Food
Minimize the meat. Go all veggie or purchase grass-fed beef. Bill the Butcher is local to Seattle and has most excellent meat! On this holiday every year Americans consume 150 million hot dogs....enough to stretch from DC to LA over five times.
Use a gas grill to cook up your grub and remember that there is no such thing as a truly green grill. Natural gas burns clean, but still is a fossil fuel; electric grills are the least polluting but are powered by electricity that likely comes from burning coal. Avoid lighter fluid and conventional charcoal. If you must use briquettes, stick to natural ones like Cowboy Charcoal Co.
Purchase biodegradable plates, silverware and cups that won't clog up the landfill. Or use your regular dishes and recruit some friends to wash them at the end of the night. Or ask your friends to bring their own cups.
Skip buying 6 packs of beer and buy a keg instead. They are reusable so they don't make it to the landfill for a looong time. And buy local! Virtually anywhere you live, there are sip-worthy suds to be sourced locally.
- Chicago: Goose Island
- NYC: Brooklyn Brewing
- San Diego: Stone Brewing
- Redmond: Black Raven
- Seattle: Hales Brewery
Compost the leftover watermelon rinds and corn husks. Don't have a compost yet? What better time to start than right now.
SKIP THE PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES. Opt for a reusable one instead, like the PlayNetwork one you got a few years back.
Pack your reusable bags with you to the store to buy your feast.
Transportation
Transportation
Most of us in the Seattle area have the option to take public transportation. Use those Orca passes, and save yourself the pain of finding a designated driver at the end of the night.
Carpool with friends.
Carpool with a stranger! Check this out: http://www.carpoolworld.com/
Decorations
Check out these new wind and solar lights from Ikea to use as the daylight fades away and before the fireworks start.
Purchase LED lights for your house! It's a great time of year to regularly check and replace lights at home. Go Green LED Bulbs is offering 20% off all orders of $100 or more in their annual 4th of July Sale. Also a good time to check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Check out these new wind and solar lights from Ikea to use as the daylight fades away and before the fireworks start.
Purchase LED lights for your house! It's a great time of year to regularly check and replace lights at home. Go Green LED Bulbs is offering 20% off all orders of $100 or more in their annual 4th of July Sale. Also a good time to check your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Fireworks
Brave the crowds and go to a group viewing instead of buying your own. As Thomas Klapotke (University of Munich, Germany) told Science Daily, "No other application in the field of chemistry has such a positive association for the general population as fireworks...however, pyrotechnical applications are significant polluters of the environment."
Brave the crowds and go to a group viewing instead of buying your own. As Thomas Klapotke (University of Munich, Germany) told Science Daily, "No other application in the field of chemistry has such a positive association for the general population as fireworks...however, pyrotechnical applications are significant polluters of the environment."
Sunscreen
Sunscreen is critical for the rest of the country experiencing triple digit temperatures this 4th. But even in Seattle those clouds are letting in UV rays. When you're at the store choose an eco-friendly sunscreen instead!
Last but not least, check out this quick 2 minute video that summarizes most of this post:
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