Chips

Hi Everybody, it's Ben,

I've been thinking about chips,like the kind you can eat. The chip companies use so much bagging material. When I get a large bag and I open it, half of the bag is empty. They just waste so much material. So, either the companies should keep the same amount of chips and make smaller bags or they should fill the bags up all the way. My solution is that stores make reusable bags, take out all the chip bags and get rid if them,then the stores get chips and put them in dispensers that you can fill your reusable bags with.

Fake or Real?

Hi Guys!
It's Hannah.
So, it's Christmas time! And, of course, that means mangers, decorations, candle-light services, presents, and the infamous Christmas tree. Every year, around this time, my family goes to Baker's Christmas Tree Farm, and scouts around until we find the best tree there. I know lots of people who have real trees, and I know tons who have "artificial" (fake) trees. Now, which one is better for the planet? Just since my birth, my family has annually helped slaughter 14 trees for Christmas. Talk about bad. But, the trees we buy are planted specifically for use as Christmas trees, so when they're chopped down, it technically isn't taking away from the ever shrinking tree population. Artificial trees are made out of all kinds synthetic plastics and bad-for-the-planet junk. But, if you only buy one your entire life (in theory), that would be so much better for the planet! I've decided that artificial trees are better for the earth, but it was a close call. It's CHRISTMAS! A good smelling, fresh Christmas Tree is just too much to give up!
                                                                                                
                                                                                                

Hi everybody, it's Ben.
While me and my daddy were starting a fire we asked each other a question, is it better to have a fire in your fire place or use the heater. we asked each other that because most people use newspaper to start fires. The newspapers have ink in them so when you burn them that ink harms the air. Using the heater uses electricity tho, so they both harm the earth. I'm leaving the answer to you, which one harms the earth more. I think that burning the newspaper harms the earth less, because to recycle the newspaper the garbage truck has to drive here to get it, then gas is used to power the motor to do the recycling process.

Brainwashed

I think I've been brainwashed.
Last week, my brother had a hockey tournament in San Jose. So, that meant my mom didn't cook for a whole weak. We ate at the hotel and at restaurants. Usually this wouldn't have been a big deal at all, but  last week I really had a hard time with, well, food. First of all, every time I had a meal, I felt guilty that at home a perfectly untouched, healthy,  good-for-the-planet share box from Farmer Jim's was just sitting there waiting to be thrown away. Secondly, I had difficulty not knowing where my food had come from and how the animals that I ate were treated.

Also, I'm having trouble with the microwave.
About a month ago ours broke, and in between it breaking and us buying a new one, we realized that it's better for our family not to have one. Everything a microwave does, can be done by an oven or stovetop in just a little longer time. Furthermore, microwavable foods have tons of preservatives that don't need to be there. So as we were sitting in the hotel room in San Jose, I was starring at the tray in the microwave rotate and heat up the Campbell's Soup that would be my lunch, I realized- I've been brainwashed. Our family has done so much researching, field trips, vegetable planting, and eco-talks at the dinner table that I have  become super aware of what is good for me and our planet.

Mackinac island.

Hi everybody,it's Ben. Mackinac island is in the state of Michigan. Cars aren't aloud on Mackinac island because it will disturb the peace there. All you hear there for transportation is bikes and horses hooves. That island is only about 9 miles around. Using no cars must be really earth-friendly. Wouldn't it be fantastic if everywhere was like that.

Unplugged

Hi guys! It's Hannah
Did you know that electronics emit a gas thats harmful to the environment when they are plugged in? Even when the item is turned off, or not in use, if it's plugged in, its harmful to the planet. For instance, our toaster is plugged in, emitting toxins as I type, yet I'm not using the toaster, my brother isn't using the toaster, and no one else in the house is either. So, try only plugging in a lamp when you need to use it,adn don't have your laptop plugged in all day, when you know it only takes about an hour for it to get a full charge. It's the little things that can help in a big way!

Strauss family creamery

Hi everybody, it's Ben.

There's this small family-owned organic dairy farm that my family and I get our milk and yogurt from. They don't use plastic or cardboard cartons, they use glass bottles. You buy the gallons for four dollars and if you return them you get a dollar back. They reuse the bottle about eight times. Strauss makes enough electricity to run the whole farm by using methane from the cows manure, which a dairy cow makes 144 pounds a day of manure. I think it's insane that all farms don't do that.

Bill Gates is Saving the World?

