Recycling

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Jason
I thought a quick update was in order so here we go.


Summer is winding down and cooler weather approaches which makes me very happy.  Soon the leaves will turn various shades of yellow and red and the skies will darken to gray.


So far the year has been busy and full of change as well as plenty of challenges.  My time with the Lupus foundation will end in late October after the walk season has concluded.  Hopefully we will have a new CEO in place before I step down.  Work with the Reef Stewardship Foundation continues with several projects in the works.  More news on that front as it occurs.


With the one month mark of eating no meat having passed I can say that all is well and I am very happy with my current course in that respect.  The worm farm is still pending fund availability so in the meantime I have begun recycling items that are recyclable.  As the apartment complex I reside in does not offer recycling services for the tenants I am going to collect the recyclable items in bins then take them to the recycling facility myself.  Curb side pickup allows for a wider range of goods to be recycled where as delivering in person limits what can be accepted (plastics are near impossible to offload).  I do not understand the reason for this and frankly it should be law that each county has facilities to accept all recyclable material, including plastics, in an effort to minimize waste filling landfills or otherwise polluting the environment.  By making recycling easy for the public I believe the number of people recycling would greatly increase and the amount of waste polluting our environment would drop.  Some areas are more progressive on this front though the city and county where I live does not make the list.  So to City of Everett and Snohomish County officials I would like to say please provide the means to recycle ALL recyclable materials.  Those of us that live in apartments and condos are limited in our capacity to do what is right.


As I said it was a quick update so I will stop there and post another update later this week.

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Pass the Veggies Please

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Jason

In my continuing quest to live in a manner that is more green/blue (i.e.  Minimize my impact on the environment) it has come to a point where I am focusing on how my diet affects the planet.  There have been points in my life when I have not eaten red meat or seafood only though I have never completely avoided meat.  The overfishing of our Ocean is an issue that receives little attention from media and yet has a very large impact on the health of our planet.

Three weeks ago I eliminated all meat from my diet in an effort to test the waters and determine my comfort level in living on foods that do not include meat.  My goal is to evaluate how the test is going at the one month then two month marks.  As I approach the one month mark I am feeling very good and have been happy with my available food choices.  Remaining aware that processed foods and over packaging are major issues I continue to strive toward eating locally grown produce.

Moving on from food I wanted to make a quick note regarding the local public transit system which I looked into this past week.  Public transportation in my area is lacking and in my opinion run poorly.  Twice I checked routes from my apartment to destinations and found that they each required three separate buses and/or trains.  The distance to the destinations were less than 10 miles and in each case the first bus goes the opposite direction I want to go before transferring to the second bus/train.  If we expect any significant amount of the population to utilize public transit over private automobiles there needs to be a good deal of improvement to the system.

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Enter the Green Zone

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Jason

I just finished making a batch of laundry soap and now it’s time to wind down before bed.

Making my own laundry soap is one of those experiences I never imagined would actually feel so rewarding however just knowing that it’s homemade and better for both me and the environment it actually is just that, rewarding.  The process requires very little effort and the payoff is huge; I really don’t know why everyone doesn’t make their own.

While I have made my own laundry soap for a year or so it has only been a couple weeks since I started making my own cologne, shampoo, hand soap, dish soap, and dishwasher powder.

Each of these products is very easy to make with natural and organic ingredients which again is better for me and the environment.    For household cleaning I use natural products like vinegar and baking soda which eliminates some very harsh chemicals like bleach and ammonia.  Remember not only do you breath in all these chemicals you use but they also all end up in the Ocean.

My toothpaste, deodorant, and bath soap are natural and/or organic which means my household is now officially chemical free, at least as far as chemicals I am able to eliminate.  Living in an apartment keeps me from removing carpet and other such off gassing components typically found in a household.

My use of reusable shopping bags has saved countless plastic shopping bags as I often stop by the store on the way home from work (note to self: better plan grocery shopping).  Banning plastic bags while controversial is something I support.  Just read up on the garbage patches in our Ocean and you will see why I support banning disposable plastic shopping bags.  My goal is to eliminate as much disposable plastic form my life as possible.  This is not as easy a task as one might think which you soon realize while shopping for groceries.  It seems almost everything is wrapped in plastic.  Another item I have stated using is light weight mesh bags for use in place of disposable plastic produce bags.

My quest for going green continues and I am currently considering a worm composter in order to break down food and paper waste which I can then use to fertilize my garden.  More on this once I get serious about it.

Well there are a few of the steps of I have taken toward living greener and minimizing my impact on the planet.  There are additional steps I have taken which I will share in upcoming posts.

Until next time be happy and think green thoughts!

