For the first time in 16 years our basement flooded; our recreation room and multi-use room had over an inch of water, and that was with the 6 of us working for hours to keep it from rising. We've already ripped out the carpet and felt padding, moved furniture and tried to save what we could. I worry about what we can't see behind the walls...
There must be a reason for the phenomenal amounts of rain, other natural disasters, and changes in weather patterns being experienced worldwide...and I'd put money on it being Global Warming.
I hope with pressure from insurance companies, homeowners, scientists, and environmentalist that the government will finally listen and work to reduce greenhouse gases and global warming. Considering the US is the largest contributor to the problem, we should also be the front runners in helping to FIX the problem, our Earth and future generations are depending on us!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Black Mush
Today I inadvertently found something neat while shopping for new shoes for the 4 kids. Darn it their feet keep growing! Well, as it turns out when shopping for shoes, I ended up looking too, and got a new pair that I think may become a favorite :) They are Teva Mush sandals. The black mush is so soft and cushy, it made me wonder if the rubber is recycled like the rubber on some tracks and courts.
What I did find out was that the Teva parent company has some green roots! I figured it out when I noticed an insert in the box (which would be used to hold the shoes up on a rack). At first I thought uggh, how wasteful, but then I read it, and lo and behold, "this hanger is biodegradable"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I though, NO WAY!!!! So then I checked out the shoe box that states that the box is "printed on recycled materials, 100% recyclable, please recycle all packaging" The box also states that the company is also a supporter of Waterkeepers alliance that protects the Earth's waterways (www.waterkeeper.org).
So, I went to the Teva website to learn more, and found that their parent company, Deckers has done quite a nice job of limiting their footprint! AhhhHAHA, they should market themselves about their reduced carbon "footprint". Get it? :) You can check them out at http://www.deckers.com/esc/distribution.aspx Wouldn't it be great if all companies walked in their footsteps?
What I did find out was that the Teva parent company has some green roots! I figured it out when I noticed an insert in the box (which would be used to hold the shoes up on a rack). At first I thought uggh, how wasteful, but then I read it, and lo and behold, "this hanger is biodegradable"!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I though, NO WAY!!!! So then I checked out the shoe box that states that the box is "printed on recycled materials, 100% recyclable, please recycle all packaging" The box also states that the company is also a supporter of Waterkeepers alliance that protects the Earth's waterways (www.waterkeeper.org).
So, I went to the Teva website to learn more, and found that their parent company, Deckers has done quite a nice job of limiting their footprint! AhhhHAHA, they should market themselves about their reduced carbon "footprint". Get it? :) You can check them out at http://www.deckers.com/esc/distribution.aspx Wouldn't it be great if all companies walked in their footsteps?
Earth Hour was a blast!
Surprisingly there was no grumbling about participating in Earth Hour at my house. The kids embraced it and totally benefited! It was more like "Earth a Few Hours" really...as it got darker, I did not turn on any lights, there was the glow of the TV for a bit, but other than that we eased into it.
We began the official Earth Hour with the warm glow of candles, and we roasted marshmallows to make s'mores over a Sterno burner. The kids LOVED that. Then we began Game Night by candle light. The night was full of laughter, there was a great aura of cooperation, and honestly it was the most fun and laughter we've had in awhile! We were having so much fun the lights didn't go back on at 9:30, but we made it until 10pm.
I hope you got a chance to try it too!
We began the official Earth Hour with the warm glow of candles, and we roasted marshmallows to make s'mores over a Sterno burner. The kids LOVED that. Then we began Game Night by candle light. The night was full of laughter, there was a great aura of cooperation, and honestly it was the most fun and laughter we've had in awhile! We were having so much fun the lights didn't go back on at 9:30, but we made it until 10pm.
I hope you got a chance to try it too!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Census and the Paperwork Reduction Act...conflicting interests?
If you read the entry below this you can see what I'm so aggravated about....this is the FIRST time I've posted twice in one day, so you know I've got a "bee in my bonnet"! Since I'm so aggravated about the Census Waste, I dug a little bit more because it just makes NO sense to me. Does this seem like a conflict of interest to you? Look what I found:
The PRA mandates that all federal government agencies must obtain a Control Number from OMB before promulgating a form that will impose an information collection burden on the general public. Once obtained, approval must be renewed every three years. In order to obtain or renew such approval, an agency must fill out OMB Form 83-I, attach the proposed form, and file it with OIRA. On Form 83-I, the agency must explain the reason why the form is needed and estimate the burden in terms of time and money that the form will impose upon the persons required to fill it out.
The process created by the PRA makes OIRA into a centralized clearinghouse for all government forms. Thus, it is able to assess the overall impact of the government bureaucracy on American citizens and businesses. This is done in an annual document called the Information Collection Budget of the United States Government.
Hmmm there has certainly NOT been a reduction in paperwork but a propegation of paperwork! Shame on the government for the WASTE.
Paperwork Reduction Act
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-511, 94 Stat. 2812 (Dec. 11, 1980), codified in part at Subchapter I of Chapter 35 of Title 44 of the United States Code, 44 U.S.C. § 3501 through 44 U.S.C. § 3521, is a United States federal law enacted in 1980 that gave authority over the collection of certain information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Within the OMB, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) was established with specific authority to regulate matters regarding federal information and to establish information policies. These information policies were intended to reduce the total amount of paperwork handled by the United States government and the general public.The PRA mandates that all federal government agencies must obtain a Control Number from OMB before promulgating a form that will impose an information collection burden on the general public. Once obtained, approval must be renewed every three years. In order to obtain or renew such approval, an agency must fill out OMB Form 83-I, attach the proposed form, and file it with OIRA. On Form 83-I, the agency must explain the reason why the form is needed and estimate the burden in terms of time and money that the form will impose upon the persons required to fill it out.
