Earth Hour 2011

What are you doing Saturday night? On Saturday, March 26 at 8:30 PM, my husband and I will be turning off all the lights and each and every appliance in our house for one hour. Why? Because we are again participating in Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is an event started 4 years ago in Australia that has since become a global movement to take a stand against climate change. Each year this event has become bigger and bigger, involving hundreds of millions of people, hundreds of countries, thousands of businesses, and even iconic buildings and landmarks. That's right. Even the Golden Gate Bridge, Rome's Colosseum, and the Sydney Harbor Bridge have all stood in darkness for one hour each year, as a symbol of the changes we need to make, and the ease in which we can live a more sustainable lifestyle.

You can pledge to turn off your lights for one hour tomorrow night starting at 8:30 PM local time simply by going to www.earthhour.org.

This year, the organizers have decided to take it a step further and ask each of us to "go beyond the hour." It's an initiative that is meant to get people thinking and talking about the other ways in which we can incorporate eco-friendly ideas into our own lifestyle. Things as simple as recycling, eating more locally grown foods, composting, and switching to greener beauty products. Learn more and add your own act here.

I've recently created a new blog that tracks my journey toward living a healthier, greener lifestyle: Amy Goes Green. What will you do?

National Change A Light Day

This blog gives a great (short) post about the significance changing one light bulb (or all) in your house today can not only benefit the environment, but you. Take a quick peak and then go get a CFL and change a bulb! (Or, if you weren't planning on running errands today, maybe wait until your next big trip so you save some gas.) I've changed all but one of the normal-sized light bulbs in my house with CFLs (and the last one I just bought and haven't put in quite yet). Did you know that one CFL can save you about $30 in electricity costs during its lifetime? Now count how many light bulbs you have in your house and multiply that by 30. Nice number, isn't it?

And in case you forgot, I wrote a post here that gives you links to lots of interesting and useful information about CFLs.

It's a Better Excuse Than I Give

For all you greenies out there. :-)

I'm constantly writing notes to myself on my hands, usually because I just can't find a piece of paper. But this is another reason why I should do it!

Like a Candle in the Dark

Looking for something to do Saturday night? How about participating in a global movement? Earth Hour is an event sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). At 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 (tomorrow), people and cities around the world will turn off their lights and spend an hour in darkness in an effort to show support in fighting climate change.

While I'm not sure what turning the lights off in my apartment for one hour is really going to do in the grand scheme of things, I suppose it's nice to feel a part of a worldwide movement. I also think it would be nice to just turn off electronics for an hour and do something different. Lately, I've been wanting to keep the TV off and just sit and read or clean. It's a much calmer atmosphere when I don't have bright lights, fast-paced scenes, and noises constantly at the forefront of my senses. It'd be nice to revert to candlelight for an hour - it's such a calming atmosphere. Plus, it would probably force people to pay attention to one another; you're not distracted by a TV or computer. Play a board game or do a puzzle with a loved one or friend, or just have some quiet time. Either way, you'd have to admit that taking just one hour out of your night to focus on something different from what you're used to has got to be a nice change of pace.

Now comes the hard part. What if you're not going to be home tomorrow night? Or what if you don't know if you'll be home? I'm more than willing to sign up for Earth Hour, but I'd feel bad if I signed up and then didn't participate. Of course, I guess if I'm out then the lights in my apartment will be off anyway, but am I supposed to participate no matter where I am? What if I'm at a friend's house? Do I ask them to turn their lights off for an hour? That wouldn't be right. So maybe it's enough that my apartment is dark, whether I'm there or not.

::Cough, Cough::

Counties not meeting the Environmental Protection Agency's health standard as it concerns smog.

Guess who's on the list?

Here's Yahoo!'s AP report on the EPA's new health standard that tightens the limits even more on the amount of ozone (or smog) released into the air.

Just thought some of you might be interested.

Somebody Put on Their Thinking Cap This Morning

I know many of you may not care about this information, or find it interesting, but I do (and it's my blog, so hah!).

Sustainablog has once again shown up on my Google Reader with an interesting article: "How Not to Lose that Wind Power Feelin'." In the article they say that Xcel Energy is planning to test two 80-ton batteries in an effort to capture and save up wind-power energy and use it when wind speed has significantly dropped and electrical flow is uneven. If these batteries work, a major argument against wind power may stop forever; inconsistent wind flow doesn't have to mean inconsistent electricity!

Happy Green News!

I have been searching for quite some time now on Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs and their safety vs. their environmental friendliness. Finally, I found something! Slate.com has an article that I suggest you read here. (It's not very long, and it's very informative. I know you can spare 5 minutes.) It tells you how much mercury is really in each bulb, and what this means to you and your health, and how to properly dispose of them.

What I love about this article is that it gives you links to a LOT of previously unknown information. For instance, here's an article on what to do if your CFL breaks. For those of you who are more science-minded, here's information on OSHA's (Occupational Safety and Health Administration's) permissable exposure limit for mercury vapor in a workplace environment, and, my personal favorite, how to correctly dispose of CFLs in your area. That website will also help you find local drop-offs for other potentially hazardous materials; just use the search bar at the top. This is information that I have been looking for but was unable to find no matter how hard I looked (Fort Wayne's environmental website is a joke). Here's what to do if you live in or near the Fort Wayne area. Like the Slate.com article says, you can also use RecyclePak, which ships you containers and you ship them back the light bulbs in the prepaid conainters free of charge.

