Things You Should Do, Or Just Do.....

[Homicidalheathen]

I admit....I got kinda lazy earlier this year. But my daughter brought it to my attention....we need to recycle more. So I am being very careful of it again.

And I am saving my batteries for the drop off.....

Cutting the plastic rings around pop bottles so the wild critters don't get their necks stuck.....

disposing of chemicals properly and being very careful not to let anything go down the drain that isn't organic....

Is there anything you do that you feel is important to help protect mother earth?

I might go on another park clean up too.......some of the local pagans get together and help pick up trash.

And there is a garden group I might join...you get to go to the Detroit Zoo for free and park in the employee lot if you help plant things.

[Zenji]

You should check out the Friends of the Rouge. When I was in the Detroit Chapter of the Camarilla we joined the Friends of the Rouge. They do drain stenciling, riverside clean-up and conservation but my favourite is the Bug Hunts!! At least 3 times a year they have Bug Hunts where they search designated riverways for "bugs". By collecting and identifying the bugs, scientists can determine the cleanliness of the Rouge Watershed.

They have a website www.therouge.org I think. You don't have to join as a member to go to volunteer at events but having a membership gets you the newsletter and some other stuff.

[Homicidalheathen]

Wow, thanks! This sounds exactly like what I am looking for!

You should check out the Friends of the Rouge. When I was in the Detroit Chapter of the Camarilla we joined the Friends of the Rouge. They do drain stenciling, riverside clean-up and conservation but my favourite is the Bug Hunts!! At least 3 times a year they have Bug Hunts where they search designated riverways for "bugs". By collecting and identifying the bugs, scientists can determine the cleanliness of the Rouge Watershed.

They have a website www.therouge.org I think. You don't have to join as a member to go to volunteer at events but having a membership gets you the newsletter and some other stuff.

[Zenji]

They have events at all times of the year, appreciation picnics and such. If you've got kids almost all events are kid-friendly too.

In fact the Winter Stonefly Search is coming up in January. Digging in icy water for Stoneflies is fun!

As a matter of fact, I've got some pics somewhere of previous hunts, maybe I'll post one or two just for fun.

We've also done drain stenciling (where you paint a sign on stormdrains explaining the importance of not dumping pollutants. It's more labour intensive as you have to walk forever and you need a group to do it but they supply all the stuff. In the area we worked in we couldn't use paint, instead used stickers that we glued around. Imagine, a vampire fan club walking around all in black marking storm drains!

[kellygrrrrrl]

I really try to do what I can on a one person level.

I recycle, and am very conscience of it.

I take back bottles

I try to turn off lights when not in use in the house.....

and at work....

My boss is always leaving lights on, and I get on him about it!

I take shredded paper from work home, just to recycle it cause they don't recycle here where I work.

Drive less

Shower less

Do laundry less, and only when needed

I've turned the thermostat down, it's cold, but I can always use blankets, my kitties and Mike!

I try to buy 2nd hand stuff, or previously recycled products

I try not to waste food

donate to charities/foundations

I've bought swiffer, and static brushes and stuff to use instead of the vacuum...and vacuum once a week instead of every other day.

[torn asunder]

I really try to do what I can on a one person level.

I recycle, and am very conscience of it.

I take back bottles

I try to turn off lights when not in use in the house.....

and at work....

My boss is always leaving lights on, and I get on him about it!

I take shredded paper from work home, just to recycle it cause they don't recycle here where I work.

Drive less

Shower less

Do laundry less, and only when needed

I've turned the thermostat down, it's cold, but I can always use blankets, my kitties and Mike!

I try to buy 2nd hand stuff, or previously recycled products

I try not to waste food

donate to charities/foundations

I've bought swiffer, and static brushes and stuff to use instead of the vacuum...and vacuum once a week instead of every other day.

that sounds a lot like me, except for a couple things... i recycle paper products by burning them in my wood stove, as long as they aren't too "glossy" (if that makes sense - plastic lamination, etc, isn't a good thing to burn), and i don't vaccuum but once every week or two, but i think that's just cuz i'm lazy!!

[Homicidalheathen]

Stone flies sounds fun! I love the sun shinning on the ice that time of year early in the morning rising out of the east...

And marking the storm drains sounds cool too, that way us vampires can go find our way down into the drains to our hiding places where we keep our coffins. :devil :arrow :fear :tear

They have events at all times of the year, appreciation picnics and such. If you've got kids almost all events are kid-friendly too.

In fact the Winter Stonefly Search is coming up in January. Digging in icy water for Stoneflies is fun!

As a matter of fact, I've got some pics somewhere of previous hunts, maybe I'll post one or two just for fun.

We've also done drain stenciling (where you paint a sign on stormdrains explaining the importance of not dumping pollutants. It's more labour intensive as you have to walk forever and you need a group to do it but they supply all the stuff. In the area we worked in we couldn't use paint, instead used stickers that we glued around. Imagine, a vampire fan club walking around all in black marking storm drains!

