GO Greener With Tracey ODonnell

                                                                               Are you still going through the trouble of bagging your grass clippings and putting them to the curb for pickup?  Do you cringe at the idea of composting?  Well, take the bag off of your lawn mower forever and just cut your grass.  DYK that leaving your grass clippings where they fall is the GREEN way to complete your landscaping and grassing chores? Just cut the grass and go, the cut grass will decompose in a few days and return to the soil, helping your lawn stay healthy and saving money and energy on bagging and discarding. For some simple yard tips from the EPA; http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/wycd/catbook/tip10.htm.

Do you care about our environment?  What about the magnificent Yellowstone National Park? Help save old faithful with 2 minutes of your time.... According to the Sierra Club; "coal pollution from power plants like the Colstrip coal-fired power plant in Montana is impacting the magnificent views and unique Yellowstone experience. There is cost-effective technology that could clear the air at Yellowstone and dramatically improve the views, but Big Coal is lobbying the EPA hard to install second-best technology to help their bottom line." Click here to volunteer your two minutes;  http://tinyurl.com/82v6g9u

www.plantabillion.org

                                                  Have you ever wondered what happens to all those "Mardi Gras" BEADS!  Its estimated that 25 million beads are circulated during the Mardi Gras time period.  Unfortunately, these beads end up in local waters and as expected in our landfills. Credit can be given to non profit organization, 'Arc of Greater New Orleans' who's purpose is supplying folks with psychological disabilities- jobs and employment.  They built a float to travel the streets of New Orleans during Mardi Gras and at the end of Mardi Gras to promote the collection of the beads with the intent of recycling them. The float debuted during a February 5, 2012 Mardi Gras celebration parade and collected 1000 pounds of beads.  These beads will be collected, bundled and resold at a discounted price.  The expected sale...

In the year 2010, the typical American family spent an average of $1179.00 per month on electrical equipment.    With that statistic in mind, I can’t help but wonder where our “dinosaur” electronics are ending up.  Since a personal computer will not biodegrade or decompose - the Earth is becoming littered with electronics.  Not only computers but telephones, mp3 players, voice recorders, televisions, etc. are included in the “electronics” title. How do you dispose of your electronics?                                                    The earth’s soil littered with these potentially hazardous items - is not a safe or productive means of disposal and can wreak havoc on our ecosystem.  The ...

A NEW LIFE FOR OLD CARDS What's the perfect way to recycle-- Yuletide greeting cards and keep your kids busy on a wintry day? Have them cut their favorite images and details from the cards and then turn them into gift tags or tape them to a window for a cheery display. BROWN-PAPER PACKAGES ARE A FAVORITE THING Inspired by the Erdmann family of Nutley, New Jersey, try going brown with holiday wrapping paper. Simply stamp the paper with a cookie cutter dipped in paint . When the paint is dry, wrap the present and tie it with ribbon or -- for "Sound of Music" fans -- with string . POP-DOWN TO CHRISTMAS Inspired by an idea from the Hales family of South Jordan, Utah, this bubble packaging countdown calendar offers a daily burst of fun, so you'll probably have to make one for each family member. To make a Christmas countdown calendar, cut a tree shape with 24 bubbles from bubble packaging (as shown), use glue dots or double-sided tape...