So, that long post was meant to say, "Yes, there is mercury in CFLs, and yes, proper disposal of them has not been talked about enough, especially in our area, but here are the answers and it is worth the small inconvenience of driving the bulbs or packaging them up in order to conserve energy and help the planet. It's the least we can do."

*casually steps off soap-box*

Woohoo! Free Money!

Yeah, right. Anyone else remember TINSTAAFL from their senior year econ. class? Just as there's no such thing as a free lunch, there's no such thing as free money from the government. That's right, I'm on to you, you tricky politicians. You're getting ready to send me a nice little check, and don't get me wrong, I'm not going to turn it down, but you want me to spend it to help boost the economy. While I may think that's a noble cause (mainly because I want a lot of stuff), I think I can find a better use for this so-called "free money" I shall be receiving. (By the way, that's just a less-boring way of saying that I'm going to be paying my bills and paying off student loans instead of buying this and this and....well, you get the point.)

Sustainablog.org has an interesting take on the impending "free money." They suggest saving instead of spending as well, and if we do spend, why not on something like CFLs or repairing windows that don't trap in the heat you're already paying for? Investing in things like these will save you more money in the end, making us less likely to need a handout from the government (again, not that I'm complaining - I'll be anxiously checking my mailbox every day).

So let's not get blinded by the idea of free money miraculously showing up at our doors. After all, there's no such thing as free in our economy.



(Picture obtained here.)

Philanthropic 2.0

For my next installment of 2.0 winners on SEOmoz, I picked philanthropy (bet you didn't see that one coming) and "being green," because these two seemed to be closely tied together on the site.

Donors Choose came in second on the list, and is a great way for teachers to support their classrooms. Public school teachers from all over create project proposals to be submitted on this website, listing exactly which resources they need (and can't supply be themselves or through their schools) in order for their students to learn and have a great learning experience. Then, you, the mighty philanthropist, can look at the different proposals and give as you so choose to the request that pulls the hardest on your heartstrings. In return, the students you help will send you thank-you letters letting you know how much they appreciated your help.

Giveness was actually named Givezilla when it received an honorable mention on SEOmoz, but is still the same site. Here individuals can help support non-profit organizations when they buy products through the site. A portion of the sales (and I think they even normally tell you exactly how much) goes to the non-profit of your choice. You can shop many different stores through Giveness, even places such as eBay, iTunes, The Gap, NewEgg, Orbitz, Overstock - the list goes on and on. In order for non-profits to qualify for this, they need to register on Giveness. So, if you work for a non-profit, why not check it out? And if you want to support one, here's a great opportunity.

This one didn't win anything on SEOmoz (I don't think, anyway) but it's a personal favorite of mine - FreeRice. Some of you have already heard of this, I know, but it's worth reiterating. FreeRice is a sister website to Poverty.com, and aims to help end world hunger while giving you a better vocabulary. If you have a few minutes, I stongly urge you to check this out. All you do is guess the answer that best defines the word shown. If you get it right, 20 grains of rice are donated through the United Nations World Food Program. If you get it wrong, you get to try again on an easier word. So far, since its start in October of 2007 (just 3 months ago!) over 13 BILLION grains of rice have been donated. Not only is this game addicting and a great vocabulary tool, but it is the easiest way I know of to help those less fortunate that we could otherwise not reach.

The winner of the philanthropy section was Care2, a website that uses donations, petitions, tips, and group support to make our world a better place. This website not only deals with being green, but also animal welfare, human rights, child welfare, civil rights, etc. Here you can find tips for making your living style a little greener (send e-cards (provided for you on the site!) instead of snail mail), sign a petition for a cause you feel strongly about, receive newsletters to keep you updated, read others' blogs on your favorite topics, and even find a job based on a company's past record of contributing to society and reducing its environmental footprint! This site has a little bit of everything - there's so much information that it would be a shame not to take a peek.

And finally, SEOmoz's third place winner under the philanthropy category: BeGreenNow. Learn about global warming and its effect on the environment, calculate your personal carbon emissions and learn what you can do to offset or eliminate them, and, if you choose to donate, see exactly where your money is going. Learn about Green Mountain Energy and eMission Solutions and what they're doing to increase solar and wind power and use carbon management solutions with the next generation of businesses. What can I say? If you want to know what all the buzz about "green" is, this site is a perfect introduction. And if you're already green at heart? Take a look anyway - I guarantee you'll learn something new.

Indiana's Environment in the Blogging Sphere

Let me explain how I got to this post. First, I was updating my Google Reader because of yesterday's disaster. I happened upon Pegomatic's blog and her post about Blog Action Day. Being a strong advocate of a greener Earth (bet you didn't know that, did you?) I checked it out, and was disappointed that I was two days too late, but I signed up for notices about next year's.....blogging....thing. Anyway, then, as I was about to sign out of Blogger after my last post, I noticed a little farther down that Blogger had made some comments about Blog Action Day and had some websites listed, as well as the idea to search for environmentally minded blogs. I looked at a few of the blogs listed, and I found this. A blogger blogged about Indiana's steps toward green. Notice, however, that Allen is not one of the counties mentioned for contributing to an 8-hour air quality requirement, but our county houses the second largest city in the state. Without further research, I'm assuming this means that our county is not doing as a great of a part for our environment as we could be.

Question of the Day: What could we easily do to increase the "greenness" of Allen County, Fort Wayne, ACPL, and our homes?

To get started, I recently purchased 9 compact fluorescent light bulbs and installed them in my apartment, making most of the lights I use environmentally friendly. Anyone else have any thoughts?

(On what to do with CFLs when they eventually burn out.)