Earth Hour is a global call to stand up, to show leadership and be responsible for our future.  Join millions of people around the world tonight in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for Earth Hour, an event created by the World Wildlife Fund. 

People everywhere face a simple choice on climate change between action or inaction.  Choose action.  Global warming is real.  It’s consequences are real.   Climate change is the greatest human induced crisis facing our world today.  It affects every living organism on the planet - including all of us.

From 8:30-9:30 tonight turn off your lights and non-essential appliances and electronics to pledge your support for the environment. 

In Los Angeles,  the lights at places like LA Live and the Santa Monica Pier will be extinguished in observation.  Another major landmark that will go dark are the 100-foot -tall-pylons that welcome guests to the entrance of Los Angeles International Airport.  The pylons will be solid green from 7:30-8:30, and then turned off for Earth Hour. 

Why get involved?   Because our future depends on it!   Earth Hour has done alot to raise awareness of sustainability issues.  But there is more to it than switching off lights for one hour once a year.  It’s all about giving people a voice and working together to creating a better future for our planet. 

Let us join together tonight to celebrate this shared quest to protect the planet and ensure human well-being.  Let us use 60 minutes of darkness to help the world see the light.

Earth Hour is calling us to “go beyond the hour” and commit to an on-going act to benefit the environment.  Small acts make a big difference.

Plastics:  Made to last forever, designed to throw away. 

We are living in a throwaway culture. 

Today, we consume billions of bags and bottles per year in the U.S. alone.   Take a look around you–become more aware–most of what we eat, drink, or use in any way comes packaged in petroleum plastic.  Petroleum plastic is a material that is designed to last forever, yet used for products that we then throw away. 

Today, our landfills and beaches are awash in plastic, plastic packaging and expendable products that have no value at the end of their short life cycle.    The short term convenience of using and throwing away plastic product carries a very inconvenient long-term truth.  These plastic water bottles, cups, utensils, electronics, toys, and gadgets we dispose of daily are rarely recycled.  We currently recover only 5% of the plastics we produce.  What happens to the rest of it?  Roughly 50% is buried in landfills, some is made into durable goods, and much of it remains “unaccounted for”, lost in the environment where it ultimately washes out to sea. 

There is no single solution to the plastic waste problem.  Think about excess.  Think about consumerism.  We must make every effort in our daily life to stop using plastic for single-use, throwaway consumer products and packaging.    Throwaway plastics cost municipalities, and taxpayers, millions through waste management, from pulling plastic bags out of the trees, digging them out of sewer pipes, netting them from rivers, sweeping them from streets, hand-removing them from beaches and roadsides, and then burying or burning them in landfills or incinerators. 

Take this challenge:  Walk into your grocery store and try to fill a grocery cart with individual products that are not made from, packaged, or labeled with plastic.  Though some products, like plastic water bottles, have a recovery plan, most do not.  Even fewer are truly recycled.  We must demand zero tolerance for plastic pollution.  Reducing our consumption and production of plastic waste, and choosing cost-effective alternatives will go a long way towards protecting our Earth-and ultimately ourselves. 

GET INFORMED. GET INVOLVED. TAKE ACTION.    Try to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic  in your daily life.  Be aware of the negative impact plastics have on our environment, our waters, and our food chain.  Small acts make a big difference.  You can make a difference.

Santa Monica, California’s city council recently approved a ban on single-use plastic bags.  Under the ordinance, plastic bags will no longer be available at grocery stores, clothing shops or other retailers.  The exception will be restaurants providing food and liquids for takeout.  Vendors at the popular Farmers Market will no longer provide single-use plastic or paper bags.

Heal the Bay said the measure seeks to end the “environmental and fiscal waste” created by the use of about 26 million single-use plastic shopping bags in the city of Santa Monica alone.  California municipalities spend nearly 25 million each year to collect and dispose of plastic bag waste, the group said.

Good habits start young.  Green Girl Tiny Totes are encouraging tomorrow’s little shoppers to SHOP DIFFERENTLY by saying “no thank you” to plastic and paper bags–in adorable, whimsical style.

 http://www.greengirlworld.com/tiny-totes.html

Created by Green Girl, specifically for children aged three to nine, reversible Green Girl eco-totes hold everything a little heart desires–from organic goodies at the local farmers’ market to library books and homework, from sleepover clothes to soccer gear and dance attire.  Tiny Totes handle almost anything a child ever needs for shopping, school or play.  Made of machine washable, 100% cotton, Tiny Totes are small and light enough for growing bodies, yet hold an almost unbelievable amount of goods.

