EMA December Newsletter: Carter Oosterhouse's Last Minute Green Tips for the Holidays

Board Member Carter Oosterhouse's Guide to Keeping Your Home Green for the Holidays

1. Buy/use LED ( light emitting diode) Christmas lights. Some LED’s can save you up to 90% on Energy Consumption.

2. Use candles made from Soy or beeswax. Most candles are made from Paraffin wax which is petroleum, and that’s bad.

3. Don't simply throw your Xmas tree to the garbage man. Find a way to give your tree another purpose. Most cities have special plans set up to either turn your tree into mulch or compost if you can't do it yourself.

4. Save money and trees this year and set your gifts apart by wrapping them in old comics, newspaper, out-of-date maps, sheet music, even magazines can work. If every American family wrapped just three presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

5. Before your guests come over you can turn your thermostat down as the home will inevitably get warmer with more bodies around the house.

6. Americans generate 25% more trash during the holidays. RECYCLE!

2017 EMA IMPACT SUMMIT

Website coming soon!!

Give the Gift of Sustainability

After the gift-opening frenzy settles and your living room looks like a paper recycling center, perhaps you’ve come to the realization that the holidays aren't very green. You’re right. From the single-use wrapping paper to the toys and gifts you'll be replacing in a year, traditional holiday gift-giving isn’t sustainable. We know traditions are important this time of the year, but that doesn’t mean you can’t create new eco-friendly ones!

Lead by example this holiday season with these five green gift giving ideas. Once your friends and family learn you didn’t have to wait in any Black Friday lines, they might be willing to give “going green for the holidays” a chance.

1. Reuse/Regift

We understand that regifting is a faux pas at most holiday get-togethers, but that shouldn’t stop you if your intentions are to help the planet. If you don’t have anything worth regifting, consider buying second-hand from a thrift store or on Ebay. If you plan on doing your shopping at a local thrift store, make sure you clean out your closet and take a bag of clothes to donate.

2. Coupons

We’re not talking about coupons clipped from magazines, but personal coupons given to friends and family members promising a good deed. For example, children could get their parents coupons for chores they’ll do or to look after a younger sibling for a night.

3. Make Your Own

A little DIY for the holidays reduces your carbon impact, allows you to be creative, and is more meaningful to the recipient than something bought from the store. What’s better than a homemade card with a personal message? Nothing.

4. Gift an Experience Instead of a Physical Present

Gifts are nice and all but the real joy of the season is spending time with the ones you love. Instead of buying a gift for the relative you rarely see, plan an activity to do with them. For example, tell them you’re going to pick them up next week and take them to the museum or a movie. If you can’t join, buy them two or more tickets to an event so they can spend time with someone else they love.

5. Eco-friendly Gifts

Many people don't like change and are hesitant to try out eco-friendly alternatives because they feel they might not work as well. Since you're reading this and are part of the EMA family, you know that green products work just as well and often much better than traditional products. Get your family and friends using safe and sustainable products with our EMA Healthy Family Trusted Partners.

6. Give the gift of EMA Membership

Did you know that you can give a membership to EMA as a gift? Help spread our important messages and missions and support our green programs by giving the gift of EMA this holiday season.

Environmental Media Network on Lineupmedia.fm

We've partnered with the great minds at Lineupmedia.fm to create the Environmental Media Network, a podcast channel that currently includes the two shows:

GOING GREEN with Asher Levin

In the world of environmental policies, there are literally limitless opinions on climate change, natural disasters, political controversies and technological innovations but for most of us, it’s not about what we believe it’s about how to understand the facts that are among us. In an attempt to get the most objective view on a variety of topics, EMA’s Director of Business Development, Asher Levin, has created a new podcast casting himself as the ultimate novice to give you the most expert perspectives. Each week, Asher will “Go Green” into an interview, with no prep, research or pre-interview on the subject, and ask a series of questions he has never seen prepared by his producer, Jay Jasinski.

THE ORGANIC LUNCH with Debbie Levin

With over seventeen years of experience as the face of The Environmental Media Association, EMA president, Debbie Levin, will turn her intimate and personal approach to environmental action into podcast format. Each week, Debbie will have an “Organic Lunch” with luminaries in film, television, politics, technology, and beyond and look past the standard questions to create an in-depth discussion about what has inspired these icons to use their one-of-a-kind personas to change our planet for the better.

Listen to our first Podcasts and stay-tuned for more!

Going Green With Asher Levin Episode One: Moby