The other day as I was sitting around of table of women at a Super Bowl Party, one of the women commented on how cold this particular  winter has been  Quickly the conversation turned to how cold their own houses were and the cost of their utility bills.  Some were wearing bulky clothing and  keeping their homes quite chilly  to keep their bills in check. So, I wondered, have you seen your own energy bill soar in the last couple of years?

As many of my loyal Green Talk readers know, I have written extensively about how to button up those air leaks in your house especially in your attic.  But sometimes, simply caulking is not enough when you don’t have adequate insulation in your attic, crawlspace or walls.

I am fascinated about different types of  insulation, and have been particularly interested about AirKrete, for sometime.  This product has been around for over 25 years.

During a recent green exhibition, I interviewed New Jersey AirKrete installer, Fabio Alberti of Alberti Insulation, about the attributes of the product.   I urge you to listen to the above short podcast. It is really quite informative.

What is AirKrete? According to Alberti,  it is a cementitious foam insulation comprised of Portland cement, high quality magnesium oxide,  talc, water, and a foaming agent.  The Company states that the product is  fire proof and mold resistant, and free of formaldehyde, CFCs, asbestos, and all other carcinogenic fibers.

In addition,  it has an R factor of 3.9 per inch and completely fills all the  nooks and crannies within a wall cavity. It does not expand within the cavity like foam, so there is no worry that it will blow out the wall.     (See the Material Data Safety Sheet here as well as independent tests and approvals authenticating the Company’s claims.)

According to Alberti, the main difference between ordinary foam and Airkrete is that AirKrete is 100%  fireproof rather than contain a flame retardant ingredient. In the event of a fire,  AirKrete foam will not burn or create smoke.

Alberti  states that a typical AirKrete installation would  cost 20% more than the installation of foam, but would be 40-50%  more effective than foam (depending on the installation)  since it does not shrink from its original installed state. He claims foam, on the underhand, shrinks.

How is the product installed?  Watch the above video. The product fills the walls like other foam applications and cures within a few days.  It is ideal for  new construction and can be added to existing homes. The beauty of the product, according to Alberti, is  left over product could easily be disposed of in your garden.

During my conversation with Alberti, I was impressed that AirKrete could be installed through an exterior  wall so less damage would be done to the interior walls of your home.   He explained it is the only insulation that can be installed from the exterior as well as through brick veneer.

So, is it really fire proof?  The above video shows a penny being burned on top of AirKrete.   The foam does not burn.  The Penny…well, it did not do as well.

The Company does not maintain a list of the installer on the website.  If you are interested in AirKrete, simply contact the Company through their email address and they will furnish you with the  name of a local installer.

A couple caveats about the product.    Alex Wilson, founder and executive editor of BuildingGreen, LLC in Brattleboro, Vermont, who I admire very much, wrote in his September, 2009 article entitled “Foam-In-Place Insulation,” that there were few trained installers and it may be more expensive to hire one that was far away from your area. In my situation, Alberti covers New Jersey, and he is reasonably close to me. Like Alex stated, installing AirKrete may not be so easy for you in your area.

In addition, he states,

“Other than availability, the biggest problem with Air Krete is that the cured foam is fairly fragile; if exposed to frequent vibration, such as along a busy highway, the foam can begin to disintegrate, reducing its performance. The manufacturer is working to solve this problem.”

Keep Alex’s point in mind if your home is exposed to frequent vibrations.   Contact the Company to see if they have resolved this situation.

Readers, has anyone used AirKrete ?

Have you found this winter to be worse than prior years?  Or are we just getting older and starting to feel the cold?

Similar Posts:

• Icynene® Insulation–The Ultimate Barrier to High Energy Bills
• Why Not Feel As Comfortable with Your Insulation As Your Jeans?
• BASF’s COMFORT FOAM® Reduces Energy bills and Increases Comfort
• Is Your Living Area Just One Big Leak?
• Look to Your Attic To Lower Your Energy Bills

Are you forever asking people to bring a casserole plus a chair or two?  Or do you have the proverbial stack of metal or plastic chairs in your basement?  Guilty on both accounts.

