Daily Mitzvah

Texting to Help In Haiti

2010-01-16T20:38:00.003-05:00

First Lady Michelle Obama encourages text message donations to the American Red Cross. Text HAITI to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

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Carnival of the Green #206

2009-12-14T01:03:00.011-05:00

Daily Mitzvah is delighted to host this week’s installment of the Tree Hugger Carnival of the Green. A big thank you to last week’s host, Pragmatic Environmentalism. And you’ll definitely want to check out the carnival’s next stop, Lighter Footstep, on December 21.

Let the carnival begin!

Want to see your climate question answered live on television? Earth PM has the details in “COP 15: Let your voice be heard.”

Fake Plastic Fish is offering a plastic-free lip balm and body cream giveaway. As a bonus, the containers are compostable. Check it out!

Other blogs are embracing gender roles this week. For the boys: Guffly has green gifts for the men on your list, including my faves the upcycled Lego® cufflinks, as well as vegan sneakers, old-timey razor kits, and more. And for the young ladies: Go Green Street has tips on eco-friendly nursery decorating for a baby girl.

After you finish the nursery, Home Addition Plus has ideas for Inexpensive Green Home Improvements. And while we’re focusing on a happy home, Pragmatic Environmentalism offers useful advice for How to Preserve Your Laptop Battery

For those who are paring down, The Digerati Life reminds readers that they can donate older cars for a tax deduction

For those of a more theoretical bent, Project Earth offers thoughts on the connections between psychology, human behavior, and environmentalism.

And What Green Investments muses on climate and language

Last but not least, here is our Best Green Tweet of the week:

@SallyKneidel tweets about the Irvine, CA, school system’s plans to go solar

(Gang, we need more Twitter action! Interested in submitting your own tweets to Carnival of the Green? Learn more here.)

Thank you for visiting. Don't forget to stop by Lighter Footstep next week for the next installment of Carnival of the Green!

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International Literacy Day

2009-09-08T00:04:00.005-04:00

September 8th has been designated by UNESCO as International Literacy Day. Do you part with an easy start: for every click on the orange box on The Literacy Site, site sponsors make a small donation to support literacy efforts, including First Book in the U.S., and Room to Read in developing countries. All you have to do is click!

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Pandemic Pupils: Resources for Instructors

2009-09-05T00:38:00.023-04:00

Like most campuses we’re bracing for H1N1, with daily messages about pandemic contingency plans. I’ve been looking through my favorite online resources for things that could also be handy in the unlikely event we have to cancel in-person classes for a few weeks and switch to virtual classroom instruction. Here’s a rundown of my faves — all free!:

Group Chat – chatrooms to hold small class discussions
URL-based, “disposable” (temporary) chatrooms
* Tiny Chat: http://tinychat.com/
* Disposable Chat: http://www.disposablechat.com/
URL or embeddable
* Chatroll: http://chatroll.com/
Embeddable
* Parachat: http://www.parachat.com/basic/

Instant Message – IM for office hours in real time
* Yahoo!Messenger (desktop app, but also has a web-based option; and an embeddable Pingbox): http://messenger.yahoo.com/
* AIM (desktop app, but also has a web-based option): http://www.aim.com
* GoogleTalk (desktop app, or talk within Gmail page): http://www.google.com/talk/
* Meebo (web-based, embeddable): http://www.meebo.com

Other – to create short presentations or mini-lectures
* Video screencast: Jing http://www.jingproject.com/
* Audio recording and editing: Audacity http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
* Video hosting: TeacherTube: http://www.teachertube.com/
* Sharable online documents, spreadsheets, presentations: GoogleDocs http://docs.google.com/
* And of course a class blog, right here on Blogspot!: http://www.blogger.com

If anyone else has resources for online classes or ideas for creative ways to keep some semblance of school going in the unlikely event we can't go to campus, please don’t hesitate to share in the comments!

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Huricane Season

2009-08-16T15:53:00.007-04:00

Here’s an animated radar loop, which is focused mostly on TS Claudette at the moment, although it looks like Ada may show up here soon, too. I also put a Weather Underground feed in the right sidebar — their site has great tracking maps and five-day projections, too. Welcome to late summer!

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Ask Google Earth to Upload Iran Photos

2009-06-19T14:22:00.005-04:00

Student protesters in Iran are getting news out only by the power of the web. Google Earth has tools to show the world the people in the streets — join the petition drive to have Google earth upload current images.

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Secret Tips for Saving Gas

2009-06-06T13:54:00.007-04:00

A few small tips — including a trick involving turning the nozzle upside down to get an extra half cup of gas.

With thanks to Mom Go Green for the link!

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National Train Day: May 9

2009-05-09T00:03:00.003-04:00

Yep, today is National Train Day! Check it out here.

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Help Your Mail Carrier Stamp Out Hunger

2009-05-05T17:59:00.003-04:00

The National Association of Letter Carriers is holding its annual “Stamp Out Hunger” food drive this Saturday, May 9th. Participating is easy — this is a food drive that comes to you! Just leave your nonperishable food donations in a bag next to your mailbox. You mail carrier will happily do the rest.

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World Malaria Day: April 25

2009-04-25T00:03:00.001-04:00

Got 5 bucks? That’s all it takes to contribute a malaria-fighting bed net for a person in a vulnerable country. April 25 is World Malaria Day — a perfect day to head over to MyBednet.com, give $5, and add yourself to their Honor Roll. Check it out!

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Click for a Cure: The Breast Cancer Site

2009-04-17T11:26:00.009-04:00

The Breast Cancer Site is trying to qualify for a matching grant. If clicks on the site in April can fund at least 200 mammograms, Greater Good will contribute an additional $10,000 toward breast cancer research. The Breast Cancer Site is a free click-to-give site, where sponsors donate a small amount of money for each visitor’s daily click on the site. The money raised goes to fund free and low-cost mammograms to women without health insurance.

There is no cost to you: simply visit the site and click on the pink box. Advertisers make a small donation for each click — and this month your clicks do double duty by helping the site reach the additional $10,000 matching goal.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Concluding the Fast

2009-04-12T12:44:00.005-04:00

12 April 2009 – Day 46
“Replace the light bulb you removed at the start of the Carbon Fast (make sure it’s an energy saving one!) Finish the Carbon Fast by contemplating to do next. What do you want your lifestyle to look like in five years? Commit to doing one or two new things a month.”

Happy Easter! Another Carbon Fast for Lent ends today. I hope this has provided good reading and some useful suggestions and links. In our own house, I’ve redoubled my attempts to save water and become more aware of the cleaning products we’re using. I had started moving away from petroleum based laundry detergent for last year’s Carbon Fast. This year I’ve followed by revamping all our household cleaners, which are now 99% petroleum-free. And we’re continuing our commitment to our utility’s Green Power Tomorrow program, as well as bringing our own reusable bags to the grocery.

Today’s mitvah: What about you? What lifestyle changes can you take with you moving into the post-Lenten season?

Photograph © 2008 by 13 Delancey Street.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Pay It Forward

2009-04-09T00:03:00.002-04:00

DAY 44 – THURSDAY 9 APRIL
“‘Love does no harm to its neighbour’ Romans 13:10. Help others to cut their emissions.You could buy an energy saving light bulb or something else mentioned in the Fast and give it away to someone to help them on the way to cutting their emissions.”

This activity is new this year, and I really like it. I’m still mulling what to give, but I’ll post whatever I come up with by the weekend. What about you?

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Save some paper today

2009-04-08T00:53:00.008-04:00

DAY 43 – WEDNESDAY 8 APRIL
“Save paper today. Don’t print unless you need to and when you do, print double-sided onto recycled paper.” — Carbon Fast for Lent

Today’s activity is a nice opportunity to plug Tamara Krinsky’s Change the Margins campaign, in which she is urging Microsoft to reduce the default margin width in Word. She also encourages colleges and universities — big paper users — to do the same —a and had some success recently when students at Western Washington University to change the default margins on campus computer lab printers.

The plan is simple: wider margins require more paper; narrower margins mean less paper. Easy savings!

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"Unemployment Lifeline"

2009-04-07T12:15:00.009-04:00

Working America has launched a web site for unemployed workers. Called Unemployment Lifeline, it’s a central place to find resources in your community, navigate government benefits, learn about legal resources, get support from others, and more. I thought the resource search section looked especially useful, with searchable information on unemployment compensation, nutritional assistance, utility assistance, emergency medical assistance. Working America is a political advocacy and community organizing group, so it has activist links as well, but it looks like a solid choice even for those who are just interested in its resources.

Today’s mitzvah: The NYT recently ran an article about how those with jobs can help friends who have lost their jobs. See Johnson Jots for details and a link, and think about what you can do to help. Or if you need help, check out Unemployment Lifeline.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: What Size is Your Footprint?

2009-04-07T00:21:00.008-04:00

DAY 42 – TUESDAY 7 APRIL
“Calculate your carbon footprint today at www.tearfund.org/mgi and find out what more you can do about climate change. Order Tearfund’s green guide ‘For TomorrowToo’ at
www.tearfund.org/climate for ideas on cutting emissions.”

I wanted to find a carbon footprint calculator that didn’t immediately ask one to buy an offset. The one below seems to do the trick. If and when you are ready to offset, I’m a fan of Carbonfund.org, which is a nonprofit (offsets are tax deductible) and has its own calculators, too. TerraPass is another good choice, although they’re a for-profit and contributions aren’t deductible.

CoolClimate Carbon Footprint Calculatorgreat free widgetsWidgetbox

My score was 12 tons, equivalent to 29 barrels of oil and planting two acres of forest. That was sobering: I assume my numbers are on the low side since I live in a small apartment and don’t own a car. How was your score?

