IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

July 31/08 — Pledged not to buy bottled water. The transportation and plastics involved make it VERY unfriendly to the environment. I have a new SIGG bottle which I refill with tap water.

To see a complete list of green triumphs check the right-hand column called "Green things done to date".

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The beautiful is in nature, and it is encountered under the most diverse forms of reality. Once it is found it belongs to art, or rather to the artist who discovers it."
—Gustave Courbet

IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

July 29/08 — Pledged not to get newspaper subscriptions; if I want news, I'll read it on their web site! I'll only read newspapers if it's a communal paper like at a restaurant.

To see a complete list of green triumphs check the right-hand column called "Green things done to date".

Tuesday Tooth Report

Teeth 2-6 and 2-7 are slowly being pulled outward to widen the back of my arch. That means that chewing only works on the right side right now. There must be a little movement on the front top teeth as well because I've noticed that I'm clenching a lot and my cheek is irritated by one of my brackets. I can accept the discomfort because I can plainly see that I'm going to have straight teeth at the end of all this!

IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

July 27/08 — Met with my landlord to see what we can do about getting our office garbage recycled.

To see a complete list of green triumphs check the right-hand column called "Green things done to date".

We Need Viewer Opinion on Laundry!

A lot of people are asking me what they can do to make laundry day more environmentally-friendly. Well, I'm going to need your help to answer this question thoroughly. So far, I've changed my habits in two ways. 1. I use cold water instead of hot so that I'm not using power to heat the water. 2. I've seriously reduced the amount of soap that I use. The soap companies recommend a full plastic scoop (which they supply) with every load. Well, I decided to test that theory. I'm down to 3 tablespoons and the laundry still comes out clean. Personal opinion? The laundry companies just want to sell more of their soap. They're more interested in the bottom line than the environment.

Viewer challenge: please let us know your suggestions or what you've been doing to reduce your impact on the environment when it comes to laundry. Thanks!

IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

July 26/08 — Cold water for laundry! I use cold water almost exclusively to do laundry. It works perfectly and it means that no power was used to heat the water.

To see a complete list of green triumphs check the right-hand column called "Green things done to date".

IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

July 23/08 — Sort Green/Blue garbage. If garbage is recycled in your community, be sure to sort and bag it properly so that it can be reused and won't go in the landfill.

To see what things I'm adding to my list daily, check out the "Green things done to date" in the right-hand column.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." — Ghandi

IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

July 22/08 — Bought 100% recycled bags (made from old pop bottles) for bi-weekly groceries so that we won't be using throw-away plastic bags. That's a savings of 130 bags a year. If I live until 80, that's about 5,590 unused bags. That's just 2 people's bag savings in this world! Imagine if you did this, too?

To see what things I'm adding to my list daily, check out the "Green things done to date" in the right-hand column.

Tuesday Tooth Report

Lots to report today! Yesterday I had another Orthodontist appointment. We changed the wires to #18 square. They are designed to widen my arch. We also added two "buttons" to the inside of teeth 2-6 and 2-7 so that elastics can be wrapped around them and their counterpart's brackets on the jaw below; resulting in 2-6 and 2-7 slowly being pulled outward to widen the back of my arch. And thus begins the process of aligning my bite. Can't wait for it to be complete! Speaking of complete, the Orthodontist doesn't want to speak too soon but she suspects this whole process will be done earlier than originally predicted. Yay!

IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

July 21/08 — Instead of throwing out old blankets, we delivered them to the local animal shelter who are happy to reuse them.

To see what things I'm adding to my list daily, check out the "Green things done to date" in the right-hand column.

Happy Happy Dog.com

Recently I started a web site called HappyHappyDog.com to celebrate happy happy dogs and their human companions. My goal is to get people submitting photos from all over the world of their very happy dogs; enough photos that I can put up a new photo every day. I've had great success with it and have received photos from as far away as Australia!

It now houses a "Top Dog" photo contest, a "Wags to Riches" column where people submit their dog's story from rough beginnings to the good life, and advertising specifically selected to suit the site's audience.

The success doesn't stop there. A happy fan started a Facebook Fan Club where Facebook members can vote on the Photo Contest winners.

IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

July 20/08 — Put two bricks in the toilet tank so that each flush uses 4x8x4 square inches less of water EVERY flush for the REST of my life. That's 2 Litres every flush. That's a water savings of 6 Litres every day; 2190 Litres every year. Assuming I live to about 80, that's about 87,600 Litres of water NOT wasted! Imagine what I'll be saving on my water bill.