FlexibleLove furniture, a honeycomb, accordion structure-type furniture, is not only eco-friendly, it will save your aching back from lugging those chairs up from the basement every time you have a party.   The furniture is made of  readily accessible recycled  materials such as  wood waste and paper and accommodates a variety of different configurations as well as seating for a number of people.

The product line consists of  the Earth 8 and the Earth 16, which seats upwards of 8 and 16 people respectively.  Simply tug at the end to create your own custom configuration.  (See the demonstration video above.)  Come on, Anna. Cardboard furniture that can hold the body weight of many people?  According to the Company, the Earth 16 can support weight up to 4233 pounds, whereas the Earth 8 can support weight up to 2116 pounds.

In addition, the Company sells the Earth mini, which is a smaller scaled version of the Earth 16.

For more information about the designer, Chishen Chiu, see here.

The furniture  can be purchased at the following:

France – Available online at Myfab France
Germany - Available online at Myfab Germany
Italy – Available online at FlexibleLove Italia
Spain - Available online at FlexibleLove Espana
Portugal - Available online at FlexibleLove Portugal
Taiwan – Purchase in-store from CNSense or online via Nordic Design
UK - Available online at FlexibleLove UK
US-Available online at H&W Trading

The 2010 lineup will include FlexibleLove Virgin 20, FlexibleLove Earth 16, and FlexibleLove Earth 8. FlexibleLove White 16 coming soon.

So forget the plastic and metal chairs and go cardboard.  Eco-friendly, smart and definite a conversation piece.

Readers, would you consider the above product for your next party?

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• Used Office Chairs, Comfy is Now Spelled G-R-E-E-N
• Green Talk Reader’s Question: Eco Furniture Shops in Calgary?
• Green Christmas, How to Have a Joyous, Eco-Friendly Holiday Season Book Review
• Part II of Used Furniture-Becoming An Eco-Chic Trendsetter-My Web and Garage Sale Addictions
• Used Furniture–Become a Eco Chic Trendsetter

Well, you thought it was safe to go back in the water? Not with Monsanto rearing its ugly face. Did I hear “genetically modified” again?  Yep.  Your organic food might not be organic anymore.

As many of you know, we have GMO corn, GMO soybeans, and now we could have  de-regulated  GMO alfalfa. Isn’t that rich? According to the USDA,

“On December 18, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of APHIS’ Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that evaluates the potential environmental effects of deregulating two lines of alfalfa genetically engineered (GE) to tolerate the herbicide glyphosate, known commercially as Roundup®.  The GE alfalfa is commonly referred to as Roundup® Ready (RR) alfalfa and is referred to as glyphosate-tolerant (GT) alfalfa in the EIS.”

You know my feelings about Round-up. Kill the weeds, kill the human. A beautiful mantra.  So what about alfalfa? What is it used for?

“Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is an important perennial forage crop used around the world. Alfalfa is the fourth largest crop, in terms of acreage, grown in the United States behind corn, soybeans, and wheat. Unlike annual cropping systems, alfalfa management differs greatly due to its perennial habit of growth. The alfalfa crop will remain in the field for several growing seasons and will be harvested several times each season. Therefore, with alfalfa, management practices will not only affect the first harvest of the crop, but will also affect subsequent harvests within the life of the alfalfa stand.” [1] [Emphasis added.]

In addition, alfalfa is an excellent crop cover due to its nutritional properties as well as its positive environmental impact of stabilizing soils, decreasing nutrient inputs requirements, and increasing wildlife habitat.[2]

Many of you might be saying “who cares?” I don’t eat alfalfa sprouts.  But guess who eats alfalfa?

