Betsy Franz's Backyard Video

Nothing to be said, just watch and enjoy....



More of Betsy's great stuff can be seen on her blog, The Nature Lady.

Blueprints Aren't Leaving A Green Footprint

I was recently contacted by Houston Neal of SoftwareAdvice.com. He wanted to share with me, one of his heartfelt environmental concerns. This involves the production and printing of over 37 million, hard-copy blueprints, every year.

Until, I read Houston's article on this subject, I didn't have a clue regarding this topic. It excited me to think just how many more ways there are, to take positive steps, in reducing our carbon footprint.

It also saddened me a bit. This being, because it shows how much abundance this planet has had available to it, and the misuses that have been facilitated by it. We, as a society, come by most things pretty darn easily. But, the resources to create those things are dwindling away more rapidly, than they can be restored.

Houston's article on the Construction Blog, talks about the huge amount of paper usage every year, just due to printing off blueprints. Then, it looks at the digital alternative, which means zero waste, and a green footprint for blueprints.

I really appreciate Houston Neal sharing this information with me. I hope that it raises an awareness in many of you, to look at other areas where your activities may be adversely affecting the environment. I know that it certainly has, for me.

Building Trust For Climate Change Means Action

I was the voice of many last Saturday night in Boise, when we stood in front of the Idaho State Capital, and voiced our passion for a Real Deal in Copenhagen. Now, a week later, I sit and ponder if our voices were even heard.

Honestly, I don't know the answers. But, I'm not naive enough, not to know, that there's a lot of 'special interest' involved in these discussions and decisions, (or lack thereof). In the meantime, I have to choose to believe that COP 15 was a launching pad for accelerating efforts and achievements, in dealing with global warming issues.

President Obama stated that there needs to be, "The building of trust between between developed and developing countries." That 'trust' cannot just be bought. It must also be demonstrated by action.

Rhetoric has to be replaced with action. And those actions, are necessary by everyone on this planet, as well as each and every country. Whether those citizens be from a developing or developed country, action is key.

A quote from an associate of mine, Antonio Bettencourt, in a recent LinkedIn discussion, voices my sentiments quite well:

"I suspect that the more aggressive actions we take, the more "moral authority" we will have in the world and the better we will be able to pressure other countries to step up to their obligations."

Also, as Gandhi said, "be the change you wish to see in the world". Another way to personalize this is: The more I change, the more I see I can do.

What will you do?

Climate Leaders Announced by EPA

It's not a secret that I am a Shaklee Distributor. It's also not a secret that a lot of folks turn their noses up to Shaklee and MLM's in general, based on past experiences and a lot of heresay.

So, for those that consider themselves environmentally conscious members of society and would choose to continue to be closed-minded about Shaklee and the notion that companies and people can't change, then please don't bother reading any futher. But, to those environmentally conscious members of society that believe in progress, change and the idea that ANYONE can catch the vision; I'd like to brag about Shaklee's latest environmental achievement.

On December 2nd, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that eight businesses achieved goals set by the EPA, thus recognizing these companies as EPA Climate Leaders in 2009. Shaklee achieved its initial goal by maintaining net zero U.S. GHG emissions from 2006 to 2009, using a 2004 base year.

As stated on the EPA's website: "The EPA works with companies to develop comprehensive climate change strategies. Partner companies commit to reducing their impact on the global environment by completing a corporate-wide inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions based on a quality management system, setting aggressive reduction goals, and annually reporting their progress to EPA. Through program participation, companies create a credible record of their accomplishments and receive EPA recognition as corporate environmental leaders."

This is not the first time that Shaklee received this honor. In 2006, they were recognized as a Climate Leader by the EPA. Actually, for over 50 years, Shaklee has quietly led the way in environmental stewardship and support of social causes.

In 2000, Shaklee became the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral™ certification and totally offset its CO2 emissions. There is more information on their achieivements and causes on the Shaklee website.

Thanks for allowing me the opportunity to share about Shaklee receiving the EPA Climate Leader Award. I am very proud of Shaklee and continue to strive, just as they do, to make positive changes for the sustainability of planet Earth.

Virtual Christmas Cards

I’m going a new direction with my Christmas Card giving this year. This is a VERY hard change for me, because I LOVE to write up a Christmas letter with pictures and mail to EVERYONE! But, even using recycled products for this project, isn’t really helping my carbon footprint reduction :-(

Therefore, I just signed up for a great online greeting card program that is done all via internet. The selection of virtual cards for Christmas, birthday’s, thank you, etc, is quite significant. Plus, they are animated and very unique. I had never heard of this company until I received a card via a LinkedIn associate this week. The website is located at www.jacquielawson.com.