Today’s mitzvah: Calculate your carbon footprint, and consider purchasing an affordable offset at one of the resources above. Or get started right away — for free! — and offset; one lb. of carbon (about the amount of electricity for your computer usage today) at Care2’s click to give Global Warming page.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: One if by Land . . .

2009-04-06T00:03:00.000-04:00

Day 41 – Monday 6 April
“Turn your central heating thermostat down by one degree.”

This is a Carbon Fast perennial, yet it’s always a good reminder. While most models suggest 3°, even one degree down in winter (or up in summer) is do-able yet also effective. A 1° change can save about 3% on an annual bill. According to the nifty calculator I found, that’s for a single-family home that’s an annual savings of about $74 and 1330 lbs. of C02. For an apartment, it’s about $19 and 336 lbs. of C02.

Today’s mitzvah: Try a one-degree change!

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Save $20 at the grocery this weekend

2009-04-05T05:39:00.014-04:00

Coupons have limited life spans, but you should be able to save about $20 with the coupons we've gathered so far via the Great $100 Coupon Challenge. I’m hopeful this will make it a bit easier to buy organic and natural products (or just stuff I like). For this installment I decided to check out a new brand that’s getting a lot of shelf space at my local grocery. Wild Harvest Organics distributes (under its own label) organic foods made by well-known brands, and is positioning itself as the kinda-affordable and ubiquitous “store brand” of the organic world. It’s certainly working locally; their products — milk, eggs. crackers, cookies, cereal. canned food, frozen food — are all over the grocery stores here in town. I thought hey might be popping up in your store, too (and happily there’s no registration required to print), so here’s a coupon to start off this installment:

Wild Harvest Organics, any product: $1.00 off
Wild Harvest Organics waffles, OJ, or yogurt: $1.00 off
Horizon Organics: 55¢ off for their new Omega 3-fortified milk (for other organic dairy coupons including Organic Valley, click on this blog’s coupon label and scroll down)
Seventh Generation: $1.00 off baby product or cleaning product (after a registration process)
Nature Valley granola bars: 60¢ off one box (via Box Tops for Education; have to register)
Classico pasta sauce: $2.00 off on two (but with a long registration)
Muir Glen Organic: $1.00 off any product (pasta sauce, canned tomatoes, salsa, etc.), via Eat Better America

Happy saving!

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Bag the Plastic Bags

2009-04-03T10:03:00.004-04:00

Day 38 – Friday 3 April 2009
“Reduce the number of plastic bags you use. Get a fabric or reusable bag instead and take it with you when you shop.”
— The Carbon Fast for Lent

This is another suggestion that finally nudged me into action during last year’s Carbon Fast. I’ve backslidden a bit (if that’s a word) after I used up all the spare plastic bags I’d been stockpiling for trash bags. But overall this has become second nature, with my little Baggus always in my purse or backpack. And I know that family members with cars, including my mom, just keep the fold-up square bags in the car so they’re at hand for any shopping trip.

Whether you’re using square-bottom bags made from recycled soda bottles like those above, neat fold-up bags the little Baggus, or a sturdy cloth tote, this is an easy way to cut down on plastics. As a bonus: check out an alternative for filmy plastic produce bags. The cute produce bags at left — light as a feather — are available on Etsy, the handmade site (mine are from DaisyDots, or you can just search “produce bags”). I tuck one in each of my Baggu pouches so I always have them with me.

Today’s mitzvah: Cute reusable bags abound. Check out your local grocery or Whole Foods, Reusable Bags, or the Baggu siteto get started,Find some that work for you and bag the plastic bags!

Top photograph © 2008 by Daily Mitzvah, with a shout out to Community Car!
Bottom photograph © 2008 by DaisyDots.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Get on the Bus

2009-04-02T11:18:00.010-04:00

DAY 36 – WEDNESDAY 1 APRIL
“Travel light. Think before you drive: cycle, walk the school run, share lifts with colleagues, use public transport. Find out more about cycle routes in the UK at www.sustrans.org.uk. [And find out more about planning public transit in the U.S. at publictransportation.org]”

Have you taken public transit lately? Times have changed — it may not be what you think! One improvement since the days of the omnibus: better real-time tracking. Our local system has just launched a Transit Tracker that lets one get real-time info on where a bus is on a map and when one can expect it to arrive. Unfortunately this isn’t integrated with Google Transit, but I hope Madison Metro will move in that direction soon. (Milwaukee, Green Bay, Racine, and Appleton are already onboard.) I used Google Transit extensively the last time I was in Chicago — it was very handy for figuring out the next bus no matter where I was in the city.

Today’s mitzvah: In 2008, American public transit ridership was the highest in more then 50 years. Help make 2009 another record-breaking year. Visit Public Transit Takes Us There for public transit options in your own community.

Image: G.W. Joy, Bayswater Omnibus, 1895. Collection of the Museum of London.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Sign Up for Green Power

2009-03-31T12:25:00.036-04:00

DAY 35 – TUESDAY 31 MARCH
“Ask your electricity and gas suppliers if they have a green or renewable energy plan. Make the switch to a green plan today.”

This was one of my favorite Carbon Fast activities last year. I’m happy to see it making another appearance so I can plug it again! Our power company’s Green Power Tomorrow program is very affordable. I pay just an additional 1¢/kWh for a 100% offset — for our house that’s been only about $1.60/month, although for most homes MGE estimates about $6/month. The way the way the plan works: our utility purchases solar and wind power to match the number of kilowatt hours that the Green Power subscribers use each month. This increases the amount of solar and wind power power in the pool by the amount that Green Power subscribers use — and thus increases the amount of renewable energy in everyone’s energy mix.

Bonus: Check out the local solar project near my house! (It’s the second project in the video, near the bike path.)

Today’s mitzvah: Check your local power company’s web site or the Department of Energy’s Green Power Network to find an affordable green power option.

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More Fun with Coupons

2009-03-30T17:15:00.005-04:00

The Great $100 Coupon Challenge continues! If you're interested in checking out mainstream companies’ forays into greener cleaning products, here are two:

Any Clorox Greenworks cleaning product: 50¢ off (look on bottom right of page)
Nature’s Source from S.C. Johnson (natural Scrubbing Bubbles, etc.): $1.00 off

If you’re feeling sniffly, Zicam is also offering $1.00 off.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Showered with Green

2009-03-30T13:34:00.005-04:00

DAY 34 – MONDAY 30 MARCH
“Take a shower instead of a bath. Look into getting a more efficient shower with a ‘low-flow’ shower head (see the Carbon Fast fact sheet for more info).”

Low-flow showerheads always make me think of the Seinfeld episode where Newman goes on a black market hunt for full-force models. The latest crop of these water saving devices are much better and really to allow for a reasonable wash and hair wash. They also can reduce water use by as much as half. You may not even notice the difference!

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How Was Earth Hour 2009?

2009-03-29T01:52:00.010-04:00

I tried out a new hand-crank lantern and listened to WORT and then Radio Taiwan International on my cute little shortwave radio. What did the rest of the world do? Read all about Earth Hour 2009 at right (I found a new widget!). And check out a silent around-the-world video from the BBC, below.

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Earth Hour: Tonight 8:30-9:30 pm

2009-03-28T03:05:00.007-04:00

I really like Earth Hour, which was fun last year too. I’m looking forward to powering down tonight. I have my hand-crank radio, my variety of hand-cranked flashlights and also some very nice candles I’ve received as gifts from my brother and his girlfriend. Won’t you join me? Consider turning off your lights and other electric stuff tonight from 8:30 to 9:30 pm your local time.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Don't Flush Trees

2009-03-26T23:50:00.018-04:00

DAY 31 – FRIDAY 27 MARCH:
“Source paper, tissue, toilet paper and wood that is recycled or has been accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council — this ensures it has come from responsibly managed sustainable forests or confirms that it is recycled: in the UK at www.fsc.org.

Is this going to be an ode to toilet paper — a first for this blog? Yep, it is! When I lived in NYC, the 24-hour Korean market on the corner was the closest and most convenient store when one ran out of things late at night and/or was too lazy to walk all the way to the grocery store. The cheapest TP they had was a brand I’d never heard of called Marcal. This was also stocked at the little bodegas in the neighborhood — I thought it was just a bargain brand that was especially popular with immigrant communities. It was months before I noticed Marcal wasn’t just super cheap: it was 100% recycled. And Marcal has been making recycled paper products for almost 60 years — long before this was common or popular.

After I moved to the Midwest this brand was harder to find but our employee-owned discount grocery carries it — still very cheap — and I stock up every six weeks or so when I trek to that side of town. I see that the company is revamping their web site and re-focusing themselves as an eco-friendly company. I just think it’s neat that they initially made the decision to go green, in 1950 (!) for goodness sake, just because it made more financial sense. I’m also happy to see a company that caters to lower income shoppers and is also environmentally friendly, which is not a frequent combination.

Today’s mitzvah: According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, if every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll (500 sheets) of virgin-fiber toilet paper with 100% recycled TP, we would save almost half a million trees. Check out NRDC, or download Greenpeace’s pocket-sized Recycled Tissue Guide and Toilet Paper Guide for recycled ratings and rankings. It’s designed to take to the store with you.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Flip That Switch

2009-03-26T10:00:00.002-04:00

DAY 30 – THURSDAY 26 MARCH
“Switch off lights when you leave a room.”

Ah, the joy of things that don’t tax my brain. The Carbon Fast for Lent knows my limits this week!

Today’s mitzvah: Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Do the same for any unnecessary lights you notice at school or work. And speaking of lights: Don’t forget to turn yours off from 8:30 – 9:30 pm your local time on Saturday for Earth Hour!

