Do you know what a GMO is?
Most people don't...or in California it seems about 47% knew while the other 53% either were paid to "not know" or "think that poison is ok".
A genetically modified organism is exactly that - Poison.
Companies like Monsanto happily will tell you that GMOs are safe and great for you and our food source. Look at all the enlarged plastic looking food (with no flavor) we can make in a lab to help end hunger. No one will go hungry or starve again if we create food that isn't susceptible to drought and bugs.
Of course the bugs all die and the people are getting cancer, stomach illnesses, allergies to foods and just flat out fat. Human bodies cannot process fake food so it finds a way to get rid of it by disease or holding and storing fat since it cannot process it and turn it into waste.
Prop 37 that was on the ballot in California was the beginning of what will need to change in the US.
The awareness is just starting.
The prop may have failed to pass this time ........ and from what I understand from Californians it was made real clear that the inner workings of companies helped to confuse those who knew nothing about GMOs and did all they could to make sure they thought they were a "good thing" to keep in the food stream.
But if you looked into it just a little you would see how most of the world - Yup WORLD - does not allow GMOs in their food.
Crazy isn't it. Most everybody else knows how horrible it is yet here in America we love crappy processed food made of chemicals and poison. We love being sick and boo-hooing about how doctors are robbing us blind.
Hmmmm, I think if we went back to basics we might "fix" some of that.
There are a million articles about Prop 37 and of course about GMOs and why they are not good.
If you know nothing about this Please Please take the time to read up on it.
The reason it's green to say NO to GMOs is not only for you and me and our kids...it's for the poison thats being put into our earth, our water stream, our air.
It's time to stand up for our right to clean food.
Let the change begin with you, please.
Here's a bit of info:
http://www.carighttoknow.org/blog
The Non-GMO Project
Hungary says NO to GMOs
http://www.triedtastedserved.com/raw-science/gmos.php
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
I'm here and there and Everywhere
I know I haven't had many posts in the last few months. It surely doesn't mean I don't think of you and have nothing to say....Lord knows that is never the case. I ALWAYS have something to say. :)
So what's been Green over the last few months you ask....
Well the best thing that I have noticed is that more and more companies and communities have become more aware on how important it is to recycle. On the streets of Detroit along the waterfront they have bins:
At my husbands company in the cafeteria they have recycling bins.
There are more ads in our paper and circulars about solar panels and wind turbines for residental housing. There are more Green Events happening in the cities and towns. Frankly, Green is the new Black. :)
And of course most currently I am helping run the Terracycle program at my kid's school.
The coolest thing about the program is that EVERYBODY is excited about it. Keeping trash from the landfills and turning into cash that will assist the teachers and students on field trips and buy supplies.
Did I mention they were already a certified GREEN SCHOOL!! My pride and joy. I am so happy and thankful to have found such a great place for my kids and me.
When you get a chance and you are driving around look at the delivery trucks and service vehicles around you. I have seen electric trucks being driven for utility companies, for products like Frito-Lays and Coca-Cola and for Organizations picking up donations for charities.
A little here and a little there and we are on our way................
So what's been Green over the last few months you ask....
Well the best thing that I have noticed is that more and more companies and communities have become more aware on how important it is to recycle. On the streets of Detroit along the waterfront they have bins:
At my husbands company in the cafeteria they have recycling bins.
There are more ads in our paper and circulars about solar panels and wind turbines for residental housing. There are more Green Events happening in the cities and towns. Frankly, Green is the new Black. :)
And of course most currently I am helping run the Terracycle program at my kid's school.
The coolest thing about the program is that EVERYBODY is excited about it. Keeping trash from the landfills and turning into cash that will assist the teachers and students on field trips and buy supplies.
Did I mention they were already a certified GREEN SCHOOL!! My pride and joy. I am so happy and thankful to have found such a great place for my kids and me.
When you get a chance and you are driving around look at the delivery trucks and service vehicles around you. I have seen electric trucks being driven for utility companies, for products like Frito-Lays and Coca-Cola and for Organizations picking up donations for charities.
A little here and a little there and we are on our way................
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
WIN Melissa and Doug Toys for the holidays
YAY! The holidays are coming and you know what that means to all the little people in your life..........TOYS!
Now, there are toys and then there are TOYS. Only the best and most sought after coolest toys with flare, fun and loaded with education are on the list.
To get you started in the right direction here are the Terrific Twenty by Melissa and Doug.
Now, there are toys and then there are TOYS. Only the best and most sought after coolest toys with flare, fun and loaded with education are on the list.
To get you started in the right direction here are the Terrific Twenty by Melissa and Doug.
Now even cooler than just making your list and checking it twice you can WIN something off this list from Melissa and Doug.
YES that is right, You Can WIN.
