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Feature Destination

Conservation Photography with Karim & Jack

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What’s In Our Newsroom

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The FREE Weekly Conservation Post and Jobs List

Signing up for the free Weekly Newsletter & Jobs List will get you a round-up of upcoming events, webinars, meetings, reports, funding opportunities, photos of the week, and recent postings to the jobs list.

To sign up for our free subscription, please Click Here or email us Here. 

Since 2004, SEVENSEAS Media has fostered an informal and non-partisan platform to promote understanding of key issues and challenges while building partnerships across an increasingly diverse group of marine conservation professionals and students.

Our mission is to promote communication and build partnerships across the global marine community and to identify and address gaps in the community’s work. SEVENSEAS Media achieves this through multimedia promotion and partnerships. The community consists of a diverse and growing group of participants, including non-governmental organizations, government agencies, foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, fellowship programs, independent consultants, and academia/students.

If you are interested in contributing or getting involved, email us Here. 

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By Robert Helms

Some people think that having an “eco-holiday” is synonymous with sacrifice. However, the truth is that you can save the planet and still enjoy the festive season. The key is to make eco-friendly holidays a lifestyle rather than an event. So, if you want to celebrate an eco-friendly holiday this year, here are some strategies that can help.

How to Have an Eco-friendly Holiday

The term “sustainable holiday” is not just a buzzword – it is a necessity. It means that you can be happy and have a wonderful time without harming the environment.

There are plenty of ways to have an eco-friendly, sustainable holiday. You don’t have to give up your favorite traditions, but you can use them in a more environmentally conscious way.

Below are 11 ways you can do your part in saving the planet during the holiday season:

Buy local items

Buying local items as a holiday gift or for any occasion is an excellent opportunity to support locally owned businesses. It is also a perfect way to help the environment.

There are many reasons to buy local for the holidays. Supporting local businesses helps the economy and gives you more options than just going into a chain store. Plus, buying items made in your community means they don’t have to travel as far. This could mean fewer carbon emissions and pollution than something made overseas.

Given these reasons, buying local items is one of the simplest and easiest ways you can be a bit more eco-friendly this holiday season.

Give a sustainable gift

Giving a gift is an integral part of the holiday season. But one of the worst parts about it is that it often leads to mountains of waste. The good news is that many eco-friendly gift options allow you to give something meaningful without creating more trash.

When considering an eco-friendly holiday gift, the first thing to do is find out what types of gifts your friends or family members like. The best way to do this is by asking them directly or looking at their social media posts for clues about what they might want.

Once you know the type to go for, you need to look for a sustainable alternative. For example, if you’re getting clothes, look for a sustainable clothes manufacturer or designer.

Get creative with your gift wrapping

There are many eco-friendly, sustainable materials that you can use for wrapping presents.

One way to wrap a present is with a reusable gift bag or box. Traditionally, these were made from paper or cloth. These days, however, there are many ways to wrap a present using canvas and recycled plastic bags. Even some companies make biodegradable paper bags that dissolve after a few weeks.

Do your research until you find the gift wrapping option that you like the best and use that.

Get a real tree

Using real trees as holiday decorations is a sustainable option for eco-friendly holidays. Unlike artificial trees, these trees are biodegradable, which means they will turn into soil or compost that you can use to grow new plants.

A real Christmas tree also cuts down on the amount of waste created during the holiday season. Artificial trees are often put in landfills after the holidays are over. Some places rent out real trees that you can return, but these services might be harder to find.

Use LED lights

LED lights offer many benefits over standard incandescent light bulbs. LED lights for Christmas are more sustainable. That’s because they use less energy, emit less heat, have a longer lifespan, and are environmentally friendly.

They do not produce the same heat, making them more eco-friendly. LED lights also last up to 100 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Their long-lasting quality means that you will need fewer replacement bulbs over the years.

LEDs are also better for the environment because they do not release mercury into the air as traditional bulbs do.

