Tag: environment

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Featured Health Nutrition

It Is The Perfect Time To Consider A Bidet Attachment

“The shelves were bare, my friends.”

All across the country, toilet paper aisles show the same bleak scene: everything gone except for the econo-stuff. Let’s be real: no one wants the shreds. While it’s heartening to see people are duly preparing for self-quarantine to contain the coronavirus, there is a more environmentally sustainable solution that is helpful for septic tanks, sewer systems, and personal hygiene alike: the humble bidet.

Bidets are a standard fixture in continental Europe. I remember my first encounter with one on a high school trip to Spain, being completely confounded by its purpose. A sink for someone small? A foot wash? Finally, the explanation came from our teacher, with some considerable embarrassment. But really, there is no need to be embarrassed about maintaining good personal hygiene, and as fears of the virus accelerate it’s always a good idea to reduce germ contact.

Bidets are either standalone bathroom fixtures that directly clean intimate areas with jets of water, which reduces the necessary amount of toilet paper. Personal hygiene is improved and maintained more accurately and easily with a combination of bidet use and toilet paper, greatly reducing chances of hemorrhoids and genital health issues. Bidet fixtures are standard encounters in hospitals and medical centers due to their efficiency in maintaining hygienic standards.

From an environmental standpoint, bidets can reduce the need for toilet paper. Considering that an average person uses only 1⁄8 US gal (0.5 l) of water for cleansing by using a bidet, much less water is used than for making toilet paper. An article in Scientific American concluded that using a bidet is “much less stressful on the environment than using paper.
Scientific American has also reported that if the US switched to using bidets, 15 million trees could be saved every year. Their popularity is rising with aging seniors, new mothers, and those with physical disabilities.

Most American homes have no bidets (or even room for their installation) and cannot handle the plumbing renovation required, so luckily there are several attachments one can purchase that do the same job. It is now time to consider saving trees, septic tanks, the sanity of grocery store stockers, and perhaps even your own body. Here are three recommendations:

TUSHY Classic

 

TUSHY Classic
  • Pressure + angle control for a targeted spray
  • Includes everything for an easy install in under 10 minutes
  • Requires NO electricity or plumbing
  • Self-cleaning nozzle
  • 60-day risk-free guarantee
  • Free shipping
  • Over 3000 5-star reviews

TUSHY fits all standard toilets and some one-piece toilets and runs just $79.

Browse their selection here for customization to fit your bathroom’s decor.

 

Boss Bidet

  • Three Washing Features
  • Rear Wash
  • Front Wash – An additional touch for the lovely ladies.
  • Self-Cleaning Nozzle – Water shoots down at the nozzles to blast away residue.
  • 15 Minute Installation
  • No plumbing experience needed. Anyone can install it in about 15 minutes
  • Includes Everything
  • Stainless Steel Hose, Brass T-Adaptor, and installation manual.
Boss Bidet Bold adapts to various seat sizes with an array of color choices and runs $69.99.

 

Greenco Bidet Fresh Water Spray

  • Durable high quality toilet seat attachment bidet for optimum personal hygiene
  • Easy do-it-yourself installation with no special tools required, detailed instructions Included
  • Easy-access control dial for instant pressure and nozzle adjustment. Non electric
  • Adjustable, retractable spray nozzle for your best cleansing experience. Made of durable high quality plastic that does not rust.

Greenco Bidets run between $30-$40. 

Stay clean out there, everyone! For your health!

 

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Categories
Dining News

How Kelp Can Save the Ocean

by Olivia Vengel

World Oceans Week may have ended, but awareness of how we can help conserve and protect the health of our oceans is still just as important as ever.

Regardless of whether you live by the beach or in the city, the oceans affect day-to-day life. Our oceans produce much of the oxygen we breathe, they feed us, they regulate the climate, and they are a vital part of our ecosystem.

Beach tote available at akua.co

Over the past decade, as ocean pollution has risen drastically and ocean health has declined, people have become more aware and invested in the upkeep of the world’s oceans. Countless ways of helping have become available through companies whose platforms are dedicated to promoting ocean wellness through volunteering and creating products that reduce the exploitation of our oceans and their ecosystems’ inhabitants.

AKUA, one such company, contributes to ocean wellness with their kelp jerky, which they launched in May.

“AKUA’s mission is to create products that are healthy and delicious but also healthy and regenerative for the planet too while raising awareness for climate change, ocean health, and food sustainability,” says Founder Courtney Myers of her company’s long-term goals to help the environment. “I believe that today, eating is increasingly becoming a political act. Consumers are voting every day with their dollars. And whether or not a consumer chooses a bag of beef jerky vs. a bag of kelp jerky makes a huge difference in the world.”  

The choice between beef jerky and kelp jerky may seem small, but as Myers says, it creates a ripple of effects. Kelp is a zero-input crop that filters carbon and nitrogen from the ocean, and AKUA’s jerky is sourced from a network of regenerative ocean farms on the Northeast coast of the USA. These farms and the regenerative qualities of kelp crops are helping to reverse climate change and ocean acidification because of how efficiently they filter out the rising levels of carbon and nitrogen in the water.

