50 Things to Do During Earth Hour

Every last Saturday of March is Earth Hour. The goal of Earth Hour is to raise awarenes towards the need to take action towards climate change. Business and homes everywhere participate by shutting off their lights and lowering their energy consumption in any way that they can. Every year, the participants in Earth Hour have grown in numbers, as more people become more aware of the changes our planet are going through (and the Earth Hour event itself).

Think Earth Hour sounds like a great idea, but you're struggling to find things to do? Here;s a list of 50 things to do during Earth Hour, from candlelight dinners to scary ghost stories. You're bound to find something on the list that you'll find fun and interesting!

1. There's never been a better excuse to cook up some Smores by the fire.
2. A game of flashlight tag feels even more justified and fun during Earth Hour.
3. Tell some scary ghost stories in the pitch black of the night.
4. Cook up a late night BBQ and serve some of your family's favorites.
5. Get the whole area involved and throw a neighborhood party for Earth Hour.
6. Kids and adults alike can appreciate the simplicity of candelit shadow puppets.
7. While you have your candles burning, you can also plan your own romantic candlelight dinner.
8. Experience the phenomenon of glow in the dark Lifesavers at night.
9. Let the kids bring out their collection of glow in the dark stickers to fully appreciate the glow.
10. Play with glow sticks, tons of fun in the pitch black dark.
11. Listen for owls at night and learn the different calls. Just be very quiet and go into the woods with your call tape (wait a few minutes after each call to wait for them to respond).
12. View constellations and try to find some of the popular ones like Orion's Belt and the Big Dipper.
13. Go camping in your own backyard for the night.
14. Start a campfire and enjoy those Smores and tell ghost stories. It will be a night to remember!
15. Play board games by candlelight.
16. Plan a night hike, a thrilling experience that's far different from any day hike you've ever gone on.
17. View the beautiful, natural wonder of tidal pools lit by moonlight (bring a flashlight, too).
18. The first warm, rainy night of spring is when the salamanders walk to the vernal pools to breed. This is a sight to see (and might not happen during Earth Hour, but it's around this time of year).
19. Listen for animals near your home, or in the woods. Like owls, you'll just need to be quiet and patient.
20. Turn off everything in your home and go grocery shopping. You'll enjoy the short lines at the grocery store!
21. Go to the movies. They'll be using the electricity in the theater whether you go or night.
22. Tell one of these scary ghost stories and terrify everyone around you.
23. Attend a restaurant that is participating in Earth Hour. Google your local area plus "earth hour restaurants" for more information.
24. Sleep. The average American could use more of it. Why not tonight?
25. Hold a blind taste testing for beer, wine and cheese.
26. Ask for a massage, or give a massage. They're even better in the dark (and a great way to relax during Earth Hour).
27. Plan a scavenger hunt at night in your yard, in the woods, in the city, or wherever you find fun.
28. Listen to your favorite music on your ipod in the serenity of the dark.
29. Walk around to see who else is participating in Earth Hour.
30. Break out those scented candles that you've been storing and actually use them.
31. Play board games that you've never played before, maybe even the scariest one of all, the ouija board.
32. Read by candlelight (not too close though!).
33. Reminisce about your past, talk about it, and share it with your kids, partner or friends.
34. Let the kids play outside late. They'll be thrilled.
35. Play horseshoes in the dark. It's much harder.
36. Go thermostat free and bundle up (if you need to).
37. Read up on reducing, reusing, and recycling on your charged up Blackberry or iphone.
38. Use your Kindle to read without any candlelight.
39. Play new video games on your Nintendo DS or portable game system.
40. Take a bath. They're even more relaxing in the dark.
41. Pamper yourself with all of your spa and beauty products, then recycle the containers.
42. Take a walk along the beach if it's low tide and take in the fresh air.
43. Take the train into the city and walk around.
44. Enjoy the free lights and electricity at your local coffee shop.
45. Make campfire food.
46. Use the time to talk about what you'd like to plant in your garden (or indoor garden), or other green ideas for the coming spring and summer months.
47. Look up at the nighttime sky to notice how dark or not dark it really is.
48. Listen for frogs and spring peepers.
49. Make some fondue.
50. Start making your own list of things that you did during Earth Hour, then share them here or on your own blog!

Did you participate in Earth Hour? If you didn't, you can make plans to participate in Earth Hour next year, or just plan your own personal Earth Hour on a different day. It's all about reducing our impact on the environment and educating others. You can also read our other post on things to do during Earth Hour for more ideas.

Are Salon Shampoos Killing Your Skin and Hair?

