Poland Spring doing their part

If you drink bottle water you may have noticed that Poland Spring has a new shape to their bottles. The Eco-shape bottle holds the same amount of water and uses 30% less plastic. You can really feel the difference, it's lighter and easy to crush. Bravo! I still recommend a reusable bottle but when I'm out and about and I get water I make sure it's an Eco-friendly bottle. Then I just reuse the heck out of it. Remember that it's still very important to recycle your bottles after you are done with them. Of all water sales last year only approx. 29% of the bottles were recycled.

It's great to see a big company do something to help the world, what are you doing?

Catching up with . . . ME!!!

I've been lucky that my big bro is in town with his wife and two kids. I have such a great time with them and I especially enjoy spending time with my bro. He always makes his famous meatloaf for me and he says it's nothing special, but it is because he makes it for me. Anyway we just got back from a retirement party for my Aunt and I am stuffed. For those of you who don't know, I will now answer to the name "The Vending King of New York" it's a bit regal I know but you can't give yourself a nickname and you have to go by what people call you. At times my head gets so big that I will refer to the "King" in third person. Otherwise still trying to be green and still looking for the "ONE", any ideas for either?

I was doing laundry earlier today and found a bunch of receipts in my pockets. I always try to tell cashiers not to give me a receipt and I get the blank look. But most registers print it anyway and since I know they will just throw it out I take it and recycle it at home. I know I wrote about it before but this is my "push". I think it's a great idea to just dump your receipts or scrap paper that you would have normally just throw out in a recycle bag. Maybe you'll see as I did that I use to throw out about a pound of paper a month that could have been recycled. This past Christmas I asked Santa for a paper shredder and got one that I use regularly. I have a stack of papers that I keep separate from the recycle paper that I tie up and shred once a week. I just read what I wrote and I am thinking what you are too, that I have way to much time on my hands.

What ideas do you have? How are you going to make a change?

I quote Jerry Springer "Take care of yourself and to each other."

Gift wrapping idea

I had to buy a gift for a friend last week and when it comes time to wrapping I either wrap it in something recyclable like newspaper or something fun or groovy that matches that person's personality (ex. I printed out a picture of a baseball player and used it as wrapping paper). Or I just don't wrap it at all. I sometimes do the quick way out and grabbed a gift bag. Bad idea. If it isn't a fancy party like a wedding or a such and it's a get together with friends why not put it in a reusable grocery bag. You can purchase them in your local supermarket and they are about the same price as a gift bag, without the paper, and it encourages people to bring their own bag to the supermarket. Also as a smaller side gift to fill up the bag add a box of recycle bags or rechargeable batteries or any thing to save the planet. Or as a gift idea why not a bag full of items to get people started on changing their ways.

My cousin Ingrid left a comment about the plastic bag posting. She said it's done in the UK already and if you bring your own bag to the store you earn store points. Why are we not doing this already????


I left this in a post before, Recycle as much paper as you can, including store receipts and scrap paper. It may seem small but do actually adds up. I have a recycle bag in a closet and I tear up any receipts and paper that I use to just throw away, well in a months time I actually weighs close to a pound. Just something to think about.

Arm and Hammer Essentials

https://www.tryessentialsfree.com

Arm and Hammer came up with a way to help the environment. Their new Essentials line is a cleaning product that you purchase in a concentrated form and mix with regular tap water in the original bottle. So when you run out of the cleaning product you purchase a new concentrated solution that is approx. 25% cheaper and just add water. So you cut down on the usage of plastic bottles and you save money and the environment at the same time. Now try it free, click on the link above and just pay for shipping and handling. I just ordered mine.

Diane Lane Wants A Sustainable Ocean

I am a big fan of Diane Lane, for the obvious reasons that she is attractive and is a good actress, but now I'm an even bigger fan. I read this little piece on www.ecorazzi.com

Diane Lane is so fun to watch on screen — I’ve seen Under the Tuscan Sun, like five times. Though you might be surprised to learn that off-screen she is known as a “bag lady”. At a recent fundraiser for Oceana she explained how she keeps reusable bags everywhere, and that is how she’s picked up the friendly nickname. She is passionate about the state of our oceans saying, “If we all make a very slight adjustment then we can all still have some whales, some walruses, and be able to swim in the ocean [and] not die from eating the food we’re fishing out of the ocean. People are becoming sick and don’t know it. The governments aren’t going to tell you anything about it, what’s in it for them?”

