• Newspaper: Wrapping gifts in recycled newspaper is probably the most basic thing you can do to stay eco-friendly this year while sending a positive, green message. Feel free to decorate the newspaper with some blackout poetry, colorful drawings, or whatever you feel will make the presentation more creative.
• Eco-Friendly Wrapping Paper: If you’re not a DIY kind of person, you can always support green companies by purchasing pre-made wrapping paper. Smockpaper, for example, is a company that specializes in recycled papers; their wrapping paper is 100 percent recycled, and it’s also double sided! Another vendor is Sophia Victoria Jay, who also sells on 100 percent recycled paper and offers several holiday items aside from wrapping paper such as cards and gift tags.
• Reusable Grocery Bags: Sometimes people just need that extra push to stop using brown paper bags and go the cloth route. Help them get there by giving your gifts in reusable grocery bags. Once they have reusable bags, they’ll have no excuse when going to the grocery store. You can find holiday styles of these reusable bags in many stores.
• Thrift Stores for Ideas: There are plenty of great finds in thrift stores: baskets, bags, and snazzy containers are just a couple of things you’ll be sure to find there.

Now that you have the wrapping sorted, if you’re clueless about what to get as a gift, there are plenty of great ideas to choose from. Everyone loves flowers, and a potted plant would be sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face. Include a couple packets of seeds and that’s icing on the cake!

If the person you are buying for doesn’t have a green thumb, Etsy offers a bunch of cool handmade products, and there are many products on the site that are eco-friendly. If you search, you will be certain to find something perfect there. There’s literally everything you can think of, from watches made of recycled garage door openers to one of a kind necklaces made of bark!

300.org, which demands that atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) be returned ASAP to 300 parts per million (ppm) from the current 394 ppm (increasing at 2.4 ppm per year), also endorses “Moving Planet Day”. According to key sponsor 350.org:

“On September 24, more than 150 countries are expected to take part in a global day events called “Moving Planet” dedicated to the goal of solving the climate crisis by ending the world’s dependence on fossil-fuel energy. From Pacific islands to European capitols, hundreds of thousands will join creative rallies to show that people around the world are ready for clean energy and climate solutions” (see 350.org press release, “Over 150 countries join “Moving Planet Day” to push for clean energy solutions”.

A great bit of news for this 24 September “Moving Planet Day” of climate change action backed by 350.org, 300.org and others around the World: Germany’s upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, has rejected a proposal to start storing the greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon dioxide (CO2) underground in a bid to reduce emissions (see “Germany rejects carbon dioxide storage plans”, The Local, 23 September 2011.

A great decision by Germany to prohibit as yet commercially unproven Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). The solution to greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution is to stop GENERATING GHGs, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and man-made GHGs such as hydrofluoro hydrocarbons (HFCs), nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). This can be achieved by 100% renewable energy ASAP coupled with re-afforestation and biochar production coupled with cessation of population increase, fossil fuel burning, deforestation and methanogenic livestock production (for an up to date, well referenced climate change course summary Google “climate change course summary“).

The need for REAL action on GHG pollution is acute, In 2009 the German Advisory Council on Climate Change (WBGU; Wissenshaftlicher Beirat der Bundesregierung Globale Umweltveränderungen) determined that for a 75% chance of avoiding a 2 degree C temperature rise (EU policy), the World must pollute less than a 600 Gt CO2 “global GHG pollution budget” between 2010 and essentially zero emissions in 2050. Analysis of this country by country reveals that at current rates of GHG pollution Germany has merely 5.9 years to cease all GHG pollution (i.e. no industry, transport, livestock etc) whereas climate criminal Apartheid Australia, a world leader in annual per capita GHG pollution and fossil fuel exports has already used up its “fair share” of this terminal GHG pollution budget and is now stealing the entitlement of all other countries (e.g. Somalia and Bangladesh) (for details “Shocking analysis by country“).

The World is running out of time to tackle man-made climate change and dishonest, ineffective approaches such as the CCS, ETS and “coal to gas transition” (gas is dirty and can be dirtier than coal GHG-wise) will simply delay requisite climate change action. Supported by 350.org (back to 350 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere ASAP) and 300.org (back to 300 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere ASAP), on September 24, more than 150 countries are expected to take part in a global day events called “Moving Planet” dedicated to the goal of solving the climate crisis by ending the world’s dependence on fossil-fuel energy.

