I am on this kick with fall.

Yesterday, I went to a fashion show that was put on to support local businesses.  It was a really neat event and there were people from all walks of life – plus the clothes were pretty.

The weather was just so that I could wear tights with my skirt & my new boots I got for our upcoming trip to NYC – mind you, this is a rare occassion in Florida, but it did get me thinking about one of my other favorite fall things: Sweaters. 

Sweaters are one of my comfort feel goods;  I have two big oversized sweaters that I take the opportunity to cuddle up on my couch with the couple times of year I can…and it just makes me happy.  Please take note, I said I have 2 oversized sweaters. 2 is almost an over abundance in a climate that doesn’t get to freezing on a regular basis and I just can’t justify buying more sweaters for our upcoming trip to the tundra – so what do I do?!

I do not make haste to make more waste, instead, I borrow!  Borrowing your friends clothes is a great way to widen your variety of clothing, avoid the expense, and miss the excess.  There are rules to borrowing clothes however, (1) you must wash (properly) before you return them to your friend (2) you must return them in a timely fashion (3) you cannot let anything happen to the article of clothing – i.e. pets, wine, coffee, or scissors & if you do, be prepared to reimburse.

If borrowing isn’t an option – consider a swap!  A group of about 6 girls & I did this a while back  and had a blast!  We got our bottle of wine and everyone toted over things that they liked but just didn’t want at their house anymore.  We chose numbers as to what order to follow & everyone picked something until it was gone.  If there were items that the collective didn’t want, they were donated. I got some great stuff, and someone got my great stuff!  It might just be time for another one…

Borrowing & swapping for a dog-sweater could be a little different though, hopefully it won’t get so cold that Rigby will need a sweater, but just in case, I will be looking for an organic wool option to keep her warm!

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A big thank you goes to April at DragonAshes.com for this great guest post on the publishing business and a way it has turned green.  April does a lot of reads on books about to be released, and believe me, she knows her stuff!   Her blog also shares her daily adventures with her pet (Big & Little & the kitties), cooking, her family, and all around interesting stuff. 

Check out what she has to share with us Green Thinkers:

While the dismal economy here and abroad has had big effects on many businesses, one that took a big hit has been the publishing industry.  Publishing is costly and selling books is labor intensive.  So, when the need to cut back spending hit the publishers, did they cut back on books?  Of course, but they did a lot less cutting back than they expected.  They just turned their focus to digital books.  Digital publishing is all the rage now.  Every bookseller and publishing house (it seems) has their own e-reader and a list of books available digitally.  Search Barnes and Noble or Amazon websites and each book will be listed at least twice – in paper and digital versions.  What is so great about these digital versions?  Depending on your reader you can highlight sections, bookmark pages, search for certain text and many other things.  Plus, going on a trip?  You can carry an entire library worth of books in your carry-on bag.  Bored while standing in line at the theater/grocery store/retail store?  Read a book.  Need to take the bus to work as your car is in the shop?  Read a book.  Convenient, inexpensive and lots of fun.

 So why is this an important issue when it comes to sustainability?  Because there are fewer trees being sacrificed for your love of bodice rippers of course!  Less ink, less energy expended in printing – less everything.  And this is a good thing for all sorts of people – People who enjoy reading can get books quickly and cheaply without having to pay shipping or drive to a store.  People who love to write but have never been ‘discovered’ by the big publishing houses can publish their works on their own with minimal fuss.*  Booksellers can sell more books more quickly without even needing a brick and mortar store.  Libraries even have digital books available to lend.  Of course every rainbow has its end – with fewer paper books being printed and fewer brick and mortar stores being needed, jobs for people are fewer. 

 There are some websites that are dedicated to digital books like Smashwords (http://www.smashwords.com/) which is dedicated to mostly self published authors.  I hear you say to yourself “But self-published authors are no good, that is why a big publishing house won’t publish them.”  You couldn’t be further from the truth.  I know of one author who is now published by Simon and Schuster that started out selling his own, self-published books by himself.  These authors are not publishing’s rejects – they are the authors that have yet to be discovered.  You can get ebooks at both Barnes and Noble and Amazon.  Some publishers will sell them directly from their website (macmillan.com or randomhouse.com).  And there are some publishers now that only publish digital books (Ellora’s Cave, Samhain books, Boston Books for example) Added bonus, they are inexpensive!  This can be very important when you are on a scant budget like I am!  Take a look at this self published author’s works: http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=maria+e.+schneider

 *They have to create their own book covers though, which can be hit or miss.  I’ve seen some terrible ones and some great ones.  But authors aren’t usually artists too so give them some slack!

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Taking a little break from the Carnival of Green Thinking this week – we will pick it up again next week, so feel free to submit your favorite blog articles by the end of next Friday to share with the world!

I love musicals, I love singing & dancing, I love happy things that could be true, but are a little too quirky to believe fully. 

That being said, I do enjoy watching the fun television show, Glee, and since it is a new-ish television phenemenon, you probably know someone else who enjoys it too.