Hi Guys! It's Hannah here.
My mom recently showed me an article from Rolling Stone Magazine called The Miracle Seeker. It's really great that the Rolling Stone is encouraging environmental consciousness. Apparently, Bill Gates is at it again. He is an amazing humanitarian who's charity has pretty much donated or invested in every charitable cause imaginable. Now, he is joining in the fight against global warming. In his opinion, "energy consumption is good- it just needs to be clean energy". Although he has invested huge amounts of money in high-capacity batteries and machines that scrub carbon dioxide out of the air, his main focus is inspiring people to do simple things that are better for the environment. He has challenged America to "raise the standard of living in the developing world without wrecking the climate". By simply buying hybrids instead of gas-guzzling Hummers or SUVs, we can all help save the planet. :-)

YES. And. NO. Foods.

Hi everybody, it's Ben,

I learned about food and where it came from by Birke Baehr an 11 year-old boy on youtube.When he was young he wanted to be an NFL player, then he decided he wanted to be an organic farmer. He told me that almost all farms use pesticides and herbicides to keep the bugs off, but when it rains, those chemicals seep into the ground and into our underground water supply. Farmers also use chemicals and properties of other plants and animals so they grow bigger and last longer. Yeah, you heard me, they splice plants and animals together to make them better. But when lab animals ate this modified food, they got cancer and some kind of liver disease. The farmers still sold the tainted food. Birke said that some people asked him, "Isn't organic food more expensive?" He said "Yes, but would you rather spend a little more money or pay the hospital because of bad food?" So eat right, buy organic food, and stay healthy.

Hey Everyone! It's Hannah here. :-)

     Why is green the color that symbolizes recycling, reusing, and doing really anything good for the earth?  Think about it for a second. Trees are green, grass is green, and most other plants are green, but besides that, it doesn't really make sense to me why the color that symbolizes "good for the planet" is green. I was really confused, I mean, lots of other colors have stuff that is good for the planet too, you know. But then I understood. Green symbolizes anything that is good for the planet, because it represents land, or earth, on most most maps. To be good to the planet, we should only use things that from from land, or the earth. I think our society is taking so much from Earth, and not giving her anything back in return. It's time to realize that Earth is a living thing, that can get hurt. Oil is like the earth's blood, and we are taking so much of it, that now she's unhealthy.

Green also represents something that everyone LOVES. Money, cash, currency, funds, riches, capital, however you like to say it, is something that immediately comes to mind when I think of green.
When people are trying to save money, it's easier to buy cheap things that are bad for the earth. It's true, buying things that aren't very good for the planet are a little cheaper than items that aren't made with harmful chemicals, unnatural ingredients, and bad working conditions. But, it pays off in the long run to buy responsibly.

  

Hi! It's Hannah
Have you ever wondered what goes on deep beneath the surface of the ocean? The ocean is the least explored frontier on the planet. Because it's so huge, it will be almost impossible to ever know exactly what is going on under the sea. One of the things we do know, is that human trash is one of the greatest killers of sea creatures. Plastic grocery bags, which, to sea turtles, look like it's favorite snack, a jellyfish, usually choke the turtles, weakening the already endangered species. When you go to a beach, make sure to pick up after yourself. Any trash you leave behind, could be responsible for injuring or even killing an animal. If you feel like being super helpful to the planet when you are at the beach, clean up a few pieces of other people's trash. Working together, we can help ourselves and the animals that are being most effected by our trash. Help keep our oceans beautiful!!

Water Bottles Save the World!

So, I'm not really a fan of water.  I don't like the taste of it.  However, it is essential for our bodies, I know I know I know....So, if I HAVE to drink water, which I guess I do, I make sure our family tries to use cups or glasses that we already have in our cupboard and can rewash over and over instead of buying plastic bottles of water.   I know everyone has seen the commercial about all the water bottles that our society uses going around the planet a bunch of times if they were lined up end to end.  This is a problem!  However, Foss Manufacturing is doing something about it!

They have produced a show called Trash Inc., The Secret Life of Garbage.  It was on TV last night and I learned so much!  This company takes water bottles, cuts them into flakes the size of a dime, and turns them into polyester threads!  They are making polyester materials out of water bottles!  They said last night on the show that they turn about 20,000 water bottles into 500 polyester t-shirts!  It's not the only thing they manufacture either!  Watch the video on their website to learn more!

Unfortunately, there are some numbers that made my stomach hurt.  Of the 51 BILLION!!!! water bottles thrown out, only 22% are recycled.  It gets worse...70% of those water bottles recycled are NOT from the United States.  They are from Canada, Mexico, Argentina, etc.  WHAT!!!????? 

THIS IS AN EASY ONE TO FIX!  Either we should not use plastic water bottles at all, or if we must, then we need to put them in the blue recycle bin instead of the gray trash bin.  Oh, and buy a t-shirt made from water bottles!  Do you think you stay cooler in one of those water shirts??

Red Worm Composting Begins Today!

