Recycle!

So recycling is the number 1 way to start improving the world around you. It's cheap and relatively easy to do. Why recycle you say? Well let me drop you a few stats...

• Plastic bottles take 700 years before they begin to decompose in a landfill.
• It takes over 1.5 million barrels of oil to manufacture a year’s supply of bottled water. That’s enough oil to fuel 100,000 cars.
• In 2006, Americans drank about 167 bottles of water each but only recycled an average of 23 percent. That leaves 38 billion water bottles in landfills.

If you want to start making changes in your life this is the first step. First if you don't have curbside recycling then you should call your local government office and urge them to get with the program and the 21st century and look into it. If you don't have curbside then try looking online or in your local phonebook for recycling centers where you can drop your stuff off.

In our area curbside recycling is included with our yearly taxes and contracted through our local garbage pickup people. You are provided 1 bin to put all your recyclables in and put out every other week for them to pick up. This is the one area where I am a bit of a "nazi" as I will dig stuff out of the garbage that my husband has carelessly thrown away. Needless to say we had to call and get a second bin because we recycle so much. We have a list of acceptable recyclables, example, there are a ton of types of plastic and our company only takes types 1-7. All you have to do is look at the bottom of the container and see if it's marked with the recycle symbol and the number is usually inside. They also prefer some things crushed and everything to be rinsed. This is the part my husband doesn't like. If it's hard to rinse out, like peanut butter, he would rather throw it away. To him I say stop being such a wuss, but since I do 99% of the cleaning in our house I just do it myself.

We got a little storage bin system for in our kitchen because I don't like to go all the way out to the garage to put stuff in the bins. It has 3 bins and we put paper in 1 and glass/plastic in the other. It makes it easier for the recycling people that come pick it up as I have see the truck and that is how the truck is divided. That is pretty much it. It's not very hard and it really doesn't take a lot of time. Some things are admittedly easier to rinse than others, like a shampoo bottle, but it is not too difficult. I often find myself rinsing stuff out and looking for a recycling bin at other homes I have become so programmed to recycle.

I urge all of you to take advantage of recycling. If you have curbside in your area you might already be paying for it in your taxes and if there is a drop off center in your town those are usually free also.

Other resources: http://earth911.com/plastic/plastic-bottle-recycling-facts/ (plastic stats from this site)
http://www.obviously.com/recycle/guides/common.html
and always the EPA: http://www.epa.gov/epahome/learn.htm#green

It's -10 degrees, so much for global warming...

If I hear 1 more person say that to me I might just slap them upside the head, so watch out those of you who see me on a regular basis! I guess it's kind of a funny statement when you are having a winter like this where the high and low for the day is 6 degrees, but I digress. I sometimes wonder if people who make that statement actually know anything about global warming. So here's a little back ground info:

I have a BS in biology and have study science and the environment for a number of years so I will try and give you the less sophisticated version. Basically all the fuel we burn, cars we drive and factories we run create a bunch of exhaust. All the chemicals in the exhaust get trapped in our atmosphere and cause the planet to slowly warm. That's global warming. What people don't understand is just how that changes the planet. It not only causes the overall temperature of the earth to rise, but causes sea levels to change. If you know anything about weather patterns you know our weather is effected by ocean currents and temperatures. So if you get extra warm ocean temps then you can have a different type of storm or winter. Examples are El Nino and La Nina...I'm not going to get into all of that, but just know that as temperatures rise, so do ocean temperatures and water levels.

All of this change in the water causes drastic changes in our weather. So you get hotter summers and colder winters. When we get a snowstorm it's no longer a few flurries it's 8-12 inches at once. When it's a heatwave it's not just 1 or 2 hot days, but 5 or 6 in a row. All of these changes impact a number of things including: growing seasons, travel, and wildlife to name a few.

I could continue on, but I don't want this to be too long. So just know this, I believe climate change is THE biggest problem our planet is facing. Wars and conflict are never ending, oil prices are going to continue to go up, no one on this earth will ever solve all the problems. But climate change will kill us all in the end if we do nothing about it. I'm not trying to sound all doomsdayish, but Mother Nature will kill us all faster and swifter than we can kill ourselves. I think people are finally starting to see just how serious this issue is and if you are one of the few who haven't then maybe I should point out a few facts. The hurricane season comes earlier and lasts longer now with much more intense and powerful storms. Tornadoes are popping up much more frequently and in areas that usually don't have them. Earthquakes are becoming stronger and occurring in areas that are not used to feeling them. All things in nature are cyclical and all things in nature have an order of checks and balances. If we continue on our consumeristic path mother nature will surely put us back in check.

Also if you haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth it is a must see on my list. Please rent it or borrow it from a friend or a local library.
Here are a few other places to go for more info:
http://www.globalwarming.org/gw101
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/index.html

Introductions

I like writing and I like giving people my opinion, so I thought I'd try my hand at changing the world. Well, at least trying to make a positive impact on this precious planet we call Earth.

Now before you start judging me as an environment nazi let me tell you that I'm not as green as I could be. I do not preach that you should give up all the modern conveniences of today and live like a pilgrim, although that would be best for the environment, but I do think that people should make a conscious effort to change their lifestyle for the betterment of future generations. I have been trying to make baby steps in this area as it is not always that easy.

I hope that as you read this you will be inspired to make small changes to lessen your impact on the world and try to make it a better place for every living thing. I plan on sharing my own experiences and tips and I also hope to get feedback from others who have found new or better products that are more earth friendly.