I am still going to have to put together a letter of sorts and probably mail it out to those, who are not connected to the internet. But, that will be a very small number. I may still need to put out an online Christmas letter with my Virtual Christmas Card, but that will be relatively easy.

Besides the savings in paper, postage, time, etc., the bigger picture is that I’ll be creating less waste. That’s my newest gift to this beautiful planet.

What will you be able to give to Earth for Christmas this year?

Here's a winter card greeting to share with all of you: Winter Card

Show Thanks With Less Waste

I realized after creating the title to this post, that it could be written two ways: 'Waste' versus 'Waist'...LOL !! Since, this is my environmental focused blog, I do believe I'll stick with the 'household waste' issues for now ;-)

According to the folks at RecycleWorks.org, household waste increases by more than 25% from Thanksgiving to New Years Day. There is added food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, etc.

Not only can you make easy choices to be less wasteful this Thanksgiving, they may even cost less than your usual holiday habits. Here's a few suggestions to think about:

Shopping
Don't forget to take those reusable bags. Not only are they better than using plastic and paper, but they're much stronger and hold a lot more.

Setting The Table
I know! I know! Paper & plastic products are sooo much easier to use with all the folks coming over for dinner. But, think of the money you'll save if you use your existing plates & silverware and run them in the dishwasher at the end of the meal?

Decorating
Don't go out and buy more "stuff". Look around the house and garage. I'm SURE there are several cool things already in your treasures, that would make great decos, with some slight modifications.

Recycle
Put the food scraps in your newly created composter. And ask your guests to sort out the paper, plastic items into your new recycling area.

By the way, that 'new recycling area' doesn't have to be anything fancy. I use old garage bins and cardboard boxes to service my family's recycling needs. Don't go crazy, just be a little more savvy.

The saying, "Waste not. Want not.", couldn't be more applicable here. Remember, baby steps is okay!

Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Green, Cheap & It Works !

Some would try to say that a if a product is "green"; then it is probably more expensive than other like products. And those same folks may also want to say, that if it's cheap; then it probably doesn't perform as well as other like products.

I'd like to dispel those arguments by telling you that you can purchase, non-toxic, natural, biodegradable products from Shaklee and they are in fact; GREEN, CHEAP & THEY WORK !!

Over at the Fabulessly Frugal website, is a breakdown of my favorite 2 cleaning products, and they're both offered by Shaklee. Basic H2 is an all-purpose cleaning product and Basic G, handles the "germie" places.

Here's a short clip from Rachel Ray's program, talking about Shaklee's wonderful earth-friendly and people-friendly cleaning products.

Energy Conservation Equals Big Savings For Consumer

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Recycling - It All Comes Back To You

I don't think it's any secret that I have a passion for environmental stewardship. No act is too small to improve one's carbon footprint on the planet. Therefore, I am pleased to announce a local Recycling Awareness Event that will be held in my Treasure Valley, Idaho community on November 21, 2009.

Motivated by the AmericaRecyclesDay.org coalition, this grassroots Recycling Awareness event will be held at Silverhawk Realty in Fruitland, Idaho from 10 am to 2 pm. The event will focus on recycling resources in the Payette County area. There will be information available about the environmental and fiscal impacts on our community and planet, resulting from more aggressive recycling by everyone.

Silverhawk Realty has graciously offered to host the event, and Western Recycling will be there with some of their collection bins. There will be additional information about recycling options in the general area of Payette County.

America Recycles Day slogan this year is, "It all comes back to you". So, take the pledge and make a difference in our community and our future. It's a Win-Win for you and the planet!

LED Light bulb vs CFL Light bulb

Previously, I've posted about the environmental importance of phasing out the use of regular incandescent light bulbs and moving to more energy efficient CFL light bulbs. But, as progress marches on, so does the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the LED light bulb.

Initially, an LED (light emitting diode) light, was most commonly a little red light that emitted from different products. It was often the illumination of time, but as time also marches on, so does the LED light bulb.

Now that technology has figured out how to 'cluster' the LED's to improve the quality of the focused light beam, they are becoming more advanced and not so cost-prohibitive. To compare the cost of the incandescent bulb, CFL light bulb and the LED light bulb, the folks over at Eartheasy.com have posted a great comparison chart.

Anyone can start the transition from regular incandescent light or CFL lighting, over to the LED light bulb, in small steps. One way to start and get paid for doing it, is to recycle your old Christmas light strings at Home Depot and receive a coupon towards Christmas LED light bulbs. Phillips is also offering a rebate through December 31, 2009, for the purchase of LED light bulbs, as well as CFL light bulbs.

Check out the comparison chart at Eartheasy.com for excellent information on the value of CFL light bulbs vs LED light bulbs. Even at a slightly higher cost up front, LED light bulbs overall, appear to be the long-term winner.