Both Dr James Lovelock FRS (Gaia hypothesis) and Professor Kevin Anderson (Director, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester, UK) have recently estimated that only about 0.5 billion people will survive this century due to unaddressed, man-made global warming. Noting that the world population is expected to reach 9.5 billion by 2050 (UN Population Division) , these estimates translate to a climate genocide involving deaths of 10 billion people this century, this including roughly twice the present population of particular mainly non-European groups, specifically 6 billion under-5 year old infants, 3 billion Muslims in a terminal Muslim Holocaust, 2 billion Indians, 1.3 billion non-Arab Africans, 0.5 billion Bengalis, 0.3 billion Pakistanis and 0.3 billion Bangladeshis (see “Climate genocide”).

What can decent people do? Decent folk who care for their children, their grandchildren and intergenerational equity must (a) inform everyone they can about the worsening climate emergency and (b) urge and apply sanctions against all those people, politicians, corporations and countries complicit in the worsening climate emergency.

We mostly live in the prevalent pseudo-democratic Murdochracies (Big Money buys truth and votes) and Lobbyocracies (Big Money buys politicians and policy). However decent folk can be empowered by a simple ABC protocol that has been highly successful in all kinds of other movements and which people can apply individually and collectively to tackling climate change:

(A) Accountability – hold corporations, countries, products, politicians and polluters accountable for increasing greenhouse gas pollution;

(B) Badge – wear a pro-Planet badge e.g. bear witness with a “300 ppm CO2” badge to the need to reduce atmospheric CO2 to the level it had not exceeded in the 800,000 years prior to the Industrial Revolution; and

(C) Credo – transmit a simple, fundamental core statement e.g. “Return atmospheric CO2 to 300 ppm for a safe planet for all peoples and all species”.

You can watch the live stream below:

24 Presenters. 24 Time Zones. 13 Languages. 1 Message. 24 Hours of Reality is a worldwide event to broadcast the reality of the climate crisis. It will consist of a new multimedia presentation created by Al Gore and delivered once per hour for 24 hours, representing every time zone around the globe. Each hour people living with the reality of climate change will connect the dots between recent extreme weather events — including floods, droughts and storms — and the manmade pollution that is changing our climate. We will offer a round-the-clock, round-the-globe snapshot of the climate crisis in real time. The deniers may have millions of dollars to spend, but we have a powerful advantage. We have reality.

A common problem that I run into is that people think that it costs a lot of money to go green. In some cases this may be true, but there are a lot of small things we all can do to save a little energy. I’ve put together a list of things that cost under $30 that will save you energy.

1. Programmable Thermostat: Using a programmable thermostat can save you hundreds of dollars over the course of a year. The basic idea is to not heat or cool your home when you are not there. These can easily be purchased at your local hardware store and are fairly simple to install.

2. Caulk: It’s amazing what a $4 tube of caulk can do! Fill in all those leaky cracks around windows, doors and foundations and you can really cut down on your energy usage.

3. Furnace Filter: If your home is heated using a forced air furnace, than you need to replace your furnace filter on a regular basis. When they become clogged up this will cause your furnace to work harder, which uses more energy. Also choose your filter carefully, as a thicker filter may make your furnace work harder!

4. Power Strips: A lot of electronics such as DVD players and coffee makers are always using power when they are plugged in. By plugging your appliances into power strips you will easily be able to cut the power to these devices when they are not in use.

5. Window film: There are huge varieties of window filmthat you can use on your house hold windows. Some of these reflect sunlight keeping your home cooler. There is also the added bonus fewer UV rays fading your furniture!

6. Light Sensors: This one may seem a little unusual for home use, but think how many times we leave rooms with the lights on and get sidetracked. By having sensors installed the lights would simply turn off after no movement is detected for a certain period of time.

7. Timers: If you can plug it in, you can run it off a timer. Things like exterior lights and water heaters are great things to have on timers. Why keep lights running when they are not needed and why heat water when you are not home to use it.

8. Low Flow Shower Heads: Low flow shower heads are designed to give you a great shower, but use less water in the process. This saves on water heating costs and pump costs.

9. Draft Stop: These are more helpful in colder climates, but a draft stop along the bottom of exterior doors can keep a lot of cold air out of your home. This can help reduce heating costs and also keep your feet warmer!

10. Blinds and Drapes: Blinds and Drapes are a great way to keep the hot sun and UV rays out in the summer and keep the warm air in during the winter. There are thousands of different designs, but to save some money, you can always make your own!

11. LED Christmas Lights: LED Christmas Lights not only use 80-90% less energy than standard lights, but they also last a lot longer. This keeps our electricity bills down and our landfills a little less crowded.

12.Wall Plate Insulators: All of the wall sockets and light switches in your home that are on outside walls can let cold air inside. By using insulators behind the plates, you will keep a little warmer this winter!