At the farm.

Hi everybody,it's Ben. A few days ago my mom, my sister, and I went to Farmer Jim's farm and got a grand tour of the ten acres in back were he grows his organic food that he sells to people. There is everything from lettuce to okra, if you looked closely there were about 7 small compost piles. Farmer Jim uses no pesticides to his crops. When he has to get rid of vermin he kills them then buries them back in their home. He does that because it returns the carbon to the earth. He doesn't use pesticides because it puts poison in the food chain. When we are done with our compos,t we give it to Farmer Jim to give back to him because he gives to us.

 This is a photo of a gopher tunnel where Farmer Jim put a trap.  You can see the kale missing from above the tunnel where the gopher grabbed it from below.

Hot and Cold

What temperature do your like your house at? I know some people who treat there house like a fridge in the summer, and a sauna in the winter. That's ok! You shouldn't have to be uncomfortable to help the planet. Just lower the temperature by two degrees when the heaters is on, and raise the temperature by two degrees when your using the AC. Odds are, you won't even notice the difference. We like to keep our house a about 78 degrees in the winter and 72 degrees during summertime. So, from now on we are going to keep our house at 76 degrees this winter,  and 74 degrees when summer gets here. There are lots of other ways to get cool or warm besides using the heater/air conditioning, too. Cuddle up by the fire all winter, wear an extra warm sweater, or bake to help stay warm. When it's super hot inside and outside, have a water ballon fight, run through the sprinklers, and drink some ice cold water. If everyone raises and lowers their thermostats by just two little degrees, we can make a HUGE  difference for our planet!

TRASH TALKING

Hey, it's Jenn.  Anyone who knows me would never expect to hear what I'm about to say...I dug through the trash two days ago.  Yes, it was disgusting.  Yes, I saw a mouse and screamed.  But yes, I would do it again if I had to.
Here's the scenario:  the garbage can in the kitchen was full.  I pulled out the bulging white sack of trash and hauled it out to the three cans outside.  Oh, make that four cans.  There it was, sitting on it's freshly built stand---the compost bin. It seemed to be saying "I'm so hungry, feed me!"  I shook my head to clear out the hallucination and  started to lift the lid of the gray bin (the garbage one) and felt--icky.  And it wasn't because of the smell.  It was because I just knew that some of the stuff that I was going to throw into the garbage bin should be going into one of the other three bins for recycle or regeneration.
So, I plugged my nose (not really because I'd touched the gross garbage can and didn't want to put maggot eggs in my nose in case they were on my hands now) and dove in.  Well, I didn't dive in.  I used my two pinchy fingers and pulled out the pieces of garbage one at a time.
But, the amazing news is that after going through the whole big sack of trash that was almost on its way to the dump, where it would sit and emit toxic gases for the next hundred years, all but about two cups of yuck went into the other cans.  A whole sack of trash, and there were only two cups left?  And that's after we'd so diligently used our indoor recycle bin!  What???!!
I found sunflower stems that could go in the compost bin, fruits and veggies that went into the compost bin, plastic food containers with food in them that should have been rinsed out and put in the recycle, and on and on.
And now, after two days of living, here is a photo of how much garbage we have accumulated:

What normally would have been three trips to the gray garbage bin with full bags of trash, is now a half full plastic grocery bag.  The other two cans in the photo are the recycle and the compost.
It's been difficult figuring out what goes where, and we've had family discussions at the dinner table so that we are all figuring out how to make the right decisions.  We had a great conversation about whether leftover food on our plates should go down the disposal into our water system and cleaned through that process so it doesn't sit in the landfill at all, or into the landfill where the recology people could change the methane into electricity.  What do you think? 

Farm Fresh

Hi Everyone! It's Hannah
Eating local. It's a concept that sadly, with the passing of time, has gone out of style. My family is rediscovering exactly what is means to eat fresh, organic, and delicious foods that are grown only a few miles away. Not only is it healthier for you, but buying local boosts the community's economy. Participating in a farm share such as CSA provides you with most of your fruits, veggies, bread, and eggs for the week. Also, buying organics at the grocery store is more expensive than investing in a farm share because the food often has to be shipped from outside one-hundred and fifity miles of our home. So, explore farms that are close to home, and spend just a little extra cash on healthier food that will benefit you in the long run. :-)

TO WASH OR BE WASHED?

Hi everybody, it's Ben. What would you rather do? Most people would just eat their dinner, get their dishes,  put them in the dishwasher, and turn it on.  But, dishwashers use really harsh chemicals and a lot of electricity that harms the earth. So, would you rather harm the planet you live on, or do the dishes manually with nontoxic dish soap and turn the water off when you don't need it?