Category Archives: Uncategorized

I absolutely love this wine glass!!  It’s a great visual reminder of how important our Earth is at all times.  It’s hand painted and made of hand blown glass.  They’re not overly green but I love them anyways. 

I think it’d be great to celebrate Earth hour in the dark with soy candles, organic wine, fair trade chocolate and these awesome Earth inspired wine glasses.  It’d be great but with a 3 year old, a 15 year old and a dog in the house it’s probably more likely that we’ll play Guess Who by candlelight, have sippy cups full of apple juice and eat organic whole wheat animal crackers.  We can hardly find the teenager with the lights on and it’ll just be easier for him to hide with them off.  But come on, a girl can dream!!

These glasses are made by Hue Phoria and are the product of two friends who were raising their children.  They were apparently extremely crafty because they came up with this idea which helps people remember who’s glass is whose, started hand painting them in the kitchen and baking them in their own ovens!!  After a couple of years, they could no longer keep up to demand and had to go big time.  I think it’s an awesome idea and a gorgeous product!  Definitely worth checking out their entire line of glasses.  There’s a ton of great designs.

Continue reading →

Moving companies have traditionally been notorious for their negative effects on the environment.  Between driving giant gas guzzling trucks, uses dozens of cardboard boxes per move, non-recyclable packing supplies and not having their trucks maintained properly.  However, that is no longer the only option.

If you dig around on the net, you’ll find a few companies here and there that offer some extremely eco-friendly options for your big move.  Some companies even offer trucks completely powered by biodiesel!  This not only makes a huge improvement for the environment, it also allows the costs of being more green to be off-set by the fuel savings.

Reusable containers are also becoming a viable option for packing your things in instead of cardboard boxes that we need to cut down trees for.  Check out the company called Rent a Green Box that has come up with some truly amazing innovations.  These plastic containers are made from hard to recycle plastics that are taken out of landfills, formed into boxes and rented out to people moving.  They will even deliver the boxes right to your door in trucks running on waste vegetable oil!!  You don’t need tape, boxes or anything really.  Just your stuff and their containers.  When you’re finished with them, take them back.  Zero waste!

There is also 100% recycled, post consumer materials mined from landfills that are being made into more environmentally friendly packing materials.  Instead of using petroleum based bubble wrap, try a product called Geami (which means friends of the earth).  It’s made right in the moving trucks with their own eco-friendly power supply from cardboard sludge and is about half the cost of plastic bubble wrap.  Instead of needing tape to hold it together, it sticks to itself kind of like velcro.  It’s reusable and if you don’t need it after you’re done with it, they’ll pass it on to the next customer!  Again, absolutely zero waste.

There are also a range of other no waste solutions to replace packing items such as styrofoam popcorn, tissue paper, labels for the boxes, eco-friendly bags, pallets, moving dollys and zip ties.  The pallets are actually called poopy pallets because they are made from recycled, used disposable diapers that have been thoroughly cleaned — not to worry!  Who knew they could even do that?  It’s definitely worth looking into eco-friendly options before making purchases as a consumer.  I think that the “Poopy Pallet” is going to require it’s own complete article!

Continue reading →

With all the recent chaos after Haiti’s recent earthquakes, many of us are looking for ways to help and places to donate. Here is a short list of a few of them. Feel free to post comments with more ideas.

SECULAR NGO’s

Doctors Without Borders (aka Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF)

Medical help and supplies are desperately needed.  This is an international group of medical professionals who work in chronically underserved countries, emergency sites and refugee camps around the world.  They are already in Haiti.   Unfortunately their facilities in the capitol have been badly damaged so they are doing triage and what care they can on the street.  Their spokesperson has indicated they will be bringing in a portable hospital and more doctors as soon as possible.  He reported many people with serious injuries like broken and crushed limbs, broken ribs and the like but they have at this point no ability to do more than first aid and stabilization. They spend less than 1% on administration and they’re on the ground already.

Read more at Charity Nnavigator.org

Direct Relief International 

They have already sent a 40-foot container of ongoing aid to arrive today.  As Relief Web states “Direct Relief’s partners in Haiti include Partners in Health, St. Damian’s Children’s Hospital, the Visitation Hospital, Christian Aid Ministries, and Feed the Children. St. Damian’s and Partners in Health are particularly active in emergency response and have received pre-positioned materials for hurricane season, which ended November 30, and are designed to support ongoing patient care if needed. Since 2000, Direct Relief has provided more than $60 million in medical material aid to Haiti.”