Visit Melissa and Doug's FACEBOOK page everyday to enter their GiveAway
***PLUS - If you leave a post here and let us know what you LOVE about Melissa and Doug toys you will be entered to WIN a MY OWN MAILBOX CLASSIC
We love how Creative our kids get with Melissa and Doug Toys, we have several and are always looking for more. The holidays and birthdays just don't seem to come fast or often enough and while trying not to spoil my kids I can't help but love the way these toys get their minds moving.
Can't wait to hear how much you love Melissa and Doug as much as we do.
and by the way....they did not tell me to say any of this. They are offering you the chance to win some cool stuff and are allowing me to boast about them all by myself. :)
Happy Shopping and GOOD LUCK!!
Monday, April 16, 2012
The Dolphins in Mexico are Green too!!
How awesome that at Dolphon Adventures in Nuevo Vallarta you can learn all about dolphins and then get to swim with them. Playful, gentle and fun and probably one of the coolest bonding with nature experiences.
But even better is that they care about our world just as much as you and me. I spotted these throughout the property. They cannot be missed which leaves no excuses for not cleaning up right!! :)
But even better is that they care about our world just as much as you and me. I spotted these throughout the property. They cannot be missed which leaves no excuses for not cleaning up right!! :)
Is there Green and/or Organic wine?
We aren't very big drinkers around here but on occasion would like to have a sip or two. :)
After watching, reading and learning about Organic foods. What does it means to be a non-gmo? And where can you find good tasty healthy stuff? Now the question was how do we have wine?
I know there has to be an answer out there somewhere. I know that somewhere "wines have gone green"
and the information is right under my little green nose.
And right you are. Organic Wines do exist.
The vinyards are tended to much like any organic farm or garden. They use solar power for the wineries, they use alternative packaging for their wines once they are produced like pouches or tetra packs. They use little to no sulfites and process it as natural as possible with no pesticides or fungicides. Good crop rotation, compost and biological pest control is used instead.
Something like this:
I will post again with my wine reviews after we do a little taste testing.
**Ahh, now if Mother nature would help out with a lovely star-filled mild tempertured evening, I can see a light bodied, organic adult beverage in my future.
After watching, reading and learning about Organic foods. What does it means to be a non-gmo? And where can you find good tasty healthy stuff? Now the question was how do we have wine?
I know there has to be an answer out there somewhere. I know that somewhere "wines have gone green"
and the information is right under my little green nose.
And right you are. Organic Wines do exist.
The vinyards are tended to much like any organic farm or garden. They use solar power for the wineries, they use alternative packaging for their wines once they are produced like pouches or tetra packs. They use little to no sulfites and process it as natural as possible with no pesticides or fungicides. Good crop rotation, compost and biological pest control is used instead.
Something like this:
I will post again with my wine reviews after we do a little taste testing.
**Ahh, now if Mother nature would help out with a lovely star-filled mild tempertured evening, I can see a light bodied, organic adult beverage in my future.
Cleveland Zoo ROCKS!
So around St. Pat's Day we were in Ohio and got to visit the Cleveland Zoo.
Albeit for only a matter of 30 minutes prior to close it was still an awesome stop over.
Those awesome folks have been re-doing, revamping and getting their "green' on!
Check out what I found near the new Elephant and Meerkat home: see pic.
Check them out when you get a chance
They are having an Earth Day event on April 22nd.
http://www.clemetzoo.com/events/event.asp?event_id=17
Albeit for only a matter of 30 minutes prior to close it was still an awesome stop over.
Those awesome folks have been re-doing, revamping and getting their "green' on!
Check out what I found near the new Elephant and Meerkat home: see pic.
Check them out when you get a chance
They are having an Earth Day event on April 22nd.
http://www.clemetzoo.com/events/event.asp?event_id=17
So Waste Management....Enough to make you green with anger
I know I know...where have I been?
Busy like a bee trying to get settled, unpacked, re-orged, etc etc...
Kids and School and Play dates OH MY!!
But I have had this hot topic on my head and I neeeeed to let you know.
The company Waste Management - SUCKS!! Big Time.
Remember I told you how we now have to pay for our trash pick-up? Well we had 2 companies we were considering. 1 being WM, the other being a local company called Smith.
We checked out the websites, did a little research and decided on WM because they claimed to be a "green company"
Well, so much for that.
Do you know, not only did they take our money (green, ha ha!) they didn't bother to pick up our trash.
When we called them on it they finally started to come around and then you know what they did?? I bet you'll never guess - That's right, they left our recycle bin. Full. With our recyclables still in it sitting on the curb.
So on the phone again and do you know what this nervy "green" company said? They said they only pick up recycling every OTHER week. WHAT!???? That's right every other week.
