A picture is worth a 1000 words ...

The next video is hard to watch and may not be appropriate for everyone!

Change The World Wednesday

Let's jump right into this week's challenge! We're going to do one more paper-reducing challenge and then, we'll move onto something else next week (I can hear you cheering ... lol). Here you are:

Receiving and paying paper bills is a lot of paper and a lot of waste ... not to mention resources getting the bill to and from one's home. So, this week sign up to receive at least one paperless bill and pay it online. If you're not sure how to do this, contact the biller for instructions.

Or ...

If this is something you already do, please write a post about all the benefits of paying bills online.

Are you willing to give it a go?

Last week we didn't buy reading materials and, instead, swapped with friends and family or read online publications. How did you do with that challenge? Here's what our Honor Society had to say:

Maurie Kirschner accepted the challenge but then, the current issue of Vegetarian Times came out ... and well ... she caved! However, she did a few other Eco-friendly activities that day which you can read about HERE. Maurie says she failed and succeeded, all in less than an hour. I think the successes won!

EcoGrrl joined us. Once she realized that it took her 10 minutes to get through a $5.00 magazine, she decided to stop buying them. She's also tired of receiving those unwanted news supplements so she's calling the Oregonian and asking them to stop delivering them.

Ange found a blog that swaps magazines. She received two vintage Martha Stewart's in exchange for a couple of French magazines ... and she is offering to swap French magazines with anyone who is interested. How cool is that! She also suggested putting up a sign in a local café to start a book swap club ... members swap books and hold occasional meetings to discuss what is being read. Great idea ... and sounds like fun!

Le-Chat sells books online that were found in the trash ... and what can't be sold is given away. You can read about one of her recycled "finds" HERE. I'm constantly amazed at the usable items that Le-Chat finds and recycles. Brilliant!

Mrs. Green loves the library, shares a newspaper with a neighbor and limits purchased magazine subscriptions to only one a year (which only comes out every other month). She found a shocking statistic about the amount of waste generated in the publishing industry. Read about that HERE.

Argentum Vulgaris took the challenge. He has reduced paper use in his house by a considerable amount. Way to go, AV! You can read about what he's doing HERE (wow ... a 4-pack of toilet paper lasts two plus months!).

Ann shared a brilliant idea with us ... in her area, residents put "No circulars" or "Addressed mail only" stickers on their mail boxes. Any complaints received about these requests being ignored could cost the delivery person their job. She also wrote a wonderful post on Planting trees and native plants. Thank you, Ann!

From an October challenge, Energy Saving shared THIS SITE with us. It includes a lot of good information!

Thanks to everyone who participated! By the way ... if you have an idea for a challenge ... perhaps something that you're struggling with ... please send it in. We'll tackle it together!

I've Stumbled and Tweeted your articles!

Are you ready? All together now ...

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

Three Easy Things (2010 Version) ...

Here are three easy ways to help the earth today:

1. Watch the following video.
2. Mark your calendars for March 27, 2010, @ 8:30 pm.
3. Tell everyone you know.






For more information on Earth Hour 2010, click HERE.

For teacher/parent materials, and fun activities for kids, click HERE.

As always ... I would love to hear from you!

Article Swap ...

Today I have something special for you ... my bloggy friend Lynn, from Smiling Green Mom, and I are swapping posts. Yep ... she's writing for Reduce Footprints and I'll be writing for Smiling Green Mom.

Smiling Green Mom is a wonderful blog. Lynn covers all kinds of topics ... from a recent recipe for Dairy-Free Creamy Potato Soup to a wonderful post on how living green can save your life and your pocket-book. She writes with sincerity and humor ... I think you'll enjoy her style.

Okay ... relax and enjoy her post and then, if you have a few more minutes, click on the bus for a ride to Smiling Green Mom where you'll see what I have to say today.


As the mom of two, one being our four-year-old who suffers from food allergies and Eczema that once covered his tiny body, our family has embraced “true” foods and natural green living. You could say that we “stumbled” onto this path or perhaps a more accurate depiction would be that of someone actually being physically, mentally and emotionally picked up and deliberately thrown inside of a tornado. It was a whirlwind of frustration, tears and exhaustion. I say deliberate because I don’t believe anything happens by chance.

Now that our son is so much better, (I am always happy to share how this happened with anyone who wants to listen) I can look back and see that so much of what we experienced through our son’s Eczema and allergies, became an opportunity for us to see how ordinary and everyday things that surround us can impact our health. We were “forced” to learn how to read food labels, we saw first-hand how even a small amount of a synthetic ingredient could impact our body by seeing our son’s skin immediately react. We knew, just by looking at our small baby’s red and inflamed skin that our home needed to become “toxin-free”. And so our story began.

