Blog Action Day - One Day On Earth

Blog Action Day is now behind us. It was an overwhelming success, with more than 20.000 blogs participating! Since no one can read 20.000 posts, I have chosen some for you to read here. My aim is to make the whole action more sustainable, so I recycle these posts, in order to not waste these precious contributions that are well worth reading long after Blog Action Day!

Come with me on a journey and see how beautiful our planet is - and how it suffers.

All posts were written on October 15 th - in honor of The Environment. Truly "A Day On Earth".

emil petru from Romania (in Romanian)
blogs about Copsa Mica (in English): "Copsa Mica is an industrial town located in the center of Romania. It is the blackest town in the world and the most polluted town in Europe." See the really frightening photos and read the horrible facts. Nobody has commented on this post yet, I think everybody reading this should go and say something to Emil Petru. Don't leave the Romanians alone. You can also sign a petition, "STOP the pollution at Copsa Mica", the link is here:
Copsa Mica - Blog Action Day

Marie Sans Importance from France (in French)
Marie did not feel inspired on October 15th - so she just posted a collection of Environment links in French while waiting for inspiration - great resource for French speaking people. Also she chose Richie Havens' "Freedom - Motherless Child" as chanson du lundi (Monday Song) which I think is a very inspired choice for our planet Earth on Blog Action Day! Enjoy the Woodstock feel.
blog action day - des liens en attendant

Ninetynine Problems from Nepal (in English)
Deelip Khanal has posted about a journey of his to a place called Ghorepani, close to the Himalaya, and he stands in awe of the beauty this place has. See and feel the beauty when you read his post and look at his picture.
Trekking to Ghorepani

Sea Fever from USA (in English)
Sea Fever tells us about how they "were on a family holiday in Southwold, Suffolk, UK, one of the most magical places in the world" and enjoyed the magnificent beach. Wonderful photos there! BUT: "That evening a wick storm roared into town turning the surf from blue to mocha in the process" - and very different photos after that! The pictures say it all, listen to what they say...
Littersea: A tragedy in the making (Blog Action Day!)

The Jose Vilson from USA (in English)
"Jose Vilson: Poet, Professor, Professional" from the Lower East Side, talks about children from environmentally abusive backgrounds, and environmental issues in the urban ghetto: "People are quick to blame their environment on the victim when almost all of the evidence shows that our condition stems from oppressive policies stemming back to when this country was first founded." Read his ardent pleading for the children`s cause: "Not everyone’s has been as fortunate as I am, though, which is why I fight for them."
A Synopsis of The Road Less Wanted

The Sherpa Project from USA (in English)
Ben Carey talks about Elimination as the ultimate reduction. "It’s fairly common to hear the phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". ... I’d propose taking this list a step further. Reduction is a good option, but even better is complete elimination. I guess that in a way, it’s the ultimate reduction." Go to his post and enjoy his teachings. He is a good teacher, I can assure you!
Elimination

World of Mo from Germany (in German)
Mo talks about the problems bio fuel (fuel from food plants) like Bio Ethanol are causing for Third World Countries: while carrying great hopes for the fight against Global Warming they drastically reduce the means in the fight against hunger. Food plants are replaced by fuel plants because they yield higher prices. Food becomes less available and more expensive in consequence. Mo suggests hydrogen as fuel of the future, but that is a long way to go ... Very knowledgeable, enlightening and definitely biased in the fight fuel contra food.
Blog Action Day: Biokraftstoffe – Klimaschutz für die erste auf Kosten der dritten Welt?

zimmik.dk from Denmark (in Danish)
zimmik.dk, 16 year old blogger from Denmark, blogs about Blackle, the "Black Google", and recommends using it, as a black screen is saving energy! Follow his advice, find the link to Blackle here:
Blog Action Day: Spar energi med Blackle

You might also want to look at my own contributions to Blog Action Day in my various blogs:
30 Ways To Save The Earth
Experts Say Eat Local for Health, Planet and Wallet
Hot Green Style! Fall Eco-Fashion Trend Report

Photo by TrekEarth: Eagle, by Andrew Chew

blog action day

Green Living - A Guide to Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Products

Green Living - A Guide to Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Products

By Karen Schweitzer

General Household Cleaners

General household cleaners are the biggest threat to the indoor environment. Every time you use toxic sprays and man-made abrasive solutions, you risk polluting the air inside your home. Fortunately, there are tons of household cleaners that you can make at home using all natural ingredients. Baking soda can be used as a natural abrasive to clean or deodorize anything. It also works well on stains. Lemon juice is a great bleach alternative, and can cut through grease or remove stains. Finally, vinegar mixed with salt makes the perfect all-purpose cleaner.

