A Chance to Help the Environment and a Freebie!

In case you don't have a Facebook account or haven't seen The Sierra's Club latest offering, check out this link. For more than 100 years, the Sierra Club is dedicated to preserving our National Parks and so much more.  Join now and receive four free eco-chic shopping bags! So handy to stash in your car or even your backpack...
More about the Sierra Club from Wikipedia:

The Sierra Club's mission is:

To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

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Planting Vegetable Gardens

Leave it to my mother to be one of the very few people I know that is successfully growing tomatoes in one of those topsy-turvy tomato planters! The Topsy Turvy website's infomercial makes it look so easy, but I've heard of more misses than hits.  Her desert garden includes okra, zucchini, watermelon and beans... along with a variety of herbs.  Some are in rows and some in raised beds, but all seemed to be thriving when I visited Tucson last week.  In mother's case, I think it's both her Southern genes and years of gardening experience.   Perhaps you'll be one of the success stories too.

If you're needing help getting started with your vegetable garden, try the Free Vegetable Garden Guide from Burpee. The website also has a great "companion plants" guide that helps with ideas for optimum planting of vegetables, with minimum insects and maximum shade (where needed).

Happy Gardening!
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Earth Day Around the World

How will you celebrate Earth Day this year?

Earth Day is a day designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the environment, and will be celebrated in the US on April 22, although there will be tons of Earth Day/Week celebrations around the world.

From Wikipedia: "In the United States, Earth Day is celebrated each year on April 22. The United Nations celebrates Earth Day each year on the Spring Equinox, which is often March 20. This is a tradition which was founded by peace activist John McConnell in 1969. The first governmental recognition of Earth Day, authorized by the city of San Francisco, was on the Spring Equinox in 1970. The United Nations adopted this holiday the next year and celebrated Earth Day for the first time on the Spring Equinox in 1971."

Here's just a sampling of Earth Day celebrations around the globe:

• Climate Rally at National Mall, Washington, DC
• Earth Day Events in Southern California
• Convergence Festival: Earth Day Conference and Celebration in Ireland
• Earth Day Canada - search for events
• Earth Day Events - Australia

Can't make it to one of the above listed events? Why not celebrate Earth Day at home with friends and family... maybe you'll be inspired by these plastic bag artists: http://www.oddee.com/item_97040.aspx  or you'll be inspired to plant some wildflowers... you can get some FREE from Mount Sinai (LA). Whatever way you decide ... decide to make a difference.

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Eco-friendly Marketing: Customizable Recycled Promotional Items

If you are looking to purchase promotional items for marketing your business, consider using recycled products that can easily be printed with your custom logo or other branding info. This eco-friendly marketing trend is a viable, cost-effective option for businesses large and small with the growing list of vendors available, that offer products ranging from paper products and recycled ballpoint pens to recycled piggy banks and eco-friendly water bottles and totes. The global appeal of green marketing is good for your company and the environment.

Online websites for recycled products to check out:
Branders.com
ePromos.com
IASPromotes.com

photo credit: Branders.com

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World Water Day - Clean Water for All

More than one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, and more than two billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation measures.   

Today is World Water Day. Never heard of the event? Take a moment to become a little more informed.

Here's just a snippet of information that is available from WorldWaterDay.org

The international observance of World Water Day is an initiative that grew out of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

The United Nations General Assembly designated 22 March of each year as the World Day for Water by adopting a resolution.This world day for water was to be observed starting in 1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development contained in chapter 18 (Fresh Water Resources) of Agenda 21.

States were invited to devote the Day to implement the UN recommendations and set up concrete activities as deemed appropriate in the national context.

The Subcommittee welcomes the assistance offered by IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre to contribute to an information network centre in support of the observance of the Day by Governments, as required.

As reported by The Huffington Post , clean water is a concern around the globe. While clean water is accessible to 90% of Americans, 10% live in conditions that resemble those in third world countries.  Click the link to read Dr. Edison Mello's post on the water bottle lie (and watch the accompanying video).

Help get the word out. As Dr. Maya Angelou eloquently put it: "When we know better, we do better."  We know better. Clean drinking water doesn't have to be a luxury...

