Elsie Bubbles!

At some point I’m going to make an album for my Monkey (the baby living in my uterus right now) , and I thought, why not share with him/her all the outpour of love and support that I got from my online community? So I took screenshots of all the well wishes on my wall on Facebook and I’m currently gathering emails, and ecards and the like to add to the pile.

I thought it was a good idea. What do you think?

Sigg Water Bottles!!!!

My new favorite water bottles.

Yes, I was a Nalgene Water Bottle freak, but now doing my best to say no to plastic bottles.

They’ve got such great colors and designs, plus they have a whole line for kids bottles, which I think is great. Give them a try!

Here are some green tips that I copied from their site:

SIGG GREEN TIPS

1. Recycle, while it may seem simple. Reduce the amount of waste you generate by buying recyclable goods, reuse them if you can, and then actually recycling the rest. We toss out twice as many bottles (JUST BOTTLES!) as we recycle. When a product has to be made of new material (instead of recycled materials), it creates more pollutants then just what ends up in the landfill.

2. Drink tap water. Tap water gets a bad reputation, but many bottled water companies start with tap water, so why not you. There are filters that can be put in water systems if you are concerned about metals in your water. Do a little research, the answer might surprise you.

3. Turn it off when not in use. Simply turning off a light when you leave the room or shutting down your computer over night reduces your personal use of electricity (and lowers electric bills!).

4. Turn down the heat or air conditioning at night (especially if no one is there anyway). Avoid extreme freezers or saunas in the workplace (keep the temperature set to ‘comfortable’). Just 2 degrees difference can save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide each year.

5. Get a great idea, Change a Light Bulb. One compact fluorescent light (CFL) lasts 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb and uses two-thirds less energy, working to save you $30 over the life of the bulb. Since CFL bulbs give off 70 percent less heat, you won’t have to run your air conditioning as often when more bulbs are changed.

6. Promote alternatives to driving. Whether having bike racks and showers available or rewarding car-pools and providing discounted mass transit passes, cars and traffic are two of the most visible forms of pollution.

7. Use rechargeable batteries. The heavy metals in batteries are either leeched into the ground or released into the air when burned. Alkaline batteries can have their mercury and cadmium (metals present within the battery) extracted to be reused.

8. Cut the plastic. No, not the credit card kind of plastic, the bag kind. Plastic bags (like the ones you bring home from the store) are not biodegradable and actually account for a huge percent of total waste in a landfill. Bring your own cloth bag or ask if you can just carry a small item out of the store. Not only do cloth bags help reduce waste, but they can hold more weight and are often easier on your hands to hold.

9. Clean up a local beach. If you are located near the ocean, get out and help clean up. Most of the Earth’s oxygen, moisture, and weather patterns begin in the sea.

10. Recycle your toner cartridges. You can even find places willing to pay for your empty cartridges.

11. Don’t dump ‘household waste’ down the storm drain. Bleech, oil, grease, pesticidies, paints, cleaners; storm drains lead directly into bodies of water (rivers, lakes, and the ocean). Something to think about the next time you go for a swim.

12. Donate old furniture, appliances, and clothing. Less waste and you’re helping others.

13. Plant a tree or a whole forest. Trees soak up carbon, block or break wind (saves energy when trying to stay warm) and provide shade during the summer.

14. Buy organic. All the pesticides and chemicals used to protect crops and make them grow bright beautiful colors do more than just hurt bugs, they leech into the soil and are soaked up into the food.

15. Buy local. It comes down to the cars and traffic again. Food that is grown locally does not need to travel as far to reach your dinner table, this means less time sitting in a running truck in the middle of traffic.

16. Use less. Looking to reduce the amount of waste you produce? Then don’t use so much stuff. 1 reusable water bottle or buying a 24-pack of one-time-use bottles every week; which is going to take up more room in the end?

17. Use cleaning products with less (or no) hazardous chemicals. Many stores are now carrying them as well.

18. Use email or set up a memo board instead of filtering copy prints of an announcement to everyone.

19. Use ceramic mugs for coffee and tea instead of disposable. For morale, make available mugs with your logo on them.

20. Copy and print on both sides of paper. Create 1/2 the waste right off the bat.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, talk to others. Your parents, brothers, sisters, friends; help make a difference in your community. One person can make a difference!