Oven Cleaners

Store bought oven cleaners are extremely harsh. The fumes can make you pass out, and if you get the cleaner on your skin it burns painfully. A natural oven cleaner is much nicer to use. You can create your own at home by using ¼ cup baking soda, 2 tablespoons of salt, and enough hot water to make a paste out of the other two ingredients.

Deodorizers

The next time you want to improve the smell of your home or deodorize a single space, avoid reaching for an aerosol spray can. You can achieve better results from natural products. Vinegar or baking soda in a cup will absorb and eliminate odors. If you want to add scent, try simmering orange rinds, lemon rinds, cloves, cinnamon sticks, or allspice in a pot of water. After an hour or two, your house will smell better, longer.

Buying Eco-Friendly Products

If you don't want to make your own household cleaning products or if you are worried about your house smelling like vinegar, you can buy eco-friendly products instead. Many of the companies that manufacture household cleaners are making an effort to go green and use natural products. There are also quite a few companies and websites that have cropped up recently to cater to eco-friendly individuals.

Before buying the harsh, toxic products that you have traditionally used to clean your home, try searching out more environmentally-friendly options. It will be better for your health and better for the world around you.

Karen Schweitzer contributes to http://HomeGuide123.com, an authority on everything home related. To get more green living advice or to find information on home remodeling, home buying, or home selling, visit HomeGuide123.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Karen_Schweitzer

(End of Article)

Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Products at My Power Mall

Gaiam.com has many products, for example:

Citra-Solv: Just a splash of highly concentrated Citra-Solv in water makes a stellar all-purpose cleaner for kitchen or bath. Mix a stronger solution to clean and deodorize floors, or pour it on undiluted when you need a stain remover for fabrics, an oven cleaner that cuts grime or a biodegradable cleaner for your bike chain. Safe for porcelain, metal, tile and fabric. USA.

Kalyx.com has many products, for example:

Fresh & Natural Bathroom Cleaner
CONCENTRATED BIODEGRADABLE With traditional herbal antiseptic action
Quickly & Easily Removes Dirt & Grime * Cleans & Deodorizes Your Whole House * Works Well on Anything Washable * Safe for Cleaning Nurseries & Children''s Toys
Natural Ingredients: Australian tea tree & French lavender oils are traditional herbal antiseptics which deodorize & help prevent bacterial growth. These essential oils are blended with the highest quality vegetable-based cleansing agents to produce our Fresh & Natural Bathroom Cleaner. No artificial colors or fragrances have been added.
Environmentally Safe: This product is formulated to biodegrade quickly & completely. It contains no phosphatesm chlorine, or other environmentally harmful ingredients.
Concentrated: Life Tree products are concentrated so that you save on cost per use, carry less weight & use less packaging
Cruelty Free: No animal testing, no animal ingredients.

KitchenEtc.com has some products, for example:

Fresh Wave® Crystal Gel is ideal for eliminating odor from areas prone to constant smells. Just open the jar and set where odor is prevalent. Lasts 30-90 days depending on ambient air flow.
Fresh Wave products are a highly effective solution for maintaining clean, healthy air quality in the home. Safely neutralizes odors for the naturally green home. A natural solution for eliminating household and pet odors, the active ingredients are a proprietary blend of soya, extracts of lime, pine needle, aniseed, clove and cedarwood. Contains no harsh chemicals or harmful VOCs. There are no masking fragrances so they are safe for use around people and pets.

Instawares has some products, for example:

Grease Gobbler Green Industrial Strength Microbial Cleaner
Grease Gobbler Green (G3), is the Earth friendly way to clean, yet maintain grease free floors, traps, drains, and non-food preparation surfaces. Live Green, use Grease Gobbler! Features:
The specifically blended, natural microbes, safely and bio-chemically consumes grease.
G3 incorporates the new, fresh smelling, surfactant that meets with government approval and operates to break-down grease and fats.
The live bacteria in G3 eats grease, leaving behind a harmless fatty acid, water, and carbon dioxide.
The bacteria live and continually consume grease until the food source is gone. In drains, grease traps, and on floors, G3 eliminates grease build-up with normal use.
The live bacteria in G3 has a limited shelf life. Product should be used within one year from shipping. Five gallon bottle.

Vitacost.com has many products, for example:

Seventh Generation Automatic Dishwashing Gel Green Apple Scent
Description
Gets dishes sparkling clean.
• Non-toxic• No chlorine• No phosphates• Biodegradable
This automatic dishwasher detergent gets your dishes sparkling clean yet is gentle on the Earth. This product contains only those ingredients that do not pose any chronic health risks and are safe for the environment.


