It is a new year and it’s time for all of those pesky new year resolutions. Since the environmental crisis of global warming, deforestation, and drought are finally considered important issues for humanity to tackle, why not make a resolution that helps the environment?

Since Sundance Channel really wants to inform people about ways they can help the environment, here is a quick list of potential resolution you could make this year.

1) I pledge to grow some plants in my garden or in a local public garden. More plants in the world means less CO2 and healthier air for everyone to breeze.

2) I want to support green energy this year. If you put solar panels on your roof, place a windmill on next to your house, or buy your electricity from a renewable energy supplier, you can reduce the greenhouse gas pollution in the world. You may even save money in the process, although it could be a long term investment.

3) I want to add 1-3 more plants to my indoor environment. Beautify your home with a flowering plant or put ivy around that hideous windowsill. Not only do plants improve indoor air quality (which is linked to multiple respiratory diseases) but they also introduce your guests to the concept of nature.

4) I will start sorting my recycling. Making sure paper, plastic and metal are all separated insures that more recycling will happen. Just get three bins and drop the right things in there. If you need to wash out a take-out container before you drop it in the plastic bin, see if you can take the extra time to do so.

5) I will bring grocery bags when I go shopping. Bring your own shopping bags every where. Why use a bag that wastes precious energy and resources when you can bring your own reusable bag that is better, holds more and feels weightless when you strap it around your shoulder.

6) I will check my tire pressure once a week. Making sure your tires have enough pressurized air in them helps to save fuel and makes your car a safer place to be on the road.

7) I pledge to get rid of all my junk mail! As you may know, stopping junk mail is a great way to save trees, water and energy. Plus, if you do not want to get it in the mail, you do not have to. Make sure to visit the Eco-mmunity Take Action page for more details on how you can end your junk mail.

These are just a few suggestions for easy New Years Resolutions. If you come up with resolutions that should be added to this list, please consider leaving a comment on this blog post.

As we noted, indoor air quality in your home or office can be 10 times worse than the air quality outside; cause for some concern, for sure, since we spend about 9 out of every 10 hours inside. However, the quality of the air can be much worse where many of us probably spend that 10th hour: in our cars.

That’s right; according to a study by the Osaka Institute of Public Health, air quality inside cars can be 35 times worse than the air quality outside. The study, headed up by public health researcher Toshiaki Yoshida and cited by the Telegraph [www.telegraph.co.uk], found that it took three years for the level in cars to fall below the limit set for vehicles by the Japanese health ministry. The air inside a new minivan every week for the first two months and every month after that; on the day after delivery, the van was found to contain 113 kinds of volatile organic chemicals, mostly hydrocarbons. It took four months to fall below the safe limit set by the state but shot above it again in the hot summer months even after two years. Yikes.

That “new car smell” is the result of the steering wheel, dashboard, armrests, and seats (among other parts) off-gassing nasty things like chlorine, bromine, lead, mercury and other chemicals and toxins that are not good for breathing and not good for human health. The nasties tend to volatilize more quickly when it’s hot outside, essentially “baking” out of the plastics and foams, so it makes sense that summertime is more treacherous. What to do?

First of all, check out HealthyCar.org [www.healthycar.org], who launched as a consumer guide to healthier car interiors earlier this year. They tested over 200 of the most popular 2006-2007 model year cars, and, using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence device, determined which are the most and least toxic. The Chevy Cobalt, Chrysler PT Cruiser and Honda Odyssey were among the best (least toxic) picks, while the Nissan Versa, Chevy Aveo and the Scion xB 5dr were among the worst. Download the full report here [www.healthycar.org] or search by model [www.healthycar.org] to determine where your car fits on the spectrum, or to help you make a choice when picking out a new ride.

They also have tips to avoid getting gassed while you ride: since UV rays and heat accelerate the breakdown of toxic chemicals, they recommend using solar reflectors and parking in the shade, when possible; ventilating your car by opening the doors & windows before entering will also help. The best tip, though, is to just spend less time in your car, walking, biking, scooting or otherwise getting where you need to go without sitting down in a toxic off-gas incubator first.

