...and with them come a chance to reaffirm your community with our earth. Advent is a season of waiting, expectations, and finally a sense of light and oneness. The Advent season is also the perfect time to put these positive feelings into practice in a number of ways, not the least of which is by connecting with loved ones, and who doesn't love this big old planet that we live on? We all love to give well intentioned, meaningful, appreciated gifts to those that we love; how cool it would be if this is the year that we didn't neglect putting Mother Earth at the tops of our gift giving list! (If we can feel so generously with our hairdressers and mail persons, then shouldn't we also spread some eco-love?)
According to the Georgia Interfaith Power and Light people (Sound familiar? This is a southern chapter of our very own Hoosier Interfaith Power & Light chapter.), Americans "throw away 1 million extra tons of garbage each week" (emphasis my own) from Thanksgiving to the new year. That's about 6 weeks, right? Let's figure this out, then: we're talking about an extra (as in on top of the MASSIVE quantities that we are already throwing away every day) 6 million TONS of garbage just because we're all feeling particularly celebratory and spirited. That's not a very merry Christmas for our world.
Here's a place to start: Thanksgiving. It's coming up (really!) quickly. Free-range turkeys might be beyond your budget or capabilities at this point, but don't forget the rest of the spread. Organic veggies. Local baked goods (did you know that the winter farmer's market is open again in the YMCA from 9-12 every Saturday right now??). Decorations from your own backyard (or your neighbor's if they're better at general landscaping than you are...). The focus always seems to be on the turkey, but anyone who has prepared an entire, traditional Thanksgiving meal for a group of people will undoubtedly affirm that the turkey can be just about the easiest part of the process.
Some of us who travel to the homes of our family members have little say so in whether our dinner comes to us on paper, plastic or china, but if you are the host, why not bring out those special plates, even cloth napkins? Guests will help, gladly even! No one wants to be the guest who doesn't pitch in while their host slaves away over everything. It might seem like using real dishes is a big waste of time, but the time that it takes to wash a few is nothing short of a blip on the radar of the amount of time it takes a plastic (or even worse...styrofoam) plate to break down in a landfill.
Black Friday is rampantly out of control by many peoples' standards. If you share this philosophy, perhaps this would be a great year to start a new tradition: Bright Friday...choose an activity that continues the focus of giving thanks, such as whipping up a delish something or other using Thanksgiving leftovers and then taking it to some local firefighters, rather than gratuitous getting (which, arguably, has little thanks involved).
And, finally, we would all certainly be remiss if amidst the general busyness of Thanksgiving day, if we didn't take a moment to pause and reflect on the incredible, truly awe-some blessings that God has blessed each of us with every day. If you're into some family time reflection around a groaning dinner table, then perhaps From the Beauty of the Earth by Steven Bouma-Prediger would be something that you would be interested in checking out. Hey, why not...your dinner might be a degree or two cooler, but it will undoubtedly taste infinitely better with an appetizer of gratitude to whet the palate.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Thursday, August 2, 2012
The ABCs of Being Green
Admittedly, many (most?) people who are aware of this blog and might be reading this aren't in the same stage of their life as I am. But as you may have noticed from my 4 month absence (wow--sorry about that!), I've been consumed with other things lately. The link that I'm going to share speaks to that as well, and it has been hanging around on the desktop on my computer for months now. Suffice it to say that while I haven't been posting regularly, or at all, I've still very much been thinking about posting and about what I want to post. In fact, I already have an idea for the next one, which will be posted sooner next time...I promise!
Today's site that I'm sharing is from one of my favorite go-to sources for information as of late: parents.com. Granted, this is a site specifically designed for newbie parents, but this one just has good information on it, for grandparents and other care takers of young children, too! Check it out, and let me know what you think. I really like how this just explains common "green" terms in an effort to take some of the question mark out of the conversation because how can we have a conversation about best practices if we don't all speak the same language?