13.Blankets and Sweaters: You can keep the thermostat set a little lower in the winter by wearing sweaters and covering up with blankets. There really is no need to have your home temperature set high enough to be able to walk around in shorts and a t-shirt!

14.Insulating Pipes: By insulating your hot water pipes you can save water heating costs. You can also save yourself from burning yourself on hot pipes! Pipe insulation is easy enough to install that any home owner should be able to do it!

15. CFL light bulbs: While I am not a fan of CFL light bulbs because of the Mercury content, frailness, and short life span, they do save electricity. They are a far better choice than the old incandescent bulbs we have been using for 100 years.

“We’re mobilising 3 million people to join our fight for the climate, to force governments to act against runaway climate change. Help us reach our goal! Become a climate activist by signing up for free so we can send you action alerts and, about once a month in most countries, our newsletter.”

Watch the video on YouTube and become a climate activist!

And when you are at it why not plant a tree, or more, in honor of Earth Day? Or you could just join our environment forum and help us plant trees.

Photo credit: ccarlstead

It wasn’t that long ago that I was a student, and I was using green ideas as a simple way of saving money. As a student, money is really tight, so you need to be economical in order to survive with the smallest amount of debt. So here are my top ideas that I used when I was at University.

Make your own meals in bulk
If you can learn how to cook easy meals such as Spaghetti Bolognese, Chill Con Carne, Chicken Curry, Beef Stew, you can make them in bulk and freeze the leftovers. I found that I could make at least 4 portions per meal, sometimes as many as 8. These meals typically scale very well. So when you make the meal, you get a fresh meal that evening and freeze the rest. When you’re feeling lazy, you just need to re-heat one of your frozen left-over meals. You just need to cook the pasta or rice to go with the meal!

You save money by buying the ingredients in bulk as well as saving packaging that you would otherwise get from microwave meals. I still use this tip to this day, giving myself a nice cooked lunch for work.

Don’t buy textbooks
Textbooks are very expensive in the UK, costing around £20 to £50 each ($40 to $100!). Therefore you can save a fortune by buying books with friends or borrowing books from your library. If you go to a library, remember to get there fast, before the other students borrow the books first!

Don’t have a car
Cars are costly things anyway, with fuel, tax, insurance and maintenance costs, they can be very pricey. Get used to using buses, trains, bicycles and walking. You’ll get to know the area better as well as saving money and the environment. Some of the best conversations I’ve ever had have been with people I’ve met on the bus or train!

Switch stuff off and use energy saving lightbulbs
Bills can be quite frightening when in a student house. Living with 5 other people, I found that electricity bills were sky high. Thankfully I managed to convince them to switch stuff off where possible and they were happy to use energy saving light bulbs.

“Europe, it’s time to lead” and “keep global warming below 2°C”.

That is what a new campaign from Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF and the Climate Action Network Europe is demanding. And they want you to help put pressure on your MEPs to take action now, before it’s too late.

Who will answer the call in Europe?

Here are 14 applications and groups for Facebook, a social networking website, which will easily help you to save our environment and climate. If you know about any others please let us know by making a comment.

Plant trees:
1. iChapters will plant one tree for every person that joins their Facebook page. Their goal is to plant 100,000 trees.
2. For every ten people who joins TreeNation’s group they’ll plant one tree.
3. Hotspex will plant one tree with your proverbial ‘name’ on it if you join their group.
4. If you add this application to your Facebook account Outreach International will plant one tree.
5. Earthkeepers Facebook application allows you to plant virtual trees and share seeds with your friends. Each tree grown to adulthood will be planted in the real world to fight deforestation, desertification, and drought.
6. For every 50 people who joins EcoTopia’s group they will plant one tree.
7. You can plant a sponsored tree for free, or buy a tree for $1, if you add PlantYourTree.com’s application to your Facebook account. Plant-trees.org’s application is similar and allows you to buy a tree for $1.

Reduce your carbon footprint:

8. With this application from Big Green Switch you can put yours and your Facebook friends’ eco-credentials to the test by issuing and completing challenges to reduce your carbon footprints.
9. The Climate Pledge application allows you to “pledge” any number of actions to reduce your contribution to global warming. Then you can invite your friends to do the same, and watch as your total reductions (your pledges, plus all of your recruits) add up.
10. With the MakeMeSustainable Facebook application you can see your impact on a larger scale by tracking both the actions you take to reduce your carbon footprint and your ability to mobilize your community and friends.

Other:

11. Help re-green Greensburg! This Facebook application will donate $1 towards replanting the trees in Greensburg if you add it to your account.
12. The We Campaign application lets you earn points from actions you take. For every 10 points you earn a donor will give $1 to help halt global warming.
13. For every 25 people that join this group £1 will be donated to help solve climate change through C&C.
14. Yatrips application makes it easy for you to share rides to the places you want and need to go with your friends and to make new friends, while directly helping to reduce climate change.

