March, 2009 Archive

Carnival of the Green #173

March 30th, 2009 by ecojoe in eco footprint, eco hero, energy conservation, event, green living, organic, save money, solar power


Welcome to the Carnival

Bienvenidos al Carnival o’ the Green!. Last week Evangelical Ecologist did a fine job hosting it, and next week GreenDealsDaily is ‘posed to host it.

But enough idle chit-chat; let’s get this show on the road.

Organic Mess

Have you ever wanted to compost, but it just seemed too dang complicated? Then you’re in luck, for Talia has provided some tips on simple composting.

Neighbor Nancy shows y’all how to get some free vegetable seeds and how you can grow a ton in small containers. I’m about to go plant even more plants in old containers now.

Julie has ten reasons why organic lipstick is the way to go, to get that special bee-stung look that’s all the rage.

Jennifer took composting to the extreme and even composted her finger! What a true eco hero!

Ed Biado spouts off about organic this and that. While I approve of most organics, I don’t think they’re always the best option.

Go Green and Save Green

Ah, helping the environment whilst helping your wallet. That’s what EcoJoes is all about.

ishan is all about that, too. He dared to ask the question “Do hybrid cars really save you money?“. His conclusion is much the same as mine.

JT has some leftover stuff, but doesn’t want to throw it away. Here’s how he makes money by selling used mess.

Energy

FreeOrganicNews ponders what exactly is solar energy? His findings may shock you; then again, they may not.

Big Mack has found some zany CFL designs, and he brought them for show-and-tell.

Nancy Miller has found 50 blogs that have good info on energy. Not to be one to judge, but her site is kinda weird and spammy.

Getting out and Enjoying the World

TravelCat4 has some handy eco-tips for how to travel in an Earth-friendly manner. My favorite tip was the ‘grow a beard’ one; zero effort required, plus you get that rugged look that draws all the ladies in!

The Barefoot Badger proclaims, “Ain’t nothing like the real thing baby“, and I wholeheartedly agree. All our new-fangled technology is no substitute for the real world and real life. Get out and enjoy the real world now, people!

Global Warming

Not content with one submission to the Carnival, Mack also wrote this Debbie Downer article about global warming. Heed his warnings, people.

Sally decides to go all the way to the top, and ask Mr. Barack Obama to help prevent future extinctions.

Other Green Mess

Another post by Ed Biado gives some tips for living a greener life.

The aptly-named Mesquite Pete is all about some DEET. He has had enough mosquito bites, and decided it’s time to fight back.

Earth Day is right around the corner (April 22). Astrid Lee has provided this handy chart of ways to celebrate this planet we live on.

Beth Terry contemplates the pros and cons of recycling plastic into oil. I think it’s great that they’ve found a way to do this, but I do understand Ms. Beth’s concerns.

Ryan and Leslie help us visualize the huge number of plastic bottles used in the U.S. in just five minutes.

Alex has some easy ways to save car fuel, and it looks like he’s from England, talking about “tyres” and “boots”.

Scott is eager to let you know that this recession is a great time to start a green business.

Dang, that about wraps it up for this Carnival. Thanks for all the submissions; hopefully I didn’t forget anyone or mess up a link. Until next time, this is EcoJoe, signing off.

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Free Tomato Seeds from Campbells

March 29th, 2009 by ecojoe in food, free, plants


Free mater seeds!!
Here’s a quick way to get free tomato seeds from Campbell’s soup.

Grab a can of condensed soup from Campbell’s, and head over to this site.

Enter in the code it asks for, fill in your address, and voila, your free tomato seeds are on their way!

ALSO, while you’re there, click on the GROW button to donate.

That’s it for today; check back tomorrow for the Carnival of the Green, hosted by yours truly.

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Earth Hour is Back With a Vengeance

March 28th, 2009 by ecojoe in energy conservation, event


I shall make this short but oh so sweet. Today, dozens (if not hundreds!!) of people will be celebrating Earth Hour the way it has been celebrated since way back three years ago. If you want to join them, here’s how…

From 8:30PM to 9:30PM, local time, turn off all your lights and appliances (unless you work in a hospital or something). Apparently, this is how you “Vote Earth” (I’m not quite sure who Earth is running against). Also, feel free to sign up for this event at this site.

Will turning off your lights for one hour make a huge difference? No. But, it’ll be interesting to see how many people do this as symbolic support of a greener future.

P.S. I wonder if Google will show their support for Earth Hour again this year. Last year they went black, but then they went back, thus disproving the popular adage.

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Hand-Powered Paper Shredder

March 22nd, 2009 by ecojoe in energy conservation, paper


It’s always good to have a paper shredder, to get rid of all that “sensitive” information on bills and credit card offers. But how to do it without using precious electricity?
Cat and Paper Shredder
This hand-powered paper shredder takes care of that. I got it for free from BCBS, and it’s been useful for shredding paper, which can then be used to make some homemade paper. It works really easily too, and shreds CDs and credit cards.

So if you’re thinking about getting a paper shredder and don’t want to use electricity for it, go for the hand-powered kind. They work good, save money, and help conserve energy AND your identification. Truly a win-win situation.

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Free Energy-Efficient CFL Bulb at Target

March 17th, 2009 by ecojoe in electric, energy conservation, free, save money


Money Cash CFLsI’ll keep this short and sweet… you can get a FREE Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb this week. How, you might ask?

I might answer, the GE Energy-saving light bulbs are on sale at Target for $1. Use this $1 off coupon and ka-chow, you can be saving electricity with your new free CFL bulb.

No money down, no excuses. Just do it and start saving energy and money today.

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Win a Tote Bag or a Smart Car

March 8th, 2009 by ecojoe in cars, contest, free


Watery car
Step right up, folks. We’ve already seen how to get a free tote bag. And also how to win a free Smart Fortwo. But what about a contest where you have a chance to win both?

Fret not, for Purex has THIS CRAZY CONTEST where you can win these very things. All you have to do is come up with a jawsome, eco-friendly tote bag design and submit it to their contest before May, 2009.

You can win cash-money, a free tote bag, or a Smart Fortwo. I’m ’bout to enter the contest myself; I strongly suggest you do the same.

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Simple Homemade Granola Recipe

March 1st, 2009 by ecojoe in food, projects


Granola. You love it, I love it, everybody loves it. It’s all healthy and natural and mess. But how can you make your own granola?

Welp, it turns out there’s about a million ways to do it; here’s just one way to make your very own homemade granola.

Easy Homemade Granola Recipe

Here’s what you’ll need to make some scrumptious granola.
Granola Ingredients
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