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More Fun with Coupons

2009-03-26T00:03:00.000-04:00

Here are some coupons I located for this week’s grocery trip!

Lysol Spray: $1 off (via Home Solutions; have to sign up to print, but they have lots of coupons)
Lysol Disinfecting Wipes: $1 off (also via Home Solutions)
Blue Diamond Almonds: 50¢ off coupon
Cascdian Farms Organic: $1.00 off (including vegetables, via Eat Better America)

This brings the Great $100 Coupon Challenge to $11.00!

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Meat-Free and More

2009-03-25T13:14:00.008-04:00

Whoops, I missed a post yesterday. That gives us two today: a proposal for a meat-free day, and a nudge to connect with people in our own local communities.

DAY 28 – TUESDAY 24 MARCH: “Eat no meat today and try to cut down on the amount of meat you eat each week. Read Tearfund’s position on climate change and meat eating at www.tearfund.org/climatechange.”

DAY 29 – WEDNESDAY 25 MARCH: “Find out what energy saving or climate change activities are going on in your local area by contacting your local authority or community groups. Find out more about Tearfund’s campaigning work on energy: www.tearfund.org/energy.”

Tearfund’s position paper on meat notes that the livestock industry is responsible for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions — a larger contributor than global transportation, to put the number in perspective. It also helps drive water shortages, and contributes to rising food prices (feeding livestock reduces the supply of grain available from human consumption). Sure, you can become a vegetarian like me(!) — but even a weekly meat-free day helps the environment and saves you money to boot. AllRecipes.com has a special vegetarian section on their web site with easy and delicious tips and ideas.

Today’s mitzvah: While you’re munching on a delicious vegetarian lunch, do a GoodSearch for local environmental efforts, like South Central Wisconsin’s MPowering Madison initiative.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Tell the Pols What's Up

2009-03-23T12:56:00.000-04:00

DAY 27 – MONDAY 23 MARCH
“Take action: tell the UK government what you are doing through the Carbon Fast and urge them to play their part by creating and implementing strong national and international laws to stop climate chaos. Take action here: www.tearfund.org/carbonfastaction.” Not in the UK? No worries; read on!

Copenhagen — which aims to be carbon-neutral by 2025 — will host an important United Nations climate change in December. Keep your eyes out for this, to encourage our own governments to get on board. And kudos to Norway and Sweden, which have already pledged to be carbon neural by 2030 and 2050, respectively.

Today’s mitzvah: If today’s Carbon Fast for Lent action doesn’t work for you because you’re not in the UK, consider signing a petition in support of the Zero Carbon Caravan in anticipation of the December conference.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Warm Water Wash

2009-03-21T01:52:00.006-04:00

DAY 25 – SATURDAY 21 MARCH
“Only use your washing machine when you have a full load. Run your washing machine at 30–40ºC [86–104º F]. Run at maximum spin to reduce drying times and avoid using a tumble drier.” — Carbon Fast for Lent

Do you typically wash in hot? Consider using warm. If you’re already a warm-water washer, think about really jumping off a ledge and using cold. Around the time of last year’s Carbon Fast, TerraPass posted an article claiming that for an average household that spends $72/year on electricity for clothes washing, switching to cold water will save 85% or $61. That’s certainly significant. For the environment: a 1,281 lbs. reduction in one’s carbon footprint — wow, that’s a lot.

Today’s mitzvah: Turn down the washer temps!

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Water Heater Wardrobe

2009-03-20T00:03:00.001-04:00

Day 24 – Friday 20 March
“Put an insulation jacket on your hot water tank. If everyone does, we’ll cut enough carbon dioxide to fill 148,000 hot air balloons.”

I confess: I am not a homeowner and probably would not recognize a hot water tank if it walked up and shook my hand. But I’m confident that folks with water tanks know what they are and are willing to dress them in a spiffy jacket, blanket, or whatever insulation material is appropriate so they hold heat.

Today’s mitzvah: Put some clothes on that tank!

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Freecycle and Thrift Shopping

2009-03-19T00:03:00.002-04:00

DAY 23 — THURSDAY 19 MARCH
Give away unwanted stuff through Freecycle (www.freecycle.org.uk or in the U.S., www.freecycle.org) — this is a great way to reuse things and stop them going into landfill. Bonus: Organise a Freecycle event for your church, workplace or local community to exchange possessions that are no longer needed. — Carbon Fast for Lent

I’m a big St. Vinny’s fan myself, so that’s where I take our gently unused but no longer needed clothes, housewares, etc. But your local Freecycle group is another way to match your unwanted stuff with an eager recipient (check the group’s FAQs for some cautions about meeting up with strangers to exchange goods). Goodwill and the Salvation Army are also good options — and all a happy alternative to just throwing things out!

Today’s mitzvah: Don’t trash that extra stuff — look for a worthy group or eager Freecycler in your neighborhood as a happy alternative the landfill.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: A Foil for Wasted Heat

2009-03-18T09:14:00.003-04:00

DAY 22 – WEDNESDAY 18 MARCH
“Fit foil behind your radiators – you could save around £20 a year in fuel bills — and rearrange your furniture to allow heat from radiators and heaters to get into the room.” — Carbon Fast for Lent

As the weather is warming up, it’s nice to think this will soon be moot for a year. But if you’re looking for a spring project, The Green Guy has DIY instructions and more info.

Today’s mitzvah: Use the warmer weather for home or apartment projects that will save some green while being green!

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Tea Time

2009-03-17T00:32:00.001-04:00

DAY 20 – TUESDAY 17 MARCH
“Fill your kettle only with as much water as you need. If everyone boiled just enough water for their cuppa, the energy saved could power over three-quarters of the UK’s street lights. Bonus: When replacing a kettle, choose an efficient model. See the Tearfund Carbon Fact Sheet for details.”

I think this has more resonance in countries where people drink lots of tea. But after readinga similar Lenten suggestion last year, I’ve started using less water in the tea kettle and it does indeed boil super fast.

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Welcome, Spotlight Radio Listeners!

2009-03-16T12:47:00.011-04:00

I was delighted to see that Spotlight Radio replayed its wonderful segment about Daily Mitzvah today. Welcome, Spotlight Radio listeners! (And thank you to Feedjit for providing such excellent visitor stats.) For those who aren't familiar with it, Spotlight Radio online has a Special English program (the BBC used to do this, too) with clear and not-fast English language programs for listeners around the world. (I wish I could find a program like this in Special French so I could improve my own language skills.)

The radio segment is called “Acts of Kindness.” It talks about why I started this blog and also mentions some of my posts.

Listeners: To find the posts that the program mentions, just click here.

This made my day. Thank you, Spotlight Radio!

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Consumption Be Done about all this Stuff?

2009-03-15T23:55:00.004-04:00

DAY 20 – MONDAY 16 MARCH
“What comes in and out of your home? Reflect on what you have bought and consumed recently and challenge yourself on your consumption habits. Do you need everything you buy?”

Yeah, it was either that title or “Consumption Junction.” Spring is here and I’m feeling punny! I was looking around my house this weekend and trying to figure out when and how I accumulated so much stuff. It’s really mind boggling, and not at all peaceful. Half Price Books and St. Vinny’s, here I come!

Today’s mitzvah: Look around to see what’s piling up that you could do without.

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Turn It Off for Earth Hour - March 28th

2009-03-15T00:59:00.002-04:00

Earth Hour is coming . . . Saturday, March 28.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Back to the Land

2009-03-14T00:03:00.002-04:00

DAY 18 – SATURDAY 14 MARCH
“Buy food that’s being grown or produced locally using local shops and farmers markets where possible – see www.farmersmarkets.net. Bonus: Grow some of your own food.You don’t need an allotment or even a garden - grow herbs, fruit and vegetables in pots (window sill or garden). Or join others in your community to cultivate gardens together. Find out more in the fact sheet.” — Tearfund Carbon Fast for Lent

I live a short walk from an amazing farmers market, which I can wait to see start up again next month! I also noticed my otherwise very mainstream grocery store has started posting little signs like roadmaps with mileage estimates to note locally produced items. I was also intrigued by lettuce plants growing on flowerpots. Apparently one can pick the lower leaves so it continues to grow. I may see a living room garden in my future . . .

Today’s mitzvah: Use Local Harvest’s finding tool to locate farmers markets, family owned farms, and other sustainable resources near you.

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Carbon Fast for Lent : Junk the Junk Mail

2009-03-13T01:07:00.006-04:00

DAY 17 – FRIDAY 13 MARCH
“We receive nearly 4 billion items of direct mail per year, one third of it unread. [In the U.K.] register your home under the Mailing Preference Service to stop wasteful junk mail. Call 0845 7034599 or visit www.mpsonline.org.uk Bonus: Request electronic bills and statements to save paper and postage.” —Tearfund Carbon Fast for Lent

The idea of a Junk Mail Registry — akin the Do Not Call Registry — seems to be gaining steam in the U.S. Earlier this month the Miami Herald published an article about two sate representatives who have introduced bills proposing a statewide Do Not Mail Registry for Florida.

The Do Not Mail campaign estimates “it takes more than 100 million trees to produce the total volume of junk mail that arrives in American mailboxes each year—that's the equivalent of clearcutting the entire Rocky Mountain National Park every 4 months.” In terms of the greenhouse gas created each year by junk mail: think 2.5 cars, idling 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Today’s mitzvah: Sign the Do Not Mail campaign’s petition for a national registry allowing Americans to opt out of junk mail delivery. They also have an opt-out tool that will remove you from many of the larger mailing lists. (To take control over the catalogs you do and don’t to receive, check out Catalog Choice, which I also blogged about last year.)