The air inside our homes can be pretty bad for us, as we talked about yesterday, but what to do? We’ve learned a few tricks to keep the air inside your home fresh, clean, and toxin-free. Take a look and breathe easier.

1) A collection of the right plants can help filter your air from inside.
2) Keep volatile organic compounds (VOCs) out of your home; when you re-paint, only use [url=http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/10/affordable_low.php]low- or no-VOC paints [www.treehugger.com].
3) Regularly check and clean your home’s air filter [www.treehugger.com] so it can do its job well.

4) Furniture and other furnishings can bring a lot of baddies into your home. Greenguard-certified seating [www.treehugger.com] and furniture like the Steelcase’s Think chair [www.treehugger.com] and Haworth’s Zody chair [www.treehugger.com] won’t contribute nasty stuff to your air. Our pals at Q Collection [www.sundancechannel.com] are also working hard to improve our indoor air quality, both with their furniture [www.treehugger.com] and
[brand-new collection of furniture and accessories for kids called [url=url=http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/q-collection-junior-launch.php]Q Collection Junior[/url] (pictured above).
5) You can’t keep all the bad stuff out, so portable air cleaners [www.treehugger.com] can help remove some of the nasty stuff that’s already in your home.
6) When it comes to heating and lighting, both wood and pellet stoves [www.treehugger.com] and scented candles [www.treehugger.com] can have a significant impact on the indoor air quality in your home.

7) Your cleaning products can also have a big impact on indoor air quality; we recommend non-toxic cleaners like Seventh Generation (and we also recommend their book [www.treehugger.com]); check out our How to Green Your Cleaning [www.treehugger.com] for more tips on cleaning green.
Lastly, a super-green option is the Green Light [www.treehugger.com] (pictured above), a slick gadget that combines solar power, LED lighting and plants to help improve your indoor air quality and support alternative and green technologies at the same time.

TreeHugger never tires of finding examples of companies and designers that have discovered that there is a better way to do things. Safer, healthier materials, designs that will last for generations and manufacturing that considers the planet and its people are all hallmarks of this “better way” and the latest example we’ve found is Austria-based Team 7 [www.team7.at].

Their wide variety of classically-inspired modern furnishings is made largely with wood, which all comes from sustainably-certified forests; when it comes to manufacturing, the company has earned the Austrian Ecological Quality Certification for their ecologically-friendly production practices. Because they’re concerned with indoor air quality, minimizing harmful off-gassing, and keeping toxics out of their furniture, only very low-VOC finishes are used, and PVC is not allowed — go [ur=http://www.batinau.com/production.html]here[/url] for more details on their sustainable production practices.

As for the various collections, they’re beautifully modern; sleek and warm without being overdone. Our favorite might be “Magnun” (pictured above), but they’re all worth peeking at, at least. They’ve also got an extensive living room, kitchen, kids, and bedroom collection, all with their top-notch ethics and sustainability from top to bottom.

At TreeHugger, we embrace design as part of the solution to a healthier, greener, more livable planet; we all need stuff (though not too much) and all that stuff needs to be designed by someone; the more sustainability in incorporated into design, the better, and the better the design is, the more people will want a little piece for themselves. This is why we’re such fans of the work done by Q Collection [www.qcollection.com], whose chic, modern products are pure sustainable design.

TreeHugger first noticed the work of Q Collection back in 2004 [www.treehugger.com]; since then, they’ve added more furniture [www.treehugger.com], along with fabrics and accessories, to a lineup of home furnishings that are a true triple threat: better for you, your home and the planet. Combining a refined, timeless modern sensibility with carefully-selected materials that reduce or eliminate risks to human health and the environment, their products are constructed without toxic chemicals, carcinogens and the leading components of poor indoor air quality. You won’t find nasties like polyurethane, formaldehyde and brominated fire retardants, which are all either known or suspected carcinogens and not good for anyone, along with chemicals like dioxins and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), in any of Q Collection’s work. This commitment extends to their fabrics and leathers; the textiles use zero impact dyes and the excess clippings from the fabric are used as ground cover by farmers near the mill. Their leather uses only vegetable dyes and no heavy metals in the tanning process, which, when it comes to leather, is the healthier, more sustainable way to go. Listing their entire volume of environmental and sustainability concerns addressed by their work isn’t practical for this space, but we’re confident in saying that it’s well-thought out and executed, and quite complete.

