Natural and Sustainable

• Flip Flop Bins: Recycled flip flop bins put to use those old flip flops that, when broken or torn up go straight into the trash. Right? Why no repurpose them and make something else that we could all use around our house. Storage bins. Of course. They also come in a round shape as well and can even be stacked. And if you love the flip flop storage bins you will love the flip flop-repurposed into floor mats. Everyone loves the feel of flip flops on their feet, so why not put that feel under your feet in a different way.

• Handmade Sorghum Broom Set: Sorghum is a 100% renewable resource, just the same as bamboo. This broom set is handcrafted in Thailand and are colored with nontoxic dyes. So instead of cleaning with a chemical laden broom and dust pan, go that extra mile and clean with a cleaner-for-the-environment broom and dust pan as well.

• Entwined Root Mirror: Bring nature inside to your own home and personal space. Each mirror you find, made with recycled twigs has its own unique shape and style, so not one is the same. So no matter how many you purchase, you can add that special, all-natural, feeling to any room. You can also find this unique twig design on tables, a coat rack, and a bookcase as well.

• Driftwood Planter: We have all seen it, wood drifting along the beach or a river channel. At times it’s within arms length and we all think, “I wonder what I could make out of that.” You don’t think that? Well, I do. And if I had ever learned to widdle, I would be a millionaire. But someone came up with an idea far more interesting than widdling driftwood, a driftwood planter. By adding any plants, even succulents, this planter can withstand any growing season it is faced with. And with the eco-friendly driftwood, it looks great indoors or out.

Just a few household changes and replacements within your collection of household items can mean big changes for the environment and your health. Not every piece of furniture nor every cup, shower curtain or even rug is created equal, so choose wisely. For your own health’s sake and your pets and family.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Conserve energy: Don’t drive-try to bike, bus or even walk to locations close to your own home. Use energy efficient light bulbs throughout your home as well. And always use the stairs, not elevators and escalators. This will give you the added benefit of not only conserving usage of energy, but help trim that waist line as well.

Americans throw away enough office paper to build a 12-foot-hgh wall from Los Angeles to New York. Recycling one time of paper saves 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, a 380 gallons of oil. Making new paper from recycled paper used 30 to 50 percent less energy than making paper from trees, and it produces 95 percent less air pollution. Encourage everyone in your office to print and photocopy only when necessary, use both side of the paper when you do print, and try to reuse paper. Fro when you must print, here are a couple of accessories and ideas to help you work more green:

1. Recycled paper with 30 to 35 percent post consumer content, which is available at Office Depot stores.

2. Paper from nonwood fibers, such as Ecopaper made in Costa Rica from agro-waste. Paper made from agricultural residue is pricey, but this does encourage careful paper usage. The price will come down as production increases.

3. Recycled paper with 100 percent post consumer content, processed without chlorine, from The Green Office. Locating a green paper resource near your office will minimize pollution from transportation.

4. Use refillable pens made from recycled plastic.

5. Recycle your printer cartridges-for every ink or laser toner cartridge that is recycle, two quarts of oil are kept out of landfills.

6. Chlorine free and tree-free papers are the most ecofriendly choices to go.
(Source: Organic Gardening 2008)

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Always turn the lights out in a room or closet when you are finished. What’s the point of leaving the light on anyway?

VERY GREEN HOUSE: Building a new home or redecorating a room? Visit the Green House at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. It’s a 7,00-suare-foot re-creation of the Glide House, a low maintenance, affordable modernist home. Guests can check out 60 eco-friendly products from countertops to carpets. If you can’t make the trip visit the website for ides to use in your own home.

As with past postings on building more green, there are many things in which a person wanting to change some minor details in their home currently or to build fresh can use to help with that process. Here are a few other ideas that can be incorporated into those green ideas for your newly green-building project.

• Passive solar orientation with UV-filtering shades on southern side.

• Through tree preservation work by certified arborists.

• Recyled-content steel framing and concrete.