All of us have a story! Maybe your story involves depression or anxiety? Maybe you know of someone who has suffered from disease – or maybe you feel overwhelmed with daily “clutter”? Our lives are made of many small events that have the ability to shape us and to make our story an amazing one. We have a choice to embrace our challenges and experiences and turn them into something meaningful and positive. And guess what? Living green is a lifestyle made of small choices everyday that add up in so many ways and have the power to be healing to our inner-selves and the whole world around us. Sometimes, all it takes is for us to slow-down and de-clutter our lives and our homes to really feel the peace that comes from simplifying.

Living green to me means just this. It means choosing to live a natural, simple and abundant life by making daily choices that are good for my family and good for our planet. Some of the small choices we have made in the past year have included planting a garden, making our own laundry soap, shopping our local farmer’s market, avoiding processed foods, cooking homemade and making our own cleaners. There are so many shades of green and no two people are ever the same. But if we all started changing just a few things, avoiding over-consumption and really simplifying our daily lives - it could have a huge impact for our planet, for ourselves and for those around us.

All it takes is one voice. One change. One life to make a difference. How exciting that all of us have the opportunity in front of us everyday to make small choices with great impact. I urge you look at the experiences that have shaped who you are today and to use these, whether good or bad, to become better. I just read a great quote somewhere that said, “it doesn’t matter how good you are, it matters how good you want to be”. Small changes really can make a difference and I encourage you to turn your story into a fantastic novel!



A big thanks goes to Lynn for that great post. Okay ... ready for a ride? Hop aboard!

Change The World Wednesday

Welcome to our weekly challenges! If you are new here, please read our "rules" to get acquainted.

Last week we tried to eliminate catalogs from our life and reduce paper waste. For some it was an easy challenge, consisting of logging into Catalog Choice and selecting the catalog to be eliminated ... for others it was more difficult and entailed contacting businesses directly to ask that they remove us from their mailing list. Easy or difficult ... each catalog eliminated was paper and resources saved. Thanks to all who participated. Here's our Honor Society:

Ange took the challenge and she "upped" it one: "May I go one step further and suggest we all write to our favourite store and ask them not to print as many of their catalogues and rather to take the lead in E catalogues ..." Brilliant idea, Ange ... and I take that challenge!

EcoGrrl joined us. Here's a reminder she had for reducing our paper use: "Being more conscious when grabbing those paper towels in the restroom, those napkins at the cafe, etc." Great reminder!

What A Card doesn't have an online "opt out" for catalogs in her area so she accepted the challenge and continues to call companies to get her name off their list. Great job!

Our bloggy friend, Argentum Vulgaris, stopped by. Thanks, AV, for spreading the word about the killing of Grey Seals in Canada!

A new Asheville bloggy buddy, Wendy Roche, came by ... nice to "see" you Wendy!

Ann joined us. In her post she talks about saving the world by saving our children. You can read it HERE.

Le-Chat took the challenge and shares her paper saving techniques HERE.

Mrs. Green joined us and is ""Saying No to 1500 Catalogs a Year".

Rewinn suggested that we "Dump Your Home Printer" as a way to save paper. In that article, he talks about living without his printer (for over a year) and all the other things he's saved in the process.

As always, our Honor Society did a great job. Ready for a new task?

This week's challenge was suggested by our bloggy friend Heather, from Earth Promise, after reading Monday's post on books. I think it's a fantastic idea! Here's her challenge:

Think of all that we read on a daily basis, whether it be magazines, newspapers, books, etc. I propose that for one week we do not purchase a newspaper, magazine, book, but rather swap with someone or find your news online......

It's a wonderful challenge!

Just a reminder ... if you write an article about our challenges, be sure to leave a comment ... I'll Stumble and Tweet them.

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

Enjoying a good read ...

Here's an interesting fact: "The U.S. book and newspaper industries combined require the harvest of 125 million trees each year and emit over 40 million metric tons of CO2 annually; equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions of 7.3 million cars." from The Green Press Initiative.

On these cold winter days, there's nothing better than curling up with a good book ... losing one's self in a story or learning something new. The feel of a book ... the smell of the pages ... it is, for many of us, a link to our earliest memories. Unfortunately, it requires a lot of paper and resources to go from an idea in an author's mind to a book in our hands. Yes, we can now read books online or buy reading devices but, for many of us, there is nothing better than holding a book.

Here are a few ideas to minimize the environmental impact of books:

• Use the library. If you haven't been to a library for some time, you might be surprised. Today's libraries are user-friendly, organizing isles by subject and interest.
  
