American Red Cross Disaster Relief

Special Notice regarding the devastating tsunamis on December 26.

Amazon.com has set up a way for you to easily make a donation of as little as $5.00 or more. Read more below and follow the link to donate.

American Red Cross Disaster Relief via the Amazon Honor System:
"At least 80,000 people have lost their lives in East Africa and South Asia in the aftermath of the earthquake and resulting tsunamis on December 26. Thousands of people in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and Indonesia are still missing; many others have lost their homes and livelihoods. Sri Lanka and Indonesia suffered the highest number of deaths, but India, East Africa, Seychelles, Maldives, and Thailand were all affected by the tsunami waves, which reached as high as 20 feet. Aid workers and volunteers are focused on stopping the spread of disease and delivering food and drinking water to survivors. The American Red Cross reports that emergency assessment and first-aid teams were on the ground quickly and are already working with local groups to support relief efforts. Your financial donation will help provide medicine, clothing, food, and shelter for victims of the East Africa and South Asia earthquake and tsunami disaster. Thanks in advance for your participation during this critical time."

Click here to read more and donate now.

Phones For Food

While looking for a place to donate my old cell phone, I came across the thINK FOOD Phones-for-Food project. Very interesting indeed!

www.think-food.com

The mission of the thINK FOOD project is to alleviate hunger and divert waste from landfill sites by raising funds for local food banks through the process of recycling used printer cartridges and cell phones. thINK FOOD began in 2001 as a cartridge-recycling fundraiser for Toronto’s Daily Bread Food Bank. With corporate sponsorship, the project was soon expanded across the province and the nation. Today this award-winning project has thousands of businesses, schools and government offices established as collection sites in support of hundreds of local food banks across Canada.

Look for similar projects in your area!

LED Lights

More from Dreaming of a Green Christmas:
"Hot ecogifts this season include LED outdoor holiday lights that use 1/50th of the electricity and last 20 to 30 years. At $10 to $15 a string, they cost about five times as much as regular lights, but they save money in the long run, Mr. Comras says. 'And they're prettier.'"

We have a new place and had never had to buy outdoor lights before so we went for the more expensive NOMA brand LED lights. Prices for the LED lights were anywhere from about C$6 for a small 35 lights to about C$16 for a large 70 light sets (at Canadian Tire). Prices were different depending on colour, i.e., popularity. I would expect that all Christmas lights will be of the LED variety in the next few years.

According to the packaging, 600 LED lights will cost us about $0.45 in electrical costs* for 30 days of use. Very cheap!

This is compared to the following for the same period of time:

600 incandescent mini lights: $6.00
600 incandescent C6 lights: $13.35
600 incandescent C7 lights: $31.30

* Cost of electricity at 12 cents per kilowatt hour.

I think that the LED lights look better too! They do give a different kind of light compared to incandescent lights. Also, they operate "cold." They are not hot or even warm to the touch. This would seem to be safer.

The box claims that they are virtually unbreakable. And, I would have to agree. They can be banged around without risk of breakage. I really like this.

So, even though they cost more initially, I think our new LED lights were a good investment.

TIP: Buy your LED lights for next year after December 25th when they will almost definately be on sale...

Dreaming of a Green Christmas

"Despite the five million extra tons of trash generated between Thanksgiving and New Year's, many people plan to 'go green' and give environmentally conscious gifts." So says a hopeful article that can be found on AlterNet.org.

www.alternet.org/envirohealth/20719/

Flu Shots Contain Mercury?

A recent article on Rense.com raised a potentially important issue, that recent research into the type of flu shots administered on some campuses have shown they contain a potentially toxic preservative, but health officials say the benefits of the shot outweigh the risks.

"The toxic metal mercury is used as a preservative in an ingredient called thimerosal, which is used in the flu shots being given at SAIT, as well as most common vaccinations and shots. One pharmaceutical flu shot out there contains 0.01% of thimerosal, which is about 25 to 50 mcg. This preservative was found to be so toxic to pregnant women and infants, that the California State Senate became the second state in the US to pass a bill prohibiting doctors from giving vaccines containing thimerosal to pregnant women and children under three. The State passed the bill with the understanding that thimerosal may cause neurological conditions and diseases. US flu shots contain approximately 25 mcg of thimerosal."

Is this worth further investigation?

VOC-Free Paint, I Had No Idea

Would you paint your walls with dangerous chemicals that could increase allergies, asthma, and respiratory problems? Chances are you already do. Chemical paints can make your home look good, but they can also emit toxins. I had no idea.

According to the new David Suzuki Foundation newsletter, Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs) are chemicals which produce noxious fumes and are found in many paints, caulks, and stains.

But these decorative chemicals can be avoided - latex paints contain fewer VOCs than oil-based paints...or better yet, use paints that are labelled VOC-free. Some of these VOC-free substances are “natural paints” made from citrus, plant ingredients, milk protein, or clay that are safer for humans and the environment. As an added bonus, most natural paint manufacturers list the ingredients on the package, so you can actually read what you’re getting.

Your walls, and your immune system, will thank you.

Cradle To Cradle Design

Imagine a wool blanket that's soft enough to swaddle a newborn in. Now imagine that when it's old and moth-eaten the same blanket can be disposed of in your compost bin instead of a landfill. Sound far-fetched? Sure. But the amazing thing is that blankets like this already exist. Best of all, this blanket could be a harbinger of things to come.

This baby blanket, developed by innovative eco-designers at McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), is a great example of cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design. In a nutshell, these are products made in a sustainable manner that are fully recyclable at the end of their life, producing zero waste. Most products nowadays, like TVs, are examples of “cradle to grave” design. You use a product and throw it into a landfill at the end of its life. But cradle-to-cradle design mimics nature. A dead tree, for example, provides nutrients for the soil and habitat for insects.

For more information on C2C design, check out the current David Suzuki Foundation newsletter