Carbon Fast for Lent: Shopping? Take a Friend.

2009-03-12T14:09:00.003-04:00

DAY 16 – THURSDAY 12 MARCH:
“Double up journeys: do shopping on your way home from work, school or somewhere else you have to go today. Share lifts with friends or try to do all your errands together.”

Our favorite person in North Carolina blogged in December about people getting together to wrap Christmas presents together. I love the idea of taking typically solitary activities and making them social. Group errands are a terrific idea — finally time to catch up, even if it’s in the frozen food aisle!

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Carbon Fast for Lent Don't Be Drafty:

2009-03-11T00:30:00.006-04:00

DAY 15 – WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH:
“Check your house for draughts. Then seal up gaps in windows and doors to keep more heat in. These steps won’t take too much time and will pay for themselves as you save money on fuel bills.”

I think last year’s Carbon Fast was more winsome, but this is certainly a good tip. For a tutorial on making your own door snake like the cute little guys here, check out Monster Munch, a site celebrating Sock Monsters, cool typography, and all manner of fun stuff!

Image copyright © 2008 by monster-munch.com.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Say "No" to Unecessary Packaging

2009-03-10T01:11:00.012-04:00

DAY 14 – TUESDAY 10 MARCH: “Avoid buying products that have lots of packaging. Choose loose products and buy refillable containers where possible.” — Carbon Fest for Lent

Happily, I’ve noticed some companies getting better about this. For example, I noticed that the Home Life store-brand aluminum foil I bought last week was in a petite container — when I read the package I learned this was a conscious effort at eco-packaging and a 25% reduction from their previous box. But there are still plenty of culprits, from pre-packaged fruits and vegetables that could just as easily be sold loose, to over the counter medications that come in boxes and containers much larger than what’s necessary to hold the product.

Today’s mitzvah: The next time you get home with a product only to find it excessively packaged, email the company and let them know that you’re a paying customer who isn’t happy!

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It's Coming . . . March 28

2009-03-09T11:28:00.004-04:00

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Worms, compost, and other mysteries

2009-03-09T00:03:00.001-04:00

DAY 13 – MONDAY 9 MARCH:
“Landfill sites are a major source of methane emissions in the UK [and in the U.S.]. Reuse and recycle your waste and compost your food waste to reduce the rubbish destined for landfill sites. Start here: www.recyclenow.com/home_composting If you don’t have somewhere to compost then investigate alternatives with your local authority. Some councils now collect food waste.”

I wrote about Nature Mill’s neat indoor home composter for last year’s Carbon Fast. This model is small enough to fit under the sink, and designed for people who don’t have the space, time, or inclination for a compost heap in the backyard. The New York Times also recently wrote about apartment dwellers who compost with worms. (This is sooo not happening at my house — worms! — but I thought I’d mention it.)

For some reason composting is one of the green things I find it easy to put off. What about you? Any composting devotees out there?

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Carbon Fast for Lent: "Iceburg, right ahead!"

2009-03-07T00:03:00.003-05:00

DAY 11 — SATURDAY 7 MARCH:
“Defrost your fridge and freezer to maintain efficiency. Allowing space for air to circulate will also help them to run more efficiently.”

I once waited so long to defrost my freezer — and grew such a heavy iceberg in the process — the coils broke right off the top of the freezer ceiling from the weight. That was fun to explain to the landlord.

Today’s mitzvah: Does you freezer require a manual defrost? I know it’s no fun. Feel free to post a comment to commiserate!

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Insulate!

2009-03-06T00:03:00.004-05:00

DAY 10 – FRIDAY 6 MARCH: “Wrapping up: Investigate how you can better insulate your home – cavity wall, solid wall, floor and loft insulation—in some cases this can be subsidised and will help with [UK only] Home Information Pack and Energy Performance Certificates for landlords and home sellers. Bonus: Encourage your workplace or church to wrap up too.” — Carbon Fast for Lent

Yep, it’s true: people in Britain are eligible for subsidized insulation. See the good things that can happen when one’s country is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocal?

For those of us in the U.S., you might want to check out the Department of Energy’s page on tax credits for energy-efficient things here. This includes a credit for up to 30% ($1200 max.) of the cost of installing insulation.

Today’s mitzvah: Check out The People’s Ratification Project, which is a petition campaign to get the U.S. on board with the Kyoto Protocol.

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Carbon Fast for Lent : Curtain Call

2009-03-05T00:03:00.001-05:00

DAY 9 – THURSDAY 5 MARCH:
Close the curtains to keep the cold out and the heat in. Bonus: Line your curtains to reduce heat being lost. —The Carbon Fast for Lent.

Sometimes it’s just that simple! If you live in an apartment, this is a way to combat wonky insulation, too.

Today’s mitzvah: Don’t be drafty — close the curtains on cold (or hot) days.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Climate Change and the World's Poor

2009-03-04T00:03:00.001-05:00

DAY 8 – WEDNESDAY 4 MARCH: “Act justly: the world’s poorest people are suffering the most from climate change yet they have contributed the least to the problem. Go to www.tearfund.org/carbonfastaction to speak up for action in the UK and other rich countries to cut their emissions and for help for poor communities to adapt to the changing climate.”

In the U.S., many churches are undertaking activities in support of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (the Episcopal Church response is here.) The ONE Campaign (Bono, Bobby Shriver et al) is focused not on climate change specifically but on ending global poverty and preventable disease, especially on the African continent.

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Pound for Pound Challenge

2009-03-03T21:03:00.012-05:00

Here’s a way to give back that doesn’t cost you anything except those unwanted pounds! The TV show “Biggest Loser” has teamed up with Feeding America for the Pound for Pound Challenge. For every pound you pledge — pledge — to lose, Pound for Pound will donate 10¢ to Feeding America. Does 10¢ matter? You betcha. For a 10¢ donation, Feeding America can secure and distribute one pound of groceries to a needy family. So it really is pound-for-pound!

Today’s mitzvah: Trying to lose a few pounds? Pledge with the Pound for Pound Challenge and gelp Feeding America gain — while you lose!

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Put a Stake through Vampire Power

2009-03-03T00:03:00.003-05:00

DAY 7 – TUESDAY 3 MARCH:
“Address your standby habits — unplug mobile phone chargers and any unused appliances. Eight per cent of electricity consumed at home is from appliances that we aren’t even using (source: www.climatecare.org).” The Carbon Fast for Lent

Vampires! Our homes are full of items that are never fully shut off. Instead, they exist in an intermediate stand-by state, ready to leap into action when we need them. These “vampire power” appliances are convenient, but they suck a constant flow of energy and cash on your electric bill. For example. according to the Economist, the clock on the microwave uses more power than the microwave uses to cook food. This isn't because the clock itself is such an energy hog, but because the clock is running 24/7, while the microwave is only in use a few hours a week. At least the clock serves a function. This isn’t the case for the printer that sits idle most of the time; the DVD player that only gets used a few times a week; or the modem and router that provide a constant high-speed connection while we’re asleep at night and at work during the day.

Today’s mitzvah: Unplug idle appliances and electronics that don’t have a clock or other settings that will get thrown off. Going away for the weekend or longer? Consider unplugging everything that isn’t essential in your absence, including the router and modem, TV, etc.

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The Great $100 Coupon Challenge

2009-03-02T11:31:00.008-05:00

Track all recent Coupon Challenge posts and links by using this blog’s coupons label..

Why a coupon challenge? Why not! I was web wandering — er, purposefully surfing — recently and discovered that most brands I use offer printable coupons on their company web sites. And not just any coupon: often $1.00 or $1.50 coupons. Not bad.

The Great $100 Coupon Challenge is my personal challenge to try to find $100 worth of coupons over the next few months, with the savings going into the Daily Mitzvah Charity Piggy Bank. The only catch: these have to be coupons for things I normally buy and will indeed use. I started with $2.25 worth in this earlier post. Today I found ~~two~~ six additional coupons, with thanks to A Penny Saved blog for the first one:

Woolite 50 oz.: $1.50 off
Pepcid: $1.00 off
Chobani Greek Yogurt (yummy!): 50¢ off
Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt (also yummy!): 50¢ off
Method products (via Mambo Sprouts): 50¢ off
Sensodyne Pronamel toothpaste: $1.00 off

Do you have good coupon sources to share — especially for eco-friendly or all natural products? (Or for Diet Pepsi, Coke One or Diet Dr. Pepsi, my trifecta of unhealthy weaknesses!) Tell us about them in the comments. (Legit links only, please. As per usual I don't post comments with spam.)

Today’s mitzvah: What small-change sources do you have to save some extra cash, or even to begin a charity piggy bank of your own?

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Home Energy Audit Time

2009-03-02T00:03:00.003-05:00

DAY 6 – MONDAY 2 MARCH:
“28 per cent of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions comes from energy use to run our homes. Get a home energy check at www.energysavingtrust.co.uk or call 0800 512 012.”

Since about 1/3 of the blog’s visitors live outside the U.S., I thought I’d keep the original UK Carbon Fast info for today’s post. For those in the U.S., your local power company web site can be a wealth of information, including screenshots to view your home’s energy use and DIY energy audits/ Also, as I learned from The Awesome Emily at Lost Albatross, many public libraries have free energy meters you can check out and use for free, to see how much energy various appliances are using in your home or apartment. Here’s an example of one local program along with a video showing how to us the meter.

If you like cool calculators, MG&E has ‘em. Enter, for example, the number of degrees you’re turning back your thermostat, or the number or incandescent bulbs you’re replacing with compact fluorescents, and the calculator will automatically track your dollar savings and carbon savings:

CALCULATORS
Thermostat
Lighting
Laundry
Appliances

Today’s mitzvah: Check out how much money and energy you can save by using one of the household energy calculators.

