Thursday, May 21, 2009

Golden Green Earth members!!!!!!!!


Hello everyone!

Hope you are all having a great day and that you are enjoying the outdoors.



We try to share with you some of the ideas and projects some of our "members" are doing.

One of our first members is LILA and she started her own project with some friends cleaning up her school surroundings. Her action certainly triggered the curiosity of other kids that realized they can do more for the place they use everyday.

So big THANKS to Lila for her great action taken.


She certainly well deserves her Golden Green Earth pin ! Congratulations and thank YOU!


PS: The picture shows Lila presenting her project to her classmates!


We want to hear from you too. Send us your story, your project, your ACTION and pictures too so we can share it here.


HAPPY GREEN EARTH DAY TO YOU ALL!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Interview & Book Review

We have been receiving many nice book reviews, which makes us really happy!

Just placing a link for you to check out an interview and book review done this week.

check it out:
http://writeforareader.blogspot.com/2009/05/author-interview-coach-pedro.html


Hope you like it!

Oh, and NO, Pedro is NOT getting the puppy yet.... maybe in the near future.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Ideas with Recycled materials




To create new things one just needs to put ideas into practice.
I have seen many awesome things developed from recycled materials and thought that you may be interested and or have developed something really cool that you would like to share. So, if you have done anything that you like to share, send it to us so we can post it and let others know. Here is a cool idea I saw on the net. I love Wind Chimes. Hope you will like it too.
The dog picture is also from an idea developed from recycled materials.


Use up your old scrap pieces of wood and clay pots to create this summer wind chime to enjoy. I used a Sailboat theme with an old scrap piece of wood, little clay pots, white nylon cording for strings and added big washers for the chimes. Hand paint a theme of your choice. Drill a few holes in the wood for hanging at the top. Add your clay pots and washers and you're all set to enjoy both the visual beauty and sounds this wind chime will make.

Approximate Time: 1 hour or less (drying time of paint)

Supplies:

  • piece of wood, any length (this one is 12 inches)
  • Drill with smaller drill bit to drill your holes in the wood to hang it and to add your clay pots
  • amount of clay pots you desire (get the ones with holes in the bottoms already)
  • nylon cording to hang your pots
  • acrylic paints of your choice to paint your theme
  • paint brushes various sizes
  • washers to add to the bottoms to create the chimes sound (clay pots will also create a separate sound as well when they hit)
  • clear spray paint to protect your finished piece after your done with your design and it has dried)
  • Sailboat theme paint colors are: 2 tones of blue sky blue for sky /slate blue for the ocean water level line/flesh for the sand/white for the waves break around the sailboats bottom and on the shoreline/gray and white for the seagulls flying/ any color for sailboat but I used gray for the boat and mask pole then white for the sails/red and white for the washers to look like life preservers
  • water to thin out your paints to give a muted hazy effect
  • old newspapers to lay your items on to paint and use as a paint pallet for your paints colors to easily reach

Instructions:

So simple to make and both pretty to see when it's done as well as the lovely sounds both the pots and washers will make.

  1. Start by drilling two holes in the top of your wood piece about 1/4 way in on each side so you can attach your string here for hanging. For my sailboat theme I let my knots be tied on the front side to be revealed giving it more of a sea fairing look.
  2. Drill your holes desired in the bottom side of the wood going by the number of pots you will use. Here I used 3 so my holes were spaced out in the center.
  3. Paint your scene on the wood and clay pots turned upside down then let dry. Anyone can paint this sailboat scene, the next few directions discuss how to do it.
  4. Using a medium sized soft paintbrush wet it first then wipe off with old rag then put out a quarter size or less amount of each color paints on a piece of newspaper. Starting at the top of the wood first use the lightest blue just a bit in your brush and just paint across the first top 1/4 of your wood in a wave motion until you have your sky
  5. Then rinse your brush and wipe it almost dry on your rag and do the same thing using your 2nd darker blue color which will create your ocean water line on the 1/2 of your wood across which creates your deepest water.
  6. Take the gray color for your sailboat paint on a smile like shape on the darkest water line and paint on a line up the center of the boat for your mast.
  7. Paint your sail doing the same smile shape on one side of the mast pole but paint it on vertically. Take the white of your paint brushes end just tab on in a light punching method some white paint around the bottom edges of the boat and across the darkest water line horizontally which will create your water break on the ocean.
  8. For painting on seagulls, use a thin liner brush and paint on v shapes in 2 or 3 tiny sizes far apart then go over again just lightly on the edges with white paint still using your liner brush and this will create the wings color of your seagulls.
  9. If you desire to carry the same theme onto your clay pots you do the same thing but next to the last bottom edge of the pot will be flesh color paint for the sand beach line then I added the blue below it as water rushing up into the sand.
  10. The washer for life preservers will be painted white then just paint on red every other area in a curved on way. Let all dry then spray with 2 coats clear spray paint to seal it.
  11. The nylon string will be different lengths that you decide. You just want your clay pots and washers to barely over lap while hanging beside each other so when the wind hits them they will touch and create sounds.
  12. Put your nylon string through the clay pots after you get the distance you desire and tie off knots underneath them. That way they stay in place.
  13. Then extend your string on down and tie on your washers. Usually I would of used fishing line in most of my projects but this being a sea theme the white nylon string look best and the more knots you tie in the strings the better they fit into this particular theme.

