Posted by green baby on October 24, 2008
While biodegradable plastic bags may seem more environmentally friendly than ordinary plastic, they aren’t the best solution for our plastic bag problem. Biodegradable bags can be made from a variety of materials, including starch-based polymers (potato, corn, wheat or tapioca starch), polyester, water-soluble polymers, polymers that degrade under light or oxidation, or a blend of any of these. Depending on the material they’re made from, biodegradable plastic bags can take much more energy to produce than polyethylene plastic.
According to a life cycle assessment of several different disposable bags conducted by the American Chemistry Council, compostable bags made of a blend of polyester, polylactic acid and calcium carbonate required nearly three times more energy and fossil fuels to produce than polyethylene plastic. Their production also resulted in more than four times the CO2 emissions as polyethylene plastic bags and nearly eighteen times the fresh water usage. These valuable resources can be spared if we reduce our consumption of all disposable bags and turn instead to reusable grocery bags.
Biodegradable plastics of any type also carry the disadvantage that they cannot be recycled with ordinary plastics. If they are thrown away, they suffer the same fate as all other trash in a landfill — they won’t biodegrade anytime soon. Some biodegradable bags can be composted and, depending on what compounds they are made of, can disappear within months, but there are only about 100 composting facilities in the US that can dispose of these bags properly. More often than not, biodegradable bags end up as litter or in landfills. Biodegradable plastic can also carry residues that are harmful to soil and animals and can cause the same environmental damage as plastic bags before they biodegrade. Biodegradable bags will not be a viable replacement for plastic bags until technology and composting programs are further developed. A more environmentally sound alternative to using an ordinary plastic bag is to carry a reusable grocery bag.
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Posted by green baby on October 20, 2008
When a new baby comes to visit we all naturally become excited and want to do something special for that baby . On the surface it would seem as though there are as many potential unique baby gifts as there are babies born every day but when it comes time for us to select that one special gift for the new baby we sometimes suffer from a mental block. Usually what we need to get past that mental block is just a few general ideas.
Need some Twins baby gifts?
FREE GIFTS FOR BABY! Just follow one of these two links.
One of the very first obvious gifts that comes to mind is a christening gift for the newborn. While the parents or grandparents or godparents may have the exclusive rights to purchase or make that christening gift there is absolutely no reason why you cannot have a professional photographer come to the house and take a series of photographs of the baby in his or her christening down. These professional photographs along with a view appropriate picture frames can make an exquisite gift for the new baby.
Fresh and original free baby gifts.
In a different vein, homemade baby toys are always a big hit with baby and the parents. You can find online doll cradle plans, were plans to make a wooden building blocks and other plans for soft cuddly toys that even an infant can derive pleasure from.
Baby costumes can be a tremendous hit with family and friends at any time. It does not have to be only boring the hollowing season. A simple costume for baby that seemingly transforms the newborn into a baby rabbit or a squirrel or Angel is always cute.
FREE GIFTS FOR BABY! Just follow one of two links above.
Free gifts can also be obtained online with just a little bit of search time. For instance, Grins & giggles Baby Wash with Lavender, Baby Lotion with Lavender, Baby Wash, Baby Shampoo and Bath and more is yours for the taking. These gifts are yours simply in exchange for your email address. After you receive the gift certificate, if you want no further correspondence from the company simply click the unsubscribe button and they will no longer send you free gifts.
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Posted by green baby on October 19, 2008
This year, the hottest suggestions for infant naming are a bit unusual . From biblical names with a twist to foreign names, 2008 sets a whole new pattern for naming kids . Name meanings and history are important to contemplatewhen naming a baby, since that name will be something that will be with them for the rest of their lives. Although name descriptions are the first things one frequently looks at when deciding on the ideal name for a baby, following name suggestions in books has become very usual in today’s society . Year 2008 maintains a little bit of the traditional element in popular infant names, but also integrates current style, a retro factor, and an unusual touch. These same trends are being followed when it comes to the baby gift industry where more and more baby gift stores are offering baby personalized gifts.