On top of being helpful to ocean conservation and just being a tasty snack, AKUA’s kelp jerky contains over 100% of the body’s recommended daily intake of B1 and B2, as well as substantial amounts of Iron, Magnesium, and Iodine, which supplements your body’s ability to absorb water and supports a healthy metabolism.

AKUA offers kelp jerky in three flavors so far, Spicy Thai & Spirulina, Rosemary & Maple BBQ, and Sesame & Nori Sea Salt, and they are available for purchase on their website in packs of three and twelve.

Returning our oceans to a healthy state as climate change becomes more and more daunting may seem like an impossible feat, but small things like buying kelp jerky instead of an alternative, pledging to stop using plastic straws and other plastic products, using reusable water bottles and grocery bags, and supporting companies like AKUA can create a big difference in the health of Earth’s largest ecosystem.

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Art Culture Events Featured Living News

Celebrate Earth Day with Art and More from Earth Day Initiative


Earth Day Initiative, a non-profit that promotes environmental awareness and solutions through partnerships with schools, community organizations, businesses, and government agencies, announced the expansion of its Do Just 1 Thing campaign leading up to the 50th anniversary of Earth Day in 2020 with a large-scale art installation and action center at its annual Earth Day event taking place on April 23, 2019 in Union Square.

The Earth Day 50 art installation will consist of artists Tim Peacock, Haleigh Mun, Helen Oh, Amit Greenberg, Lizzy Itzkowitz, Vinnie Neuberg, Jovanna Tosello, and Molly Egan creating large-scale pieces of art on site. The artists will be painting canvases around environmental themes relating to the Green New Deal to call attention to the sustainability solutions we can strive for as we approach the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. A Do Just 1 Thing action center adjacent to the art installation will provide attendees with simple action items they can take to make a positive environmental impact. The action center will also ask attendees to share their own sustainability stories by offering solutions they see or would like to see in their own lives and communities.  The project is being supported by Milton Glaser, creator of the iconic I Love NY logo (consisting of black letters and a red heart), who will be creating a poster for the event.

“With the Earth Day 50 art installation, we hope to capture the public’s imagination around how we can solve our most pressing environmental challenges,” said Earth Day Initiative Executive Director, John Oppermann.  “The enthusiasm we’ve seen over the idea of a Green New Deal reflects how ready people are for positive action and real solutions when it comes to our environmental and societal challenges. The artists’ creations live on site at our event will stimulate conversation while our own action center and year-long campaign will keep the conversation going and empower people to take action in their own lives.”

One action item Earth Day Initiative is promoting is its campaign to empower individuals across the country to support clean energy with their monthly utility bill simply by filling out a quick form online. With a few clicks of a button, people can make an ongoing real-world impact with each month’s utility bill. With community solar projects in New York City, Earth Day Initiative’s partners are building brand new rooftop solar farms in the Bronx and Queens and anyone living in the five boroughs of New York City can lease portions of the panels, allowing them to support the development of brand new renewable energy in New York City, while saving them money.

“In recent years, we’ve encountered so many people who are eager to move things in a positive direction with regard to the environment and climate change,” said Oppermann. “We’re empowering people with simple actions they can take in their own lives and also asking the public to share their own sustainability stories so that we can learn from one another and work together toward a more sustainable future.”

The Do Just 1 Thing action center will be featured at the most popular Earth Day event in the country, taking place in Union Square on Tuesday, April 23rd from 12pm – 7pm. Free and open to the public, the annual festival celebrates Earth Day and offers visitors easy, actionable ways to make more sustainable and environmentally conscious choices in their everyday lives.

Event highlights include:

  • A live art installation where artists will paint large-scale canvases on various environmental themes relating to the Green New Deal live on site. The art will be sold with proceeds going to support Earth Day Initiative’s year-round environmental education programs.
  • An Earth Day action center where people can learn about simple things they can do to make a positive green impact in their own lives and also share their own sustainability stories of environmental solutions they see or would like to see in their own communities.
  • Dozens of exhibitors, including green lifestyle products and services.
  • Live performances, talks, entertainment.
  • Activities for kids and adults alike.
  • Local food and beverage vendors.
  • A special zero-waste fashion art installation and sustainable fashion-focused exhibition supported by H&M.

On Monday, April 22nd, Earth Day New York will organize the 5th annual Earth Day 5K Green Tour. New Yorkers are invited to get outside and visit green organizations around the city. The tour will include a visit to a river ecology school right on the Hudson River, a zero waste office, and a rooftop farm on top of an office building, among other unique destinations. Lunch will be provided by Just Salad.  The tour is a great way to get outside in advance of Earth Day to support great green sites and find out how to get involved, volunteer, and stay connected with green NYC throughout the year. For more information or to attend, visit earthday5k2019.eventbrite.com. We’ll see you there!