So when I insisted that they send the local recycle truck out so that my things were sent off to the proper place you know what they did then? UGH! I'm sick just remembering it, The sent a regular garbage truck, threw in my recycables and sent them off to the dump.
YOU'RE FIRED!
Last time I looked we are supposed to be teaching how to recycle more and garbage less - Not the other way around. How do you call yourself a Green Company and do the complete opposite. I am so saddened.
Getting a refund was nearly impossible. We had paid a year in advance for a discounted price and even with the fact that they only picked up our trash twice mattered not. It was like pulling teeth.
The worst customer service and the worst enviro company I have seen in a long time.
Don't get me wrong there are many companies that have bad practices when it comes to our earth but most of them never claim to be "GREEN"
So please please, when faced with dealing with companies that claim they are green if they are great, Let us know. We want them to be known. If you run across a company like WM, Please please let everyone know about it so we can all beware.
And onward we go.... I will have some cool green pics in the following segments
Thanks for reading :) Happy Monday!
Busy like a bee trying to get settled, unpacked, re-orged, etc etc...
Kids and School and Play dates OH MY!!
But I have had this hot topic on my head and I neeeeed to let you know.
The company Waste Management - SUCKS!! Big Time.
Remember I told you how we now have to pay for our trash pick-up? Well we had 2 companies we were considering. 1 being WM, the other being a local company called Smith.
We checked out the websites, did a little research and decided on WM because they claimed to be a "green company"
Well, so much for that.
Do you know, not only did they take our money (green, ha ha!) they didn't bother to pick up our trash.
When we called them on it they finally started to come around and then you know what they did?? I bet you'll never guess - That's right, they left our recycle bin. Full. With our recyclables still in it sitting on the curb.
So on the phone again and do you know what this nervy "green" company said? They said they only pick up recycling every OTHER week. WHAT!???? That's right every other week.
So when I insisted that they send the local recycle truck out so that my things were sent off to the proper place you know what they did then? UGH! I'm sick just remembering it, The sent a regular garbage truck, threw in my recycables and sent them off to the dump.
YOU'RE FIRED!
Last time I looked we are supposed to be teaching how to recycle more and garbage less - Not the other way around. How do you call yourself a Green Company and do the complete opposite. I am so saddened.
Getting a refund was nearly impossible. We had paid a year in advance for a discounted price and even with the fact that they only picked up our trash twice mattered not. It was like pulling teeth.
The worst customer service and the worst enviro company I have seen in a long time.
Don't get me wrong there are many companies that have bad practices when it comes to our earth but most of them never claim to be "GREEN"
So please please, when faced with dealing with companies that claim they are green if they are great, Let us know. We want them to be known. If you run across a company like WM, Please please let everyone know about it so we can all beware.
And onward we go.... I will have some cool green pics in the following segments
Thanks for reading :) Happy Monday!
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Have any of you tried VistaPrint
I have to say VistaPrint is one of the coolest sites I have found for business and fun stuff.
Besides all my "green" stuff.........well actually including all my "green stuff" I have used them for really cool reusable totes......FREE (and they are washable, ....even better)
I love them for really useful gift and grab bags items for my kids birthday parties. It's much nicer to give a personalized and useful magnet, pen or keychain then some little cheapy toy that will be in the landfill in no time flat. Sure we throw in an organic lolly or nice treat too. But really who doesn't use post-it notes?
For business I get all my labels and thank you notes. It's always nice to thank a customer, not to mention proper, and having matching labels, note cards, thank you's etc, looks really nice as well.
VistaPrint has got prices that are hard to beat. I have had a hard time trying to find anyone who can do my stuff for less. With all the FREE stuff they give away all the time you are bound to find all that you need and more. Why not give them a try??
Besides all my "green" stuff.........well actually including all my "green stuff" I have used them for really cool reusable totes......FREE (and they are washable, ....even better)
I love them for really useful gift and grab bags items for my kids birthday parties. It's much nicer to give a personalized and useful magnet, pen or keychain then some little cheapy toy that will be in the landfill in no time flat. Sure we throw in an organic lolly or nice treat too. But really who doesn't use post-it notes?
For business I get all my labels and thank you notes. It's always nice to thank a customer, not to mention proper, and having matching labels, note cards, thank you's etc, looks really nice as well.
VistaPrint has got prices that are hard to beat. I have had a hard time trying to find anyone who can do my stuff for less. With all the FREE stuff they give away all the time you are bound to find all that you need and more. Why not give them a try??
Monday, November 21, 2011
Nature...ahhhhhhh Gotta Love it.
So here we are in the "country" as I call it. Our move was about 25 mins north of our old house.
The cool thing is that I feel more "up north" than ever and I'm loving it.
