Here is a video in honor of Earth Day. Join the new anthem!
Sometimes we must laugh instead of cry. This video makes me laugh.
Beware, you need headphones for this one if you are at work :)
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environment. Show all posts
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
My thoughts on Go Green Machine
Just a quick note--if you haven't already checked out my green-focused blog and are interested in that kind of stuff, please do so. It is called Go Green Machine.
This year I'm going to try to be better about posting. There were only 8 blog posts last year and 7 the year before so I feel like it will be a doable goal to write more often.
I also am committing myself to write more often because sustainability is very important to me. I have considered merging these environmental posts into my personal blog, because honoring the Earth is truly a personal matter to me, but for search purposes I will continue to keep these two blogs separate and readers can choose to visit both or one or none of my sites as they see fit.
If I am moved I will continue to provide links to the green blog posts on this site to alert you to new and interesting information.
Today I wrote about plastic recycling opportunities in Minnesota. If you care about recycling and are a dweller of the Twin cities, I highly recommend you check out the information:
here.
This year I'm going to try to be better about posting. There were only 8 blog posts last year and 7 the year before so I feel like it will be a doable goal to write more often.
I also am committing myself to write more often because sustainability is very important to me. I have considered merging these environmental posts into my personal blog, because honoring the Earth is truly a personal matter to me, but for search purposes I will continue to keep these two blogs separate and readers can choose to visit both or one or none of my sites as they see fit.
If I am moved I will continue to provide links to the green blog posts on this site to alert you to new and interesting information.
Today I wrote about plastic recycling opportunities in Minnesota. If you care about recycling and are a dweller of the Twin cities, I highly recommend you check out the information:
here.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
A new semester begins, with some new habits to boot
My final full semester of school begins today. I am taking four courses, all of which I am actually quite excited about.
I have research class, which hopefully despite the extra work will be more rewarding this semester with my new direction, community building.
I have a movement class which talks about how different movements affect the body/mind/spirit's health. Oooh, I can only hope that means we will be getting out of our chairs during class time.
I'll be doing an independent study on how art affects the health of an individual, a community and the world, as well as exploring different forms of art on my own (a self-study). I will also address the bigger question, "What is the purpose of art?"
My last class will be at the Cultural Wellness Center and it is called Organization for Social Change. I'm stoked for it. My biggest reason for going into my field of holistic health studies is because I believe EVERYBODY should have access to good health and there are ways we can do it without having to rely on insurance companies and medical doctors. We can take care of ourselves! Woo hoo :)
Additionally, I will be continuing with training in Beginning Yoga I and II, which will be great learning but also great self-care for the semester.
It will be busy but I am excited for some movement this cold winter.
Beyond the exciting news of the classes I am taking I wanted to come on here and be open about some goals I am trying to meet on the side of academics. I feel by sharing this news it will further my dedication to these goals.
Number One: Become a Vegetarian.
It's already been three days meat-free and I have to say I am feeling fine. I am looking forward to this challenge of eating a nutritionally balanced vegetarian diet. After basically being a flexitarian my whole life, I am making the final plunge and letting go of meat-eating for awhile. I will assess my health and see if it is a good choice for me along the way.
How I came to this decision?
1. Recent discussion with my pal who just went vegan. Thanks Ash, for the inspiration.
2. Listening to exerpts from the book, Slaughterhouse. The cruelty of animals in factory farming just killed me. There was one part where a factory worker was describing just before a pig was to be slaughtered. He said it came up to him and nudged up against the worker like a puppy. For some reason after hearing all of the horrific ways these animals are being killed and treated, hearing about this pig described as a puppy begging for forgiveness made my stomach turn. It also made me want to adopt a pig and have it as a pet. I'm working on this one with Jay.
3. My connection to Buddhism, long ago instilled a wish inside me to follow the vegetarian ways of life. It is much better on the environment, the animals and the world.
