December 14, 2008 at 9:16 pm (Cost of green)
Tags: atlernative cars, economy, planet, recycle
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last year or so, you know the US and world economy are in the tank. And that may not be the worst of the long term news.
Recyclable items, everything from paper to metals, are not worth what they were a few a months ago. As a result recycling centers are either closing or charging a fee to accept items.
Fuel prices have dropped and the excitement about alternative cars dropped with it.
We are buying less new items, everything from cars to washing machines to clothes to shoes. That is good for the planet but bad for economy, or so they say.
So why do most of us only recycle when we can make a buck at it? Why do we only want cars that get 40 mpg when gas is over two dollars a gallon. Why don’t we always insist that the durable goods we buy are just that durable?
It is more than the economy that is out of balance, it is our sense of priorities. We need to fix our economy, but not at the price of our planet.
I am deeply concerned about the economy, but I am just as concerned about our planet.
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November 8, 2008 at 2:01 am (money savings)
Tags: environment, family, health, planet, recession, save money
I’ve written about how being green can actually save you money before, but it seems even more relevant now. I just got done watching the nightly news and that news gets bleaker each night.
But there things that we can do to save ourselves a little bit of money. And believe it or not most of them are better for us our families and the planet.
One, eat at home. This can save some serious bucks. Bonus for you, almost certainly less salt and calories. Bonus for the planet, less carry out containers.
Two, drive less. While this won’t save as much money as it would have a month ago it will still put a few extra dollars in your pocket. Plus side for families is maybe by staying home they spend more time together. We all know how less driving helps the environment.
Three reuse. Anything that you can reuse saves you money. I’ll give you an example. I’m using cans to make Christmas lanterns this year. It’s a super simple process and something me and my daughter are going to do together. I got this idea from www.craftbits.com,
Okay, you should get the jest of things by now. We are in a recession. No ones has as much money as they did last year. Things look bleak.
Stop already. Make the best out of this. Stay at home. Cook and eat with your family. Play games and make things. Maybe even talk.
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October 20, 2008 at 9:41 pm (Mother Nature)
Tags: American Indians, birds, fertilizer, food, garbage dump, land, land ownership, lawns, Mother Nature, planet, rivers, squirrels, streams, tree
American Indians didn’t have a word or a phrase for land ownership because no one could own the land. They believed that all were responsible for the land and all the life that it supported but it was not something they owned. There is even an proverb that goes something like this, we don’t inherent the land from our ancestors you borrow it from our children. I believe in that saying. We need to treat our planet like a treasure that we wish to pass onto our children, and not like a large garbage dump.
I realize that we will not go back to the days when there was no land ownership in this country. That just isn’t practical. But if you own any land, be it a suburban lot or a large ranch, our way of thinking needs to change. We need to realize that the fertilizer that we dump on our lawns can get into the rivers and streams. We need to realize that the old tree we want to cut down for a better view is a home to birds and squirrels. We need to realize that every acre we pave over raises the temperature and means that much more imported food. We need to realize that while our names maybe on the deed, no one but Mother Nature truly owns the land. And Mother Nature will have the last word.
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September 2, 2008 at 1:43 am (general)
Tags: green, planet
Open any box of 64 crayons and you’ll find about twelve different tints of green. So why should people be any different than a box of crayons. We are not all the same color of green and thats ok.
What matters most is that we all make smart green choices each day. And maybe, if we are lucky, we can keep ourselves and our planet alive and green for a long time to come.
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