  
• Consider buying a "used" book. If owning a book is more appealing than "renting" one from a library, check out used book stores. Prices are typically lower and many stores offer cash for your trade-ins and/or points towards other books.
  
  
• Check out thrift stores. Many people buy a book, read it once, and then donate it ... so "almost new" editions can be found.
  
  
• Consider trading books. There are now many online sites dedicated to book swapping. Check out these sites (graciously provided by our bloggy friend Brian, at Eazy Cheezy):
  
  

Bookins
Book Mooch
Swap Tree
Title Trader
Zunafish
Paperback Swap

• Create your own swap club with friends and family ... once a book has been enjoyed, pass it on.

Living "green" is often a matter of balance. A book, by it's very nature, is less than environmentally friendly but ... by adopting these ideas we can minimize our impact ... all while enjoying a good read.

As always ... I would love to hear from you!

A Plea & then ... Something Completely Different

A plea ...

Those of you who have followed my blog know, or have guessed, that I don't kill animals, insects ... basically any living critters ... not even the creepy, crawly variety. In previous posts, I've talked about not killing wasps because they are pollinators, eating meatless meals because they are good for the planet and why we shouldn't buy ornaments which are made out of bird feathers. I realize that not everyone shares my belief ... and I respect that.

I recently received the following article from Humane Society International. It is about the slaughter of Grey Seals on Hay Island in Nova Scotia:

http://www.hsicanada.ca/wildlife/seals/seal_hunt_2010/grey_seals_2810.html

These animals are currently in a protected area ... they have learned to feel safe from humans. Now they are being destroyed, simply for vanity. I believe it's wrong.

If you agree with me, I hope you will sign the letter of protest which can be found on the above link (click the button which says "Take Action"). There is also a very short petition you can sign HERE.

Please spread the word. Maybe if enough people protest this action, we can stop it. Thank you!

And now for something completely different ...

Most over-the-counter pain relievers (Advil, Midol, Motrin, Nuprin, Aleve, Ibuprofen, etc.) are part of a family of drugs called NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). The warnings for these drugs say they can increase your risk of life-threatening heart or circulation problems, including heart attack or stroke. For the most part, the warnings are directed at people who already have heart disease, high blood pressure, etc.

I've recently learned, in a most frightening way, that these drugs can cause a totally healthy person to develop high blood pressure in a very short amount of time. And high blood pressure can cause stroke and/or death.

So ... my tip today is to check the labels of over-the-counter pain relievers and if they are NSAIDs or contain Naproxen/naproxen sodium, PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE USING THEM. Better yet ... find other, safer methods to deal with pain.

That's it for today ...

As always ... I would love to hear from you!

Change The World Wednesday

Welcome! If you're new to our challenges, please click HERE.

Last week we saved a bit of paper by sending out e-greetings instead of paper greetings. Our bloggy friend, Mrs. Green, shared an interesting statistic with us: "... the UK and US use 9 billion cards a year between them; enough to circle the world 54 times." Wow! That's a lot of paper and resources. Thanks to everyone who participated! Here's our Honor Society:

Maurie Kirschner joined us ... she said she was going to surprise a friend or two.

Green Gal joined in the fun. She sent JibJabs to her family which allows the user to include pictures. So ... imagine two ice skaters with the faces of Green Gal's sister and dog! :) By the way, Green Gal continues to write about reading food labels and her discoveries. Be sure to stop by and see what she's learned ... it's really interesting!

Ange came by. She was a bit reluctant to use e-greetings ... after all, she's a calligrapher ... but she agreed to send at least one. Sure hope her Dad liked it!

Lesley took the challenge and wrote this article. Did you see the adorable picture she'd like to make into a card?

Rewinn stopped by. If you haven't read his post about Sirocco the Parrot ... you've got to see it ... it made me laugh out loud!

Mrs. Green took the challenge. She wrote a wonderful article (which you can read HERE) where she talks about the waste involved with paper greeting cards. She found the Jacquie Lawson greeting card site. Ms. Lawson's cards are indeed beautiful!

Smart Readers joined us all the way from Sri Lanka ... so nice to have you with us!

Inge' took the challenge and ... sent me a card! WhooHoo ... thanks, Inge'!

Smiling Green Mom joined us. She combined a few of our challenges and eliminated plastic. Read all about her efforts HERE.

From our oven- stove- and microwave-free challenge, Rewinn was inspired to write about The Best No-Cook Meal. It's a mouth-watering post!

Also from the no-cook challenge, we have Green Gal who wrote No stove, no oven, no microwave & no bees?