The ‘design’ half of’sustainable design’ is what sets Q Collection apart from many others, though — after all, they were named as one of the “Best of TreeHugger: Sustainable Designers” [www.treehugger.com] awhile back, and exhibited last year at HauteGREEN [www.treehugger.com], an exhibition of the best in sustainable design. Furniture like the “James” side chair (above, left) and “Joe” lounge chair with ottoman (above, right), show off their clean, modern sensibility that’s accentuated by accessories like the Moss Dot Pillow (above, center). Whether you’re looking for a single piece or an entire living set, Q Collection can help you be healthier: individually, in your home, and with your entire ecological footprint. There’s a lot to learn and a lot to see, including more details on their materials, products, and where you can find them, at qcollection.com [www.qcollection.com].

From the very beginning, TreeHugger has been interested in finding ways to live a greener lifestyle without having to sleep in a cave or wear burlap sacks; we want living green to look good. The good news is that there are countless ways to do so, and you’ll see lots of them on this blog before long; first we wanted to introduce a few of the terms you’re likely to see more of when it comes to interiors. Things like furniture, upholstery, wallcoverings and flooring may seem simple enough — a chair is a frame with a couple of pads, right? — but there’s a lot that goes in to the things we furnish and decorate our homes with that we think it’s important to know.

When it comes to wood used in furniture and flooring, there are a couple things that TreeHugger looks for. Perhaps the greenest option is reclaimed or salvaged wood; it often comes from old buildings that have been taken down, so it’s already been cut down, milled and processed once and no trees need to fall. For virgin wood, we like to look for wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council [www.fsc.org], who painstakingly insure that the trees are harvested in a way that, in short, assures that there will continue to be a forest (along with everything that typically lives in the forest) where they’re cutting from. Bamboo, which we already mentioned at length [www.sundancechannel.com], is another good option, along with other quickly renewable materials like rattan and sea grass.

How wood is finished and put together is also an important consideration. Glues and polyurethanes are often used, and they’re bad news for indoor air quality. You see, just about everything in your home off-gases whatever is inside of it; think of it as a way for your furniture, flooring & walls to “breathe.” When there are toxic chemicals in there (as with lots of glues and wood finishes), they come out to, contributing to poor indoor air quality and increasing your risk for health problems. In fact, the air quality inside is often 10 – 100 times worse than outside, and is compounded in the winter (when the windows are shut most of the time) and when your home is well-insulated (which is a good thing for energy-efficiencies’ sake). Formaldehyde and flame retardants in upholstery and cushions are also a big contributor to toxic off-gassing, as are the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in paint. The good news is that non-toxic, water-based alternatives are available for all of these, so there’s no reason to poison your home with these nasties. Remember, just about everything off-gases, so it’s important to consider what you bring in to your home because you’ll be breathing it for years to come. Greenguard [www.greenguard.org] is a certification which ensures furniture is low toxicity, and can help you find furniture that won’t contribute to negative indoor air quality.

Lastly, something we like to see in furniture and interior construction is the efficient use of materials. Building furniture with bent plywood is a great example, because it uses only about 1/8th (that’s about 12%) of the wood that other techniques typically use. This is also where materials like medium-density fiberboard (MDF) come in handy, because they’re made from the sawdust that results from milling and working with other wood — just be sure it’s not made with polyurethane or toxic glues. The story is the same with plywood: it can be extremely green, when it carries a sustainable certification and doesn’t use toxic binders, but can be pretty nasty otherwise. The number one rule: do your homework, and look for the big three (certification, no toxic substances and material efficiency). Stay tuned for some fabulous examples and tips for getting greener in your home.