It’s Easy Being Green!

Every plug you take out of the wall and every piece of paper you recycle, eventually adds up to millions and millions across the globe. These tiny acts of “going green” may not seem like much, but we all owe it to ourselves and Mother Earth to keep going green and looking for more and more ways to do so. Hear teens share more ideas about how they are going green and simple ways you can too!

Earth Day is Every Day

I love that so many people are talking about going green! We have so far to go as a nation and a global community, but every little bit helps and it’s encouraging to see more people talking about going green and actually doing it. Earth Day is this Wednesday and in honor of it, I wanted to share a few fun tips.

1. Have fun with Earth Day, but remember, Earth Day is every day! How green can you be? Try to think of things you can do every day to be green. Start by doing something small and let it build! Before you know it, it will be like second nature.
2. Do you unplug your cell phone, ipod, and computer plugs when they are not charging? Even if you unplug your device, but don’t unplug at the wall, you’re wasting precious energy.
3. Have you seen the new Facebook application started by Gengreenlife? It’s so cool!
4. Walk or carpool! Try to see how you can walk or bike more. If driving is an option, can you carpool?
5. Join the celebration! St. Louis is having a huge Earth Day party at Forest Park. What’s your town up to? Just Google earth day and your town to get more great ideas.
6. Watch our No plastic video.
7. Tell us your green ideas and we’ll post them! You can email us at info@girlswithdreams.com

Adopt an Animal and Help Save the Planet.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking my two kids to the St. Louis Science Center to see the Omnimax shark movie because one of my kids has always loved sharks. I understand if you’re terrified of them, but they’re really more misunderstood than bad. Humans actually kill millions of sharks every year. This statistic, in addition to climate changes, might eventually lead to the distinction of sharks, which would wreak havoc on our ecosystem! Sharks are one of the oldest animals around, dating back to before the dinosaurs. 

As a result of my recent adventures, I did a little more research online and found a few quick ideas for how you might reach out to help our planet. The World Wildlife Organization has a ton of resources about our planet, environment, animals and so much more! They also have this cool adoption program, where you can adopt an animal with its own certificate for as little as $25. For $50 you can even get the plush animal to match. You can choose from about 90 animals! Wouldn’t that be a cool gift?

Besides checking out these sites, we can all do our part by looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint every day. Even simple things like turning off lights, unplugging your cell phone charger, car pooling, and recycling, all help make a big difference.

So, what’s your favorite animal?

Are You Seeing Green?

I met thousands of amazing women when I was in Dallas this July. Two of them started GenGreenLife.com, founder and CEO Charisse and and marketing and content manager Crystal. The goal of the site is to be the most comprehensive listing for local resources that support environmental awareness. There are more than 25,000 listing to help you live a green lifestyle! Everyone can benefit from it, whether you’ve already gone green or you’ve been wondering what all the green buzz is about. I’ve already joined the site and found a lot of local resources. After you check out www.gengreen.org, make sure to give Charisse and Crystal feedback!

Missouri’s Going Green!

The other day I was driving along Highway 94 (in St. Charles) and noticed they were building some kind of apartment complex. On one of the buildings, there was a huge banner that said “Missouri’s First Green Development.”

I’d like to hear all of your thoughts about this development. What makes a development “green?” Would you choose to live in a place that has made the effort to go “green?”

I’ve seen celebs wear “Go Green” t-shirts and many stores are selling or encouraging the use of reusable bags instead of paper or plastic. What’s your take on this? Have you done anything to support this new cause

For more information, visit www.thinkgreen.com or greenopolis.com.

Frog Fiasco

I was at the Zoo this weekend with my kids. We were checking out this new exhibit about frogs and amphibians and I was shocked at what I read! I took a small excerpt from the Web site to share with you:

“Did you know that The Earth is now facing the largest mass destruction of a species since the disappearance of the dinosaur? After thriving for over 360 million years, one third to one half of the world’s approximately 6,000 known amphibian species could go extinct in our lifetime.”

