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.

There's a lot of great information in this post and I encourage you to read through it ... however, if you'd rather jump straight to the current challenge, you can do so by clicking here: This Week's Challenge

It's been a great couple of weeks. During the first week we talked about our proudest green achievement and wow ... you've accomplished amazing things through conservation and figuring out ways to do things differently. We "upped the ante" during the second week and discussed our toughest green achievement and how we overcame the obstacles. Once again, you rose to the occasion and shared your trials and insight.

Let's get started by checking in with our Honor Society. These are folks who wrote articles and left comments in support of our challenge:

One of Lynn Fang's proudest achievements was actually inspired by a previous challenge to become an activist. After signing petitions and sending letters, Lynn decided to call her senators to address her concerns regarding a recently passed Agriculture Appropriations Bill. Click HERE to listen in on her conversation ... yep, I said "listen in" ... Lynn recorded her conversation. Great job, Lynn ... I hope something positive comes of your actions.

Our Friend Argentum Vulgaris has many green achievements ... from simple acts like walking to the trash bin to toss a small piece of foil (which started a conversation with a local woman) to the large accomplishments like the one that he writes about HERE (which is his proudest achievement). Brilliant, AV!

Kristina's proudest moments are those that influence others. She says "I started a TerraCycle program in our town about a year ago. A friend of mine knew about it, but was totally honest with me in saying that she just did not have time to save all of that. I never pushed or even made any comments. Just recently, she has started giving me her energy bar wrappers. She says that now she feels like she can't throw them away." Congratulations, Kristina ... getting someone else to think about their actions is HUGE!

I have a feeling that Tiffany's proudest moment has to do with twins, Tristin & Tyler. These two little guys have their own PROGRAM where they interview people and talk about the environment. Their show is kid-friendly as well as interesting to adults ... they get the green message out there in an engaging way.

Our EcoGrrl has accomplished so many green "feats" ... she has organized recycling events at work, she buys bulk using her own containers and she grows her own veggies. Are these her proudest achievements? Nope! But you'll find out what is by reading THIS. Wow, EcoGrrl ... not many of us have stepped up to the "green" plate to such a degree. You are inspiring!

While Green Gal was in high school, she started taking action. She helped jump start an environmental club, served on a bike/pedestrian committee, and nurtured a passion to learn more about the environment and how to reduce her impact. She also began writing a "green" blog. All of this recently came together to become her proudest achievement (which you can read about HERE). Green Gal definitely "walks the talk" and her achievement will have a huge impact on other people and the environment. Congrats Green Gal! You are a Rock Star!!

I've been reading about Mrs. Green's activities (and being inspired by them) for a long time. So I was really curious to learn what she would consider her proudest achievement. Do you have any guesses what it might be? Here's a hint: it fits into one small bag. Check out this POST for the answer ... it includes a video, pictures and a great discussion on this major accomplishment.

Brian claims that his proudest achievement has little to do with him. In his words "When I see my son and his friends acknowledge and identify different things that impact the environment I feel really good. They are gaining the awareness and knowledge to carry with them into the future. It is a great thing to experience and witness." I disagree, Brian ... I think this has everything to do with you and your great parenting. In my opinion, there isn't a greater accomplishment in life than raising children to be caring, environmental stewards. Congratulations, Brian!!

Amy's proudest achievement sounds easy enough ... but in reality it is tough. It involves being conscious and in the moment ... it requires awareness and knowledge. So are you curious about what it is? Find out HERE. Great job, Amy!!

The Accessory Lady shares that her proudest achievement is buying and/or making Eco-friendly personal care & cleaning products. She says that it took awhile to make the transition but she feels it was well worth the effort. Brilliant, AL!

Kris is proud of something which involves her grandparents. Doesn't that sound intriguing? Want to know more? Go HERE! Wonderful job, Kris!

In this ARTICLE, Jessica lists 5 of her proudest achievements. Number 5 is "No-Poo" and number 4 is "Coconut Oil". As interesting as those sound, they are not her #1 pick. Can you guess what is? I know ... but you know I won't tell ... you'll have to go find out!