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The Cove Wins Best Documentary at the Academy Awards

Congratulations to the producers and crew responsible for creating The Cove! The controversial film The Cove, which exposes the previously little-known dolphin killing sites of Taiji, Japan, won the coveted Best Documentary at the 2010 Academy Awards last night. The movie has actually won dozens of trophies and accolades during this awards season, but it's nice to see it win the most prestigious of them all. If you are not aware of this important film, or would like to find out more about ways to help stop the killing of dolphins (and selling the mercury-laden dolphin meat to consumers), please visit their website: The Cove Movie

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Operation Green Plant - Free Vegetable, Flower or Herb Seeds

 Operation Green Plant offers free vegetable, flower or herb seeds to communities and schools. The program is courtesy of the America the Beautiful Fund - an organization that's been dedicated to keeping America green and beautiful for a couple of decades now.

To get the free seeds, you'll need to write a short letter explaining your proposed project, fill out the application and provide a check to cover shipping and handling. This could be a great way to kick start a community vegetable co-op, a kid-managed garden for a school or classroom project or even a roadside beautifying project for a local Rotary Club.

According to their website - The Operation Green Plant Program has:

• saved more than 800 tons of seeds and 7 million flower bulbs from going to waste in landfills - free plant seeds
• grown 1.75 billion pounds of food for the hungry - free vegetable seeds
• beautified roadways, parks and neighborhoods in 20,000 communities in all 50 states. - free flower seeds 

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

The area of the Pacific Ocean dubbed The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is 1,700 miles of floating plastic trash --think bigger than Texas. In fact, some say it stretches from the coast of California to China (an area estimated to be larger than the Continental U.S.)  For arguments sake, let's just say it's beyond BIG - it's almost unfathomable.  The vast majority of trash is Styrofoam and plastics - things that aren't biodegradable.


Awareness is the first step -- but certainly not enough to change or remedy the situation.  That's up to us.  It's up to us to dramatically reduce not only our plastic consumption, but also the amount of plastic waste that goes straight to landfills, and ultimately ends up in the Garbage Patch.

Feel like getting involved?  Check out these resources and stories of other eco-activists that are hoping to make a difference:

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is Worse Than We Thought - Inhabitat.com

Stop Trashing The Ocean: The Great Garbage Patch Facebook Page

Plastiki - Boat Made From Recycled Plastic Bottles Set Sail to Raise Awareness

How Green Is Your Garden? Tips for Planting Eco-Friendly Yards and Gardens

Check out these tips for creating a truly green outdoor space at home, whether you have a small backyard, a container herb garden on a deck, or a large garden. Even small changes (like switching to natural pesticides) to the way you normally care for your yard or garden can have a big impact.

How To Make Your Yard Eco-Friendly on Howcast

How to be a Green and Frugal Gardener

Organic gardening is enjoying a huge increase in popularity these days as many are looking to grow their own fruit and vegetables at home. What could be better than planting your own garden that is both eco-friendly and budget-friendly? Here are a few tips to incorporate both frugal and green gardening ideas.

Natural Remedies for Keeping Home and Garden Pest-Free

Natural pest control is better for your home and family, as well as soil and air quality. Here are some eco-friendly and budget friendly ways to keep your home and garden virtually pest free.

Happy Gardening!

Eco-Art: Check out these Recycling Artists

Here are just a few artists that have turned recycled and reused products that would normally end up in landfills into creative works of art.


British artist Jane Perkins began creating broaches from similar bits and pieces that would normally go unused. Since 2008, she's expanded her recycling technique to make portraits using buttons, toys, plastic forks--or nearly anything else she can get her hands on. Read about & see more of her work at Treehugger.com

Discarded radiator copper was used by Emma Whiteside of New Zealand, to create this 18th century "Queen Adelaide" gown featured at eCouterre.com  Whiteside spent more than 200 hours sewing together rosettes of the discarded copper.








Check out the recycled futuristic art objects from AlexAmdromeda.com. Clever 3-D sculptures are created, using old computer parts and miscellaneous electronic components.

Looking for more? Check out Etsy.com - there are more than 100,000 handmade art and craft items listed for sale that use recycled materials like paper, plastic and glass.