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Carbon Fast and Kiva Updates

2009-03-01T00:03:00.009-05:00

DAY 5 – SUNDAY 1 MARCH:
From our friends at Tearfund: “Today is the last Sunday in Global Poverty Prayer Week. Pray for people living in poverty and affected by climate change. Ask whether you can give a short notice or lead a prayer at church or in your home group.Why not talk about the Carbon Fast when you do so? See www.tearfund.org/prayerweek for more info.”

In keeping with the global poverty theme — and the theme of hope — I thought this might be a good time to post an update on Kiva, the microlending site. One of the (many) nice things about Kiva: once loans are repaid the money cycles back ready to be loaned again! This is especially nice right now when many of us don’t have extra cash.

Three of my $25 loans have already been repaid: Mabel O’s soft drink and soup stand in Nigeria; the women’s clothing sales collective in Bolivia; and Hannah H.’s market stall in Ghana. One of my favorite projects, the Guatemalan women’s weaving group, is 77% repaid on the loan from me and a large group of other lenders. As these loans are paid back the funds are returned to my Kiva account, which means I’ve been able to re-lend the proceeds without contributing any new capital. Joining with other lenders, I’m especially pleased to help fund new loans for Sothy S.’s grocery store in Cambodia (above) and Mutiate M.’s soft drink stand in Nigeria (below).

Today’s mitzvah: I know money us tight. Even if you can’t afford to give, check out Kiva to see what happening with microlending and these wonderful entrepreneurs! Or to help out for free: visit Care 2, where your daily free clicks help raise money to sponsor 14 children each month through Children International.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Love Food, Hate Waste

2009-02-28T00:03:00.006-05:00

DAY 4 – SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY:
“Look at what food you throw away this week.Aim to reduce it by a third by eating leftovers and shopping more carefully — using a list and planning your meals.”

This year’s Carbon Fast for Lent is also very cost conscious — I’m not sure if this is intentional, but it’s certainly timely! I typically assume food trash isn’t “bad” trash because it isn’t plastic, right? But It turns out that food dumped into landfills creates literally tons of methane gas, which contributes to global warming and climate change (on top of costing money).

The UK site Love Food, Hate Waste estimates that one-third of the food consumers purchase ends up in landfills. They offer tips and ideas on everything from shopping to making yummy use of leftovers. And check out their Resources page for a food waste diary to see how much you’ve really been throwing away each week and chart your progress.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Be a Bottle Baby

2009-02-27T00:03:00.007-05:00

DAY 3 – FRIDAY 27 FEBRUARY:
“More than 150 billion litres of bottled water are sold worldwide every year.This contributes significantly to landfill and transport emissions. Say no to bottled water and drink tap water — buy a refillable washable bottle to use instead.”

My Sigg red sunray bottle (right) is still going strong, with just a few dents to show that it is well-used. Stainless steel bottles are also becoming popular since they’re aluminum-free and BPA-free. Or for a safe plastic (also BPA-free) lightweight gym bottle that also shows your election love: I picked up a Democratic National Convention bottle on sale on the Obama Biden web site (below left).

Today’s mitzvah: Save money as well as helping to save the environment. Check out reusable water bottles instead of single-use throwaway plastic.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: Nuke the Oven

2009-02-26T00:03:00.006-05:00

DAY 2 – Thursday, February 26
“Cook food in a microwave. They use significantly less energy than a conventional oven.When you need to use a pan always use a lid to preserve heat when cooking – this will also cook your food faster.”

It’s only Day 2 of the Carbon Fast for Lent, yet already I have to make a confession: I may be the only person in North America who doesn’t own a microwave. Blame a small kitchen and a dislike for clutter. Don’t have one, don’t want one. Sigh. But point taken about all the electricity one uses heating up an oven, especially for small things (guilty again on that one). I’m contemplating a toaster oven as a compromise, especially for things like heating up a leftover slice of pizza. What about you? Are you a microwave fan?

Today’s mitzvah: Check out Tearfund’s complete array of Carbon Fast tips and support materials here.

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Carbon Fast for Lent: 2009

2009-02-25T00:03:00.004-05:00

Is it that time already? You betcha. Welcome to Ash Wednesday and the 2009 Carbon Fast for Lent! From our friends at Tearfund in the UK, here’s the rationale:

“Climate change can mean our neighbours go hungry because of drought, or lose their homes because of floods. Faced with that reality, there are many things we can do, acting as part of the global Church’s response, to change the way our lives impact poor communities. Fast and pray with Tearfund this Lent to reduce your carbon footprint and help protect poor people from climate change.”

Let’s get started, shall we? I peeked ahead and it looks like this year includes its own activities and isn’t a carbon copy (no pun intended) of 2008. But we begin the same way, by losing one light bulb:

DAY 1 – WEDNESDAY 25 FEBRUARY:
Remove one light bulb from your home and live without it for the next 40 days. This will decrease your energy use and act as a reminder of what you are doing during Lent.

Today’s mitzvah: Unscrew that lightbulb — and join us for this year’s Carbon Fast for Lent!

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Blogging!

2009-02-24T13:59:00.019-05:00

I miss blogging! It’s been a long few months. I’m not sure I’ll be able to pull off more regular posts, but I have my fingers crossed that Tearfund is going to help me out this year with another Carbon Fast for Lent series.

Since when I turn my back for five minutes, apparently the economy goes straight to hell: let’s talk coupons! I just I missed my grocery’s sale on the Apple and Melon non-petroleum based laundry detergent I’ve started using, which made me grouchy about paying full price even though this is pretty cheap. So I went on the Purex Natural Elements web site on a whim: of course they had a coupon. This got me thinking, doh!, I’ll bet most web sites for natural and/or organic products have coupons.(OK, I am remedial in all things domestic, I admit it!) Herewith, some coupons for items we like at my house. Three are printable coupons; the Kashi entree coupon is something they snail-mail to you. Happy savings!

COUPONS FOR YOU:
Ecover Products: $1.00 laundry or 75¢ cleaning product coupon
Kashi Whole Grain Frozen Entrees: Free entree!
Organic Valley Milk (also Soy Milk & Cheese): $1.00 coupon
Purex Natural Elements Laundry Detergent: 50¢ coupon

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Donation Day! Charity Piggy Bank 2008

2008-12-31T11:11:00.041-05:00

I was going to wait until I returned from an early January trip but I remembered that, on the off chance I itemize my tax deductions this year, it might be nice to do my Charity Piggy Bank donations today on New Year’s Eve. I ended the contribution year with a little over $471. I threw in a bit extra to get us to an even $500. Taking advice from kind reader comments, including Emily at The Lost Albatross, I decided to focus primarily on local groups: two literally local, and one across the Big Lake but local to my heart.

Where did the money go, in this happiest of New Year’s Eve activities? I knew I wanted to contribute a big part of the Piggy Bank to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin, which supplies all the food pantries and feeding programs here in town. SHFB responded immediately with a very nice auto reply telling me how the money would be used. I was especially pleased to read about an expansion of their Mobile Pantry Program; maintenance for their kids’ BackPack program (easy to prepare food for long weekends and breaks when kids miss in-school meals); and of course their ongoing work distributing food to 400 partner programs in 16 southern Wisconsin counties.

I also made a smaller contribution to Keep Wisconsin Warm, the program that helps families pay their heating bills in these cold Wisconsin winters.

I had initially intended to use all of the piggy bank for local social welfare programs like the above. But I also wanted to make a contribution that nurtures the spirit, especially for children. My favorite summers growing up included five weeks at Camp Miniwanca, an amazing world of women and girls set on 360 acres along Lake Michigan. The camp has been in place since 1925, it’s one of the most beautiful places I know, and it provides leadership training (kid-style) and really life changing changing summers for young girls.

Honestly, I had considered forgoing these contributions — the economy is worrisome and it would perhaps have been more practical to put this money in a rainy day savings account. But, happily, I had already made a promise the more than 3200 readers who’ve clicked on Daily Mitzvah this year — so that was motivation! I also made these gifts in honor or “the readers of the Daily Mitzvah blog,” in thanks for the comments and the clicks!

I have to say that making these donations today was such an happy and fulfilling way to spend the last day of the year.

My very best wishes to one and all for a happy, healthy, and reassuring New Year.

Today’s mitzvah: It’s not too late to make a year-end donation to a worthy local group (most will reply immediately with an email confirmation for your taxes) — or to resolve to begin your Charity Piggy Bank for 2009!

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Dec. 10: World Day for Human Rights

2008-12-10T09:57:00.005-05:00

I’m running out the door to go teach, so I’m letting Amnesty International do the talking. (Roll over the image to light the candle.)

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Proposition 8: The Musical

2008-12-06T00:44:00.005-05:00

Election night was so exciting for me, but such a depressing night in California where the passage of proposition 8 ended legal gay marriage in the state. The web site Funny or Die assembled an all-star cast for a sweet and funny video to bring attention to the issue and encourage people to visit JoinTheImpact.com. Unfortunately there’s no way to embed the video without the gratuitous Jack Black promo link (sigh), but I like the video enough to ignore this.

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Today’s mitzvah: Visit Join The Impact: 1 Million Plus for Equality, and read about upcoming activities, including December 10th’s “Day without a Gay” and December 20th’s “Light Up the Night for Equality.”

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Stumped for Xmas Gifts? Adopt a Wild Koala

2008-12-04T00:26:00.007-05:00

How cute is this fella? I have a post in the works about some great “give back” Christmas gifts. But when I saw this story in a Reuters article, I had to post about it. The Koala Preservation Hospital of New South Wales, Australia, takes in injured and sick wild koalas, treats them, and then reintroduces them back into their native environment. This is the basis of the program name, Adopt a Wild Koala, since the goal is to return the little guys to the wild as quickly as practicable.