Sitting in the waiting room in any salon, you'll see product after product available for sale, to keep the color in your freshly dyed hair, to keep that teased, perfected hairstyle in place, and to moisturize your hair after all those treatments. These products are made by professionals though, so how bad can they be for you? After all, the bottle says "the true professional," so that must mean they know what's good for us, right? Maybe not.

As it turns out, those hair products could be destroying your hair more than fixing it, all the while depositing a range of chemicals into your scalp, skin, nails and hands. What chemicals? The internet is full of conflicting information about chemicals. At the very least, the chemicals could be doing nothing (though many articles and studies have suggested otherwise). Worst case scenario, the petrochemicals in salon products and shampoos could lead to severe skin irritation, cause birth defects, and potentially shampoo could cause Alzeheimer's Disease. Are salon products going to kill you overnight? No, you have a better chance of winning the lottery and then being struck by lightning while seeing a flying pig in your last moments. Over long periods of use, your salon shampoo that contains petrochemicals cause some annoying irritation, weaken and damage your hair, strip it of vital nutrients, and expose your hair and scalp to unncessary agents (and some of the potential risks described previously).

What About Animal Testing with Shampoos?

One brand that doesn't test on animals is Paul Mitchell. However, you do have to be careful when a product says that it "has not been tested on animals." The final product itself may not have been tested on animals, but the individual ingredients may have. How can you be really sure your product hasn't been tested on animals? Look for the little bunny. Products that have the "leaping bunny" logo have met standards where the product is cruelty free, including suppliers, all ingredients, testing, and manufacturing.

What are the alternatives to traditional salon shampoo?

There are some alternatives out there for salon shampoo. An organic shampoo is a great choice, but you have to look at the ingredients just like any other product. Just because the product states that it's organic, that doesn't mean it's healthy. First, you'll always want to look for certified organic products. Some companies cannot attain organic certification because some of the ingredients simply aren't made organic, or the price difference in certain ingredients is astronomically different. If you have questions about any product, check the cosmetic database, and check reviews from other consumers online by doing a quick google search for the company name + reviews. There's also biodynamic shampoo, which is not just organic, but a product that is made from a self sustaining ecosystem. In other words, nothing comes from outside of the farm. The herbs are grown on the farm, and all of the other ingredients in the shampoo. The cost of the biodynamic organic (which you can find here) shampoo will also be comparable to that of a salon product, but will be far higher quality - and won't damage your hair.

If you're interested in reading more about what chemicals might be lurking in your cosmetics, you may want to read the following posts from our blog:

• Why Buy Certified Organic Perfume?
• Organic Baby Bath Products

Certified Organic Perfume - Why Buy All Natural Perfume?

Ah, the sweet smell of your favorite perfume. Who can resist the aroma, the memories, and... the antifreeze? Traditional perfumes often contain synthetic compounds from petroleum (yup, as in gasoline - the type you fill your car with!), and Propylene glycol, which is found in antifreeze. Luckily, there are high quality types of certified organic perfume available.

But first, let's talk about perfume for a moment. The fragrance industry does not have any regulation - they are self regulated. It isn't like food, which has to meet certain requirements, or governed by the USDA like our produce in the USA. Instead, ingredients that perfume manufacturers use are considered "trade secrets," and do not have to be disclosed. In other words, it's anything goes in the perfume world. Whatever smells good, put it in there. Are you wondering what else is found in your perfume?

Your perfume can also contain phthalates. Phthalates are plastic by-products used as a sort of filler to make things more pliable, and in perfume's case, it is used as a fixative (to make it stick in place and not run). The dangers of phthalates have been widely documented, so much so that the European Union has banned phthalate use in cosmetics in Europe. We're still waiting in Canada and the United States for a phthalates ban.

How the Perfume World Has Changed

Way back in the day, perfume was natural. There were no such thing as phthalates, glycol, and other synthetic substances. The only ingredients being used in perfumes in the days of Mesopotamia and Egypt were natural ones, the highest quality available. They were never overpowering, they were always pleasant, and they had no petroleum. Ingredients used consisted of bergamot, flowers, almonds, herbs, spices, and conifer. Today, far less money is used on the actual ingredients as is spent on the packaging, marketing and advertising of the perfume. Cheaper ingredients, namely synthetics, were introduced in the 20th century. These "breakthroughs" allowed scents to be created for a cheaper price that would otherwise be harder to get naturally. An all natural perfume is something you would have a hard time finding at any perfume store or at your local Macy's.

