• Send a free text message to 89279 to tell a service member abroad THANK YOU. This program is part of this year’s efforts to send A Million Thanks. The text messaging campaign started this weekend and will run through midnight (PDT) on Thursday, November 22. When you send your text message, you will receive a personal reply from an Armed Services member. Visit A Million Thanks for more info and other ways to say thanks.
• There’s a sad decline in donations this year to the Orange County Food Bank, according to the OC Register. Please take a moment to drop off some extra food at 12640 Knott Street, Garden Grove, CA 92841. Business hours are M-F, 8am to 5pm. 714.897.6670 (After-hours bins are also available for nonperishable goods.) You can also donate to the Second Harvest Food Bank at 8014 Marine Way, Irvine, CA 92618. 949.653.2900.

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I was able to speak with Suzy from Camp Laurel today to discuss the donation. The big question was just HOW I could get the materials to them since they’re only in the offices the same days and times I am. As luck would have it, they’re having some sort of training the weekend after next, so they’ll be around when I drop the stuff off. Since Pasadena isn’t exactly the next town over, I’ll try to use D’s Prius. Then maybe have lunch at this wonderful, little veggie-friendly wrap shop in Old Town. In the meantime, I’ll start sorting and boxing all the materials. YAY!

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There’s a cam phone photo I often use as my Treo wallpaper: a snapshot of the word SIMPLIFY painted on concrete, taken at the parking lot at The Camp in Costa Mesa. See, I consider myself a marketer’s wet dream. I’m the type of consumer that easily goes, “Oooh, shiny.” Because of this handicap, I’ve amassed A TON of things. The majority of these things are craft related supplies. I like crafts; I like working with my hands to create things. However, I know that I don’t need 50 packs of patterned paper. Or hundreds of stickers, spools of ribbon, buttons, brads, markers, etc. I wanted these things so I bought them, knowing full well that I’d never get through 3 garbage bags full of yarn. That’s me being a wasteful asshole.

SIMPLIFY.

This year I resolve to clean out my “room.” The closet is full of things, there are piles upon piles on my craft table, there are bins and other storage containers filled to the brim with other random supplies. I want 80% of these things out of my room and out of my house. I don’t want to store them in the garage because, let’s be honest here, even the cat knows I’ll never get to using them all. The easiest way to get rid of them is to throw them away. This solution, however, is heartbreaking in two ways. First, all those things cost me money to acquire. Lots of money. Dumping them in the trash would be like literally flushing money down the toilet. Second, all those things are still perfectly usable. As the child of parents who extended the life of just about everything from plastic utensils to clothes, it’s simply against my nature to just throw something away that still has life to it.

Enter my ideal solution: charitable donations. While I’m sure charities would rather get the cash equivalent of the things that are donated, I’d be surprised if the offer would be rejected. So who could use 50 packs of patterned paper? If we had kids I’m sure we would give everything our kid’s school, but since our only “child” is covered in fur and walks on all fours (despite being eight years old), we have no connection with any school in our city.

In my search I came across Camp Laurel, an organization based in Pasadena that supports children living with HIV and AIDS. While looking at their donations page, I saw that on their wishlist they’ve specifically listed “Arts & Crafts supplies.” PERFECT! I sent off a quick email explaining my situation and gave my cell phone number, after which I almost immediately got a call back from Suzy, the Program Director. Unfortunately, as usual, I’m unable to take calls on my cell, so Suzy left a message saying that they would be happy to accept the supplies. This is going to sound cheesy, but I honestly felt elated when I listened to her message. I was relieved and appreciative. Yeah, I had a lot of money tied up with those things, but that all becomes quite inconsequential if they could be put to good use.

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• Rebels kill, eat endangered mountain gorillas . Are they just doing it to be jerks, because they’re starving in the jungle, or both??
• So that Heifer International llama I bought wasn’t really a llama? Not according to this post on kottke.org.
• Education Week reported that the school board in Federal Way, Washington is demanding that showings of An Inconvenient Truth be balanced with “an adequate opposing viewpoint.” Um, exactly WHAT adequate opposing viewpoint is there to the FACT that global warming is happening right fricken’ now?!