As it has been established for the past few years, biblical traditionalnames are some of the most well-liked . Jacob, Joshua, Abigail, Daniel, and Gabriel are some names that have been predominant in modern times. A few rare additions to these usual biblical names are those such as Caleb, Ethan, Zachary, and Elijah. The name “Elijah” is actually one of the most popular names this year. Many people hold true to biblical names because they are timeless , and they usually have a wonderful , deep meaning that recognizes great meanings for your baby’s life. In fact, baby keepsakes are oftentimes created with the puchase of personalized baby clothes.
An interesting trend this year is for Western parents to present their kids foreign names. Spanish, Asian, Italian, Irish, and Arab names have turn out to be quite popular amongst North Americans and the English. Carlos, a Spanish name meaning “free man,” Connor, an Irish name that stands for “much wanted,” and Lian, a Chinese name whose meaning is a “lotus flower,” are some of the most widespread foreign names that have gone universal.
Another cool and up to date belief in 2008 is giving your name a classic, traditional name with a twist in the spelling. For instance , instead of naming your baby girl “Natalie,” come up with a various and creative technique to spell the name, such as “Natelly.” Alterations to usual names should be well prepared and thought out. Place an importance on the part of the name, or a sound in the name that you adorethe most. This is a beautiful technique to make your infant stick out from the rest. uniquely spelled names are measured at the top this year.
A lifelong pattern that began last year and has prolonged throughout this year is to present your infant the name of a place. Australia, Athena, London, Ireland, and Paris are usual place names that have become popular infant names this year. Some consider that this trend is a result of the popularity of Paris Hilton, a famous heiress and fashion icon . Naming kids after a location on the map is probably the top trend for 2008.
Finally , giving kids weird and rare names is a usual trend today among celebrities. From “Apple” to “Shiloh,” these names are inclined to stick out from the crowd. When choosing the correct name for your little one , keep in mind all of the characteristics of the name, from sound and spelling to significance . After all, this name will be a part of the child’s life, following them around everywhere they go - from personalized toys, like their very own instep pink pedal car to what they will be called by their employers when they become adults.
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Posted by green baby on October 16, 2008
So, you have your reusable shopping bags now, you’re headed to the market in your fancy new hybrid car and you and the kids are wearing organic cotton t-shirts that you washed in organic, biodegradable laundry detergent in your high efficiency washing machine. Are you missing anything Mr. Environment? Well, that depends on whether or not you’re buying as much locally grown foods as you can.
It’s fantastic that you’ve made some changes, especially the choice to ditch the plastic and paper and use reusable bags, but you can go one step further quite simply and begin to purchase food from stores that bring in locally grown products.
Here’s five good reasons why you should:
1. Less fuel for transportation and cost cutting by eliminating the middle man.
2. Locally grown is usually organic which has less negative environmental impact than conventional farming.
3. You are supporting local business, which stimulates your direct economy
4. You are taking away from the large conventional farmers and contributing to the small farmers.
5. Your produce will be far fresher which translates to healthier, tastier food and a reduction of spoilage.
It’s really great to do our part in helping the planet. It’s unfortunate that it took us so long to realize the harm that we are causing on our planet, but thankfully people are taking steps in the right direction. When you made the simple decision to switch from plastic bags to reusable shopping bags, you contributed to saving sea turtles, whales, birds, and other marine life as well as reduced your city’s money spent on dealing with excessive plastic bags. It’s estimated that it costs city governments as much as seventeen cents per bag to clean up the bags that litter our streets and suburbs.
When we do our part to help the planet, we benefit so much more! Visit your local markets that support local farming as well as farmer’s markets. It’s a great green change!
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Posted by green baby on October 10, 2008
Developing Residential Solar Power is critical to combating the energy crisis we are facing today. The rate we are consuming natural resources, especially non-renewable fossil fuels, is growing at an increasing rate. One example is the rapidly increasing number of automobiles in countries like China and India that didn’t used to have near as many people driving. This is causing skyrocketing demand for resources like oil to produce gas, not to mention the increased demand for non-renewable resources like steel. If we are going to ensure that future generations can enjoy the same standard of living we have today, we must start conserving our resources immediately and get serious about using alternative solar energy sources and other renewable energy sources.
