Goodbye... I'm so happy and sad all at the same time!

Well, everyone, this is it: the last post. I have exhausted my resources for this blog, and so it's time to move on to other things in my life. I feel so happy that I have completed this blog, yet so sad that I have to let go. I will definitely think about this more before I post this for real.
To those of you who are seeing my blog for the first time, feel free to look around! I have spent many hours working on this blog. But for the rest of you...

On the weekend, I attended the 2012 Youth Summit for Biodiversity and Environmental Justice, as an Ontario Nature Youth Council member. It was one of the best weekends of my life. I didn't have time to post anything that Friday, because the moment I got home from school, I had to have lunch and then pack my bags.
One of the workshops I attended was about Global Governance and Environmental Justice (or something like that). A particularly memorable moment was when the presenter, who worked as a critic of global governments, took a look at the colourful masses of acronyms that she had written on a paper on an easel and joked, "So this is my life. I'm trying to figure it out." The moral of the story: don't get bogged down by a bunch of terminology and super-long acronyms unless you have to.
I'm trying to figure out my life, too. Has Hug A Tree Today, Seriously helped me with that? Perhaps. It has definitely given me a chance to make a difference in my own way, in my own time.

Sign from the YMCA camp where the summit was held.

The guest speaker was Simon Jackson, a Canadian from British Colombia who founded the Spirit Bear Youth Coalition. His story was an inspiring one. It made me realize just how easy it is to get public attention for your organization. Apparently, when the royal British princes came to visit Canada, Simon maneuvered himself right up to the front-- amidst hordes of screaming girls-- and asked the princes to help him save the Spirit Bear (which is a white variety of  black bear). And they did! Although the Spirit Bear is still in need of protection, he has come a long way towards saving this unique species.
 I am incredibly hopeful that we can make a difference in the world. I'm not giving up on my environmental activism by ending this blog. I still am on the ON Youth Council, I have a print 'zine on environmentally-friendly living, and I do other cool things on and off that I can't remember right now. Remember to continue to do your own things to help save the environment during your lifetime!

Oh, and I have a few more eco-tips for you all:

• If you want clean, smooth, glowing skin, use sea salt! Simply wet your face (or hands, or whatever) with warm water and then rub sea salt onto your skin. Rub it in well and then rinse it off. Do a final rinse with cool water to close off your pores. It works really well.
• Have you been considering alternative energy? Well, I want you to know that you shouldn't be too quick to jump on the bandwagon. Solar panels can disrupt bird migration patterns and take up large quantities of land. Wind turbines chop up tens of thousands of birds in the U.S. alone every year, and they also take incredibly large amounts of energy and land to operate. The best way to go is simply to conserve energy!
• I suggest that you find another blog to follow now that mine is done. Find ways to be in nature. Keep up your eco-friendliness-- you will not regret it.

Now, a few parting words:

1. To all the followers (official and unofficial) of this blog, you rock! You rock because you care about the environment and you are willing to do something about it. You rock because you've helped me reach and surpass my goal of 1000 pageviews by the end of the year. (Keep reading to find out how many pageviews I've achieved at the time of this writing.)
2. Around New Year's Eve in 2011, I set the goal of reaching 1000 pageviews by the end of 2012. At the time of this writing, I have reached 3701 pageviews! And it's only October!
3. If you have enjoyed following this blog or reading my posts, please go to The Animal Rights Action Site, which is now my official primary blog. I may start another blog at some point, but it most likely will be under a different name, for privacy reasons!
4. Bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have a good life, everyone.

Cat, signing out, ready to take on the world...

Next Week and Beyond

Hi all,
Next weekend I'll be at the 2012 Youth Summit for Biodiversity and Environmental Justice! I'll tell you all about it when I get back. In the meantime, I invite you to look at Eco-Friendly Conferences and What They Have to Offer to refresh your memory of the conferences I went to last year.
By the way, I am unfortunately running out of ideas for my blog. Can anyone give me ideas, please? Thank you.

