Monthly Archives: November 2010
The Green Holiday Guide- Kick Off
| November 20, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Holidays |
Welcome to the Green Holiday Guide! This blog event will run now through Christmas. There will be giveaways, reviews, gift guides, Twitter Parties, a blog carnival, and more. Here are some of the great sponsors of this event-
World Toilet Day
| November 20, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Human Rights |
Today is World Toilet Day, I’m in a hurry right now so I will leaving you with this article I wrote for Helium.
“Most of us take clean water and sanitation for granted, so awareness is key to helping solve this problem. We have great solutions for this problem, however we need help to get them to the people who need them. The World Toilet Organization is one group helping to bring awareness to this important issue.
Every year on November 19th WTO hosts World Toilet Day, a day created to help bring awareness to the importance of toilet sanitation. Events are held all over the world to bring light to the dangers of poor sanitation.” read more
Love Beats Hate
| November 17, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
there can be no more hurt, only more love.” Mother Teresa
Photo Credit: missrogue
The Green Mom’s Carnival Takes a Look at Cement
| November 16, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Mom's Carnival |
This month the Green Mom’s Carnival is talking about cement. If you have been following this blog for very long you know this issue is very important to me as I live in a town with a cement plant. This cement plant is putting off cancer causing toxins while telling our town that they are “going green“and care about the community.
Most of us know that coal power plants are a large contributor of mercury emissions but did you know that cement plants are the third-largest contributor of mercury emissions? And these plants are all over the US, and the world. I live just 2.5 miles from a plant. Do you know how close you are to one? Earthjustice has an interactive map that can tell you just how far you are from a cement plant.
I want to share a video with you of a young boy that lives near a cement plant in Texas and is suffering from asthma. He does such a great job not only talking about what the cement plant has done to him but talking about how we want these plants cleaned up and not just shut down.
Cement is often is marketed as a green product because it’s non-toxic and recyclable (yet it rarely is). Sarah of Practically Green talks about the green side of cement, but is cement really ever sustainable and green if the manufacturing is so toxic? Lynn at OrganicMania asks “What ever happened to cradle-to-cradle? How can concrete be considered green by the architects, yet be a poison to those unfortunate enough to live in the shadow of the cement plants?”
There is more talk of concrete countertops this month as Lisa of Condo Blues takes a looks at the pros and cons of these countertops and Micaela at Mindful Momma finds out the hard way that not only may these countertops not be green, they may not even be durable and gives us better options.
Harriet at Climate Mama talks about the links between cement and climate change and why we need to “think outside the box” and find ways to build greener. Linda at Citizen Green is also talking cement and climate change and finding alternatives to cement.
And last but not least Karen at Best of Mother Earth shares a moving essay about a woman who fought to be able to remove her cement driveway for something truly green.
Please be sure to read all of these great posts from the Green Mom’s Carnival and learn more about this common material. And remember in the words of Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Photo Credit: abarndweller
Why I Don’t Support America Recyles Day
| November 15, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
Today is America Recycles Day but it’s not a day I support, why you ask. Because it’s sponsored by Nestle Water and other groups known for their eco-sins. As you likely know I boycott Nestle and for good reasons. But even if you don’t boycott them, one would have to ask why a bottled water company is sponsoring a day about recycling. The answer is easy, good PR. Bottled water is getting a lot of bad PR right now, rightly so, and have to try and make up for it.
Plastic bottle recycling is a huge problem, even for my small town, yet Nestle keeps promoting this wasteful product and we keep buying it. Instead of promoting America Recycles Day why don’t we all contact Keep America Beautiful , the group that puts this on, and ask them to drop Nestle next year and instead also promote pre-recycling.
Update: Tree Hugger is also reporting on this and is calling for today to be Zero Waste Day instead.
Have a Green Thanksgiving
| November 14, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Holidays |
Thanksgiving is almost here! I have rounded up some great posts to help you make sure this year is a little greener.
This super cute banner is made from old cds and is a great way to reuse something that is often hard to recycle. (If you do need to recycle cds you can take them to Best Buy.) You can find how to make your own at Celebrate Green.
Over at the Green Phone Booth, Going Green Mama talks about how to have a less stressful and more meaningful Thanksgiving.
Skip the BPA and high fructose corn syrup this year and make your own cranberry sauce! It’s very easy and tastes so much better than canned.
For all the vegetarians out there Trying to be Green has some great recipes for you to try this year.
It’s Not Easy Being Green posted a recipe for Bourbon Sweet Potatoes, I’m not a fan of sweet potatoes but may have to try this sometime!
Saving Family Green shares how to have a green yet frugal Thanksgiving.
Have any post you want to share, post below!
Green Holiday Guide: Home Depot Christmas Light Trade-In Event
| November 12, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Holidays |
Home Depot has a great selection of LED Christmas lights, they even have ones that still have the yellow glow if you don’t like the bright white LED lights. LED’s are great not only because they save energy but also because they don’t get hot so you don’t have the fire hazard you do with the old kinds of lights. So get into Home Depot and recycle your old lights and get $3 off your new LED Christmas lights!
P.S. The Green Holiday Guide will start next week but I had to hurry and get this posted.
Personal Growth
| November 12, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
I’m always surprised to find that a lot of people are proud of the fact that their views have never changed. I don’t understand how someone can go through life without seeing they were wrong. Life has changed me and often kicked me in the ass and I’m glad. I’m quite happy with the person I have become. I was always torn with my beliefs before, so much of what I thought I should believe felt wrong. Often I felt upset, stressed, and my soul was unsettled. But now I’m finally being honest with myself and it’s a wonderful feeling. I feel at peace.
The only downside to this personal growth is the people who can’t understand the changes and don’t like what they see. I’m pretty sure I hold a record for the number of times I have been defriended on Facebook. I have also had some issues with friends and family that aren’t happy with the new me, some of whom worry I’m going to hell (and often tell me they are praying for me). While this has cause me much pain and heartache it has also shown me who truly cares about me, and for that I’m grateful.
I’m happy with who I am and all that comes with it! I’m a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, an activist, a tree-hugger, an organic foodie, a crazy liberal, spiritual but not religious, and so much more. I hope next year I will find more things I was wrong about and grow even more!
How do you feel about personal growth? Has life changed your views? Have you had backlash from the change?
Photo Credit: bitzi
Is Resilience the New Sustainability?
| November 10, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Conservation |
The Post Carbon Institute has just released this video talking about this very subject. Check it out and share your thoughts.
You can read more about the IEA’s report on the Energy Bulletin.
Disclaimer: If you buy the book “Thriving Beyond Sustainability” from the link on this page I will earn a small amount. This is not my reason for using the quote from Andres Edwards.
Green Holiday Blog Carnival
| November 9, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Green Holidays |
The December holidays are almost here! And it’s time to start thinking about how to have an eco-friendly holiday season. As I posted before I will be posting lots of great info to help you have a greener holiday season but I also want your help. If you have a blog I would love to hear your green holiday tips, recipes, gift ideas, etc…
If you would like to join in just write a post about greening the holiday season and e-mail me the link by midnight (central time) on November 28th. I will then post all of links on the blog for everyone to enjoy. If you choose to join in please be sure to link back to the blog so your readers can read the other posts. You can also use the image below.