How to find the stores:
The easiest way to find these stores in your Power Mall is to go to "Jump to a store" - left hand column, bottom. Here all stores are listed in alphabetical order.


Not a member of My Power Mall?

Access the stores directly, shop without earning rebates:
Gaiam.com
Instawares
Kalyx.com
KitchenEtc.com
Vitacost.com


Become a member of My Power Mall and save and earn

green living

30 Ways To Save The Earth

Today is Blog Action Day. This is my contribution

30 Ways GAIAM.Community Members Are Saving The Earth

GAIAM Community asked their members to tell them what they are doing to reduce their impact on the Earth, and the answers came flowing in. The ideas were so interesting -- from creative ways to reduce waste to 'greening' your neighborhood -- I wanted to share them with everyone here in my blog. And invite you to join the conversation to add more ideas!

1. "My boyfriend and I decided to take less long car trips this summer, to save money on gas and also lessen our contribution to polluting the air. When we can, we try to walk to the grocery store, church, coffee shops, etc. in our neighborhood." -Iamgranola

2. "We use natural, earth friendly products for laundry and household cleaning." -Cat

3. "We've got chickens that are free range and whose eggs get traded in at the local health food market." -neogirl710

4. "My mother raised us to not waste water and I still continue this practice. I gather rain to water my organic garden and compost all year long." -Sharon

5. "We turn up our thermostat by 5 degrees in the summer and down by 5 in the winter." -BlueSky

6. "My husband and I are planning our retirement home and it is going to be a green home. We're putting every type of green building product in it we can afford." -NTxWriter

7. "We have a solar water heater and are replacing all our light bulbs with CF bulbs. We are conscious about reducing our car trips and take our bikes for short trips to the post office." -Kalalea

8. "About a month ago I bought a little 50cc scooter and tool all around town on it with my 5-year-old daughter. It gets more than 100 MPG in the city and costs about $5 to fill up an empty tank with super premium. I added a big basket on the back and I go grocery shopping, take her to gymnastics, visit the grandparents." -ScooterSister

9. "We recycle religiously and I bring stuff we can't recycle at home to drop-off centers for hard-to-recycle items." -BlueSky

10. "We always buy recycled paper products and cleaning products made by companies that are authentically environmentally responsible. I won't use products with toxic fumes anymore." -SuperMom

11. "My husband started riding the bus to work. Since he drives a truck this makes a big difference." -BlueSky

12. "I have sold my home (in a horrible market!) donated almost everything I own, bought a hybrid and will soon be moving to live in an intentional community that is in the early stages. Currently there is solar power already in place and a spring feeds three ponds." -neogirl710

13. "We try to support environmentally conscious and sustainable products and services." -Kalalea

14. "Most of my lights have CFL bulbs, my yard and garden are organic, I drive a hybrid, pay extra for green energy (wind and small hydro), try to keep the heat down and the AC off, walk when I can, and shop locally." -SuburbanTomboy

15. "We try to use less packaging. For a while we were putting Horizon's single-serving chocolate milks in our son's lunchbox, but that packaging is totally guilt inducing, so we just bought some small spill proof reusable plastic containers and we make chocolate milk in those and pack in his lunches." -SuperMom

16. "I bought a yurt which and plan to build a straw bale home in the future." -neogirl710

17. "I installed a surge protector on my microwave so that I can turn off all power to it when it's not in use, and now it's used as an expensive bread box." -SuburbanTomboy

18. "We try to get to the farmer's market several times each summer or we ask people we know to pick up produce for us when they go. We also get produce from my sister's garden." -BlueSky

19. "We recycle and compost. My son has a little neighborhood recycling pickup business. We don't have household pick up for recycling so we take in recycling for our neighbors, hopefully encouraging them to recycle more." -Kalalea

20. "We use CF bulbs whenever possible, unplug every single electric item in the house when it's not in use, and use our own grocery bags at as many local farmer's markets as we can find. My daughter is always asking, "Is that green, Mama?" So at least she is getting the message." -ScooterSister

21. "I just bought a laundry line so I can stop using the dryer in the warmer months." -SuburbanTomboy

22. "I try to grow everything I can so I do not have to buy produce in the grocery store. I grow things that can store easily like potatoes and carrots. A large garden can take a lot of work but the payoff is so great." -Sharon

23. "We buy organic regularly in many items and give preference to local produce when we can get it at our supermarket." -BlueSky

24. "I've been a vegetarian for 10 years. Being vegetarian can have a big environmental impact. Also, we eat organic and buy locally grown organic produce." -Kalalea

