Lets talk about plastic: Earthday Network: Billon Acts of Green

Humans are obsessed with plastic. "Over 300 million tons are produced every year to make plastic bags, bottles, clothes, computers, and just about everything else you can think of. And the problem is only getting worse. Over the last 10 years, we’ve produced more plastic than we did in the entire 20^th century!

Take the pledge to cut down on your plastic use today!
Here’s the thing: our excessive plastic use is hurting the environment. For one, the production of this plastic is responsible for millions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions, accelerating climate change and polluting the air we breathe. On top of that, some of this plastic ends up in landfills, where it slowly breaks down, leaching harmful chemicals into the soil and groundwater. The rest of the plastic ends up on our streets, in our parks, and in our oceans. Over 100,000 marine animals and 1 million birds die each year from ingesting plastic.
Recycling is one way we can reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in our landfills and in our natural environment, but—given the excessive amount of plastic we consume--recycling simply can’t keep up. We need to reduce the amount of plastic we use!
How can we accomplish this? We can start by avoiding disposable bags, bottles, silverware, dishes and other single-use products, and replacing them with reusable items.
Join us by pledging to reduce the amount of disposable plastic products that you use. The more people that make the pledge, the bigger the impact we’ll have.
Thanks for your support."


- The Earth Day Network Team

 
Image from plasticstoday.com

* I think this is a great campaign and i am dedicated (and therefore my husband is too) to reducing our pastic usage!

Cosmetic companies beware!

I just found this site.
http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

Now maybe I'm behind but I really had never seen it before. I was researching my facial moisturizer, because Liz Earle announced that it went back to low level parabens because of concerns with contamination/ bacteria and I was heart broken. But it got me thinking - is paraben free really safer? I real the ingredients in other "safe" moisturizers and they have more chemicals than Liz Earle. So when I found this site it was a real eye opener. Now they didn't have my cream, but that wasn't a problem. I created a account and did a build your own report and compared the "natural" and "safe" products I was considering. In the end decided to stay with Liz Earle because of the lower risk for reproductive issues (I have a reproductive disorder and had a hormone based cancer). Ultimately, I learned that nothing mainstream is in the "green" but, I was surprised that products like bare minerals rare minerals facial moisturizer was in the red! (sham on you bare minerals, I love their makeup but their moisturizer is down right toxic!)

OK so hopefully I will enlighten others with this post, or if nothing else, keep this link in a safe place for future reference.

PS- I think theres an app!

LadyBird Johnson Wildflower Center_ native sod

The wildflower center has informatuion regarding native sod. Now this is focused in Texas, where the headquarters is located, but gives me hope that this will lead to similar sods in other parts of the country!

A sample of the article is below:
Picture from the LadyBird Johnson Wildflower Center website.

A wet year in many parts of Texas may have you wondering whether to spend time replacing landscape greenery that requires frequent watering. Unfortunately, Texas’ burgeoning population will likely intensify water restrictions, and long-range forecasts still include drought.
One way take a major chunk out of future watering bills is to replace your traditional lawn of Bermudagrass or other non-native grasses with one that requires less water and other resources. The good news is the Wildflower Center’s native turfgrass, Habiturf ® will soon be available as sod.

Read More: http://www.wildflower.org/feature/?id=126&utm_content=azamenick%40gmail.com&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Learn%20about%20Habiturf%20sod&utm_campaign=November%20Wildflower%20Wire

LadyBird Johnson Wildflower Center - photo competition

The LadyBird Johnson Wildflower Center has conducted a photo competitiona and let me tell you they are worth looking at. This is an email, by the way, i always enjoy getting. The center has fantastic research ifnormation, regional plant information and Mr Sparty pants blog, which is my go to for gardening questions.
Check out the photos here:
http://wildflower.org/photocontest/?utm_content=azamenick%40gmail.com&utm_source=VerticalResponse&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Learn%20more%20about%20the%20winning%20images&utm_campaign=November%20Wildflower%20Wirecontent