Good Old Summertime!

It’s Memorial Day Weekend!  The unofficial start to summer for many people.

Summer means travel, cookouts, beaches, bugs and so much more!  Please take a moment to think about how you can make a difference by “greening” your summer season.  Below are just a few of the things you can do to green your summer.

Let’s start with travel.  Camping, road trips, off to the beach….it doesn’t matter where you are going, summer travel can be hard on the environment.  Anyone who has ever sat in a 20 mile backup trying to get off Cape Cod knows exactly what I mean!  So how do you “green” your travel.  The most simple and cheap way is to plan your trip.  Plan your route to your destination so you are not driving extra miles.  Plan your travel time to and from so that you avoid those nasty summer traffic jams.  Not only will this help the environment but it will help you save money on gas.  Money you can use to take another trip!

Cookouts are a big summertime favorite!  Nothing like a big BBQ with friends and family or just a small cookout in the back yard.  Most people these days are using gas grills but a charcoal grill using charcoal harvested from sustainable forests free from unhealthy coal dust or additives is a better way to go for the environment.  Instead of lighter fluid which is bad for the air, use the more eco-friendly alternative - a charcoal chimney starter. It sells for about $15.00 at most hardware stores  Use paper products made from compostable materials. Serve lemonade or ice tea instead of sodas.  It’s better for you and you don’t use all those plastic bottles.

At the beach there are a few things to think about.  First and foremost – cleanup after yourself!  At the end of the day at the beach, remember to toss your trash in the receptacle and bring your recyclables home to be recycled with your weekly trash.  There is nothing worse than going to the beach and walking through other peoples leftover trash.

Sunscreen is a big thing especially with the sun being so much stronger in the summertime.   Skin cancer has the highest rate of cancers and is the most avoidable!  But…sunscreens can be worse for your body overall than the sun!  Many sunscreens have high levels of chemicals used to block out the UV rays and protect your skin but these chemicals absorb into your body and may cause even worse problems.  The best choice is to use a natural sunscreen such as Badger Balms Natural & Organic line.  They are the best I have found to date on the market.  http://www.badgerbalm.com/c-24-natural-sunscreen.aspx

Got bugs?  Some of the biggest problems in the summertime are the bugs.  Here in New England we get bombarded first with the NH State Bird – a.k.a. the Black Fly! Then we move onto mosquitos, fleas, ticks and more.  Many of the bug repellants are also filled with chemicals.  They keep the bugs at bay but at what cost to you?  Again, there are a number of great bug repellants on the market that will not harm you, your children or your pets.  One to check out is Greenway Formula 7 which has a line of clove-based repellents that work great. http://www.bugoff.greenwayformula7.com/.  Why cloves?  Bugs hate them!  A great way to keep mosquitos at bay is taking two limes, cut them in half and place them on a place. Stick a good amount of clove into each half lime and place this on a table central to where you are sitting out.  The lime/clove combination smells great and keeps the mosquitos out!

There are hundreds of tips and tricks to keep you and your environment safe this summer!  Some of them may even save you a few dollars!

Stay safe and have a great summer!