Measuring 13 inches wide by 12 inches long, eco-friendly Tiny Totes feature super comfortable, tapering straps that can be adjusted for maximum versatility and ease of movement.  Double-stitching adds extra-reinforcement so that Green Girls can handle even the most ambitious of shopping trips and other childhood adventures.

Green Girl Tiny Totes are available in durable canvas and super-lightweight, 100% cotton fabrics in a variety of prints.  Girls love the vibrant, eye-catching designs, while parents love that these eco-friendly bags are made right here in the USA.

There are very good reasons why Green Girl is encouraging the next generation of consumers to “shop differently.”  From video stores to book shops, clothing boutiques to grocery stores, the average family uses 1,000 plastic bags a year, according to industry experts.  Most of these end up in landfills, to the tune of 100 BILLION plastic bags a year.  It can take up to 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose, leaving behind microscopic toxins that contaminate the soil.  By saying “no thank you” to paper bags in addition to plastic, shoppers save trees and reduce harmful emissions associated with paper bag production and manufacturing.

Green Girl Tiny Totes represent a welcome alternative to less attractive reusable bag options frequently offered through supermarket chains and major corporations.  For the first time, Green Girl unites environmental practicality with child-centric fashion sense.  As children grow up, Green Girl expect this next generation will help the world move toward a more sustainable future–one reusable bag at a time.  Green Girl Tiny Totes are expected to become everyday shopping essentials for children, instilling positive, earth-forward habits that will last well into adulthood.

Doing your best doesn’t mean comparing yourself to other’s bests.  Doing your best is comparing yourself to yourself.  It’s different for all of us.  Live by the golden rule and do unto others as you’d have done to you.  Give what you think is your best effort, then give just a bit more.  We’ve been given one life.  It will be as meaningful as you make it. 

Keep in mind that your best is never going to be the same from one moment to the next.  Just do your best–in any circumstance in your life.  We are here to live, be happy and love.  Doing your best, you are going to be productive, you are going to be good to yourself, because you are giving yourself to your family, to your community, to everything. 

Doing our best is taking action because you love it, not because you’re expecting a reward.  Most people do exactly the opposite:  They only take action when they expect a reward, and they don’t enjoy the action.  And that’s the reason why they don’t do their best and the reason they are not happy.

I like Earl Nightingale’s definition:  “We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we fully engage in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we’ve established for ourselves.  It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep.  It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile.”

In a nutshell, aromatherapy means a ‘therapy using aromas’.  The aromas come from the plant kingdom-flowers, trees, bushes, and herbs.  The relevant part of the plant (the wood of the sandalwood tree; the petals of the rose; the peel of the lemon; the leaves of the rosemary bushes; berries of the juniper tree, etc) is put through a process of distillation, where the volatile, odiferous substance is captured.  It is this liquid which is known as an essential oil.

Depending on the plant, the essential oil is stored in specialized oil or resin cells,glandular hairs, cells or scales which have single or multi-cell pockets or tiny reservoirs or, in the case of fennel, for example, intercellular spaces.

It takes a great deal of work to produce a tiny amount of essential oil.  Sixty thousand rose blossoms are required to produce one ounce of rose oil, whereas in the lavender plant the essential oil is more abundant and 220 pounds will provide 7 pounds of oil.  In the case of jasmine, the flowers must be picked by hand before the sun becomes hot on the very first day they open, whereas the sandalwood tree must be thirty years old and thirty feet high before it is cut down for distillation.  Between these two extremes, w whole range of growing and picking conditions apply to the plants that will ultimately provide the precious essential oils.  The price of each oil reflects these conditions, and because it takes eight million hand-picked jasmine blossoms to produce 2.2 pounds of oil, you can understand why that is one of the most expensive oils on the market. 

The trade in essentail oils is worldwide, with consignments passing between France, China, Brazil, Bulgaria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, the Untied States, Australia, USSR, Israel, Britain, Thailand, Java, Guatemala, Egypt, Somalia, and Spain, among other places.  The same species of plant grown in different countries under different soil and altitude conditions will produce oils which differe in their chemical makeup and therapeutic properties. 

