The Squeeze: Every printed book creates approximately 7.46kg of carbon emissions during its lifetime. 

Traditional books create carbon emissions through deforestation, water and chemical usage, and transportation from forest to bookshelf. Many books are also frequently updated or revised (especially textbooks) and on average, a shocking 30% of new books won’t sell and will be returned to the publisher to be destroyed.

However, although e-readers may save trees, they consume energy to manufacture and use, and they create e-waste, especially when they are constantly updated.

So what to do? If you’re a casual buyer of books, sticking with the paper version is fine, but if you’re a voracious reader or already own an e-reader or tablet then replacing books with a digital e-reader will reduce your carbon footprint, as long as you don’t upgrade it too often. One study estimates that buying three e-books a month for four years (instead of buying the equivalent in paper books) saves over 1000kg of CO2 emissions.

Living Lime: Kindle has launched a SolarKindle cover for its e-books. It is a solar powered cover that allows you to use your Kindle for up to three months without having to plug it in. 

To squeeze some more green out of your day: To be the ultimate green reader, don’t download e-books or buy that new novel – borrow from your local library. 
 

By Chris Angus & Anna Minns

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Ditch the Directory

The Squeeze: In 2007 Yahoo ranked ‘Freecycle’ as the third most searched environmental term worldwide, following ‘global warming’ and ‘recycling’. 

Freecycle is proof that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. But it is more than a place to get free stuff: it is an online community of people who connect with others in their local area to give (and receive) stuff they would otherwise throw away.

A private, non-profit organisation run by thousands of volunteers, Freecycle has thousands of gifting groups and millions of members worldwide. Over 25,000 items are given away each day, extending the life of products and keeping them out of landfill. It also saves money and prevents new products being manufactured using scarce and polluting resources.

Living Lime: Freecycle was started in 2003 when Deron Beal had a bed no op-shop or friend wanted, so he started an online ‘gifting group’ among 30 of his friends. 

To squeeze some more green out of your day: Can’t find what you’re after? Check out another gifting siteZiilch.

By Anna Minns

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Dare to share

The Squeeze: US figures show that restaurants use two and a half times the amount of energy of the average commercial building.

You don’t have to sacrifice taste for sustainability when it comes to eating out. Show your support for the fabulous restaurants making the effort to lighten their impact on the planet.

Finding green restaurants is super easy. If you live in Sydney or New South Wales start with this list. If you’re based in Melbourne, check out this list of organic restaurants and cafes. With the organic and eco-friendly trend on the rise, there is sure to be some great green eats near your part of the world. 

Living Lime: Celebrity Chef Kylie Kwong’s Sydney restaurant, Billy Kwong, is the first ‘climate friendly’ restaurant in New South Wales. Serving a fusion of modern Asian and native Australian cuisine, nearly all of the ingredients are locally grown, organic, biodynamic and fair trade. 

PS: Have you eaten at a sustainable restaurant? Give us your review in the comments below, on our facebook page or tweet us @limedaily

By Sarah Lansdown

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The Squeeze: Australians throw out 178 kilos of food per person every year, according to Foodwise.com.au

When you have finished your delicious seafood meal, there are plenty of ways to use any bones, heads, skin and tails. 

Try creating your own fish stock from scratch by simmering scraps in water with roughly chopped vegetables, such as onion, carrot, leek and celery. Add some peppercorns, a bay leaf, sprig of thyme and a cup of dry white wine. Bring to the boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Strain off the liquid using muslin, then you will have a flavoursome stock which is ready to use in your cooking.

Fish scraps can also be put to use in the garden as a fertiliser. Bury them in a spot next to a flowering bush or tree, or blitz scraps to be made into a nutritious liquid fertiliser. With a little care, you can even compost them.

Living Lime: A Vietnamese company, Hiep Thanh Seafood, is using Finnish technology to turn its fish scraps into fuel. Heads, entrails, bones and fat from tra fish (catfish) are being turned into biodiesel to run the factory’s freezing and heating system.

PS: What is your favourite sustainable fish meal? We would love to know in the comments below, on our facebook page or tweet us @limedaily

By Sarah Lansdown

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Saturday night is Earth Hour – a great chance to show how small actions can collectively make a big difference to the environment. All you have to do is turn off all your lights for one hour, starting at 8.30pm. That’s it! Easy peasy.