While I have immediate access to all the places I love - Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Target and Costco (all of these places make it easier to tend to the family as well as carrying a wonderful array of Organic products) We also have so much land that is protected, wetlands, park lands, wild untouched land. The kind that lends to having some of the coolest vistors from nature.
Yesterday while visiting my friend who lives 3 miles away we saw a gorgeoud buck come walking right through her front yard all the way to the back yard stand and wait, look around and the proceed into the wooded area. Amazing!!
So far around our house I have seen Humming birds, butterflies, crickets and grasshoppers (the huge bright green ones) dragonflies, cardinals and bluejays and a huge array of other birds I have no idea their names. We have been on alert because there has been a coyote roaming the neighborhood and it's been buggin the local doggies but aside from that we look forward to many more visitors this winter.
Nature is amazing and has such a wonderful resources besides my special animal/bug visitors, of course.
The sun has been our friend since we've moved in. I cannot believe the difference in the way your house faces. We have been able to cut down out heating costs on the day the sun is shining just because it rises in the front of us and sets directly behind us. A nice warm blanket all through the fall.
Somebody asked me about natural resources in general. I know about solar panals and wind turbines - all of which I want to add onto this house...at some point.
But do we have any way to get more gas without looking to other countries. Do we have anything here in the US that will help us with heating or transportation? What about safe was to harness these materials? Of course we want the resource but not at the risk of damaging our earth, right??
Has anybody heard of this??
Apparently this is becoming more popular and has been seen in Oklahoma The definition I found was this: *Hydro-excavation is a safe, non-destructive and cost-effective process that utilizes pressurized water to break up soil.
I guess once they do this they can get to some of our natural resources.
If anybody knows more or can shed a light on the subject I would love to hear about it.
Meanwhile it's morning, the sun is rising and I have two short people that would like some breakfast.
Good Morning Blog World...........I hope you all have a great day.
The cool thing is that I feel more "up north" than ever and I'm loving it.
While I have immediate access to all the places I love - Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Target and Costco (all of these places make it easier to tend to the family as well as carrying a wonderful array of Organic products) We also have so much land that is protected, wetlands, park lands, wild untouched land. The kind that lends to having some of the coolest vistors from nature.
Yesterday while visiting my friend who lives 3 miles away we saw a gorgeoud buck come walking right through her front yard all the way to the back yard stand and wait, look around and the proceed into the wooded area. Amazing!!
So far around our house I have seen Humming birds, butterflies, crickets and grasshoppers (the huge bright green ones) dragonflies, cardinals and bluejays and a huge array of other birds I have no idea their names. We have been on alert because there has been a coyote roaming the neighborhood and it's been buggin the local doggies but aside from that we look forward to many more visitors this winter.
Nature is amazing and has such a wonderful resources besides my special animal/bug visitors, of course.
The sun has been our friend since we've moved in. I cannot believe the difference in the way your house faces. We have been able to cut down out heating costs on the day the sun is shining just because it rises in the front of us and sets directly behind us. A nice warm blanket all through the fall.
Somebody asked me about natural resources in general. I know about solar panals and wind turbines - all of which I want to add onto this house...at some point.
But do we have any way to get more gas without looking to other countries. Do we have anything here in the US that will help us with heating or transportation? What about safe was to harness these materials? Of course we want the resource but not at the risk of damaging our earth, right??
Has anybody heard of this??
Apparently this is becoming more popular and has been seen in Oklahoma The definition I found was this: *Hydro-excavation is a safe, non-destructive and cost-effective process that utilizes pressurized water to break up soil.
I guess once they do this they can get to some of our natural resources.
If anybody knows more or can shed a light on the subject I would love to hear about it.
Meanwhile it's morning, the sun is rising and I have two short people that would like some breakfast.
Good Morning Blog World...........I hope you all have a great day.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
So moving out is much easier than moving in............
I guess with all the excitement packing is a much faster process than unpacking.
The days are still long and the new house (new to us) of course comes with it's own challenges.
roof leaks, dishwasher and disposal problems as well as some untimely weather that woke the sleeping nest of bees in our fireplace... LOL
Please dont misunderstand and think I am complaining, I'm more of a "let's get it all out now" kind of girl. Get it done and move on....
and so here we go...... moving over to the next box, I'll be back shortly :)
The days are still long and the new house (new to us) of course comes with it's own challenges.
roof leaks, dishwasher and disposal problems as well as some untimely weather that woke the sleeping nest of bees in our fireplace... LOL
Please dont misunderstand and think I am complaining, I'm more of a "let's get it all out now" kind of girl. Get it done and move on....
and so here we go...... moving over to the next box, I'll be back shortly :)
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sorry for the radio silence........We've moved
So, It's not that I actually forgot about my blog or even being green for that matter. It's just that we've moved. 8 years worth of stuff that was used, stored, stashed, stuffed and forgotten about packed into bags and boxes, upon boxes, upon boxes...........upon boxes and put into a moving truck all so we can move into a bigger Box, er, I mean house :)
It's a great, happy wonderful move don't get me wrong. You really don't realize how much stuff you have...or that your kids have. And how much time it really takes to pack it up. In my mind I pack much much faster, LOL, but while wrangling to small children, trying to keep their life and schedule as normal as possible, it actually took longer and I was far less organized as I usually am.