Think about that. One third to one half of the population might become extinct in our lifetime! That’s not acceptable. Once again, it stresses the importance of our responsibility to take care of our earth. This exhibit reminded me of that fact again. The site listed 4 main causes of this population loss:

1. Habitat loss
2. Climate change
3. Pollution and pesticides
4. Introduced species and diseases

I’m not a scientist, but I know that we play a huge role in most of the causes for their extinction! It reminded me of the importance of doing my part to reduce greenhouse gases (which impact climate change) and to reduce pollution and pesticides I might be introducing into the environment.

I would love to hear your ideas and hear about what you see happening in your schools and communities! We need to work together on this!

What are Your Earth Day Plans?

I wanted to share a few ideas that I’ve been thinking about in conjunction with Earth Day. One of my little boys loves sharks! He’s just a toddler and can tell you the fastest shark (the Mako), the biggest shark (the Whale shark), and much more! In exploring his interest in sharks, I’ve learned quite a bit myself. One of the things I’ve learned is how many people are terrified by these creatures. I’ve learned that the number of shark attacks involving people pale in comparison to the million sharks killed in the fishing industry for things such as Shark Fin Soup. It’s made me question who the real predator is. With my son’s birthday approaching, I find myself asking what we can do to save our oceans and these precious creatures.

I’m sharing this information for several reasons:

• Our perceptions are often way off. It’s important to take a look at things from many perspectives. I didn’t realize that some of our sharks are endangered.
• With Earth Day here, it has me questioning how I can take care of the planet and reduce my carbon footprint, not just for the sharks and the oceans, but for our whole planet.
• It’s made me realize that we need to do more. With every purchase I make and every product I use, I should be asking if it’s helping or hurting our planet.

For specific tips, make sure you visit other recent posts on this topic and join the www.wecansolveit.org campaign.

WE Can Solve It!

Have you heard of the new campaign Al Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection started? I’m not big on telling you what to do, but I think that this Web site is worth a visit!

A video on the site was eye-opening and disturbing. What type of legacy will we be leaving if we don’t start to take this issue seriously? How many animals will die? How many natural disasters will occur? How will our planet change?

In case you don’t have time to view the video, let me share a few key points.

• Even though most Americans believe we are in the middle of a climate crisis and need to do something about it, very little action is being taken at higher levels (where laws are written).
• It’s going to take more than just changing lightbulbs to create a global change!
• This is an opportunity for all of us to rise to a challenge and leave a mark for future generations.
• We need to be active citizens and sepak up to help create change.
• One of the easiest ways you can do that is by joining the WE can solve it movement and forward this link to all of your friends!
• You can also sign petitions and find out a lot of other great info. I even read a story about a teenager who was trained by Al Gore and his staff and is now sharing this important message with other teens!

20 Ways to Save for Earth Day

As we all know, Earth Day is coming up and there are plenty of ways to save the Earth on a daily basis. Here are a few ideas my friends and I came up with:

1. Reuse gift bags you receive instead of buying new ones.

2. Use utensils that can be washed instead of using disposable utensils.

3. Unplug your computer and other electronics when you’re not using them.

4. Buy a laptop instead of a desktop computer because it uses less energy.

5. Carpool or use public transportation.

6. Replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.

7. Plant a tree.

8. Clean the lint filter in your dryer before each use so it will run as efficiently as possible.

9. Better yet, hang your clothes to dry them instead of using the dryer.

10. Print documents double-sided if possible.

11. Turn off the lights or any electronics when you leave the room.

12. Recycle!

13. Instead of buying bottled water, buy a BPA-free reusable water bottle and fill it with filtered water.

14. When it’s cold out, place a rolled up towel in front of your door to keep cold air from coming in or warm air from escaping.

15. Use rechargeable batteries. Disposable batteries can leak toxins into the ground.

16. Replace your shower head with one that saves water.

17. Use your towel more than once rather than washing it after each use.

18. Use rags to clean up spills instead of paper towels and use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.

19. Instead of going through the drive-thru, park your car and go inside. It will create less pollution and you’ll save gas.

20. Turn the water off when you’re not using it instead of letting it run.

Can you think of any other easy ways to help save the earth every day?