4. This decision will further my want/need to pursue gardening.
Number two: Kick the refined sugar, flour and what have you.
We'll see how this one goes. For some reason sugar has been the ultimate hardest thing for me to let go, and it is addictive as hell. While I have periods of no-sugar I have not given it up for more than a couple weeks. I'd like to at least go a month greatly reducing refined/processed foods in my life and see what happens. I figured this would be a necessary pairing with my choice to be a vegetarian because many vegetarians eat sugary, processed, white bread products to keep awake because they may lack protein.
Number three: Get back on the treadmill.
My 12 times a month to the Y have looked more like me stopping by and laying in the hot sauna for 20 minutes and then calling it a workout. I need to get my body moving. I always feel better when I do.
Number four: Take more public transportation.
I am going to try taking more PT to school (baby steps). So when I attend classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I will try my best to take PT or carpool. I talk about being environmentally conscious and I'd like to incorporate this piece more in my daily habits.
Those are the some things I am going to really work on in addition to school and life in general. While it will be challenging for me, I am excited at the prospect of feeling more energized and in line with my beliefs/principles.
I have research class, which hopefully despite the extra work will be more rewarding this semester with my new direction, community building.
I have a movement class which talks about how different movements affect the body/mind/spirit's health. Oooh, I can only hope that means we will be getting out of our chairs during class time.
I'll be doing an independent study on how art affects the health of an individual, a community and the world, as well as exploring different forms of art on my own (a self-study). I will also address the bigger question, "What is the purpose of art?"
My last class will be at the Cultural Wellness Center and it is called Organization for Social Change. I'm stoked for it. My biggest reason for going into my field of holistic health studies is because I believe EVERYBODY should have access to good health and there are ways we can do it without having to rely on insurance companies and medical doctors. We can take care of ourselves! Woo hoo :)
Additionally, I will be continuing with training in Beginning Yoga I and II, which will be great learning but also great self-care for the semester.
It will be busy but I am excited for some movement this cold winter.
Beyond the exciting news of the classes I am taking I wanted to come on here and be open about some goals I am trying to meet on the side of academics. I feel by sharing this news it will further my dedication to these goals.
Number One: Become a Vegetarian.
It's already been three days meat-free and I have to say I am feeling fine. I am looking forward to this challenge of eating a nutritionally balanced vegetarian diet. After basically being a flexitarian my whole life, I am making the final plunge and letting go of meat-eating for awhile. I will assess my health and see if it is a good choice for me along the way.
How I came to this decision?
1. Recent discussion with my pal who just went vegan. Thanks Ash, for the inspiration.
2. Listening to exerpts from the book, Slaughterhouse. The cruelty of animals in factory farming just killed me. There was one part where a factory worker was describing just before a pig was to be slaughtered. He said it came up to him and nudged up against the worker like a puppy. For some reason after hearing all of the horrific ways these animals are being killed and treated, hearing about this pig described as a puppy begging for forgiveness made my stomach turn. It also made me want to adopt a pig and have it as a pet. I'm working on this one with Jay.
3. My connection to Buddhism, long ago instilled a wish inside me to follow the vegetarian ways of life. It is much better on the environment, the animals and the world.
4. This decision will further my want/need to pursue gardening.
Number two: Kick the refined sugar, flour and what have you.
We'll see how this one goes. For some reason sugar has been the ultimate hardest thing for me to let go, and it is addictive as hell. While I have periods of no-sugar I have not given it up for more than a couple weeks. I'd like to at least go a month greatly reducing refined/processed foods in my life and see what happens. I figured this would be a necessary pairing with my choice to be a vegetarian because many vegetarians eat sugary, processed, white bread products to keep awake because they may lack protein.
Number three: Get back on the treadmill.
My 12 times a month to the Y have looked more like me stopping by and laying in the hot sauna for 20 minutes and then calling it a workout. I need to get my body moving. I always feel better when I do.
Number four: Take more public transportation.
