My Green Doc Blog | Go Green * Be Green * Live Green * Love Green

Inspiring Video - A Perspective on the Not so "Lost Generation"

2009-01-29T09:56:00.000-08:00

This inspiring video takes a look at the generation that must care about this earth and no longer be apathetic and lethargic.

This video from the AARP is an interesting example about the power of the written word.

This is the time to remember there is hope and we can change the world.

Pledge to Serve the President

2009-01-19T19:21:00.001-08:00

Today on the Oprah Winfrey Show as part of the pre-inaugural events, Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore debut their short video, The Presidential Pledge.

The video includes more than 50 stars pledging what they are going to do to support the new president, to save the environment and to make the world a better place.

Watch the video at The Presidential Pledge lens, find out more and then decide what you will do to help the president and be the change that we seek.

Green Celebrity Pledges
Here are the green pledges being made by the celebrities:

Rita Wilson - To reduce my use of plastic,

Eva Mendez - By using less bottled water.

Eva Longoria Parker - To plant 500 trees this year.

Michelle Trachtenberg - To be more green.

Laura Linley - To no longer use the plastic bags at the grocery store.

Archie Kao - To consume less and cultivate more,

Cameron Diaz - So that we are on this planet forever.

Diddy - To turn the lights off.

Kevin Zegers - To sell my obnoxious car and buy an hybrid.

George Lopez - To drive slower and use less gas.

Will you join the pledge to "be a servant to our president and all mankind."

Reusable Wrapping Ideas for Christmas

2008-12-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

You can make your holidays greener by finding ways to wrap presents and gifts with bags, towels, scarves and other items can be used long after Christmas. What you can do for creating reusable wrapping depends on the amount of time that you have

In an hour you can make a reusable gift bag...

With a simple pattern, some glue or glue gunning and some stitching, you can make a reusable gift bag from paper, felt or from fabric you have around the house.

With a few hours you can make your own shopping bags...

Making your own reusable shopping bags may take a few hours, depending on what method you decide to use. Sewing a bag may take an hour. Knitting or crocheting a bag may take a couple of hours.

With a few hours you can crochet or knit your own shopping bags...

Crocheting or Knitting a shopping bag may take a bit longer a couple of hours depending on your speed and experience level. Grab the crochet hook or knitting needles, some favorite cotton yarn and a pattern and get working.

In a couple of minutes you can wrap a gift in a reusable shopping bag...

Using some simple wrapping techniques demonstrated in the video from the Baggu company, you can turn a reusable shopping bag into a great way to wrap a gift.

or in a scarf, dish towel or fabric...

You can make quick and easy gift bags from scarves, towels or fabric you have around the house. It just takes learning a few tips about Furoshiki an eco-friendly way of wrapping gifts.

In a couple of seconds you can wrap a gift with a purchased bag...

Perhaps the simplest and fastest way to gift wrap is to grab a purchased gift bag like the ones from CMYK (image) and put in the gift item. These make great grocery bags later.

For more ideas on Reusable Wrapping see Reusable Gift Wrapping for a Green Christmas.

Live Green, Live Freedom with Freeset Bags. Vote for Freedom

2008-11-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite bags that I got this year to carry my papers to work is a Freedom Tree Tote Bag/Book bag in an amazing shade of green. Not only is the bag a very beautiful design, it is also made from Jute a natural fiber, and is eco-friendly.

Perhaps the best thing about the bag is that it is made by Freeset Bags, a company in business to set people free, and in business for freedom. You can learn more about the Freeset Bag company by watching the video below:

Vote for the Freeset Video
The Freeset Video clip is part of Cinéma Prospérité, a film competition sponsored by the Social Equity Venture Fund. The competition set up to highlight the work of entrepreneurial businesses working with the poor and disadvantaged. Members of the online Cinéma Prospérité community can view and judge the videos; the online community will vote and select five finalists. All you need to do to become a member of the online community is register. Your vote can help decide if Freeset will be one of the recipients of $10,000.

Judging happens online from November 15, 2008 – November 30, 2008. Be sure to vote.

More about Freeset Bags
Freeset is a business that offers the choice of employment to women trapped in the sex trade in the largest red-light district in Kolkata (Calcutta), India.

12 Ways to Recycle or Reuse a Campaign Sign

2008-11-08T12:49:00.000-08:00

Inspired by post election energy and a post on How to Recycle Your Election Yard Signs by Planet Green, I came up with a Squidoo Lens on Ways to Recycle Campaign Signs.

How you choose to reuse or re-purpose the sign may depend on who you supported during the campaign and who the sign is for.

Here are the list of suggestions from Ways to Recycle Campaign Signs:

Perhaps the easiest thing to do is to disassemble the signs and take the parts to your local recycling center. You can find a recycling center by contacting Earth911.com

More about Earth911.com
At the Earth911.com website you can search for local recycling centers.

Simply enter in what you want to recycle and your zip code and Earth911.com will give you a list of your local recycling places.

Image Source: Laura Hertzfeld. Obama Signs. Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved.

Repower America

2008-11-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

"I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as President."

President-elect Barack Obama
July 17, 2008

Now that the elections are over, the Alliance for Climate Protection takes a look at what is next for the country. We are looking at a bold plan to Repower America with 100% clean electricity within 10 years.

Join the Alliance for Climate Protection and We Can Solve it to help Repower America by signing the petition nearly 2,000,000 signatures strong.

Nature Deficit Disorder - Are Children Not Getting Outside Enough?

2008-10-14T11:45:00.000-07:00

A growing number of children's advocates and political leaders are worried that our culture's disconnection from nature is harming kids. This lack of contact with nature may be leading to some of the most disturbing childhood trends, such as the rises in obesity, attention disorders and depression.

Concerns about the long-term consequences on children’s physical and emotional well-being have spawned a national movement to "leave no child inside."

This show from KQED's Quest from May 2008 takes a look at Nature Deficit Disorder.

The Children & Nature Network

The vision and mission of the Children & Nature Network is to give every child in every community a wide range of opportunities to experience nature directly, reconnecting our children with nature's joys and lessons, its profound physical and mental bounty.

The Children & Nature Network (C&NN) was created to encourage and support the people and organizations working to reconnect children with nature. The network provides a critical link between researchers and individuals, educators and organizations dedicated to children's health and well-being. C&NN also promotes fundamental institutional change and provides resources for sharing information, strategic initiatives and success stories.

More see Nature Deficit Disorder - Leave No Child Inside.

The Blue Man Group's Take on Global Warming - Can You Hear?

2008-09-10T11:38:00.000-07:00

The Blue Man Group take a serious look at Global Warming.

Join the Stop Global Warming Virtual March

Global warming isn't opinion. It's a scientific reality. The science shows that human activity has made enormous impacts to our planet that affect our well-being and survival. We can however begin to make significant repairs to reverse those impacts — but only through immediate action.

This is a movement about change, as individuals, as a country, and as a global community. The S top Global Warming Virtual March is a non-political effort to declare that global warming is here now and it’s time to act.

Join the 1,150,066 supporters of the Stop Global Warming Virtual March, and become part of the movement to demand our leaders freeze and reduce carbon dioxide emissions now. Have your voice be counted.

Since we are all contributors to global warming and we all need to be part of the solution.

The Earth is Calling. Can you hear?

Plant a Tree with the Nature Conservancy

2008-09-04T08:53:00.001-07:00

Learn more about Nature Conservancy's efforts to Plant a Billion Trees in the Atlantic Forests of Brazil.

One Dollar. One Tree. One Planet

More about The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.

A Call to Our Leaders - 100% Clean Electricity in 10 Years

2008-08-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

A new video and commercial from We Can Solve It released this week. This message is a call to our leaders to Give Us 100% Clean Electricity in 10 Years.

We must rebuild our economy, lower fuel costs, free ourselves from our addiction to oil, and save ourselves from the climate crisis. To do this, we need to demand that we Repower America with 100% clean electricity within 10 years.

Meeting this ambitious goal would create millions of new jobs, lead to lower energy costs for families and help America lead the fight against global warming.

Sign the Petition
You can sign the petition to our leaders

“We demand 100% clean electricity in 10 years.”

Remember Together, We Can Repower America

More about We Can Solve It
The numbers of people who have joined are growing. So far more than 1,515,148 have joined now We Can Solve It. (These numbers were 1,235,988 in May.)

The We Campaign is a project of The Alliance for Climate Protection -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan effort founded by Nobel laureate and former Vice President Al Gore. The goal of the Alliance is to build a movement that creates the political will to solve the climate crisis -- in part through repowering America with 100 percent of its electricity from clean energy sources within 10 years.

Find out more information on the We Can Solve It Campaign on the Squidoo lens.

Go Green - Be More Active this Steptember

2008-08-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

September is America On the Move’s national month long celebration highlighting the benefits of active living and healthy eating.

Steptember is A Celebration of Being Active and Healthy Eating.

The goal of Steptember is to get everyone to experience how small, simple changes can add up to a healthier lifestyle and healthy weight for life.

Making Two Small Changes
During the month of September, everyone is encouraged to experience America On the Move's small change approach that prevents weight gain and enhances health.

The approach includes taking two simple steps:

Adding just 2000 extra steps and eating 100 fewer calories each day are enough to help many Americans prevent the current average annual weight gain of 1-2 pounds.

Throughout September, the Steptember Challenge will be empowering millions of Americans to experience the simplicity, power and success of making small changes to live healthier.

Find out how you can get involved with Steptember on the Steptember lens that I wrote on this activity that will get you stepping and get you healthier.

Coming Soon - Dr. Dyer Joins the Green Living Community

2008-08-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

Sometime in September when Wellsphere rolls out it's new communities, Dr. Dyer and My Green Doc Blog will be included as a Top Health Blogger in the Green Living Community.

I am honored to be joining the Health Blogger’s Network on Wellsphere to help encourage people to

* Go Green * Be Green * Eat Green * Live Green * Share Green * Teach Green * Love Green *

Their vision to help people improve their health and wellness is the same one that I have been promoting, teaching, writing and blogging about for many years.

I am excited at the opportunity to share my thoughts on improving health and well being with a wider audience and look forward to promoting healthier lives and healthier living.

About Wellsphere
Wellsphere builds online healthy living communities that help people ‘Get active, Eat better and Unwind’.

Wellsphere’s groundbreaking platform works by connecting each member with local health and wellness resources, classes and activities that match their unique interests and goals, and with the personalized advice and social support they need to sustain healthy habits.

Keep checking back for more information about when the new version of the site goes live.

Seattle Answers the Paper vs. Plastic Question

2008-07-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

Seattle takes a look at the question "Paper or Plastic?" and comes up with a proposal that Seattle city officials hope will dramatically reduce plastic and paper bag waste within the city.

More about Headline: Earth
Katie Fehlinger hosts Headline: Earth, which takes an unbiased look at all sides of the global warming debate. Headline: Earth is a video podcast with features, interviews and commentary on current global warming issues.

Paper or Plastic? The Answer is Neither

2008-07-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

TreeHugger Blog took a look at the age old question Paper Bags or Plastic Bags? Everything You Need to Know.

Paper bags or plastic bags
Both paper and plastic bags require

Lots and lots of resources
Lots and lots of energy
Proper recycling

All of these require that consumers and municipal waste collector or private recycling company participate; there are a lot of different variables that can lead to low recycling rates.

Bottom Line from their Research

Ultimately, neither paper nor plastic bags are the best choice; we think choosing reusable canvas bags instead is the way to go.

From an energy standpoint, according to this Australian study,

Reusable Canvas bags are 14 times better than plastic bags
Reusable Canvas bags 39 times better than paper bags

This is based on numbers that assume reusable canvas bags get reused at least 500 times during their life time.

Grab a Reusable My Green Sac Bag and go the next time you go shopping. Try our double sided My Green Sac from Cafe Press, or one of our collection of choices on Zazzle.

Sources:
Collin Dunn. July 9, 2008. Paper Bags or Plastic Bags? Everything You Need to Know. TreeHugger.com

Australian Government. December 2002. Plastic Shopping Bags – Analysis of Levies and Environmental Impacts. Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

10 Everyday Ways to Contribute to a Healthier Planet

2008-07-21T01:38:00.000-07:00

Ten tips on everyday way you can go green taken from the book True Green: 100 Everyday Ways you Can Contribute to a Healthier Planet.

Power Shower - Try and limit your time in the shower to 5 minutes.
Run the dishwasher only when it is full or reduce water even more by washing them by hand (without the water running).
Use a solar clothes dryer, or a clothesline instead of the clothes dryer.
Stick to the old-fashioned way of clearing the driveway or leaves, using brooms and rakes.
Grow your own vegetables in a kitchen garden.
Get a mug instead of using disposable cups at work.
Print documents on both sides of the paper to cut down on paper use.
Turn off the lights when they are not in use.
Log out of the computer and shut it down when not in use.
Before you make any purchase, ask yourself if you really need it. Remember that less is really more.

More Information: True Green: 100 Everyday Ways you Can Contribute to a Healthier Planet.

Al Gore Challenges the Nation

2008-07-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

In his speech on Thursday July 18, 2008 Former Vice President Al Gore called for a “man on the moon” approach to the solving the problem of global warming. He challenged the nation to take bold steps towards solving the climate crisis.

You can view excerpts from his speech from We Can Solve It on YouTube:

You can also find out more information on two Squidoo Lenses that I have created one for the We Can Solve It Campaign and the other to honor Al Gore and the work he is doing.

Green Visiting - The Monterey Bay Aquarium

2008-07-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

In June we took the girls to one of their favorite places to visit, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Not only is the Aquarium a fun place to visit, it is a great way to teach children first hand about nature, the sea, sea life and the environment.

A visit to the aquarium is also a great way to teach them be more nature aware and develop a concern for the environment and for animals.

My daughters never seem to tire of visiting all of the different exhibits. This year they were finally old enough to sit through several of their educational programs, All about Otters, The Deep and another about the Jellies.

The Aquarium offers a variety of different programs that are fun, entertaining and educational teaching about the many different inhabitants of the aquarium and the deep ocean.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium also hosts a variety of different hands on programs are available for children and adults to experience the aquarium creatures up close and personal like getting to touch a sea anemone or a crab.

Conservation Message
The mission of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to "Inspire Conservation of the Oceans.

In addition to inspiring conservation of the oceans, the Aquarium is deeply committed to minimizing their environmental impact and to conducting business operations in ways that reflect and advance their conservation mission.

Staff members are encouraged to carpool, bike or ride the bus to work. The Aquarium only uses recycled paper for printing and photocopying.

Visitors are encouraged to minimize the use of water and paper products when using the restrooms, to dine on sustainable seafood resources and eat from recyclable containers. This simple conservation messages is displayed on every paper towel dispenser in the restrooms:

Paper Towels = Trees

Which makes you think twice about grabbing that second paper towel.

Learning Resources
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is a living learning institution. In addition to offering resources for those who can make it to the Aquarium they also offer online information and educational newsletters for teachers who may not be able to easily travel with their classes to Monterey.

You can learn more about the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a Teaching Resource or just get a glimpse at many of the different exhibits, more information and at least a virtual trip at the Monterey Bay Aquarium lens if it is too far to travel.

Image Source: Josh Berglund. Tropical Menagerie. Creative Commons License. Some Rights Reserved.

Fighting Climate Change

2008-06-29T16:53:00.000-07:00

The 350 Challenge is a small way to show support to fight climate change. The more bloggers that get the badge, the better.

Thousands of readers will know that the climate movement is spreading far beyond the typical “environmental” realm and into the norm.

Bloggers are encouraged to post the badge on their site. In exchange, a Brighter Planet will be offsetting 350 pounds of carbon in your name. 350 pounds is equivalent to 100 lightbulbs for a day, not driving a car for two full weeks, or turning off all of the power in Washington DC for five minutes.

Get your own 350 Badge for your blog, be sure to sign up and help show your support for fighting climate change.

The 350 Challenge is sponsored by a Brighter Planet.

More About a Brighter Planet
Brighter Planet is a Vermont start-up committed to fighting climate change and building a clean-energy future. Borne out of a Middlebury College classroom, we are dedicated to demonstrating how small actions can lead to meaningful change.

Learn New Words, Donate Free Rice

2008-06-10T13:48:00.001-07:00

A Chance to Let Others Eat Green

At FreeRice.com you can learn new words, improve your vocabulary at the same time you are donating free rice for the United Nation's World Food Program.

It is a fun way to learn some new words by playing the FreeRice Game and being able to donate free rice.

For each word you get right, FreeRice donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Programme.

I manage to get to a level where I donated 1000 grains of rice.

You can learn more at the lens that I created for the FreeRice project or by visiting their website.

More Ways to Go Green - Tips from Mom Bloggers

2008-05-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

There were so many great tips and comments for the week of the Blog Party that I've still got more to share.

Mnmom offered these tips for More Ways to Go Green:
1. Have been switching all lamps to compact fluorescent.
2. Use my own bags at the grocery
3. Keep the thermo at 68, even in frigid MN winters.
4. Use the back of paper in the printer. Rarely does anything need to have it's own clean sheet.
5. Use reusable gift bags for ALL holiday gifts. No more wrapping paper in our house!
6. Brooms only - no leaf blowers
7. We designed our yard to be mowed without needing an edger
8. Keep our tire pressure up and the oil changed regularly in our old clunker.

Even More Ways of Going Green came from Michelle.

Here are highlights Michelle's recent blog on no brainer ideas for moms to start going green around the home.

1. Go Unplugged.
Try unplugging appliances and electronics like the toaster, coffeemaker, or DVD player when you are not using them.

2. No to the Flow
Turn off the water while you brush your teeth.

3. Be a Bag Lady
There is no reason to use plastic or even paper bags to shop anymore. Besides the enormous environmental impact they have, green bags are easier to carry, especially with kids in tow, they are virtually unbreakable, and they just look nicer too.

4. Keep it cool baby.
Adjust your thermostat. For every degree you lower the thermostat in the winter months, or raise it in the summer months, you can cut your energy bill and usage by about 4%!

5. Fill 'er Up
Try buying hand soap, shampoo, dish soap in bulk and refilling the bottles you have instead of throwing them away and buying new ones each time. It saves money too.

6. Shut it off
Don't leave your car running. First of all, it's just not safe and from an environmental standpoint, you are cutting down on your emissions by turning it off.

7. Lights Out
Turn the lights off when you leave a room. Take advantage of the extended daylight hours in the summertime and leave the lights off for as long as possible and let the natural light in.

8. Buy Smart, Save Big
The next time you are shopping for a new appliance for your house, invest in one of the Energy Star, high efficiency appliances. Purchasing Energy Star appliances is worth the cost.

9. Cold Turkey & Air Drying
Try washing all of your laundry, or as much as possible anyway, in cold water. Up to an astonishing 90% of the energy used to do a wash of laundry comes from heating up the water.

Don't forget the dryer. Install a clothesline and hang your clothes outside to dry.

10. Pick It Up
Don't litter and please teach your kids not to litter as well. So please, dispose of your trash properly, and please recycle whatever and wherever you can!

Featured on Best Green Blogs

2008-05-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

My Green Doc Blog has been included in the Best Green Blogs Directory under Green Blogs, Green Guides, Green Moms, Green Parenting, Green Tips & Tricks, Green Women, M, Personal Blog, and Sustainable Living.

Best Green Blogs is a directory of weblogs that focus on green and sustainable people, places, products, ideas & possibilities.

The directory was developed to give a voice to the green blogosphere, create community and support the thousands of independent green bloggers. Everyday green bloggers are posting news, information and ideas that are useful to transforming the world into a more sustainable and liveable place.

Save Green More Uses for Plastic Bags

2008-05-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

To kick off the Mom Blog Party I posted 20 + Ways to Reuse a Plastic Bag and encouraged visitors sure to share their favorite ways of reusing a plastic bag.

While we'd like to see everyone converting over to reusable shopping bags, like My Green Sacs, until plastic bags are banned, we need to figure out ways of reusing the more than 100,000,000,000 (billion) plastic shopping bags used every year in the United States.

Visitors posted a lot of other great tips for saving green by reusing or recycling their plastic bags. Here are some more suggestions from our blog visitors.

Uses for Plastic Bags

Trash Can Liners
From That Crazy Mom We use our plastic bags for trash can liners also. I also use them for my regular kitchen trash. Rather than a big 13 gallon bag, I just put our garbage into the grocery bags then toss them in the kitchen trash.

We also have a local thrift store that takes the bags and reuses them to package up customer's purchases.

From callmekelly I actually just recycle all of the plastic bags I get, though I use cloth bags mostly so I don't have many. I find that may be better than using as liners. Instead, I don't use liners in the small trash cans but rinse them out when they do get dirty with collected rain water.

From ikkinlala We use our plastic grocery bags as garbage bags - if we tried to use full-sized garbage bags, it would stink too much before we got them full. We've been using cloth bags for a long time, but sometimes we need to leave them at home so that we'll have some bags for garbage.

Recycling Bag Programs
From Shannon I wish the grocery stores would actually get rid of plastic and paper bags and make everyone that wants groceries use the recycle bags!

Whenever I go to Wal-Mart though I try to remember to take any plastic bags I have received.

For Messy Jobs
From Angie I re-use plastic grocery bags for when I clean out the cat litter box.

From Monkey's Momma I am a nurse and when I did Home Health, one house I went to should have been declared unfit for inhabitation. Anyway, I would carry a ton of plastic Walmart bags with me in the car. Before I went in this house, I would step one foot in each bag, tie it around my ankle, and off I'd go. When I left the house, I removed the bags from my feet, then my gloves and disposed of them in another plastic bag.

Note to the Go Green Tip Winners:
Everyone who shared a Green Tip is eligible to receive one of the My Green Doc Blog's “Go Green” or “Live Green” sticker in the mail.

You will also receive the Go Green, Live Green or Save Green image via email to use as as a blog badge.

To claim your prize, please send me an email to mygreendoc-at-gmail.com with the information I need to send you your “Go Green” or “Live Green” sticker and blog badge by May 31.

Green Tips from Blog Party Visitors to Go Green and Save Green

2008-05-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

Now that blog party has ended, I have pulled together all of the green tips suggested by visitors to the site. We've had a lot of great tips and comments for the week, so I will be running the tips over several blogs this week.

Go Green - Conserve Water

From Joy: GREEN TIP! This will save you money when you flush the toilet. Take a jug of milk (some toilet tanks can fit a gallon, others can only fit a half-gallon).

Fill it with rocks, weights, or whatever you can find that will give it weight. I used those melted marbles you find in craft stores.

After flushing, place the jug (or similar water-proof container) inside the tank, off to the side of the plug. And voila, less water is filling up your water tank!

Go Green Kids

From Katie My tip is let your children get involved. My youngest learned about recycling at school and ever since has become an advocate for it. It's his job to check containers to see if we can recycle it. He was thrilled when we bought reusable bags at the grocery store and we take them everywhere we shop!

Go Green - Neither Paper Nor Plastic

From dolls123 I'm using cloth bags instead of plastic ones.

Go Green at the Store

From Brianna We use our own bags at the grocery store and I'm even getting to the point where I take them to other stores, too. We also use cloth napkins instead of paper ones or paper towels. I'm amazed at what a reduction it is in our use of paper!

I sew, so I make pillowcases as "wrapping paper" for gifts. Just tie with a string and it is a great package!
From Audrey Our biggest contribution has been to only use reusable grocery bags. We love it. We even bought a dozen of them for my mom.

Save Green - Printers and Printing Paper

Another Tip From Ana When printing, to save on ink, click on preferences, then paper/quality tab, then on Draft. It will print out lighter than on the regular setting, but it's readable and saves on cartridge ink.

To save on paper, simply print on both sides of the page when printing multiple pages.

Source: Eco-friendly tip #8: Saving When Printing

Save Green - Alternative Fuel Sources

From michelle Another suggestion would be to do as I did and switch to bioheat. It's great because it uses heating oil and biodegradable products like soybean oil. If you're really into being green then you should be excited about this because you get to keep your home comfy, cozy, and warm during the cold seasons and help preserve the earth as well. I got lots of great tips from Oil Heat America.

Save Green - Compost

From Ana My tip that I would share is to compost when possible. It isn't as difficult as most would believe and creates reusable waste.

Note to the Go Green Tip Winners:
Everyone who shared a Green Tip is eligible to receive one of the My Green Doc Blog's “Go Green” or “Live Green” sticker in the mail.

You will also receive the Go Green image via email to use as as a blog badge.

To claim your prize, please send me an email to mygreendoc-at-gmail.com with the information I need to send you your “Go Green” or “Live Green” sticker and blog badge by May 31.

...and the Blog Party Winners are...

2008-05-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

The Mom Blog Party was a lot of fun, getting a chance to meet many new Mom Bloggers. I am pleased to announce the big winners of the prizes donated from My Green Doc Blog, My Green Sac and the Imagine Peace & Love.

Prize Winners from My Green Sac

My Green Sac - $25.00 Gift Certificate
lovethatsara from ShesTongueTied.org

Prize Winners from the My Green Doc Blog

My Green Gift - Green Spa Package
Monkey's Momma a.k.a. M. Hall from Monkey's Momma

Prize Winners from Imagine Peace & Love
Imagine Peace & Love - $20.00 Gift Certificate
Mnmom from Happy to be from Iowa

Imagine Peace & Love - Buttons
Unycorne a.k.a. Heather Quarnstrom - The "Official" Heather Quarnstrom Blog

Note to the Winners:
To claim your prize, please send me an email to mygreendoc-at-gmail.com with the information I need to send you your gift certificate or gift by May 31.

Winners of the My Green Doc Blog “Go Green” or “Live Green” stickers will be announced in tomorrow's blog along with the collection of the best Green Tips from the Mom Blog Party Moms.

My Green Doc Blog Featured on Eco Street

2008-05-17T05:48:00.000-07:00

My Green Doc Blog has been included in the EcoStreet Green Community Directory as another one of their Blogs that care and are working to raise green consciousness.

We are listed as one of the "blogs devoted to saving the planet & promoting a more ethical way of life."

EcoStreet.com started in 2002 as a way to raise green consciousness. It began as a directory of UK websites to spread the word about living green, help people who wanted to live more sustainable lives by making it easier for people to find green products and services.

Today EcoStreet is a thriving global community. It has grown over the past 5 years into a thriving global community and is the Web Directory for Eco Friendly & Sustainable Living.

Understanding CO2 Emissions Using Black Balloons

2008-05-15T21:59:00.000-07:00

A compelling video messages that helps make the issue of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions more tangible and more visible.

Watch the Black Balloon advertising and be motivated to Go Green and Save Energy.

What is a Black Balloon?
A black balloon is being used as a simple way to help people visualize just how much greenhouse gas is produced around the home, in the office and in other places. Each black balloon measures 50 grams of greenhouse gas.

Making Carbon Emisssion Visible
This Energy Saving Campaign from Climate Protect gives a very powerful visual cue for remembering to conserve energy where CO2 emissions are represented as black balloons. The first ad from the Alliance for Climate Protection encourages everyone to decrease energy use in the home.

The bottom line: using less energy means less greenhouse gas emissions and helps to reduce the impact of climate change.

Find out More on We Can Solve It on the We Can Solve It on Squidoo.

10 Easy Ways to Go Green

2008-05-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

These were a list of suggestions for easy Green ideas for Earth Day from one of my favorite T-shirt places, PeaceLoveMom. PeaceLoveMom and My Green Blog Doc encourage you to think green, go green and live green.

10 Easy Ways to Go Green:

1. Do not let the water run while you are brushing your teeth.
2. Take a shower instead of a bath.
3. Do not run the dishwasher until it is full & let the dishes dry naturally.
4. Pack daily lunches in a reusable lunch box and place food in reusable containers.
5. Recycle – newspapers, magazines, aluminum cans, plastic.
6. Turn off the lights when you leave a room & when you leave your home.
7. Wash clothes in cold or warm water.
8. Turn off your computer screen.
9. Use both sides of a piece of paper for note jotting or small children to create art.
10. Recycle your clothes – once you or your children grow out of your clothes donate them or pass them to a friend.

Remember while each action may seem small, over time, these easy to do tasks can make a big difference over time.PeaceLoveMom create designs that will both inspire and empower mothers everywhere, representing a collaboration and true celebration of motherhood.

We Can Solve the Climate Change Crisis

2008-05-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

From the We Can Solve It Campaign to Solve the Climate Change Crisis:

The earth is sending us an urgent message!
We face a climate crisis.
You've heard it; you've done some things to help.
WE want you to do more.

Join We Can Solve it.

WE is a growing number of people who believe we can solve this.

Not just as individuals with strong beliefs but as part of a group where our strength makes governments and corporations change.

WE can put our planet on a new path. Clean energy solutions are out there waiting. Solutions that will not only save our planet but help rebuild our economy.

WE can lead.

Watch the Video and find out how.

Together We Can Solve the Climate Crisis

So far more than 1,235,988 people have joined We Can Solve It.

Solutions to global warming exist and we are calling on leaders to make them happen.

By coming together, we're showing overwhelming support for leadership on this critical issue. Add your voice to this important movement right now and help make climate change a priority:

"I call on leaders in business and government to solve the climate crisis."

You can sign up on the We Can Solve it Website.

We've Joined. Have you?

Find out More on We Can Solve It on the We Can Solve It on Squidoo.

20 + Ways to Reuse a Plastic Bag

2008-05-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

While we'd like to see everyone converting over to reusable shopping bags, until plastic bags are entirely banned, the numbers show us that the average American uses between 300 and 700 plastic bags per year. This adds up to the United States to going through 100,000,000,000 (billion) plastic shopping bags every year.

Target (one of my favorite places to shop of all times) has printed up suggestions right on their bags for ways of reusing plastic bags.

10 Ways to Reuse a Plastic Bag

Tiny Trashcare Liner

Doggy Duty

Water Balloon

Roadtrip Rubbish

Soggy Laundry

Ice Pack for Head

Toiletry Tote

Kitty Litter Liner

Tomorrow's Lunchbag

Care Package Padding

My Favorite Ways to Reuse a Plastic Bag
In addition to being my favorite store to shop, Target plastic bags are also my favorite plastic bags, because there are so many ways to reuse them. My personal favorites include

Carrying Gym Clothes or Work-out Clothes and shoes
Making portable Knitting projects to carry on-the-go
Storing Yarn
Packing Toiletries for a trip
Easy Garbage bag for the car
Gift Package Wrapping
Package Packing/padding
Filling with paper, colored pencils and coloring books as portable activity kits for the girls
Keeping on hand in the car for emergencies e.g. storing wet clothes, shoes and other wet children things
Mini garbage bag for the bathroom.

Other Ways of Using Plastic Bags
Some of the other ways of reusing a plastic bag include

Turning Your Plastic Bags into Fabric to Reuse and make your own tote.
Wet umbrella holders
Create plastic 'yarn' for crocheting into different projects e.g. bags, hats
Knee protectors for gardening
Easy 'gloves' to protect your hands when handling food (or pet leavings)

Recycling Plastic Bags - The Retote
Target has found a way to Recycling all of their plastic bags that are turned in, creating a Retote. You get the latest issue of Newsweek, send in your old plastic Target bags and they send you a coupon for a Retote bag.

I decided not to get one, because we already have a lot of their regular reusable bags and the My Green Sacs. If you are interested in knowing more about Target's Retote program take a look at these related articles.

Do you have more ideas?
Be sure to share your favorite ways of reusing a plastic bag as part of the Mommyfest Blog Party.

What I've Learned Since I Became a Mom

2008-05-11T11:26:00.000-07:00

(This is a posting for one of the Mommyfest challenges)

I thought I had learned everything that I needed to know in College or in medical school. While I may have learned a lot about science and medicine, it took becoming a Mom for me to learn about living life.

After becoming a Mom, I there have been so many things that I learned from my daughters.

* Marveling at the workings of young minds.
* Sharing a Love for the Environment.
* Learning to Laugh More.
* Enjoying the Moment.
* Being Grateful for so many of the little things.

Having my children later in life after I'd been through school has put a different perspective on life for me. Having my girls has been one of my major life changing events.

While life is more challenging and a lot noisier and more stressful since having them, I wouldn't change what I am doing now and wouldn't trade them for anything.

A Mother's Day Wish Treat the Earth Well

2008-05-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

A Wish for all Mothers, Fathers and Parents for this Mother's Day 2008

Treat the Earth well.

It was not given to you by your parents.

It was loaned to you by your children.

Kenyan Proverb

I thought that this quote was a very good reminder for Moms and for Parents of the special mission we have been charged with in raising our children and also in taking care of the planet.

Enjoy your special day.

Join My Green Doc Blog at the Blog Party

2008-05-10T07:18:00.000-07:00

Mommyfest Starts May 12
Just a reminder post that the Mommyfest 2008 Blog Party starts on Monday May 12.

My Green Doc Blog is one of the many participants in the Mommyfest Blog Party.

During the week My Green Doc Blog will be sharing (and looking for) green tips to help you “Go Green” and “Live Green” during the week of May 12-16.

For Blog Posters to My Green Doc Blog we will be giving away:

One Be Green Relaxation Package ($20.00 value) in a random drawing of all blog comments posted.
“Go Green” or “Live Green” Stickers to the top 10 best green tips and/or most interesting blog posts.

For Blog Posters to the My Green Sac comment wall on Zazzle we will be giving away:

“Go Green” or “Live Green” Stickers to the top 10 most interesting blog posts.

For Comments left in the Imagine Peace & Love Squidoo Lens we will be giving away:

Two custom Imagine Peace & Love Magnets (image of your choice) in a random drawing of all comments posted.
“Imagine Peace” or “Peace Dove” Stickers to the top 10 most interesting blog posts.

Gift Certificate from My Green Sac
We have donated a $25.00 gift certificate from My Green Sac to the list of prizes so watch the Mommyfest 2008 site to see how you can become eligible for this gift certificate.

More about our involvement in Mommy Fest at My Green Doc joins a Blog Party for Moms.

About Green Doc
I updated my "About Me" with a bit more information. You can also check my My Green Doc Voki for a welcome message to this blog.

Featured on Green Mom Blogroll

2008-05-08T06:26:00.000-07:00

My Green Doc Blog has been included in the Green Mom Blogroll, a collection of blogs written by parents who are devoted to green living. I am honored to be included in this list of green parents.

Green Mom Finds is a website run by mothers on a mission to find products and services that are kinder to the earth and better for our children and families.

They are experts on loving our families and wanting the best for them and are devoted to helping parents find safer or more eco-friendly alternatives to the conventional products most commonly available.

Green Mom Creed
Their creed summarizes a lot of what I believe about Going Green and Being Green.

We believe that reducing our everyday exposure to harmful substances is important to our families’ health and our environment.

We believe that by using our collective buying power to support green products, we can send a strong message to companies that we want safe products.

We believe that going “green” doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing proposition, and that every green choice we make - no matter how small - is significant.

We believe that sometimes the green choice is too expensive or too inconvenient. And that’s just reality. But we also believe that knowing that we have a choice is half the battle.

We believe that, oftentimes, buying less is the greenest choice of all.

You can find us on the Green Mom Blogroll.

Love Planet Earth - Lift Your Spirits

2008-05-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

This special video gift from the makers of "The Secret" came through my email box from several sources. It is an amazing and inspiring reminder of how incredible the planet that we live on really is. I wrote this short quote as I watched the video clip.

The Awe
The Beauty
The Magnificence
The Majesty
The Splendor
The Timelessness
The Wonder

That is the Planet Earth.

Kirsti A. Dyer

The clip was created to lift your spirits and in turn lift the global spirit of the planet earth.

The producers of the the Video included this message about Planet Earth:

When you experience Planet Earth, you will emit positive forces of energy across Planet Earth that will reach every single living thing on it.

You will lift yourself, and as you lift yourself, you lift the entire world.

You can also download the video at the Secret website and view it full screen on your computer.

May you be reminded of the beauty and the wonder that is the planet earth.
May your spirits be lifted as you view this video.

Heal Green - Nature's Healing Forces

2008-05-05T13:16:00.000-07:00

Nature is always lovely,
invincible,
glad.

Whatever is done
and suffered by her creatures.

All scars she heals,

whether in rocks or water
or sky or hearts.

John Muir

I am always a bit in awe when I walk around in nature and see the clear examples of struggle, of damage and of survival. Examples of perseverance despite setbacks and damage abound.

Nature has strong regenerative capabilities to heal damage caused by fire, lightening, flood, earthquakes or blights. Looking closely amidst the ruins of fire or flood affected areas one can find signs of new growth and new life.

Bernie Segal, MD reminds us how much we can learn from nature.
If you watch how nature deals with adversity, continually renewing itself, you can’t help but learn.

Nature can be a powerful ally and role model for those facing challenge and adversity, demonstrating the ability to survive despite strong forces that challenge her.

Excerpt from Dyer KA. 2001. Part 1: The Healing Qualities of Nature. Journey of Hearts.

Image Source. © 2000. Injured Tree. Kirsti A. Dyer

Joining the CO2 Stats Project

2008-05-03T20:58:00.000-07:00

My Green Dog Blog has added in the online tool for the CO2 Stats Project to keep track of our the carbon dioxide that results from Web traffic to this site. You can see the tracking tool as the bright green box in the side bar.

Once the widget / tool is installed on websites, it monitors Web sites and blogs for the amount of climate-warming carbon dioxide their visitors to a particular site consume and then offsets it for free.

The CO2 Stats counter was developed by Alex Wissner-Gross from Harvard and Tim Sullivan at Yale, both are PhD candidates.

For each pound of carbon dioxide that results from Web traffic to a site where the widget is installed, the project buys carbon offsets from Sustainable Travel International.

Remember renewable energy is good for the environment.

The more renewable energy we support, the less non-renewable energy will be required in the future.

For More Information see CO2 Stats.com

Featured in Renewable Energy Directory

2008-05-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

My Green Doc Blog is very honored to have been included and indexed in the Energy Planet's Renewable Energy Directory.

The Energy Planet is a directory of web blogs about nature conservancy and environment ecosystem management. They include Blogs, Businesses, Forums and News items about renewable energy and the environment.

We are listed under Renewable Energy > Environment > Blogs as an Energy Planet featured blog.

Love Green and Share Green on May Day

2008-05-01T15:45:00.000-07:00

Having children help in picking flowers and then giving flower baskets for May Day is a great tradition to share with our children, to help them appreciate nature.

The May Day traditions my mother shared with me from her native Finland sound similar to those celebrated by other Europeans.

May Day Traditions
May Day was celebrated by early European settlers of the American continent by making and giving May Day Baskets.

These baskets are small and usually filled with flowers or treats and left at someone's doorstep. When you ring the bell, you are supposed to run away. The person receiving the basket would try to catch the person running away. If they caught the person, a kiss was to be exchanged.

May Day Craft Ideas
In addition to picking your own basked of May Day Flowers, here are a few other May Day Basket ideas.

Crafty Bug has a beautiful May Day Project.
The Toy Maker has several printable Flower Baskets that would make great May Day Baskets.
Making Friends Website has a May Day Basket Craft Idea.

Source: Wikipedia. May Day.
Image Source: Modified Microsoft Image.

Save Our State Parks Program

2008-04-30T14:09:00.000-07:00

I've spent a lot of time hiking and enjoying the many State and National Parks in California. Understandably, I am quite concerned about the upcoming proposed budget cuts set to impact many of our State Parks later this summer.

The Background

On January 10th, Governor Schwarzenegger released the proposed FY 08-09 state budget which severely impacts the California State Parks and State Beaches.

To cut costs, the budget proposed closing 48 state parks and to reduce lifeguard staffing on 16 state beaches. You can view the list here, see a map here, or watch the list in this YouTube Video of Parks scheduled for Closure.

5 Things Individuals Can Do

If you are concerned about the State Park Closures, you can get involved by supporting the Save Our Parks Program. There are several steps you can take:.

1. Contact your legislators. Tell them to oppose any park closures.

2. Write a letter to the editor to your local paper.

3. Involve others in the campaign to save our state parks.

4. Share your story about enjoying California's state parks.

5. Visit A State Park. (this will open the official State Parks website)

Send an E-Card

One more thing you can do is to send an E-card to your friends and family and get them involved in the Save Our State Parks Program. Send an E-Card to your Friends and Family

This image (one of the e-Cards) is from Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve near Guerneville is scheduled from closure. It one of the beautiful places that I've visited with my husband and would still like to be able to take my daughters to see.

You can learn more about Armstrong Redwoods by watching the YouTube Video to Save Armstrong Redwoods.

About Save Our State Parks Program
The Save Our State Parks Campaign is a project of the California State Parks Foundation.

National Junior Ranger Program

2008-04-28T12:48:00.000-07:00

We took our daughters to Yosemite on April 26 to participate in the National Junior Ranger Day Program where they explored, learned and protected.

The National Program included one-hour-long ranger-led program that took the kids through demonstrations of four different neighborhoods.

Almost on cue from the Park Ranger, we had the unusual experience of seeing a Mother Brown Bear and her two cubs casually eating berries. The National Park Service wildlife biologists were on-hand with lots of interesting bear-related information and equipment. All of the children got to climb into a bear trap.

The second half was a fun work service project where the children learned more about park restoration efforts. They helped dig out some of the 'weeds' or non-native species, in this case the Vinca plant.

When they were done the children all got to participate in a swearing in ceremony receiving patches, badges and signing the official National Park Junior Ranger book.

Raising Green Kids

The National Junior Ranger Program was a great way to get everyone outside, to get the girls to learn more about the environment and to let them have first-hand experience with park restoration efforts and encouraging them to become Green Kids.

More on the National Junior Ranger Program

You can find out more about the National Junior Ranger Program including which National Parks offer Junior Ranger Programs at the National Park site below.

National Junior Ranger Program.

Yosemite Junior Rangers

In Yosemite, children can become a Yosemite Junior Ranger at any time by purchasing a self-guided booklet published by the Yosemite Association and completing the designated activities.

In order to earn a Junior Ranger patch, the booklet must be completed, a bag of trash collected and a guided program attended.

This booklet is sold at the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center, Nature Center at Happy Isles (May through September), and Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center (June through September), and Wawona and Big Oak Flat Information Stations (May through September).

Featured on Live Green Ordie Directory

2008-04-26T12:25:00.000-07:00

My Green Doc Blog has been included in the Live Green Ordie Directory a collection of websites that encourages people to learn how to live green.

Livegreenordie.com is a free service offered to individuals and communities with green related website content. Visitors can search over 500 green related websites and learn how to live green.

We are currently featured under the Newest Sites or your can visit our listing directly.

Who is Generation G (Generation Green)?

2008-04-25T10:46:00.000-07:00

Defining Generation G or the Green Generation

My Definition of Generation G (Generation Green) or the Green Generation is slightly different than others that are out there. I believe Generation Green is:

Multi-generational, crossing all age groups.
Multi-ethnic, crossing all ethnic groups.
Multi-diversity, crossing all types of people.

Generation Green is a diverse and growing body of people who are are concerned about doing green things or eco-friendly things for themselves and the environment. They are a generation that goes green, lives green, eats green, shares green, teaches green and loves green.

For Generation Green,

It's so easy to be green.

No Age Limits
The Green Generation knows no age limit. Generation Green are children, young people, middle aged and older people. The Generation G are children and parents, students and teachers, grandparents and grandchildren all working together to save the planet.

Other Definitions of "Generation G"

When I tried to find a definition of "Generation G" I was surprised at the results. To me I figured that "Generation G" must stand for Generation Green, but I soon discovered that people had other ideas.

Generation Global Economy
According to Deal Architect, Generation G is Generation Global Economy. This Generation G is are part of the new Global economy - the Generation G. Commerce Corps.

Gaming Generation
According to Ian Lamont and Richard Van Eck, associate professor of instructional design and technology at the University of North Dakota, Generation G is the Generation of Games.Generation G is the group of under-40's who belong to the video game generation, who grew up with video games as children and continue to play them as adults.

Generation Geriatrics / Generation Golden Age
Blogger Nomadicasian regards Generation G: the Generation of the Golden Age or the Generation of Geriatrics.

In this case Generation G refers to the people who are past of their prime and living their golden years.

My Definition of Generation G or the Green Generation
I still prefer my definition of Generation G, as the generation is concerned about the environment, the generation that knows no age limit.

This is the one group where the gaming generation and the geriatric generation can work together for the sake of the environment.

My Green Doc Blog is dedicated to the Green Generation.

Nature Appreciation, Awareness and a Continuous Source of Inspiration

2008-04-24T09:27:00.000-07:00

Nature has been for me,
for as long as I remember,
a source of solace,
inspiration,
adventure, and delight;
a home,
a teacher,
a companion.

Lorraine Anderson

I have to agree with Lorraine Anderson's descriptive quotes of all of the many benefits one receives from being out in nature. Nature is a constant force and a constant source of inspiration and healing.

Nature is a friend, a teacher, a companion during times of sorrow and times of joy; it has been one of the constant forces in my life, many times working in the background even as I was unaware.

Nature Appreciation, Nature Awareness & Nature Inspiration

Nature Appreciation is taking the time to enjoy or appreciate being outdoors in nature. One can appreciate Nature as easily as taking time to smell the roses, meditating on a mountain, lying in a wildflower field, strolling by a meandering stream, or hiking in ancient redwood groves.

Nature Awareness, as I use the term, is the realization of what has been known for centuries--that there is a healing quality to nature. Nature can be used as therapy or as a therapeutic modality to help people coping with challenges or dealing with loss.

Nature Inspiration is being inspired by being in the outdoors. Whether to create art, to write, to draw, to paint, to photograph or just to revel in the quietness and the beauty that is Mother Nature.

Never Failing Nature

Remember what Frank Lloyd Wright had to say about Nature.

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.
It will never fail you.

More Information:
Dyer KA. 2007. Nature Therapy - Therapeutic Walking or Hiking - Green Therapy. Squidoo.com
Dyer KA. 2001. Part 1: The Healing Qualities of Nature. Journey of Hearts.
Dyer KA. 2001. Part 2: Coping with Loss Using Nature. Journey of Hearts.

Photo Source: © Kirsti A. Dyer. Aspen Road.

Nature to Inspire & Heal - A Be Green Clip

2008-04-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

Life is fragile, like the dew
hanging delicately
on the grass,
crystal drops
that will be carried away
on the first morning breeze.

Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Nature as a Source of Healing
There is a healing quality to nature, which has been known for centuries be it taking time to smell the roses, meditating on a mountain, lying in a wildflower field, strolling by a meandering stream, or hiking in ancient redwood groves. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, recognized this powerful attribute in his humbling statement that Nature cures--not the physician.

People instinctively turn to outdoor and nature-loving activities as a way of relaxing and enhancing their well-being. Nature can aid in facilitating self-awareness and promoting healing. For many the outdoors is a source of inspiration, solace, guidance and regeneration.

Time spent outdoors can be restorative and healing. Whether running through a canyon, walking on the sunny beach, hiking through a fern-filled forest, scrambling over rocks along a creek side, watching the last few rays of the setting sun, strolling along a moonlit night, or just sitting breathing fresh clean air, remember

Being out in nature is one of the best prescriptions for overall health and encouraging healing.

Kirsti A. Dyer MD, MS, FT

Excerpt from Dyer KA. 2001. Part 1: The Healing Qualities of Nature. Journey of Hearts.

More Information:
Dyer KA. 2007. Nature Therapy - Therapeutic Walking or Hiking - Green Therapy. Squidoo.com
Dyer KA. 2001. Part 1: The Healing Qualities of Nature. Journey of Hearts.
Dyer KA. 2001. Part 2: Coping with Loss Using Nature. Journey of Hearts.

More Be Green Clips/Quotes
Dyer KA. Be Green Quote - Welcoming Nature. My Green Doc Blog.

Image: Modified Microsoft Photo.

This Earth Day - Choose Hope, Choose Action, Choose to Solve the Crisis

2008-04-22T05:56:00.000-07:00

A moving message of hope this Earth Day from the Environmental Defense Fund.

Join in and

Choose Hope, Choose Action, Choose to Solve the Global Warming Crisis.

If everyone contributes a bit together we find the solutions to solve the crisis. Remember what Al Gore has said:

What we take for granted might not be here for our children.

I want to be sure that my children have access to the same natural beauty in our environment that I have as a child and as an adult.

Make One Small Change
This year Celebrate Earth Day by committing to make one change to your daily routine. Changing one small change can make a big difference over the course of a year. Some suggestions:

Bring lunch to work in a reusable container
Remember to bring a reusable shopping bag and stop using plastic bags
Unplug your chargers
Stop buying plastic bottles

For even more suggestions take a look at these older posts:

You can read more about Al Gore's quest to save the planet and simple ways to help the environment at the Earth Hour 2008 - Earth Day lens.

Reusable Bag Day - April 21, 2008

2008-04-21T09:51:00.000-07:00

"Paper or Plastic?"

The new answer is "NEITHER!"

National Reusable Bag Day
National Reusable Bag Day is a great opportunity to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) and help reduce disposable bag usage nationwide. The event is being sponsored by Earthshare and Earthwise Bag Company, Inc.

The Plastic Bag Issue
If you grocery shop once a week, in five years you’ll have kept about 250 to 1,000 grocery bags out of our landfills.

100 billion disposable plastic bags are used each year in the U.S., 99% of which are not recycled – and that each bag could take up to a thousand years to fully break down naturally in landfills.

Get Involved with Reusable Bag Day

Starting on April 21 and from then on every other day, when you are given the choice of "Paper or Plastic?" say "NEITHER!" Remember to BYOB - bring or purchase your own reusable bag instead.

Use Reusable Bag Day as the occasion to start bringing reusable bags anytime you shop.

You can make Reusable Bag Day happen every day.

My Green Sac's Reusable Bag Day Sac
My Green Sac™ is releasing our first design on CafePress in honor of Reusable Bag Day.

The My Green Sac 100% cotton canvas signature tote bags make perfect reusable bags. At 15" x 18" x 6" the sac is large enough to carry two bags of plastic groceries.

Order a couple and keep them in the car, then you'll always have a reusable bag when you need one. (Click on the Cafepress link or the image link.)

Remember to make Reusable Bag Day something you do every day.

More Information:
Reusable Bag Day - April 21, 2008, EarthShareCA.org
ReusableBagDay.org
Ways to Get Involved. ReusableBagDay.org

Earth Day 2008 - Tips to Help Our Climate

2008-04-20T08:51:00.000-07:00

Each person can make a difference
because one small positive act
multiplied millions of times
produces immense benefits.

