Junk Mail Remover!

June 16, 2008

Luckily, I don’t get a lot of junk snail mail. I’ve moved a lot and don’t sign up for a lot of lists, I don’t make political contributions and I don’t get catalogs. (Junk EMAIL, now that’s a different story.) So for now, my mailbox is pretty empty. And that’s a good thing.

But if I DID get a lot of junk mail, I’d be very interested in ProQuo. This service allwos you to get yourself off of dozens of lists (credit card ,catalog, coupons) with a single click. Or, where getting yourself de-listed is slightly more complicated, ProQuo can walk you through the process.


My mum was right

June 9, 2008

When I was little, no one had air conditioning. And we survived. I can remember my mum telling us to run our wrists under cold cold water to cool ourselves down. Yesterday I told my daughter to do the same. Here are more advice on how to cool yourself without air conditioning - check out the #1 tip! Turns out mum was onto something.

Also useful on hot days and nights like we are having now - How to sleep comfortably on a hot night. I like the idea of a frozen sock filled with rice!


Obama’s environment and energy policy

June 4, 2008

“Well, I don’t believe that climate change is just an issue that’s convenient to bring up during a campaign. I believe it’s one of the greatest moral challenges of our generation. That’s why I’ve fought successfully in the Senate to increase our investment in renewable fuels. That’s why I reached across the aisle to come up with a plan to raise our fuel standards… And I didn’t just give a speech about it in front of some environmental audience in California. I went to Detroit, I stood in front of a group of automakers, and I told them that when I am president, there will be no more excuses — we will help them retool their factories, but they will have to make cars that use less oil.”

Is this change you can believe in?


Father’s Day eco / green books

Father’s Day is approaching. Here is a great guide to 10 of the best eco-books for Dad. Benefit both your dad and the environment.

While we are at it, here are a few more sites with good eco books:

  • Ecolibris
  • Nigel’s Eco Store
  • Eco Book Net
  • Abe Books

  • Greenopia

    It’s travel season, and although the cost of gas is changing the way we travel, many of us still want to get away. Greenopia is a new site that allows visitors to learn about local ‘green’ services and resources. Currently, guides have been developed for Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco. Other city guides are in development. Guides are available in print or online.

    What seems to be different about Greenopia is the way that the site is put together - no one can pay to be included in the guide and no one can advertise in exchange for a listing. So the results should be unbiased and independently researched.

    Nice.


    More eco dog stuff!

    I’ve come across another nice looking website catering to eco-friendly dog stuff:
    Olive Green Dog. I did laugh a bit about the section called ‘Interactive Dog Toys’. What dog toy isn’t ‘interactive’?


    Care 2 find a job with a socially responsible company?

    June 2, 2008

    We all want meaning in our lives. And given that we spend MOST of our lives working, it only makes sense to be a little picky about where we work. The Internet makes this easier - we now have resources available to help us sort our the socially responsible companies from those that are… less so.

    CARE2 makes it easier to find available jobs with companies that are trying to do the right thing. Their job postings pages even sort out which firms are socially responsible and those which are environmentally responsible.

    Nice work. If you can get it.


    It’s Slug Season!

    Gardening time has begun again. And if YOUR tomato plants weren’t killed last week by some late frost (ahem), your next battle will be with garden pests, like aphids and slugs. Green Living Online has an article about safely dealing with these critters.


    Crafty! Plastic fusing project!

    May 27, 2008

    My partner mentioned this idea a few months ago but we have yet to get around to trying it at home. I came across this fusing tutorial today (from last year) and now vow to give it a try at home. Looks fun.


    Composting!

    May 26, 2008

    We live in the country. There are animals in the country - racoons, skunks, porcupines and even the odd bear. I’ve been researching composting and the issues that come with small/large animals and also with extreme climates… it can be VERY cold here in the winter and VERY hot here in the summer. And there is a tonne of snow - last winter we had 13 feet of snow!

    This seems like an interesting tumbling composter (though I am not sure about the ‘batch’ requirement - I’d need two!) These INDOOR models seem pretty cool too (And I LOVE the domain name - peoplepoweredmachines.com!) Videos available at NatureMill. Super cool if they work as well as they are supposed to. I’d love to try one out.

    Any suggestions or recommendations?