No plastic bags in LA stores beginning July 2010

Last year San Francisco passed a plastic bag ban in November and in two years LA will follow suit. California supermarkets already have a bin in the front of the stores that you can place plastic bags for recycling. It wasn't until months later that some markets here in New York did also.

The City Council in LA voted to ban plastic shopping bags starting July 1, 2010. I say GREAT but why the delay? It is to give the City a chance to pass a different bill that will charge shoppers a 25-cent fee for paper or biodegradable bags or allow them to use their own bags. I know that either way it's a good move, but one that will take two years to implement. Then God knows how long it would take to spread across the nation and get to the east coast.

Of the 25-cent fee, 3 percent will go to the retailer, 3 percent to the state and the rest will go to the city for to fund an education campaign.

It is reported that currently 2 billion plastic bags are being used in California and only 5 percent of plastic bags and 21 percent of paper bags are recycled.

Sorry it's been awhile . . .

Sorry that it's been awhile, I've been busy with other things and also a little frustrated that my friends haven't taken this blog seriously. I will write when I am inspired, hopefully YOU can inspire me. Write to me, let me know what you're doing to change the world. My awesome niece Jordan sent me a comment that I didn't read until today and it got me to write this post. Thank you for getting me back Jordan.

Steve Nash and Nike Turn Garbage Into "Trash Talk"

BEAVERTON, Ore. (13 February, 2008) — Steve Nash is the All-Star guard for the Phoenix Suns whose passion for environmental awareness forged a partnership with Nike (NYSE:NKE)to create the Nike Trash Talk, the first performance basketball shoe made from manufacturing waste. Nash will debut the Nike Trash Talk tomorrow night in Phoenix against the Dallas Mavericks.

Read more HERE

Top China plastic bag maker closes

Top China plastic bag maker closes amid green drive

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's largest plastic bag maker has closed following a state-led environmental campaign discouraging plastics use, Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.

Read more HERE

IFoundYourCamera.Net

Just a little something I saw on PostSecret.com

An interesting site called IFoundYourCamera.Net

Simply it post pics from cameras that were found so the owners can identify them.

For ‘EcoMoms,’ Saving Earth Begins at Home

A great article in the New York Times was sent to me by my friend Caroline.

For ‘EcoMoms,’ Saving Earth Begins at Home

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — The women gathered in the airy living room, wine poured and pleasantries exchanged. In no time, the conversation turned lively — not about the literary merits of Geraldine Brooks or Cormac McCarthy but the pitfalls of antibacterial hand sanitizers and how to retool the laundry using only cold water and biodegradable detergent during non-prime-time energy hours (after 7 p.m.).

Move over, Tupperware. The EcoMom party has arrived, with its ever-expanding “to do” list that includes preparing waste-free school lunches; lobbying for green building codes; transforming oneself into a “locovore,” eating locally grown food; and remembering not to idle the car when picking up children from school (if one must drive). Here, the small talk is about the volatile compounds emitted by dry-erase markers at school.

Read more HERE

Green Mobile Phone: Stylish and Sustainable

Green Mobile Phone: Stylish and Sustainable

Nokia has unveiled ReMade, a revolutionary mobile phone made of 100% recycled materials. The idea behind the “remade” concept was to see if it was possible to create a device made from nothing new. It has been designed using recycled materials that avoid the need for natural resources, reduce landfill, and allow for more energy efficient production.