Oxfam International 

Provides assistance to victims of emergencies and ongoing disasters throughout the world.They are mobilizing to provide emergency assistance to victims in Haiti, and your donations will also help people in places like Darfur as well. I haven’t been able to find a link to direct your donation specifically to Haiti on their website.  Here is a direct link to support Oxfam’s Haiti relief effort.

Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross is of the standard of emergency response throughout the world.  Though the US Red Cross took a hit for administrative costs in the wake of Katrina, few NGO’s have the reach or the resources of the ICRC.  The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.  Text “HAITI” to 90999 and you will be charged for a $10 donation to the red cross relief efforts.

Read more at Charity Navigator

Other SECULAR NGO’s

•  ShelterBox USA, which provides prepackaged shelter.  They’ve raised the $1000 for one box and are working on their second.
• AIDWATCH Aid Watch blog is a project of New York University’s Development Research Institute (DRI).  Note as well that 100% of your donation goes to relief, as they recently got a large bequest that funds all their expenses.  Read more at:  CharityNavigator
• National Nurses United are sending 1500 volunteer nurses from across the United States.
• California Nurses Association call for volunteers
• Portlight Strategies, gearing up to help Haitians with disabilities in the wake of the disaster.
• Yele - cell carriers will contribute $5 send on a $5 donation on your account if you text YELE to 501501.
• Mercy Corps is preparing an aid mission.  Mercy Corps also allows you to donate through PayPal, Google Checkout and Amazon Payments, if this helps. They are actively moving to help already.  They always partner with local organizations and they have no ego about coordinating with other NGOs.  Their flagship programs are directed at children and families, and children are always the the most vulnerable population in any disaster scenario.
• PanAmerican Development Foundation as they are the natural disaster relief arm of the Organization of the American States, the world’s oldest regional organization dedicated to democracy, human rights, security, and development started in 1890.  The PADF are in the Haiti right now as I write this passing out tents, water, food, medical care, etc and are making an appeal for donations to help move more supplies in through their Dominican Republic location and replenish them ASAP so as to continue their efforts.
• Save the Children already has offices in Haiti and are already there and taking action.
• Partners In Health is accepting donations of as little as ten dollars online.   their particular expertise in administering health care in Haiti. You can donate here. Partners in Health, or in Haitian Creole Zanmi Lasante, has been the largest health care provider in rural Haiti. Earthquake Haiti is a group now up on Facebook that Rachel Maddow just mentioned on her show.
• Lambi Fund is a secular nonprofit whose mission is “to assist the popular, democratic movement in Haiti. Its goal is to help strengthen civil society as a necessary foundation of democracy and development. The fund channels financial and other resources to community-based organizations that promote the social and economic empowerment of the Haitian people.”  They support “projects that embrace the following principles: non-violent, non-partisan, community-based, promoting the advancement of women, using education and training for empowerment, and promoting the overall democratic movement.”

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

• USAID
• UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) has been on the ground in Haiti since 1949 and has people, experience and infrastructure to make effective use of resources.  Word is that their headquarters is down and many missing.  At a glance: Haiti
• World Food Programme  is another major food and water donor in disaster and relief areas and they are already on the ground in Haiti providing food and water.  They are working with Wyclef Jean’s organization, Yele Haiti, to provide food, employment, and micro-enterprise grants.  Haitian Relief page.

RELIGIOUS

• American Friends Service Committee (Quaker) has a stellar track record of aid. 
• Catholic Relief Service have already pledged $5 million and have people on the ground there in a country that is 80% Catholic.
• Church World Service is the relief arm of the National Council of Churches. 
• Convoy of Hope, a nonprofit that networks with churches in the community where need exists.  Provides necessities like food and water.  Has Charity Navigator’s highest rating year after year and was already in Haiti when the earthquake struck.
• Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, which has started a Haitian Earthquake Relief Fund. According to the website, 100% of funds collected will go to aid – JUF will absorb all administrative costs.
• Little by Little which has been making trips to Haiti for the past 4 years.  Their mission is to bring experienced nurses and nursing students to haiti to establish free clinics for the Haitian people.  They are currently in Haiti helping as much as they can and could use our support.  You can donate to this organization by clicking here.
• Presbytarian Church (USA)  is already involved in responding to the earthquake. The Action by Churches Together (ACT) secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, is now coordinating a global response involving its member churches to the catastrophe.
• United Methodist Committee on Relief which uses 100% of donations for relief.

Some Advice from AidWatchers

Continue reading →