According to Charles Saunders, the author of “Raising Cattle on your own place,”  and the book, The Self-Reliant Homestead,

“Hay, especially good legume hay, will produce good beef and usually a profit. You will likely use about ½ to ¾ ton of hay in fattening out a steer or heifer. When it comes to hay, alfalfa is tops for beef cattle.”

Not only is alfalfa used as forage for beef cattle, it is used as feed for dairy cows due to alfalfa’s high levels of protein, calcium, and high quality fiber. [3] Remember those happy grazing, California Cows? I bet they are eating alfalfa.

So, now your milk and beef may be tainted with genetically modified, round resistant alfalfa.

To make matter’s worse, what about cross contaminations from GM alfalfa fields to organic fields?

“Alfalfa is cross-pollinated by bees, and this creates an opportunity for GM alfalfa to cross-pollinate with organic alfalfa, thereby causing GM contamination of the seed produced by the organic alfalfa (Center for Life Sciences and Department of Soil and Crop Sciences 2002). Along with the threat of cross-pollination creating GM contaminated progeny, seeds from GM fields can also be transported to a field by wind/animals/dirty equipment, and volunteer GM plants will result (Figure 2). Organic farmers with contracts to provide non-GM alfalfa seed will lose their contracts if even the slightest amount of GM contamination is detected (Associated Press 2002). Farmers have already faced the “seed invasion” posed by GM canola and soybeans which have blown into the fields and germinated, or have cross-pollinated with their crops and produced GM contaminated seed (Figure 3) (Cropchoice 2002).” [4]

Author Jacqueline Pridham of the above stated article,  poses the most important ecological question concerning genetically modified alfalfa. Could genetically modified crops cause entire ecosystem alterations?

The genetic construct being introduced into alfalfa originates from a sexually incompatible organism, and this transgene has the potential to be passed not only from one crop field to the next, but also to weeds, and into the wild (Lamkey 2002). Additionally, there is the question of horizontal gene transfer, in which genetic material can be passed nonsexually from one organism to another (Lamkey 2002). Under this circumstance, the genetic construct of GM crops could potentially be transferred to microorganisms, earthworms, arthropods, insects, birds, mammals and even human beings that interact with the crops (Ho, 2002).

What can you do about it? Let the USDA know that Monsanto needs to climb back under its rock and say no to GMO alfalfa.

Need more information?  See the following information sent by email to me from the True Food Network regarding their  campaign to stop the USDA approving GM alfalfa:

“USDA released its draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Monsanto’s GE, Roundup Ready alfalfa on December 14, 2009, and a 60-day comment period is now open until February 16, 2010. This is the first time the USDA has done this type of analysis for any GE crop.  Therefore, the final decision will have broad implications for all GE crops.

It is clear that the USDA has not taken the concerns of non-GE alfalfa farmers, organic dairies, or consumers seriously.  USDA’s preliminary determination is to once again deregulate GE alfalfa without any limitations or protections for farmers or the environment. Instead USDA has completely dismissed the fact that contamination will threaten export and domestic markets and organic meat and dairy products.  And, incredibly, USDA is claiming that there is no evidence that consumers care about such GE contamination of organic!

USDA also claims that consumers will not reject GE contamination of organic alfalfa if the contamination is unintentional or if the transgenic material is not transmitted to the end milk or meat product, despite the fact that more than 75% of consumers believe that they are purchasing products without GE ingredients when they buy organic.

USDA claims that Monsanto’s seed contracts require measures sufficient to prevent genetic contamination, and that there is no evidence to the contrary. But in the CFS lawsuit requiring this document, the Court found that contamination had already occurred in the fields of several Western states with these same business-as-usual practices in place!

USDA predicts that the approval of GE alfalfa would damage family farms and organic markets, yet doesn’t even consider any limitations or protections against this scenario.  Small, family farmers are the backbone and future of American agriculture and must be protected. Organic agriculture provides many benefits to society: healthy foods for consumers, economic opportunities for family farmers and urban and rural communities, and a farming system that improves the quality of the environment. However, the continued vitality of this sector is imperiled by the complete absence of measures to protect organic production systems from GE contamination and subsequent environmental, consumer, and economic losses.