To see what things I'm adding to my list daily, check out the "Green things done to date" in the right-hand column.

IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

07/19/08 — Used typperware to take my restaurant leftovers home — no more throw-away styrofoam containers!

To see what things I'm adding to my list daily, check out the "Green things done to date" in the right-hand column.

IEBGreen Challenge: Today's Triumph

07/18/08 — Used vinegar in the dishwasher instead of 'rinse' to leave the dishes spotless — worked beautifully!

To see what things I'm adding to my list daily, check out the "Green things done to date" in the right-hand column.

Man's personal goal to help women do better in a male-dominated business world thwarted by a common male trait

This interesting entrepreneur whose book I recently reviewed has a web site to take his goals of helping women in the business world to the next level.

GhostCEO.com contains free and inexpensive podcasts, an electronic newsletter and a blog that are geared to helping women in workplaces that are dominated by men.

While Chris Flett has obvious insight into the old boys network and he's genuinely interested in helping women, it's sometimes difficult to take him seriously. The number of grammatical and spelling errors on his site, his Blog, and in his book are at risk of undermining him. He may have insight on what women could do to work better with men but he needs to learn a little more about what men could do to work better with women. One of those things is caring about details. If Flett wants us to love his book (and buy/recommend it), he should hire an editor who knows how to write for his audience.

In a world where, as he agrees, women are often the ones in the office who complete the work for the male-dominated C-level Executive world, they should be as interested in knowing how to work well with us as we are about working well with them.

Happy Accident: Book Review — What Men Don't Tell Women About Business

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot, but there are others who, thanks to their art and intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun." —Pablo Picasso

Tuesday Tooth Report

The front 8 (top 4 and bottom 4) feel extremely tight this week. If I push their backs with my tongue, they give a tiny pop.

IEBGreen Challenge: Use Power-free Gym Machines

anonymous said... "I try to use the machines at the gym that are powered by me." Love it! You probably get more exercise, too! Keep the suggestions rolling in. Everything you contribute gets you Green points AND helps others get Greener.

To see more viewer comments, visit the original It's Easy Being Green article. And, to see what things I'm adding to my list daily, check out the "Green things done to date" in the right-hand column.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

You are made of awesome." (Not really words of wisdom but nice to hear from someone!)

Tuesday Tooth Report

Teeth aren't the only thing affected by braces. Cheeks and lips take a beating from time to time, too. Wearing a mouth guard at night keeps my braces from eating into my cheeks while I sleep. To keep my lips from drying out, I wear lip gloss. The one that I've found works the best is Lip Smacker.

IEBGreen Challenge: Compost workplace garbage

anonymous said... "Every day I bring home compostable food from work, such as banana peels, napkins, etc., and put it in my compost at home."

This is wonderful! Most offices don't separate their garbage into Green (wet/compostable) and Blue (dry/recyclable) garbage — it all goes to the landfill together. So, this is an excellent way to reduce your office's contribution to the landfill site. If you're composting like anonymous is doing, then you're adding a rich nutrient to your garden at the same time. Gardens mean extra carbon-dioxide-breathing plants around your house which reduce CO2 and add Oxygen to your lot; not to mention beautiful flowers and tasty veggies for your family! This also means that you're reducing your dependance on food that had to travel to get to your doorstep.

Wow! By bringing Green garbage home to compost, you're significantly reducing your carbon footprint!

Thanks for your idea, anonymous!

To see more viewer comments, visit the original It's Easy Being Green article. And, to see what things I'm adding to my list daily, check out the "Green things done to date" in the right-hand column.

Wednesday's Words of Wisdom

I joke with crowds that when a ship is sinking, after the rats have jumped off and the crew is in the lifeboats, the woman is helping the captain get his jacket on to make sure that he stays warm for the trip. Do you think Alphas will do that for you? No!" —Christopher V. Flett, Author of What Men Don't Tell Women About Business. ISBN: 978-0-470-14508-1

Tuesday Tooth Report

For some reason, I really don't like eating in front of people. I like food so much that I usually scarf it down -- the result can be embarrassing. You can imagine the extra anxiety now that I have braces on my teeth! Well, this week I ate with friends and managed to keep my composure. I was quite comfortable, actually. Either the company was great or I'm getting used to these things. A little of both, I'd say.