Energizer Canada & Evergreen's "Do Something Little, Help Something Big"

Evergreen is a not-for-profit organization that is committed to making Canadian cities greater and more liveable… creating a more sustainable future for all of us. Energizer Canada has teamed up with Evergreen on their “Do Something Little, Help Something Big” initiative.

Energizer is proud to contribute $100,000 to Evergreen to make cities more liveable.

You can help make that amount larger. Make a pledge to perform kind acts that make positive energy.  Pledge at least three things and Energizer will donate an additional $1 to Evergreen.

I've made the pledge to the following Kind Acts:

1. I will tell my kids how much I love them.
2. I will greet a person in the elevator.
3. I will donate clothes to charity.
4. I will smile or say a kind word to create more positive energy around me.
5. I will do my laundry during off-peak hours.

In reality I already do most of those and some others I didn't include but I pledge to do them more! May I ask that you consider pledging some of the ones that aren't about the environment? You may think greeting a person in an elevator is easy and no big deal but a smile or hello goes a long way. Have you ever seen the movie Pay it Forward? If not you should. I make a point of saying hello, smiling or nodding to every person I pass in an elevator or on the street.

Make sure you pledge your kind acts!

NOTE: It didn't work for me in Firefox. I had to use IE. If pledge counter is showing no numbers, then the form won't work and you will need to use a different browser.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Energizer Canada and Evergreen “Do Something Little, Help Something Big” program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Energizer Canada and Evergreen. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

Bugs - The Great Camping Event - Day 6

It's Day 6 of 12, we're halfway through! There are more reviews coming next week but for now, I'd like to talk about bugs. This post was inspired by Beth of Create Your Traditions.

Bugs live outside. If you go camping, you are going to encounter bugs, there's no doubt about that. Bugs is a big reason I think why some people are not interested in camping. But I love bugs! Sure there are some that I don't like and run away from. Earwigs and centipedes and June bugs mostly. I used to be more scared. I'd scream at spiders. When I was about 5 I had to have an x-ray and there was a small spider on the wall in the x-ray room. It was up so high it was near the ceiling and was nowhere near me but I refused to have that x-ray until it was gone. They had to send for someone to bring in a ladder and go up there and dispose of it before I would cooperate. Now I catch most spiders and set them free.

So how did I get desensitized? I did lots of outdoor things and got used to them. Also as a Girl Guide leader I had to teach the girls how to be respectful of nature and to not scream every time they saw a bug. So I had to stop myself from freaking out in front of them.

Just keep reminding yourself... they were here FIRST!!!

Oh and you can only complain if you see the Rhinoceros Beetle or something equally huge and menacing.

*Photo Credits: 
Spider - Flickr User Annieta under Flickr Creative Commons License.
Beetle - Flickr User Leslie Kirkland under Flickr Creative Commons License

Canadian Environment Week - Take the Power Pledge!

This week is Canadian Environment Week and in honour of that I'd like to share what I did this morning.

I took The Power Pledge from the Ontario Power Authority this morning. Here are the steps (Canada Only)

1. Go to http://www.powerpledge.ca/ and click on "Take the Power Pledge."
2. Read and choose at least one action that you pledge to take. They range from wash your clothes in cold water to buy an energy star efficient appliance soon (I wish I could afford that!)
3. Take the pledge, enter your info to make it official. You can choose to opt out of future mailings.
4. They will send you an confirmation email which if you click through, you can possibly get Air Miles points*

*If you got your Air Miles card in Ontario, you can choose either to donate 10 reward miles (to your choice of WWF Canada, Kids Help Phone or Special Olympics Canada) and get 20 reward miles for yourself or donate all 30 points.) If you got your Air Miles card outside of Ontario or if you don't have a air miles card, you can donate 30 points to one of the three charities.

Note: I didn't get any compensation for posting this and I don't get anything if you take the pledge. I just wanted to share this because I'm always for helping the environment.

Earth Day Challenge Update

I posted about how I was participating in the Earth Day Challenge through The Canadian Mom Blog Network a few days ago.

Well I finally found the time to post about what we did during Earth Day to share with you all.

At playgroup we planted flowers and played with the playdough with gardening toys. Then we went to the library and picked out books and videos to bring home.

They watched Barney Jungle Friends which I picked up because I figured animals would fit under Earth Day. It was a pleasant surprise to find them singing about Earth Day! We also got The Meerkats (as told by Paul Newman), a documentary/movie about Meerkats. Although it's not made for kids, my kids loved it and watched it three times over the past few days.

The books we got and read:

Science Starter: Living Things by Wendy Madgwick (info on living vs. non-living things and science experiments to do. I just read the text and make sure she understood and asked her questions about the pictures.

