Monday, March 29, 2010

Something ado about you...being Earth friendly! Pt. 2

There is some truth in the, sometimes coarse sounding, phrase: "If it's yellow, let it mellow...If it's brown, flush it down." Just take a minute to ponder over this fact...FORTY PERCENT (yes, that's 40%) of all the drinking water supplied you your home and all the homes with indoor plumbing...gets FLUSHED down the toilet! 

Sink in yet? Yeah, I know, almost half right!? So, next time you're tinkling and conscious of your efforts in the little girls/boys room just take a second to turn around and look at that dull silver handle. It doesn't really NEED you to push it. It's sole purpose exists to get rid of hazardous waste and/or contaminates. Is your urine really that disgusting that it needs to immediately be flushed? What about closing that lid and waiting until your next wee wee or boom boom to let that water out of your sight?! I think it's doable, right? OK, I'm going to agree that the first morning wee should probably be the first flush of the day too, it can be a bit odorous from time to time. But, just think of cutting your flushes down by a third! How much uncontaminated potable drinking water would that save for the rest of the planet? If everyone did it, it would also be the social norm, and think how happy that would make your pockets in the long run. Cut your water usage down that much and watch those few dollars just build back up in your wallet.

On to something else very doable. You know how your house just has to be that perfect 68 degrees in the summer and 72 degrees in the winter? What if you suffered your "poor freezing/burning tootsies" one degree? It wouldn't be THAT despicable would it? 69 in the summer and 71 in the winter? OR if you can manage it, a nice crisp 70 degrees year round. Not only does not jerking your thermostat around make it very happy, it also decreases your electric bill and makes your heating/cooling system very agreeable as it doesn't have to put in over time because it's been switched off or turned up or down five degrees at a time. Did you know that if you can keep your temperature as close to constant as possible you can save upward of a HUNDRED dollars a year? OK, Candi...now you're just talking crazy talk, right? Wrong, my friends, wrong indeed. So you take that approximately 50-60 dollars saved from above and add it to this 100 here, and...you're all math geniuses...you can figure out where I'm headed here. Not only is it nice to keep a clean home, and a well temperature managed living space, and to save the rest of the world some non-poo water...just keep reading for something else extraordinary you can do for your purse, and for your fellow Americans/Earth residents.

When you're in your kitchen (now with thicker socks or sandals on and most recently letting your yellow...mellow) cleaning up those veggies and chopping up that meat/potato/tofu for dinner and you're thinking "Now, what on Earth can I do in here to make a bigger impact on the world market?" Candi is supplying you with an answer! We've already talked about putting those veggie peels and pre-cooked food scraps in your (or your neighbors) compost heap. So, what I'd like to talk about now is your food waste (yes, I know we already talked about pre-cooking and freezing)! On average, American's waste more than double the average for the entire planet. Yup, that's right. Those starving children in your local homeless shelter/soup kitchen that recently ran out of food because everyone's out of work...could be having a meal this very second if the country would get on board.

What I'm suggesting isn't the end of the world. Think globally, act locally. Yes, cliche...but completely appropriate when talking about where you get your food from. If it is something you regularly eat and it has a made in or grown in Ohio label on it, for the love of Pete, buy it! It's not rocket science here. You're helping not only yourself (now you can pinpoint right down to the street where your food is grown) but you've helped your neighboring farmers AND the world by allowing them to act just as consciously by donating unused/unsold food to those pantries. Also think about eliminating post cooked food waste. If we could all eliminate the amount of waste equivalent to one slice of bread, each day, we could save twenty POUNDS of food waste each year. How much do you pay for 20 pounds of food at the grocery store each week? That's about 16 meals! If all U.S. households (yeah that's everyone in your house collectively saving one slice of bread a day from finding it's way to the garbage can) would reduce their waste by this much, that savings would be enough to feed all of the 1.35 Million starving homeless children in this country alone THREE square meals a DAY for an entire YEAR! Not kidding. Just ask "The Green Book" by Rogers and Kostigen.

So now we're to the part where I make a food recommendation. Yeah, I know, that girl always pushing products down our throats! No, seriously this snack proclaims that it's "Better than food!" What's that you say? Can't be! Oh, but it is. If my body could sustain itself on this blend of two very fiber full yet so so yummy foods, I'd do it! The Amazing Jennibean decided that her semi-annual gift basket from work should be so bestowed on me (well, most of it as she keeps the stuff she love to NOM on). She decides this...well...semi-annually, I suppose! Anyway, I got these last time and NOM'd them until there was just dust in a bag then forgot about how delicious they are! So, this time I'm telling the world! Grandpa Po's Originals Slightly Unsalted mix of organic popcorn and soybeans is so delectable that I decided to share this time around. Lady McAwesome, Super M, and I couldn't stop chowing right down on this textural beauty! The tiny popcorn nuggets and the roasted soy nuts accompanying them are just too much and when you sprinkle on just the right amount of sea salt, they are just HEAVEN. When an entire 5 ounce bag equals ONLY 5% of your daily sodium intake!? I'M SOLD! Not to mention the grand fiber source and it even boasts a little of the vitamins and proteins you need in a day. OK, enough of my advertisement...now get eating!

PS:
Grandpa Po's Originals are also:
•  Certified Organic
•  Low in Saturated Fat
•  Trans Fat Free
•  Gluten Free
•  Wheat Free
•  Dairy Free
•  Peanut Free
•  Sugar Free
•  Vegan
•  And best of all They Taste Great!
And that's straight from the website!

2 comments:

  1. I'm thinking you should have waited to post about Grandpa Po's until AFTER you talked about boom boom, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh Michelle is funny- I was about to say the same!
    All these are very valid points though, and if we all followed through boy! we'd make a difference! Have to say I do most already, except the snack you recommend, haven't seen ti here. And the drinking wated used in loos really gets to me- I'm working on setting up grey water recycling but the Hub isn't really into it so its taking time to get him on board.

    I forget to let you know yesterday that you won a spot prize at my place so if you could email me your address I'll put it in the post at the end of the week?

    ReplyDelete