Craft your own decorations

It is possible to have a sustainable holiday without sacrificing fun or creativity. You can do so by making your décor yourself. There are many benefits of crafting homemade Christmas decorations. Here are a few:

• It provides you with a sense of accomplishment and pride in your work.
• It saves money since you don’t have to buy new decorations every year.
• You can recycle old materials that may otherwise end up in a landfill.

Cook organic and local food

Organic and local food is more sustainable because it does not require much time, energy, and money to grow.

For starters, growing organic food takes less energy than cultivating conventional crops. Organic farmers typically use human power to plow the soil and harvest the crop, which requires less fuel than a tractor-powered plow. Because organic farmers don’t use pesticides or chemical fertilizers, they don’t need to rely on fossil fuels for their equipment. This means that they save money on fuel costs each harvest season.

Many also believe that growing organic food is better for the environment. That’s because it doesn’t contaminate groundwater with chemical runoff. It also doesn’t release harmful greenhouse gases into the air as conventionally-grown crops do.

Given these reasons, you should consider cooking organic and local food for the holidays.

Reduce holiday waste

According to Planet Maids House Cleaning NYC, reducing holiday waste can help you transform your celebrations into a more sustainable affair.

One way to reduce holiday waste would be to buy pre-wrapped or pre-packaged gifts that come in a box or bag rather than wrapping them yourself. Pre-wrapped gifts will help you save time, money, and energy. It also allows you to reduce waste from paper and tape used for wrapping.

Use real plates and silverware

Instead of using disposable plates and cutleries, use real plates and silverware. Not only does this help you reduce waste, but you can also reuse these real dishes and cutlery after wash.

Travel responsibly

When travelling for the holidays, consider renting eco-friendly accommodation.

For one, doing so can help you save money. Second, you can have access to home conveniences like laundry and kitchen.

This means that you can have a home away from home without damaging the environment.

Visit local and lesser-known destinations

Eco-friendly travel is the practice of travelling that does not harm the environment or spoil it in any way.

There are also various ways to reduce air pollution and CO2 emissions when travelling. Some of these methods include:

• Using public transport
• Riding a bike instead of driving
• Limiting the number of flights taken
• Taking local tourist attraction tours

Another excellent idea is to visit local and lesser-known destinations. Popular tourist spots, especially nature-based ones, get a lot of foot traffic. And tourist traffic that can damage the environment.

By avoiding these popular destinations, you avoid the crowd, spend less, and don’t damage the destination that you went to.

How to Stay Eco-Friendly After the Holiday

The post-holiday season is an excellent time to start living more sustainably. You can find ways to reduce your environmental footprint with some of the tips listed below, so try them out.

Reorganize and recycle wrapping

One of the keys to a sustainable holiday is to reduce the amount of waste you produce. You can reduce waste by re-gifting unwanted gifts, shopping for eco-friendly presents, and recycling your wrapping paper.

When it comes to recycling wrapping paper, there are three ways to do so:

1. Use it again as wrapping paper
2. Use it as a material for something else (such as mosaics or collages)
3. Throw it into the compost pile

Use up your leftovers

There are many reasons people should eat the leftovers from their holiday meals and turn them into something else. There are many ways to reuse food leftovers and make them taste better. For example, you can make soup with all the veggies leftover from your holidays.

Dispose properly

If you are organizing a green holiday, here are some things that you can do to dispose of your waste correctly.

One thing that you can do would be to separate your rubbish. Rinse all the recyclable items and put them in their appropriate bins. Put biodegradable items into compostable bags or containers. If you don’t have any, purchase some from your local supermarket.

Another way you can dispose of holiday waste properly is by sorting through them. Remove anything that can be salvaged or eaten by animals before disposing of it in the correct bin.

Grab big bags

For an environmentally-friendly holiday, you can use large bags to store your holiday goods.

Large bags are not only eco-friendly, but they are also cheaper than plastic storage solutions. And they are better for the environment because you can reuse them for other purposes after your holiday.

