I know I know, green is everywhere. But it needs to be everywhere. Green is all about changing your lifestyle to produce less waste and use less resources that damage our environment. So if you are going to enjoy wine, why not enjoy it with Green in mind? I'm not saying drink less, just be green while drinking.
Here's how; drink wine from wineries that are green, use glassware and other wine products that are eco-friendly, and of course recycle those wine bottles.
Because wine is an agricultural product people think wineries are environmentally friendly. What's better for the environment than rows and rows of vines? Surprise. Vineyards can have a negative impact on the surrounding eco-system, from deforestation issues with planting the vines, to run-off water with pesticides, and of course soil erosion. Fortunately, more and more winemakers are taking steps toward sustainable farming and organic practices. Read more about this at www.matchmywine.com. But finding a winery that is Green is not an easy task.
The number of California wineries that have started sustainable practices has increased 24% since 2004 according to a wine industry progress report.
There are a number of Napa Wineries who are ?Napa Green? certified. But this only means that they are friendly to fish. Enrollment in the Napa Green program shows a winery's serious commitment to enhancing the watershed and restoring habitats with sustainable agriculture practices. Wineries and landowners receive Napa Green certification by participating in the Fish Friendly Farming program - creating a customized farm plan that addresses all aspects of the vineyard and entire property and outlines practices to achieve soil conservation, water conservation, stable drainage, riparian corridor enhancement, fisheries enhancement and long-term improvement and sustainability.
There is also an organization called the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) which promotes the benefits of sustainable winegrowing practices, enlists industry commitment and assists in implementation of the Sustainable Winegrowing Program. Unfortunately I couldn't find any certification program.
Beringer Vineyards is one of Napa Valley's most historic wineries and is Napa Green certified. They do everything from developing paths for live animals, creating runoff channels so irrigation water runs away from creeks and water sources, using coverstock in-between vines, mulching many of the clippings and skins back into fertilizer, and using lady bugs for insect control and hawks for bird control.
Use products that are eco-friendly like wine glasses and consider bottles with screw tops. Recycle your wine bottles either in your recycling bin or give them to a local, home winemaker. If you find a good resource for old wine bottles let me know. Don't forget to bring your own boxes with you on your wine tours. And bring those reusable bags in with you to the wine shop ? all that brown paper bags just gets tossed out in the trash.
So use a recycled wine glass and enjoy some Clos Du Green. It's the right thing to do. Green IS the new Black.
Saving our planet is important, but that doesn't mean you have to live in a tree and forgo your gadget pleasures. There are plenty of gadgets out there that will help you live a greener life and while most LCD televisions don't come with a way to turn them off you can get devices to help combat that. Here are some of my favourite ones.
Cranking MP3 player
With a 1GB capacity and a design that won't win any red dot awards, the main USP for this new MP3 player is its green credentials. One minute's worth of cranking will give you playback of 10 minutes - although there is USB charging too for when your arm gets tired. Including shipping, it'll cost 55 euros, which is around 43 pounds, but consider what you'll save on batteries.
Husqvarna solar powered automatic lawnmower It might set you back a cool 2000 pounds but working autonomously, the lawnmower will cut up to 2300 square metres of grass and can be programmed to come on at certain times or days of the week. Users can define the cutting area by laying a metal wire around the edge of their garden. The auto mower also has sensors in the device so it can avoid garden furniture. Solving the problem of collecting the grass, the motor's three sharp blades cut the grass short enough as to scatter it back on the lawn.
The mower will cut for around 40 minutes, and then charge for 40 minutes in its charging station, however the solar panels on its back mean that on a sunny day the device will be able to stay out cutting for up to 50% longer.
Efergy meter
The Efergy meter is a compact monitor that allows the user to see electricity consumption in real time in your home. Made up of three components: a portable display monitor, a sensor which is clipped around the power cable feeding electricity into the premises, and a transmitter which is connected to the sensor and which sends the information to the monitor the data on the screen of the Efergy meter is refreshed every 5 seconds, so the impact on power usage of turning an electrical appliance on or off can be seen immediately. The Efergy meter costs 44.95 pounds.
The Standby Buster
You want to turn your television off at the main, but the sockets at the back and out of the reach of your arm. The Stanby buster basically gives you a remote for your plug. The easy to use, remote-controlled electrical socket lets you switch off multiple appliances completely rather than leaving them in standby mode - all from a single button press. Sockets are simply plugged into existing power outlets allowing any connected appliances to be switched on and off using the remote control. Standby Buster uses Radio Frequency (RF) rather than Infra-Red (IR) to switch appliances on and off, so it is not impaired by objects in its way.
Moixa USBCELL batteries
The USBCELL as an environmentally-friendly alternative to normal AA batteries. The top of one side flips up to reveal a USB connector, and the battery simply plugs into an open port. It takes five hours to charge one of the cells if it was fully discharged; each battery has a capacity of 1300mAH. The USBCELL cost around 12.99 pounds for two AA batteries.
Both Mike Birdsall & Shaun Parker are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mike Birdsall has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food and Drink, Cooking Tips and Food and Drink. Mike Birdsall writes for both and. Mike Birdsall's top article generates over 12100 views. to your Favourites.
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