Shaiha joined our reusable mug/glass challenge ... she always takes a reusable cup with her for refills. Brilliant! Thanks, Shaiha!

Millenniumhealth also joined our reusable mug/glass challenge. While at home, reusable cups are no problem but ... taking a flight is another matter. Millenniumhealth plans to bring food and buy water in a glass. Great idea ... and thanks for the post.

As always our Honor Society did a fabulous job! I've Stumbled and Tweeted their articles.

Ready for a new challenge? We're going to continue saving paper this week. Here it is:

It is estimated that 20 billion catalogs are distributed in the U.S. per year. That equals approximately 15 Million trees ... all for a product that typically gets tossed out. So this week, reduce the number of catalogs you receive by visiting Catalog Choice and removing your name from distribution lists. If you love catalog shopping just remember ... most companies have online catalogs.

Or ...

If you've already eliminated catalogs from your life, please write a post about other ways to reduce paper.

So ... are you up for this challenge? I know that you are!

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

Field Trip

In Asheville, we've had quite a lot of winter weather lately. I love it but ... I am getting a little tired of staying indoors. Yep ... I have "cabin fever". So, I'm headed on a road trip! Want to join me? You never know where we'll end up!

Make sure you have all your belongings ... we won't be coming back here today. Are you ready? Please climb aboard the bus (okay, just click it) and we're off:

Vegan Recipe - Skillet white beans, spinach & tomatoes over Linguine

Whenever I'm in the mood for a new recipe, I head to Callin cooks from all over the world ... a wonderful forum full of fantastic recipes, including a whole bunch of vegetarian/vegan dishes. My bloggy friend Amy, from The Wayland Springs Cook, is the administrator and has amassed a truly great collection of recipes. I've tried a number of them and we've loved every single one.

Earlier in the week, I prepared the following dish. It was delicious and I'll be making it again. I hope you and your family enjoy it:

Skillet white beans, spinach & tomatoes over Linguine

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano (do not drain)
1 can any white beans (I use Great Northern or Navy usually)
1 package fresh spinach
6 cups cooked linguine
6 Tablespoons Vegan Parmesan "cheese" (the original recipe calls for Romano or Parmesan cheese, grated)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet.
2. In a separate pan start boiling water for linguine and get linguine cooked while you continue.
3. Add garlic, saute for a minute or so.
4. Add tomatoes and beans and bring to a boil.
5. Cover with spinach, top with lid, reduce heat to low and simmer about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
6. Spoon tomato/beans/ spinach mixture over linguine and sprinkle with cheese.

This makes 6 servings of 1 cup of pasta, 1 cup of sauce and 1 tablespoon of cheese.


If you have a vegan recipe that you'd like to share with us, please send it to my email (reducefootprints (at) gmail (dot) com). Recipes are posted on the first Friday of the month.

Happy eating, everyone!

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!

17 Quick Tips and Interesting Facts About Water ...

I've been thinking about water and thought I'd just share some of the things I've come across recently. Here you go:

1. One percent (1%) of the earth’s water is suitable for drinking.
   
   
2. Approximately one billion people do not have access to clean drinking water.
   
   
3. Nothing beats a nice, cold glass of water. Instead of letting the tap run until the cold water comes through ... keep a container in the refrigerator. You'll save approximately 2 gallons (per glass).
   
   
4. There are approximately one million miles of pipeline and aqueducts in the United States and Canada ... enough to circle the earth 40 times.
   
   
5. Headaches are often caused by dehydration so try drinking a glass of water, before taking an aspirin, for relief.
   
   
6. When taking a shower, put the plug in the tub ... it's a great way to see how much water you are using. By the way ... shorten your shower by a minute or two and you'll save up to 150 gallons per month.
   
   
7. Turn off the water while you wash your hair and soap up.
   
   
8. Water regulates the earth’s temperature. Here's a surprise ... it's a natural insulator.
   
   
9. All known forms of life depend on water.
   
   
10. Rather than defrost food under running water, plan ahead and defrost in the refrigerator (you'll get the added benefit of the frozen food keeping the temperature low in the refrigerator).
    
    
11. Choose native shrubs and plants for your yard ... they typically require less watering.
    
    
12. A person can live over a month without food but only about a week without water.
    
    
13. One person uses over 100 gallons of water a day.
    
    
14. It takes approximately 62,600 gallons of water to produce one ton of steel.
    
    
15. Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while you scrape them clean.
    
    
16. When you have ice left in your glass, give it to a plant rather than toss it down the drain.
    
    
17. 3.575 million people die each year from water-related diseases (from World Health Organization).

How do you conserve water?

As always ... I would love to hear from you!