“Adoption” proceeds with the forms and photos typical of these kinds of programs, costs only about US$26, and helps to support the hospital’s ongoing in-patient — er, “in-bear” — programs.

Today’s mitzvah: Consider holiday gifts that give back.

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Bloggers Unite: World AIDS Day

2008-12-01T00:03:00.003-05:00

December 1 is a Bloggers Unite Day, this one focusing on AIDS awareness.

I’m not the first person to note that AIDS has fallen off many people’s radar. Some of this is a result of encouraging news. People are living longer, drugs are now available to make this a disease people can live with, and an HIV+ diagnosis is just not the immediate death sentence it was in the 1980s, when several of my dear friends lost their battle in harrowing illnesses within months of being diagnosed. AIDS also affects minority communities disproportionately, at least at present, which can also distract attention from those whose friends and families do not include HIV+ individuals.

But AIDS is still a problem not only worldwide, but also in the United States. Since today is also Cyber Monday, the biggest online shopping day of the year, I thought I’d combine a pitch for the shopping portal iGive with our AIDS awareness post. I have an iGive badge in the right sidebar. Basically you can access almost any online merchant through the iGive portal. These merchants then rebate a small percentage of your purchase, to the nonprofit you designate. It takes a few minutes to set up an account, but after that it’s an easy peasey way to ensure your chosen nonprofit gets a kickback for a purchase you were going to make anyway.

I have my own iGive account set to rebate to the South Central Wisconsin AIDS Network, which serves Madison and vicinity. Given the bad economy, I’ve been trying to help local groups whenever I can, and this is a solid and hard-working organization.

iGive includes two nice features: it will track your donations in a form you can use at year-end if you itemize your tax deductions (the only shopping portal I know of that does this). And they also partner with LOTS of local and community nonprofits, so it’s very likely that your favorite community organization is already there.

If you want a quick portal that doesn’t require registration, Nonprofit Shipping Mall also includes many AIDS-related national and international charities.

Today’s mitzvah: Remember to use a rebate portal when you shop online. You’re making the purchase anyway, why not have the merchant rebate for you!

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Charity Piggy Bank: Almost There

2008-11-30T00:03:00.003-05:00

As we close in on the end of the year, a double Charity Piggy Bank update for October and November. In keeping with the blog’s theme, the charity piggy bank is a small way to make a difference in a big world (even on a budget). Here are the totals:

Proportional giving (Oct + Nov): $76.01
Savings account interest, with thanks to ING!: $16.31
Rebates for BYO grocery bags: $2.50
Balance forward: $376.42
NEW TOTAL: $471.24

I’ve been sticking with this, even as the economy gets wobblier. While my panic instinct is just to focus on my own personal savings — especially since my 401(k) is performing swan dives and I am well behind Suze Orman’s ideal 8-month emergency fund in my savings account — I think now more than ever it’s important to share with nonprofits that are facing increased demands and reduced contributions. I’ll post some thoughts in the next week or so as I figure out where to contribute this year’s piggy bank, which looks like I will be right around $500. Pain free savings!

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Shop till you drop? Grab an extra gift card.

2008-11-28T11:41:00.004-05:00

As breathless newscasters keep reminding me, today is “Black Friday,” the biggest shopping day of the year (and the day retailers allegedly turn their first profit of the year, ergo out of the red and into the “black”)

For me Christmas shopping just isn’t the same without Marshall Field’s. Yet we carry on.

I try not to post too many daily good deeds that cost money. But if one happens to be shopping up a storm today: consider picking up an extra $10 gift card at your favorite store. Mailed in a Christmas or holiday card it’s a thoughtful gift for a charity to on-pass to a client — or for one of the organization’s hard-working staff members. On the way to school I pass a Ronald McDonald House whose Wish List requests always include small items appropriate for birthday gifts; I try to send them gift cards a few times a year. Other ideas: a local homeless shelter, food pantry, or any organization that serves people in-person.

Happy shopping!

Today’s mitzvah: pick up an extra $10 gift card to send to a local charity.

Original post date: 11/23/07.

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Thanksgiving - Helping the Hungry

2008-11-26T09:36:00.013-05:00

Today’s mitzvah (click below):

Hello after a long absence! I'm hoping to be back in force for Advent I. For now, I’ve been thinking about what an anxious Thanksgiving this will be for many people. Our grocery has the usual donation bins for non-perishables. I’d like to offer a personal challenge: Instead of just putting one item in the bins, how about putting in two instead? Pasta, peanut butter, tuna or other canned meats — most of us can afford a second item, especially if we look for sales and store brands.

I know the temptation is to cut way back on everything. But I keep thinking that there’s always someone else whose finances are tighter than mine — and in a scary economy more than ever, we need to stick together! There are also many small ways to contribute for free, including The Hunger Site buttons on this site.

The Hunger Site is supported by sponsors that make donations based on how many people click the web site’s “Giv e Free Food” icon each day. No cost to you, no strings. Just a lot of sponsor ads and a chance to join with thousands of others each day whose clicks enable Mercy Corps International and Feeding America to provide food to hungry people. I click every day. It only takes a few seconds — and then you can get back to baking my favorite pie.

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Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-05T09:58:00.005-05:00

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Election Night Scorecard

2008-11-03T00:53:00.009-05:00

Think the interactive part of November 4th is over when the polls close? Think again! Committee for a Livable Future has an Election Night Scorecard — including spaces for your own predictions, should you care to play against yourself or set up a good old-fashioned viewing party contest. The scorecard includes each state’s electoral votes, as well its 2004 results. Additionally you’ll find a blank box for your own predictions, and a space for the actual result.

Scroll down and you’ll also find pages to track key House and Senate races, and LivPAC’s summary of why the races matter.

You can access the scorecard here.

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Stand by Me - Around the World

2008-10-26T12:29:00.009-04:00

Bill Moyers ran a terrific piece this weekend on filmmaker Mark Johnson, who went around the world asking musicians to play or sing together as part of a documentary Playing for Change: Peace through Music. He edited these together for powerful performances, including this killer version of “Stand by Me,” from New Orleans, the Netherlands, South Africa, Rio, Moscow, Toulouse, Zuni, New Mexico, the Congo, and more.

Peace out.

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Charity Piggy Bank: Belated September Update

2008-10-13T00:03:00.000-04:00

I’m late in posting, but happily with automatic savings the piggy bank grows whether I’m paying attention or not! Herewith, a belated Charity Piggy Bank September update. In keeping with the blog’s theme, the charity piggy bank is a small way to make a difference in a big world (even on a budget). Here are the August totals:

Proportional giving: $34.75
Savings account interest, with thanks to ING!: $9.15
Rebates for BYO grocery bags: $1.60
Balance forward: $330.92
NEW TOTAL: $376.42

Today’s mitzvah: Consider creating a “charity piggy bank” to collect small sums for a year-end charitable contributions. I’m always interested in ideas for what I should do with this in December. It looks like I will be right around $500, which is a nice contribution (and makes me very happy since it involved so little work — this has been pretty pain free savings!)

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Mitzvah Toolkit: Caring Bridge and What Friends Do

2008-10-12T00:03:00.002-04:00

A colleague recently used Caring Bridge in a very difficult situation, and another friend also mentioned it recently — so I thought this would be a good time to reprise this post from December 2007.

Here are two wonderful resources I hope we will never need to use. Caring Bridge is an online service that allows a person or family facing a crisis to stay in touch with family and friends through a free and easy-to-create web site. During a serious illness, hospitalization, or other life-altering situation, Caring Bridge facilitates communication by providing a template that includes a patient update journal, a photo gallery, and a guestbook for messages of support.

What Friends Do is a web-based concept that allows friends and family to come together as a team, via a centralized site, to offer coordinated and organized support during a health or other crisis. Once the group’s “coordinator” completes the sign-up process, a web site allows the team to: coordinate schedules for meals, childcare, errands and other needs; provide information updates via a team blog; share photos; and post messages of support. The main site also contains practical suggestions for how friends can help, as well as insight into maintaining a relationship with someone who is seriously ill or otherwise in crisis.

Today’ mitzvah: Check out Caring Bridge or What Friends Do for your mitzvah toolkit, to keep in mind in case a friend or family member might need them.

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CROP Walks This Weekend

2008-10-11T11:32:00.005-04:00

I’ve been AWOL and missed posting on this earlier, but there’s time to donate to the many CROP Walks against Hunger across the country this weekend, sponsored by Church World Service. CWS provides an interactive map, where you’ll find many walks around the country, especially on Sunday, October 12.

Here’ a video with more info!

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Vote for Your Favorite

2008-09-29T00:11:00.006-04:00

Impatient about waiting until November to vote? Trip Advisor (which has great hotel reviews written by real travelers) invites you to flex those voting muscles with a worthy election while we wait for that other one in November. Details below (with thanks to Ms. Champion Walker for the tip!).

clipped from us.mc524.mail.yahoo.com

TripAdvisor is giving away $1 million to 5 worthy causes. We need your help deciding how much each organization gets.

Already voted? Tell your friends to vote. We'll add extra votes to the cause you're supporting.

Current Standings

Based on votes received through September 24, 2008.

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Yummy Surprise

2008-09-27T00:11:00.008-04:00

A friend is terribly ill, so I didn’t have the heart to post a video for Dance Party Friday this week. We’re lighting candles, with hopes of dancing in the future. There could not have been a better day to come home to such a nice surprise from Jazzy and her humans. Who knew there was such a thing as an organic lollipop? And how lovely is it to have family who know that a discovery like this had my name written all over it?