• Energy Start HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system with efficient heat exchanger.

• Floors made of FSC-certified wood and cork.

• Carpet made from natural wool and recycled plastic.

• FSC-certified maple kitchen cabinets with wheatboard interior cores and VOC-free finishes.

• Low- and zero-VOC paints.

• Low-E glazed, double paned, argon-filled, wood-framed casement windows. While these windows cost more than conventional, they’re around the same price as premium, custom-sized designer windows.

• Extra-high R-value formaldehyde-free insulation.

• 100 precent recucled content drywall.

• Decks made of FSC-certified ipê wood and Trex (wood/platic composite.)

• Local stone used in terrace, garden paths, and even use them in landscaping.

• Native specied plants in the gardens to filter driveway runoff before it reach local tributaries.

• Rainwater catchment used for irrigation.

• Rainwater harvesting containers to use to watering plants indoors and outdoors.

• Furniture designed with eco-friendly, natural fabrics.

• Energy-Star appliances.

• Energy-saving light fixtures; Smart Home dimmer system.

• Long-lasting soapstone kitchen counters.

• Bathroom countertops made of salvaged stone and recycled-glass composites.

• Low-flow, motion-activated sink faucets (price in line with conventional Kohler faucets.)

• Low-flow toilets.

• Permanent conservation easement planned.

With Valentine’s Day coming up more and more people are headed to the supermarket for Valentine’s Day card retailer to grab “mass-producted” valentines. At our home we make eco-crafts whenever we can. From dehydrating fruit rings and making our own homemade potporri to handmade crads made with all-natural materials. Here is one craft that I love to make and it doesn’t just have to be made for Valentine’s Day, it can be made for any occasion when you just want to tell the one you care for that you love them.

Materials Needed:
• Freezer paper
• One cup of water, in a bowl
• Paper towels
• Iron and ironing board
• Towels
• Cardstock and envelopes
• Craft glue
• Scissors
• Soy Silk Fusion Kit
• Embroidery floss and needle
• Small paper punch
• Glitter
• Sewing machine and thread (optional)
• Decorative all-natural paper

To make the soy silk for projects:
1. Place a sheet of freezer paper (about 18″) shiny side up, on a flat surface. As if your were pulling apart a cotton ball, seperate the Soy Silk fibers. Lay seperate pieces out on the paper, overlapping and crisscrossing each layer while taking care to leave at least a 1″ border between the fibers and the edge of the paper. Make the final product about 1″ thick. You can also add some glitter or yarn scraps to the top layer.

2. Once you’re happy with the look of the fiber laid out, lay mesh over the whole thing. Mix one part medium to three parts water and sprinkle lightly over the fibers. Starting in the center and working outward, gently massage this mixture into the fibers, adding more water when necessary. Watch the fusion take place.

3. Slowly remove the mesh and set it aside. Keep the fiber backed by the freezer paper. Let it dry for several hours. Then, cover the fusion fiber with a towel and press it with a medium-heat iron for 15-30 seconds. Now you’re ready to create anything you want with the silk creation you just made.

To make a card:

Cut out soy sil in the desired shapes for your card design. Print out messaged in font on yoru computer on plain paper. You can cut a card out of a paper sack and what you don’t use you can print your messages on the discarded paper bag scrap. Use your imagination. To make a cupid’s arrow: Cut our a heart from the soy silk and attach it top a card front with your sewing machine. Just follow the edges of the heart or sew an arrow shape through it in a contrasting color with the soy silk. Use a little glue around the edges if needed.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Replace your lightbulbs in your home and office with compact fluorescent ones.

Oregon’s field burning in the Willamette Valley may be reduced by using grass seed straw for the production of ethanol. Representatives of the Oregon Seed Council and Lane County Board of Commissioners are asking to Oregon Department of Agriculture for a $250,000 grant to fund a study that will focus on this very issue.

By using grass seed straw to produce ethanol growers could reduce field burning to every other year instead of every year. Grass seed producers have to pay to register for burning their field and the money they pay to register would go to fund this testing as well.

