Monday, June 23, 2008

Alternative gift registry for weddings, babies, etc



This is from New American Dream
Why Alternative Gifts?
Do you want to plan an event that emphasizes time spent with loved ones and de-emphasizes store-bought gifts? Do you want to give a special gift to someone you love that focuses on the bond you share, rather than something that costs a bundle and may not be what they really want?
We all love giving and receiving gifts; it’s important to our culture and good for the spirit. When the gifts we buy don’t match our values, however, they can distract from, rather than deepen, the meaning behind an event, despite the best intentions of those involved. The cost to gift-givers—not to mention the environmental impacts—also adds up quickly.
Fortunately, for many brides, grooms, parents-to-be, and other gift recipients, less truly is more. By encouraging non-material, second-hand, homemade, and environmentally friendly gifts, we seek to continue the proud tradition of gift-giving while helping celebrants focus on what matters most: a joyous commemoration with loved ones that honors the important moments in their lives.
Creating a registry and choosing a gift, of course, is highly personal. We have offered a number of green suggestions, but celebrants can fill in their own ideas and link to products outside this site to offer the widest and most meaningful gift selection possible.
To get started just click here to create a registry, or click here to find your loved one’s registry.



Sunday, June 22, 2008

Electric Cars You Can Buy Now

Electric Cares You can Buy Now

http://finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/105265/5-Electric-Cars-You-Can-Buy-Now

Saturday, June 21, 2008

American's first carbon tax

My friend Wendy, sent me this information from the
Post Carbon Cities Weekly Blog

America's first carbon tax
Published 21 May 2008 by ABC News "Science and Society" blog (original article Not content to wait for federal carbon regulation, San Francisco's air quality authority is putting in place the U.S.'s first carbon tax. They decided on 20 May 2008 to place a price of 4.4 cents per ton of CO2 released into the atmosphere -- which is not much, as some have pointed out, but a start.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

To reduce waste stay organized

Staying organized is a challenge for me. It seems I have a million things to do. When a person is so busy it is easy to want to eat out, and eat fast food.

I rarely eat at a fast food joint.  I want to eat healthy food and I don't want to create more waste.

Last night were busy and my husband was very hungry. If I had been better organized, I would have had something good ready for him to eat, but I didn't.

He wanted a burger. The last thing I want is a fast food burger. We did decide to go to Taco John's. I think I haven't been their in years.

We both ordered salads. He had a taco (hamburger) salad; I had a chicken salad.  I was disappointed in myself be it was served on disposable plastic plates with plastic forks.

We thought it would be more healthy if we ordered one root beer and one water and shared. Well, the root beer came in a plastic cup and the water came in a Styrofoam cup.  A couple of years ago I gave up Styrofoam. When I mentioned the Styrofoam to my husband, he seemed perturbed. I think he wishes I would loosen up a bit on my standards.

I noticed they also had paper cups. I suppose if you order water you get Styrofoam so it doesn't screw up their count on sold soda pop with the supply company.

Today I brought my own cup to a coffeehouse.  I could have done that yesterday if I would have known that it was going to be in Styrofoam.