I've heard people say that they don't have time to live green. K.C. Woolf has solved that problem by working less and taking occasional sabbaticals. That's her proudest green accomplishment. Why? Well, working less has given her the time to grow a garden and cook at home using fresh, local ingredients ... it has also allowed her to take public transportation when she needs to go out or walk. She also shares that she now consumes less because she doesn't "stress shop".

Nicki Woo gave us an update on our activism challenge ... she found her "cause". It seems that a lemonade vendor, near her children's sports area, sells healthy drinks in ... Styrofoam (did you hear the collective "booooooooooo"). Nicki found his website and decided to drop him a line about her concerns. So how did it go, Nicki? Did you get a response back?

Petunia GreenBeans is energetic, cheerfully "green" and has been a great CTWW supporter. She tweets and promotes green efforts and encourages others. So ... are these her proudest achievements? Nope! Her heart lies with this SITE ... a brand new, green directory of sorts. Petunia has created what will be, I'm sure, the definitive site for all things green. She has pulled together "greenies" from all walks of life and provided readers with interesting posts and videos. Ah yes, Ms. Petunia ... you have every reason to feel proud!

I'd like to introduce you to, and welcome, Yan Tougas ... a new CTWW participant. Inspired by our challenges, he created a page on his blog (Towards Simplicity) called MINIMALIST MONDAYS. He says "I offer on this page ideas that are easy to adopt by anyone who wants to start his or her journey towards minimalism." As I read his posts and the ideas on this page, I discovered that living a minimalist life goes hand-in-hand with living a green life. It's a fabulous blog ... I hope you'll check it out! And if you want to keep track of Yan's Minimalist Monday ideas ... you'll find a link in my side bar. Thanks, Yan ... so nice to have you with us!

Alicia's proudest achievement saves money and eliminates the use of plastic. Her husband participates in this activity. Hm ... what could it be? Curious? Find out HERE.

Is crafting a green activity? It is when Rewinn does it ... and it's his proudest achievement. In The Way of Crafting he'll tell you all about it ... it might surprise you as it's not crafting in the usual sense. Thanks, Rewinn!

Mrs. Green accepted our second week's challenge to talk about her toughest green achievement and how she overcame the obstacles. In this POST she shares that reducing food waste was hard for her. She conquered the task and shares her methods with us.

I'd like to welcome Janet Botes to our Honor Society. She wrote about our challenge on her blog HERE and shared (on Reduce Footprints) two of her proudest green achievements: transitioning to Eco-friendly personal hygiene products and making sacrifices/better choices in the creation of her art. In her words "This is also one of my hardest challenges since the art world is surprisingly slow to catch up and adhere to more environmentally conscious production methods and alternatives. It also requires a lot of research into where to find sustainably-attained natural ingredients to make your own paints, glues and other materials. Green art does not stop with making pretty things from waste materials. It's about rethinking everything you do as an artist - you paper, your drawing/painting materials, canvas, wood, printing methods, acids and chemicals, and even the very fact that you're producing something that might be 'waste' in a few decades or centuries. I don't think that I've overcome this obstacle yet, and it's an ongoing challenge and day-to-day learning process. But I'm proud and committed to this journey." Janet has created a wonderful initiative called Greening Your Art. Artists meet to learn about working more sustainably and Eco-friendly. If you're an artist in Cape Town, check it out ... if you're not in Cape Town, check out the site anyway ... there's a lot of information about how and why art should be green.

Our dear Ann works hard for the environment. She shares that her proudest achievement is that, on her national day, she spends the day preaching zero waste to festival goers. She also collects and sorts garbage. She gave our challenge a nice mention HERE.

I like to welcome Harold Shaw Jr. to our Honor Society. Harold is transitioning from being a techy-type special educator to being semi-retired. So his life is changing. In his blog you'll find articles about downsizing, cleaning his garage and using facebook. So ... here's a person with diverse interests and activities ... what do you think his proudest green achievement is? Find out HERE.