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Take a minute to help coral reefs

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Jason

Well it has been a busy few weeks. We are still conducting a CEO search at the lupus foundation. Currently I am working on several projects for the RSF which need to be completed in a timely manner. I will let you know what they are once completed. Today after work I will be stopping to water the garden plots and I am hoping to see some new growth.

In this post I wanted to focus on how you can help the RSF and support the foundations mission.

One of the easiest ways that you can help on a daily basis is by using iSearchiGive and iSearch. Here is a description, taken from the RSF forums, on these services and how to use them:

iSearchiGive.com is a combination of a web search engine (powered by Yahoo search) and a source for retail stores that support non-profits with donating a portion of purchases (anywhere from 0.4% to 26%) made through iGive.com to the Reef Stewardship Foundation. So there are two ways to generate money for the RSF:

1. Use iSearchiGive.com for your web searches.

For each qualified search (see below), iGive.com will donate 1 penny to the RSF. It doesn’t sound like much, but it can add up really fast! I’ve already earned 0.27 for the RSF with just my searches today and last night. Imagine if we had 100 or 1000 people signed up?

You can help the RSF through searching in three ways:

a. You can search anonymously by pointing your browser to www.iSearchiGive.com and in the box where it says “Select your cause to start giving” type in Reef Stewardship and it should auto fill to Reef Stewardship Foundation (you may have to click on it). You can then use that search box to do your daily Internet searches.

b. You can register at iGive.com and create a user account and set your cause to Reef Stewardship Foundation. This is a pretty easy process, but if anyone has any questions let me know.

c. You can download the iGive.com toolbar at: http://isearch.igive.com/toolbar.cfm

Install the toolbar and once you set the cause to the RSF, every search you do through the toolbar will count towards our total. One cool little feature is that the toolbar periodically updates the total raised for the RSF and displays it right in the toolbar, providing a constant reminder that you can do good for the RSF simply by searching

2. You can support the RSF by shopping through the iGive.com list of e-retailers.

a. Simply go to iGive.com and search for something you want to buy and purchase it through their list of participating stores. Anywhere from 0.4% to 26% of the purchase price will be donated to the RSF. Most major online retailers are included in the program, so no one should purchase from Amazon.com, eBay.com, BestBuy.com, etc. without going through iGive.com first!

b. Anyone who purchases something through a participating retailer within 45 days of joining iGive.com, iGive.com will give us an extra $5 bonus (on top of the money earned from the purchase). Only Amazon and eBay are excluded.

While it is not required you join iGive.com for searches only, we would love for people to register for iGive.com so we can keep track of who is supporting us.

You can register here for the RSF: http://www.iGive.com/reefsteward

Making purchases through iGive only adds a couple extra steps and really helps a worthy cause.

You can also buy RSF logo items from cafepress. The RSF has a great logo that goes well on all the items available. If you need a new shirt, coffee mug, or Sigg water bottle (just to name a few) head over to the RSF Cafepress store!

Additional ways to help are listed on the RSF website including a link to donate via Paypal.

In future posts I will go over why coral reefs are important to everyone and also what dangers they face. The issue is urgent as coral reefs are already gone, damaged, or threatened. Numbers vary slightly depending on the source though estimates are that 11 percent of the world’s coral reefs have been lost already and another 16 percent are severely damaged. Estimates also indicate that another 32 percent may be lost in the next thirty years.

There are numerous ways you can help and most take almost no time…so act now!

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A cause worth supporting and a garden to tend

Posted on July 25, 2010 by Jason

Here is part two of my update.

Recently I began volunteering with the Reef Stewardship Foundation (RSF) as their assistant webmaster. Here is the mission statement for the RSF: “Our mission is to foster a diverse stewardship community that protects coral reefs through collaborative action, research, education and aquaculture initiatives”.

With my love of oceans and concern for the environment I feel the RSF is the ideal organization for me to devote time to. Because I am passionate about saving the reefs you can expect posts in the very near future focusing on how you can help.

Reef Stewardship Foundation

When shopping I try to buy organic and preferably locally grown fruits and vegetables. One source for this is the local coop which carries a good variety of organic or natural products of which many are grown or produced locally. Living in an apartment limits my ability to grow any of my own food which would be a nice option.

There are several community pea patches in Seattle and some surrounding areas though I have found that they are either too far away (negating much of the benefit they would serve) or had waiting lists that saw no end in sight. Just last month I learned of a local community garden (all organic) with open patches so I jumped at the opportunity. My dad and step mom also wanted to grow some of their own food so we decided to work a couple of plots together. With the growing season well under way we started with two plots and reserved one additional for next year. Here are a couple of pictures from my visit to the garden today.

It would be great to see additional community gardens so that those without a yard could have the opportunity to plant and grow some of their own food. The local food bank also benefits form the community garden by both planting their own vegetables and receiving donations of excess food grown by other gardeners.

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