Categories
Dining Featured News

wagamama Ditches Single-Use Plastic Straws

Consider Earth Day on April 22nd the final straw, or at least the final plastic straw at wagamama restaurants in the US. Following action the UK-based restaurant has already taken in Britain and locations around the world, the wagamamas in New York and Boston will offer only biodegradable paper straws for its fresh juices and no longer use them at all for its other drinks. As an additional sustainability measure, the eatery is doing away with the cardboard sleeve, aka the belly band, on its recyclable takeaway packaging at its 135 UK and U.S. locations.

Why is the common plastic straw on the chopping block? What seems like a convenience is a killer as plastic finds its way into our oceans, into our marine life and into our food, contributing to an environmental disaster that’s literally a whale of a problem and should only be used for professional or DIY uses which what Simply Plastics offer – big or small projects

UN Global Director for Ocean Lisa Svensson said recently: “This is a planetary crisis. In a few short decades since we discovered the convenience of plastics, we are ruining the ecosystem of the ocean.” 

The single-use plastic straw is one culprit. According to The New York Times, market research firms say Americans use between 63 billion to 142 billion straws per year. A study by Science Advances estimated as many as 8.3 billion plastic straws pollute the world’s beaches, many destined to wind up in small pieces in the fish we eat.

And, as wagamama’s biodegradable placemats note, “It can take up to 200 years for a single plastic straw to decompose. Did that catch your attention? It did ours.” (Like the vast majority of the business’s paper goods, the placemats have Forest Stewardship Council certification indicating that they are sustainably sourced.)

Photo by Danielle Adams

So, while many states like New York are declaring war on single-use plastics, and cities such as Boston are considering legislation to eliminate them, wagamama isn’t waiting to step up its efforts to operate in more sustainable ways.

As part of its International Earth Day sustainability initiative, wagamama is also teaming up with environmental activist Max LaManna, a zero-waste vegan chef who started the Instagram account Eating with Max to encourage reliance on more plant-based food. The restaurant will donate $.25 from every green juice sold between April 22nd and May 22nd to LaManna’s chosen charity — Lonely Whale Foundation — which spearheaded the campaign that led to Seattle banning plastic straws. During the month, LaManna will promote living more sustainably across influential social media platforms.

The trendsetting restaurant has built a worldwide following in 27 countries with its playful take on casual dining, providing modern Asian-inspired dishes designed to nourish the body and feed the soul in an inviting, lively ambiance. Its success derives from a simple philosophy of striving to always be better than the day before, a pursuit that cuts across every area of its business, including wagamama’s impact on the environment. 

“wagamama was founded in 1992 with a philosophy of ‘positive eating, positive living’—the notion that feeding ourselves well equips us to face the rigors of life,” Chief Marketing Officer Ross Farquhar says. “Twenty-six years later, it’s no longer just about what we consume, but how sustainably it has found its way to our plate.  In the spirit of continuous improvement, or ‘kaizen,’ we’re striving to be a more sustainable business every day, from the sourcing of our ingredients to the powering of our restaurants to the impact we have on the environment.” 

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Uncategorized

Zero Waste Bistro is offering clean eats and Finnish design at WantedDesign NYC

The Finnish Cultural Institute in New York is sponsoring Zero Waste Bistro, a pop-up restaurant concept inspired by Helsinki-based Restaurant Nolla, the first zero waste restaurant in the Nordic region, during this year’s WantedDesign NYC. The Bistro is open for brunch and lunch during the run of the show, through May 22.

The installation is co-curated by designers Harri Koskinen and Linda Bergroth, and incorporates tableware and furniture from design icons Iittala, Artek, and pendant lights and stools from Alvar Aalto. The bistro is constructed from innovative new materials like Durat–a completely recyclable surface made from recycled plastics, and walls made from ReWall, a healthy, high performance building material made from upcycled plastics and industrial waste.

Zero Waste Bistro at WantedDesign
Zero Waste Bistro at WantedDesign

Chefs Luka Balac, Carlos Henriques, and Albert Franch Sunyer have worked at Michelin-starred establishments in Helsinki and beyond, and try to encourage zero waste ideas in the restaurant industry. By developing a circular economy and following the simple philosophy of refusing, reducing, reusing and (only as the last resource) recycling, the Nolla chefs are working to achieve a zero-waste model.

Zero Waste Bistro
Zero Waste Bistro

At Zero Waste Bistro in New York, the chefs are presenting a mouth-watering and  thought-provoking menu. “Our dishes are comprised of local and organic ingredients as well as commonly overlooked byproducts of the food system. With a strong focus on sustainability, our menu has emerged from creative thinking and the desire to produce something delicious and authentic out of local ingredients that are often ignored,” says Chef Luka Balac. Cocktails for daily cocktail hours are by Kyrö Distillery, the world’s northernmost distillery from the Finnish village of Isokyrö, and made with the award-winning Napue Rye Gin.

Zero Waste Bistro is open from Saturday May 19 through Tuesday May 22 at WantedDesign Manhattan. Due to limited capacity the Zero Waste brunch and lunch seatings must be pre-booked and prepaid online. To make a reservation, go to eventbrite.