Things To Watch Out For In The Media

I'm heading off for the Maritimes tomorrow, and I'll be packing like crazy today, but first, I've got to post. Today, I'll be talking about media traps.
Controlling your own personal intake of media is important, seeing that what you are exposed to every day influences how you view the world. It is hard to resist assimilating into a culture that is so prevalent everywhere you go-- yet it can be done, and should be done, because our Western culture is built on the basis of aquiring more material possessions.
And so, here are some things to avoid in the media:

1. Celebrity gossip and worship: Yes, I said "worship". For many people, they worship celebrities as idols (and even sometimes admit it, like American IDOL). This is the worst on television and in magazines, and on the Internet, of course. You can take all sorts of quizzes comparing yourself to celebrities-- on things like personality type, fashion style, dream date, body type, BMI... It is as though we need to match ourselves up to a celebrity to have worth! Unfortunately, most celebrities lead luxurious, and, ultimately, unsustainable lives; if we all tried to live like them, I'll bet the Earth would be depleted at least twice as fast. So please, surround yourself with the real world instead of celebrity magazines and such... You'll be happier anyway.
2. Advertisements: ARGH! They are everywhere nowadays. You can't use a search engine or check your e-mail without advertisements popping up left, right, and centre! Even my beloved virtual pets website has ads all over the screen and it makes it less fun :( Not like I play on Neopets anymore, really, but I still go on once in a while! It is best to distance yourself from hordes of advertisements, telling you to buy, buy, buy. Even if you don't rush out to the store and buy that particular product (does anyone actually do that?), you might order it online, or simply be encouraged to go shopping in general. Even if you don't notice a difference before and after you see an advertisement, look out-- your mind might be on "shopping mode" for the rest of the day!
3. Certain movies and TV shows: Especially the ones with the "product placement" woven right into the story line, in which the characters of the show talk about how wonderful a certain brand is (they're paid to do that).
4. Certain songs: Especially the disrespectful new pop songs. True, they do not actaully tell you "buy stuff NOW!" but they do originate from the same faulty and obnoxious culture that is destroying the environment.

To put a long story short, the media is poisoned with the "buy stuff and get happy" motto. It is best to look for media that does not contain this. For example, I listen to CBC Radio 1, which doesn't have any advertisements or sketchy "product placements". You can opt for watching movies that aren't the type to use product placement, and hey, maybe you can just ditch television altogether!
By now you might be wondering what to do instead of immersing yourself in a flawed culture. After all, it wouldn't really work to pull yourself out of one culture only to find that there is nothing to replace it. The key is to join groups that think like you. Try joining any one of the following types of groups:

1. Environmental Organizations and Other NGO's: You can go to the meetings, events, etc. and meet people who also don't believe that we should be consuming the amount of stuff that most people do. You can join local nature centres, vegetarian associations, etc.
2. Libraries, which are amazing for many reasons, including the fact that they hardly ever focus on business and consumeristic habits. You just go and borrow a book and take it home and bring it back... and hang out for free at one of the tables, without anyone expecting you to buy anything.

Can you think of anything else? If so, please let me know by commenting on this post. I'll try to get to a computer next Friday while I'm away, but as I stated before, don't worry if I don't post-- I haven't given up on all of you!
See you later, then... :)

Looking Forward to My Summer Vacation... and Eco-Friendly Office Supplies

Hi everyone!
There are three things I would like to talk about today-- first, I'll tell you about my summer vacation and how it will affect my blog posts. Second, I'll let you know about some of the eco-friendly school and office supplies that are available. Third, I have a very serious question to ask you >:) Let's go!