Tell USDA That You DO Care About Genetic Contamination of Organic Crops and Food!”

On the campaign website is a sample letter that all you have to do is put in your name and send.  It basically reiterates the above.

So, readers wake-up  and smell the alfalfa, and say “NO!” to the USDA.  If not, if may not be safe to go into the water again.

Photo by

Sources:

[1] Dillehay, B. and Curran, W., Guidelines for Weed Management in Roundup Ready Alfalfa, College of Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension, Penn State University.

[2]Martin, N.P., Mertens, D.R., Hatfield, R.D., Jung, H.J. 2008. Alfalfa: forage crop of the future. In: Proceedings of the 28th Kentucky Alfalfa Conference, February 21, 2008, Cave City, Kentucky, p. 17-26.

[3] Jennings, J. and Pennington, J., “Forage Series.  ”Alfalfa for Dairy Cattle,” University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension.

[4] Pridham,Jacqueline, “Impact of Roundup Ready Alfalfa on Organic Systems,” Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada.

Similar Posts:

• You’ve Got Green Mail
• Say No to Round-Up Weed Killer. Jury Still Out on Safer, Burnout II.
• You’ve Got Green Mail, January 18, 2009 Round-up
• EWG’s Shopping List Limits Your Pesticide Exposure
• Get off the Couch and Make a Phone Call!

A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World.

Watch the above video from Healthy Child, Healthy World and heed the wake-up call to change the way we do “chemicals” in our world.  Have you noticed the rise of asthma, learning disabilities, autism, cancer, and many other diseases?

Many of you know me for my green building articles but may not realize that I built my house using non or low toxic materials for my children.  I am one of those parents who has children that have learning disabilities, ADD, JV diabetes, eczema, and asthma.  I know parents who lost their children to cancer,  and friends who are fighting cancer.  Chemicals are in our air, the ground, in our food, and our water.  We wear chemicals, eat chemicals, and sleep in chemicals.  So, am I surprised at the rise in illness?  No.

I know.  Many of you feel overwhelmed with all the media scares and not knowing the truth.  I feel the same way although I may seem more knowledgable than many.  I am not a scientist, nor should I have to be.  I feel your frustration because I feel it to.  So what can we do together?

• Join Healthy Child, Healthy World campaign to change one household at a time. By joining this movement, this organization will help us to buy safer products and avoid those that contain chemicals that are harmful to our family.  In essence, change will come based upon our buying power.  If we only buy safe products, manufacturers and chemical companies will have to change their ways.
• Join HCHW on Facebook.
• Tell a friend about the campaign.
• Share the campaign on Twitter, and Facebook.
• Stumble  and Digg this campaign
• Tell friends and relatives what you have learned as part of the Wake-up Campaign.  It take a whole village, remember.
• Be responsive when HCHW alerts you to important pending legislation that could benefit your household.

It all starts with one household.  Make a the change and wake-up to this important movement. Let’s make change happen.  Together.

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• Protect Unborn Children from Toxic Chemicals. Sign the Declaration.
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Do you need to put on a mask before coloring your hair?

I have been turning gray since my early twenties. It must be hereditary since my grandfather was all gray at an early age. When I had just a few gray strands, I would literally “wash that gray away” with the product of the same name. It would cover the gray for about a week. As the years progressed, I became grayer and grayer. As I approached my late twenties, one of my clients remarked that my gray hair aged me. That was it for me.

The next week I made my first appointment to rid my dark brown hair of those ugly gray stands in my hair. This decision started a twenty year love/hate relationship with hair color. I yearned to stop coloring, but my gray hair was wiry and unattractive. At this point in my life, I am almost one hundred percent gray. When it is time to color, I look like a skunk with a silver band running down the middle of my hair line.

