Green in the New Year

Kate Finklea, my awesome cohort at ITSYOURNATURE.ORG, reposted this great blog entry from http://www.simplesteps.org about going green in the new year. If you haven't yet checked out our page and blog, find us here:

http://www.itsyournature.org

and here on myspace:

http://myspace.com/itsyournature

It's Resolution time again, and as we all struggle to reform and renew our personal pledges, take a moment to think about how your individual improvements can create a greater worldwide impact. Thanks to our friends at simplesteps.org we have some help for those looking to act a little greener in the new year.

"Resolutions for a Greener New Year"

This year make a few resolutions that are easy to keep. Pledge to take a couple simple steps, one at a time, to live healthier, reduce waste and tread a little more lightly. Do one or do them all but each is a beginning, a small step to a more balanced life. Start by eating well, then take a couple steps to simplify your life and cut down on clutter.

Eat well!

Buy organic <http://www.simplesteps.org/content/view/1/103/37/> when you can particularly peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines and strawberries, which commonly contain the most pesticides.

Eat more locally grown food <http://www.simplesteps.org/content/view/1/192/37/> . In season produce that hasn't flown half-way around the world will be fresher, tastier and cuts down on pollution.

Stop buying tomato-based canned food and drink less soda. The linings of the cans leach BPA into your food and drink.

Avoid fish high in mercury and choose fish that are sustainably caught to ensure a steady supply for years to come.

Simplify!

Grab that stack of holiday catalogs and log onto Catalog Choice <http://www.catalogchoice.org/> to put a stop to unwanted catalogs <http://www.simplesteps.org/content/view/1/195/37/> .

Don't spray pesticides to control pest in your home. Safer alternatives are more effective and longer lasting.

Carry a reusable bag and refuse plastic bags -- no more breaking, tearing or blowing in the wind.

Save!

If you're leaving a trail of 12 oz. plastic water bottles in your wake, buy an aluminum reusable bottle instead.

Take a couple simple steps to save a lot of energy. Start by disabling your computer's screensaver and setting it to 'sleep' after 5 minutes of activity. Shut it off when you're done.

Don't buy clothes that need to be dry cleaned. Many fabrics can be safely washed or spot cleaned at home, even if the label says 'dry clean only'. Almost all dry cleaning uses toxic chemicals that linger on your clothes and in the air <http://www.simplesteps.org/content/view/1/198/41/> .

Clean your home with natural products, just about anything can be cleaned with vinegar, lemon juice, baking soda or Borax.

Reuse and Recycle!

Every piece of paper, bottle and jar counts. Every TV, answering machine and old computer really counts by keeping toxic chemicals out of our air and water.

Before tossing something, donate it or offer it to others.

I've been Overpowered by Roisin.

But please don't save me.
I discovered this awesome singer recently named Roisin Murphy. (It's an Irish name pronounced rosh'-een.) She was with a band called Moloko that had a hit in the 90's called "Fun For Me." Her new album is called "Overpowered" and is the kind of disc Madonna would cut if she wrote deeper lyrics and had a sense of humor. While "Confessions On A Dancefloor" wants to get in your pants and pass out, "Overpowered" wants to seduce you over a martini and cook you an exotic breakfast. I love this chic's phenomenal voice and her wacked out asthetic.

Her newest videos are kind of the beginning of a longer story about a popstar who never stops being a popstar. From the club and on the way home in "Overpowered:"



In a common little diner on an otherwise boring day in "Let Me Know:"


The best two tracks on the album are "Primitive" and "Dear Miami." This live performance of "Primitive" is killer- seductive, intelligent, a blisterig guitar workout at the end. Roisin's my new girlfriend. She just doesn't know it yet.

Oh, Christmas Tree...

I'm allergic to just about everything that grows. So when I enter a warm, cozy, Holiday dinner party and get that first whiff of a 6-foot Pine, I want to run for the hills. Preferably, Pine-free hills.
Not only am I allergic, but one time when I was 8, I was attacked by a Christmas tree. I was asleep on our sofa bed waiting for Santa Claus, when I woke up with a sharp pain in my legs. Our cat, Maggie, had climbed to the top of our tree, sending it falling on it's side and smack down onto my legs. My mom picked about 30 needles out of my legs as I sneezed and puffed up like a Christmas turkey.
I...
don't...
like...
Christmas trees.

But if you have a real tree, there are some environmentally-minded ways to dispose of it come the new year. I found a great resource at:

http://earth911.org/green-your-holidays/treecycling/

There, you can find out why and how it's good to recycle as many of the 35 million real Christmas trees sold in North America this year. The onetime symbol of your holiday joy gets smashed up and the remains of it get used for:

1. Chipping (chippings are used for various things from mulch to hiking trails)
2. Beachfront erosion prevention
3. Lake and river shoreline stabilization
4. Fish habitat
5. River delta sedimentation management

You can also check out http://www.christmastree.org for more info.