On August 2nd, I'm heading off with my aunt to go camping near my hometown. I'll be there for about 4 nights before going home. I'm not sure whether I'll get a chance to post, although there will probably be an Internet cafe somewhere. If I don't post on that Friday, don't think I've forgotten you, though!
I'll be at home on Friday August 10 and on Friday August 17. Then, on August 18, I'm heading with my parents and sister to Quebec and Nova Scotia! Although I wish I could make it a more eco-friendly trip, it is difficult to convince the others to do this, as they have their own ideas of how a dream vacation should go. At least we'll be driving instead of flying. Our vacation will last two weeks, which means that my blog posts will possibly be all over the place (time-wise, of course). Just keep checking back and I'll post whenever I can, also giving you updates on my trip (well, why not?)!
On September 1, things will be back to normal. School starts late for me, on September 10. I don't like school... but I'll have to give this new one a try before I claim to dislike it.

Photo Courtesy of http://www.learning-to-save-money.com/how-to-live-green.html

Speaking of school-- surely there are some eco-friendly school and office supplies to be used? It really can get on my nerves when I see everyone using up uncertified paper by the notebookfulls, not even writing on both sides of the page!!! In fact, there are some other products you can use. Here is a list of alternatives to the usual supplies:

1. Pencils: Have you ever heard of EarthZone pencils? They are made of 100% recycled newspapers. It's really cool to write with them-- every time you sharpen them you get a new pattern on the part that normally would be wood, and sometimes even colour! These may be fun, but they are also very acceptable to use in any sort of office or school environment-- even for tests and documents. You can purchase EarthZone pencils at an office supplies store, local environmental shop, or online. Here is what they say on their website, www.earthzone.com:

   special features:

• They're made from 100% recycled newspapers. No trees were harmed in the making of these pencils!
• They last longer than regular pencils and won't break when you sharpen them!
• You get smooth, high quality writing each time.
• The erasers are latex free!
• Sharpens really easily.
• Each pencil is made from a different newspaper and really looks cool when you sharpen them.
• No toxic chemicals!
2. Paper: Go tree-free! There are many different kinds of eco-friendly papers you can use, including banana leaf paper, bagasse paper, and, of course, 100% post-consumer recycled paper. Even while taking these considerations, you should only use paper that is blank if you need to-- otherwise, use scrap paper-- paper with writing on one side already.
3. Erasers: Use the eraser on the back of the EarthZone pencils! If this does not appeal to you, you can use FLOMO erasers instead: made with Thermoplastic Elastomer instead of the toxic ingredients typically found in erasers.
4. Pencil Sharpeners: Please, forgo the electric sharpeners. Instead, use the handy and portable pencil sharpeners that don't require any electricity. You can even buy a pencil sharpener made of recycled vending cups: see this online store for details.
5. Binders: go PVC-free! Buy recycled ones! (Please don't expect me to dig up another URL for this one-- I'm sure you can find some nice eco-friendly binders at your local store or favourite online office-supply store.)
6. Technology: My advice-- stay away from all those fancy gadgets and devices. They are truly unnecessary and are not good for the planet. If you must use one, buy one of the "eco-friendly" ones, at least.

Most of all, try to use as little as possible of office and school supplies as you can. The eco-friendly ones are an improvement on the regular ones, no doubt, but they still have a small impact. Judge for yourself how far you can go into the eco-friendly supplies before you seriously annoy your teachers or boss. People may be more accomodating than you expect, even if they don't share your environmental beliefs.

Finally, here is my question-- how do you think I am doing with my blog? I don't understand why, but I haven't been getting as many pageviews as I used to... Am I being too philosophical? Who knows!
Wait-- you do. You, reader, have a pretty good idea of what you like about my blog (I hope). So tell me-- what do you enjoy most about my blog? Do you like the useful lists of things you can do, the anti-consumer rants, or the personal anecdote (the latter I fall rather short on, I think)? Please comment below to give me an idea. I look forward to your responses!

I'll be writing again next week-- if I can!

Get Set for Earth Day... How Will You be the Change?