Have I been slowly Killing Myself?

The amount of chemicals that I was exposing my body to was horrendous. According to the National Cancer Institute ,”[t]he evidence for increased risks of other cancers from hair dye use is limited and inconsistent.”  See their article, “Hair Dyes and Cancer Risk,  for further detail.  Just to give you a little peek into the world of hair dyes, many products contain ammonia,  parabens, resorcinol,  tolune, and  p-Phenylenediamine (PPD), which all received high hazard scores on the Environmental Working Group’s  Skin Deep database.  All in the name of beauty.

(See here for health risk  information regarding the exposure of high levels of ammonia, especially if you are a hairdresser.)

I knew what I was doing to myself was not healthy.  In th mid-90’s,  I  brought a box of Herbatint to my colorist to apply it. It burned my scalp. In retrospect, I may have washed my hair the day before and my scalp was just sensitive. Nonetheless, I never tried Herbatint again and reverted back to using salon hair color. Always searching for a better alternative,  I transitioned to  a low ammonia hair color about ten years ago. But I still wasn’t happy.  I wanted to be free of the ammonia . One fateful day, I spotted New Jersey’s Salon Boutique’s business card at my local health food store. This new salon uses organic and natural hair products.

Could Organic Colour Be the Answer?

Excitedly and a little skeptical, I called the salon and spoke to Stacy, one of the founders, about the products that they used. The salon uses Organic Colour Systems, an ammonia-free hair color along with other organic and natural facial products and hair products. (In the US, the product is distributed under the name Organic Hair Color.)

Stacy further explained that in addition to the healthier product lines that they use, the salon was created using low VOC paints and bamboo floors. In addition, a water filtration system was installed to insure that the water used with their products were free of harmful chemicals. The hair gods had answered my prayers.

I had read that hair color needed ammonia to be able to open the hair shaft in order for color to be applied. If Organic Color hair color did not use ammonia, then I wondered what other chemicals were they using? Being the ever skeptic, I emailed back and forth with  Herb UK, the parent company of  the color system.

Organic Colour was created fourteen years ago by London hairdressers/colorists, Stephen Landreth and Stuart Taylor, who since retired, as a solution to Landreth’s allergy to hair color. Landreth remains the technical director of the Company. The product took four years to develop, and uses a base of alkaline oil to soften the cuticle and heat rather than ammonia to open the hair shaft. The activator, which is comprised of a range of 3% -12% pharmaceutical grade hydrogen peroxide lifts the color in order to achieve the desired shade of hair color. (12% grade hydrogen peroxide is the European limit.) According to the Company, Organic Colour is the only product that contains organic roman chamomile to soothe and protect the scalp.

What concerned me about this product is its name which implied that the product was organic, especially looking at the list of ingredients of the product.  Names like PGE-2 Oleamine, and Cocamide DEA did not sound too organic to me.  The Company’s response was “the name ‘Organic Colour System’ is a trade name which was launched in 1994. At the time, organic had a broader meaning in the context of ‘natural’ and ‘of the earth’ and ‘organic development.’ It has only recently come to be used as ‘organically grown produce.”

According to the Company, they are working with Eco-cert to obtain certification for their products which takes into account the raw materials used and the process of how the products are made. At the present time, all of their products contained certified organic materials, many of the raw materials are naturally based, and there is only a small amount of synthetics used when no natural alternatives are available.

Is the product free of chemicals? No. So, is it safe?

Since the product is not listed on the Skin Deep Database, I had to do some of my own research.

The product does contain PPD since it acts as a carrier for the hair to attach to the new pigment being used. However,the Company states that the product contains a low level of no more than 3%, which is lower than the European limits of 6%. For those coloring their hair for the first time, a patch test is advised to ascertain any allergic reaction to the product.