Thanks, J, J, and C!

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Fun With Words

2008-09-25T00:24:00.000-04:00

Some of you know that Skeeterbess and I have a Guinness World Record-worthy game of perpetual Scrabulous. Skeet is in Hawaii, I am in the Upper Midwest, but neither time nor space can keep us from from our appointed rounds: namely, Skeet beating me 9 times out of 10 in online Scrabble! The one-word email notifications when it’s my turn have their own kind of random zen poetry:

Pax.
Time.
Fame.
Cold pairs.

When I mentioned this to Ms. Skeet she said, “Search my blog for Wordle!” I did, and now I have yet another word game addiction. Paste text into Wordle (or enter a URL), presto changeo, it’s transformed into word art. Here’s another one from me, using the text of the 19th amendment:

Today’s mitzvah: Wordle is fun!

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Searching for a Good Cause

2008-09-23T11:39:00.019-04:00

How many times do I search the web each day? Several organizations have created web search interfaces that make small contributions for charity every time we use their engines. To date, most of these sites have used Yahoo as their search engine. Yet I recently learned about a newer option, EcoSearch.org, which uses Google. The upside: a much more powerful search engine, and support for organizations including the Sierra Club, Natural Resources Defense Council, and Save the Bay. (The downside is that EcoSearch is light on details about how much they contribute per search, how often they make their donations, etc.)

For sheer transparency and accountability (albeit with a Yahoo search engine), I really like iSearch, which is an offshoot of the charitable shopping site, iGive. On iSearch, you choose the charity you want to support, from an extensive list that includes lots of smaller local options. iSearch’s benefits: you can click to see the donations to the charity to-date, your own contributions to the organization — this is the only site I know that allows individuals to track their own contributions — and the date and amount of the last check they set to the organization. And iSearch/iGive mails quarterly for amounts over $25 (other similar sites only mail donations once a year). I’ve included a screenshot above for the group I’m currently supporting, Wisconsin AIDS Network.

Today’s mitzvah: search out EcoSearch or iSearch the next you’re searching the web

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Got the Vote?

2008-09-22T00:03:00.004-04:00

Are you registered to vote? In some parts of the country, times’s running out! While a few states (yea, Wisconsin!) allow same-day registration at the polls on election day, most states have registration cut-offs in October, as early as October 5th.

The nonpartisan League of Women Voters has a handy page, Vote411.org, that allows you to locate information for your state, including registration deadlines and a direct link to your state’s Board of Elections web site. Most public libraries also have information and voter registration forms. Or just Google “vote” and your state name for information on where to go and what to do. (If you use EcoSearch.org, you’ll get a Google’s search engine combined with a donation to earth-friendly nonprofits with each search.)

Today’s mitzvah: Register to vote — or if you’re already registered, consider emailing this post to someone who may not yet be registered.

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Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!

2008-09-19T00:03:00.001-04:00

Q: What are pirates’ favorite socks?
A: Arrrrrrrrgyle!

Hee-hee. I love that one.

Can I combine “Talk Like A Pirate” Day and Dance Party Friday? You betcha, matey. Stick with this video for the first couple minutes, after which you’ll see Eric Idle introduce George Harrison — and not the song you expect!

With thanks to our Favorite Person in North Carolina for reminding me of this auspicious day. Avast ye scurvy dogs, back to work!

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Drilling and Hurricanes, plus Happier Signs

2008-09-18T00:03:00.013-04:00

Overshadowed by this week’s continuous stream of scary economic news — and my 401(k) beginning to look more like a 201(k) — on Tuesday the House passed a bill to open up most of the U.S. coastline to offshore drilling when the current ban expires on September 30. It’s especially depressing that this was a Democratic introduced and sponsored plan. And just to prove that the world has turned upside down: the GOP opposes the bill (partly because it doesn’t allow drilling within 50 miles of the coast) and its best chance of it not being implemented, ironically, is that the current occupant of the White House may veto it. I don’t even know where to send people for complaints about opening up the coast for drilling, just something to keep an eye on for the post-election season when, possibly, sense will return.

Houston in the wake of Hurricane Ike also doesn’t seem to be generating much national news coverage. But the two people I know in Houston, who have sporadic cell phone access, both paint a grim picture of no food, no gas, and home break-ins as thieves attempt to steal generators and whatever else is at hand where alarm systems and often the phone are not in service. The Red Cross is actively appealing for relief funds (the New Orleans evacuation and the Houston hurricane have drained everyone’s resources). They have also initiated a text message scheme, called Text2Help, where you can donate $5 simply by texting "“GIVE” to 24357 (2HELP), which will show up as a charge on your next phone bill. I’ve added their widget in the right margin, since this is a small amount that many people can afford.

In the midst of all this bad news, I wanted to provide some comic relief, courtesy of Green Upgrader, who has a very funny array of signs reminding humans to be mindful of the animal kingdom, including the sign pictured above. Another favorite: Don’t sit on the crocodile. Sounds a bit like a zen koan, eh?

Today’s mitzvah: If you haven’t used up this month’s allotment of text messages, consider checking out Text2Help to donate $5 to the Red Cross. And to our animal friends: Bark, bark, woof! (Slobber, slobber.)

Photograph © 2008 by Green Upgrader.

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Vote for the 2008 Green Businesss of the Year

2008-09-17T00:03:00.003-04:00

Coop America is running their annual People’s Choice contest to vote for the Green Business of the Year. Voting is open to everyone. This is a fun way to check out and help garner attention for a neat array of environmentally friendly businesses— from Bozema, MT’s West Paw Design, making pet care products out of organic and recycled materials; to Portland, OR’s Babyworks, featuring cloth diapers and organic cotton baby clothes; to Ft. Lauderdale, FL’s Pizza Fusion, “Saving the Earth, One Pizza at a Time.”

This year’s People’s Choice winner will be in very good company, with previous winners including 2007’s Reusable Bags (a personal favorite), and the always fun 2006 winner Ideal Bite in 2006 (which I’ve also featured on this blog).

Have fun voting in an election where we can be sure, whomever the winner, it will be someone we can all support! You can vote here.

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Friday Bounce

2008-09-12T00:03:00.001-04:00

It’s a Friday pick-me-up with T-I-double-guh-err!

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Lighting A Candle

2008-09-11T08:02:00.001-04:00

Let’s just do this today.

If you would like, visit it the the Gratefulness site’s grottoes to light your own candle .

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Charity Piggy Bank: August Update

2008-09-09T12:27:00.004-04:00

I’m racing toward the last quarter of the year: time for the monthly Daily Mitzvah Charity Piggy Bank update. August is always a slim month for freelance work, so I’m happy school has started (and the 9-month pay cycle will start back up in October!) In keeping with the blog’s theme, the charity pigggy bank is a small way to make a difference in a big world (even on a budget). Here are the August totals:

Proportional giving: $24.36
Savings account interest, with thanks to ING!: $9.17
Found money: $2.25
Rebates for BYO grocery bags: $1.60
Balance forward: $293.54
NEW TOTAL: $330.92

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Quiz Time: Your Back to School Personality

2008-09-08T01:11:00.003-04:00

I want to post a piggy bank update, but I’m just too tired tonight. Since school is what’s making me tired in the first place, here’s a back to school quiz instead!

What Your Back to School Personality Says About You

You are most likely to succeed when you are able to be independent and self directed. You are perfectly able of carving your own path.

Your greatest skill is making things interesting. You can turn the dullest day or project into something amazing.

Your biggest stumbling block in life is worrying about what other people think of you. Their opinions matter even less than you think.

You're not quite sure what you're thankful for in life, it doesn't seem like there's a lot to be thankful for these days.

The Back to School Test

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Dance Party Friday: Secret Video Translation

2008-09-05T01:15:00.008-04:00

This is less dancing than a whole lotta fun with song lyrics. Someone with a YouTube account and much too much time on his or her hands, decided to decipher Joe Cocker’s song lyrics and subtitle the video with, well, special captions.

Herewith, A Little Help from My Friends, “Captioned for the Clear Headed.”

Have a happy and fun weekend!

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DIY Wednesday: Make Your Own Widget

2008-09-03T00:03:00.003-04:00

Bored today? When I was looking for hurricane widgets, I discovered WidgetBox has a feature that lets anyone make their own widget from any blog feed. Because I am nothing if not a geek, I decided to try it out. Here’s what a Daily Mitzvah feed might look like:

Daily Mitzvah widget and many other great free widgets at Widgetbox!

WidgetBox lets you make widgets from web sites, too. The time wasting possibilities are endless!

And that’s your arts-n-crafts for today!

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Back to School

2008-09-02T00:07:00.004-04:00

I’m not sure how I feel about this, yet the time is now. Back to school! I’m finishing up classroom tasks for the first day, but I did have time to check out this week’s Carnival of the Green, where I discovered a useful post from Nature Mom about choosing a BPA-free water bottle — a must for every backpack and bookbag. You can even win a free bottle from a very nice array of choices; see the post for nature Mom’s contest! (You might even win a neat Sigg “Sunray” like mine, pictured at right.)

Keeping with the school theme, CotG also includes an interesting post from Philobiblon linking the fall of the Roman empire to their dependence on food-based fuel. A few parallels there, eh?, which the blog post explores.

And on an energy theme: La Marguerite contributed a post on grocery shopping, but I was also intrigued by another post on her blog: her GreenWatch personal energy consumption project on Twitter. It’s like a food journal for energy use, with a public micro-blogging component.

You can see all the posts in this week’s Carnival of the Green over at Savvy Vegetarian’s blog.

I hope everyone’s Tuesday is off to a good start!