Since growing in popularity, everyone wants to jump on the Glee bandwagon & they are promoting a lot right now in some cute little snip-its…Britney S. Pierce is my favorite.

Right now they are working with American Express to do a promotion with the Members Project and are giving us an opportunity to do good with the actual characters of Glee!  Check out the quiz here and see if you are Sue or a Shue!

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Betcha didn’t know that the 2nd Sunday in October kicks off National School Lunch week!

In its honor, GTB has decided to share with you some great blogs on eating healthy, kids’ nutrition, and all around good foods.   Hungry yet?  Remember, you can always share what great blog posts you have read to be featured in a Carnival of Green Thinking blog carnival, simply contact us!

Not only is food one of my favorite subjects, but where it comes from, how it is grown & how it is prepared has significant impacts on the world around us. 

SCHOOL TASTES GOOD!

SeriousEats.com shared a venture of Alice Waters and her Edible Schoolyard Program, as well as the results of a recent study from the U.C. Berkeley student’s  School Lunch Initiative. …combines nutritional education with garden training, cooking, and other hands-on skills in the hopes of turning our nation’s youth into trim, vegetable-craving eaters. Her initiatives have been the subject of much debate, by foodies and educators alike, leading to vehement supporters as well as detractors….The study followed about 240 students who were in Waters’ program from 2006 to 2009. The goal of the study was to examine how participation in integrated garden-to-school curriculums affected students’ attitudes about food, their eating habits, and their general knowledge of nutrition….You really should check out the journal for ESP as well, they have some great tales of bringing their home grown goodness to the table in some delish eats!

THERE’S A BLOG IN MY LUNCH BOX!

What I loved about this post from LunchBox.org  is the focus on teaching kids what is good for them!  I remember having a conversation with my aunt, who is an elementary school Principal about the struggles her school district is facing in regards to lunches – most kids couldn’t even recognize a potato because it had only been given to them in the form of a french fry & called a veggie.  This post shows the struggle one school took to improve the knowledge of their kids, and their lunches. …For four years I was the Nutrition Services Director for Berkeley Unified School District.  The four years were a roller coaster ride of changing the food from a menu of highly processed chicken nuggets, corn dogs, Extremo burritos, pizza pockets and grilled cheese sandwiches, all of which came to us frozen and prepackaged, to fresh food made from scratch.  When I first started in Berkeley these pre-packaged items, which were served in the packaging, with sides of canned vegetables and canned fruit, with nary a serving of fresh produce in sight, were the mainstay of the menus….Please visit to read the very impressive statistics.  It is amazing how far a little education can take the world!

SUSTAINABLE FOOD.

This blog post on on Change.org may singularly introduce the concept of healthy school lunches and all the initiatives out there.  It includes those mentioned above from Ann Cooper (aka Renegade Lunch Lady) to Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, and even Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard project – but it also shares the insight into other great movements taking place.  If you want to get inspired about your lunch hour, look no further! …It’s been more than 30 years since Congress raised the federal reimbursement rate for lunches served in America’s public schools. Given the lack of funding, it’s easy to understand why the country’s cafeterias dish out gross, unhealthy meals like processed chicken nuggets, rubbery hot dogs, and tasteless pizza slices every day…

Read the outcome of the vote for the Child Nutrition Bill here.

PACK A BAG LUNCH!

Visit the SPARK blog for a few quick, but very tasty, natural school lunch options.  In my opinion – forget the school part, these are great for kids of all ages and are focused on the new food pyramid  of health!

Meal idea…

• Chicken Salad with Dried Cranberries and Walnuts in Whole Grain Pita
• Banana
• Yogurt
• Natural Fruit Snacks
• Flavored Water

Be sure to remember you most handy dandy reusable lunch bag for your nutritious & delish midday eats!

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 Okay, normally the Carnival of Green Thinking comes on Mondays – I apologize, we are 24 hours behind our normally scheduled programming.  I still hope that you will enjoy this week’s features.  Since we have come upon fall, officially - Green Thinking Blog is paying homage to the harvest time and all that brings!

DIG IN!

Slow Food USA sent me an e-blast this week that shared of Dig-Ins across the country.  You may ask yourself, what is a Dig-In?  All I thought of at first was  eating all the delicious foods that make me want to shovel it in. It is so much better! …All over the country, Slow Food members are gathering for “Dig In,” a national day of action to connect people to where their food comes from (and have a great time while doing it)…

LOST ARTS!

Local Harvest is a great resource for all things locally grown near you.  Farmers Markets, Co-ops, the works.  They also  feature blogs from farmers.   Lost Arts is a blog post by Pleasant Valley Farm in Tionesta, Pennsylvania…I don’t think it’s a big stretch to say that we do many things here at the farm that are rapidly becoming “lost arts”.  The most obvious is our choice to depend on draft horses and antique machinery for our field work and hay making.  Raising heirloom plants and heritage livestock is another area we’ve ventured into.  It’s no surprise to me that most people have no idea how to blacksmith, making tools and useful items with hot metal, coal and a hammer, although I think it’s really neat that Dan can, and one of these days we’ll find some elusive spare time to do it more.  What is surprising to me, however, is how cooking is becoming a lost art as well…

GARDEN COMMUNITY STYLE!