I did my best and I think trashed and recycled our trash pretty well. When it came down to the wire things get a bit rushed but all in all I think things ended up where they needed to be.
So for this new adventure the game has changed just a little bit.
In the city suburbs you can go online and they have a set of rules and guidelines of what can be thrown out, recycled, how and why. You carry it all to the curb and away it goes.
NOW we actually have to pay for our trash and recycle pick up. Not that that's a bad thing. But having to shop around for a "good" service was kind of funny. Finding out what the limits were was interesting in comparisons, like one company says you can have up to 12 bags of garbage where the other only allows 10. If you decide to use a Trash can rather than laying your bags out the size of the can matters and your costs could increase because of it.
Even better..all trash must be put out by 6am and this my friends is no joke. The first week we were here the trucks were rolling down our streets at 6:45am!
I have some links and info that we were sent that I will share with you in blogs to come.
Sorry for the delays But I am happy to be back and reconnected.
Blog to you soon
xo
It's a great, happy wonderful move don't get me wrong. You really don't realize how much stuff you have...or that your kids have. And how much time it really takes to pack it up. In my mind I pack much much faster, LOL, but while wrangling to small children, trying to keep their life and schedule as normal as possible, it actually took longer and I was far less organized as I usually am.
I did my best and I think trashed and recycled our trash pretty well. When it came down to the wire things get a bit rushed but all in all I think things ended up where they needed to be.
So for this new adventure the game has changed just a little bit.
In the city suburbs you can go online and they have a set of rules and guidelines of what can be thrown out, recycled, how and why. You carry it all to the curb and away it goes.
NOW we actually have to pay for our trash and recycle pick up. Not that that's a bad thing. But having to shop around for a "good" service was kind of funny. Finding out what the limits were was interesting in comparisons, like one company says you can have up to 12 bags of garbage where the other only allows 10. If you decide to use a Trash can rather than laying your bags out the size of the can matters and your costs could increase because of it.
Even better..all trash must be put out by 6am and this my friends is no joke. The first week we were here the trucks were rolling down our streets at 6:45am!
I have some links and info that we were sent that I will share with you in blogs to come.
Sorry for the delays But I am happy to be back and reconnected.
Blog to you soon
xo
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
The Greening of Oak Park........sorta
In the small suburban city where I grew up there lives a girl, whom I went to High School with, who decided to plant a garden. What has happened afterward has now become international news.
Yeah, Really no joke, International. Can you believe that a lovely garden has become the focus across many countries?
Why you ask?
Normally you would think that news of this magnitude means that this must be something that is beyond the scope of beauty. Something the world's eyes must see in order to believe. Maybe it has plants of extraordinary size or a new hybrid yada yada that is the the very first ever. Not quite.
Are you sitting down? It's a veggie garden.
That's right a simple veggie garden but here's the catch: It's in her front yard. (of all places, sigh)
T
he city of Oak Park has written her a citation because the city ordinance says, “All unpaved portions of the [screening and landscaping] site shall be planted with grass ground cover, shrubbery, or other suitable live plant material.” AND someone in the city actually thinks that veggies aren't suitable live plant material.
Can you believe that?
Even better they have threatened that she may be fined and have to do up to 93 days in jail for the violation.
Now there are many articles that have been written about the issue.
*I'll insert a few links into the blog entry for you to follow.
The mayor said somewhere that she won't have to do jail time, someone else said there might be political campaign issues, tricks and sabotage. A whole lot of silly talk all because of a veggie garden.
It has been pointed out a million times that our very own Michelle Obama has planted a lovely veggie garden on the White House lawn.
And so far no one really understands the reason the city is bent out of shape about a veggie garden.
How many cities have those few houses that have a junkyard in the front yard? Eyesores of too much "lawn art" that looks like a trash heap? What about the "over gardener"? I have one of those in my neighborhood. You know the one that has so many plants and trees that you can't see the walkway, front of the house or the front door. And you know there isn't one lick of grass in the whole place because they just don't want to mow.
So Julie and her husband had to tear up the lawn because of a sewer problem and they chose to not replace a useless lawn and instead save water and save money on groceries for them and their 6 kids.