I happen to love essential oils and one of my favorites is lavendar.   The subject of aromatherapy is so complex, yet at the same time so very simple to put into practice, that anyone can embark on the journey of aromatherapy.  There is plenty of good information of essential oils on the internet, in bookstores and in health food stores to get you started.    There are about 300 essential oils in general use today by professional practitioners, but the average household could fulfill all its likely needs with about ten.  Each oil has its own medicinal and other properties.  If I had to choose the ten most versatile and useful essential oils for the average home medicine cabinet, these would be:  Lavendar, Tea Tree, Peppermint, Chamomile, Eucalyptus,  Geranium, Rosemary, Thyme, Lemon and Clove. 

Essential oils penetrate the body in two ways:  through the nose and the skin.  The olfactory system, the nose-brain association, is the most direct connection we have with the environment.  Think about how sensitive our sense of smell is–approximately 10,000 times more sensitive than any other sensory organ we possess.  The most effective way to use essential oils is not orally, as one might think, but by external application or inhalation (by steam, direct from the bottle or from a tissue).  One of the most satisfactory aspects of using essentail oils medicinally and cosmetically is that they enter and leave the body with great efficiency, leaving no toxins behind. 

I have benefitted from using essential oils and you can too.  My knowledge of aromatherapy continues to be the best investment, in terms of health and beauty, that I have ever made.  I hope you take the time to educate yourself about essential oils and incorporate them into your life.

Is the former Mrs. Paul McCartney, Heather Mills, onto a brilliant concept?  I happen to think so!  For years I have often wondered why someone has not opened a great drive through franchise, similar to McDonald’s concept but with only healthy, tasty, vegetarian food.  Ms. Mills launched her first VBites restaurant in Britain in July, 2009, and although the sole eatery is currently closed for the winter, she has bold plans to expand the business.  “In 10 years there will be more VBites restaurants than McDonald’s,” Ms Mills said.  “It’s the future.”

Among the items found on the eatery’s meatless menu are $8 “Beef style Soya Burgers,”  $12 pizzas made with soy “cheese,” and $11 Greek salads.  Not exactly McDonald’s Extra Value Meal prices.  And with only one partially open restaurant in her portfolio, Ms. Mills has a long way to go before she can even compete with Ronald.

But then, who knows?  Maybe Ms. Mills is on to something.  I happen to think so.  With experts at the Climate Change conference in Cancun warning of impending food shortages and surging food costs, consumers may not have a choice but to pay big bucks for things like soy cheese in a decade or two. 

People are drawn to vegetarianism by all sorts of motives.  Some of us want to live longer, healthier lives or do our part to reduce pollution.  Others have made the switch because they want to preserve Earth’s natural resources or because they’ve always loved animals and are ethically opposed to eating them. 

Why go Veg?

You’ll ward off disease.  Vegetarian diets are more healthful than the average American diet, particularly in preventing, treating, or reversing heart disease and reducing the risk of cancer.  A low-fat vegetarian diet is the single most effective way to stop the progression of coronary artery disease or prevent it entirely. 

You’ll live longer.  If you switch from the standard American diet to a vegetarian diet, you can add about 14 years to your life, says Michael F. Roizen, MD, author of The Realage Diet:  Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat.  “People who consume saturated, four-legged fat have a shorter life span and more disability at the end of their lives.  Animal products clog your arteries, zap your energy and slow down your immune system.  Meat eaters also experience accelerated cognitive and sexual dysfunction at a younger age.”

Want more proof of longevity?  Residents of Okinawa, Japan, have the longest life expectancy of any Japanese and likely the longest life expectancy of anyone in the world, according to a 30-year study of more than 600 Okinawan centenarians.  Their secret:  a low-calorie diet of unrefined complex carbohydrates, fibre-rich fruits and vegetables and soy. 

You’ll avoid toxic chemicals.  The EPA estimates that nearly 95 percent of the pesticide residue in the typical American diet comes from meat, fish and dairy products.  Fish, in particular, contain carcinogens (PCB’S, DDT) and heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium) that can’t be removed through cooking or freezing.  Meat and dairy products can also be laced with steroids and hormones, so be sure to read the labels on the dairy products you purchase.

You’ll save money.  Meat accounts for 10% of Americans’ food spending.  Eating vegetables, grains and fruits in place of the 200 pounds of beef, chicken and fish each nonvegetarian eats annually would cut individual food bills by an average of $4000 per year.

