The call to recycle

Hey guys! Thanks for your comments. Sarah and I were especially excited about John from Cell Phone Recycling. So, we decided to post his link. 

We buy used cell phones! Collect old cell phones for fundraisers!

Posted using ShareThis

Also, here is another great site. There are a whole bunch of useful tidbits of knowledge to be shared about cell phone waste.

http://recyclemycellphone.org/RMCP_factsheet.pdf

Here are a couple of examples of what you will find on the fact sheet:

Cell Phone Waste Facts and Figures 

• The EPA estimates cell phones will be thrown away at a rate of 130 million a year by 2005 

that equals 65,000 tons of waste containing toxic metals.  

• There are more than 500 million used cell phones in the U.S. sitting in people's drawers or in 

landfills.  

• According to a study by the research group INFORM, early efforts by commercial and non- 

profit corporations to recycle cell phones have led to the collection of only 2.5 million 

phones from 1999 through early 2003. Thus, cell phones are currently being recycled at rate 

of approximately 600,000 per year. 

So, don't feel bad about wanting the new model every year- there are plenty of places where you can donate your cell phone to be recycled. It saves our planet from yet another source of toxic waste.

Tragic Plastic

So, I'm reading Rolling Stone and I come upon an article about the Plastic problem in our world's oceans. According to them and other news sources, there is a plastic mass floating in our oceans double the size of Texas!! Most of it is broken down into tiny little pieces and outnumbers the amount of zooplankton- the world's most numerous organism. Now that's just horrible! I could not believe my eyes when I read this. We as consumers need to watch the amount of disposable things we buy. Most consumer products are made to be disposed of so we will keep spending money! So here are some ways you can help.


1.Buy recycled items or items made of post-consumer recycled materials


2. Bring your own coffee mug to the coffee shop

3. Eat at home instead of getting take-out

4. Play with your kids more instead of buying plastic toys they are just going to fall out of love with the next month (My dad used to make houses and space ships out of old boxes and then when we were done, he would recycle them)

5. Find creative re-use stores you can donate your old things to. There is a really great one on Telegraph in Oakland called "The Depot" You can bring anything there! From old fabric to toliet paper rolls and people buy them and use them again! The money goes to great causes too!


6. Eat locally grown food too, anytime you buy things that have been shipped, just remember all the packaging it takes- a lot of plastics!!


7. Bring your own shopping bags to the store- The amount of Plastic bags used in the country is astronomical!


As Americans, we have been raised in a culture of disposable things and it is time to stop. Our habits are killing everything around us. Do you think our ancestors really wanted us to think this world is disposable like everything else?

Food Scraps Get Good Rap

Hey everybody! I just want to tell why I love my new apartment in Oakland. It's close to Telegraph, I run into my friends at the grocery store, I can ride my bike to the store or take BART to work and I have access to food scrap recycling. YAY!!! It's so hard to have a compost when you live in a tiny apartment with no yard or garden to take care of, so I am super pleased that I have a trash bin specifically for food and yard waste. All this waste goes to a composting facility and provides compost for the city and county's soil needs. Isn't that awesome? Only thing not cool is the fruit fly population growing exponentially outside my window...... But I'll live with it if that means I am reducing my landfill waste!!!

Sealion Rescue!!!

Ok, so I just posted an article about carbon foot prints, and I realize it has been a long time before that without a new post. So, I'm doing 2 in 1 day!

In July, my husband (Colin) and I went on a road trip with my parents up 101 to Oregon. We wanted to see the Redwoods and the Coast, so we made a few stops along the way to take in all the nature. My dad asked us to stop at a beach near Cresent City so he could take some pictures. The sand was still hot from the sun, but the day was overcast and the water was freezing. We took off our shoes and walked down the beach to stretch our legs. On our way back to the car, Colin was stopped by a lady with some sort of injured creature wrapped in a blanket. She asked him to help her by getting an animal carrier she had in the back of her truck. She revealed a baby sealion under the blanket and explained he was too heavy for her to carry.