Thus, it would be best to consider storing your holiday goods after the celebration in these containers.

Clean spills on furniture and rugs

Make sure to clean spills on furniture and rugs in an eco-friendly way.

You can adequately clean your furniture and rugs using eco-friendly cleaning solutions. Luckily, such cleaning products are now readily available in the market nowadays.

Some people even opt to use their household items such as baking soda and vinegar to clean these spills. Both options are excellent and sustainable ways to clean them.

Sustainably celebrating the holidays is a challenge. It’s an even more significant challenge to maintain that habit after the holidays. Hopefully, the tips above should help you achieve that goal and start your new year off to an eco-friendly start.

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About Robert Helms

Robert is a freelance writer based in a NYC. When not writing for clients, he spends most of his time on DIY projects that can make his 800 sqft. apartment a home.

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By Karyn Winrich

The rising cost of electricity across the U.S. makes solar technology a no-brainer for many homeowners. You’ve likely heard the spiel most solar salespeople will pitch you: that going solar will save you thousands of dollars. But is that really the case? While solar installations will significantly reduce your bottom line, many factors influence your total payout.

How Much Does Your Electricity Bill Come To?

The math is simple: The higher your electricity bill, the more you’ll benefit from switching. Solar panels are the ultimate way to reduce the cost of your monthly bill, especially if you go off the grid. But if your rates are constantly fluctuating, so will the total amount you save each month. Check out the Energy Information Administration website to review rates in your area to make an informed decision.

How Much Sunlight Are You Getting?

The more sun you get, the higher return on investment you get with your panels. But go a step further and consider the specific parameters of your home. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What kind of roof do you have?
• Which orientation and angle is your roof directed towards?
• Is there a lot of shade that could block your unit?
• What’s the weather like in your area?

These questions should help you get a sense of the kind of requirements needed for successful solar powering. This handy calculator by SolarReviews helps determine the solar potential of your home.

What Kind of Unit Will You Go For?

The most significant expense with going solar is the installation and purchase price of the unit itself. A great benefit of solar panels is that the majority of the investment is upfront. Systems are designed to last for over 20 years, and there is little to no maintenance cost required.

When estimating costs, consider how much energy you typically consume to figure out the system size you need. You can do this by checking the usage of your electricity bill. From there, it’s just a matter of estimating the right unit for your needs. The average solar panel 5kW system costs between $12,000 to $25,000 (before credits and incentives).

Look for Incentives

The government offers significant incentives for using solar technology over other non-renewable energy sources. Look out for tax credits, which can help homeowners claim a share of installation costs. You can reduce up to 26% of your expenses, which will help cut down on your taxes significantly. 

Some other incentives include property tax exemption, waived fees, and cashback offers. According to Paradise Solar Energy, you can make back up to half of your total costs (including unit and installation)!

You may also qualify for the FHA’s Energy Efficient Mortgage Program, which helps homeowners save on their bills by affording them financing for energy-efficient improvements. This can increase available income for your mortgage payment and make your month-on-month billing easier.

You Don’t Have to Be a Homeowner

If you’re hooked on the idea of solar panels but still live in a rental property, all hope is not lost! In fact, many apartment dwellers have found ways to bring solar energy to their homes and buildings. One option is to talk to your landlord about the benefits of solar panels. The art of negotiation is key here, so know your audience, and carefully explain the benefits of adding solar panels, and remind your landlord about the government incentives that come along. If your landlord isn’t convinced, you have other options. You can choose a portable panel that sits on your balcony or is affixed to a windowsill or railing. Or you can simply move! Check out online rental listings to zero in on a space that offers a balcony or patio, or see if you can find a complex that may already have solar panels, surely there’s a rental that can accommodate your solar intentions. 

What do you think? Are solar panels worth the investment for your home? Since the U.S. receives abundant solar power and more than enough to fuel our energy needs, the answer likely is yes. So get out there, crunch those numbers and decide if they’re the right choice for you today.

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