The ABCs of Being Green
Today's site that I'm sharing is from one of my favorite go-to sources for information as of late: parents.com. Granted, this is a site specifically designed for newbie parents, but this one just has good information on it, for grandparents and other care takers of young children, too! Check it out, and let me know what you think. I really like how this just explains common "green" terms in an effort to take some of the question mark out of the conversation because how can we have a conversation about best practices if we don't all speak the same language?
The ABCs of Being Green
Monday, April 9, 2012
Another interesting link
Here's another link that I stumbled upon while poking around on Recyclebank (really, can you tell that I'm very excited about this site?!?): Green Your Personal Care.
For me, the idea of nail polish has hit home and has caused me to change my habits for a while now. Who thought that having good looking nails could be toxic to your own body as well as the Earth? The good news for those of us who like to polish up once in a while is that safer, non-toxic options are out there and becoming more easily accessible, like so many daily products, actually.
For me, the idea of nail polish has hit home and has caused me to change my habits for a while now. Who thought that having good looking nails could be toxic to your own body as well as the Earth? The good news for those of us who like to polish up once in a while is that safer, non-toxic options are out there and becoming more easily accessible, like so many daily products, actually.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
(organic) food for thought
Check out this article, "6 Reasons Organics Can Feed the World" from the Huffington Post. I think that it makes some good points, not specifically about organic food but about how chemical dependent farming and GMOs aren't all that and a bag of chips anymore. We have better ways to feed ourselves; as Earth Day 2012 approaches, here's hoping that what is important to us individually is also what is important to us collectively.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
World Water Day 2012
March 22, 2012: World Water Day 2012
Did you know...
*it takes nearly 2,000 gallons of water to power the average American lifestyle A DAY
*you could save about 13 gallons of water a day just by limiting your daily shower to about 5 minutes
*with modern dishwashers, pre-washing is virtually unnecessary & if you only run the dishwasher when it's full, you can save another 400+ gallons of water a year
*going vegetarian for just ONE meal a month can save about 625 gallons of water a year because of the incredible amount of resources that are required to produce even one pound of meat (it only takes about 11 gallons of water to produce one vegetarian meal in comparison)
*World Water Day has been around for nearly 20 years and was started by the U.N.
*everyone has a water footprint, measured in 2 ways: direct (how much you personally use) and indirect (all the water needed to produce what you use)
*it takes around 52 gallons of water to get 1 glass of milk on your table at home
What do you think? How can our world sustain this? Not that we need to all go vegan and abstain from bathing, but...couldn't we all save a gallon or two?
All of the info in this post comes directly from Recyclebank.com (which is a really cool site to poke around on and a great way to earn some free stuff!).
Did you know...
*it takes nearly 2,000 gallons of water to power the average American lifestyle A DAY
*you could save about 13 gallons of water a day just by limiting your daily shower to about 5 minutes
*with modern dishwashers, pre-washing is virtually unnecessary & if you only run the dishwasher when it's full, you can save another 400+ gallons of water a year
*going vegetarian for just ONE meal a month can save about 625 gallons of water a year because of the incredible amount of resources that are required to produce even one pound of meat (it only takes about 11 gallons of water to produce one vegetarian meal in comparison)
*World Water Day has been around for nearly 20 years and was started by the U.N.
*everyone has a water footprint, measured in 2 ways: direct (how much you personally use) and indirect (all the water needed to produce what you use)
*it takes around 52 gallons of water to get 1 glass of milk on your table at home
What do you think? How can our world sustain this? Not that we need to all go vegan and abstain from bathing, but...couldn't we all save a gallon or two?
All of the info in this post comes directly from Recyclebank.com (which is a really cool site to poke around on and a great way to earn some free stuff!).
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Green Burials
Here's another pretty interesting story (at least in my opinion!). I came across this one in Sunday's Indy Star and frankly, found it pretty thought provoking.
