A Plug for Green produce Bags

Kelly bought these for me as a gift. They're grrrrrreat!

Opt Out of Receiving Catalogs

I kick myself everytime I get ANOTHER catalog in the mail. So today I FINALLY remembered to go to Catalog Choice to opt out of receiving so many. FYI, it helps to have the customer # on the catalog itself (but you can apparently do it by name of company as well).

I also just recently (again: kicking myself) opted out of getting all three professional magazines at work in print. They are all online! And, as if you didn't know, I am much more likely to view them online than I am in print.

We Can Solve It

This was sent to us by special contributor: Jill!

Join the We Can Solve It Campaign

Former Vice President Al Gore is launching a $300 million, bipartisan campaign to try to push climate change higher on the nation's political agenda.

The three-year campaign by the Alliance for Climate Protection will begin Wednesday with network television advertising that will include "American Idol" and other non-traditional shows that reach a non-news audience.

The debut ad, "Anthem," is posted here.

Pat Robertson and Al Sharpton just filmed an ad for the We Campaign, sitting on a couch on the beach. In the ad, now being produced, they say that while they may not agree on many things, they do agree that they have to work to save the planet.

A future couple in the "strange bedfellows" or "unlikely alliances" spots will be recorded soon: Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

The campaign aims to harness the growing awareness of the climate crisis and turn it into one of the top issues on which voters make decisions.

The campaign is being paid for in part with profits from Gore's global-warming book and movie, "An Inconvenient Truth," and with the prize money from his share of the Nobel Peace Prize, which he matched.

The alliance is also raising money online through a new website, WeCanSolveIt.org.

Earth Hour: Results

Well, I completely forgot about Earth Hour, but I think most of our lights were off anyway. There were some interesting results from Chicago. Maybe I was too quick to judge the effort. Too bad we can't do this all the time, though.

*enraged, suddenly*

So this morning, as I was innocently waiting for the bus, I saw something that appalled me. Several highschool-aged kids get on the bus at my stop. Many times, they go to the McDonald's that is right next to the stop before boarding. This morning, I watched as one of them took the breakfast sandwich he had just purchased out of its bag and let it drop to the ground. I thought he would realize what had happened at some point, but then I saw him look down and kick the bag! He then finished his sandwich and threw the wrapper on the ground. Then he finished his drink and did the same! I was SO mad! Who do people think they are?! Like I want to see their crappy wrappers from their crappy food all over the place? And like someone else should just pick it up for them? Would you like me to come to your house and scoop my cats' poo on your bed? Cause I could do that!

I was clearly giving him the stink eye, and he saw me. He meekly bent down and picked up his trash. He then threw it in the trash can that was 5 feet away. I wanted to strangle him. I don't know how I stopped myself.

Reusable Bags

I kind of hate posting bc then it edges out the last post. But, I assume one day we will attribute our blog's success to frequent posts.

In this post, I wish to tout reusable totes.

I was slow to join this bandwagon because I already tried to remember to reuse the regular old plastic bags. But usually I'd forget to bring them. Plus, they're trashy--keeping them around just looks like you're holding onto garbage.

But, when I was admonished by Paul and David in September, I decided to buy a bunch of canvas bags (Vitamin Cottage's are blue and plain and $.99 each) and try them out. I will tell you, I will never go back to plastic bags!! First of all, canvas bags (esp the square-bottomed ones) are so roomy and they hold their shape. Therefore, I probably save 5 - 10 plastic bags for every ONE canvas bag I use. People talk about not having an impact, but COME ON!! It's SO EASY!!

Plus, they look better. *appealing to our baser motivations*

Here are some other discoveries I have made:

Environmental Impact #2. I bought a reusable polycarbonate bottle to drink water out of. I don't know about you, but I love drinking out of a bottle. I much prefer grabbing a bottle of water than pouring a glass. Am I lazy? Have an oral fixation? Who knows. But having this little guy has already saved countless water bottles. Even though I used to reuse the disposable kind to a dangerous point (think: thinning, yellowing plastic).

Environmental Impact #3. I have a coffee mug in my bag at all times. I used to be a big Starbucks-coffee drinker. Not the fancy drinks, just a hot brewed coffee with room for cream. But say I went in for a cup every day during the week. That's 260 cups per year. Imagine what that would look like in a landfill! Not only that, but sometimes I'd go in for an afternoon cup or on the weekends. Sometimes I wonder if we had to hold onto our garbage for a month, maybe we'd realize how much we're creating. But anyways, I wanted to let all the fancy coffee drinkers out there know that Starbucks will make a latte in a clean mug, too!*

Environmental Impact #4. Household cleaning products. Dave and I pledged to be chemical-free by '03** and we are way behind. I was reading about getting pregnant and one of the suggestions (warnings) is to avoid household cleaning products. I think that's why I hate to clean***--because the thought of inhaling the noxious chemically smells of cleaning products is such a turn-off. So, I have started using white vinegar. It actually works BETTER than a lot of other stuff I have tried (esp for cleaning shower scum!). It does mean a little extra elbow-grease, and I can't say the smell is PLEASANT, but1. it works, 2. it's not dangerous to a fetus, and 3. who doesn't like the smell of pickles?****

*OR, if you forget to clean your mug (so I hear), they'll rinse out your mug with 500 degree water first!
**Dave and I didn't meet until '06, but '03 rhymes. Plus, it creates a sense of urgency since it implies we are so far past our deadline.
***no it's not. I'm just lazy.
****the smell really does fade. I promise.