YAY for Target!!!

I just visited Target yesterday and they put a new program into action! 5 cents back for every bag you bring in yourself!! I love Target and I am so glad they are finally doing more to keep those plastic bags out of our landfills and oceans!

Natural Hand Sanitizer!

I was just reading Sara Snow's new blog on Fitness Magazine! I am going to be buying this at Target this weekend! I will let you know! A solution for the little pump from Bath and Body works that is full of alcohol!

http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/blogs/fresh-fit/2009/06/12/swine-flu-a-pandemicsanitize/

My Rainbarrel Resolution

Rain Barrel!

Well, I got a rain barrel from our friends Kyle and Jill and I bought the supplies at Menards for the divertor. Here it is. After last night's rainfall - FULL!

Why a rain barrel?? Why water your plants with water that you pay for through the hose when you can use rain water for FREE? Plus, rain water has all the nutrients your plants to need to grow and be beautiful!

Target...

I emailed Target on Friday about why this still have plastic bags in their stores, but no recycling program and no incentive program for those who use their own bags and this is what I got back:

Dear Velvet Holmes,

At Target we have a responsibility – as team members, as a company, and as global citizens – to minimize our environmental footprint. I'm pleased to tell you that our efforts include using plastic shopping bags made with environmentally friendly soy and water-based ink.

Our plastic shopping bags have codes printed on them to help make recycling easier for you. The codes may vary based on the size of bag, ink used and other factors. You can also bring back previously used bags for new purchases at our stores. If you'd like to reuse your Target shopping bags, just let the cashier know during your checkout.

Because local regulations and services can vary greatly, you might need to do a little checking to find out how and where to recycle the bags in your community. Right now, we're exploring even more states where we can offer a bag recycling service.

For the most current details about all Target does for our environment, please visit: www.target.com/environment.

I am impressed with the speed of the reply. Happy they are working on it, but I think they could take more of a stand as a huge company. I will continue bugging them, because I do shop there a lot. I encourage you to contact a company that you think might be able to make a difference in our environmental efforts. It felt GOOD! Even better to get a response! :)

Oprah's Show on Earth Day

Oprah had a great Earth Day show. The thing that stood out to her and to myself was the amount of trash that finds it's way to our oceans and kills our animal habitats. You can read more about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch that spans IN the ocean from California TO Japan at Oprah.com. Tears were in my eyes as I saw the photos of a bird wrapped in plastic and a turtle that got stuck in a milk ring and survived to be an adult but with the milk ring still wrapped around his middle.
Many die just from eating the plastic, they think it's food.

On a lighter note, there are also coupons and free bag from Whole Foods available there also...

Be green everyone.

Isthmus Green Day at the Monona Terrace

Check out the information on the Green Day this Saturday at the Monona Terrace.
Ticket information...
http://www.thedailypage.com/green/tickets.php

Earth Day!

Earth Day today!!! (ok, tomorrow...)
We are celebrating by seeing the movie "Earth" at the theatre. For every ticket, Disney will plant a tree in your honor!
Sara Snow sent me her newsletter today and I learned that there are some good shows on April 22. Oprah is even focusing on the environment. There are also some other shows on the Discovery Health channel and the Fine Living Channel that I am DVR-ing. :) I will let you know if I learn anything new!!!

Compact fluorescent bulbs

CFL's can save you money in the long run on your energy bill. They also do not heat up like regular light bulbs, which is nice. However, they do contain Mercury. SO - they must be disposed of properly, you should never just throw them in the trash. I just discovered that Home Depot has a recycle box for these light bulbs! How handy! Thanks Home Depot!!

Sun Block

Oxybenzone and Benzophenone are two chemicals in sun block that wash into our water and harm our coral reefs. Life begins in the ocean. Our eco-system depends on the coral reef in the ocean to provide nourishment and habitats for many fish and ocean habitants.
When looking for sun block this year, look at the ingredients. Zinc oxide or titatium oxide are better alternatives. Last year, I bought us all some SPF shirts at Lands End. We love them and they work GREAT without any sunblock on our body at all!! I spent most of my Jamaica vaca in one since, of course, I sizzled the first day! The cure for that?? A lovely Aloe plant! We have one in our house and we use it A LOT for burns and scrapes...and you all know that with a little boy, we have a lot of scrapes!

Gweneth Paltrow

I learned of this newsletter through Oprah. It is called GOOP. Gweneth Paltrow is the creator and she really talks about a wide variety of subjects. Her subject in this newsletter was quite interesting and relevant to my blog. I have started using Neways and other natural resources such as vinegar to clean my house. I have been replacing our personal care products for the past couple of years with Neways products. This newsletter that Gweneth sent out just validates the fact that we need to be more aware of what itts in the products we bring into our homes.