If approved the project could start in as little as six weeks. And if the study showed there is potential there would be a demonstration project to follow.

Field burning accounts for less than 2 precent of the total carbon emissions in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Grass seed producers once burned more than 250,000 acres of stubble annually, but for more than a decade the total allowable acreage has been capped by the state at about 65,000 acres, with about 50,000 acres actually burned each year.

There are about 1,400 grass seed growers in Oregon alone. Oregon farms generate more than 775 million pounds of gress seed annually as well. And framers will have to increase their use of herbicides and pesticides and could create more dust due to the need to work up fields more extensively. (Source: Albany Democrat-Herald in Oregon)

**Catherine Neal over at Retro TV has the list of shows from Saturday to Thursday of next week (26th-31st). Read the listing here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Seek out reclaimed wood furniture. I once found an old ship deck door and transformed it into a table top with the help of my husband and his wonderfull work-working tools and ability. Anything can be reclaimed or repurposed if you use a little imagination and the ability to see the bigger picture of things instead of what they were in the first place.

61. Trade your home: If you trade your home with friends around the country you can enjoy vacations and stay for free.

62. Go camping, or rent a cabin: Don’t over look state parks and national forests, they are often less crowded and less expensive than you think.

63. Tray a local vacation: There are several things in your own town or even own state. Check out your states website and look what’s right in your own backyard.

64. Ask hotels about discounted distressed-traveler rates: If there is inclement weather you may get a discount.

65. There is no law against haggling with a hotel on the room rate: You never know if you don’t ask.

66. Make your vacation pay for you: If you volunteer or do a little helping out while you are on vacation you may get a room or even a cabin for free.

67. Buy food at local supermarkets when traveling: It’s much cheaper than eating at restaurants.

68. Choose a vehicle with fold down seats: If you are traveling and need a quick nap or to snooze for the evening and can’t find lodging, if you have a rental car with fold down seats you have an instant bed.

69. Definately choose used clothes for babies: Unless you receive them as a gift only buy new clothing for special occasions.

70. Trade babysitting time with other couples: This is a great one to use especially on short notices.

71. During the holidays, draw names for gift giving: Use this one for large families or even do a dirty santa or white elephant gift giving way.

72. Invoke a gift giving spending cap: This is a good one to use if you draw names.

73. Give homemade gift certificates: You can even make ones that they can redeem for summer tasks as well, such as mowing the lawn or helping plant a garden.

74. Donate to a good cause: The Heifer International is a great one to give as a gift instead of buying a gift. You can even get that money spent back when you get your taxes done at the end of the year.

75. Swallow you pride and except help when you need it.

**Lessa over at Big Brother Craze has the top ten Big Brother moments for your. And some are quite laughable. Read them here.**

*Natural and Sustianable Living Tip: Buy recycled toilet paper.

46. Campaign for a national health care system: If more and more people demand it, in the future the demand has to be met.

47. For the college bound, take some general classes at a state school ort community college where the tuition is lower: Even if you plan to take most of your classes a a more expensive college it’s a good idea to take the basics at a community college. Just check with the college you plan to go to after the community college to make sure the classes will transfer.

48. Attend an in-state college: Establish residency for a year or two beforehand, if you need to. You will save more money in the long run then just jumping right into a college.

49. Buy you college books online: Don’t give into the cost of the books at the college bookstore, they are there to make money for the college not help you out.

50. Watch for unique scholarship opportunities: Even the ones that help you gain help from other sources than cash. You may even get into opportunities where you get something for making the Dean’s List, or something similar.

51. Audit classes if need be: Especially in classes where you just want the knowledge not the credit.

52. For lessons, try bartering: Such as doing some work in photography in exchange for some dance lessons. Or sewing in exchange for some computer lessons.

53. Discontue your internet service and take advantage of a wireless “hotspot”: You can go in some towns to an internet cafe or even take advantage of someone else’s unsecure wireless. Even the smallest towns are now getting free wireless for residence.