The process created by the PRA makes OIRA into a centralized clearinghouse for all government forms. Thus, it is able to assess the overall impact of the government bureaucracy on American citizens and businesses. This is done in an annual document called the Information Collection Budget of the United States Government.
Hmmm there has certainly NOT been a reduction in paperwork but a propegation of paperwork! Shame on the government for the WASTE.
Census WASTE = SENSELESS WASTE
Ok one word comes to mind regarding the Census...SENSELESS. It is BEYOND ridiculous to be wasting the time and money of the American people, not to mention precious resources! Again, I'm not against the census, what I'm incensed about AGAIN is yet ANOTHER mailing! The first mailing told me to expect my formal census in about a week. Then my census came in the mail about a week later. Of course I dutifully filled it out. Now a THIRD mailing came to tell me I should have gotten the census in the mail.
OMG, let's list of the senseless waste that has occurred that I can think of (I'm sure there is way more, but this is just off the top of my head: postage and paper wasted have been wasted; green house gases have polluted the Earth in order to deliver the mail 3x (2 unnecessary mailings); human resources that could have done some positive work was wasted and paid to do multiple mailings; tons of paper that probably ended up in a landfill instead of being recycled x3 was wasted; and of course the MONEY wasted on senseless,unnecessary multiple mailings.
BOTTOM LINE: the government needs to establish better policies regarding resources, waste, recycling, global warming, and be the BEST example to the American Public instead of the WORST offender! The multiple mailings regarding the Census is WASTEFUL, contributes to pollution, and global warming, and I doubt it will make any difference in the outcome. If the government wants to have an impact, they could have a positive green impact by not wasting trees, money, resources, and preventing green house gases.
OMG, let's list of the senseless waste that has occurred that I can think of (I'm sure there is way more, but this is just off the top of my head: postage and paper wasted have been wasted; green house gases have polluted the Earth in order to deliver the mail 3x (2 unnecessary mailings); human resources that could have done some positive work was wasted and paid to do multiple mailings; tons of paper that probably ended up in a landfill instead of being recycled x3 was wasted; and of course the MONEY wasted on senseless,unnecessary multiple mailings.
BOTTOM LINE: the government needs to establish better policies regarding resources, waste, recycling, global warming, and be the BEST example to the American Public instead of the WORST offender! The multiple mailings regarding the Census is WASTEFUL, contributes to pollution, and global warming, and I doubt it will make any difference in the outcome. If the government wants to have an impact, they could have a positive green impact by not wasting trees, money, resources, and preventing green house gases.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Earth Hour - Saturday, March 27th, 8:30-9:30pm
Mark your calendar for this Saturday, March 27th, 2010, from 8:30-9:30 pm, it's Earth Hour!
Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million homes and businesses turning off their lights for one hour as a “vote” FOR the earth, and a “vote” AGAINST global warming. By 2009, even more people, hundreds of millions joined in to "vote". The Sydney Opera House, Rome’s Colosseum, The Eiffel Tower in Paris, The Parthenon in Greece, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the Las Vegas Strip and New York City’s Times Square participated.
Earth Hour is organized by WWF; their mission is to "stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature."
Let's hope that even more people from all around the world will switch off their lights, and other items that use electricity. No matter where you live, no matter your political views, regardless of what religion you are, we all depend on our planet for life.
It's a perfect time to turn off the lights, discuss global warming and the importance of “being green” as a family, and consider taking actions to assure that we aren’t polluting our earth and overusing resources in our everyday lives. Unplug, celebrate together time, play a game, and reconnect by the light of candles. Enjoy!
Check out to www.earthhour.org
Earth Hour began in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million homes and businesses turning off their lights for one hour as a “vote” FOR the earth, and a “vote” AGAINST global warming. By 2009, even more people, hundreds of millions joined in to "vote". The Sydney Opera House, Rome’s Colosseum, The Eiffel Tower in Paris, The Parthenon in Greece, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, the Las Vegas Strip and New York City’s Times Square participated.
Earth Hour is organized by WWF; their mission is to "stop the degradation of the Earth's natural environment and build a future where people live in harmony with nature."
Let's hope that even more people from all around the world will switch off their lights, and other items that use electricity. No matter where you live, no matter your political views, regardless of what religion you are, we all depend on our planet for life.
It's a perfect time to turn off the lights, discuss global warming and the importance of “being green” as a family, and consider taking actions to assure that we aren’t polluting our earth and overusing resources in our everyday lives. Unplug, celebrate together time, play a game, and reconnect by the light of candles. Enjoy!
Check out to www.earthhour.org
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Elementree recycled printer paper
Even though we recycle paper to use in the printer (we print on the backside of school papers, printouts, or other previously used paper for drafts, or copies of bills, etc.) which cuts down on buying new printer paper, on occasion we do need to buy paper for school reports, letters, etc. Well hubby, being the Green Knight that he is, brought home Recycled Multipurpose Paper from Printworks. It contains 30% post consumer fiber, and is elemental chlorine free. The remaining 70% is from sustainable wood fiber, and the product is sustainable forestry initiative certified. He made my day when he brought home this ream of paper. Hopefully it will last us awhile since we do reuse paper, and I even recycle some used paper from work and print on the opposite side before recycling it.
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