I can hardly believe it!

I just filled up my car for $35! I'm slightly shocked and little dismayed! I'm not sure how to react to $1.55/ gallon! Honestly, I never thought I would ever see gas for less than $2/gal in my lifetime. This is super, yet scary at the same time. Now that gas is cheap again, what will be the motive for finding alternative fuel sources? I mean lets get real, finding alternative sources would take time, effort and money! We have cheap gas again, so who cares, right?!? I hope as Americans we aren't lulled into that false sense of security yet again. We still need to be working toward energy independence, if not for monetary reasons for environmental reasons, or for our children's generation so they don't end up having to pick up the ball that we dropped. After all, we had a gas crisis in the 70's, got everyone all fired up, then here came the cheap gas again and now 30 years later, we're picking up the ball our parents' generation dropped. Cheap gas or not, I'm still limiting myself to one tank of gas per 2 week period (unless I'm actually traveling). Either way, less driving helps keep the gas cheaper and the environment cleaner until we find something better. Just trying to do my little part!

Finally!

I was sent the information months ago, I have been waiting patiently and it has finally arrived! Yes, I'm talking about my big,new and blue recycling cart! The city of Austin now offers curbside recycling for everyone. We no longer have to deal with sorting and upkeep of little blue bins, we can now just dump all of our recyclables into one cart and be done with it. They have expanded the items that they take, which now includes, 1-7 plastics, glass, tin, aluminum, steel, corrugated cardboard, newspaper, board boxes (such as cereal boxes and such) magazines and scrap paper! Hooray! And to top it off, they are only picking up every other week to conserve on gasoline! I am seriously loving this, just a new and better way for me to reduce, re-use and recycle!

This says it all really...

Opt-out, save trees!

I am loving my Austin Monthly "Green Issue"! It has an article "50 Ways to Reduce Your Ecological Footprint" and I'm loving many of the ideas. One of the big things I have been struggling with for YEARS is junk mail. I found a site called 40-pounds or something like that, but you had to pay for the service, like $40 a year. Technically not bad, but if I can have a similar service for $1, I'm willing to give it a shot. There is a website called:

www.dmachoice.org

If you go to this site and choose the "Remove my name from those lists" box it will take you through several different processes to help you stop unsolicited junk mail. I opted out of several catalogs and opted out of ALL unsolicited mail. Now I do have to actually send in a form, with a check for $1, but it's worth a try. I highly recommend every one else doing the same. There was also a link to a place called "Opt Out Prescreen" that can stop all of those annoying credit card and insurance offers (those are the WORST!) They ask for some personal info, but you are NOT REQUIRED to give SSN or birthdate, they say it helps with the process, but I'm not giving out my SSN unless I HAVE to. I hope some folks find this info useful and are able to decrease your junk mail, courtesy of your little tree-hugging blogger mom!

What happens when you don't read labels!

I was doing a mad dash through the grocery store the other day. Just trying to get some of the staples to last us through the 3-day holiday (I DESPISE grocery shopping on weekends, especially holiday weekends!). Anyway, I grabbed a bottle of apple juice for the kids. I normally dilute the kids' juice, saves money and lessens the sugar impact on their teeth! When I got home the Monkey Man asked for something to drink, so I grabbed the new juice, poored it in the cup, diluted as usual and handed it to him. He got an awful stinky face and said it tasted yucky. So I grabbed it and tasted it to see what the problem was and it really did taste yucky! So I grabbed the juice and realized it was NOT our Mott's Apple Juice, it was the Mott's for Tots with 40% less sugar. So this may sound appealing, right? 40% less sugar, how can that be bad? Well, the reason it has 40% less sugar is because it has 40% less juice and 40% MORE water! What a dupe! I checked my receipt and sure as shit, I paid the same price for the diluted juice as I would have for the regular juice! It's just funny how the labeling makes it seem like you're getting such a great deal! Ooooo! 40% less sugar! What a crock! I will make absolutely sure that I grab the appropriate juice next time but with me diluting it with my OWN water, I'll make at least 60% more juice with 40% less sugar (and in turn buy less plastic bottles reducing my eco-footprint, ha-Ha!)

Calculating your footprint

I came across these sites while perusing my Austin Monthly magazine. One site calculates your "ecological footprint" and the other your "carbon footprint". Now granted, there is only so much a website can calculate as a tool for the general public, there are obviously other factors that would effect both of these things on an individual basis, whether for good or bad, but still, I thought it would be interesting to see where I landed in comparison to the national average and such. I was pleased to see that I ranked lower than most, but definitely not where I would hope to be as a good citizen of Mother Earth. For the past couple of years I HAVE been making an effort to reduce my use in many areas. I try to run all of my errands on one day and not during peak hours, I have been the recycling QUEEN for years, we have been replacing incandescent bulbs with the compact flourescents, and I always try to plant native plants in my garden so I don't have to water as much. I still have a long way to go, but I figure at least I am trying and I am trying to teach my children good habits as well. I want to leave them a healthy planet and I have to admit with this consumer crazy, disposable world it is HARD! Anyway, here are links to the sites, in case any of you are interested. Like I said, not the most accurate tools, but it gives you an idea of where you stand and maybe where you could improve!

www.myfootprint.org
www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator