One of the best things you can do to help save the earth is simply by spreading the word, inspiring and reminding others of the need to be more proactive in taking steps to protect the environment. The good thing about spreading the word these days is that we have the Internet, making it super easy to reach out to people without having to step out of your living room. Today, updates and tweets on social media sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter is the equivalent of word-of-mouth. By simply posting/tweeting something about the environment on your social accounts, you can already help bring more awareness to people in your online circle.

Flooding people with green tweets might, however be a bit counterproductive. A regular tweet will get people’s notice, but tweets exclusively about environmental stuff and your friends and followers might start tuning out your tweets. If you want to show your support of green living without being to aggressive about it, you might want to instead set your Twitter background to show pictures with an environmental theme.

InstaBG is a great app that can help you do this easily. It uses Instagram photos to make a collage of just about any topic you can think of. All you need to do is sign in using your TwitterID, enter an eco-related tag, choose your preferred settings (Note the difference in tile size, spacing, space colors of the sample backgrounds below), click on preview, and click on “Set this image to Twitter” when you are satisfied with the results. You don’t have to have an Instagram account to do this, although you do have the option of using your Instagram photos for the collage. You can also set the background to automatically change each day if you so wish.

InstaBG generated background using “recycle” as tag

InstaBG generated background using “organic” as tag

By doing not only will you end up with nicer Twitter background, but one that shows (and hopefully reminds) people just how much you support environmental initiatives.

Images generated using InstaBG

Blogging about the environment is a good way of sharing your ideas and personal experiences on helping save the environment. It’s also a good way to encourage your readers to do the same.

If you do plan on starting, or already have, a green blog, dream big and aim to reach as large an audience as you can. After all, the more people you reach, the more people you can help influence to take a more responsible attitude towards the environment.

To make sure your green blog doesn’t end up with just a handful of regular readers, put some effort into promoting your blog. Again, you can do this without leaving the comfort of your own home. Some ways you can promote your blog include submitting your blog details in letting your Facebook friends and Twitter followers know about it, telling people in your household to spread the word, expediting being indexed in Google by submitting your URL, and using the services of web directories.

A good web directory you can sign up with to help you promote your blog is Blog Search Engine. It’s easy to sign up, since all you need to do is fill out their form to submit your blog details, pay the basic $14.99 fee via Paypal, and wait for them to send you a confirmation email. What you’ll get in return is a link to your blog and a review, with an opportunity to become the featured blog if your opt to upgrade your package.

Whatever steps you do decide to take to promote your green blog, remember that what’s important is that you do try your best to help educate and encourage others to save our Earth.

Green Blog icon courtesy of Tutorial Scripts

One way by which you can do this is by staying at environment-friendly hotels. Yes, there is such a thing as a green hotel. With practically every sector jumping into the green bandwagon, it is but expected to see the hospitality industry practice green habits as well.

To make it easy for travelers to find hotels and other types of accommodations that are environment-friendly, iStayGreen has come up with a web site which lists the best green accommodations on earth. So what makes a hotel a green hotel? According to iStayGreen, green properties are those which make a conscious effort to lay in place earth-friendly practices. This can include power saving devices, less use of chemical materials, and serving healthy food produced in a sustainable manner.

The web site aims to empower the public and help them make informed decisions as to the impact of their travel and lodging decisions. In the web site, you will find a comprehensive listing of hotels, bed and breakfasts, resorts, and hostels – all of which are green to a certain degree. You can also read user reviews and, if you become a member, you can provide your own reviews.

Fret not if you are looking for lodging in an international destination – iStayGreen.org even has international listings so you can find eco-friendly accommodation whether you’re booking a Japan hotel or an Italy hotel. Indeed, resources like iStayGreen can help the average person like you and me to contribute to the conservation of our planet.

Photo courtesy of iStayGreen

The night after her baby brother’s birthday party, my 6-year-old daughter came into our bedroom at around midnight saying “Mom I feel si….” and promptly projectile vomited in the middle of our doorway. The next 24 hours were awful, she couldn’t hold anything down, had a fever, and felt absolutely terrible. Classic symptoms of gastroenteritis. And what I find most annoying is that earlier in the week I had received a letter from her school saying that there were multiple cases of gastro going around the school, and it gave necessary measures on how to avoid it – washing hands, keeping clean, etc. Obviously not easy to do for 6-year-olds in the playground or school canteen.

So now that she had indeed caught the bug, the only thing I could do was to protect the rest of the family, especially her two little brothers. Aside from issuing a strict handwashing policy at home, I took on the task of disinfecting crucial areas like the kitchen, toilets and places my daughter used. I resisted the urge to buy the heavy-duty Lysol, and instead found a website which had some great information on how to make your own less-toxic disinfectants – so you save money, save the earth, keep healthier and hopefully kill a few germs while you’re at it.

Home-made Alternatives

Disinfecting/Deodorizing Cleaner
Add 1/2 cup of borax to 4 litres of warm water.

One hospital used this formulation for cleaning for a year. The monitoring bacteriologist reported that the solution satisfied the hospital’s germicidal requirements. (Dadd)

Disinfectant
Mix 2 teaspoons borax, 4 tablespoons vinegar and 3 cups hot water. For stronger cleaning power add 1/4 teaspoon liquid castile soap. Wipe on with dampened cloth or use non-aerosol spray bottle.

Tea Tree Disinfectant
20 drops tea tree oil (approx. 1/5 tsp. or 1 ml)
20 drops emulsifier
1 cup water or vinegar
Put emulsifier in container. Add oil and blend. Add 1cup water or vinegar.

Cinnamon Disinfectant
12 drops cinnamon oil (approx. 1/8 tsp. or 0.6 ml)
12 drops emulsifier
1 cup water or vinegar
Put emulsifier in container. Add oil and blend. Add 1cup water or vinegar. Shake before using.

Newspaper: Yes, thats it! Crumpled old newspaper. My Mom swears by it. You can use this to dry as well, to avoid streaking.

Vinegar and Water: Two simple ingredients, one cheap and effective solution. The only hitch is that you have to beat with the sour smell for a while – but it does eventually wear off.

The Best Window Cleaner – I found this recipe online:

Make a great all-purpose window cleaner by combining 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent, and 2 cups of water in a spray bottle. Combine in a spray bottle. Shake to blend.

If you must buy the stuff, here are some good options:

Eco Products, Boulder Colorado

Natural Collection Products

Eco hip Environmental Products

Ecover

Yes, there are lots of products around you can buy, one of the best ones is the one pictured above by Method, who I must say make some really sweet-smelling stuff albeit a bit pricey. My next project is to spend a weekend concocting my own brews to care for wood. Here are some of the recipes I found online that I’ll be trying out:

The Daily Green
Vinegar: Whip up a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar and 30 ounces of warm water. Put in a recycled spray bottle, then spray on a cotton rag or towel until lightly damp. Then mop your floors, scrubbing away any grime.

Green Living Ideas
Furniture Polish: Mix 1 cup lemon juice with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp water; lightly apply to furniture using a soft cloth. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then buff.

Eartheasy
Wood Floors: apply a thin coat of 1:1 vegetable oil and vinegar and rub in well.
Furniture Polish: For varnished wood, add a few drops of lemon oil into a 1/2 cup warm water. Mix well and spray onto a soft cotton cloth. Cloth should only be slightly damp. Wipe furniture with the cloth, and finish by wiping once more using a dry soft cotton cloth.
For unvarnished wood: mix two tsps each of olive oil and lemon juice and apply a small amount to a soft cotton cloth. Wring the cloth to spread the mixture further into the material and apply to the furniture using wide strokes. This helps distribute the oil evenly.

Effects Of Cell Phone Radiation With Green Planet Armour

For years, my spouse, an anti-technology dinosaur, has been preaching the danger of cellphones. He’s always owned one though (pre-paid), rather begrudgingly, never turning it on unless absolutely necessary, much to my annoyance. Well, the other day he told me it was time I did some research on the dangers of cellphones and do a post on it on YURTO as he reckoned most people use their cellphones at home even if it was invented for use outside of the home.

What I found was basically that cellphones emitted radiation, which when given in large doses, is indeed dangerous. In fact, I read this very disturbing article in the UK Telegraph, wherein a noted brain specialist says that “mobile phones are more dangerous than smoking” and was the reason for the rise in brain tumors.

Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take “immediate steps” to reduce exposure to their radiation.

The study, by Dr Vini Khurana, is the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risks.

It draws on growing evidence – exclusively reported in the IoS in October – that using handsets for 10 years or more can double the risk of brain cancer. Cancers take at least a decade to develop, invalidating official safety assurances based on earlier studies which included few, if any, people who had used the phones for that long.

Obviously, the mobile phone people has dismissed the professor’s claims as baloney, and a large study in the UK has shown little evidence, BUT it also said:

Professor Challis, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Nottingham, said: “It all sounds pretty reassuring and that is good. But we cannot rule out the possibility that cancer could appear in a few years. The epidemiological evidence is not good enough and most cancers take longer than 10 years to develop.

So I am inclined to agree with hubby, but am not quite prepared to give up my phone (what if there was an emergency with the kids while I was out?). Luckily, there is a company addressing this, and their product is something we should all get, short of giving up your portable.

Green Planet Armour is a nifty little product you can easily connect to your electronic device which uses nano technology to combat the ill effects of radiation. Check out their website today.

Earth Day is a wonderful opportunity to help kids understand and get involved with saving the earth. Making Earth Day a fun event to look forward too, with projects that they see through the year, will hopefully instill values of being environmentally caring – something they can bring into adulthood.

Here are some places you can start:

1. i Go Green at Every Age – The folks here at iVillage have great tips on how you can get kids to go green. For example, preschool kids can wash their hands using a thin “pencil” stream of water, while a grade schooler can unplug the tv or computer at night or using reusable containers for school packed lunches.

2. Make Some Crafts - Kids love crafts, so getting creative is a great way of teaching them about Earth Day while having fun. Kaboose has some super craft ideas which uses recycled products to make useful things like a pet food scoop made out of an old laundry detergent bottle or herb planters from empty cans.

3. Do Activities Online – For kids who enjoy learning online, there are many kid- friendly websites you can visit with them. A good one is Roofus’ Home, which shows how a golden retriever’s home can be energy efficient.

4. Host an Earthday Party! – Why not get your kids together with some friends for an Earth Day party? Its a fun way to learn about Earth Day by playing games, eating sustainable foods, and doing a project like recycling or planting a tree. You can can then revisit what you’ve done at next year’s Earth Day and the children will be thrilled to see the results.

I think its wonderful that Earth Day is getting big around the world. Just a few years ago very few people even knew what it was, let alone celebrate it, but today, as early as March, I have been getting emails from people and groups to start planning for the event.

In my community, we have an organic garden and herb center (created from a vacant lot) which we opened on Earth Day two years ago. It has a spirulina fountain, a recycling area and a nifty machine that turns waste into energy which supplies heat to an oven/cooker. A small group of nature-loving ladies (mostly seniors!) started the project with very little money (mostly their own), but with determination, creativity and hard work, the garden is something we are all so proud of today. They sell the produce for a minimal price which goes to the upkeep of the garden and for the foundation they created which also supports other environmental projects in the area (more on that next time).

For Earth Day we have an event planned, where we (I’ve joined the group!) will be unveiling a new part of the garden, some new equipment and talk about the success stories of the year and some great things we have planned for the future. Luckily we also have a chef as part of the group, so the food is always excellent and it becomes a party!

What is YOUR Earth Day event? Click here to find out.

The Romantic Dinner
Staying home and cooking a romantic candlelight dinner for your sweetheart is the obvious Earth-friendly choice, not only because you can choose organic ingredients and get creative like this delicious looking vegetarian ravioli dish pictured above, but energy is also saved by not needing the car and of course, turning the lights down. But if you have young kids like us, a quiet romantic dinner at home is a near impossibility, so we have no choice but to brave the Valentines crowds and go out. Yes, you can make some good choices here to by not travelling too far, and choosing an eco-friendly restaurant (try and google it – you’ll be surprised how many there are!). Failing that, try and find a restaurant which serves organic produce, recycles, uses energy efficient lighting and so on. Oh, and and make sure you toast with organic bubbly too.

Sweets (and other gifts) For Your Sweet
Organic, fair trade chocolates are the way to go here, and the choices are huge. For more serious presents of the “girls best friend” variety, the green minded can go for vintage jewelry, which really just means recycled! Perhaps Grandma has some pieces you could revamp? Conflict-free diamonds is another good option, and the Canadians are doing it pretty well (no sign of Leonardo di Caprio here). Brilliant Earth, for example, is one company with a conscience who manufactures and sells diamonds with the mission of improving the lives of struggling communities in the diamond trade.