I was thinking as tax paying citizens if the city insisted on grass for every lawn then they should be paying for the replacement sod, as well as a replacement sewer...oh and while we're at it they should have paid for the labor, time and trouble the Bass family went through with the sewer problem.
After all, in my mind, the sewer should be a "city" problem since tax payers pay to help maintain the city. Shouldn't that fall under maintenance??
I know I've gone off on a tangent. I'm funny about the whole fine line between city and home owners.
My Green take on things is this - Green is Good!
Veggies and plants are great for our world. Sustainability, Eco responsibility and Yes, I'm just a little jealous as I haven't a garden of my own yet. I may have to sneak over a grab a tomato or two. Just joking, I'm no veggie thief But I do have veggie envy :)
Keep up the good work Julie, We love you.
SOME LINKS and INFO:
Sustainable living as civil disobedience
Follow Julie on Face Book:
Oak-Park-Hates-Veggies
Yeah, Really no joke, International. Can you believe that a lovely garden has become the focus across many countries?
Why you ask?
Normally you would think that news of this magnitude means that this must be something that is beyond the scope of beauty. Something the world's eyes must see in order to believe. Maybe it has plants of extraordinary size or a new hybrid yada yada that is the the very first ever. Not quite.
Are you sitting down? It's a veggie garden.
That's right a simple veggie garden but here's the catch: It's in her front yard. (of all places, sigh)
T
he city of Oak Park has written her a citation because the city ordinance says, “All unpaved portions of the [screening and landscaping] site shall be planted with grass ground cover, shrubbery, or other suitable live plant material.” AND someone in the city actually thinks that veggies aren't suitable live plant material.
Can you believe that?
Even better they have threatened that she may be fined and have to do up to 93 days in jail for the violation.
Now there are many articles that have been written about the issue.
*I'll insert a few links into the blog entry for you to follow.
The mayor said somewhere that she won't have to do jail time, someone else said there might be political campaign issues, tricks and sabotage. A whole lot of silly talk all because of a veggie garden.
It has been pointed out a million times that our very own Michelle Obama has planted a lovely veggie garden on the White House lawn.
And so far no one really understands the reason the city is bent out of shape about a veggie garden.
How many cities have those few houses that have a junkyard in the front yard? Eyesores of too much "lawn art" that looks like a trash heap? What about the "over gardener"? I have one of those in my neighborhood. You know the one that has so many plants and trees that you can't see the walkway, front of the house or the front door. And you know there isn't one lick of grass in the whole place because they just don't want to mow.
So Julie and her husband had to tear up the lawn because of a sewer problem and they chose to not replace a useless lawn and instead save water and save money on groceries for them and their 6 kids.
I was thinking as tax paying citizens if the city insisted on grass for every lawn then they should be paying for the replacement sod, as well as a replacement sewer...oh and while we're at it they should have paid for the labor, time and trouble the Bass family went through with the sewer problem.
After all, in my mind, the sewer should be a "city" problem since tax payers pay to help maintain the city. Shouldn't that fall under maintenance??
I know I've gone off on a tangent. I'm funny about the whole fine line between city and home owners.
My Green take on things is this - Green is Good!
Veggies and plants are great for our world. Sustainability, Eco responsibility and Yes, I'm just a little jealous as I haven't a garden of my own yet. I may have to sneak over a grab a tomato or two. Just joking, I'm no veggie thief But I do have veggie envy :)
Keep up the good work Julie, We love you.
SOME LINKS and INFO:
Sustainable living as civil disobedience
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Oak-Park-Hates-Veggies
Thursday, May 12, 2011
THIS WEEKEND Here in Michigan - Fun and Green!
If you're gonna be around and want to have some "green" fun Check out the
Michigan Green Living Festival in Downtown Rochester.
May 12-15th , 2011
Green Living Festival
There will be lots of things Green :
Michigan Green Living Festival in Downtown Rochester.
May 12-15th , 2011
Green Living Festival
There will be lots of things Green :
- Exhibits of hundreds of green/wellness products, services & programs
- Presentations by leading educators, community leaders & VIPs
- Displays of hybrid & electric vehicles, & renewable energy systems
- Food & Farm areas with local Farmers Row & organic Food Court
- Services including yoga, massage, door prizes & contests
- Celebration with dance, music & other acts are offered on stage & streets
- Kids Corner with exhibits, crafts, portable farm, strawbale climb, and a full schedule of kids activities
- Connections Cafe with non-commercial displays and roundtable discussions to promote networking and community-building
- Special Events including a parade, trail race, art fair, media-sponsored contests, green awards ceremony, and Party for the Planet.
