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NH Green Commute Week
11/05/09 19:20
There are many prizes to be won if you are willing to pursue helping the environment in this way. Prizes and incentives include tickets to a Manchester Wolves game, to tickets on Amtrak. This week long event can also stimulate you to spend time riding with people you usually don’t. Try to work out your schedule to fit the needs of those that are heading in the same direction as you. If we all did that, we’d save gas!
To find out more about the special week and how you can get involved visit PATH’s website. Hope to see you out there not driving alone!
Spring Break in Belize
25/04/09 20:05
The group I was with arrived later in the afternoon by boat on the island of South Water Caye. We were tired, sticky and encrusted with salt from the boat trip, and we wanted showers. We soon found out that this was not a luxury they had. This island gets all of its power through generators and solar panels. It gets its water from rainfall and a small well under the island. The dry season in this place lasts for almost five months, and we were in it. Our showers were military style; you get in, wet your hair and body, turn off the water, scrub, turn the shower back on, rinse, turn off the water and you’re done. These showers also had nobs that you had to hold in place if you wanted more water and if you let go the water would turn off. The reason for this is because they need to reserve water for the months to come.
For energy they turn off all electricity at 10 o'clock sharp, so you have no lights and no water pressure (except the toilets and sink). The people on this island cut down on luxuries to elongate the amount of time they have water and power. Just think, if parts of the world started doing the same, how much energy and water could we save? This trip to the island taught me that not everyone is as fortunate as I and that cutting down on luxuries could help elongate our time on this planet.
Blackle
20/03/09 19:18
Thats why they’ve invented Blackle. Blackle.com is a website that was created by the same people who came up with Google. It is pretty much the exact same system, it just uses less energy because it doesn’t fill your screen with white. Pretty cool right? It's really easy to use too. You just go to Blackle.com to access the website. It's that easy! So if you are looking for a way to save energy but don't really have time, then how about changing the way we use energy and check out Blackle.com.
Making all-purpose cleaner
28/01/09 14:17
You might be thinking ‘How is making cleaners better than buying them at the store?’ Yes, store bought cleaners are easy to get. But are they really the better choice? Homemade cleaners have less impact on the earth. You have to remember that before the cleaners you buy get to your store they have to be made in a factory, put into those nifty spray bottles that usually only get used once, then they have to be shipped to your store. Having all the things you need to make your cleaner already at home would save all that energy that gets used to make package, and ship the cleaners. Cleaners you make at home (like mine) may not be a completely environmental. I’m not sure how you classify things as 100% environmental because usually any cleaning product has to have something in it like phosphate that will clean well (which usually hurt the earth). But homemade cleaners don’t have any chemicals that are made in a lab. You make them yourself. Also there isn’t a need to keep buying new bottles with the new cleaner in it. You can use the same bottle over and over again. Which saves plastic. Homemade cleaners are definitely better for the earth than store bought cleaners.
The recipe I have been using is Alice’s Wonder All-Purpose Cleaner. If you want to check it out here is the link. Homemade cleaners work just as well as manufactured cleaners. You may have your doubts about them, but just because they don’t have that harsh chemical smell doesn’t mean they aren’t working. If you’re interested, but still not convinced, join us at a “cleaner-making party” sometime soon. Stay tuned for dates and times.