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Gustav, Go Away

2008-08-31T11:49:00.024-04:00

Hurricane Gustav appears to be weakening a bit, but my heart still goes out to all the people from New Orleans who are on the road today, preparing for yet another disaster. Lots of people are blogging. I'm following posts on Best of New Orleans Blog, which has periodic updates from their bloggers’ own evacuation journeys. And Socialized posted last night on on evacuees’ use of Twitter: this may be the first hurricane to be microblogged (but what a great way to stay in touch with friends and family).

I’ve posted the National Hurricane Center widget in the right sidebar, as well as an RSS feed for hurricane-related news (below the widget). I’ll keep both up for a few days. Weather Underground also has a terrific collection of hurricane specific maps, including live radar.

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Polar Bears and Polar Veeps

2008-08-30T00:27:00.005-04:00

Why is Mr. Polar Bear saying, “Pffffffffft!”? Could it be that Sen. McCain’s veep choice, in addition to being pro-NRA and rabidly anti-choice, is also opposed to the decision to put polar bears on the Endangered Species list? Ah, and Mr. Polar Bear also gives a raspberry for Gov. Palin’s support of drilling in the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge(ANWR).

With such wacky political choices afoot, it’s time to urge Congress to permanently protect ANWR from drilling. The Udall-Eisenhower Arctic Wilderness Act (H.R. 39) does just that, with bipartisan sponsorship by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Jim Ramstad (R-MN). Care2 has a petition here, to urge support for this bill. For more background, the Sierra Club also has a position paper on why Arctic drilling doesn’t make economic (or environmental) sense.

I’m still trying to figure out this VP choice. Bizarre.

Labor Day Dance Party Friday

2008-08-29T00:03:00.001-04:00

I knew what song I wanted for our Labor Day weekend Dance Party Friday — although this might work as well for going back to work on Tuesday. YouTube wasn’t cooperating with the visuals, until I stumbled upon someone’s homemade homage to Dr. Who to accompany the song I wanted. It’s a little odd, yet that’s why you’re here, right?

For everyone who has a job that perhaps has its frustrations: here’s to our labor! It’s the last three-day weekend of summer, let’s dance.

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Sheryl Crow Wants Y-O-U

2008-08-26T00:03:00.001-04:00

What’s the best thing about Sheryl Crow? For me, that’s a long list! But here’s yet another reason she rocks: she’s giving a free digital download of her album Detours to the first 50,000 people who register three friends to vote, via Rock the Vote’s Sheryl Crow Voter Registration Drive page.

C’mon, you know three unregistered voters, I know you do! Plus it’s a great album, including one of my favorite songs — check out this earlier post for the video.

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Did I Mention . . .

2008-08-25T12:26:00.000-04:00

That this makes me happy?

I got my text message at 2:11 a.m. Central time Saturday morning. As if I hadn’t been up watching every minute of TV coverage until the cable networks ended their live feeds at 2 a.m. Biden’s first presidential run in 1988 was the year I started paying attention to electoral politics, and I’m delighted to see him back on the scene.

You can send Joe Biden a welcome note here. (Fair warning, the screen after that will ask you for a campaign contribution.)

Today’s mitzvah: Are you registered to vote? If not, Rock the Vote has everything you need. And stay tuned tomorrow for a celebrity thank-you gift if you register three of your friends!

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August Update: Cool Down Summer Energy Use

2008-08-25T00:03:00.001-04:00

Thanks more to the weather than to me, I’m back on track with the summer energy reduction project. Last month’s increase over the previous year was a surprise, since I hadn’t realized how much I was running the A/C. The mid-August bill isn’t a model of economy, but for one of the hottest months of the year, and with me home writing most days, I was still pleased to see a reduction from 2007. I’ve been trying to turn off the air conditioner overnight as much as possible, and also just getting used to being hot during part of the day, which seems to be paying off. The mid-August bill shows we used 456 kWh in the invoice period. While this is certainly up from July, it’s still less about 9.5% less than the same bill last year.

Here’s where we are. Meter readings and dates (better month bolded):

June 2007: 276 kWh / June 2008: 179 kWh
July 2007: 236 kWh / July 2008: 334 kWh
August 2007: 476 kWh / August 2008: 456 kWh
September 2007: 232 kWh
TOTALS: Summer 2008: ???? / Summer 2007: 1220 kWh

Overall we’re slightly ahead of this point last summer (969 kWh this year, vs. 988 kWh at this point in 2007). My math skills are tenuous at best, but this looks like a 9.8% improvement. My goal is 10% for the summer, with just one more billing period to go. Will we make it? Stay tuned!

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Still Dancing, All Summer

2008-08-22T00:03:00.003-04:00

I’m looking for someone to go to the North Pole and turn the earth backward on its axis so I can have another month of summer.

My ode to summer, still going strong 45+ years on. Let’s twist!

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How to Make A Box from Scrap Paper

2008-08-18T00:30:00.015-04:00

As if I needed any more reason to love Etsy: check out this Etsy Labs video on how to make a sweet little box out of a piece of paper. The only tools you need are a pair of scissors and some folding ability. The video uses scrap construction paper, but I used magazine pages for mine, pictured here (non-glossy pages worked best). Since I am more than a little spatially challenged, this took me more than one try. But I’m pretty happy with the results, which would be good for a little upcycled gift box or for holding paperclips and small things on a desk. The video also demonstrates how to make a second box for a lid, but I haven’t advanced to the intermediate stage yet.

Now that I’ve decorated your desk for you — back to work!

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Sunday Papers: August 17

2008-08-17T00:54:00.017-04:00

From pink polka dot trashbags appearing overnight to Norway’s new favorite knight, here’s a round-up of news and notes for your Sunday reading pleasure!

Corn Cobs --> Biofuel
There’s been a lot of controversy over biofuels that use food crops as a base — the argument being that these divert food from the hungry and have contributed to soaring food costs worldwide. Now a South Dakota company called Poet has found a way to make ethanol not from corn itself, but from corn cobs discarded after the corn kernels have been removed. This seems to be part of a growing eco-correction away from re-purposed food crops and toward waste products from agricultural production as a base for everything from disposable plates to tree-free paper. (CNET Green Tech)

How green is thy campus?
Campus Grotto gives the rundown on the Princeton Review’s picks for Greenest Colleges. There are some terrific choices in there, including College of the Atlantic and Bates College (yo, PBJ, nice going!). Some of the other choices raised an eyebrow. Harvard and Yale, really? I think there might be better choices, including Daily Mitzvah’s own alma mater. And I don’t think the Ivy League can match Eckerd College’s green take-out containers, which I blogged about earlier.

And now, the countdown to my favorite story of the week:

#3: All I want for Christmas is . . .
Lots of news outlets picked up this story, but I liked NPR’s headline the best: “Muggles A Step Closer to Creating Invisibility Cloak.” Add this to my George Jetson flying car and I will be a very happy camper.

#2: What’s pink polka dotted, smells like Juicy Fruit, and a little bit trashy?
Residents of Greenwich Village and Soho found out recently, when they awakened to streets piled high with big pink polka dot trashbags. The TRASH Project is a “a viewer generated public art installation” to bring awareness to environmental issues through unexpected guerilla/ public art. The project blog has fab photos of oversized pink polka dot trashbags, made from recycled plastic and imbued with a fruity scent to keeps rodents away. I didn’t want to lift their groovy photos, so you’ll want to hop over to see them at the source. (Thanks to Everyday Trash for the link.)

And my favorite story of the week . . .
Norway has knighted a penguin. That’s Nils Olav — er, make that Sir Nils Olav — at right reviewing the troops. With perseverance, hard work, charm, and a certain penguin je ne se qua, Sir Nils worked his way through the ranks, according to Sky News earning the titles of “Corporal, Sergeant, Regimental Sergeant-Major, Honourable Sergeant Major and, in 2005, Honorary Colonel-in-Chief.” (Sky News)

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Dance Party Friday: August 15, 1969

2008-08-15T00:16:00.005-04:00

I was looking for something sweet and relaxing to balance a hectic week. Since today is the 39th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival, here’s a chill-out video with some Canned Heat.

Have a good Friday. And happy birthday, Woodstock!

No, silly, not you. The other Woodstock.

Peace out.

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What Olympic Sport Are You?

2008-08-12T00:03:00.014-04:00

I’m hitting writing deadlines till the end of the month, so my posts are lighter than I would like. But I do like this quiz, which answers the important question, What Olympic Sport Are You?

You Are Kayaking

You have a competitive spirit, but you don't like to compete alone.

You do well in a partnership, where you can feed off the other person's energy.
If you have the right partner, nothing can stop you. Your energy is infinite!

You’re next! What Olympic Sport Are You?

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(Really) Creative Uses for Junk Mail

2008-08-11T01:41:00.010-04:00

A site that’s new to me, called ProQuo, ran a very cool article last week entitled “Top 10 Creative Uses for Junk Mail.” Most of these ideas are quite artistic — and visually striking. For those who are less artistically inclined, the article also provides quick and easy instructions for making homemade paper out of the junk that comes in the mail each week. Or there’s always the eco-unfriendly (yet soul satisfying) strategy of mailing back a brick in a Business Reply Envelope mailer, increasing the brick’s carbon footprint but also costing the junk mailer some $$$, since they pay by weight.

Although well beyond my skill level, I was fascinated by some ideas from the artist duo Burtonwood and Holmes (whose junk mail tank is pictured here). This is part of a series that also includes junk mail missiles and travels around the world in various installations including “Price War!” and “I Support the War / The War Supports Me.”

Turning the Junk Mail Machine into ammunition against the War Machine seemed like a good way to start the week, so here you go!

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