmas tree farms.  For my little family, the latter is the true beginning of our Christmas season, for every Thanksgiving afternoon, we venture down a dirt road in Monetta, South Carolina to Tom Sawyer’s Christmas Trees where we choose our tree from the many different varieties they offer.  And, before you ask ~ yes, Tom Sawyer is both a real, live person and that is his real name!

When you arrive at the tree farm, you are generally greeted by Tom’s brother, George, who can direct you to the different fields that hold the different varieties.  In the fields, you will most certainly come across Tom and, often, his son, Ben.  Some weekends you may find my brother, Ritchie, or another “family member,” Alan, assisting customers as they choose and cut that perfect tree.  A trip to the Wreath House to survey the wreaths, garlands, and bows will find you warmly greeted by Tom’s wife, Debbie.  Often, Debbie is assisted by her sister-in-law, Evelyn, or her daughter-in-law, Becky.  Another member of the “family” is Brenda, who also lends a friendly face to the Wreath House.  And some weekends, you may even find me.

You see, our family tradition of getting our tree from the Sawyer’s does not end when the tree is netted and safely stowed in or on top of my mini-van; on the contrary, it begins on Thanksgiving afternoon each year.  I am so fortunate to have known the Sawyer family for as long as I can remember and they have graciously allowed me to become a part of the “tree farm family” each holiday season.  Being a part of this wonderful group of people really helps to shape, mold, and personify the adage about giving being better than receiving.  I am unable to truly put in to words how wonderful it is to see the smiles on the customers’ faces as they choose the perfect tree or the perfect wreath or even the smiles generated from something as simple as choosing the perfect ribbon for their wreath.

These customers truly give me the greatest gift each season.  Their happiness and excitement is infectious and now I can barely imagine a Christmas season without being with the Sawyers and the rest of our tree farm family.  It is more than a seasonal job; it is a family tradition.  So much so that my almost 6-year-old son states, emphatically, that he is ready to put on his “tree farm” jacket and go to work on the farm this holiday season!  And for the Sawyers, this is far more than a seasonal venture, the planting, pruning, care, and maintenance of the tree farm is a multi-year, year-round process.  It is truly a labor of love and a tradition for them.  They welcome each family with open arms and look forward to seeing those same, often growing, families return to their fields each and every season.

If you and your family are in search of a new tradition, I suggest that you make the trek to Monetta and see what Tom Sawyer’s Christmas Trees has to offer: choose and cut trees, wreaths, bows, wagon rides, and some of the most peaceful countryside you have ever seen.  For more information about the environmental benefits of purchasing a live tree and general information on all of South Carolina’s tree farms, please take a few minutes to visit the SC Christmas Tree Association website at www.scchristmastrees.org.

Best wishes to all of my fellow bloggers, their families, and our readers as we venture into the 2011 holiday season: May you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving and Christmas season.  I look forward to seeing you at the farm!

Give Recycling a Leg Up!

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By: Mary Pat Baldauf

This post combines three of my favorite things: recycling, weight loss via healthy living and Lexington Medical Center!

Now that it’s finally cooler, I’ve been unpacking my winter clothes. Because everything is now too big, I’ve had to make several piles: consign, donate, and share. Everything fits in those three piles except for those tights and panty hose I packed away; I mean, does anyone really want to wear secondhand hose?

That’s why I was thrilled to find out, quite by accident via Twitter, that you can now recycle panty hose! That’s right! No Nonsense recently announced the first pantyhose recycling program – a step toward a greener planet and one that most women can easily take.

You can’t toss your old hose in the recycling bin or take them to the recycling center, but it’s really pretty easy. First download a mailing label. Then round up your pantyhose, nylon knee highs and tights and box them up. (Yes, they’ll accept all brands.) Take your box to the nearest shipping location and send it on its way. Your old hose will eventually be turned into new things like park benches, playground equipment, carpets, ropes and even toys. Read all about the program here.

What does this have to do with Lexington Medical Center (LMC)? When it comes to health care, LMC takes the lead in environmental sustainability and stewardship. Here are just a few of the things LMC does for the environment:

  • Reduces emissions by employing a bicycle safety patrol
  • Promotes good air quality by allowing telecommuting for transcriptionists and other employees
  • Improves indoor air quality by using green cleaning products
  • Reduces land-filling by recycling everything from cardboard to cooking oil

Let’s take our cue from LMC and do what we can to create a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle. Whether it’s recycling your pantyhose or making other good choices, it all adds up!