The Squeeze: Iconic landmarks, such as the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, the Empire State Building, Tokyo Tower, The Vatican and Buckingham Palace will turn off their lights this year as part of Earth Hour.

The World Wildlife Fund began Earth Hour in Sydney in 2007. Millions of Sydneysiders and thousands of businesses turned off their lights for one hour, reducing energy consumption by 10.2%. It was a powerful gesture that caught the attention of the world, and it is now practised in 152 countries across the globe, going from time zone to time zone, starting in New Zealand.

So switch off your lights and find some fun things to do in the dark: light some candles, play some games, tell some ghost stories ... or just have a cuddle! With all the lights out it is also a great opportunity to go outside and do some star gazing.

Living Lime: Earth Hour has launched the City Challenge to reward cities pioneering sustainability. An international jury will consider submissions from cities that outline holistic, inspiring and credible city plans that increase renewable energy in the city's energy systems.

What do you like to do in the dark? Let us know in the comments below, on the daily lime facebook page or tweet us @limedaily

By Anna Minns

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The Squeeze: 4% of the energy used in an average home is used for cooking

It is called MamaBake and it is one of my favourite Sharing ideas! MamaBake is group, big batch baking for mothers. A group of mums get together once a week and spend a few hours cooking (and chatting, laughing, crying) together, and then share their meals. That's it!

The 5 step guide to Mamabaking:

1. Choose a recipe

2. Call your girlfriends and invite them over

3. COOK! Bring your biggest pot and ingredients and away you go...

4. Pots on the table and divvy it up!

5. Enjoy the evenings again! Each woman goes home with a box full of meals giving her time to do something else.

Rather than cooking a meal from scratch every night, cooking in bulk and then re-heating saves electricity, time and effort (and it also means you can rely less on take-out). Best of all though is the sense of community and friendship... and the time it free’s up. I love when something is good for your sanity AND the environment! 

Living Lime: MamaBake was founded by an Australian Mum, and the community has grown throughout Australia and around the world, including the US, UK, Belgium, Canada and Mozambique. There are plans to expand it to men and young professional women also with BlokeBake and SistaBake.

PS:What is your favourite big batch meal to cook, or have cooked for you? Let us know in the comments below, on our facebook page or @limedaily

By Anna Minns

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Happy Valentine’s Day! On this day of love, how can you love the earth a little more?

The Squeeze: About 150 million Valentine’s cards are exchanged annually.

* Flowers: Reduce their carbon footprint by buying locally grown flowers, or even better - grow your own!

* Chocolate & Wine: Go organic! Eat organic (dark) chocolate - not only is it yummy, but it is made with cocoa beans from farms that use sustainable farming practices AND drink organic wine.

* Jewellery: Diamond and gold mining is very unromantic. Green your bling and find a jeweller that specialises in eco-friendly jewellery, or find an antique or vintage gem.

* Cards: Send an e-card, make your own AND make sure you recycle!

Best of all, make your love last with a gesture (rather than a gift) that is sustainable - and has a more sustainable impact on the environment.

Living Lime: Some of history’s most romantic acts didn’t involve gifts, but gestures. Wagner composed a Symphony for his wife Cosima, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne for Wallis Simpson, and Elizabeth Browning wrote a book of love sonnets for Robert Browning.

PS: What is the most romantic gesture you have ever made, or someone has made you? Let us know on the daily lime facebook page, in the comments below or tweet us @limedaily

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The Squeeze: It’s estimated textile waste makes up about 4% of landfill.

Begin with school uniforms! Swap uniforms with other families, participate in a school-wide swap (many schools have a clothing pool), or use an online network. FindAUniform is a great resource, started by a mum of four who wanted to create a national second-hand uniform website. You can also find pre-loved uniforms for dance classes, nippers, soccer and all sorts of activities. Individuals or organisations can join.

Once you have the swapping bug, you can also buy and sell all sorts of school supplies. On Sustainable School Shop you can also buy and sell pre-loved uniforms, as well as textbooks, calculators, musical instruments and more.

Selling your old uniforms, and reusing pre-loved ones, keeps textiles out of landfill and saves the energy and resources required to create new garments. See the Living Greener Sustainable back-to-school guide for more ideas.