54. Rediscover the radical notion of the library: You can get almost anything at a local library for free with a signed up membership and card. Even DVDs are at the local library.

55. Volunteer to usher: Get into plays, concerts and other events if you ask to volunteer and help out. All you have to do is ask.

56. Find low-cost fun in your local paper: Take full advantage of free concerts, events and even some movies.

57. When at a concert or movie, avoid buying anything to eat or drink while you are there: Some place will even let you bring in your own snacks or drinks.

58. Take turns entertaining with friends or neighbors: Potlucks and parties are a great way to entertain and get others involved.

59. Occasionally, go ahead and spend money: Spend money on things you know you will benefit from in the long run.

60. Volunteer: Organizations such as Willing Workers on Organic Farms

**JM over at Fiction Scribe has her “Thirteen Goals for Next Year”. Read her goals and while you’re there leave her a message and tell her your goals for 2008.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: If your shelves are overstuffed with books you’ve already read, check out BookMooch, a free service that help you trade books with others around the globe. You rack up points for each book you give away. Make a wish list and redee3m your points when a book you want becomes available. And here’s the cool thing: BookMooch has a list of charities it works with, so you can donate your points and shre in the literacy wealth with someone in need.

31. Do as Many Errands as Possible with Each Car Trip: Especially if they are around town. You will save a lot on gas.

32. Book any Airplane Trips Well in Advance: You will get the lowest possible fare.

33. Don’t go Into Stores Unless You Need Something: Always write up a shopping list. Most stores are designed to get you to buy things you don’t really need. The best thing I enjoy doing is window shopping. I can see what the stores carry without going in and I can also get birthday and Christmas present ideas that way as well.

34. Hit The End-Of-The Season Sales: When colder seasons hit, summer items will be on sale at the time and when hotter seasons hit, winter items will be on sale.

35. Before You Ship, Try Borrowing: Share large items with a family, friend or even a neighbor. Set up a borrowing co-op with your tools and large farm equipment, such as lawn mowers or Bushhog® tractors.

36. Try to Find it Used: If you shop yard sales, estate sales and thrift stores you may be able to find what you need and it probably will be ten times cheaper. Even though it’s used, it will be new to you.

37. When Buying New, Choose High-Quality, Durable Items: Think long term not quick and easy and cheaply mad. Even if the item cost more, if it last twice as long as it’s cheaper counter part then it will be worth the extra cost.

38. Instead of Shopping Scavenge: Watch the curbs are the end of a semister in a college town. If you live near a school, talk to the janitor the last day of school when the lockers are being cleaned out.

39. Buy Clothing Used Whenever Possible: You may have good luck finding clohtes at garage sales even too. Consignment shops are a great place to find well-made, and even some name-brand clothing.

40. Have a Clothing Exchange Party: It will be fun to trade clothes with friends and family and tell stories behind the clothing you are trading.

41. Try Sewing: Look for cheap material in thrift stores. Or if you get or are really good at sewing turn your outfits into something new.

42. Watch the Clearance Racks: Some stores may mark down even more off the price just to get it out of the store.

43. Ask a doctor or dentist if they have sliding scale fees: Some may even give you a break if you just ask.

44. Look for free or low-cost clinics: Maybe even a medical school. But be careful sometimes you get what you pay for.

45. Do preventive maintenance on your body: Exercise and eat well, try yoga for stress management and quit smoking or using tobacco chew products.

**Over at WWE Daily you can watch a tribute video to John Cena. Scooter has the whole scoop here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Green Buy: Ship your next package in a recycled box from Used Cardboard Boxes. The online store rescues trash-bound boxes and packing materials and sells them at a discount, so you will save money and trees.

16. Barter for Service with Carpenters: Try Time Banks.org.

17. Buy Into a Piece of Land with another Family or Your Neighborhood: Be sure to check local zoning ordinances to be sure you can legally sudivide a property before you buy it.

