Be a responsible dog owner – scoop up that poop!
Signs to this effect are scattered all over the place. After all, who likes stepping on dog excrement? More than that, though, waste left around can spread bacteria and even leak to the ground water, especially if you walk your dog in the park. Be extra diligent in cleaning up after your mutt!

Consider biodegradable cat litter.
The clay-based dumping litters that are popular nowadays can be convenient BUT the material used in them is usually from strip mines: HARMFUL to the environment. More so, the clay does not decompose easily. Not convinced yet? Well, the average cat litter box contains silica dust which is carcinogenic. Would you want this dust to be inhaled by your precious feline pet?

Be more discriminatory when buying pet food.
Choose the healthy kind, the kind which makes use of natural meat. Read the labels and try to purchase pet food that was produced in a sustainable manner. Even better, why not consider making your own pet food? If you think that this route is more expensive, consider the fact that healthier pet food translates to a healthier pet, which in turns means fewer visits to the vet –fewer expenses!

Remember that awful pet food poisoning scare a couple of years ago? Luckily, none of our pets (5 dogs, 7 cats) were victims of the poisoning, but many people I knew lost their beloved pets because of it. One good thing to come of the tragedy though, was that organic and natural pet food sales rose as more people decided to switch.

I am one of those people, and though I often wondered what was in the usual brands like Alpo, Pedigree or Whiskas, I never really bothered to really look. Well, according to Newman’s Own Organics, whose organic pet products I love and use (and their people products too!),it’s pretty disturbing, such as poultry “by products”:

“Ground, rendered, cleaned slaughtered poultry carcass parts such as necks, feet, lymph nodes, undeveloped eggs and intestines (and a small amount of feathers). The quality is very inconsistent between batches. Note: By product meals are often derived from 4-D meat sources – defined as food animals that have been rejected for human consumption because they were presented to the meat packing plant as “Dead, Dying, Disabled or Diseased”.

Ugh. Would you honestly feed this stuff to your cat or dog? If your pets are considered part of the family, as ours are, it makes total sense to put as much thought in their food as you do yours. Yes, it can cost much more to buy organic or holistic pet food, but there is an alternative. Make it yourself. Here’s a great book I found, The Natural Pet Cookbook (pictured above), which will help get you started. Not only will you be happy in the knowledge that you are feeding your pets healthy, natural food, but you’ll also notice the change – healthier, happier pets!

Before you think I’ve gone absolutely mad in suggesting you bring home an actual baby veal to be placed under the tree, let me explain that I’m talking about farm animal adoption, which is a great gift idea for your animal-loving and vegetarian friends and family.

If you find modern farming methods as abhorrent as I do, the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary is an ideal place to get a wonderful present such as this. Take Dylan, for instance, photographed above, a calf who was found stuck in his own feces. Being male, he was of no use to farmers because he couldn’t produce milk.

Through this website (which is 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so your gift is even tax-exempt), you can simply use your credit card to pay and your giftee will receive a photo of the animal, a certificate and their story. So not only do you save fuel by shopping at home, but you also save the earth by forgoing the usual mass consumerism of the holiday season. Needless to say, your kids will love you for saving “Wilbur” from the bacon factory.

“…with the FABULOUS gift of an ANIMAL SPONSORSHIP the lucky (and now adoring) recipient of your uber-goodness will receive a beautiful, personalized photo card of the animal who you select (or we can select for you), including a description of that animal’s rescue story and personality, plus an optional personalized note from you! The recipient also gets full membership to the farm and special privileges to visit their animal any time of year, and your credit card will be billed a modest amount each month.”

Welcome to Yurto, the blog about eco-friendly living in the home. Inspired by the yurt, an ancient circular dwelling place built in tune with nature, we hope to explore the ways we can all make a change for the better in the world that we live in – beginning from our homes.

Why is it so important to go green? Al Gore, who woke up the world with his now-famous documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, puts it succinctly:

“…Some of the leading scientists are now saying we may have as little as 10 years before we cross a kind of point of no return, beyond which it’s much more difficult to save the habitability of the planet in the future…”

10 years??? Now that’s a scary thought.  If you have children like me, that’s enough reason to stop procrastinating and do something about NOW.

So from plastic to canvas, wasting to conserving,  lets find ways to care for the earth while we can and live healthier, happier lives.