Read more HERE

Green News

Today’s Lunch Special: a Green and Trash-Free Lunch
Looking for ways to become eco-friendly? An easy place to make a difference is with your child’s lunch.
Read more HERE

China snows show world faces new disasters
China's devastating snowstorms and cold of the past months show that the world must prepare for new types of disasters caused by what was once called freak weather, United Nations experts said on Wednesday. The experts said the Chinese events, which Beijing says affected some 100 million people and are likely to cost at least $7.5 billion, underlined the need for greater global cooperation on global weather forecasting.
Read more HERE

Japan scientists make paper planes for space
A spacecraft made of folded paper zooming through the skies may sound far-fetched, but Japanese scientists plan to launch paper planes from the International Space Station to see if they make it back to Earth. On Wednesday the University of Tokyo researchers tested small, origami planes made of special paper for 30 seconds in 250 degrees Celsius (482 F) heat and wind at seven times the speed of sound. The planes survived the wind tunnel test intact.
Read more HERE

Top Ten: Green Your Wardrobe
Buying clothes can consume a big chunk of your budget - especially if you have kids and teenagers. New clothes also take their toll on the planet, given how much water, pesticides and energy required to produce cotton, polyester and other fabrics (NOTE: 10% of all agricultural chemicals and 25% of insecticides in the U.S. are used to grow cotton. It takes almost 1/3 of a pound of chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) to grow enough cotton for just one t-shirt.)
Read more HERE

Guilt Free Trash In the Eco-Age

I saw this story in the Sunday paper:

It's getting easier to find products of all kinds that will decompose without polluting the soil or adding to landfills. Here, a few that are worth noting:

1. Golf Balls. So that you won't actually be littering when your ball goes into a lake or off a cliff, Eco Golf Balls (EcoGolfBalls.com) eventually break down into carbon dioxide and water.

2. Cups, napkins, cutlery and plates. All kinds of food containers and servers that are made from corn, sugar cane or recycled paper can be found at websites such as BiodegradableStore.com

3. Garbage Bags. BioBags (BioBagsUSA.com) for the lawn (which decompose after 12 days) and the kitchen (best used for food waste and paper) are made from renewable resources.

4. Coffins. Yes, even at the end we can be good citizens. The Ecopod (ecopod.co.uk), for instance, is made out of 100% recycled paper and will break down slowly over time ... ahem ... as you do.

Happy New Year

"Kung Hei Fat Choi" - Cantonese for Happy New Year

New Year Wish, be good to each other and to the environment.



Being the first sign of the Chinese zodiacs, rats are leaders, pioneers and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Rat people are endowed with great leadership skills and are the most highly organized, meticulous, and systematic of the twelve signs. Intelligent and cunning at the same time, rats are highly ambitious and strong-willed people who are keen and unapologetic promoters of their own agendas, which often include money and power. They are energetic and versatile and can usually find their way around obstacles, and adapt to various environments easily. A rat's natural charm and sharp demeanor make it an appealing friend for almost anyone, but rats are usually highly exclusive and selective when choosing friends and so often have only a few very close friends whom they trust.
Behind the smiles and charm, rats can be terribly obstinate and controlling, insisting on having things their way no matter what the cost. These people tend to have immense control of their emotions, which they may use as a tool to manipulate and exploit others, both emotionally and mentally. Rats are masters of mind games and can be very dangerous, calculative and downright cruel if the need arises. Quick-tempered and aggressive, they will not think twice about exacting revenge on those that hurt them in any way. Rats need to learn to relax sometimes, as they can be quite obsessed with detail, intolerant and strict, demanding order, obedience, and perfection.
Rats consider others before themselves, at least sometimes, and avoid forcing their ideas onto others. Rats are fair in their dealings and expect the same from others in return, and can be deeply affronted if they feel they have been deceived or that their trust has been abused. Sometimes they set their targets too high, whether in relation to their friends or in their career. But as the years pass, they will become more idealistic and tolerant. If they can develop their sense of self and realize it leaves room for others in their life as well, Rats can find true happiness.
According to tradition, Rats often carry heavy karma and at some point in life may face an identity crisis or some kind of feeling of guilt. Rats are said to often have to work very long and hard for everything they may earn or have in life. However, a Rat born during the day is said to have things a bit easier than those who are born at night. Traditionally, Rats born during the night may face extreme hardships and suffering throughout life. Rats in general should guard themselves against hedonism, as it may lead to self-destruction. Gambling, alcohol and drugs tend to be great temptations to Rat natives.

EcoRazzi

http://www.ecorazzi.com/

If you're like me your guilty pleasure is hollywood gossip. Every once in awhile I get a kick out of reading People Magazine and reading about what the rich and famous is up to. I think we are all wondering what is next for Britney. Well at EcoRazzi you can combine two things celebrity gossip and eco news.