Get Fresh with Sara Snow

This is a show I just happen to catch once and I really enjoyed it! Here is her website. She just published a new book too! :)

Solatube

Since adding on the sun room, our kitchen is so dark. I would love to put in a solatube sometime in the future. This site really explains how it diffuses the natural light and you can also have an electrical option so that you still have light at night! So cool!

EARTH HOUR TONIGHT!!!

From8:30-9:30 turn out your lights!!!
More info at : http://www.earthhour.org/home/

EcoFact Podcast

EcoFact is a fun little site. You can subscribe to their blog, facebook, podcasts...
They have a videos page that was quite interesting!

Phantom Power

Did you know that any electrical appliance that is plugged in and has a display, like a clock, sucks power ALL the time, even when it's not in use?
Put a clock on the wall and pull out the coffee maker and any appliance with a light or a clock in it; any appliance with a clock or a light is eating up phantom power, totaling between five and fifteen percent of your bill.

Community Supported Agriculture?

For many years, I had heard of these programs where you pay a fee and go pick up veggies from a farm or you volunteered your time on the farm and got your veggies at a discount. I am finally going to try it this year! I have found out that my insurance will cover part of the cost too! What a bonus!

Dean Health Insurance WIN program states:
"Healthy Food Focus
Includes community supported agriculture (CSA) membership fees. Members support local farms by paying an annual fee and get a "share" of the season's harvest of fresh produce. Visit www.macsac.org or www.freshfoodwisconsin.org for CSA information."

I have sent off my $365 ($300 will be reimbursed to my family through DEAN) to the Forest Run Farm in DeForest. In mid-May, I can begin to visit the farm on Wednesday nights and pick up my small share of vegetables. I may even choose to purchase some organic eggs for $3.00 a dozen. They have an egg share program, but we are taking baby steps...

I am doing this to be more green and to get food FRESH from the farmer. No chemicals, no hidden fees, no pollution...
If you buy right from the farmer, they don't have to package it up and send it somewhere to be sold to a grocery. All of the transportation costs and pollution from the vehicles that transport it are null. Buy local, support local, eat seasonal (when you can).

Why should you try it?

Cat Litter Dilemma

So, I was watching the show "Stuff Happens" on Green TV hosted by Bill Nye. The episode was on pets. Not only did I learn about biodegradable dog poo bags, but he also brought up some good points about clay cat litter. I have always used it because it clumps and it works well. However, this is what I didn't know:
"Cat owners should avoid clumping clay litter at all costs. Not only is clay strip-mined (bad for the planet), but the clay sediment is also permeated with carcinogenic silica dust that can coat little kitty lungs (bad for the cat). Plus, the sodium bentonite that acts as the clumping agent can poison your cat through chronic ingestion through their fastidious need to groom. Because sodium bentonite acts like expanding cement—it’s also used as a grouting, sealing, and plugging material—it can swell up to15 to18 times their dry size and clog up your cat’s insides."

I have started my transition to a new litter. You can get the first one free!!! I liked that!
It's called Feline Pine. Now, I just began the transition and it takes time. You have to place the new litter under the old and let the old kind of "run out" and mix naturally. Then, supposedly, the cats will just get used to the new litter. I have had it in their box for two weeks now. I will keep you posted!!!
:)

Do you use re-usable shopping bags?

Check out this great resource from Clean Air Gardening!
http://site.cleanairgardening.com/info/reusable-bags.html

It talks a lot about how re-usable bags are the best thing you can use for the environment.
Did you know:

Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute.

Californians throw away 294,000,000 pounds of plastic bags every year, or 147,000 tons - enough waste to circle the planet over 250 times.

Some estimate a plastic bag may take one thousand years to decompose. That means a bag thrown away during the crusades, the birth of Constantine, or at the signing of the Magna Carta would just be finishing its decomposition now.

If Californians cut their plastic bag waste in half, it would save over two thousand barrels of oil a day (over 800,000 barrels a year) and keep 73,000 tons of rubbish out of our landfills.

Only 10 to 15 percent of paper bags and 1 to 3 percent of plastic bags are recycled.

We take our bags with us each time we go shopping now. I know that it is "another thing" to remember. BUT - it is such a small thing that EVERYONE could do to make our planet a healthier place. Join me!

Did you know?

You need to take the top OFF your water bottle before you put it in the recycle bin!
The tops are made out of hard plastic that can NOT be recycled. :)