Thursday Thirteen XXII: Project Support - Beauty in Nature
She’s mad. She’s seething mad. She’s watching us, and she really doesn’t like what she sees. She knows what we are doing to her, and that it’s not right. She gives us warnings. She sends us messages. So many aren’t listening. Our ignorance blares like neon signs, and maybe it’s too late? Maybe it’s not?
Here’s the deal, though: We MUST stop our selfishness now. We MUST turn our attention to her. We MUST change our ways. One-by-one, we can do little things to help. We can find ways to be energy efficient. We can pick up after ourselves; accountability in life and in nature. We can do so much. She will not live forever, so we must love her, care for her, and respect her fully. She’s the only one we have.
Here’s your chance to join a movement that will help you feel better about the world in which you live. A movement that will prove that we are not selfish, rather selfless, and that we care.
Project Support - Beauty in Nature is a challenge issued by Sarcastic Mom, Lotus. She’s calling upon her fellow bloggers to do their part, to make Mother Earth happy again. Maybe it’s as simple as carpooling, or as complex as organizing a neighborhood clean-up? Or maybe your family has gone green? Or maybe you recycle? Or maybe you bike to work? Whatever it is, or whatever you’d like to do to contribute, will help.
Join Project Support - Beauty in Nature!
On February 11th dedicate a blog post to your earth friendly actions, share with mankind what you’ve done to help our environment. Maybe, just maybe, it will be what someone needs to read, to change a little bit of their daily activities for the better.
Take the challenge. Let’s show Mother Earth, and each other, that we care. It starts with one person. That one person is You!
In honor of Project Support - Beauty in Nature this week’s Thursday Thirteen list:
13 Tips to Go Green
(Information taken from: Frugalist Visit for many more tips on how to Go Green and Save Money!)
- Carpool. If you must use your car, share your ride. Find a ride in your local paper or try craigslist. Savings: $780 per year if shared with one other person.
- Learn to drive. Rapid acceleration and braking can lower your gas mileage by five percent around town and 33 percent on the highway, or an average of $0.55 per gallon. And, you get less mileage for your money (23 percent less or $0.67 per gallon) if you drive over 60mph. Savings: $1.22 per gallon, or $634 per year.
- Give your junk away. If you don’t have enough goods for tax deductions, remember, “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure.”
- Live the new American Dream. It may seem that the new American Dream is to have a greener gadget than your neighbor. But, some green dreams cost little and they often reap huge rewards. Visit the New American Dream to learn how to live consciously, buy wisely, and make a difference.
- Plastic water bottles create small-scale environmental disasters. American demands for plastic water bottles requires the use of more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel approximately 100,000 U.S. cars for a year. Use filtered tap water in a reusable bottle, and you’ll save money as well as show the world that you’re green. Switch to a glass container at home or in the office, stainless steel when biking or bungee jumping.
- Learn why water conservation is so important. Yes, water is a renewable resource, but its access seems to be both unpredictable and arbitrary. Learn more about the international water crisis so that you can relate the world situation to your local access.
- Wash clothes only when you have a full load. Two socks or a full load require the same amount of energy to wash. You’ll save money on your water bill when you wash clothes less often.
- Install ceiling fans. Ceiling fans can be a great buy, because you don’t need an expensive one to work the magic. But, pay attention to the direction that they rotate. During summer months, set them to go counterclockwise to create a downdraft. During winter months, set them to go clockwise to assist hot air to the ceiling.
- Move lights away from cooling appliances. Lights generate heat, so move them away from the air conditioner and fans so those appliances don’t work overtime. They can also affect thermostat readings, so move them away from those tools for accurate readings.
- Learn to be an anti-consumer, even with cleaning products. You can use simple ingredients such as baking soda, soap, and vinegar to make cheap, easy, and non-toxic cleaning products that work on everything from your bathroom to your kitchen. And, most of these homemade solutions are a lot easier to make than a sandwich. Beware of any products that might contain allergens for you, and conduct more research to make sure that certain combinations are safe.
- Learn how to compost. Even if you live in an apartment, you might find a ways to use food waste as compost in a personal or community garden. But you might need to learn how to compost first. Go to American Community Garden to find or to create a community compost project. You can learn about how to conduct group efforts from sites like that one, but don’t expect to make a living from a small compost project. Instead, you can enjoy the organic local veggies for health benefits.
- Recycle your old cell phones.
- Recharge your batteries.
Don’t forget! February 11th. Project Support - Beauty in Nature. Mother Earth’s depending on you. Let’s do our part!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 30th, 2008 at 9:25 pm and is filed under PS-BiN, Thursday Thirteen. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
January 30th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Dang, you’re fast, woman!
