| In This Issue |
| Since The Last Earth Day |
| More Spring Thoughts |
| Get Involved |
| Recommended Online Reading & Viewing |
| Plastic Update |
| Arghand Update |
| RGG Events |
Down 2 Earth, April 3rd, 4th, & 5th, at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. RGG will be among many national and local vendors for this exploration in sustainable living. Come join us, and sit in on the numerous lectures and seminars.
Down 2 Earth
2nd Annual Spring Into Healthy Living Expo & Earth Day Festivities, April 18th, from 10am-2pm the Concord Food Coop will be hosting this wonderful Earth Day event which includes over 80 vendors and farmers, free food, and activities all under the tent in their parking lot. Across the street, RGG will be hosting a Truck Load Sale on all Drying Racks, 25% off, in our parking lot, along with live music, Organic garden seedlings for sale from Found Well Farms, and other invited guests.
Spring Into Healthy Living
2nd Annual Greenerborough Expo & Festival, April 18th, from 10am-4pm, in downtown Peterborough, NH Greater Peterborough
National Hanging Out Day, Sunday, April 19th, Laundry List, we will be extending our wooden drying rack truck load sale to include this special day which promotes hanging clothes instead of using a dryer to increase awareness of the benefits of hang drying your laundry. Our very own home grown Alex Lee will be steering an event and clothesline movie at the Red River Theatre on Main Street, opens at 5pm.
Red River Theatres
Plymouth State University's 2nd Annual "Earth Jam", April 19th, join us at this spectacular event hosted by the student sustainability organization as they gather the students, teachers, and townies for an afternoon of celebration. Live music and vendors.
Turn Off Your TV Week
April 20th - 26th This is a great opportunity for families and communities not only to save money on electricity and CO2 emissions, but to connect with one another. Want ideas? Go to:
TV Turn Off
EPA- NE 7th Annual Green Expo, April 22nd, from 10:30am-1:30pm at EPA building in Boston, the expo is a vendor fair designed to educate the purchasing decisions of EPA staff, other federal agencies, and invited guests.
EPA New England
- The last Friday in April is always Arbor Day. For ideas and inspiration for ways to celebrate visit the Arbor Day Foundation website Arbor Day At the very least...plant a tree.
Be Green Event, April 25th, at the Tanger Outlets in Tilton NH, from 10am-2pm, a 'green' celebration that will include displays and demonstrations by various environmental groups and 'green' businesses, along with giveaways & entertainment.
Tanger Outlets
UNH Solarfest, April 26th, from 11am-7pm, UNH's Student Environmental Action Coalition will be hosting another spectacular event with live music, vendors, workshops, and activities. A great day to schedule for Earth Day celebrations!
RGG Events |
| New At RGG! |
Easter baskets, hats, fans and more from Africa...made from tall, sturdy elephant grass.
Chicks, bunnies, piglets and more...made from recycled sweaters and are adorable in the Easter baskets.
Recycling Bins, as requested by those who don't have them provided by their towns.
From Freeplay, a rugged new solar charge/handcrank radio/flashlight that has AM/FM/ and also the NOAA weatherband station.
Kill A Watt EZ Electricity usage monitor, new and improved.
Handy electric cut-off switch in a new small size.
Bamboo wine party plates, a clever way to hold both your wine glass and hors d'hoeuvres in one hand.
By popular demand, we now offer the new ChicoBag™ made from 100% recycled PET from plastic bottles; even the carabiner and cord are made from recycled materials.
Peruvian woolies including hats and belts, and even stylish bottle holders for your Klean Kanteen!
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| Green Tip |
"Ecofont" is a new font that reduces ink usage from your printer because of its tiny pin-prick sized holes in each letter. Up to 20% less ink is used when printing out, thus reducing waste by increasing the life of your ink cartridges.
Developed by Spranq, a Dutch company, Ecofont is free to download.
*Courtesy of SpranQ*
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Dear Reader,
Real Green Goods delights in welcoming in the month of April, our favorite month. After all, Earth Day, the 22nd, is the leading event which celebrates why we happen to be in business. April also breathes new life as spring rolls in giving us renewed energy and a commitment to the magic of Mother Nature.
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Since The Last Earth Day
...and whats to come
Since the last Earth Day, our world has been energized with so many green inventions and opportunities. Mayors have signed on to Cool Cities, schools hosted Green Cup Challenges to reduce energy, Green Schools Alliance, and communities are building gardens to connect with nature and appreciate their own sustenance, Community Garden.
However, since the last Earth Day, reports continue to pour in that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is still growing, WSJ, sea levels are rising, Reuters, marine species are moving northward, Alpha Galileo, surface temperatures are rising, The Star, and that our climate may actually be at a tipping point, Sciam.
So what is the good news? The good is that all of the positive actions taking place will continue to chart the course of our future. There are many band wagons available to jump onto and there are choices to be made. Just as a small fire might begin, we have choices in how to respond - Do we simply watch it? Do we fuel it? Do we turn our back? Or do we try to put it out?
So what's your choice of action? Need help? Real Green Goods has a comprehensive links page where you can get started finding all sorts of information and more importantly how you can take action. For more fantastic earthly information, particularly as an educational tool, visit Planet Pals. This is such a fun and easy site to roam around; perfect for teachers, recycling committees and community organizers.