Rather than asking yourself why go vegetarian, the real question is:  Why haven’t you gone vegetarian?

While shopping at my local Whole Foods market recently I  joined a group of people that were gathered around the new juice bar they opened.  I stopped juicing years ago and have wanted to take it up again so I ordered one of the fresh vegetable juices and loved it.

Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of a wide range of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and other nutrients, including phytochemicals–compounds that have been shown to combat cancer.  Since more of the healthful substances found in fruits and vegetables are being discovered all the time, no supplement pill can contain all of these compounds.  Also, because each plant appears to produce particular phytochemicals that work against cancer in particular ways, it is suggested that a rich assortment of fruits and vegetables be included in the diet.  It is also recommended that you consume two glasses of live juices a day for health maintenance.  Four glasses a day is recommended if you want to speed healing and recovery from illness.

Juicing is an excellent means of adding fruits and vegetables to your diet.  Since juice contains the whole fruit or vegetable–except for the fiber, which is the indigestible part of the plant–it contains virtually all of the plants’ health-promoting components.  Because fresh juices are made from raw fruits and vegetables, all of the components remain intact.  Vitamin C and other water-soluble vitamins can be damaged by overprocessing or overcooking.  Enzymes, which are proteins needed for digestion and other important functions, can also be damaged by cooking.  Fresh juice, however, provides all of the plants’ healthful ingredients in a form that is easy to digest and absorb.  In fact, it has been estimated that fruit and vegetable juices can be assimilated in twenty to thirty minutes. 

When juicing it is recommended that it be consumed immediately.  Many commercial juices are heat-treated to lengthen shelf life.  This process can lose some of their nutrients by being allowed to sit for long periods of time.  By buying the best organic produce available, properly preparing it for juicing, and processing it in your own juicer, you will produce the most healthful, nutrient-rich drinks possible. 

Green Juices or “Green Drinks”

Green juices cleanse the body of pollutants and have a rejuvenating effect.  Made from a variety of green vegetables, green juices are rich in chlorophyll, which helps to purify the blood, build red blood cells, detoxify and heal the body, and provide the body with fast energy.  Green juices can be made with alfalfa sprouts, barley grass, cabbage, kale, dandelion greens, spinach, and other green vegetables, including wheat grass.  Wheat grass juice is particularly important in any cancer treatment, especially when radiation therapy is involved.

Fruit Juices

Fruit juices help cleanse the body and nourish it with important nutrients, including cancer-fighting antioxidants.  Although any fruit can be juiced, certain juices are particularly healthful and delicious.  One favorite cleansing juice is watermelon.  To make this refreshing drink, place a whole piece of organic watermelon–with the rind it tact–in the juicer.  Other delicious juices can be made with apples, apricots, bananas, berries,  citrus fruits, kiwi, melons, pears–with just about any fruit that you want to use.  You ca enjoy fruit juices any time of the day.  About 10 to 12 ounces per day is recommended. 

Vegetable Juices

Fresh vegetable juices are restorers and builders.  They boost the immune system, remove acid wastes, and balance the metabolism.  They also aid in the control of obesity by removing excess body fat.  Among the most healthful and delicious of the vegetable juices are beet, cabbage, carrot, celery, cucumber, kale, parsley, turnip, spinach, watercress, and wheat grass juice.  Carrot juice is probably the most popular of the juices and is packed with carotenoids, including beta-carotene, the vitamin A precursor that helps fight cancer.  Because carrots are the sweetest of the vegetables, their juice is not just delicious on its own, but is also great for mixing with other vegetables to increase their appeal.  On the other hand, strong-flavoured vegetables–broccoli, celery, onions, parsley, radishes, rutabaga, and turnips, for instance–should be used in small amounts only. 

Garlic is a great addition to vegetable drinks.  Before juicing, drop the garlic into vinegar for 1 minute to destroy any bacteria and mold on its surface.  To avoid irritating the lining  of the intestinal tract, use only 1 fresh garlic clove in 2 glasses of juice.  For the greatest health benefits, use many different vegetables when making your juices.  That way, you will provide your body with a variety of important nutrients. 

Juicing is an easy way to make delicious drinks that can boost your health and help you treat a number of disorders.  It’s great for the entire family to get into the habit of juicing.  www.living-foods.com/recipes/juicerecipes.html for 20 simple juice recipes.  Enjoy! Be well.

