Change The World Wednesday

Welcome! If you are new to Reduce Footprints ... or would like to see the complete list of challenges, please click HERE.

Are you ready for a new challenge? This week we're going to do something fun! We're going to investigate the world of electronic greetings. Everyone likes receiving greeting cards but, all those cards mean a lot of paper and resources to get them from point A to point B. Unfortunately, they typically get tossed out ... and that's a lot of waste. With that in mind ... here's our challenge:

This week, send at least one electronic greeting card to friends and/or family (imagine their smiles). Then, come back here and share your favorite e-greeting link. I'll start you off with my favorite: Care2 Free eCards.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

Last week we challenged ourselves to have a stove- oven- and microwave-free day. How did it go for you? In my house, we prepared some beans and rice before the challenge and made some wonderful salads. The beans also turned into great sandwiches. Fruit, raw veggies and crackers served as a nice, light dinner. It was fun to get away from cooking for a day! Let's see how our Honor Society did:

EcoGrrl reminded us that cooking larger quantities, for use all week, not only ensures great food but saves us money.

What A Card, who gave us the idea for this challenge, decided to do a little research to find out which cooking method is actually the most energy efficient. Hopefully she'll write about it (inquiring minds need to know). She also posted about this challenge and included pictures of her no-cook meal (yum). You can read that article HERE.

Kelli agreed to give this challenge a try ... thanks, Kelli!

Bob stopped by (thanks for sharing a "green" site with us, Bob).

Kira dropped in ... she wasn't sure she'd be able to accomplish this challenge but shared that she did great on the reusable mug challenge from the week before. Yay!

Our bloggy friend Ange joined in the fun ... she had a great idea about making couscous with warm water and adding leftover veggies to it for a tasty meal. And here's a tip, I hear that one can make couscous with hot tap water ... just collect the water for watering plants, etc., while waiting for the water to heat.

Aine Butler-Smith not only took the challenge, she stepped it up a notch ... she decided to see how many days, and concoctions, she could come up with. In two articles, she posted recipes, pictures and a few lessons learned. Truly, reading her posts made me hungry. You can read her mouth-watering posts HERE and HERE. Nicely done, Aine!

"Anonymous" stopped in and offered these words of advice: "be aware of those who promise improvements; it may be at the price of mankind". My personal belief is that it is our responsibility to investigate all issues ... it's the only way we'll ever come to the truth! So I thank "Anonymous" for that reminder.

Green Gal accepted the challenge, including the microwave-free upgrade. She's also continuing a challenge we did recently about reading food labels by keeping a food journal. Read about that effort and get the recipe for her vegetable soup HERE.

Patk860 doesn't like to cook so ... she happily accepted the challenge. And ... while this post wasn't written for our challenges, it really speaks to the idea behind them ... it's called "I'm challenging myself".

Our bloggy friend Sinclair took the challenge, especially the microwave-free option ... you can read about why, HERE.

Artangel took the challenge ... and suggested that the spirit of these challenges works on any day, not just Wednesday. I totally agree!

The Wright Stuff dropped in. You might remember that last week, she decided to write to a coffee shop and suggest that they reduce the price of a cup of coffee when patrons bring their own mugs. Well, she got a response and the coffee shop is considering her request. Way to go!!

The Accessory Lady accepted the challenge. She had some great ideas for no-cook meals ... a hearty salad with homemade miso & ginger dressing and an appetizer dinner (cheese, crackers, veggies, etc.). Sounds yummy!

Jessica joined in the fun and very kindly wrote this post: A Cool Eco Blog! Thanks, so much, Jessica!

Sharon from Mana Moon Studios didn't feel she could take on this challenge but dropped in to offer her support just the same. By the way, Congrats to Sharon for winning the Sunshine Award!

Ann joined us ... while she and her son had no problem with the no-cook idea, her husband wasn't as receptive. In her article, Save the World, Thursday Green: Cleaning the Lake, she gave our challenge a nice plug. Thanks, Ann

Maurie Kirschner took the challenge ... and let me say ... those veggie-filled wraps made my mouth water (you can see them HERE). Maurie brought up a good point ... many of the veggies used in the wrap came from Mexico ... and is it really "Eco-friendly" to eat non-local foods? My opinion is that, as a regular thing, I don't think it's "earth friendly". But ... as a treat, or when a body seriously needs some veggies that aren't available locally ... I think it's okay! It's all about balance!

My bloggy friend, Inge', took on the challenge ... she said it was harder than she thought it would be ... especially when her daughter asked What?!No Cornbread!

It was another great week and I thank all of you for your participation! I've Stumbled and Tweeted your articles.

WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!