The Majestic Plastic Bag - A Mockumentary

Sara Snow's Subaru Tour

Sara Snow is someone I follow. She teaches me a lot of ways to be "green". This article talks about a Zero Landfill Subaru Plant. Pretty impressive!

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Seriously, friends, if you haven't signed the Food Revolution petition, GET ON IT!
Don't you want out children to eat real food at school instead of all the processed crap? If you do, click here, and sign it! Take some time to check out his site too, because there are some great recipes!!

Denise and the hot water bottle...

Well, a few months ago, I saw hot water bottles and holders in the lounge for sale. I thought, great idea, but I don't think it will be as satisfying as my electric blanket. ELECTRIC BLANKET! I know, not energy efficient at all!! But one of my little luxuries...
A week ago, I was talking to my friend Denise about walking the dog outside in the cold and how I felt guilty because I wasn't doing it. (She happens to be the one with the water bottles for sale...) She said that she was getting up at the crack of dawn to walk their dog and I gave her a pat on the back for that! We began talking about my electric blanket and how I like to be warm etc..etc... She is from England and all her life she has always used a hot water bottle to keep her warm in bed at night. She said I should really try a hot water bottle at the foot of my bed. I think she sensed my skepticism because Monday morning she delivered a hot water bottle to me to try out.
Last night, as Griffyn and I prepared to watch the 2 hour LOST premiere, I filled that water bottle up and put it at the foot of his bed. He kept saying that he didn't feel anything and it wasn't working, however, I think it was. Sure, it's not the all over instant heat you get from an electric blanket, but my feet were feeling the warmth. Pretty soon, I had to push the covers off because I was warm enough. So, in conclusion, I think the hot water bottle may be what I begin to use to keep my tootsies warm on these chilly winter nights! Uses much less energy than my electric blanket and I don't have to remember to turn it off!
Thanks Denise!

Learn about the Olympics and their sustainability...

The Olympic website has some great information about the sustainability of the venues! Awesome!!!

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!