For a map of the activities and set up check out this link: Green Living Fest Map
Looks like it's going to be a ton of Green Tree-hugging Organic fun for the whole family. :)
SUNDAY MAY 15th -
Detroit Eastern Market 45th Annual Flower Day
Attended by more than 150,000 people annually, Flower Day at the Eastern Market is one of the largest flower shows in the country. Members of the Metro Detroit Flower Growers Association (MDFGA), and hundreds of flower growers from Michigan, Canada and neighboring states fill the market with their colorful array offerings. Over 15-acres of the highest quality annuals, perennials, foliage, shrubbery, trees, exotics, tropical plants, flats, hanging baskets and more will be available for purchase.
Soooooooooo much fun!
The kids LOVE Dan Dan the ChooChoo Man, The little petting Farm and all the beautiful colors.
My kids love riding on the wagon and picking out what they are gonna plant (read: play in the dirt) this year in the yard.
Very cool and earthy experience for all to be had. Great floral/yard ideas and Great Prices too!!
The kids LOVE Dan Dan the ChooChoo Man, The little petting Farm and all the beautiful colors.
My kids love riding on the wagon and picking out what they are gonna plant (read: play in the dirt) this year in the yard.
Very cool and earthy experience for all to be had. Great floral/yard ideas and Great Prices too!!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Food Economics — Special Report — Are Genetically-Modified Foods OK? - CNBC
Food Economics — Special Report — Are Genetically-Modified Foods OK? - CNBC
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD - JUST SAY NO TO GMO!
FOOD ALLERGIES, ILLNESS, OBESITY ALL FACTORS OF GMO FOODS.
Down with Lab Frakenfood! Encourage Organic, Clean Farming - the old fashion way.
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD - JUST SAY NO TO GMO!
FOOD ALLERGIES, ILLNESS, OBESITY ALL FACTORS OF GMO FOODS.
Down with Lab Frakenfood! Encourage Organic, Clean Farming - the old fashion way.
Need a VACATION?
You could win one.
Cool huh?
Here'e the deal - follow the link and enter. It's just that easy.
Celebrate Mother-Earth in style.........well, by relaxing anyway :)
WIN AN ECO-VACATION
Brought to you by Real Simple and Aveeno
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER. Purchasing does not improve your chances of winning. The Real Simple "Inspire Beautiful Change" Sweepstakes is open to residents of the 50 United States and D.C., age 21 and older. Void outside the United States, in Canada and Puerto Rico, and wherever else prohibited by law. Sweepstakes begins at 12:01AM ET on 4/5/11 and ends at 11:59PM ET on 5/13/11. For Official Rules, click here. Sponsor: Time Inc. Lifestyle Group.
..
Cool huh?
Here'e the deal - follow the link and enter. It's just that easy.
Celebrate Mother-Earth in style.........well, by relaxing anyway :)
WIN AN ECO-VACATION
Brought to you by Real Simple and Aveeno
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER. Purchasing does not improve your chances of winning. The Real Simple "Inspire Beautiful Change" Sweepstakes is open to residents of the 50 United States and D.C., age 21 and older. Void outside the United States, in Canada and Puerto Rico, and wherever else prohibited by law. Sweepstakes begins at 12:01AM ET on 4/5/11 and ends at 11:59PM ET on 5/13/11. For Official Rules, click here. Sponsor: Time Inc. Lifestyle Group.
..
Great article by TreeHugger
How throwing stuff away can make you frugal (and green)
Are you a hoarder? Do you have too much stuff.....or really if you look at all of your "stuff" and think to yourself "When was the last time I used that"? If you can't remember where you got it, when you bought it or how it even got into your home there is a good chance that you don't need it.
And it needs to be on it's way out the door, into the recycle bin or given/donated so that it can find a home where it can be put to use.
Being practical about your clutter is another way to get green.
Keeping your digs clean and organized helps you and the environment.
Cut down on heating and cooling. Keep the dust bunnies at bay is better for your air. Don't block the sunlight with clutter, Let it shine in.
Green On!
Are you a hoarder? Do you have too much stuff.....or really if you look at all of your "stuff" and think to yourself "When was the last time I used that"? If you can't remember where you got it, when you bought it or how it even got into your home there is a good chance that you don't need it.
And it needs to be on it's way out the door, into the recycle bin or given/donated so that it can find a home where it can be put to use.
Being practical about your clutter is another way to get green.
Keeping your digs clean and organized helps you and the environment.
Cut down on heating and cooling. Keep the dust bunnies at bay is better for your air. Don't block the sunlight with clutter, Let it shine in.
Green On!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Great article for beginners
25 ways to help Your Planet
Real Simple has jotted this lovely article about some easy wasy to help the planet.
Take a look, see anything familiar?
did you know?
Free lint bunnies. The average U.S. household spends up to $135 a year in energy costs drying clothes. A dirty lint filter can use 30 percent more energy to get the job done.