18. Build with Natural Materials Found On-Site: If you have wood, the equipment to mill it yourself is relatively inexpensive compared to buying lumber. If you want to really go all-natural build with stone or straw and use clay as plaster.

19. Close Off Unused Rooms: Especially in the summer when you run an air conditioner. It will save on cooling your home in the heat.

20. Be efficient with Your Appliances: Have a big baking night when you are going to use the oven. Let your woodstove also be your dryer and water heater.

21. Take Advantage of Natural Weather Patterns to Heat and Cool your Home: In the summer, open the windows at night and close them again by noon.

22. Place your Refrigerator in the Coldest Part of the House: It will require less energy to keep the temperature low.

23. Wash your Clothes in Cold Water: It’s the friction of the clothes rubbing against each other that does most of the cleaning, not the heat. For serious stains, use hot water only on those clothes.

24. Switch off Your Water Heater: When you are not going to use it for an extended period of time, like going on vacation.

25. Buy Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs: The savings on your electric bill adds up fast when you use these over time.

26. Unplug any Unused Electric Items with Lights, Clocks or Timers: They use some much power just sitting there.

27. Carpool with Friends or a Co-Worker: Some cities maintain online listings to help people connect with other carpoolers.

28. Ask if Your City Has a Carshare Program: Or start one with some people you trust.

29. Covert a Diesel Car to Run on Used Vegetable Oil: You will pay once for the conversion kit, but after that all your fuel will be free. All you have to do is find a restaurant that wants to dispose of their used oil and will let you cart it away.

30. Keep Track of Your Gas Milage: Look for ways to improve it. Keep your tires properly inflated and don’t speed. (Source: NH 2007)

**Ever wonder what else you can use an avacado with besides just for dip? Over at Earthly Eating, there are several recipes given to help you with that. Read them here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Pass on the paper towels and paper napkins, opt for cloth ones and just wash them. At your favorite restaurant, ask them to switch to cloth napkins instead of the paper ones.

1. Buy Raw Ingredients: Instead of prepackaged foods, save on food bills, and your body will thank you for it in the long run.

2. Buy In Bulk: From a local health food store, or place bulk orders directly with mail0order companies.

3. Avoid The Middleman: Buy directly from the farmer. Look for farm stand, cummunity supported agriculture programs and farmers markets.

4. Eat Fruits and Vegetables In Season: They will be less expensive. If you buy them when they cheap, buy a lot and freeze or can whatever you can’t eat before they go out of season.

5. Keep Up With What’s in Your Refrigerator: Make sure nothing spoils. Once a week, make soup or casseroles to use up vegetables and other leftovers.

6. Calculate the Price of Food Per Pound: When you visit the supermarket do your math. Doing the math will help you spot the good deals.

7. Don’t Overeat: When you do, you are flushing money down the drain. When you are full, you’re full. Trust your own body.

8. Find a Live-In Elder Care Position: It not only helps someone stay out of a nursing home. Even if it is to help out around the yard, get involved in that.

9. Help Renovate a House: In exchange for lodging. It maybe the way you aquire your next home.

10. Become a Housesitter or Pet Sitter, For Short-Time boarding: Watching someone’s pet while they are out of the country is a great way to have room and board for a short-time.

11. For Longer-Term Stays, Become A Long-Term Caretaker of Property: Try Care Taker.org

12. Look Beyond Realtors’ Listings: Thumb through penny or nickle ads. A lot of great things are listed in those tiny papers.

13. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask: If you find a piece of land you really like talk to the owner and find out is they are willing to sell. Just by asking the price may be cheaper than you think.

14. Salvage Materials for Your New Home: Look for a house that’s being renovated and might let you take materials from the site. Look in the yellow pages for used building materials, or look for online groups such as Freecycle, or one I started entitled The Repurpose Foundation. Join The Repurpose Foundation’s Group here. Where people trade all kinds of unwanted items and find new purpose for them.