We have another new member of the Honor Society. A big welcome to Janie of Janie's True North. Janie has made several green changes to her life. In her words "We carry reusable bags to the grocery store, buy more organic (if it isn't organic we are trying to do without), we are recycling paper towel and toilet paper tubes (we didn't know we could!), and we are saving to buy a table top distiller, and kitchen faucet water filter, to end buying water in bottle. It's not easy, we forget sometimes, and other times a bottle of water is a convenience, but we are trying to change life time habits." Wonderful, Janie!

To meet our second week's challenge, Rewinn wrote this POST. It's a very interesting, thought-provoking article on the challenges involved in adopting a green lifestyle. One obstacle that he talks about is social geography. Check it out!

Jessica shares a post (not her post) about one woman's actions to remove toxic chemicals from her door knob. It fits in nicely with our activism challenge. Check it out HERE.

One of our Honor Society members was very impressed with the comments made by another member of the HS ... and that inspired this POST. So ... who wrote it and who inspired it? You?

I'd like to welcome Kelly, another new Honor Society Member. In a post entitled It's Just Too Hard, she takes a serious look at her actions and identifies areas for change. It's an honest look at some of the obstacles that many of us face when trying to live green. Thanks, Kelly!

How do you convey your proudest green achievement in 140 characters or less? Like this:

• From @upcycledlove Proudest green achievement: starting a worm bin! Succeeded for a little while, but it died... So I'm starting over. But still proud!
• From @greenmommel Cloth Diapering probably...And greening our lawn!

The Shopping Charity gave our challenges fronts page spots. Thanks so much!

To meet the second week's challenge, Alicia shares that her toughest green accomplishment is finding local produce in the winter. To overcome that obstacle, she tries to grow fruits and vegetables that she can preserve or freeze. If she can't grow enough, she shops at local farmer's markets. As she says "I really don't like buying fruits and veggies that have been shipped from so far away and you have no idea what they have been sprayed with!" I totally agree, Alicia!

And finally ... would you like to know what my proudest green achievement is? It's meeting and learning from all of you and being given the privilege of sharing your knowledge with the world. Thank you all!

As always, if you wrote an article I have Stumbled, Tweeted and Facebooked it. If you'd like to help us pass the word, please use the share buttons at the bottom of this post.

We lovingly refer to them at the #CTWW Gang. They are the kind and dedicated folks who hit the twitter airwaves each week to promote our challenges using the hashtag #CTWW. If you're on twitter, check them out. Here they are:

@whopaysthepiper
@waylandcook
@upcycledlove
@clothmamajess
@lynn_stone
@peopletowels
@ambianceeco
@thenewauthor
@loveandtrash
@skipbang
@apolloenergies
@greenmommel
@groovygreenlivi
@tiffanystoybox
@greentim
@begreen_beseen
@ShoppingCharity
@EcoliciousMama
@tazzini
@accessorygal
@eco_footprint_1
@terracycle_nl
@waxelene
@escapingjourney
@essence4u
@satyacolombo
@yan_tougas
@BecomingCrunchy
@littlegreenblog
@livegreenmom

This Week's Challenge:

So ... are you ready for another challenge? How about a tough challenge ... a real tough challenge ... one that will definitely "test your metal"? Are you up for it? I know that you are. Here it is:

This week refuse to buy anything which is, or which comes in, plastic. Instead, opt for Eco-friendly items and packaging ... or do without.

UP THE ANTE: Jessica is upping the ante and challenges us to make our own reusable, bulk product bags. You can see her efforts HERE. Whose going to take her up on her challenge?? Thanks, Jessica!

So what do you think ... can you do it?

Programming Note: We have many new people joining in the fun so, in future weeks, I'll be revisiting some of our earlier challenges. It'll be a great opportunity for those of you who have already accepted the activity to "up the ante".

Until next time ...

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