Category: Lifestyle

Another Reason Why Dogs are Man’s Best Friend

dogRecent research has confirmed what cat owners, have always known: that cats are elegant, efficient and ingenious when it comes to their personal habits and hygiene.

Living with a cat can be quite a strain on a person with less than perfect etiquette. It can be quite embarrassing to a pet owner if his pet cat outdoes him in the neatness department.

Dogs, however, are not so elegant. A dog is the epitome of sloppiness. He slurps. He spills. He lumbers along. Dogs burp in public, and do lots of other things in public as well. Dogs can make the sloppiest, untidy, and spill prone owner look great. And not only that, when you spill your food or drink your dog happily cleans up after you. What more could a pet owner ask for?

California Condors Face More Challenges in Their Efforts Back to Viability

Califoria-CondorCalifornia Condors have sure had a difficult time of it in recent years. On the verge of extinction for many years, attempts to get their population up have been going through hurdles to confound the most dedicated of biologists. Back in 2006 the first nesting attempt in Central California in more than a century happened with a nest 200 feet up a redwood tree. At first delighted with this great new development, biologist Joe Burnett of the Ventana Wildlife Society was stunned to find that the reason the birds did not immediately reproduce was not because of inexperience, but because the eggs which they did produce had fatally thin shells, too thin to support the development of condor chicks inside.

“The eggshell fragments we found appeared abnormally thin,” Mr. Burnett said. “They were so thin that we had to run tests to confirm that it was a condor egg.” The fragments reminded him of the thin-shelled eggs from birds like brown pelicans and peregrine falcons, which had been devastated by DDT but are now on the rebound.

Looking for possible sources of DDT which is a pesticide that has been banned from use since 1972 led Mr. Burnett to suspect the California sea lions, food for the California condors, may themselves by contaminated with DDT.

America Recycles Day

Go-GreenThis week, cities around the U.S. honored America Recycles Day with a range of local programs and initiatives to help in the goal of “going green.” No doubt your community held an event too. Wondering what was done in other communities? Here’s a look around the country:

In Indianapolis, Indiana, Green Piece Indy has been hosting Rush Hour Recycling every morning this week, where they will take your e-waste items like laptops and VCRs. In Citrus Heights, California, Battery Plus was offering $10 off a new laptop battery in exchange for the used one, and a $5 discount on cell phone batteries in exchange for the old ones. The Solid Waste Agency of North Cook County, in Skokie, Illinois, held its 4th annual Trashy Fashion Show, while in Austin, Texas, you could bring your plastic bags to the Live Oak Pharmacy to exchange for a reusable supermarket bag. And those in Los Angeles could take part in the Recycling Education Fair.

There were many more projects going on the local and even national levels. My favorite was the offer from the Disney Store to bring in your old t-shirts. Your old shirts will be recycled into paper and you get a discount at the store!

Being Green III

cellphone_recycle1bThis week’s focus on Being Green honors the fact that November 15th was America Recycles Day. This special day, which was launched by Keep America Beautiful in 1997, aims to highlight the need for our nation to recycle. Americans were encouraged to adopt this year’s theme “I Recycle” and to pledge to start recycling, and to encourage others to do likewise. Individuals and businesses around the country got into the act with new initiatives on the individual, family, local and corporate level.

One focus was on e-waste. This refers not just to computers but to cell phones, MP3 players and DVD players. As we’ve already written about, e-waste is an increasing problem in the U.S. today. On American Recycles Day, Dell Computers underscored their two easy ways for customers to recycle their old computers: either drop off your Dell product at Staples or contact FedEx for pick-up – both ways are free.

Covanta Energy also joined the e-waste bandwagon on America Recycles Day, reminding people that when you’re ready to upgrade your phone, laptop, etc. you can donate it to a non-profit rather than just throwing it away. This will enable you to reduce e-waste and aid those less fortunate, all at the same time.
Stay tuned for some of the local initiatives held around the country in honor of America Recycles Day.

Being Green II

ATT-Samsung-EvergreenWhat is now the greatest source of “E-waste” in the world? The answer is: Computers, monitors and… cell phones. With the average American upgrading to a new cellular model every 1.5 to 2 years, cell phones are now the fastest growing source of manufactured waste in the country. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that Americans are now getting rid of 125 million phones annually, producing 65,000 tons of garbage. Furthermore, discarded cell phones are particularly hazardous to the environment, as the toxins many of them contain, such as lead, mercury, cadmium, flame retardants and arsenic, leak into the landfills and pollute our air and water nationwide.

The good news is: There are now a few ways you can upgrade your cell phone without downgrading the quality of the planet. When you’re ready to trade in your mobile, try one of the following:
1. Visit the Call2Recycle website. Put your zip code into the designated place on the website and they’ll direct you to the nearest location in your area where their drop-box is located. Many major electronics stores, like Radio Shack and Office Depot, host Call2Recycle drop-boxes in their stores.

2. Contact CollectiveGood; they’ll take your old cell phone, refurbish it, and sell it to companies who distribute them in developing countries to help open communication to the world’s poor. You can even direct the profits from the sale of your phone to the charity of your choice.

3. Contact your local government to find out what the law is for cell phone recycling in your area. While there is no federal law mandating cell phone recycling, some states and Canadian provinces are filling in the gap. California passed the Cell Phone Recycling Act in 2006; in New York, legislation S-8182-A requires New York cell phone providers to accept your old cell phone at no charge and then recycle or dispose of it properly.

4. Look for the “green phones” on the market. The new AT&T Samsung Evergreen, for example, is made up of 70% post-consumer recycled materials and comes with an Energy Star 2.0 certified charger. What this phone does not have is PVC, BFR and Beryllium. What it does have is a full QWERTY keyboard, a 2.4 inch QVGA display, a 2.0 megapixel camera with video screen and 3G support with Bluetooth. So thanks to AT&T’s new Samsung Evergreen – you can now have your (organic) cake and eat it too!