An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston and Sylvia Long (All different kinds of eggs and compares how they are different.)

What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins & Robin Page (shows parts of mouth, ears, tails, noses etc.. of different animals. You can guess what animal it is and what it uses it's mouth/ear/tail/nose for and then turn the page to find out the answer.)

This Land is Your Land (With a Tribute by Pete Seeger) - Words and Music by Woody Guthrie, Paintings by Kathy Jakobsen (I introduced this song to my children and we enjoyed the illustrations.

I forgot to take photos WHILE they planted the flowers but here they are after

Here's the playdough with gardening tools

This is my husband gently watering the tree seeds we planted (Thanks to Majesta) Yes there is a toaster outside, it's broken. Also the photo is blueish because my camera sucks and it was dusk.

The girls were playing computer games and all on their own stumbled upon a flower planting one, perfect for Earth Day!

This post was written as a part of the Earth Day Challenge hosted by The Canadian Mom Blog Network in Partnership with Mom Central, Majesta, and Fenigo.com

Earth Day Challenge -Canadian Mom Blog Network

This Earth Day (April 22) I'll be doing earth-related activities with my two preschool children. I want to teach my kids to be good to our environment. They already know how to recycle and to not pick flowers or leaves.

The Canadian Mom Blog Network issued and Earth Day Challenge.

The challenge is to post about what I'll be doing with my kids on Earth Day, do it, and then post again afterwards about what we did.

So on Earth Day I plan to read some books about the environment to my kids, perhaps watch a video and maybe plant a tree. I have a seed I just have to figure out if there is somewhere I can plant it.

We also go to playgroup that day so they may have Earth Day activities, I'm not sure.

I'll be sure to take photos of all we do to share with everyone.


This post was written as a part of the Earth Day Challenge hosted by The Canadian Mom Blog Network in Partnership with Mom Central, Majesta, and Fenigo.ca

My Blog is Carbon Neutral!

Did you know that your blog or website releases carbon dioxide into the air? That's because of the computer we use for it. Let me quote Make it Green!

How much carbon dioxide does your blog create?

According to a study by Alexander Wissner-Gross, PhD, physicist at Harvard University and environmental activist, an average website causes about 0.02g (0,0008oz.) of carbon dioxide for each visit. Assuming an average blog gets 15,000 visits a month, it has yearly carbon dioxide emissions of 3,6kg (8lb.). This can mainly be tracked back to the immense energy usage from (mainframe) computers, servers, and their cooling systems.

 I don't have anywhere near that many visitors a month but I still leave a carbon footprint. So what can I do about it? By joining the Carbon Neutral campaign they will plant a tree for me (in California) to help neutralize it.

Their goal is to have 500 blogs in the campaign by Earth Day and they haven't hit 300 yet so why don't you join too? It's easy and it's good for the environment.

Earth Hour 2010 - Mar 27 8:30pm

It's that time again. Time to show our support for being more environmentally friendly, to reduce our electricity usage for just one hour this saturday. Earth Hour has been such a success around the world, why wouldn't you want to participate?

Earth Hour and WWF would like me to share some information with you:

5 Things we want the world to know about Earth Hour

1. We can solve 3/4 of climate change by changing the energy we use.
   First step is cutting down our use. Do those lights really have to be on? Can the computers be turned off at night? Think before you switch on.
2. 10 million Canadians care about leadership on climate change.
   Every person who participates in Earth Hour is sending a clear and inspiring message to our leaders to take further action needed to help our planet.
3. We're in the hot seat this summer - and it's not on the beach!
   Canada is hosting the G8 and G20 Summits in Huntsville and Toronto in June, and climate change is on the agenda. Let's show the world what we are capable of.
4. Wildlife's best hope is avoiding 2 degrees Celsius.
   Global warming is already threatening our coral reefs, the base of ocean life. If we can limit the warming, we can stop 1/3 of species from risking extinction.
5. WWF wants to help you make ever hour Earth Hour.
   There's a big growing community online of people wanting to do more and looking for support. Join us at http://community.wwf.ca

So what can you do without lights, stoves, computers, music, video games, TV etc... for one hour?

How about:

• Having a candlelit dinner
• Reading by candlight
• Play a game that requires little reading and mostly talking (the kind where you ask a question and everyone gives their answer)
• Go outside and enjoy the stars. It should be easier to see with less lights
• If it's just the two of you... have "adult" fun!
• sit in a circle and tell ghost stories
• Have a sing along by candlelight (or a real campfire if you are legally able)

Here's a short video:



Visit Earth Hour US, Earth Hour Canada or Earth Hour Global

*Photo Credit: Phoney Nickle on Flickr

Happy Earth Day!