25. "I'm very good at recycling everything that I can. I unplug the big appliances like microwave, TV, lamps, etc when I'm not using them." -Iamgranola

26. "I bring my own bags when I go shopping everywhere, and happily explain to the checkout person why when they ask." -SuburbanTomboy

27. "I'm helping to grow most of the non meat foods (I've been a vegetarian for nine years) along with another girl. We also want to grow herbs to sell to restaurants in town." -neogirl710

28. "We use reusable shopping bags and keep them in the car, though I admit we forget them sometimes. I opt out of a bag when buying just one or two things that are easy to carry." -BlueSky

29. "I moved to a higher density area with some walkable amenities. And I try to use my job as an urban planner to shape more walkable, sustainable communities and push builders towards clustering new development to conserve more open space and farmland while still allowing for necessary growth." -SuburbanTomboy

30. "Our daughter is an architecture student and very interested in green building because we raised her to believe that is important." -NTxWriter

(End of Article)

This is an article from GAIAM Community.

Gaiam.com is a health-conscious, environmentally responsible lifestyle company whose goal is to bring LOHAS to the mainstream. The Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS) concept is centered on the idea that our own health and happiness is connected to the health of our planet. Taking a holistic approach to our content and product selection, we encourage wholesome lifestyle choices with healthy, green products for your home and body.

PS: Should you feel inclined to shop there I advice you to join My Power Mall first. Gaiam.com is one of 1000+ stores in this mall. When you shop from there, you will get great rebates on your shopping.

blog action day

Organic Market Box

Welcome to The Green Power Mall Blog!

I will scout the 1000+ stores at My Power Mall for you to find GREEN stores, brands and products. Here is your welcome gift basket from Pfaelzer Brothers - enjoy!

Organic Market Box
Item #023004

NEW! A delicious choice for friends and family who prefer organics.

Includes:- Organic apples- Organic pears- Organic oranges- Organic almonds- Organic butter toffee cashews & peanuts - Organic pistachios- Organic tea- Organic crostini- Organic honey sticks- Organic chocolate bar- Organic pecan turtles- Organic chocolate-covered cherries

Net weight 12 lbs.

Pfaelzer Brothers Price: $79.99

Pfaelzer Brothers is one of 1000+ stores in My Power Mall.

Shop right here or get your own Power Mall first: type "Organic" in the Information Booth

green living

Blog Action Day - October 15th ! The Enviroment

2 days to go! You can still participate - it's not too late! Join the 11,141 blogs that have already registered.

Blog Action Day is about MASS participation. That means we need you! Register here:
http://blogactionday.org/the_environmentment

What it's all about

On October 15th - Blog Action Day, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone's mind.

In its inaugural year, Blog Action Day will be co-ordinating bloggers to tackle the issue of the environment.

What Each Blogger Will Do

Bloggers can participate on Blog Action Day in one of two ways:

- Publish a post on their blog which relates to an issue of their own choice pertaining to the environment.

For example: A blog about money might write about how to save around the home by using environmentally friendly ideas. Similarly a blog about politics might examine what weight environmental policy holds in the political arena.

Posts do not need to have any specific agenda, they simply need to relate to the larger issue in whatever way suits the blogger and readership. Our aim is not to promote one particular viewpoint, only to push the issue to the table for discussion.

- Commit to donating their day’s advertising earnings to an environmental charity of their choice. There is a list of "official" Blog Action Day charities on the site, however bloggers are also free to choose an alternate environmental charity to donate to if they wish.
And that’s it.

- If they choose bloggers can also promote the initiative itself.

However they are also free to simply post on topic on the right day or discreetly donate to a charity without publicizing Blog Action Day.

What to do next

Blogs of every variety from huge top 100 blogs to small, niche sites are going to be participating, find out who is involved. You can also learn about who is behind the initiative and read through some frequently asked questions. Or if you are ready, find out about getting your blog involved.

http://blogactionday.org/the_environment

Here is my random pick of 12 out of the 11,141 participating blogs that I enjoyed visiting! See how very special each is. Enjoy diversity!

DaveriK from Italy (in Italian)

Ninetynine Problems from Nepal (in English)

Une Belle Histoire from Italy (in Italian)

Butterfly Media Romania Blog from Romania (in English)

Marie Sans Importance from France (in French)

World of Mo from Germany (in German)

Daily Health Bits from USA (in English)

The Sherpa Project from USA (in English)

The Jose Vilson from USA (in English)

Sea Fever from USA (in English)

UrShalim from Lebanon (in English)

zimmik.dk from Denmark (in Danish)

Are you in???
Post a comment here, I will love to go and look at your post on October 15th, and maybe review it!

blog action day