Using renewable resources like Residential Solar Power can reduce the burden on non-renewable resources. There are many things you can do as a home owner or user of energy to conserve energy, save the environment, and save some money too. There are many things you can do to save money and the environment.
You can save a lot of money on energy if you use a solar water heater to heat your water for showers, laundry, dishes, and everything else you need heated water for. They are more expensive to install than a traditional natural gas or electric water heater, but over time they can pay for themselves with the energy savings you will achieve. You can modify your existing water heater to use solar energy or you can buy a water heater designed to use solar energy. What a great use of alternative solar energy!
If you happen to have a swimming pool which uses a heater, you can also install a solar water heater on that system. These systems are so cost effective that if you live in an area where you can get sun to the heating system, you really should look into solar heating even if you don’t care about green energy. If you really want to be environmentally friendly, make sure you convert to a salt water pool to avoid the chlorine and use solar electricity for your pump. By making a few changes, you can have an eco-friendly pool that is powered completely by alternative solar energy.
Using the sun to heat and light your home is the original use of solar energy. During the day, make sure your blinds are open to let the sunlight in and provide some heat. Sky lights and light tubes can be used to light your house so you can turn off some lights. Alternatively, you can keep your blinds closed during the summer to block the heat from coming in to help keep your house cool. Just use a little common sense on when you want to let the light and heat in and when you want to keep the heat out. This use of solar energy costs almost nothing to use unless you decide to go all out and install a bunch of skylights. It might not even cost you anything if you already have blinds on your windows.
One last bit of alternative solar energy to talk about is solar panels. These come in many sizes and do things as simple as store energy during the day to power your sidewalk lights at night or as complex as harness the suns rays to create electricity to power your house. The technology is the same. Basically you convert solar energy into electrical energy and store it in a battery or series of batteries for use later. Large solar panels can be quite expensive, but with the cost of electricity today, there can be a very substantial payback on your monthly electricity bill. If you really produce a lot of electricity, you can even sell some of it back to the electricity company in some areas.
Now you might be asking what you can do if you cannot install solar panels or modify your house or apartment to put in a solar water heater or skylights. You can still help save the environment by purchasing green energy from your electricity company. Electricity providers in many areas offer a green energy option which promotes the use of green or renewable energy like residential solar power. One such company that offers a green energy option to electricity customers in Texas and New York is Ambit Energy. Check with your company to see if you have the option to select green energy or check out the Ambit Energy cheap green electricity offers. If you are of the entrepreneur type, you can actually make money while you help others save money, earn free travel, and save the environment with the Ambit Energy Business Opportunity.
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Posted by green baby on October 9, 2008
A lot of people think that being green is difficult. There’s a misconception that being green involves a lot of time and dedication. It doesn’t. Here are five of the easiest and many ways of being green.
1. Stop using plastic or paper bags.
Many places offer very inexpensive reusable shopping bags. I recommend you buy them as soon as you can. Soon you’ll never use a plastic bag again. Plastic bags have a huge negative environmental impact and cost us millions every year.
2. Switch to organic cleaning products.
Did you know that women who stay at home have a lower life expectancy than women who work outside the home? Women who stay at home tend to be exposed to household cleaners more. There are tons of organic/biodegradable/natural cleaning products on the market today. They clean just as well as the harsh chemicals!
3. Ditch the gas or electric mower and buy a reel mower.
Okay, this isn’t quite as simple as beginning to use reusable grocery bags and will require a bit more effort to mow, but think about it this way: You can get your mowing and exercising done at the same time! On the days that you mow, you can kill two birds with one stone. Or perhaps it’s time your kids learn how to mow. The reel type mowers are less dangerous so kiddos can start a bit younger learning to help out with this chore. What’s more is that mowing with a reel mower is better for your lawn! You’ll notice a much healthier lawn that even needs less water.
