Leo has been doing this bicycle excursion for about 4 years now and learned as well as taught many things along the way. He started out his bicycle adventure in Springfield, Missouri and he just so happened to have crossed over into Oregon when I caught up to him.

“I would like to get the word out to others about how important bicycles really are”, he said. “If it wasn’t for the bike, I don’t know where I would be right now, look at how the earth is, cars everywhere and people don’t even notice bicycle riders anymore.” “Do they?” he adds.

Leo and Max are one of the many riders that speak out for bicycle advocacy. Gas prices are sky rocketing everyday and it will take a great jump to get them stable again. “Fitness is important, and so is pollution. Of course they are two different things, but I love my bike, and I love the earth.” He states.

Leo thinks everyone should take a bike at least once a week if not more. Not only for your health but also for Mother Earth. Leo adds, “If the earth was really my mother, she would be proud huh?…..yea….yea, she would.”

Leo and his biking companion got separated after someone stole Max in Idaho during a rest stop Leo had to take. Heart broken and alone, Leo trekked it a few miles without his buddy until another dog was given to him by a supporter of his efforts. All though the new dog was a puppy, he said in no time he will have him trained and he will be a great addition to his cause. All thought Leo misses his four-legged best friend, he will always keep the Leo and Max Across America sign as a reminder of the four years the first Max put in with him. The new puppy is names Max2 and he said he won’t let him out of his sight.

Leo and his new buddy are headed up from Oregon along the coast line and through Washington. Look for them to pass through your state soon.

The Peace Bubble ran into Leo at the Craters of the Moon National Park

1. Disappearing western evergreens: Higher temperatures open the door to parasites like the mountain pine beetle.

2. More devastating wildfires: Earlier spring snowmelt will lead to fires that burn hotter to where there will be nothing left and the fire won’t be controlled in time to same some forest and forest life.

3. Less diverse plant and animal populations: Adaptations will not keep pace with speedy temperature rises at all.

4. Drier canyon country: The Colorado River Basin will see annual precipitation drops by 55 percent if not more by the end of the century.

5. Less of a color pattern in the Northeast: Milder winters cause the maples to migrate out of the Unites States in order to survive.

6. Less trout in rivers and streams: As streams warm, habitat will decline by 50 percent.

7. Evaporating wetlands: Decreasing soil moisture will likely reduce waterfowl populations across the Upper Midwest.

8. Bigger spreads of poison ivy: Woody vines will thrive in a CO2 rich environment and spread out of control.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Enjoy the trees while you can, they may be gone in the near future. Here are ways to encourage your family to enjoy and embrace the trees.

To learn more about trees visit American Forests.

2. Replace 10 incandescent bulbs in your home or office with CFLs. Carpool to the office; donate used gear and sporting goods and even well worn older shoes that are good condition as well.

3. Turn down your water heater, air-dry your dishes and even use rechargeable batteries when you can.

4. Replace your clogged car filter; recycle plastics, paper, metals and glass no matter what. Look for recycled products as well and keep them in circulation.

5. Remove your car’s roof rack when you aren’t using it, drink filtered tap water instead of water that has been bottled and BYOB, bring your own bottle to places and refill it. Eat vegetarian twice a week at your home or at the office. Turn off the lights with you leave a room and turn off the ceiling fan when you aren’t in a room as well. Bike to most of your in-town errands and walk to places close like a friend’s house, or the library.

6. Cut down on your car washing, and sweep your driveway off instead of using the hose to spray it. Accelerate your speed gradually in your car to help save gas as well. Use the cruise control on the interstate and open highways. Always drive the speed limit, it’s better to be late then over-use your gas and even get a ticket.

7. Take a Navy shower by turning off the water while you soap up. Shave in the sink and not in the shower to help save water as well. Don’t overfill the bathtub.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Use environmentally friendly insulation on your home. It will help cut your heating and cooling cost as well as helps with your impact on the earth as well.

1. What values are important to you and your future? Is the job you are seeking sticking to those values as well or are they willing to change?

2. What does the company that I am interesting in working at reflect about their environmental consciousness and changes for the better of the environment?

3. Has or does the company have an environmental policy or at least stand by some sort of environmental policy and is it clearly stated, such as reviewing their usage with lights and computers as well as other machines?

4. When you head out of an interview what is observed? Does the company have their papers in a recycling bins or a company that comes and picks up their recycling? Are the electronic equipments used, all Energy-Star approved? Are there low-flow toilets and low flow water facets in the bathrooms? What about how the other employees interact, do they recycle their lunch choices, etc.? Do they also environmentally co-exist with their suppliers and dealers as well?