Patrick Gonzales
Nature Conservancy Scientist

Patrick Gonzales, a Nature Conservancy climate scientist, offers his top tips for lowering carbon emissions. The tips are ordered in the order that I would find them the easiest to do.

Recycle and use recycled products. Products made from recycled paper, glass, metal and plastic reduce carbon emissions because recycled products use less energy to manufacture than products made from completely new materials.
Inflate your tires. Cars get better gas mileage when the tires are fully inflated, so it will burn less gas and emit less carbon. Check your automobile tires monthly to ensure that the tires are fully inflated.
Turn down the heat. Heating and air conditioning account for more than half of the energy that a home uses in the United States. You can help make a difference in your overall energy use simply by turning down the heat or air conditioning when you leave the house or go to bed.
Use compact fluorescent light bulbs. These energy-efficient bulbs help fight climate change by reducing the amount of fossil fuels that utilities burn.
Travel light. Walk or bike instead of driving a car. Cars and trucks run on fossil fuels, which release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Walking or biking when you can instead of driving will save one pound of carbon for every mile you travel.
Teleconference instead of flying. For office meetings, if you can telephone or video conference, not only will save time and money, but you will also save carbon emissions.
Act globally, eat locally. Shopping at a local farmers' markets can help save the climate by reducing shipping costs of food seen with large supermarkets. Shopping locally will bring fresh, healthy food home and help save our climate.
Plant native trees. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air and use it as their energy source, producing oxygen for us to breathe. A single tree can remove and store 700 to 7,000 pounds of carbon over its lifetime. Trees that shade a house help can reduce the energy required to run the air conditioner.
Buy renewable energy. A growing number of utilities generate electricity from renewable energy sources with solar panels, windmills and other technologies. If your utility offers renewable energy, buy it. If not, send them a message asking for clean energy.

Remember it is the small changes that we make in our everyday lives that can make a big difference.

You can find more details behind the science of this Scientist's Conservation choices at the Nature Conservancy site.

Source: Gonzales P. Climate Change: What You Can Do. Nature Conservancy.

Green Tip of the Week from the National Geographic

2008-04-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

The National Geographic offers their Green Tip of the Week as another cool widget to help spread the Go Green information.

For another Cool Green Tip Widget, see the iGo Green Tip of the Day post.

My Green Doc joins a Blog Party for Moms

2008-04-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

On May 12-16, 2008 Mommyfest (the brainchild of Marie Ynami) is hosting a Blog Party where moms all over the net will get a chance to meet other moms as they blog hop through each others blogs.

According to Marie,

The whole point of throwing this blog party is so that we get to meet other moms in cyberspace and make a connection.

Since My Green Doc Blog is a family friendly, kind and mom friendly blog, I've signed up this blog to participate.

Marie is encouraging everyone to give something away during the Blog party, so I'll be thinking of something "Green" as a give away. Keep reading for more details.

Be Green Quote - Welcoming Nature

2008-04-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

To me a lush carpet
of pine needles
or spongy grass
is more welcome
than the most luxurious Persian rug.

Helen Keller

Introducing Be Green Quotes

Be Green Quotes: A Daily Dose of Nature is available as a working prototype widget featuring two quotes. The prototype is include in the side bar.

I am working on creating Be Green Clippings: A Daily Nature Clip featuring a daily quotes, snippets or words to inspire about loving nature and being green.

This prototype "Be Green Quotes" is available from My Green Doc as a Widget for you to install on your own blog and get your daily nature dose. Service is provided by Widgetbox. Click on the widget to find out more.

Green Things That Can Make a Difference

2008-04-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

You can make a difference go green and do something positive and live a greener day today.

These are all simple things that you do and them some simple things you can teach your children.

10 Things You Can Do to Be Green

Turn out your lights when not in use.
Buy energy-saving lights.
Turn electrical goods off when not in use.
Pump up your car tires to reduce fuel consumption.
Walk when you can to save energy.
Turn down the thermostat in the winter, turn it up in the summer.
Wash full loads of laundry or dishes.
Microwave foods instead of using the stove.
When you cook on the stove, be sure to cover the pots and pans to reduce energy wasting.
Drive the speed limit. It saves gas.

See more ways to Be Green at Earth Hour 2008 on Squidoo.

My Green Doc Voki - Welcome to the Green Doc Blog

2008-04-16T08:05:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the My Green Doc Voki, a talking voice character, a computer-generated version of myself, Dr. Kirsti A. Dyer a.k.a Green Doc. She will give you a brief introduction to the My Green Doc Blog.

Just start by clicking on the arrow:

Get Your Own Voki

Enjoy the My Green Doc Blog!

My Green Doc Blog is A Kind Blog

2008-04-15T21:54:00.000-07:00

In my Blog searches, I came another mini movement for bloggers, the Kind Blog.

The premise of being a Kind Blog is as follows:

By posting this badge, I'm declaring that in addition to humour, intelligence, wit, sadness, snarkiness, passion, exuberance, peace, stillness, excitability, anger or any other emotion you may witness on my site:
I will never intentionally hurt other people, whether I know them or not, whether they blog or not, whether they're celebrities or not, either through my words or my images. It's just not my style; and
I hope that by the time you've clicked away from my site, I've helped in some way to make your day just a little bit better.

I am registering My Green Doc Blog as a "Kind Blog," as a reminder to myself that the focus of the blog is to be kind, but even more so, to make people's day just a bit better from having read this blog.

Source: Karen Walrond. Kind Blog. Chookooloonks.com

Go Green with iGo Green Tip of the Day

2008-04-14T06:14:00.001-07:00

One of the very cool things now (compared to the early days of the Internet when we started the Journey of Hearts site), is all of the cool widgets available from other sites.

The iGo Green Tip of the Day provides daily green tips from iVillage.

Some very Cool Tips to help you and your family Go Green.

Small is Beautiful

2008-04-14T00:05:00.000-07:00

In my Internet blog searchings, I came across the Small is Beautiful Manifesto, whose premise is that Small (blogs) is Beautiful:

We believe stories are valuable, no matter how many people read them.
We believe following your passion is more important that watching your site meter.
We believe in the handmade, the first try, the small start, and the good effort.
We believe that small is beautiful.

I am registering My Green Doc Blog as a "Small is Beautiful" blog, as a reminder to myself that my stories are valuable, no matter how many people might eventually be reading them.

Source: Rachell Mee-Chapman & Jen Leme. Small is Beautiful. Magpie Girl.

Welcome to My Green Doc Blog

2008-04-13T23:46:00.000-07:00

My Green Doc Blog is Blog for Everyone

I am starting My Green Doc Blog for several reasons. To write about my interests as a physician, as a teacher, as a mother and as a nature enthusiast in

Green Things outdoors, being out in nature.
Green Things to eat, eating healthy foods.
Green Things that are good for the environment.
Green Things that from other sources.

Audience for My Green Doc Blog
The audience for My Green Doc Blog is everyone.

I believe Generation Green is multigenerational, crossing all age groups. The Green Generation knows no age limit. Generation Green are children, young people, middle aged and older people--all those who are concerned about doing green things for themselves and the environment .

My Green Blog is dedicated to the Green Generation, all of those who desire to

* Go Green * Be Green * Eat Green * Live Green *

* Share Green * Teach Green * Love Green *