I am going to try taking more PT to school (baby steps). So when I attend classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I will try my best to take PT or carpool. I talk about being environmentally conscious and I'd like to incorporate this piece more in my daily habits.
Those are the some things I am going to really work on in addition to school and life in general. While it will be challenging for me, I am excited at the prospect of feeling more energized and in line with my beliefs/principles.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Weddings: Recycle, Reduce, Reuse!
As some of you know I am getting married this year. Woo hooo!!!!
As some of you know, "Wooo hooo!!!" is not the only sentiment attached to weddings. Other emotions like worry, stress, frustration, worry and stress come to mind.
For most people, a lot of these feelings surround the money factor--trying to do it all within a budget.
For me personally, my worry stems more from the wasteful aspect of weddings--my inner environmentalist shakes its finger at me. At the same time, I admit I am not totally altruistic--I want to save money, too. When it comes to reducing waste, money is part of the equation.
So, I write a quick note to the brides and future brides out there about a great idea to help reduce your waste both in materials (save the Earth) and in cost (save your pennies).
Rent or borrow! Well, duh, people do this for tuxes and a lot of items already. But, what about borrowing other stuff, like centerpieces?
We have a close friend, now a happily married woman, who was once a bride. Her name is Crystal. She offered to loan us all of her centerpieces for our wedding. She also offered to help set them up at the wedding too. Sounds too good to be true, but she is truly wonderful.
Unfortunately with our no-waste approach to our wedding, the centerpieces that she had did not fit with our idea, so we had to pass on the offer. However, she already has another friend's wedding lined up to use them. What a great idea!
If you have some old wedding stuff lying around you should consider offering them to your newly engaged friends or better yet, start your own rental business, then weddings can perpetually be a part of your life. Okay, maybe not, I'll leave that up to your creative ambition.
If you don't have a friend with centerpieces to share or if you want to participate but do not want to start your own business, there is a bridal fair that happens at least annually in Minnesota called the I do Redo Sale . At the fair brides from the past come and sell their wedding "stuff" at reduced prices to future brides. In this case it's not renting, but it's definitely recycling, reducing and reusing :)
Also, I recently saw an ad for a local business called What a Wedding! For Less!!! It appears that this idea of saving money and resources is catching on. Based out of Woodbury, Minnesota, this company sets up appointments with couples and they currently rent candelabras, vases, envelope holders, cake-serving sets and other items that add that "special touch" to ceremonies at reduced prices. While this idea is not new at all, I'm excited to see people are investing in such practices.
If you are interested in learning more about What a Wedding! For Less!!! you can call 651-739-6331, email whatawedding@aol.com or check out their website.
As some of you know, "Wooo hooo!!!" is not the only sentiment attached to weddings. Other emotions like worry, stress, frustration, worry and stress come to mind.
For most people, a lot of these feelings surround the money factor--trying to do it all within a budget.
For me personally, my worry stems more from the wasteful aspect of weddings--my inner environmentalist shakes its finger at me. At the same time, I admit I am not totally altruistic--I want to save money, too. When it comes to reducing waste, money is part of the equation.
So, I write a quick note to the brides and future brides out there about a great idea to help reduce your waste both in materials (save the Earth) and in cost (save your pennies).
Rent or borrow! Well, duh, people do this for tuxes and a lot of items already. But, what about borrowing other stuff, like centerpieces?
We have a close friend, now a happily married woman, who was once a bride. Her name is Crystal. She offered to loan us all of her centerpieces for our wedding. She also offered to help set them up at the wedding too. Sounds too good to be true, but she is truly wonderful.
Unfortunately with our no-waste approach to our wedding, the centerpieces that she had did not fit with our idea, so we had to pass on the offer. However, she already has another friend's wedding lined up to use them. What a great idea!
If you have some old wedding stuff lying around you should consider offering them to your newly engaged friends or better yet, start your own rental business, then weddings can perpetually be a part of your life. Okay, maybe not, I'll leave that up to your creative ambition.
