#139: Real Conversations (Friday, August 28)

This week during conversations with a couple of my friends, I discovered things I never knew about them...after so many years.

Real conversations uncover things that are often buried under layers of superficial ideas. Sometimes you have to dig deep, or search long and hard to find the authenticity. I found a few places on the web where there are real conversations taking place about climate control, green initiatives and how to make this earth more eco-friendly for those who will come after us:

• The Global Ideas Bank has 855 ideas, submitted by people like you and I
• Treehugger has a bunch of forums on green ideas, and you can even search to find the best conversations on the site
  
• I was also happy to discover that my bank, despite their other shortcomings, is making an effort to have some real conversations about climate change

It's time to start getting real...

#138: Getting Over the "Ick" Factor (Friday, August 21)

Ok, so this post is primarily for the ladies, but it's a great suggestion for guys who want their wives, daughters, sisters and other women in their lives to consider a green option for menstrual cycles.

Introducing the menstrual cup, a reusable alternative to pads and tampons. Now before you get all grossed out, consider the facts:

• Over 55.9 million women (in the U.S. alone in 2000) are monthly users of disposable feminine hygiene products.
  
• The 41-year menstruation span (ages 11-52) creates billions of pounds of disposable feminine hygiene products.
  
• In 1998, the annual figures for the U.S. were estimated at 12 billion sanitary pads and 7 billion tampons going into over-burdened landfills each year.
  

I'm still trying to figure out how it actually works, but I heard about it this week and thought it'd be an interesting green idea to share.

Thoughts?

#137: The Greenest Place on Earth (Friday, August 14)

The other day I was thinking about where the greenest place on earth is. I did some research and found out Costa Rica is the greenest (and happiest!) place on Earth, followed by Dominican Republic (didn't see that one coming) and Australia (makes perfect sense). Thought Jamaica would be in the top 3, but considering our high crime rate, probably not. Check out the article below:

Costa Rica is happiest, greenest place on earth, survey says

Not surprisingly, US ranks 114th (out of 143). LOL.

#136: Rescue Mission (Friday, August 7)

Sign the Petition to Save Brooklyn Rescue Mission’s Farm!

In 2005, Brooklyn Rescue Mission partnered with local organizations to create an urban farm. They turned a vacant lot into an edible Eden that provides freshly grown food to thousands of needy Brooklynites. But the Brooklyn Rescue Mission, an emergency food pantry in Bedford-Stuyvesant, could lose half of Bed-Stuy Farm (its 5,000-square-foot facility on a long-neglected lot) if plans go through to build on it.

Sign the petition here at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/save-bed-stuy-farm