Unbeknownst to those of us who live in my house, you don't have to be buried in a casket. There are alternatives that are not only much cheaper but also much more Earth friendly. How often does that seem to be the case?!? What also stuck out to me is that there is a more eco-friendly embalming method that can be used for those who chose to have open-casket viewings. True story: a few years ago, I had a student write a research paper about embalming (her title? "Embalming: The Spa of the Afterlife"...it's one of those that I'll always remember), and the reading about the whole process has rather turned me off from that option for myself. But then again, if there's a greener, more environmentally conducive way to achieve that end, why not consider that as an option?
Ever since we moved to Kokomo, I admit that the thought has often crossed my mind: Where would I be buried if I were to die? For me, it doesn't bother me to be buried elsewhere if that's the right place for it. I'm not one who is particularly drawn to any one patch of ground over another so much as I am intrigued by having the right kind of burial that is in keeping with the way that I have lived my life. Ask the husband; I already told him that this appeals quite a bit to me. Anyone want to join me in thinking about this as a possibility??
Unbeknownst to those of us who live in my house, you don't have to be buried in a casket. There are alternatives that are not only much cheaper but also much more Earth friendly. How often does that seem to be the case?!? What also stuck out to me is that there is a more eco-friendly embalming method that can be used for those who chose to have open-casket viewings. True story: a few years ago, I had a student write a research paper about embalming (her title? "Embalming: The Spa of the Afterlife"...it's one of those that I'll always remember), and the reading about the whole process has rather turned me off from that option for myself. But then again, if there's a greener, more environmentally conducive way to achieve that end, why not consider that as an option?
Ever since we moved to Kokomo, I admit that the thought has often crossed my mind: Where would I be buried if I were to die? For me, it doesn't bother me to be buried elsewhere if that's the right place for it. I'm not one who is particularly drawn to any one patch of ground over another so much as I am intrigued by having the right kind of burial that is in keeping with the way that I have lived my life. Ask the husband; I already told him that this appeals quite a bit to me. Anyone want to join me in thinking about this as a possibility??
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
9 ways to green your heating
I've been doodling around the Recyclebank website more lately, and I came across this handy list of 9 tips to help green up your home's heating. What do you think? Anything new on the list that you hadn't thought of before or anything that just might work out for you or your family?
1. Assess your heating system. There's a small list of items to consider if you suspect that it just might be time to replace that furnace. Some items on this checklist include
*if your furnace is over 15 years old,
*if your heat pump is over 12 years old, or
*if you have a gas furnace that doesn't feature electonic or pilot-less ignition, which signifies that it was installed before 1992 and will be no more than 65% efficient (today's models are at least 80% efficient...how about those savings?).
2. Buy an EPA-certified wood stove. The site points out that "wood is misunderstood" and is carbon neutral.
3. Choose the right type of central heating.
4. Improve the performance of your heating system. This can be as simple as cleaning the filters or baseboards, registers, or radiators. Our family has found that the washable, reusable filters are a snap to clean and cost a fraction of regular, disposable filters.
5. Choose the right home heating fuel.
6. Heat with biodiesel.
7. Use passive solar. This strategy requires good southern sunlight, which many houses naturally have.
8. Program your thermostat for energy efficiency.
9. Install a heat pump.
Ideas to think about???
1. Assess your heating system. There's a small list of items to consider if you suspect that it just might be time to replace that furnace. Some items on this checklist include
*if your furnace is over 15 years old,
*if your heat pump is over 12 years old, or
*if you have a gas furnace that doesn't feature electonic or pilot-less ignition, which signifies that it was installed before 1992 and will be no more than 65% efficient (today's models are at least 80% efficient...how about those savings?).
2. Buy an EPA-certified wood stove. The site points out that "wood is misunderstood" and is carbon neutral.
3. Choose the right type of central heating.
4. Improve the performance of your heating system. This can be as simple as cleaning the filters or baseboards, registers, or radiators. Our family has found that the washable, reusable filters are a snap to clean and cost a fraction of regular, disposable filters.
5. Choose the right home heating fuel.
6. Heat with biodiesel.
7. Use passive solar. This strategy requires good southern sunlight, which many houses naturally have.
8. Program your thermostat for energy efficiency.
9. Install a heat pump.
Ideas to think about???
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