In addition, the product also contains PGE-2 Oleamine and PGE-7 Coco Glycerides, which may contain contaminates 1. 4 Dioxane  as part of the manufacturing process.  1, 4 -dioxane  was previously listed as  a possible human carcinogenic on the Canada’s Environmental, but has since been removed. [1] Many environmental groups were dismayed by the Canadian government’s conclusions.  However, 1,4-dioxane remains on the “Hot list” for ingredients that are intended to be  prohibited or restricted in use; however, it may be present as a manufacturing by-product. [2]

I asked the Company if 1,4 Dioxane had been stripped from the product when manufacturered.  However, as of this date, I have not received a reply.

Other ingredients contained in the product were listed in the Skin Deep database with a score of moderate to hazardous depending on the application of the chemical.  PPD receives a high hazardous score.  Although all the ingredients are not organic, I respect Organic Colour for listing their ingredients and believing in full disclosure.

As mentioned above, the jury is still out on whether or not hair coloring causes cancer.  Organic Hair Colour does not contain amonia or resconate and has a small amount of PPD.  I personally had to weigh my own vanity of not allowing my hair to remain gray with the exposure of possible carconginic chemicals.   In the end, I found that Organic Colour was the best choice for me now and hope that more products will be made in the future without any harmful chemicals.

Does it work?

I decided to be a human guinea pig to put the product to the test. What was the worse thing that could happen? The color did not last?

Samantha, my colorist, did not apply any protective cream around my hair line. When I questioned her, she explained that the product does not stain like other hair colors. That was a relief. Many times, I had walked out a salon with either dye stains near my hair line or red marks from the product used to remove the hair color.

She proceeded to apply the hair color in a similar manner to my prior hair color sessions. I still wondered what were they going to use as the heat part of the equation for the color to penetrate my hair shafts. Well, I got my answer when Samantha brought over a George Jetson like rotating donut and turned it on. I felt like I was in a science fiction movie with this halo circling around my head heating up my head. After about ten minutes, the halo structure was stopped and I sat for another ten minutes. Thereafter, I was washed, and there was absolutely no hair color left on my skin.

After my hair cut and blow out, I noticed my hair was very shiny and soft. See the picture above of my hair after color.

I took pictures of my hair over the next three week period so you can see that the hair color actually lasted. Realize as my hair grew, so did my gray roots. I keep my hair short so my gray part is not as noticeable.

Week 1

2nd week

3rd week (right before my color.)

As you can see from the pictures, my color did not fade as my hair grew. In addition, it remained soft and shiny until my next appointment. I have been using the hair color for a year, and couldn’t be happier. Now, if someone could just invent how to permanently rid my hair of gray, I would be ecstatic!

A word of caution for pregnant women.

Can this product be used by pregnant women? The Company indicated that it should not be used during the first trimester. With any product, check with your doctor as to its safety during pregnancy.

Where is it Distributed?

The product is being distributed in Australia, Europe and the United States. In the United States, the product has been distributed under the name of Organic Hair Color for six years by Hilton Bell, a hair dresser who felt this product was safer for fellow hairdressers as well as the public. The US website lists those salons using the product. Bell has a You Tube page with various videos for hairdressers who wish to make a switch to a healthier alternative than ammonia based color systems.

“Tints of Nature,” the retail product is available in many health food stores such as Whole Foods, Henry’s, and Wild Oats. The difference between the retail product and the salon version is that the retail product is limited in its range of colors.

Other sources of non-resconical and ammonia -free hair dyes:  Herbatint UK, Light Mountain, Nature product by Susan Henry, and John Masters’s Organic Color Line,  and PPD, ammonia, resorcinol-free product by Act by Nature.   For more information about the ingredients in each, contact the  respective company.

I will be testing Act by Nature next.

Readers,

• have you used any of the listed permanent hair color?
• If not, what do you use?

Photo of woman with mask courtesy of Hilton Bell of Organic Hair Color Systems.

Resources:

Skin Deep database

[1]Schmidt, Sarah, “Chemical found in baby shampoos not toxic: Health Canada” The ‘Gazette, September 4, 2009.

[1]” 1,4-Dioxane CAS Registry Number 123-91-1” Chemical Substances, modified December 10, 2009.Similar Posts:

• “Not Just a Pretty Face” The Beauty Industry Never Looked So Ugly
• EWG is the Deep Throat of the Personal Care Industry with its Launch of Skin Deep 3.0
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• Toy Database, A Christmas Present for Parents
• Say No to Round-Up Weed Killer. Jury Still Out on Safer, Burnout II.

Until I moved into my house on the hill, I never saw a turkey vulture before. Or at least I did not pay attention. They love to perch on top of my chimneys. Well, lately they have come to love my house. Since I am on a mountain like hill, my roof is a great vantage point to see where the food is.  The dead food.

Turkey vultures are scavengers. They look for dead animals. They are nature’s incinerators.   I got to witness turkey vultures in action when we had a dead deer which we had to drag to the curb. (Yes, it was the grossest experience with the deer’s you know what hanging out of its side.)

My oldest son and husband picked it up and put it in a cart.  Animal control in my area required you to bring it to the curb if you want to remove it from your property.  How did the deer die?  It looks like she broke her leg.  But how, we have no idea.  The deer was laying in the middle of my front yard. Kind of odd.

I should have filmed my husband and son trying  to pick the dead deer up.   They dropped the deer a couple of times and each time, their expressions were priceless.  They grimaced.  They muttered words like “gross,” “yuck,” and “disgusting.” Each time they dropped the deer, they both walked away from the area to get their bearing again.    I was afraid that my oldest was going to throw up.  They both were so grossed out.

I was surprised how my husband reacted since he  watched me give birth to four kids while filming the births.  In fact, in some instances, he was filming X-rated footage.  The doctor had to tell him to film some place else, if you get my drift.

So, there was this little deer laying on the side of the road.  As the song, “Circle of Life” from the Lion King was playing in the background, the crows  began nibbling at the deer. Then the vultures came.   And basically told the crows to buzz off.   Not just one but five with male teenager appetites. In less than a few minutes it seems, those vultures picked the deer clean down to its bones. No mess. No scraps. (Well taught by their mama vultures.)

Was this the end of my turkey vulture ordeal?

Just the other day my neighbor’s golden retriever, Charlie, was barking near his fence. Usually he barks to get one of us to come out and pet him. This time he just kept barking and barking. I went outside wondering why he did not get discouraged and return  home. As I turned to pet him through the fence, I looked toward the back of the house to see at least 20 cultures lined up on my roof ridge in perfectly spaced formation.   Of course I did not have my handy dandy camera.  But I will tell you, they looked like they were made of plastic since they were so perfectly aligned on my roof.

I stared at them in amazement. At one point they all lifted their wings as if they were choreographed in some type of dance. Of course, the perfect blue sky as a back drop made the display seem more jaw dropping.

I did catch some of them on top of my chimney. (See picture above.)  One graciously lifted his wings for me as I snapped away.

That day with its beautiful sky just reminded me of how perfect Nature is and how much we have disturbed the perfect circle.  We have so much to learn from Nature.

So, readers have you had a nature inspiring moment?

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• Dreaming of a White Halloween

After all the holiday presents have been exchanged, the tree taken down, and the ornaments put away, how many of you still have up your holiday cards laying around?  I tend to keep mine up a little longer because I love the festive colors that adorn my mantel.

Usually, I take off the pictures that my friends give me of their kids and store them away in my albums and toss the rest into the recycling bind.  Diane at the Big Green Purse mentioned that she uses her old holiday cards for gift tags.  I thought what a brilliant idea.

Each year, I must give out 50 plus boxes of pumpkin butter puree to all my kids teachers with my minimalistic wrapping solution inspired by Beth of Fake Plastic Fish.  However, I was cutting up paper apples that I had from another project to make little tags for the gifts.  To add to my already uber-green-holiday regime, I thought how cool would that be to add different color holiday messages to my gifts? It is great having an eclectic mix of green friends to draw inspiration from!