If you don't have a friend with centerpieces to share or if you want to participate but do not want to start your own business, there is a bridal fair that happens at least annually in Minnesota called the I do Redo Sale . At the fair brides from the past come and sell their wedding "stuff" at reduced prices to future brides. In this case it's not renting, but it's definitely recycling, reducing and reusing :)
Also, I recently saw an ad for a local business called What a Wedding! For Less!!! It appears that this idea of saving money and resources is catching on. Based out of Woodbury, Minnesota, this company sets up appointments with couples and they currently rent candelabras, vases, envelope holders, cake-serving sets and other items that add that "special touch" to ceremonies at reduced prices. While this idea is not new at all, I'm excited to see people are investing in such practices.
If you are interested in learning more about What a Wedding! For Less!!! you can call 651-739-6331, email whatawedding@aol.com or check out their website.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
"Save Energy, Save the Earth"
Can you face the challenge? Use Earthle.Com for your search engine!
Help Save 750 Megawatt-Hours a Year
Earthle was created with the idea in mind that if we as humans ALL join together and make the smallest of changes in our daily lives we can have massive impacts on saving Mother Earth. If humans around the world were to start using Earthle it would save an estimated 750 Megawatt-hours a year.
When you search using Earthle, the results are powered by google.com so the search results provided by Earthle are the same as what you would get using google.com (the best search engine in the world).
How Can You Help?
We ask that you make a small change in your life to help future generations by using Earthle when searching on the Internet. If we all come together we can cause change for the better and save a ton of energy.
The best way to help is to simply use Earthle as your search engine:
Add to Favorites
Make this my Homepage
Send Your Friends a Link
History
In a January 2007 blog, Mark Ontkush, a leading expert in "green" computing calculated the following:
"Take at look at Google, who gets about 200 million queries a day. Let's assume each query is displayed for about 10 seconds; that means Google is running for about 550,000 hours every day on some desktop. Assuming that users run Google in full screen mode, the shift to a black background will save a total of 15 (74-59) watts. That turns into a global savings of 8.3 Megawatt-hours per day, or about 3000 Megawatt-hours a year. Now take into account that about 25 percent of the are CRTs, and at 10 cents a kilowatt-hour, that's $75,000, a goodly amount of energy and dollars for changing a few color codes."
Mark Onthkush inspired us to create Earthle.com and do our part to help make the world a more environmentally friendly place.
Help Save 750 Megawatt-Hours a Year
Earthle was created with the idea in mind that if we as humans ALL join together and make the smallest of changes in our daily lives we can have massive impacts on saving Mother Earth. If humans around the world were to start using Earthle it would save an estimated 750 Megawatt-hours a year.
When you search using Earthle, the results are powered by google.com so the search results provided by Earthle are the same as what you would get using google.com (the best search engine in the world).
How Can You Help?
We ask that you make a small change in your life to help future generations by using Earthle when searching on the Internet. If we all come together we can cause change for the better and save a ton of energy.
The best way to help is to simply use Earthle as your search engine:
Add to Favorites
Make this my Homepage
Send Your Friends a Link
History
In a January 2007 blog, Mark Ontkush, a leading expert in "green" computing calculated the following:
"Take at look at Google, who gets about 200 million queries a day. Let's assume each query is displayed for about 10 seconds; that means Google is running for about 550,000 hours every day on some desktop. Assuming that users run Google in full screen mode, the shift to a black background will save a total of 15 (74-59) watts. That turns into a global savings of 8.3 Megawatt-hours per day, or about 3000 Megawatt-hours a year. Now take into account that about 25 percent of the are CRTs, and at 10 cents a kilowatt-hour, that's $75,000, a goodly amount of energy and dollars for changing a few color codes."
Mark Onthkush inspired us to create Earthle.com and do our part to help make the world a more environmentally friendly place.
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