Well it's April 22, Earth Day!

What are you doing to celebrate? I'm having a giveaway on my book blog for a book titled Trash Talk by Dave and Lillian Brummet. It's all about reducing our waste in creative and simple ways.

Your Guide to a Greener World

Mad White Woman's Earth Day Post
Weird Earth Friendly Products

World Water Day

Did you know it was World Water Day yesterday, March 21?? Well it was! Apparently it is celebrated all weekend long. Of course I'd find out at the END of the weekend.

I found out about World Water Day from Conscious Discussions, the blog of authors and radio show hosts Dave and Lillian Brummet.

Sometime in April I will be featuring Dave and Lillian at SMS Book Reviews with a review of two of their books and giveaway of their third. I'll most likely have an interview and/or guest post too so come check it out.

So even though the celebrations are over, you can be more water wise any day of the year so check out this post and this post for more info.

Photo © 2003 Kathleen Garber. Do not reproduce without permission.

Earth Hour 2009

At 8:30 p.m. on March 28, the world will turn off its lights for just one hour – Earth Hour – to show it is possible to take action on climate change. Switching off your lights is just one simple action that you can take to help make a difference and it sends a powerful message that we care about our planet.

Last year, WWF pioneered Earth Hour globally and it was a huge success! More than 30 countries participated in this exciting initiative. In Canada, almost 10 million Canadians participated in more than 150 cities across the country. People and businesses from coast-to-coast celebrated with candle-light parties, moonlight walks and other events to commemorate the hour power down.

This year, WWF is hoping to make Earth Hour more than a symbolic event but we need your help to make it happen. It is important people understand that we each have an important role to play in the fight against climate change. Our everyday actions, like turning off unnecessary lights, individually add up to make a big difference. Individual action also is important because it sends a strong signal to business and government that Canadian want action.

Why Participate:
Climate change is the biggest environmental threat to our planet and the number one concern for Canadians. We are already seeing its impact. Participating in Earth Hour is a simple way to show that you want to be a part of the solution and sends a powerful message to others that, together, we can make a difference. Globally, we are also up against a deadline to stop dangerous climate change. In 2012, the Kyoto Accord, the most significant international agreement to control greenhouse gas emissions, will expire.

What you can do:
1. Sign-up for Earth Hour at http://www.earthhourcanada.org/ and turn off your lights on March 28
at 8:30 p.m. for one hour
2. Promote Earth Hour to your friends, family, and colleagues
3. Make every hour Earth Hour - Consider what else can be done within your home and
workplace to drive change in behaviour and practices to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information on how to participate, or who is participating, visit the Canada page on http://www.earthhourcanada.org/. There are also useful tools to help you promote Earth Hour including posters, FAQ’s, logos and more.

Do What You Can (for Ontarians)

Stewardship Ontario, the industry organization responsible for the Blue Box program and the Municipal Hazardous or Special Waste (MHSW) program, is making it easier for Ontarians to recycle old batteries, paint, solvents and other “household hazardous waste” with a new initiative under a new program called Do What You Can.

The Do What You Can program aims to more than double the amount of ‘hazardous’ or ‘special’ waste diverted from landfill over the next five years. The target is to divert more than 33,000 tonnes of potentially hazardous or special waste, up from the 16,000 tonnes currently collected. Materials targeted under the program include paint, solvents, non-rechargeable batteries, antifreeze, propane cylinders and other items commonly found in Ontario homes but which need special care when there are leftovers and used containers.

Did you know that…

- Before this program, municipalities paid the fee to dispose of these hazardous materials. Now, the brand owners and importers of these products are responsible for paying the fee. The fee is used to pay for the program including collection, transportation, reuse and recycling, processing, research and development, and consumer education.

- The companies that make and market these items are also working with municipalities and leading retailers to enhance recovery of potentially hazardous or special wastes by making the process much more convenient. This means consumers will be able to conveniently drop their hazardous products off at retails locations like Home Depot, RONA and Jiffy Lube.

- Red Lake is the northernmost Ontario community with an MHSW agreement, Spanish is the smallest municipality with a population of 740 and Toronto is the largest (population 1.9 million).

To find out how to recycle many different items, check out http://www.dowhatyoucan.ca/

Earth Hour 2008

Will you be participating in Earth Hour 2008?

On 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney businesses turned
off their lights for one hour - Earth Hour. This massive collective effort
reduced Sydney's energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the
equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for a year.

This March 29, from 8pm to 9pm is Earth Hour. No matter what time zone you are in, when it's 8pm, turn off all your lights and appliances and do something without using electricity. Light some candles and read or play some games.

Show you are serious about Global Warming and Climate Change. Sign Up to participate.