5. Does this company you are interested encourage employees to offer more ways to be environmentally friendly within the company or do they shut their door to new ideas on this subject? And where does this company stand on “Green Collar” job offers now and in the future? Green collar jobs are on the rise, make sure you find one that fits your values and you will be helping yourself, the environment and even your “Green Collar” employer.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Check out these You Tube Videos on Global Warming and Green Living:

• Say no to carpeting. Carpet contains more contaminants and pollen and dust than anything else in your home.

• Buy green power when you can and ask your utility company to off it if they don’t already. The typical U.S. household uses about 10,000 KWH a year.

• Repair, and don’t replace appliances. Each fix means your won’t be buying a new one and it will keep your old one out of landfills. IF you feel you must replace, then donate the broken or semi-broken one to a company that refurbishes or repairs then and resells then.

• Buy energy-efficient appliance when you do replace. Energy Star appliance use 10 to up to 50% less energy and water and must meet EPA efficiency guidelines.

• Dry your dishes on the dishwasher rack and if your dishwasher offers the air dry option, use that as well.

• Buy secondhand clothing or household items as tag sales and save the carbon cost of new production.

• Hang your laundry out to dry on a clothes line and eliminate one dryer cycle per week or more.

• Clean AC filters or replace them when necessary to keep your AC unit running smoothly.

• Run ceiling fans instead of the air conditioner in hot climates; this can save you more than a ton of CO2 waste within your won home.

• Use cold water to wash and rinse your clothes, only use hot water when the laundry is very dirty and always wash your bedding in hot water to kill bed bugs and dust mites.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Go for low flow showerheads, this switch can save you 1800 in eclectic cost and 43o in natural gas depending on how your water is heated. Not to mention the savings in water cost and waste as well. Consider putting in a low-flow toilet as well.

1. Conserve the water: If you seek out plants that don’t require watering everyday you can help cut back on water waste in a drastic way. If you do choose plants that require watering everyday consider putting in a rain water irrigation system or a rain garden. Which catches the rain and the plants water themselves.

2. Don’t go overboard: Don’t put in exotic plants that require a lot of maintenance and a lot of water and your time. You want to enjoy your garden by looking onto what you have created not, regret putting them in in the first place.

3. Lay off the sprays: Never you commercial pesticides in your garden, no matter what. A lot of the pesticides leach into our foods and plants such as herbs that we eventually carry into our house and we can end up ingesting that in the long run. Instead use a mixture of olive oil and neem oils. You can even find organic neem oil at many garden suppliers or online. It can help control mealy bugs, aphids and other plant harming insects.

4. Go Native: If you pick out native plants for your specific area you will have little effort to keep them growing and making your garden look wonderful. Ask your smaller local nurseries which have a better selection and a better knowledge of what native plants grow where for your particular area than a large retailer would have or be knowledgeable about.

5. Be plant happy: Try adding recycled pots with organic matter with a smaller plant rather than adding a lot of smaller plants to one pot. Your plants will be a lot happier in a lot of soil than being crowding in all that soil and not a lot of growing room. Keep things small on top and large on the bottom. Once the plant is established, you will see it take off and the pot and the plant with both compliment each other over all.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: There is plenty of gardening information on the 451 Press gardening site called Earthly Garden. Once you are done gathering information here at Natural and Sustainable, head over the Earthly Garden and learn about some great garden advice, tips and knowledge.

If you have the name of a recipient that has everything then consider these gift options this year for Christmas gifts.

• Plant a weeping cheery blossom tree in their front yard; this will signify a sign growth and bounty. Of course get permission first.

• Donate to a particular charity in your recipients name. You can give to such things like disaster relief, animal rescue, art groups, and school functions. Make sure that the charity is what your friend would prefer not you.

• Check the label. Look for items that use organic materials and are fair trade. Buy energy efficient appliance as a gift. Always look for the Energy Star logo.

• Recycle and Reuse by avoiding plastics and non recyclable paper goods. Make your own gift wrap by using old maps, old brochures and even comics from the newspaper and some magazines as well.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Keep this in mind when purchasing diamonds: Carat, cut, clarity and color aren’t the only c’s that need to be thought about when purchasing your next diamonds, Rebels in Central and West African countries use the funds from conflict diamonds, also known as “: blood diamonds”, to help finance civil wars and carry out atrocities against their civilians. Look for diamonds that are considered clean or conflict free. This mind sake is just as important as seeking items that are “fair trade”.