They say it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, and this is never so true as in the case of adults who find it hard to change habits and characteristics that have been formed over a lifetime. And this is why it’s imperative that we teach our children the importance of good habits right from childhood, when they’re at a more malleable age and tend to listen to adults. Saving the environment may not be child’s play, but it is a child’s place to get involved in the process.

There’s a pressing need today to increase awareness of the crisis called global warming that’s looming large and threatening the very existence of the earth. And there’s no better time than now to educate our kids on the harm we human beings are causing the environment with our indiscriminate and irresponsible use of energy and other resources. If your children understand today how important it is that we save the environment from ourselves, they will have learnt a valuable lesson for life. If not, there’s a serious chance that they may not have a world to leave behind for their children and future generations to come. Here’s how kids can contribute to saving the environment:

• Turn out the lights and other electrical appliances when they’re not in use. Energy not used is energy saved.
• Pick up litter and recycle stuff like paper and metal cans, bottles and cardboard. Recycling helps save on the amount of trash we send to landfills and also conserves natural resources like aluminum and trees.
• Use water sparingly and close the taps tightly so that there are no leaks.
• Ride a bike, take a bus, carpool or walk to school rather than get mom to drive them over.
• Plant trees with their parents or as an initiative at school. Trees are good for the environment because they create oxygen, prevent erosion of the soil, create homes for wildlife, save on air conditioning and heating costs depending on the season, and regulate climate change.
• Take part in neighborhood and school green programs.
• Get parents to buy and eat only organic food.
• Take a quick shower to conserve water.
• Use notebooks without wasting paper.
• Take a lunch box to school rather than a paper bag.
• Use green pencils that are made of wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
• Go on green vacations to places near you.
• Eat food that is produced locally.
• Send emails rather than letters and cards that use up paper and fuel to get to their destination.
• Buy gadgets that are energy efficient and come with the Energy Star rating.
• Buy recyclable products that have the three-arrow-circle recyclable mark.

Getting kids involved in doing their bit towards the environment will go a long way in changing the way they live and in the choices they make.

This post was contributed by Heather Johnson, who writes on the subject of green shopping. She invites your feedback at heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

Image above is based on a photo by a4gpa.

Totally anal, you know?

But I have grown a lot as a gardener and now I can even say that my laziness is totally good for the planet and its inhabitants.

Right now if you walked behind my house, you might notice that the persons who tend this yard aren’t anal … at all.

When I sit and have a glass of wine with friends in the evening, I have to resist getting up and chopping things down. Though, as time goes by, my resistance takes a whole lot less effort.

I stare at the dead and dying cornflowers and think how I could neaten those up at the very least. But then the next day, as my partner exits the house to pick the rabbit her fresh organic daily salad, I hear my partner yelp with glee, and she runs in to tell me that at least ten goldfinches rose up out of the cornflowers when she opened the door.

You see, those beautiful goldfinches are seed eaters and all those dead heads are like a gourmet buffet to their little beaks. Who could possibly take those down? The goldfinches would then just move on to some other lucky person’s yard!

The same is true of the asparagus that are now going to seed, standing tall like some bizarre fern forest near our lily beds. I love watching the various finches and sparrows try to teeter on the “branches” and eat the little seed pods that dangle below.

And we have stopped eating the very tiniest of the strawberries that are now coming in. For this fact, the wren and the rabbits are grateful — I’m sure of it.

We also let our grass grow a little longer than most of the neighbors. Not too long; I’m not talking code violation here.

But long enough, that a bit of drought doesn’t leave us brown and crunchy in one day like it does everyone else. Long enough, that the dandelions can grow for our rabbit, who thinks of them as seasonal candy. Long enough, that the thyme we planted throughout the lawn can spread and release its scent as you walk barefoot through it. Long enough, that it’s interesting to the ground foraging, bug eating flickers that have the most intensely yellow under-wings you have ever seen.

Now that I don’t try to make our yard look like something out of a magazine, it looks even more like something out of a magazine than ever. It is lusty, as a garden should be, and it’s a little wild, as the animals and birds crave it to be.

I am proud of this little piece of wildness that we have cultivated in this small city, and as we plant another tree this year and start putting in a small pond, I am already dreaming of all the new friends we will make.

Christine C. Reed lives on a Great Lake in a small city. She and her partner have been car free for just over seven years and don’t see an end to this one year experiment. She spends most of her time dreaming up even bigger garden plans and writing from a dormered window in their brick cape cod. She is also the author of www.blisschick.net