Well what about those cards? Most of my cards I get now are pictures of my friends’ kids with a short holiday greeting.  I don’t know about you, but I rarely get the folded cards anymore.  Do you find that you get a lot of the glossy holiday cards?  Unfortuneately, I could only cut out about ten or so greeting for next year.  For those of you who get more cards, you will do better than me.

But why stop at the Holiday cards, cut out sayings from birthday, wedding, anniversaries, or any other occasions. Don’t forget to cut out color pictures.   The pictures and saying can be used for scrap booking, kids’ projects, decoupage, and any other artist endeavor.

Around the web, I found the following other articles with a host of terrific ideas how to reuse your greeting cards:

• 10 Crafts for your Old Christmas Cards.   I really got a kick out of this suggestion:

“RECYCLE THEM. I think you need to have the right personality to get away with this, but my brother did it with great success and gave everyone a laugh. Simply cross out the name on the card and write your own name in. Then mail them to your friends and family next year! For an added touch, have an office store make a stamp for you that says “Recycled Card.” Then you can stamp this on the back or on the envelope.”

Would you do this?

• Uses for Old Christmas or Greeting Cards via Thrity Fun.  I love the CD suggestion along with accompanying photo.  The commenter on the article took a picture from her greeting cards and attached to a CD and hung it as an ornament for her tree.   If you celebrate Christmas, you could take your family and friends’ holiday photo cards and cut out the pictures to have very personalized ornaments of your loved ones.

Not into being crafty?  Send all of your greeting cards, not just holiday cards to  St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, a home for abused children in Nevada.  The children make them into new cards for different occassions. For more information on how to purchase these cards, see here.  On their website is the following information:

We are accepting used, all-occasion cards from:
November 15, 2009 – February 28, 2010 (Editor: See Note below)

You can mail your donations to:
St. Jude’s Ranch for Children
Recycled Card Program
100 St. Jude’s Street – Boulder City, NV 89005
877-977-SJRC (7572)

To see if the dates are extended, call or visit the website.  As I was reading about this program, I thought this would be a great school, religious organization, or  not for profit collection program for the kids to get involved in.  I forwarded the program to my Kids Care PTA chairperson to see if her committee would be interested in a collection  for this year or perhaps gear up for it for next year.  Thanks to Inform, Inc for the heads up.

Readers, so what is your favorite way of re-using your greeting cards?  Send me a picture so I can put it on the website.

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Watch this 3 minute video of  This is Our Moment with Leo DiCaprio, Edward Norton, Forest Whitaker, Jason Bateman, Felicity Huffman, Chace Crawford, Emmy Rossum and Justin Long to tell our elected officials to vote for the American Clean Energy and Security Act pending in the Senate.  This video was the brain child of the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC.)  I absolutely loved Justin Bateman and Justin Long in the video.  Short, sweet, to the point with some  humor added in.

What is this video all about? On the NRDC’s website,

The House of Representatives has passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act, an historic bill that sets the nation’s first limits on global warming pollution. But the House vote also unmasked some energy villains: those who said NO to millions of clean energy jobs; NO to reducing carbon pollution; NO to breaking America’s dangerous dependence on oil; and NO to making America more competitive.

Now, the U.S. Senate will take up comprehensive clean energy legislation and we need Clean Energy Heroes – these clean energy heroes can take action to restore our economy, revitalize our communities and safeguard the health of our families.”

How can you help?  The beauty of this video is you can tweet, share the video on facebook, and email your Senators right from the video.  Social media networking at its best.

Want to see viewer uploaded video in response to the above video?  See here.

Do your part.  Socialize this video and contact your own elected officials. Let’s guarantee a greener, cleaner future.

Bravo NRDC  for a video well done.

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