When I shop for groceries I try to buy organic produce as often as possible.  Of course, sometimes the fruit or vegetable I want isn’t available in the organic section (or I have a moment of weakness and the cheaper, conventionally grown product’s price tag wins me over).  I always feel guilty about doing that, but according to the Environmental Working Group, I might not need to, as long as I am smart about my organic and non-organic purchases. 

As it turns out, there are certain fruits and vegetables that carry more pesticides than others–these 12 produce items are being called the dirty dozen.  The list includes strawberries, celery, potatoes, peaches, apples, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, spinach, cherries, Kale/Collard greens, grapes (imported).   When shopping for these we should always choose organic. 

On the other side of the coin, the Environmental Working Group has also come up with a list of “Clean 15″ a list of fruits and vegetables that, regardless of how they are farmed, contain little or no pesticides.  This list includes:  onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapple, mangoes, sweet peas, asparagus, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, cantaloupe, watermelon, grapefruit, sweet potato and honeydew melon.

So, do yourself a favor and check both lists before heading to the grocery store or farmer’s market.  There’s even a handy “Shoppers Guide to Pesticides” iphone app you can download so that you can access the lists whenever you are shopping.  I’m putting it on my phone right now.

Upcycled leather looks chicer than ever with the socially responsible line of  vintage Green Girl handbags and belts.  Made of 100% upcycled reclaimed leather,  Green Girl’s vintage bags and belts  help women worldwide make a truly unique, eco-forward fashion statement.   

One of the greenest ways to consume is to buy vintage.  Buying vintage accessories is an art form.  It is not a matter of simply going to the mall and walking out dressed identically to the mannequin in the window at the big fashion chain stores.  In the words of French couture Coco Chanel “In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”  Vintage guarantees being irreplaceable.  You are recycling and doing a good for the planet.  Vintage is green and fashionable!

Don’t add to the planet, recycle what’s great.  When you buy something that has been lovingly cared for after years of enjoyment, it’s a fabulous  feeling.  Mass consumerism is one of the great issues facing our society.  By reclaiming and reloving a great piece of fashion, you not only look unique, you will have reduced your own carbon footprint by not purchasing a new piece.

I am once again indulging my passion for attention to detail.   Green Girl handbags and belts are  personally selected by myself.   I do the rummaging for you, so you don’t have to.  All the pieces in the Collection are  beautiful.  Each piece has a style and personality all its own–just like the woman who chooses to purchase it.    Green Girl’s upcycled leather handbags and belts are practical, sophisticated, and, above all distinctive.  The bags and belts are easily recognisable by the artfully designed signature studs and stones found on every piece. 

Green Girl’s eco-savvy stylish alternative designer upcycled leather handbags and belts are available in a wide array of stunningly irreplaceable styles and colors and sold in select boutiques around the world and online at www.greengirlworld.com. 

Wear all over town–go anywhere style.  Stand apart from the crowd by sporting a Green Girl reclaimed and reloved vintage handbag and belt.    LOOK GOOD.  FEEL GOOD.  DO GOOD.

I was thrilled to learn that TerraCycle, a New Jersey-based “upcycling” company,  has partnered with Sharpie, Papermate and EXPO to repurpose used pens, markers and other writing instruments.  I’ve always felt guilty throwing away my daughter’s markers in the trash.   Now, I won’t be throwing them away! 

According to TerraCycle, the partnership “will create the world’s first program to collect and reuse pens, markers and other writing instruments while also helping to raise funds for schools, charities and non-profits nationwide.”

Collection centers called “Writing Instrument Brigades” will be set up at participating locales, primarily in large corporations and schools where writing instruments are used most.  For every writing instrument collected at a Writing Instrument Brigade collection center, two cents will be paid to a school, community group, charity or non-profit organization of the participant’s choice.  The collected writing instruments will be dissembled and/or reprocessed to make new products. 

“Keeping one pen or marker out of a landfill may seem like a small contribution, but multiply that by the estimated $5 billion writing instruments sold in the U.S. each year and it is a big opportunity to reduce waste in landfills,” said Ben Gadpois, President of Markers, Highlighters, Art and Office Essentials for Newell Rubbermaid Office Products, maker of Sharpie, EXPO and Papermate products.