Walmart ditching plastic bags.......

Huge corporate giant....Walmart experiments with going green by banning plastic bags at three of their California stores. They are offering reusable bags for their customer's to purchase in place of the disposable plastic bags. The plastic bag ban experiment comes after the proposal of assembly bill, AB1998. California is on the verge of a total ban on disposable plastic grocery bags, and a fee on paper bags. If passed this bill would be effective July 2011 but Walmart thought they would do a little test run of their own. Judging from the comments on The Sacramento's Bee's report consumers are not digging the new change. Some of the comments are just hilarious to me. Come on people.... how hard is it to bring your own bags to the grocery store with you or maybe it's that you just can't fathom spending the 15 cents a bag for a reusable bag? which by the way is the best price I've seen so far for a reusable bag. The reaction from these Walmart customer's just really reiterates how lazy and spoiled we as a society have become. Isn't it obvious to everyone now that our old habits are destroying our planet and it's time for all of us to step up and do what we can?

Green is totally sexy......

As I am trying to find ways to go green in EVERY area of my life I came accross this awesome lingirie ad and thought I'd share. I've found that it feels really good to do things that are good for the environment, it also feels really good when you look good. Here's a way to do both at the same time :)

  

Problems in the new climate change bill

I would have to agree with only one aspect of the new climate change bill being that yes we do indeed need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly. But I have to disagree with everything proposed in the bill to achieve this. President Obama and his administration are pushing to expand off-shore drilling with the idea that increased supply and cheaper oil are, at the very least, political necessities to a successful energy policy.

I personally do not believe that making oil more plentiful and lowering gas prices is the way to encourage Americans to consider alternative sources of fuel, or hybrid vehicles. The majority of the public is not going to make any significant change until prices become so astronomical that they have no other choice.

Hopefully with the recent catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf fresh in every one's hearts and minds this bill will not pass legislation.

No more microwave cooking.....

I was absolutely mortified to learn recently just exactly how bad microwaves are for us. I am vowing to never microwave food again. I know, I know you are thinking that this sounds extreme but once I explain to you what I learned perhaps you'll feel the same. The way that a microwave works is that it sends microwaves through your food when you power it on. These waves cause the liquid molecules in the food to shift back and forth. As these molecules are shifting they rub against each other causing friction. This friction is how the food is heated. Sounds pretty safe and simple right? Wrong!!!! In the process of these molecules shifting around the molecular make-up of your food is actually changed. Particularly in milk products and meat, the molecules are changed into carcinogens. I was mortified to learn this because I have been warming my daughters bottle of milk in the microwave nightly, basically just pumping cancer causing carcinogens into her.

I also read an article discussing the malpractice lawsuit of a blood transfusion patient who died after receiving blood that was warmed in a kitchen microwave. Now that should tell you something right there.... if the molecules in blood are changed so much from microwaves that it is fatal to your body then you can imagine what it is really doing to the molecules in your food.

So what are we to do if we don't use a microwave? I asked myself this same question. I've become so used to and spoiled by the ability to press a couple buttons and ta-da food is heated in seconds. Yes I'll admit it is very convenient, but at what cost? Since learning what the microwave is truly doing to our food I can't bring myself to put my families health at risk to save a few minutes.

 There are many alternatives to microwave cooking; toaster ovens, convection ovens, or stove top cooking either by heating food directly in a pot or using a double boiler method. Personally I prefer the toaster oven to the convection oven as the toaster oven uses less energy to operate thus being a more eco-friendly choice and I prefer the double boiler method over heating directly in the pot because it keeps me from burning the food. Also for all those mothers warming bottles...... a crock pot or pot of boiling water is a much safer alternative than the microwave. I hope that this was helpful and informative to all of my fellow greenbies.

Till next time........Loves, Happiness, and Good Health.

Opening my eyes.......

Up until recently I lived like the majority of society.......not oblivious to the green lifestyle that so many people all around me are starting to adopt, but unaware that achieving this healthier and more rewarding lifestyle only required a few simple changes. The first and most important was changing the way I thought. More specifically, changing what my view of a successful and rewarding life is. I would have to say that this change happened immediately after watching the most eye-opening documentary that I have ever seen; "The 11th Hour" by Leonardo DiCaprio. If you have not yet seen this movie, I highly recommend it. I can honestly say from experience that it is life changing. The morning after watching this movie I started a recycling system in our home. I set up numerous bins in the kitchen. One for refundable cans and bottles, which up until now we had never bothered to take to the store and recycle.  Another bin for plastics, paper, cardboard, and metal. And another bin for glass. I was astonished by how much the recycling bins started filling up after just a couple of days while the garbage bag sat with hardly anything in it. It was after seeing this that I realized just how much my little efforts could make such a huge difference. I started to research online how to live a green lifestyle. I researched all about recycling and environmental problems. I read blogs and forums focusing on living green. I started to realize just what a huge and unbelievably necessary movement living a green lifestyle is. All it took was for me to just open my eyes. I'm guessing that since you are reading this that somewhere along the way you have had your eyes opened to the very real and important changes that we all need to make. I hope that the stories, advice, and resources that I will continue to post in this blog as I learn and grow in this new lifestyle will help and encourage you to learn and grow as well. Until next time..........Loves, Happiness, and Good Health.