Advice On Making Your Coffee Drinking More Environmentally Friendly
http://www.foodndrinks.net/articles/5301/1/Advice-On-Making-Your-Coffee-Drinking-More-Environmentally-Friendly/Page1.html
Mark Walters
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Contributed By Mark Walters. By Mark Walters
Published on 01/25/2010
Useful information and advice on coffee. Find out how to reduce the impact that your coffee habits have on the environment.
Coffee consumption takes its toll on the environment. Most of us do not consider the deforestation caused by coffee farming, the huge amount of water consumption, and the mountains of paper products (filters, cups, etc.) we create as a result of our coffee habit.
If you want to drink coffee (relatively) guilt free, here are some ways to make your coffee habit less harmful to the environment.
Consume Less Coffee - It takes 200 liters of water to produce the coffee, milk, sugar, and cup for one regular latte. So, Cutting out just one cup of coffee a day would really help the environment.
Drink Local Coffee - Get coffee which has traveled the shortest distance to reach you so as help lower the impact of shipping fuel on the environment.
Buy Organic Coffee - Organic coffee is grown without toxic chemicals, and is grown in such a way that protects sensitive ecosystems and the birds that live within them.
Boycott Corporate Coffee - Corporate coffee brands like Kraft, Nestle, Sara Lee, and Procter and Gamble mass produce coffee, and do not think twice about cutting down trees to create large coffee plantations.
Opt For Fair Trade Coffee - Rainforest Alliance and Transfair coffees not only ensure fair living wages for coffee farmers, they take into account environmental standards in their certification process.
Buy And Use a Mug - Invest in a really cool mug that you will want to use over and over again; eliminating the need for plastic or Styrofoam cups.
Do Without A Coffee Stirrer - Instead of mixing cream and sugar into your coffee, try adding it in the empty cup. Then gently pour your hot coffee on top, letting the heat naturally dissolve the sugar.
Choose A Good Filter - To minimize unnecessary paper consumption, consider buying a reusable gold coffee filter; not only will it help the environment, it improves the taste of your coffee. You should look for unbleached, biodegradable ones.
Compost The Coffee Grounds - Instead of just throwing out your used coffee grounds, create a compost heap and toss your used coffee grounds in. The nitrogen rich coffee will make a powerful fertilizer. Alternatively, you can spread it on top of your plant's soil.
Keep Unwanted Away - Rather than using chemicals in your garden to keep away unwanted pests like ants and neighborhood cats, sprinkle coffee grounds and orange peels in your garden. The nitrogen in the coffee burns ants' legs and is better for the environment than using harmful chemicals.
If you want to drink coffee (relatively) guilt free, here are some ways to make your coffee habit less harmful to the environment.
Consume Less Coffee - It takes 200 liters of water to produce the coffee, milk, sugar, and cup for one regular latte. So, Cutting out just one cup of coffee a day would really help the environment.
Drink Local Coffee - Get coffee which has traveled the shortest distance to reach you so as help lower the impact of shipping fuel on the environment.
Buy Organic Coffee - Organic coffee is grown without toxic chemicals, and is grown in such a way that protects sensitive ecosystems and the birds that live within them.
Boycott Corporate Coffee - Corporate coffee brands like Kraft, Nestle, Sara Lee, and Procter and Gamble mass produce coffee, and do not think twice about cutting down trees to create large coffee plantations.
Opt For Fair Trade Coffee - Rainforest Alliance and Transfair coffees not only ensure fair living wages for coffee farmers, they take into account environmental standards in their certification process.
Buy And Use a Mug - Invest in a really cool mug that you will want to use over and over again; eliminating the need for plastic or Styrofoam cups.
Do Without A Coffee Stirrer - Instead of mixing cream and sugar into your coffee, try adding it in the empty cup. Then gently pour your hot coffee on top, letting the heat naturally dissolve the sugar.
Choose A Good Filter - To minimize unnecessary paper consumption, consider buying a reusable gold coffee filter; not only will it help the environment, it improves the taste of your coffee. You should look for unbleached, biodegradable ones.
Compost The Coffee Grounds - Instead of just throwing out your used coffee grounds, create a compost heap and toss your used coffee grounds in. The nitrogen rich coffee will make a powerful fertilizer. Alternatively, you can spread it on top of your plant's soil.
Keep Unwanted Away - Rather than using chemicals in your garden to keep away unwanted pests like ants and neighborhood cats, sprinkle coffee grounds and orange peels in your garden. The nitrogen in the coffee burns ants' legs and is better for the environment than using harmful chemicals.