Categories: politics, environment, charity, random
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I hate resolutions. I find it pointless to make extravagant promises just because it happens to be a new year. Unfortunately, every January I find myself making up grand To-Do lists. This year isn’t any different.

Well, I guess it’s a little different. This year I have a theme! And it’s not just the usual “I have to drop 20lbs” either. This year’s theme is: GOING GREEN. What can I say? We’re getting older and the idea of bringing another life into this world has been tossed around. Unfortunately, it trully stresses me out to think that there might not be any sea fish left in the world by the time this new person reaches 50 years of age.

This is for real, people! I’m not just some environmental loon that regurgitates liberal politicans’ causes du jour, but when the United States starts admitting that polar bears could starve because of global warming, then hell YES it’s time to take action. So with global warming and the state of our planet in decline, here are my resolutions for 2007.

1. Recycle, recycle, recycle! It’s unfortunate that the company I work for does not actively recycle. To do my small part, I keep a recycling box under one of my desks. In this I throw things like plastic bottles, used paper towels, and discarded sheets of paper.
2. Reduce my consumption of bottled water. Most of the tap water around where I live and work is OK to drink, though I’m not particular about the taste. I do like the taste of bottled water, but I find them wasteful. I’ve stopped buying bottled water to keep at home, instead opting to make use of our Brita water pitcher. At work I refill my mug with the filtered water provided.
3. Reduce my dependency on paper towels. I wash my hands a lot, especially while at work. To prevent using so much paper, I keep a hand towel with me, which I then bring back home and throw in with the weekly laundry. When I do use paper towels to dry my hands, I take them back to my desk to somehow reuse. They’re fine for wiping up my desk, food off my mouth and hands, etc. On a similar note, while I love my Bounty paper towels and Quilted Northern toilet paper, I will be making the complete switch to using paper products made from recycled paper. Seventh Generation makes 100% recycled paper towels and toilet paper, with a minimum of 80% post-consumer materials (as opposed to just 10% by Quilted Northern, and “virgin wood pulp” used to make Bounty).
4. Invest in clean energy projects. David’s been thinking about putting some of our savings into actual clean energy investments, while I’m currently looking at companies like TerraPass. With TerraPass, one can offset his or her carbon emissions by putting money into clean energy projects. For $40 a year, I can purchase funding for clean energy projects equal to what my Jetta produces in carbon dioxide. For an additional $80 a year, I can do the same with the gas and electricity used in our home. One can even offset air travel. This is super affordable, so I see no reason why anyone couldn’t or shouldn’t do it.
5. Be a more conscious shopper. As an American, I take a lot of things for granted. Out of sight, out of mind, but while I enjoy my gourmet cup of coffee, some poor Ethiopian coffee farmer makes less than $1 a day. That, to me, is just plain wrong. I intend to support Fair Trade products, especially when it comes to food and drink. Coffee for the Keurig will only be FT varieties. Other issues to start looking into are the things and purchases we make every day. As mentioned in #3, Seventh Generation not only makes recycled paper products, but they also produce a variety of green products for the home such as household cleaners, laundry detergent, baby wipes, and more.
6. With this also comes the idea of supporting sustainable communities projects. Two organizations I’m looking at are Heifer International and Kiva. Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty, but rather than relying on hand-outs, they help families and communities thrive on their own by providing livestock and education. I plan on giving a llama, which can provide transportation and income from wool. At Kiva, contributors give loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries. With as little as $25, people can help a cafe owner in Bulgaria or a tailor in Ghana. As these are loans, investments are eventually paid back (which can be withdrawn or go toward another loan).
7. Finally, in 2007 I intend to stay involved and learn more. You can find me perusing such sites as TreeHugger, green LA girl, and Grist, among others.

Categories: environment, charity
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