Earth Hour

Molly over at Cross Roads had a bit about Earth Hour which is a simple act of turning off the lights for one hour on March 29th at 8 p.m. that will send a powerful message to the entire planet. I plan on taking part in this and sharing the information with everyone I know. Actually as I am writing this I am thinking an Earth Hour Party might be a fun idea.

Each of us can do what we can to step more gently on this earth. For us, that translates into things like, no plastic storage bags, cloth grocery bags, no clothes dryer, heating with wood in place of fossil fuel. No paper napkins, we recycle all we can, (even though this area is not conducive to recycling). We keep our auto's in tip top shape thanks to Emery's hard work so that they are not polluting more than they should. They are not gas guzzling vehicles like an SUV either ! We purchase used items like clothing and furniture made of natural materials. Using what is still good, rather than create a need for new items made in factories that pollute. All our light bulbs are those new ugly looking ones that use less wattage. We grow as much of our own food as we can, all organic, our land has been organic for a whopping 16 years. Might seem like small things taken individually, but put them together and it adds up. Just take a look at this appliance energy usage chart and see how many watts a clothes dryer uses ! Its quite shocking.

"Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a powerful message about the need for action on global warming.
This simple act has captured the hearts and minds of people all over the world. As a result, at 8pm on the 29 March, 2008 millions of people in some of the world’s major capital cities, including Copenhagen, Toronto, Chicago, Melbourne, Brisbane, Tel Aviv and Manila will unite and switch off for Earth Hour." taken from the web site Consider signing up, maybe plan your own Earth Hour party, get family and friends involved. Plan "Green" Matching Games or prizes to be awarded to the guest that does the most to help out our planet. Serve organic treats, have fun with it.

Did You Know?
"Fifty percent or more of marine litter is, in some form of plastic, whether it is bottles, food wrappers, plastic bags, or plastic pellets. Plastics are highly toxic to the marine environment, as well as the physical health of humans.
The biggest problem with plastics is that they DO NOT biodegrade. Plastic break down in a process called photodegrading, which means they simply break apart into ever smaller pieces, eventually forming “plastic dust.” As plastics go through this process they release toxins which have many harmful effects to the ocean and the wildlife and people that depend on it.
No matter how large or small they are, plastic bits are not digestible by any creature on land, in the air, or under the sea. We are literally suffocating the planet with these plastic products, which can never re-enter the life cycle. Plastics that are in the ocean today will, in some way, stay there forever. After decades of floating about plastics break down into smaller particles, gets absorbed into the food chain or eventually sink and become part of the ocean bottom sediment.
There are two common ways plastics end up in the ocean. Pre-production plastic pellets, used to create nearly all commercially consumed plastic products, are often carelessly handled in places where they are produced and transported. Approximately twenty percent of the plastic in our ocean comes from these pellets being blown into our oceans from waterfront industrial plants and cargo ships
The other eighty percent of plastic litter finds its way into the storm drain system and into the marine environment through urban runoff. Even plastic that gets “thrown away” does not always make it to the landfill, but rather gets diverted by wind or improper handling. The plastics that do make it are crowding landfills because of the long time it takes for them to break down. An estimated 63 pounds of plastics for each American enters landfills each year.
At present, plastics in the ocean outweigh natural zooplankton by a 6:1 ratio! What does this mean for marine animals? It means that they are consuming way more plastic than zooplankton. Fish and other sea animals mistake plastics for food because plankton and plastic, when broken down or in pellet form, have very similar appearances. These plastics eventually find their way up the food chain into the foods that we consume."

Try to do your part...You can still purchase wax paper sandwich bags, like what I took my lunch to school with a million years ago when I was a kid. I wrote about using glass food storage containers a while ago, start replacing your plastic storage containers with glass. Canning Jars work well for many things. Great glass food containers with glass lids can be found at Crate and Barrel. Might I also suggest using a cookie sheet to cover a pan in the oven rather than aluminum foil, again cutting down on waste and on cost.