Living Lime: The Aman Setu School in Pune, India is almost entirely made from recycled materials, such as old hoardings for the roof and plastic bottles as the walls due to a limited budget. They handstitch their uniforms, collect old textbooks and even an old bus has been transformed into a classroom. 

PS: What is your 'hand-me-down' story? Let us know on the daily lime facebook page, in the comments below or tweet us @limedaily

By Anna Minns

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In the event that you find yourself with any leftover mince pies (unlikely in my house), La Madre Bakery have come up with some very delicious ways to make sure they are not wasted.

The Squeeze: We throw away 40 percent of our food supply every year.

Christmas can see a lot of unnecessary food waste. La Madre Bakery's waste warrior and co-owner Anna Spurling has come up with 5 ways to use leftover Christmas fruit mince pies:

• Crumble pies and layer with vanilla whipped cream and fresh berries for a modern slant on festive trifle     

• Scoop the fruit mince in to a pan with a dash of festive brandy and some dried or fresh cranberries. Warm gently for several minutes to plump fruit and use to top mini cheesecakes or serve alongside a slice of chocolate tart 

• Crumble pies, roll into little balls and dip into melted chocolate. Pop them in the fridge to set and you have the perfect little treat to accompany your cuppa

• Chop up your mince pies into tiny pieces, mix into vanilla ice-cream and whack it back into the freezer till your next sweet craving

• Check out this recipe created by La Madre Bakery and Gourmet Girlfriend:

Spiced Xmas pikelets served with vanilla peaches, yoghurt + mint

• 6 fruit mince tarts

• 2 eggs

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 cup self raising flour

• 1/2 cup milk

• Vanilla peaches (recipe on my blog)

• Plain Greek style yoghurt (drained if you like it thicker)

• Fresh mint

Carefully remove the fruit mince from the tart and reserve the pastry shells. Place the fruit mince into a mixing bowl.

Put the pastry shells into a food processor and blitz using the pulse function till they resemble a breadcrumb with some larger pieces. It is nice to have some textural difference.

Place the crumb into the mixing bowl with the fruit mince.

Now add the eggs, flour and baking powder and combine well. The mix should resemble pikelet batter. You may need to add a little extra milk to get the correct consistency.

Gently fry several at a time in a lightly buttered non stick pan. Don’t turn till the holes that appear remain (about 2-3 minutes). Flip and cook on the other side for a minute or so.

Remove to a serving platter and top with Vanilla Poached Peaches. Decorate with the pastry stars, a generous dollop of yoghurt some fresh mint and some of the poaching syrup drizzled over it.

Merry Christmas!

Living Lime: La Madre bakery uses traditional and sustainable baking techniques, even their packaging is sustainable. They created the first certified carbon neutral hot cross buns in Australia. Their fruit mince pies are believed to bring good luck and have been voted #1 by website fiveofthebest.com.

PS: What is your favourite Christmas food? Let us know on the daily lime facebook page, in the comments below or tweet us @limedaily

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The only thing more fun that ripping open your Christmas presents on Christmas morning, is wrapping them (usually the night before!)

The Squeeze: Worldwide we now spend $2.6 billion on wrapping paper!

Wrapping paper is one of the biggest sources of waste at Christmas, with a cost of hundreds of thousands of trees, as well as energy. One study found that if all the used wrapping paper and holiday cards in just the UK were gathered and fermented it could create enough biofuel to run a double decker bus to the moon and back 20 times.

Avoid those rolls of virgin non-recycled paper, and instead get creative with your Christmas gift wrapping. Not only is this kinder to the environment, but it is also more thoughtful and in the spirit of giving. Here some ideas to inspire you:

Books & newspaper wrapping

Old sweaters make clever wrapping

Wrap your pressies in comics

Fabric and scarves make great wrapping

Old maps for wrapping

Brown paper always looks great!

Once you have opened your gifts, keep the wrapping that is still in one piece for next year, or otherwise make sure all paper wrapping makes its way into the recycling bin.

Living Lime: ‘Gift it Green’ have created reusable gift boxes that require no scissors, tape or waste. They’re made from cotton fabric and velcro and the inside panel has a “gift it forward” label. Fabric Wrap is another clever reusable cloth gift wrap, that come in different styles and patterns.

PS: What are your ideas for reusing and recycling gift wrapping? Let us know or post some pics on the daily lime facebook page, in the comments below or tweet us @limedaily

By Anna Minns

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