What about?
Curtail junk mail. It takes some legwork, but in the end, you’ll save trees, water, and emissions, too. If everyone in the United States reduced the junk mail he receives every week, 100 million trees would be spared each year. Go to optoutprescreen.com to stop receiving pre-approved credit card offers and sign up on catalogchoice.org to reduce the amount of unsolicited catalogs sent to you.
Give the article a read, I think it's worth it and has some great ideas or reminders about those we are't quite doing enough :)
Happy Planet, Happy You!
Real Simple has jotted this lovely article about some easy wasy to help the planet.
Take a look, see anything familiar?
did you know?
Free lint bunnies. The average U.S. household spends up to $135 a year in energy costs drying clothes. A dirty lint filter can use 30 percent more energy to get the job done.
What about?
Curtail junk mail. It takes some legwork, but in the end, you’ll save trees, water, and emissions, too. If everyone in the United States reduced the junk mail he receives every week, 100 million trees would be spared each year. Go to optoutprescreen.com to stop receiving pre-approved credit card offers and sign up on catalogchoice.org to reduce the amount of unsolicited catalogs sent to you.
Give the article a read, I think it's worth it and has some great ideas or reminders about those we are't quite doing enough :)
Happy Planet, Happy You!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Find Your Footprint - Enter - National Geographic
Find Your Footprint - Enter - National Geographic
Here is a cool contest that is going on right now.
Apparently I am late on the take and all entries have been received BUT
You can still VOTE.
Pick the one you think has the biggest impact or just really speaks to your inner-green!
Here is a cool contest that is going on right now.
Apparently I am late on the take and all entries have been received BUT
You can still VOTE.
Pick the one you think has the biggest impact or just really speaks to your inner-green!
From our friends across the pond
I personally have a love for the UK.
Having been there a few times it has always felt kind of like home to me. Hubby and I have even considered moving there a few times but it just hasn't quite happened (yet?) ;)
In any case, I got this lovely email from a green company that has started doing something that we have done here in the US for years, Car donations.
It's a wonderful compliment to have someone or some company to want to install practices that they find useful and green for our world.
Here is some info that I got from Daniel Frank of Giveacar Ltd.
_________________________________________________________________________
Giveacar (http://www.giveacar.co.uk/), a not-for-profit organisation which organises the collection and recycling of unwanted cars, with the proceeds of each vehicle going to charity.
We have imported the idea of car donation from the US to the UK.
We work with over 250 charities and have raised over £200,000 in the past year through car donation, and work with scrapyards and salvage operators to ensure cars are sold for their maximum value – thus providing the maximum donation to charity.
We are an environmentally friendly operation, recommended by Keep Britain Tidy and recently covered by the Ecologist:
http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/out_and_about/687787/recycle_your_car_dont_scrap_it.html
We want to make sure that as many people as possible are aware of the environmental benefits of car donation, and would really appreciate your help!
A round of applause for Giveacar! :)
Having been there a few times it has always felt kind of like home to me. Hubby and I have even considered moving there a few times but it just hasn't quite happened (yet?) ;)
In any case, I got this lovely email from a green company that has started doing something that we have done here in the US for years, Car donations.
It's a wonderful compliment to have someone or some company to want to install practices that they find useful and green for our world.
Here is some info that I got from Daniel Frank of Giveacar Ltd.
_________________________________________________________________________
Giveacar (http://www.giveacar.co.uk/), a not-for-profit organisation which organises the collection and recycling of unwanted cars, with the proceeds of each vehicle going to charity.
We have imported the idea of car donation from the US to the UK.
We work with over 250 charities and have raised over £200,000 in the past year through car donation, and work with scrapyards and salvage operators to ensure cars are sold for their maximum value – thus providing the maximum donation to charity.
We are an environmentally friendly operation, recommended by Keep Britain Tidy and recently covered by the Ecologist:
http://www.theecologist.org/green_green_living/out_and_about/687787/recycle_your_car_dont_scrap_it.html
We want to make sure that as many people as possible are aware of the environmental benefits of car donation, and would really appreciate your help!
A round of applause for Giveacar! :)
Inventing a Teenager's Memory Quilt | Seventh Generation
Check out this cool article about recycling/upcycling your kid's old clothes into a memory quilt.
I just may have to do this one of these days with one an old baby blanket as the base and some of their favorite t-shirts and character pj's. What a way to be eco friendly and preserve some wonderful memories.
Inventing a Teenager's Memory Quilt Seventh Generation
I just may have to do this one of these days with one an old baby blanket as the base and some of their favorite t-shirts and character pj's. What a way to be eco friendly and preserve some wonderful memories.
Inventing a Teenager's Memory Quilt Seventh Generation
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