Bring Your Own Bag

For more info on this story CLICK HERE!

China’s Plastic Bag Ban

China’s Plastic Bag Ban Likely to Change Consumer Habits

The State Council, China’s cabinet, recently issued a directive banning the production of ultra-thin plastic bags for environmental reasons. The ruling also prohibits shops, supermarkets, and sales outlets nationwide from handing out free plastic bags starting on June 1, according to China News Agency. The imposition of fees on plastic bag usage is likely to influence consumer behavior in China and bring environmental benefits in the coming years.

Free plastic bags were first introduced in the 1980s in Guangdong province, where China’s commercial sector first boomed as the nation embarked on economic reforms. The overwhelming convenience of the light and waterproof carriers led the bags to rapidly supplant the more cumbersome traditional woven baskets throughout the country. Since then, decades of free bag handouts have instilled in consumers a mentality of “better more than fewer” and encouraged a wanton use-and-discard habit.

People in China use up to 3 billion plastic bags daily and dispose of more than 3 million tons of the bags annually, according to Market News. Most of the carriers end up in unofficial dumping sites, landfills, or the environment. According to scientists, it can take more than 200 years for the bags to dissolve in the natural environment, contaminating land and water and injuring or killing wildlife in the process.

The new directive has met with mixed response. While environmentalists and concerned citizens welcome its potential effects on curbing pollution, many consumers are concerned about the possible inconvenience it brings. Some argue that the government should not take such a clear-cut mandate to shift environmental responsibilities to society, relying on consumers and businesses to shoulder the expense. They say the government should invest more in alternatives and educate people to make more sensible environmental choices.

Some supermarkets in China, including Wal-Mart stores, offer inexpensive cloth shopping bags on their shelves. But sales have typically been slow, as customers have been happy to receive free plastic bags. Meanwhile, on-campus activities by environmental groups that implemented charges for the bags resulted in reductions in daily usage of 80 to 90 percent.

While the new ban brings a foreseeable inconvenience to customers, the potential benefits to the environment and energy and resources conservation are huge. Dong Jinshi, Deputy Chairman of the Waste Plastics Recycling Committee of the China Plastics Processing Industry Association, has projected that the ban will likely reduce usage of the bags by two thirds, and the recycling rate is expected to rise by large margins. “In view of constructing an energy and resources saving and environmentally friendly society, we need to examine our old life habits and make improvements,” Dong said.

Greenland suffers from extreme ice melt

An international team of scientists, led by Dr Edward Hanna at the University of Sheffield, has demonstrated that recent warm summers have caused the most extreme Greenland ice melting in 50 years. The new research provides further evidence of a key impact of global warming and helps scientists place recent satellite observations of Greenland's shrinking ice mass in a longer-term climatic context.

Dr Hanna of the University's Department of Geography, alongside some of the World's leading Greenland glaciologists and climatologists, analysed a combination of key meteorological and glaciological records spanning a number of decades as part of the research.

The findings, published in Journal of Climate, show how the Greenland Ice Sheet responded to more regional, rather than global, changes in climate between the 1960s and early 1990s. However the last fifteen years has seen an increase in ice melting and a striking correspondence of Greenland with global temperature variations, demonstrating Greenland's recent response to global warming.

Summer 2003 was exceptionally warm around the margins of the Greenland Ice Sheet, which resulted in the second-highest meltwater running off from the Ice Sheet of the last 50 years. Summer 2005 experienced a record-high melt, which was very recently superseded in summer 2007 , a year almost as warm as 2003.

The team of researchers includes some of the leading Greenland glaciologists and climatologists from the Free University of Brussels, University of Colorado, Danish Meteorological Institute and NASA Goddard Earth Science and Technology Center, University of Maryland Baltimore County, as well as four members of the University of Sheffield.

Dr Edward Hanna said: "Our work shows that global warming is beginning to take its toll on the Greenland Ice Sheet which, as a relict feature of the last Ice Age, has already been living on borrowed time and seems now to be in inexorable decline. The question is can we reduce greenhouse-gas emissions in time to make enough of a difference to curb this decay?"

Sorry

Sorry I haven't been around, I have been busy in Job Search Mode. Be back soon I promise.