4. Buy locally grown!
Locally grown produce and meat products are showing up in many, many grocery stores these days. Not only do you help out the local economy, but you save the planet from the environmental cost of transportation. In addition, many local farmers that sell to nearby stores are organic farms. The produce and meat that you’ll be bringing home is devoid of chemicals, pesticides, growth hormones and antibiotics. The food is fresher and more flavorful. Good for the environment, awesome for your family!
5. Switch to energy efficient light bulbs!
We often think about cars as being a major environmental problem, and they are. Though I encourage hybrids, small cars, public transport, walking, biking etc., I have a figure that will amaze you: If every household replaced three 60-watt incandescent light bulbs with CFLs (compact florescent lights), pollution would be reduced as much as if we took 3.5 million cars off the roads! AND you can cut down on your electric bill. It’s a no brainer!
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Posted by green baby on October 6, 2008
Many parents are looking for environmentally-friendly products that mirror their values. To begin with, many new parents want to support corporations that are not using poisonous materials. Still others want to make sure that no workers are being exploited to make their consumer goods.
One baby gear company that is leading the way in this regards is Fleurville bags. In fact, Fleurville was recently certified as “San Francisco Bay Area Green Business” by Marin County, California. Fleurville is also one of the first ever PVC-free companies in the world. Let’s look a little deeper at what separates Fleurville from other diaper bag makers.
First off, PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is a poisonous substance found in many diaper bags and baby products. PVC washes into our waterways, bonding to other heavy metals, and can be found all the way up the food chain from plankton to cattle. Fleurville does not use PVC even though it is the most inexpensive plastic on the market, proving it is earth-friendly first and foremost. Fleurville decided to use an eco-friendly polyurethane laminate instead, known as Green-LAM™.
Also, Fleurville has invested in an innovative nylon fiber that is constructed from recycled plastic water bottles. Known as Re-Run™, this plastic emits less pollutants than new plastic when produced, and also is saving plastic bottles for being added to the landfills.
Lastly, Fleurville donates 3% of its Re-Run products to the Eco-Mom Alliance, which is a educational non-profit dedicating to empowering parents to become conscious consumers. So by purchasing Fleurville products, we are not only supporting eco-parenting, but also showing the world that there is a demand for more green technologies like this.
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Posted by green baby on October 6, 2008
If you’re not the type of person that wants to spend their time managing
an elaborate fruit or vegetable garden, you might consider planting and
maintaining an organic herbs garden. While the product might not seem as
significant, you’ll still enjoy the constant availability of fresh,
delicious herbs to flavor your meals with.
First you’ll want to choose the herbs that you’ll plant. You might have a
hard time doing this because of the huge scope of organic herbs available. But the
best way to choose is to do what I did; just look at what you have in your
kitchen. By planting your own collection of these organic herbs,Chinese herbs or Chinese you can save
money on buying them from the grocery store,pharmacy,orChinese herbs store while having the added benefit
of freshness. Some of the herbs you might start with include rosemary,
sage, basil, dill, mint, chives, and parsley among others.
When choosing an area to put your herb garden, you should remember that
the soil should have extremely good drainage. If the dirt gets watered and
stays completely saturated, you have no chance of ever growing a healthy
plant. One of the best ways to fix the drainage problem is to dig a foot
deep in the soil, and put a layer of crushed rocks down before replacing
all the soil. This will allow all that water to escape, thus saving your
plants.
When you are ready to begin planting your organic herbs, you might be tempted to buy
the more expensive plants from the store. However, with herbs it is much
easier to grow them from seed than it is with other plants. Therefore you
can save a bundle of money by sticking with seed packets. Some herbs grow
at a dangerously fast rate. For example, if you plant a mint plant in an
open space then it will take over your entire garden in a matter of days.
The best way to prevent this problem is to plant the more aggressive
plants in pots (with holes in the bottom to allow drainage, of course).