Materials you will need:

Newspaper
Four 20 inch branches that have little twigs, remove the leaves completely
Floral wire
Small shallow round basket
Small throw away plastic bowl
White glue
Green sheet moss
Foam brush
Raffia

Here’s what to do: Attach the branch handle to the basket by bending one piece of wire into a medium length U-shape about 6-inches long, make it a U-shape. Place the cut end of one of the branches against the side of the rib of the basket and place the wire on top of it. Push them both ends of the wire through the basket weaving on the side where you chose the handle to be. Pull the wire tightly against the branch and twist the two wire ends together where they emerged on the outside of the basket. If you push the brand end through first you can then follow with the tow wire end and just weave the wires back and forth and twisting before inserting backing to the basket again.

Continue this until the branch is completely secure. You may find an easier way to secure the branch; this method is only a suggestion. Just make sure the branch is secure into the basket side using a shoelace fashion back and forth to secure the branch tightly. Cut off the excess wire and tuck the sharp ends back underneath the branch to hide them.

Do this same above process on the other side of the basket; be sure to line up the handle to the other side. You can either use the other end of the branch you started with or gather up another twiggy branch to use on the other end.

When that is finished gently pull the two branches together or leave as is if you want you handle to be short and you used the other end of the same branch from the other side of the basket. Using floral wires attach the two branches together and twist together some floral wire. Don’t use a lot of floral wire, because, you don’t want the wire to be seen.

Pour a small amount of white glue into your plastic container and lay out your moss. Gently shake to remove any dirt or rocks or twigs. Spread a thick layer of glue to the inside of the basket and fit the moss inside, tear the moss to fit, never cut. Tearing will create a more natural look. Continue the process all around till the entire basket, inside and out is covered in the moss. Smash down the moss as you apply it to the basket so the moss isn’t filling up the basket entirely. If the moss tends to come up in certain areas, simply lift that section and apply more glue.

Be sure and dry the basket for several hours before adding any gourds or pinecones and such. With your raffia, tie a bow around the top part of the handle and give as a gift with some seedlings, nut or apples inside.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Lemon Verbena leave from the Lemon-verbena tree make an invigorating citrus herbal tea. You can also have the scent released and it helps to lift your spirits of a bad mood. You can also chop up the leaves and simmer them on the stove in a pot of water to help fill you home with the great scent. You can purchase one of these trees from Mountain Valley Growers for under $6 and have this wonderful tree inside your home all year long.

1. Christmas Tree Waste: Instead of adding your tree to the pile by the curb, mulch it and use those clippings to add to your garden or flowerbed. You can even cut the tree in segments and place them in the bottom of a compost pile or even line a flower bed or walkway with the cuttings.

2. Gift Card Waste: Instead of pitching those holiday cards after the season is over, clip them and use them as gift tags the following year. I found it is neat to receive the card you sent the year before as a gift tag on your package for that current year. It adds a special touch to the receiver’s gift. And try switching your cards envelopes to plain white ones instead of colored ones. The white ones can be recycled over the colored ones that can’t.

3. Extra Gift Waste: If you received a new high-tech blender for Christmas, and you want the other one gone, don’t just throw it out. Recycle it, donate it or post it on a website such as FreeCycle to give to someone who is in need of one. You can use this link for everything and anything that is still functional that you don’t want anymore.

4. Wrapping Paper and Ribbon Waste: You got to pick up that big pile of wrapping paper waste and ribbons, so why not got through them and salvage what you can use again. Ribbons alone have years of life to them and some can’t even be recycled. Instead of using paper for your gifts, consider using newspaper or even cloth to wrap them up.

Consider these tips this year when the holiday season rolls around. You can save the planet and even save you some money in the long run.

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Agaves are very drought tolerant and don’t consume as much water as many other plants might and will. Before you head out to purchase a plant of flower that needs a lot of water, consider purchasing a few agaves. You will save yourself money and the expense and waste of water as well.

There are many companies out there that say they are “green” but just because a company packages their product in a green container doesn’t mean their product(s) is good for the environment in a green way. Be leery of the term “non toxic” as well. Any company can claim that their product is “nontoxic”, “all-natural”, and even “eco-friendly”,mainly because their are no regulations on the use of these terms on any product. There are however, certain policies that a company should follow. Below is a list of those terms and things to avoid.

1. Their product is bridgeable within days not years.
2. There are no petroleum based ingredients in the list.
3. There is a clear list of ingredients not clear use of words.
4. No artificial fragrances or should be use in a well ventilated room.
5. No warming labels on the products container or anything that is flammable.
6. Avoid “phenol”, “glycol”, or any term ending in “-ene”.

If the products you are currently using contain any of the above, then consider changing them to something more eco-friendly.

Enter theThoughts Unveiled Contest!

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Capture light in a jar during the day and use that light at night to brighten any corner or area within your home. With the Sun Jar you are able to capture the sun during the day and with the help from LEDs, you can use the captured sun that the solar panels gathered in the evening around your home or on your porch. To find out more, please visit the Charles & Marie web page.