15. Never Skimp on Insulation or Good Windows: Build your home tight enough, and it will cost much less to heat. Even a wood stove will help on heating, but be sure to burn clean with what wood you use. (Source: NH 2007)

**Looking for the best deals on televisions? Over at Home Theaters blog here at 451 Press, Marc Klink has some ideas for you. Read which ones are the best deals here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Use organic beauty products. If you have makeup in your cabinet that is not organic, use up what you have so there will be no waste, then as you run out of a product, replace it with an organic choice. An organic choice, most not only have better ingredients but put their products in recycled containers.

There have been trace amounts of antimony, a toxic metal found in several brands of bottled water. Because water in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles have a considerable amount more antimony than water in glass containers. It’s been suspected PET is the problem the bottles have been tested by adding water to PET bottles. The longer the water sat in the bottles, the more antimony was released. While levels were still below drinking water guidelines, it’s not currently known what the long ter, effects might be. One more reason to do away with plastic polyethylene bottles all together.

More information for you:

• Kids with asthma and dogs don’t play well together. While it’s not surprising that they have more severe symptoms than kids with nop petsa. they also farced worse than cat-owning children.

• Eating lots of carrots, tomatoes and leafy vegetables reduces your chances of having asthma. A daily diet containing at least 90 grams of leafy veggies has a risk 22% lower than the viggue-averse person who consumes less than 40 grams of leafy veggies.

• Conserve energy by using power strips (many electronics suck power even when off-but power strips in the off position don’t.)

**Over at Watching KVille, Lulu Mcgrew has the latest “Writer’s Strike” update for you. Read it here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Carpool whenever you can.

Whether you buy organic to avoid toxic and presistent chemicals or to support sustainable agriculture, Price may be a concern. To get the most out of your organic dollar, try the following tips:

• Shop in season whenever you can: Local organic produce usually coasts less because it has traveled fewer miles to get to its destination.

• Compare prices when shopping: Look for organic foods that are on sale, purchase items in bulk rather than convinence. And always, always use coupons whenever you can.

• Buy organic for the most often contaminated fruits and vegetables. Meaning the main produce that is often contaminated with pesticides should be the ones you buy organic to avoic these hazordous chemicals. Peaches, apples, sweet bells peppers, celery, nectarines, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce, and potatoes should always be bought organic due to the fact that they are considered the dirty dozen.

• Join a food co-op: A few hours’ work and/or membershop fees can mean real savings on organic produce and products.

Following one or all of these tips will save you money. Give one or two a try and see how much you save over all. Not just in dollar form, but in health form as well.

**Need some good hiding places for those Christmas gifts? Well, over at Life Tips Daily, Jummy has some ideas for you, read them here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Use a push lawn mower instead of a riding lawn mower or gas powered push mower. Don’t bag your lawn clippings either, use them as mulch in your garden or as compost.

u>1. Nuts:

Origin: Millions of tons of coconut shells are discarded by the food processing industry annually.

Process: TrapTrek buys leftover carbon extracted from the shells by the water-filtration industry and enbeds it in their Cocona fabrics.

This All Equals: The Cannondale L.E. Carbon jerset ($150) effectively traps odor, disperses moisture for better evaporative cooling, and provides added UV protection.

2. Plastic:

Origin: Driving back from a day hike, you buy a drink at the gas station mini-mart and, being ecoconscious, chuck your empty bottle in a recycling bin.

Process: Clear plastic soda bottles get chopped into pieces, melted, and extruded as fine polyester fiber.

This All Equals: Each Mountainsmith Phoenix backpack ($289) uses 72 plastic bottles saving landfills an estimated 2.5 million of them over three years.

3. Soles:

Origin: You have worn your old shoes ragged. Instead of tossing them, you drop them at one of the dozens of locations Nike and the National Recycling Coalition, which are set up nationwide.

Process: Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program grinds them up in three categories-the outsole rubber, midsole foam, and upper fabric-then outsources the raw materials to its partners.

