Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)

Welcome to Change The World Wednesday (#CTWW)! If this is your first visit, please click HERE for information and a complete list of all the challenges we've taken on so far.

Last week we challenged ourselves to drink our coffee/tea at home rather than going out. What A Card upped the ante by asking us to put the money saved towards an environmentally-friendly purpose. @CoffeeContessa further upped the ante by suggesting that we only brew organic certified! Wow ... what started out as a relatively small action turned into a brilliant, far-reaching activity! Let's see how how Honor Society did with this challenge:

Jessica already makes her coffee at home and it's organic. So she took on the second part of the challenge and made something, at home, which she normally buys. Can you guess what it is? Here's a hint ... she shares the recipe HERE and served this item for Father's Day breakfast.

EcoGrrl brings up a good point ... if one brings their own reusable mug to a coffee shop, it might be more environmental to drink "out". I'd like to add that if one does go to a coffee shop for their daily "cup of Joe", be sure that traveling to and from the shop is also environmental (I know that EcoGrrl keeps it so by riding her bicycle everywhere).

Is this statement true or false: Argentum Vulgaris loves Starbucks coffee and buys his coffee there daily. So what do you think ... true? false? You'll find out HERE and, if you read the comments section, you'll find out a lot about what he thinks of going vegetarian/vegan. Thanks, AV!

Alicia and her husband make their coffee and tea at home. They make a full pot and then they take the rest and chill it for refreshing drinks later in the day. They have recently discovered Kombucha which is sold at Whole Foods but which they've learned to make at home for only pennies per glass. Alicia ... would you be willing to share your recipe? By the way ... in this POST, Alicia was kind enough to give Reduce Footprints a lovely introduction. Thank you, Alicia! Be sure to check out the photos in that post ... you'll never believe what people in a California community are parking in their driveways!

Brian says that he's not a chef but ... he makes all kinds of things at home rather than buying them out. He makes ice cream, whip cream, and soup. He grinds and brews coffee as needed, reducing any wasted coffee. Next up, Brian is going to try bread. He says that his family prefers homemade. Yep ... homemade simply tastes better! Thanks, Brian!

The Accessory Lady drinks loose tea which she buys in bulk. She also uses biodegradable or reusable filters. Her one "sin" is buying an occasional single-serve beverage while she's out. So, she committed to give up the single-serve beverage for the week. Yay, AL! How did it go?

What A Card was going out for coffee 4-5 times a week. That was in 2009. In November of that year, she kicked the habit. Are you curious about why and how she did it? I was. Read about it HERE ... this post includes a link to her 2009 post and is worth clicking over to. WAC used the money she saved on coffee to buy organic milk. Great job, WAC ... and thanks for the "up the ante".

I really enjoyed this POST from Amy. While reading it, I realized that drinking coffee out is often not about the coffee but about the experience. But as Amy points out, the trip out comes with other, less desirable things. In addition to taking on this challenge, Amy is challenging herself to eliminate taking trips with no purpose.

The Shopping Charity gave our challenge a front page spot. This edition contains several wonderful articles, including a piece about The Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance, an original contemporary abstract painting called Night Moves, and Fundraising Guru LLC.

Kris and her husband don't drink coffee or tea. So she's going to make something at home which she normally buys ... and use the money saved to continue her switch to organic foods. She already makes dinner rolls, croutons and spaghetti sauce at home. So ... hm ... what do you think she's going to tackle next? Find out HERE.

Nicki Woo had two major successes this week. First, while her older children were swimming, her 23 month old daughter looked for trash to dispose of. Wow ... that's GREAT parenting! The second success is that Nicki made Lemon-Mint Slushes at home for her kids and they liked them better than the McDonald's Slush. WhooHoo! Check out this POST for the whole experience and the recipe.

Rewinn loves to brew his own mint tea. He says that the commercial brands just don't compare to tea made from leaves one picks in their own yard. He also shares an interesting tip about tea/coffee grounds and slugs. Check it out HERE. By the way, Rewinn is looking for a good recipe for Mojito ... anyone?

In this POST, Kristina offers us a strategy for weening ourselves away from trips to the coffee shop ... and suggests that on an occasional trip, we bring our own reusable mugs. Her downfall is granola bars ... she loves them. So she's going to try making them at home. She shares a couple of recipes but is looking for the ultimate homemade bar. Anyone have a recipe for her?

Mrs. Green doesn't drink coffee or tea. But she does eat a certain item which she typically buys. So she decided to make it at home. The trouble was, she was hungry and didn't want to take the time to make the recipe per the instructions. So she improvised with ingredients she had on hand ... and whipped up a quick dish which she and her family fell in love with. Head over HERE to find out what she made (she even included mouth-watering pictures).

Petunia GreenBeans has "home-brewed, reusable filtered, favorite mug goodness each morning". Yay! So, she accepted the up-the-ante challenge from @coffeecontessa and ordered some organic roast from Aspire CoffeeWorks. If you don't know about Aspire, check it out. Not only is the coffee fair-trade and organic but "100% of Aspire CoffeeWorks' net proceeds benefit Aspire's life-changing programs for people with disabilities". How cool is that. Petunia says that she's in love with the flavor!

Great job, everyone! If you wrote a post, they have been tweeted, stumbled and facebooked.

Our #CTWW Gang hit the twitter airwaves, this week, talking about our challenge using the hashtag #CTWW. They are great folks to follow so if you're on twitter, stop by and say hello:

@clothmamajess
@waylandcook
@tazzini
@dpixel
@myzerowaste
@whopaysthepiper
@accessorygal
@smallbits
@skipbang
@envirobooty
@apolloenergies
@coffeecontessa
@peopletowels
@gogreenbeans
@givetreegifts
@waxelene
@ShoppingCharity
@escapingjourney
@greentim
@rewinn
@ambianceeco
@groovygreenlivi
@littlegreenblog
@theriverwanders
@bam_balam

Okay ... let's tackle another challenge:

This week, become an activist. Please take some kind of action (letter writing, phone calls, petitions, etc.) designed to encourage a business, community, government, etc. to make a positive change. Need some ideas? Here you go:

• Browse the Care2 Take Action site, HERE, and sign a petition or in some way get involved.
• Write an email/letter to a local restaurant that uses Styrofoam containers for take-away food and politely ask them to consider an Eco-friendly alternative.
• Visit Oceana HERE and take action to protect our oceans.
• Contact your community (apartment managers, homeowner's association, etc.) and suggest "green" improvements to your area.
  
• Choose from one of these 10 Actions to save the whales.
• If you attend a festival, look for ways that the function could be greener and then write to the organizers with suggestions.
• Contact your child's school with ideas on how the school can be greener.
• Find out what you can do to help end nuclear threats HERE (thanks, Mrs. Green)
• Check out the opportunities to take action from the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) HERE. (Thanks to EcoGrrl for reminding me about this one).
• Humane Society International has some "take action" opportunities HERE.
• Another "take action" opportunity from Forest Ethics HERE.
• Check out this PAGE from the Environmental Defense Fund (scroll down to the Take Action section).
  

The idea, here, is to take action and make your voice heard on behalf of the environment and all of it's inhabitants. And, of course, we want to hear about it so please share your experience, links, etc.

Or ...

If you are already taking action, we'd like tips on how to make it successful and we'd like to hear about your lessons learned.

So what do you think? Are you up for the challenge? I know that you are! And don't forget ... challenge us to do better by "Upping The Ante".

Until next time ...

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