Certified Organic Perfumes Available

This all natural perfume is going to have a lot of benefits over the typical commercial variety of perfume. Here are some of those benefits:

• Natural perfume is subtle, not overpowering. Your friends, family, and coworkers will appreciate this!
• Each bottle is unique. You'll experience different looks to the actual liquid in each bottle, a natural occurrence.
• This particular certified organic perfume (click shop for products when you arrive at the previous link) is free of animal products, and hasn't been tested on animals.
• It's vegan friendly (a small amount of beeswax is used).
• Natural perfumes can be layered for a unique natural scent.
• Best of all, you'll be synthetic free! No more phthalates, chemicals, petroleums, or alcohol. To top it off, it's certified organic.

Made with a base of 100% natural coconut oil infused with fruits, rare grasses, rare woods, and exotic spices, and is made with the most natural and organic ingredients as possible. The end result is a wonderful, intoxicating aroma that will leave your other synthetic perfumes in the dust. The alluring organic perfumes come in four amazing natural scents. The 4-Scent Oil Set includes: Fleur Savage, Kesu, Llang Llang and Kizes. 4 ml each.

You can order the organic perfume here (click shop for products).

If you're also looking to give your home a wonderful scent without potential toxins found in common household sprays, first try opening the windows, ventilating, and vaccuming, and topping it off with a spray of natural aromatherapy room spray.

How to Avoid Toxic Toys

What's in your children's toys? If you think that the days of lead paints and toxic substances being used in toys is over, think again. There's a plethora of toy recalls happening on a regular basis from many "made in China" toys. The Daily Green has a complete list of recalled toys for their excessive lead paint and hazardous materials. Some of the latest culprits aren't obscure toys, either, they're big name toys from Disney, toy horses, princess toys from Wal-Mart, and cloth books from Big Rex and Friends (I bet that last one fooled a lot of people into thinking they were buying a more eco friendly choice because it was cloth!).

So what should we do to avoid toxic toys?

First, we'll need to monitor the toxic toys list to see what news toys arrive. Second, buying non toxic toys that clearly state they are made with non toxic materials can help you avoid those chemicals. Besides buying non toxic, you may also want to opt for organic, especially when you have an infant. Infants have less room in their bodies for the chemicals to distribute, so it is imperative to buy organic for them (especially items that are close to them all the time, like their crib mattress. Here is a list of some recommended organic baby toys to choose from. For more green choices for your having a green baby, try the Raising Baby Green Guide, or these tips for greening your baby nursery.

What to look for in non toxic toys

If a toys says that it is non toxic, it probably is, but you can never be too sure. To be completely sure, see that the toy is painted with all natural paint, and if the item is cotton, try searching for certified organic cotton. Yes, these toys will cost more, but it's better to sacrifice some quantity for high quality. When buying toys, it can be hard to convince yourself to buy organic when the non organic versions are often half the price. If this is an issue for you, buy the toys you know your child or baby will be around the most in organic or all natural forms. Also, any toy that they are going to wear should be BPA free and non toxic. This includes toy jewelry, plastic crowns, all that stuff that they might be wearing for hours on end. If your kids are begging you for some knick knack princess toys, encourage them to make their own toys using construction paper and stuff around the house. Not only is it cheaper, but it's a more eco friendly option, and you can monitor what materials they're using (as opposed to the questionable ingredients in some store bought toys).

The author of this blog also sells organic cleaning products, natural skin care, and reusables available at thegreenerearth.com.

Raising Baby Green - A Guide to Green Pregnancy

So you have received the exciting news that you are expecting! Now its time to start researching on how to green your home. The thoughts can be overwhelming and I was there myself last year! You want to have all the knowledge to prepare for your new arrival all while keeping your house as natural as possible. With all of the books that were out there the one I found with the highest reviews, and can personally recommend is Raising Baby Green: The Earth Friendly Guide to Pregnancy, Childbirth and Baby Care.

The content is clearly organized which made it for a very easy read. The topics addressed in this book range from the womb, and move on to labor & delivery room, the nursery, the kitchen, the bathroom, your garden and a summary of the entire house. Depending on which area you would like to focus on "greening" first you can skip ahead to that section. As a first time parent this book was very helpful in describing how everything that surrounds your baby can in someway impact him or her. For example, you can bring in your own organic sheets and sleepwear for the baby to wear in the hospital after it is born, an option I never knew was available to me! Though as the book says, be sure that you sheets have some sort of pattern so that they stand out from the typical hospital sheets.

Five Tips I Learned From This Book

• Pumping Gas - Though this is probably an obvious one for some greenies, this was one thing I hadn't thought about. The toxins from pumping gasoline into your car easily are absorbed into your skin and through this can be carried to your unborn baby.