When it comes time to harvest the herbs you have labored so hard over, it
can be fatal to your plant to take off too much. If your plant isn’t well
established, it isn’t healthy to take any leaves at all, even if it looks
like its not using them. You should wait until your plant has been well
established for at least several months before taking off any leaves. This
wait will definitely be worth it, because by growing unabated your plant
will produce healthily for years to come.
Once you’ve harvested your delicious home grown herbs, you’ll want to use
them in cooking. Why else would you have grown them? Well first the
process begins with drying them out. This is easily achieved by placing
them on a cookie sheet and baking them 170 degrees Fahrenheit for 2 to 4
hours. After they’re sufficiently dried to be used in cooking, you can
consult the nearest cookbook for instructions on using them to effectively
flavor a dish.
If you want to store your herbs for later usage, you should keep them in a
plastic or glass container. Paper or cardboard will not work, because it
will absorb the taste of the herbs. During the first few days of storage,
you should regularly check the container and see if any moisture has
accumulated. If it has, you must remove all the herbs and re-dry them. If
moisture is left from the first drying process, it will encourage mildew
while you store your herbs. Nobody likes mildew.
So if you enjoy herbs or gardening, or both, then you should probably
consider setting up an herb garden. It might require a little bit of work
at first to set it up for optimal drainage, and pick what herbs you want
to grow. But after the initial hassle, it’s just a matter of harvesting
and drying all your favorite herbs.
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Posted by green baby on October 6, 2008
Earth4Energy is a guide that explains how to reduce the cost of your electricity and switch to an environmental way of using energy. We, all hear the talk about the Presidential Candidates promise to concentrate on producing energy. Of course,there are different alternative energy options, which include biofuel, electricity windmill, solar energy and renewable energy. No matter, which one you choose, you will be able to save on your gas and electric bill.
Secret Alternative Energy
This instruction guide makes an attempt to show you how to build your own residential windmills or some call it electricity windmills. With the step by step instructions, the guide promises to help you to eliminate or reduce your electric bill.
One of the main issues of having a homemade electrical supply is the high cost of installation of the system that needs to be put in place. You may end up paying up to $20,000 for one of these wind powered systems and it would take up to 15 years to see the real savings. When you make your own windmill, solar panel or wind turbine, your cost would be no more than $200. The returns on savings will be experienced sooner – in a matter of weeks.
What you receive:
You will be able to download Earth4Energy instantly. The guide consists of 73 pages that you can print and read at your leisure or read directly from your computer monitor.
What Kind of Skills and Tools are Needed:
All you need are some basic handy-man skills with tools that most homeowners use such as an electric drill, hammer, saw, screw driver, paint and jigsaw. That is about it.
You will have to hire an electrician who is licensed if you want to connect your solar or wind generator to the wiring system in your home to run your appliances. However, an electrician would be able to do so quite easily and it would still save you a lot in the long run.
How Long does It Take To Build?
All it will take is a weekend once you have purchased the materials required. One week is the maximum time it would take for someone who had an average set of skills.
The Disadvantages:
The guide does not give an EXACT step by step action on how to make windmills or solar panels that the author has built.
However, the author does indicate in the Earth4Energy, that you may not find the exact parts that were used in his wind generator project. Therefore, what the guide does is to give you an understanding of the concept with building your own wind generator so you will be better able to adapt the principle.
There were some details that were missing, which annoyed me. There was nothing said about mounting solar panels to the roof of the house neither was it clear how to mount the wind generator and assemble the blade. It may be more obvious as you start the building process, I guess.
The other thing I thought the author could have done was to include a video with the guide. I have yet to find a video that has been done about this topic. A video presentation is quite likely to give more hands-on and visual demonstration than the written word can do by itself.
Within the pages of Earth4Energy at Make Windmill , there are a couple of chapters that contained a bunch of fluff about ethanol and reducing your independence on oil, which we already know and that is why you are here, right?
The Advantages:
The guide is concise, clear, easily understood and quite simple. When reading this guide, it is apparent that the author has indeed built his own solar, electric windmill and other wind generator. So he is not writing from fiction, but from experience.