So Colin and I ran to the truck to grab the carrier and raced back to the beach. Then we all watched as she gently placed him in the crate. We all grabbed a side of the crate and helped her carry him to the truck.

Of course, I asked her what organization she was with. I didn't want to assist someone with ill intentions. She said she was working with the North Coast Marine Mammal Center. You can visit their website or their actual center

424 Howe Dr

Crescent City, CA 95531

They rely on volunteers and donations for the majority of their work.

Just check out their website and see for yourself all the great work they do!

Here are some guidelines if you ever encounter a marine animal that needs rescue:

* DO NOT TOUCH beached mammals. These animals are sometimes aggressive and can inflict severe bites.
* Keep people and pets away.
* Do not disturb or chase them into the water. Animals may simply be resting and may not need help.
* Note the EXACT location, including landmarks, and CALL us as soon as possible at 707-465-MAML(6265).
* Harbor Seal Pups on the beach are NOT Abandoned!! Their mothers are off feeding and will soon return.
Please...Please... DO NOT go near them!!!

We Need To Lead

A lot of us look at China or India and say- "hey these guys should really cut back! Look at all the pollution, look at all the waste..." The truth of the matter is that we are just seeing the consequences of the densely populated areas. In fact, each American, on average, produces 20 tons of carbon each year. EACH American! That is just crazy! There are a lot of factors- air travel, car travel, heating your house, cooling your house, etc... modern conveniences that most of the world doesn't even have. Most people in China have a carbon footprint of less than 4 tons a year and in India it's less than 2 tons a year. So to think each American contributes 10 tons a year more than most people in the world is just disgusting.

What can we do? Do we blame our affluent society? Do we blame our parents, our grandparents? Suave marketing campaigns that ensure cars outnumber people? The rich? Education? The government?

Ultimately, it takes facts like this to make people think. We each have a brain that should be able to process how catastrophic these figures are. The responsibility is with each of us. Can you imagine if all Americans were able to get down to the emissions generated by our friends in India? We would go from about 6 billion tons a year (holy crap!) to 600 million tons a year. That would mean each person should focus on cutting their daily consumption by 10 times. It's hard to do, but there are so many solutions! Carpooling, rain harvesting, more blankets in your house instead of cranking up the heat, cooking at home instead of going out, recycling, composting, eating less meat and dairy (the industry is on the top of the list for waste and ecological damage) public transportation, riding your bike, walking, fixing leaky faucets, shorter and colder showers....the list goes on and on. So it's not like we don't have options out there to make us better children to our Mother Earth.

Something Worth Watching!

Here's something to make you go..."Oh yeah! What DID happen?" This is a great documentary to refresh your memory. This was extremely jaw-dropping and aggravating. Please check it out.

Organic Spa

Recently, I wrote about herbal body wraps, particularly from Avra Organic Spa. I just have to do another shout out to this wonderful establishment because I always get super surprises in my email inbox with deals and coupons galore! This spa really does want to spread the word through the world on healthy detoxification methods. So, I must insist, sign up for their newsletter. If you go to their site and sign up, you receive $30 off your first body wrap!

Here is a list of awesome services they provide

• Herbal Body Wrap: Avra's signature service which tones skin, eliminates inflammation and water retention, gently detoxifies, and reduces cellulite..


• Sudatonic Infrared Body Wrap: Increases metabolism and circulation. A powerful detoxifying process, perfect for those pushing through a weight loss plateau


• Organic Skin Care: 90, 60, or 30 minute facial - skin cleansing, gentle exfoliation, and extraction, massage and moisturizing!


• Colon Hydrotherapy: Detoxifies your whole system making it working better- critical to your overall heath and wellness!


• Natural Waxing: done with a gentle, all-natural rose wax.

So, do yourself a favor and go to their website and sign up for their newsletter!