• Babies have more taste buds in the womb than any other point in life - Studies have proven that your unborn child can actually taste the food that you are eating through drinking the amniotic fluid. Therefore it is critical to maintain a healthy mix of foods, including a fair share of fruits and veggies to help you down the road have a healthy child with a love for a well balanced meal!
  
• Produce Report Card - This may be one of the most helpful charts in the book. This illustrates a variety of fruits and veggies and ranks them so that you can see which ones have the highest and lowest levels of pesticides.

• Painting the Nursery - Zero VOC paints are no readily available in most areas!! This is the best kind of paint to use as it does not contain the harsh chemicals that most traditional paints do, but it gives the same color and quality expected from traditional paints.

• Everything has an Impact - Be sure to keep in mind that everything has an impact on your child. From the food you eat, to the environment you are in (even if you are not a smoker, just standing next to one you will still inhale some of the smoke), to all of the toys you child will come in contact with. Ensuring that the toys are organic, and if they are plastic ensuring that they are PVC and BPA free will help your child live a healthier life.
  

The Impact of Cigarette Butts on the Environment

The impact of cigarette butts on our environment
Cigarette butts are one of the smallest environmental offenders. With the flick of a butt, far reaching, devestating consequences can occur, or absolutely nothing can happen. We all know that cigarette butts that haven't been fully extinguished can cause forest fires, but how else do they affect the environment?

The Effects on Wildlife

Cigarette butts stand out amongst the crowds. Just like some people smoke them because they think they look cool, animals find cigarette butts interesting. Animals have no idea what a cigarette butt is, but it has some sort of fragrant stuff in the middle and seems edible. While larger mammals might survive eating a butt, small animals and especially marine life will die.

The Cost of Cigarette Butt Cleanup

Cigarette butts might be small, but the cost to clean them up isn't. Small cigarette butts take many man hours to rake and pick up. This is annoying for home owners, part of the job for landscapers, an annoyance to the town workers, an eye sore for everyone, and a big cost for everyone. Who pays for the cleanup of cigarette butts in your town? You do, with your taxes!

What Smokers Can Do to Help

Smokers can do one small thing. We don't have to go into the dangers of smoking and the consequences on the human body (but if you'd like to find out, read this). And what is it that you can do? Don't litter. Cigarette butts should be contained into a space that will (hopefully) allow most of the cigarette to biodegrade, that being a landfill. No Butts About It offers free downloads of posters encouraging cigarette butt cleanup.

The Environmental Impact of Diapers - And Why You Should Use Reusable Cloth Diapers

Before the age of disposable diapers, there was no issue about diapers filling up landfills. Diapers were washed, reused, and reused again until they wore out. Today, a diaper is made with bleached tissue using Dioxin, a harmful carcinogenic by-product of bleaching.

There are a number of other health dangers of disposable diapers, and even more consequences for the environment. We're not sure how long diapers will take to biodegrade into the environment, loosely using the word "biodegrade." Disposable diapers are actually not biodegradable. Plastic materials, gels, and stuffing all are parts of the diaper, some of which do not biodegrade. The other problem is that disposable diapers aren't safe for landfills. Last time we checked, the landfill isn't a waste treatment center. Since tens of billions of diapers are thrown away every year, that means tens of billions of pounds of untreated human waste head out into the environment every year, unchecked, untreated, and left to work their way into our groundwater. Letting diapers pile up forever and ever just doesn't make sense. Where will they go? Right now, the number of new births far outweighs the number of diapers that are biodegrading, which is zero.

The other part of disposable diapers that "stinks" is that they might be causing dermatitis, or diaper rash, on your baby. Cloth diapers let your baby's skin breathe. Owners of cloth diapers tend to also change the diapers more often, since they can be reused.

Not sold on the thought of reusable diapers? There are more eco friendly options out there for disposables. While these aren't quite as good for the environment as reusable cloth diapers, they are a good step in the right direction. They might also be good to have on hand when reusable cloth diapers might be a messy situation, like when you're on the road all day with your baby.

Reusable cloth diapers also make sense for your wallet. The cost of reusable diapers over one year if you cleaned them yourself is roughly 1/10th the cost of disposable diapers. So not only does reusing your own diapers benefit the environment and your baby, but it benefits you, too. That's thousands of dollars you could start putting away for your baby's college fund, and that isn't getting any less expensive anytime soon.

If you're thinking of getting some eco friendly baby diapers, this page will walk you through some of the most earth friendly solutions, best rated cloth diapers, and best rated chlorine free environmentally friendly disposable diapers. You can also read the how to change baby diapers tutorial (it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it!).