This all Equals: Materials are used to create surfaces for athletic fields (80,000 pairs of shoes), running tracks (75,000 pairs), and playgrounds (2,500 pairs).

**Winnie McCarthy, over at Chicago, IL blog here at 451 Press finishes up her The 12 Days of Chicago with day 12: Treat Yourself!. Read the whole story here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Support the continued effort in recycled goods by buying products made from recycled materials.

You can make your drinking water purer with a home filtration system of any kind. Your options vary from brand to brand. The main systems are ones that treat the water as the water enters your home and water filters that treat the water straight out of the tap. Here are some of the common forms of making your water more purer:

• CARBON FILTERS: Removes cholrine, disinfection by products, pesticides, radon. Reduces heavy metals including copper, lead, and mercury. Be certain to check model as all carbon filters do not preform the saem filtration benefits. There are countertop pitchers, faucet filters and under-the-sink models. They are generally low in cost and they retain minerals in the water as well that are very beneficial to your health.

• DISTILLATION: Removes bacteria and heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, copper, lead and mercury, arsenic, barium, fluoride, selenium and some sodium. There are countertop or whole house point-of-entry units, and some branda can be combined with carbon fiters. Without carbon filter additions, does not remove chlorine, chlorine byproducts or VOCs. The process removed all minerals, leaving behind acidic water.

• REVERSE OSMOSIS: Removes most disease-causeing bacteria, fluoride, nitrates, asbestos, metals including lead. There are under the counter versions that hit the water before it hits the tap. Without carbon filters, Reverse Osmosis filters fo not remove VOCs or chlorine. Removes all minerals resulting in acidic water.

**Want an extraordinary gift to give this year to someone on your Christmas list? Check out Making Swiss Cheese Candles over at Wax and Bubbles. Read how to make them by clicking here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Next time you hear “Paper or plastic?” at the grocery store checkout, surprise them with your answer of neither. A reusable tote or wicker market basket is one step toward reducing plastic in the environment. We use 100 billion plastic bags a year. Breakdown time for thse bags is up to 1,000 years. The manufacture of paper bags produces greehouse gases the trees are not there to absorb, because they have been cut down to make the paper bags. Here are a list of stores that currently offer cloth bags for their customers.
1. Walmart. $1 for 1 bag.
2. Whole Foods. Offers a discount when you bring in your own cloth or canvas bag.
3. Fred Meyer. Offers cloth reuseable bags and offers $.05 off your bill for each bag used.
4. Kroger. Has the same policy as Fred Meyer due to the fact they are owned by the same company.

For a holiday brunch that helps nourish the planet, add these items to your grocery list:

• Wild American Shirmp: About 90% of shrimp sold in the U.S. is imported from countries with lax-or even no-existent-environemntal regulations for wild fisheries and farms. For more sustainable shrimp, choose one of the wild-caught American brands.

• Cage-Free Eggs: Look for local eggs labeled, “cage-free”, which certifies that they are not sourced from hens confined in battery cages-possibly “the most abused animals in all agribusiness”.

• Local Artisanal Cheese: Handcrafted from the purest and finest of ingredients, artisanal cheese let you support small-scale farms in the most indulgent manner. Find local cheesemakers at Local Harvest.

• Fair Trade Cocoa: Buying fair trade cocoa ensures that the farmers receive a fair price for their harvest, a crucial step toward ending poverty in developing mations. For a listing of stores and companies that offer fair trade cocoa visit Trans Fair USA.

• CSA-Sourced Produce: By subscribing to a CSA (which stands for “cummunity Supported Agriculture”), you will receive a weekly or montly basket of fruit and veggies straight from a local farm. Go to Local Harvest or Green People to find a CSA near you.

**Looking for gifts for the electronic-minded individual? Then over at Web Dev Notes, Deceth, has some great ideas for you. One suggestion is the 2MB memory card, by Kingston Technologies. Read more about the gifts by clicking here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Eat only sustainably harvested fish to help protect the health of the oven. Go to Oceans Alive to learn more.