So what's OUR action for Earth Day? Glad you asked! RGG is having a big weekend celebration on Saturday and Sunday, April 18th and 19th at the store in Concord, NH. Beginning at 10 am on Saturday, we will be having live music, organic garden seedlings for sale, and other invited guests to help celebrate the day. Our special for the two days will be a truck load sale of wooden drying racks at 25% off. Some new styles will be available just for the weekend. We will also be offering our very own Earth Action Pledge. Designed to motivate young people (okay, adults can do it too) by pledging to do four free and simple things for a month; just fill out the calendar, recording your actions, then bring it to the store to receive a free environmental bumper stick, button or magnet. How fun is that? And across the street at our neighbors, the Food Coop, you can enjoy their Spring Into Healthy Living event from 10-2 pm with food samples and farm animals to pet.
Not near Concord? Try our Green Quiz on line and receive a discount on your next purchase. Also for those two days only, if you would like a 25% discount for our online wooden drying racks, enter coupon code "earthday" or call the store to process your order, 1-877-744-9744. Still want to see us? Check out our event listings to see if we will be traveling to an Earth Day event near you.
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More Spring Thoughts...
National Phenology Network
Spring is on the way, at least in the northern regions. Do you delight in observing nature bloom? The National Phenology Network website allows individuals to enter scientific observations from their geographic location. For example: when did the leaves on your favorite tree first appear this year? It's very simple and fun. The findings will enable scientists to reveal how climate change is affecting species. Europe has enjoyed doing this for years. The more people get involved, the better the statistics will be.
Follow this link to sign up as a participant:
www.USANPN.org
This is a link to the NPR coverage story:
www.NPR.org
Spring Cleaning
YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW. That's our position here at RGG. You have a right to know the chemical ingredients in what you eat, breathe and touch. A law suit is now pending in New York asking the makers of soap and cleaning products to disclose their ingredients using an old law that's been in the books and never enforced.
LA Times
RGG Cleaning Products
Don't Drink The Water
At least not from your garden hose. Most garden hoses are made from PVC (polyvinyl chloride) and also contain large amounts of lead which leaches into the standing water in the hose. Use caution when watering your garden, particularly container vegetables. ALWAYS flush your hose before using because warm standing water can breed bacteria, even in a lead-free hose. For confirmation, read the warning labels on new PVC garden hoses - it will shock your socks off. (Say that fast 3 times!)
Container Gardening Article
You CAN buy garden hoses that are lead-free. Be sure to read that label and refer to this site for lead-free sources:
Soil and Plant Tissue Testing
Still Squeezing The Charmin?
You might not want to after reading this article outlining which toilet paper companies use recycled and post consumer content; and yes, softness is discussed. A nice clean pocket guide helps with this dirty subject.
Sustainablog
Pocket Guide (pdf)
Some big-name companies are using wood pulp from the last virgin North American forests, including the precious Boreal forest in Canada, to make toilet paper. The U.S. imports nearly 80% of Canada's forest products, including toilet paper. Ancient forests are being used to manufacture toilet paper!
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Get Involved
1Sky Campaign
Our very own "Gen Y" staffer, Jonathan, has launched a local group called Green Concord, under the 1Sky website. This social networking site, similar to the concept of Facebook, is focused on getting individuals all over the country educated, organized and engaged in advocating federal action, by 2010, to establish policies which will give us the best chance at reversing global warming. He needs your support!
By establishing an account with 1Sky and joining the Green Concord, or any other local group, you can instantly be in touch with other passionate individuals in your local area and throughout the country sharing, discussing and coming together on the issues that matter most. This is a great way to get yourself involved, educated, and aware of the events that will shape the present and future conditions of the environment.
Please join or share this with someone who would be interested:
Join Green Concord and 1Sky
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Recommended Online Reading & Viewing
Reading
In case you missed it, National Geographic Magazine presents an excellent energy conservation article. Join a couple's journey as they attempt to reduce their CO2 output in and around their home.
National Geographic
Photo courtesy of nationalgeographic.com
Viewing
NOVA's National Geographic Special, "Extreme Ice" shows Greenland's, and others, current ice sheet and glacier status through years of time-lapse photo documentation. (Caution - this might leave you shivering...) Go here for a summary or for the full one-hour program, available streaming:
www.PBS.org
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Plastic Update
Flame Retardents
Flame retardants used in plastics and other consumer goods end up in the dust we breathe in our houses, cars, and at our jobs. Over time, degrading plastic fragments laced with chemicals end up as part of the dust surrounding us, and then end up inside of us.
Read Article
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Arghand Update
giving strategic advice to Obama
Former NPR reporter and founder of the Arghand Cooperative, maker of the exquisite soaps made in Afghanistan and sold at  Real Green Goods, Sarah Chayes reports from Kandahar via the Los Angeles Times. LA Times
RGG Arghand Soap Stones |
GOOD NEWS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
There's a new organic garden in the neighborhood. We are delighted and believe that the Obama's garden on the White House lawn will promote re-connecting with our food.
The Daily Green
WINTER HOURS REMINDER
- Monday through Saturday: 10 am to 6 pm
- Sunday hours remain the same: Noon to 5 pm
Thursday nights Open until 7 pm For Downtown Shopping
Real Green Goods will be CLOSED Easter Sunday, April 12th.
Thank you for reading and for caring about the environment. And, as we say at Real Green Goods, Have a Green Day!™
Sincerely,
All of us from Real Green Goods
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