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Plan Your Wedding with the Environment in Mind
July 7, 2008, 6:24 pm
Filed under: Earth Friendly Campaigns and Products, food, health and beauty, organic gifts, weddings and celebrations, world concerns | Tags:

Many couples are now planning to tie the knot with Earth-friendly celebrations and the wedding industry is adapting to their wishes.  There are all kind of ways to have a green wedding without sacrificing the fun, elegance or style you want. 

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something………..green?
 
Here’s some ideas:
 
Consider a daytime outdoor wedding and reception-no electricity or lighting and you won’t have to decorate two spots or travel from one place to another.
 
Choose locally grown products especially local flowers and menu items,  Eco-Chic Weddings .  Suggest glass bowls of seasonal fruits or candles instead of flowers. 
 
Ask the hard questions – such as “Where does the food come from?  How is it raised or produced? A good caterer will be happy to answer your questions and work with you.
 
Serve smaller food items maybe tapas-style which will also save you money.  Better food but less because most people don’t want huge portions anyway.  Left over food can be donated to a local charity or food bank too.
 
Buy recycled paper for your invitations and skip the save-the-date cards.  You can email your guests using a free wedding web site.  This can be a great alternative to sending out traditional paper invitations at all.
 
Plan favors that are useful after the wedding like little jars of raw honey.  Opt for creative centerpieces like framed photos or soy candles instead of lots of flowers. Set up charity favors to a favorite charity of your choice and print out a small card to communicate this too guests.  
 
When it comes to what you and your wedding party will wear, there are no rules other than the ones you make yourself.  Vintage or “gently” used dresses are a great find whether they come from a shop or your mom or sister’s closet.  Some dresses even come in eco-friendly fabrics such as silk, organic cotton, bamboo or hemp.  Grooms have been renting tuxedos for years which are the best of “reuse”. If your suit or dress needs to be cleaned, consider an environmentally friendly dry cleaner.
 
Set up carpools for attending guests and pick an eco-travel honeymoon.  Check out a special Green Travel Report for ideas    
 
It is important that a bride and groom feel good about their decisions.  If you can’t do everything, that’s totally all right.  Pick and choose how green to be.  Do what YOU can.  Even the small steps make a big difference.
 
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The Days of Cheap Grain Are Gone!
June 15, 2008, 8:18 pm
Filed under: food, world concerns | Tags: , ,

Well, its too late this summer to tear up my lawn and put in a field of wheat and corn but every time I go to the grocery store I wish it wasn’t.  The price of every major grain is rising to record levels.  Two main things are causing this-extreme weather and vegetable based alternative fuels.

Cheap corn and wheat price spikes are not expected to end anytime soon.  Also soybeans (another biofuel crop), barley, oats, rice, sunflowers and lentils are getting way more expensive rapidly.

Try making a meal without any of these products and although American shoppers are feeling the pinch the greater concern is mass starvation as the world’s poor find it harder to afford or even find food.

Rioting over a life-sustaining bowl of grain is becoming a way of life in some of the poorest parts of the world.  Haiti, Egypt, Kenya, India, Brazil, Argentina and Indonesia are all showing the alarming stress of tight food supplies.  India, Vietnam and Thailand have restricted their rice exports to ensure that they can feed their people first.

100 million poor people around the world are feeling this food crisis and even Americans are beginning to experience food rationing because major retailers on the East and West coasts are limiting the purchases of flour, rice and cooking oil as supplies dwindle because people are stockpiling.

Next summer I’m afraid I might be looking at my green lawn a little differently.

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A Watermelon! Really?
June 15, 2008, 8:04 pm
Filed under: food, gardening | Tags: , ,

What’s square and green and fits into a small refrigerator perfectly? 

 A watermelon!!

If a fat round melon poses a problem for you in your motorhome or tiny apartment refrigerator than do what Japanese farmers did for their consumers. 

Grow a square watermelon or other stuff with a few sheets of polycarbonate and some gate hinges.  Resourceful farmers found a clever but pricey solution by inserting the melons into square boxes while they were still growing on the vine.  Many Japanese consumers love watermelon but have limited refrigerator space.

This designer fruit hasn’t made it’s way into U.S. grocery stores yet, but if you have a garden and a green thumb you can always give it a try.  Think how much fun a summer party would be when a cubed shaped watermelon shows up. 

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Large Belly Equals High Risk for Alzheimer’s
June 11, 2008, 1:08 am
Filed under: Weight Loss, food, health and beauty | Tags: , ,
A recent study predicts that a potbelly in middle age will more than triple your  risk of senility later. This large study pinpoints a new link between obesity and Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.  Researchers found that obese people who carried most of their weight in the abdominal area in their 40’s were 3.6 times more likely to develop dementia and even more shocking was that people who are just over weight with large tummies were 2.3 times more likely to be at risk for forms of senility later.  With moderate exercise you can reduce belly fat and a healthier lifestyle can reap big benefits later.  Visit everydayhealth  or the National Women’s Health Information Center to learn more about proper weight loss.
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Home Emergency Kits You Should Make
June 7, 2008, 3:10 am
Filed under: food, safety | Tags: , , ,

Everyday we hear about weird weather and natural disasters that catch people completely off guard.  Every house should have 72 hours of the basics of survival which are fresh water, food, clean air and warmth.

You might want to put some of the following items in  a large rubber tub to be placed in the safest area of your house-preferably a basement away from windows. 

   Water – one gallon of water per person for at least three days, for drinking and   
   sanitation.
 
  Food – at least a three day supply of non-perishable food and a can opener.
 
  Flashlight and radio with extra fresh batteries.
 
  First aid kit which includes moist towelettes.
 
  Variety of tools such as pliers to turn off utilities, a knife or scissors.
 
  Important family documents and cash in a waterproof folder.
 
  Dust masks – to help filter contaminated air, plastic sheeting, garbage bags and 
  duct tape.
 
  Sleeping bags or warm blankets, change of clothes and a few towels
 
  Prescription medications, glasses and a whistle to signal for help.
 
  Pet food and water for your pet.
 
  You might think carefully about when and where your emergency kit will be used.  Some items you’d need in a blizzard might not be the survival items you’d need for a possible tornado.  Fine tun your kit to provide for specific family members that might have special needs such as an infant or the elderly.
 
 Include household bleach and an eye dropper.  For a disinfectant you use 9 parts water and one part bleach.  You can use it to also treat water in an emergency by using 16 drops of liquid bleach to a gallon of water BUT do not use scented, color safe or bleach with an added cleanser.
 
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