 What is a better way  to celebrate harvesting than with your friends and neighbors in your community garden!  Tuscany Community Garden Blog started with a post to raise funds for a community garden in August, in September they announced the approval of  the fruit of their labors.  Congratulations!  …The Tuscany Community Garden Steering Committee is thrilled to have recently received approval from The City of Calgary Parks to construct a community garden, at the corner of Tuscany Hill and Tuscany Meadows Drive.  The concept plan has been completed and includes raised beds for rental along with some communal fruit trees and beds and a central gathering place for all members of the community to gather and enjoy the space…

Happy growing!  Come back this week to learn more about gardening from our friends at Real Time Farms.

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Are you looking for a new job?  Every consider going green in the job market?

Consider taking  a look at Eco.org.  Eco.org is a job site where you can post your resume, search resumes, and search jobs – all that have an environmental focus!

Eco jobs can range from an engineer of wind power to a volunteer coordinater.  There is something for everyone!

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Free water Friday or any day!

1. Want to test your geography skills?
2. Want to donate water to countries who are in need of it?
3. Wanna do it all from the comfort of your own computer?

Visit Free Poverty and all of your wishes will come true – that is if all your wishes are #1-3.  Play an interactive geography game and for every answer you get right, 10 cups of water are donated someplace around the world.  I only played for about 3 seconds & donated 34 cups of water.

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September celebrates so many National Awareness or fun-time days that I thought it only fair the Carnival of Green Thinking bring light to some of those great blogs out there fighting for these causes!

NATIONAL FOOD SAFETY AWARENESS MONTH

Food safety covers every topic from BPA in your plastics  and even the great Iowa Egg recall.  Buy Safe Eat Well brings light to these topics and the ways that the government can and is getting involved.  With back to school in full-swing, GTB wanted to share the Buy Safe Eat Well’s viewpoint on the equipment kids are bringing with them…BYOB: Ban Your Old Bottles…In recent years, numerous scientific studies have confirmed the bad news about BPA: it leaches out of the plastic into the beverages, and this has many negative health impacts for humans, particularly children. In addition to its chemical properties that help make plastic hard, clear and shatterproof, BPA is also an endocrine disrupter that can interfere with normal body functions…

WEAR YOUR SNEAKERS TO WORK DAY!

September 17 is the official Sneakers at Work day, and what better way to celebrate than wearing eco-friendly shoes to your office?  Toms shoes is dedicated to not only making an eco-friendly shoe, but also sharing these shoes to nations that can’t otherwise afford it.  Check out some of their blog reads: Every year I travel to Costa Rica for the summer to visit my mother’s side of the family. While down there this year, I traveled to many different places, and I couldn’t help but realize how many people were attracted to TOMS… Of course the tourists, all saying how much they love TOMS and want to get a pair for themselves.

IT IS VEGAN MONTH!

Hug a vegan you know sometime during September.  If you don’t know any vegans (or if you do) try it one day – you may actually love it.  Veganism is a very eco-friendly practice by cutting out any factory work that has to do with the processing of anything animal – plus, anything that supports growing yummy things wins in my book!  I found a great collection of recipes to share at Cook. Vegan. Lover. – try one out today! Since today is a holiday, and I like to spend holidays at the pool, this recipe caught my eye & seems to fit with my theme of the day …Burgers & Smoothies: It was so cool and refreshing I think it is my new smoothie love.  I also tried out my new GlassDharma straw which I absolutely love! It as a little weird to drink our of at first but I really like it.  Above is just one of the straws I have and I can’t wait to show you the others! Not only are these straws pretty but they are sustainable, dishwasher safe, kid friendly and they have a life time guarantee; you can’t beat that!…

Thanks to all the talented bloggers out there who are letting us share your great knowledge!

Thanks for tuning in to the Carnival of Green Thinking this week!  Remember, if you read something eco-friendly this week that you have to share, submit it here!

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Ever consider banking with the environment? That is right! There is a Recycle Bank.

You could get totally rich just by doing things you already do, such as  reducing, reusing and recycling.

Seriously, do you recycle at home, recycle or electronics, or belong to the eBAy Green Club?  If so, you can easily earn points to add to your Recycle Bank.  Then you get to turn those points in to get discounts at a thousand or so retailers!

Do you like shopping for ecofriendly products, do you like going out to eat, what about music on your iPod?  If you join Recycle Bank, these are just some of the things you could redeem with your points!

Already, users have helped save over 9 million trees and almost 630 million gallons of water!

Consider this, Recycle Bank could be a really easy program for you to take advantage of – but it could also be a great incentive to get that person you know who needs a little encouragement in the eco-friendly department to jump on board…I can just feel the points rolling in!

http://www.recyclebank.com/

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