The guide does have a lot of diagrams, pictures and illustrations that do a good job of making things more clear and understandable.
The guide is readily downloadable immediately after purchases. I was able to grab a copy at a low discounted price of just $49.97, which is quite reasonable since this is specific information that you won’t be able to get readily. $49.97 is minuscule when you think of how much money you will save in the long run. This is quite a small investment for a life saving of thousands of dollars on electricity.
Customer Support:
Of course, when you buy anything, you always want to know that you are getting good customer support. Earth4Energy provides an email address for any technical questions. On the website, you will be able to access free updates of the product. Within July 2008 alone, there were six updates posted online.
Money Back Guarantee:
Earth4Energy has an offer of 60 day money back guarantee.
Cost:
My copy was on sale for $49.97 USD
Conclusion:
I highly recommend earth4energy to anyone who wants to make your own windmill, solar panel or wind powered generator to save on electricity. I give this guide a rating of 9.9 out of 10. It is the best one by far that is currently on the market.
This guide is very economical and excellent for providing the right information to creating any of these energy-saving devices. The author could have sold it for more money and it is because of all of these reasons that I feel comfortable in highly recommending earth4energy.
Visit the main Earth4Energy website right now at Secret Alternative Energy.
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Posted by green baby on October 6, 2008
Graco Baby Car Seat
The Graco Junior Baby is a snug and comfortable first car seat for your baby. Rear-facing, it’s suitable from birth up to 13kg (around 9-12 months). Features * Suitable for Group 0+: From birth to 13 kgs (birth to around 9-12 months) * Side impact protection. * Multi-position handle * One-click technology. The seat locks automatically onto the Graco pushchairs and removes with just one click. * A correct position indicator to show if the seat is at the correct angle. * Washable seat cover * Compatible with in-car base (available as an optional extra) * Compatible with all Graco pushchair from birth * Reinforced body insert * Head support designed for newborns * Fleece lined harness protectors * Adjustable canopy * Adjustable harness * 3 point safety harness * Fixes safely to base (available as an optional extra) with one click Dimensions 46cm (h) x 66cm (w) x 44cm (l) Weight: 3.51kg
Concord Car seat-Route 66 (9mths-4yrs)
The new Concord Trimax has been optimised to meet the specific requirements of Group 1 only, this means it provides safe & reliable protection up to 4 years of age. The Concord Trimax is convincing not only because of the optimised safety it provides, but also on account of its innovative design and sophisticated features and functions. The reclining backrest is particularly ingenious. It can be moved from the upright to a comfortable reclining position at the touch of a lever, allowing the child to sleep peacefully on longer journeys. Concord Trimax is lightweight, easy to carry and also good value for money. Safety Padded head and neck protectors, Side protectors are extra-long to provide optimum side impact protection, Double-walled shell makes the seat particularly robust yet lightweight, Increased safety thanks to depth of seat, Energy absorbing padding, Optimal belt routing: seat is secured with the vehicle’s 3-point seat belt - easy to fit, secure fitting. Comfortable and Practical Innovative air circulation system keep’s child back cool, Ergonomic seat shell form, Comfortable armrests, User-friendly centrally adjustable 5-point belt system, Specially padded seat base, Softly padded, breathable covers for exceptional well-being, removable and washable, Unrestricted view out of the window, Easy-to-use one-pull harness system for changing belt length, Seat position adjustment lever.
Baby Club Drop Side Cot-Pine + FREE Mattress
This new natural pine drop-side cot is a welcome addition to the Babyclub bedtime range. 3 Position Base This is excellent value for money. Ideal as a second purchase for Grandma and Grandad’s home. Mattress Includes FREE 4″ Foam Mattress worth 31.99 If you would like to upgrade the foam Mattress to a Sprung one this would be a charge of £20 extra-Please Choose this from the Drop-down menu.
These items are on sale now at babytym.co.uk. Click the highlighted links above to visit their shop!
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mary