Oh, and? YOU ROCK MY SOCKS.
Thank you so much, Mishi! :-D
January 30th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Hey, do you believe in this stuff? That’s cool! Nothing on orgasms? I mean, organisms! hahaha
January 30th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
We do a great deal of these, but I know I could do more. Thanks for the reminder.
January 30th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
We do most of these. My last child is finally out of diapers..so after 11 years of buying diapers..I am done. That HAS to help the environment. :)
January 31st, 2008 at 12:06 am
Use compact flourescents where ever possible in your light fixtures.
When it comes time to replace your furnace, get at least a series 12 rated unit.
Great list.
Happy TT
January 31st, 2008 at 12:42 am
Thank you! I have been informed by my son that I am killing the polar bears by leaving on too many lights.
Am making an effort.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:52 am
Great list. There is probably no need whatsoever to but bottled water other than as a fad.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:12 am
Nice list! I’m going to try do my bit.
January 31st, 2008 at 2:24 am
I do one better than carpooling; I telecommute and my husband takes the bus. We’ve gone from two cars to one which we barely drive. Happy TT.
January 31st, 2008 at 2:41 am
Great advice! I am amazed at how much my kiddos have embraced recycling, and it makes me smile.
January 31st, 2008 at 4:48 am
Good advice on going green!
January 31st, 2008 at 5:19 am
What a great list! thanks!
January 31st, 2008 at 6:25 am
Nice thing about living in Germany–composting and recycling are part of the trash services. We hardly have any regular garbage anymore.
January 31st, 2008 at 6:32 am
Thanks for the tips. I will try to put some of them to use.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:10 am
Your blog is excellent!
(because I said so…)
January 31st, 2008 at 8:29 am
I bought reusable bags from Home Depot for when we go shopping. They’re so much better than the regualr store cavas bags. They h ave little hooks that hook onto the sides of your car for easy filling and they LOCK closed. And they open two-three times as wide as any other bag. They’re great and only a dollar or so each.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:30 am
i like to think i am pretty green and do almost all of those but I know until I can give up the water bottles i am not green at all Thanks for your psot
January 31st, 2008 at 8:36 am
Oh I’m trying, I’m trying! Great post! :)
January 31st, 2008 at 8:44 am
I’m definitely jumping on this bandwagon… My kids are always coming home from school with some new tip about our green footprint… they have finally convinced me to use our own tote bags instead of plastic grocery bags.
Compost scares me… because I always get fruit flies inside or rats and opossums outside…. but I learned how to get rid of fruit flies so I should revisit this now…
I have trouble getting rid of the water bottles around here — I want them gone because the plastic is bad for your health, now I just learned that bottled water is not healthier — tap water gets tested, bottled water doesn’t.
I will have to post about this and get a badge. Thanks
January 31st, 2008 at 9:17 am
that was a great post!! my hubby and i have been talking about ways to go green. all of us…everyone on the entire planet…we need to step up and take responsibility! we need to preserve our planet for our children and their future generations! you’re right…she’s getting pissed. and, the more pissed off she gets, the crazier the stuff…so, we need to do something to pacify the big momma!
thanks for posting this!!
you are terrific!
xoxo
January 31st, 2008 at 9:18 am
Well what better promo could you get than that????????????
January 31st, 2008 at 10:05 am
Great blog Mishi! We should all do our part. :)
January 31st, 2008 at 11:15 am
Will check this out and it’s great to blog about this.
January 31st, 2008 at 11:22 am
we don’t even have recycling options in my area. how sad is that?
January 31st, 2008 at 11:38 am
Thanks for this post! I ran out and got my own badge for myself.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Great list! We do all of these things plus more. Some of it is that we are cheap. Mostly we are very independent and want to stay that way. But gosh, most of these things we’ve done for 20 years or more!
Happy TT!
January 31st, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Good suggestions and reminders!
January 31st, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Great post! I’m asking for a composting bin for Mother’s day. :)
I’m in Gwinnett County; Suwanee area near the Mall of Ga. Everytime we move a little further away from the city, traffic still seems to catch up. Blegh.
January 31st, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Those are some great suggestions! My husband wants to start a compost pile, as soon as it’s warm enough outside that it won’t freeze.
January 31st, 2008 at 7:50 pm
great list! i do a lot of these already. it’s always good to be reminded of what else we can do.
thanks for stopping by. good luck with your practice. :)
January 31st, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Little steps … great results.
Thanks for taking my mind off my job woes today.
February 7th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Good list.
I knew most of those, but am not as good with the follow-through. :(
February 7th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Great going green list! Happy TT!
February 7th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Excellent list of taking care of Mother Earth. Very well done. Have a great TT. :)