[Homicidalheathen]

At the risk of sounding like a dork....neeto.

I might try to get the family to go......http://www.therouge.org/Programs/PI/07Winter%20Stonefly%20Flyer.pdf

I gotta get me some waterproof boots that are high and warm.

[Hellion]

Save water,Drink BEER!!!

Hey its a start,LOL!! :devil

[torn asunder]

Save water,Drink BEER!!!

Hey its a start,LOL!! :devil

[Zenji]

I don't mow the grass. Is that good or bad?

I don't kill spiders (or other bugs for that matter).

I don't pick flowers.

Do these things have anything to do with the environment?

Coming from California we were always real big on recycling though I didn't do it as much as some folks.

I find it difficult to appreciate any effort Michiganders make to better the environment considering the amount of cigarrettes smoked here. The pollution alone...

One website said around 25% of Michiganders smoke (it's a funny prop smoking website). The CDC lists the top three smoking states as Kentucky 30%, Indiana 27%and I can't remember the other but at 25% Michigan is pretty bad.

The other day folks at work were talking about pollution from traffic and stuff and I'm like, I breathe in more polluting intoxicants while walking through a club or pool hall.

I think a lot of folks get roped into the propaganda influenced "recycle america" campaign where we try to recycle everything but there a good many things that don't get recycled like they should.

You take Michigan, traffic and lots of smoking. You add that with all the clearcutting of trees to build new homes when 1 out of every 5 houses on ANY block in this fucking state is for sale already. So here we are recycling our cans and wood so they can build new houses after they cut down our trees and smoke a few cartons in the process destroying all of our nice yummy air.

For some reason I just want to scream bodily fluids though it has nothing to do with this subject other than being a really funny Dr. Strangelove quip. I guess I'm thinking about it because the general was so fanatic about it and I can sense myself being as fanatic about our trees and smoking and how the combination of the two in addition to the vehicle pollution makes Michigan suck.

[BrassFusion]

Wow, you think Michigan is bad for smoking.

Have you ever been to Windsor?

[Zenji]

At least Windsor is clean.. It appears obvious they have a good handle on recycling (and trash since they dump theirs here in Michigan.)

Ok so now he's my conflict.

Is it better to use paper plates and stuff (to conserve water by not doing dishes) or is it better to conserve water by using paper products. Which is the lesser of the two necessary evils? Either we consume more water, or we produce more trash. This is why I think recycling is all propaganda.

The only true way to conserve our natural resources and not produce so much trash is GENOCIDE. The mass destruction of human life. Duh. A lot less people equals a lot less trash and more natural resources to share!

The only reason anything is so expensive anymore is just because there are too many people that want some of it. Cut down the demand and the supply becomes more readily avilable.

We need to start recycling people back into the earth at a much faster rate that we are now.

[Homicidalheathen]

I read 10% of the worlds methaine gas comes from poo's and farts.

Damn, thats allot of stinky.

[Zenji]

They need to have more poo farms like the one in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.

I think I've seen some stuff about scientists working on making vehicles run on human waste. It's like we just cycle our waste into our own vehicles. Then the "gas" station will be no further than your own potty!!

[BrassFusion]

Is it better to use paper plates and stuff (to conserve water by not doing dishes) or is it better to conserve water by using paper products. Which is the lesser of the two necessary evils?

they're the same, lol...

but I see what you're getting at. Paper plates definitely create more waste. Remember: there will never be more or less water in the world, regardless what Kevin Costner wants you to think. The conservation part comes from electricity and/or fossil fuels used to purify and heat the water for our use. Paper plates and the like use electricity and fossil fuels to produce, and they cost the time it takes to grow trees to replace the ones we consume.

When we use wind, hydroelectric, geothermal and solar power to purify our water and run plate-making factories (it WILL happen!!!), paper will still be the worse ecological bargain.

[Msterbeau]

I was told before I moved that they didn't really recycle stuff here. That made me sad. I've since learned that that's not true. They just don't do the curbside pickup that I was used to. I can get paper bags at Kroger and I can then use them to separate my glass, paper, plastics, etc. I do what I can.

[sass_in_the_pants]

FREECYCLE!!!

I heart freecycle.

Only things that are actuall garbage go to the garbage at my house.

Anything big, I give away on Freecycle. You can donate to Salvation Army, sure, and I do that, with my clothes and knick knack things, and sometimes furniture, but for weird things, I freecyelc, like "Seven balls of bubble gum pink yarn" Some lady picked them up that same day and she was making baby blankets out of them. And broken stuff, holy steel recycling batman, will they ever take broken stuff. You'd be surprised what some people can do with it.

And my mattress and box spring! When my husband moved in, he had a better one, so we were using his. Salvation Army won't touch it and I read on freecycle, some lady was sleeping on the floor of her apartment! The floor! And here I have a mostly still good bed sitting around. So, I gave it to her. I mean, how brilliant is that? I get crap out of my house and people get what they need.