Before you read on, really soak in the words and the video that is posted below. Many of you may just stop reading after this sentence. I hope not. This topic effects our families and friends directly. As the kid says in the end of the video, "We can make a difference, one kid at a time." I believe we can do it one kid at a time but also one adult at a time.
The message isn't necessarily directed at any of you, our family and friends. It is mostly for you to share your knowledge with others or maybe learn something you didn't know before. Maybe you decide to make some other changes in your life. That's great too! I'm mostly sharing this because it is important to me and my family. Therefore, I will pass it along.
So many people today do not understand what goes into our food and into our bodies. People buy convenient foods or foods that "look" good. Don't get me wrong, we have our fair share of some processed foods and non-organic items in our house but we do the best we can to buy local, organic and unprocessed.
I want to give you a recent example. Yesterday I signed up to bring snacks in to Gloria's daycare this month. They provided a "wish list" and parents signed up for what they wanted to bring in. The items on the list were varied. Animal crackers and juice to fruits and vegetables. There were about 30 items total. I think about 10 people had signed up so far to bring something to share.
Do you think anyone had signed up for a fruit or vegetable? No. All 10 people signed up for cheap, convenient foods. Nothing fresh. All processed. I'm not blaming the daycare. They really did have a nice list with a good selection of food to give the kids for snack time. Fortunately, whatever people don't sign up for, they will provide. It just made me sad that not one person had selected a natural, healthy, fresh food. Things like bananas and melons are not difficult to buy!
Watching this video reinforces the important fact that we need to take control of our buying habits and really think about what we put into our bodies. I actually started crying when I watched this video. Yes, I'm a sap and things do make me cry very easily but this clip really touched my heart. I am afraid for Gloria's future. I'm afraid for other children's futures. Why? Because of the health issues they will encounter that we never did. Because of the environment and the damage we will have done to it in 20 years. It is really scary!
People may wonder why I get so upset when it comes to environmental issues and living an eco-friendly life. It is really painful for me to see so many people still making very un-earth friendly choices. Why? My family is more important to me than anything. Everything we do today will effect my family in 10, 20, 30, 50 years! I want my family to be healthy, happy and free to enjoy nature around them. That is what is important to me. So. Really? Am I such a crazy person to want that? I certainly don't think so. And I think more people should fight for the same thing.
We do our best to live a "green" lifestyle and that is all we can do. We share our knowledge with others and try to do our part whenever we can. Pass it on. :)
Showing posts with label Green. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Green. Show all posts
Saturday, October 02, 2010
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Shedding a Little Light on Things
I recently picked up a newspaper insert called "Going Green" while sitting at the unemployment office. Some good reading for the long wait ahead of me. Something that is a common past time for me lately. Well...that's another story.
Several articles in this paper caught my attention and I learned a lot. The one I'm going to share with you right now though is about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's). I thought I knew all about these but, to my surprise, I did not.
Here is what I did know, which I thought I'd share with you in case some of you weren't aware of this information.
1. The positive side of using fluorescent bulbs is, obviously, that they use less energy and last a lot longer than traditional bulbs. According to this article, these bulbs use 75% less energy which can help save in the long run. Over the life of the bulb, it will prevent about 450 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. That's one bulb!
2. CFL's contain a small amount of mercury. We all know mercury is toxic and a danger to children so its really important to know this about fluorescent bulbs. Avoid using these bulbs any place where the bulb could be easily broken...table lamps, etc. Any used or unbroken bulbs should be taken to a qualified recycling center where the mercury can be properly taken care of. The one thing I wasn't aware of was that Home Depot and Ikea are two places where you can bring used bulbs. Good to know! If you break one of the bulbs, don't freak out! Just be careful. You can visit EPA.gov for step-by-step clean-up instructions.
Here is what I didn't know...
1. You shouldn't use CFL's in ceiling fans. Reason being, the vibration of the fan can cause the bulbs to fail and they won't last as long as they are meant to. We have 5 ceiling fans in our house, all with CFL's in them. That explains why we had a few bulbs go out in a short time after we installed them. Guess we need to fix that!
2. If you are using CFL's, your best bet is to use them in fixtures that typically stay on for 15 minutes or more at a time. Basically the lights you use most often. 15 minutes is the amount of time it takes these bulbs to reach their optimum light and energy efficiency.
3. Along the lines of mercury, I didn't know that various bulbs contain different amounts of mercury. So...you can opt to purchase bulbs with the least amount mercury in them. Visit EWG.org for the list of bulb brands as well as more information about CFL's.
Interesting. I figured I'd share this info with you folks since I think most people have started to switch over to fluorescent bulbs. We do still have a mix of incandescent and CFL's here. If you haven't started using CFL's, that's ok too. Just remember to turn off those lights when you leave the room and you'll save energy! :) Besides, CFL's aren't the only energy saving bulbs. Light emitting diode bulbs (LED) are another choice which have come a long way in recent years.
Several articles in this paper caught my attention and I learned a lot. The one I'm going to share with you right now though is about compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL's). I thought I knew all about these but, to my surprise, I did not.
Here is what I did know, which I thought I'd share with you in case some of you weren't aware of this information.
1. The positive side of using fluorescent bulbs is, obviously, that they use less energy and last a lot longer than traditional bulbs. According to this article, these bulbs use 75% less energy which can help save in the long run. Over the life of the bulb, it will prevent about 450 pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere. That's one bulb!
2. CFL's contain a small amount of mercury. We all know mercury is toxic and a danger to children so its really important to know this about fluorescent bulbs. Avoid using these bulbs any place where the bulb could be easily broken...table lamps, etc. Any used or unbroken bulbs should be taken to a qualified recycling center where the mercury can be properly taken care of. The one thing I wasn't aware of was that Home Depot and Ikea are two places where you can bring used bulbs. Good to know! If you break one of the bulbs, don't freak out! Just be careful. You can visit EPA.gov for step-by-step clean-up instructions.
Here is what I didn't know...
1. You shouldn't use CFL's in ceiling fans. Reason being, the vibration of the fan can cause the bulbs to fail and they won't last as long as they are meant to. We have 5 ceiling fans in our house, all with CFL's in them. That explains why we had a few bulbs go out in a short time after we installed them. Guess we need to fix that!
2. If you are using CFL's, your best bet is to use them in fixtures that typically stay on for 15 minutes or more at a time. Basically the lights you use most often. 15 minutes is the amount of time it takes these bulbs to reach their optimum light and energy efficiency.
3. Along the lines of mercury, I didn't know that various bulbs contain different amounts of mercury. So...you can opt to purchase bulbs with the least amount mercury in them. Visit EWG.org for the list of bulb brands as well as more information about CFL's.
Interesting. I figured I'd share this info with you folks since I think most people have started to switch over to fluorescent bulbs. We do still have a mix of incandescent and CFL's here. If you haven't started using CFL's, that's ok too. Just remember to turn off those lights when you leave the room and you'll save energy! :) Besides, CFL's aren't the only energy saving bulbs. Light emitting diode bulbs (LED) are another choice which have come a long way in recent years.
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