Hang and enjoy.

Monday, May 11, 2009

The importance of Recycling

Recycling conserves both raw materials and energy and reduces the amount of waste we produce. That's why shopping for products made from recycled materials makes such good sense.
Recycling all of your home’s waste newsprint, cardboard, glass, and metal can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 850 pounds a year.
Good Reasons to Recycle
1 - It takes 75,000 trees each week to produce the Sunday edition of the New York Times.
2 - If Americans recycled just one-tenth of their newspapers, we would save 25 million trees a year.
3 - Recycling and reusing the material in "tin" cans reduces energy use by 74%, air pollution by 85%, solid waste by 95%, and water pollution by 76%.
4 - It takes 95% less energy to make aluminum by recycling it than by producing it from its natural ore, bauxite. It costs less too.
5 - The average American uses 580 pounds of paper each year. As a nation we consume 850 million trees annually.
6 - In 1991, the Great Wall of China became the second largest man-made structure in the world. The largest was Fresh Kills Landfill, serving New York City. It is now the highest point on the east coast.
7 - Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour!
8 - FOR EVERY GLASS BOTTLE RECYCLED, WE SAVE ENOUGH ENERGY TO LIGHT A 100 WATT LIGHT BULB FOR 4 HOURS.
9 - Every year, Americans throw away enough office and writing paper to build a wall 12 feet high from New York to Los Angeles.
10 - In one year, American steel recycling saves enough energy to heat and light 18 million homes. One pound of steel saves enough energy to light a 60 watt bulb for 24 hours.


Tips for Recycling
Precycling is the step before recycling. This is the process of making a conscious choice to purchase or use products and services which will have a less harmful effect on the Environment.
Know what is recycled in your community. Some items may have special collections and recycling locations (oil & antifreeze at gas stations; plastic bags at grocery stores; six-pack rings and house batteries at schools; grass and leaves at garden centers; etc....). If the product is packaged in material that is NOT recycled in your community, it becomes GARBAGE and is wasted!
Buy products that use less packaging. Product packaging accounts for about 33% of all household garbage. If we refuse to buy products that are overpackaged, the manufacturers will by force to change their packaging to be more environmentally responsive.
Close the loop " Buy Recycled". Choose to buy products that are made from recycled material. Its only recycling if you buy recycled products.
Buy recyclable products. Choose products that are made of or packaged in recyclable material. Paper bags, cardboard boxes, glass bottles, aluminum and tin cans, and some plastics are easily recycled.
Avoid reliance on the word "degradable". A degrade product must be exposed to the element to breakdown. In a land fill these items do not breakdown because they are protected by tons of debris and dirt.
Avoid disposable and one-time use products. These are a waste of resources and energy to produce. In most cases their are reusable alternatives.
Buy in bulk or concentrated forms when ever possible. This usually saves money and reduces the amount of waste that is thrown away.
Reuse items. Try to reuse items as many times as possible. If you do not have a use for items that are still good or operational, donate them to a local charity or environmental organization. Ask to see their wish list, you may have something they need. Many items can also be used for other things than what they were first purchase for. Be creative!
A plastic bottle can be made into a/
Funnel by cutting off the bottom.
Liner for a planter or flower pot.
Bird feeder.
Container for storing nails, screws, washers and nuts.
Etc...
If you are not happy about the packaging you see, speak up. Let manufactures and store managers know that you are not happy with the way a product is packaged.
Producing 1 ton of paper from recycled pulp saves 17 trees, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, and 7000 gallons of water. It also reduces air pollutants by 60 pounds, saves 390 gallons of oil, and conserves 4200 kilowatt hours of energy -- enough to heat a home for half a year. Estimates show that 9 jobs are created for every 15,000 tons of solid waste recycled into new products.
Recycling reduces our reliance on landfills and incinerators. Recycling protects our health and environment when harmful substances are removed from the waste stream. Recycling conserves our natural resources because it reduces the need for raw materials.
Business Guide to Buying Recycled Products
Recycling is more than just placing certain materials in a special bin. The recycling loop is complete only when materials that you have separated for recycling are processed and remanufactured into new products, which are then sold. Recycling works only when consumers, businesses and organizations buy products made with recycled material.
Advances in manufacturing technology have enabled most recycled products to compete - both in price and quality - with products made from virgin materials.
Always look at the level of post-consumer recycled content in a product: this is the material that has been collected from consumers and reprocessed. Manufacturers often include pre-consumer material in their total recycled content calculation: this material includes manufacturing scraps, and other by-products that were never used in the consumer market.
Reduce, Reuse & Recycle!

Monday, May 4, 2009

IDEAS!


Hello everyone,

Hope you all had a great GREEN week and weekend. Weather was certainly a gift on Sunday.
Let's talk about ideas. We all have ideas, some big, some small, but ideas are always helpful and welcomed.
What kind of ideas do you have that can have an impact on your daily living ?

David send us a nice note of what he is doing. Check it out:

Hi Coach Pedro. This is my idea for the green earth club: Last weekend, instead of taking the car to the park, my mom and I ran and Lila rode her bike. I suggested that once every week, we walk, run, or ride bikes instead of driving. For example, my mom and I ran to WWS for practice. I think the club is really cool, and I like the book too. David
Send us your ideas! We would love to hear what you are doing!