Earth Day is on Sunday, April the 22nd. Personally, I feel like it is an extremely important day of the year. On Earth Day, all of your environmentally-friendly actions seem to really count. Of course, they count on all the other days of the year, too-- but there is so much more motivation to be green on Earth Day. It might surprise you that I, as an eco-blogger, sometimes run low on motivation to help save the planet, but believe me, I do. It happens to everyone. What really matters is overcoming that and doing great things anyway!

Anyway, here are some of my ideas for going even greener this Earth Day:

1. Start a new habit. Sometimes it only takes a little bit of time and energy to start up something that can last year round. For example...
1. Set up a clothes rack in your basement or clothesline in your backyard. This way, you can get into the habit of drying your clothes without the clothes dryer. By doing this, you will save $85 (US) per year and untold amounts of electricity!
2. If you aren't already a vegetarian, go out to a vegetarian restaurant to discover some delicious vegetarian foods (many of which will also be organic and vegan). You may be able to pick up a cookbook with great recipes. What would be a better time to start a new vegetarian lifestyle than on Earth Day?
3. Make some candles or start using rechargeable flashlights for use in the evening. Walking around your house at night can be an amazing experience with a candle in your hands!
4. Another good idea I found on the Internet is to get into the habit of reflecting. Reflect on your way of life and how it affects those around you (and those who are far away from you!). The more you think about it, the easier it will be to make necessary changes to your lifestyle.
2. Attend an Earth Day event in your community. For those of you who live in Ontario, you can participate in Ontario Nature's Our Special Spaces events that include tree-plantings etc. (I'll be going to the one at Lemoine Point in Kingston.) Otherwise, simply type in "[your city name] Earth Day events" on a search engine to find some. If you happen to be reading this on or after Earth Day, you might still be able to find "Earth Month" activities that last through April to take part in.
3. Sit down and plan out your eco-friendly goals for the next year. You can get started by reading my New Year's blog post, "Make Your New Year's Resolutions Sustainable", at http://hugatreetodayseriously.blogspot.ca/2011/12/make-your-new-years-resolutions.html.
4. Educate yourself! Simply read a book on environmental issues or eco-friendly tips. You can get one at the library. Many people have said that one of the best things you can do for the planet is to educate yourself. This is probably because knowledge inspires wisdom, and wisdom inspires good choices...





As Zachary Shahan said on planetsave.com, "Today should still be Earth Day, perhaps, but it should also be the beginning of Earth Week, Earth Month and Earth Year. And Earth Year should be an annual thing." (See http://planetsave.com/2010/04/22/what-to-do-on-earth-day/ for the rest of the article.)

Earth Day is all about really making a difference... So how will you be the change this year?

Which NGOs Are Worth Giving Donations To?

I used to donate a lot to NGOs (non-governmental organizations), but as I became more knowledgeable about environmental and animal rights issues, I started to wonder just how my money was being used.
This applies to all kinds of NGOs-- environmental, human rights, animal rights, and more. Here is my opinion on making donations each type of NGO:

• Environment: These NGOs are usually perfectly fine to donate to, because they care about animals, humans (usually, anyway), and the environment. But your money might also go towards more undesirable things, like cruel barbeque fundraisers, for example, or wind turbines, which kill birds (we just shouldn't use as much energy, that's all!). As long as you do a bit of research on the organization and you agree with all of their initiatives and their mission statement, however, it should be fine to donate to it.
• Human rights: Human rights is a fine cause, and it very often relates to environmental issues. Fair trade farming, for instance, relates to organic agriculture. Did you know that some people working in the United States are actually slaves to the big corporations? And when pesticides are sprayed all over the fields from above, the laborers don't even have time to run for cover, so their skin soaks up all those toxins. Other human rights groups don't really impact the environment either way-- look at diversity initiatives, for instance. Make sure that your human rights donation does not violate environmental ethic, though-- sometimes the "solutions" to human rights problems only cause more problems elsewhere (e.g. replacing a laborer's old job with an unsustainable forestry one, having one of those cruel barbeque fundraisers, etc.). I don't really have any suggestions of specific organizations, but that isn't to say that there aren't any good ones out there.
• Poverty and Homelessness Charities: These can be okay for environmentalists to donate to. It really depends on what they're doing. If they are doing something seriously detrimental to the environment or animals, then please don't donate to it. For example, some people who go to developing countries to try to give poor people a better life actually encourage the locals to exploit the natural environment, which will really just come back and take away their wealth in the end (see http://www.worldchanging.com/ for information on this and many other topics). And World Vision gives live animals to poor families so that they can breed them and then kill them, which is absolutely horrible. The best way to help impoverished people is to donate environmentally-friendly food and clothes to your local shelters and food bank. That way, no one will be able to go out and buy something unsustainable with your money-- you'll already have done the decision-making for them.
• Health and Research Associations: Ah, so controversial! People like to say, "So you think that we should throw away human lives just so that we don't have to test on animals?" But there are health research organizations that do not test on animals. Go to  http://www.humaneseal.org/search.cfm to search for organizations that have the PCRM's Humane Charity Seal of Approval.
• Animal Rights: Animal rights is very closely tied to environmental issues. Read my article at http://teenink.com/hot_topics/environment/article/403045/Helping-Animals-and-the-Environment/ for some information on how the two relate. My favourite animal rights charity:
• NCVA (National Capital Vegetarian Association-- http://www.ncva.ca/), located in Ottawa, or any other vegetarian/vegan association, such as the Vegan Society (http://www.vegansociety.com/).

Very Important Point: The more specific the cause and the donation, the better results will occur. (e.g. If you want to give dog beds to dogs in animal shelters, buy the dog bed yourself instead of giving your money to the animal shelter, who can do absolutely anything they want with it. And instead of donating to a general environmental group, give your money to an environmental group that focuses on a specific topic that matters a lot to you.) My point is that you never really know exactly how your money can be used, so be careful without being stingy.
I hope you can make the right choices when donating to NGOs!

Go beyond Earth Hour this 2012

My goodness-- I almost forgot to post today! I'm lucky that I remembered just a few minutes ago.
This year, Earth Hour is on March 31 at 8:30 pm; please join Earth Hour this year by turning off your lights, computers, television, and cell phones! See the website http://www.earthhour.org/ for more information.

Earth Hour is all about conserving energy. But how do you take it beyond the hour and start a small-scale energy revolution in your life?

1. Make it an everyday habit to conserve electricity wherever you see possible-- turn off the lights when leaving the room, unplug your computer every evening, turn off the television and get outside, et cetera.
2. Get a free energy audit of your home. This way you'll know whether your house is energy-efficient. They'll also give you tips on how to conserve energy in your house-- sometimes it can be as simple as filling in a few empty spaces with insulation. At other times, it can be complex. But either way, it's good to know.
3. When you must buy an appliance, buy the ones labelled "Energy Star", which means that they are energy-efficient.
4. Throw on a sweater and turn the thermostat down one degree. This can have a big impact on your energy bill-- if you always had it one degree less, you could reduce your energy bill by ten percent!
5. Install solar water-heaters on the roof-- very convenient for heating your water naturally.
6. During the winter, open your curtains in the day to let sunlight in and close them at night to keep in the heat. In the summer, close the curtains in the day and open them at night, allowing heat to escape.
7. Go without air-conditioning-- you can always spend those hot days underneath a shady tree (if you haven't got any trees on your property, plant one!) or in the basement.
8. Follow my other tips on this blog to reduce your energy consumption further!

Make Your New Year's Resolutions Sustainable

                              

Well, it's almost the end of the year! Can you believe it? A lot has happened in 2011. From an environmental perspective of what I got done, I quit and then re-started Hug a Tree Today Seriously, I started up The Animal Rights Action Site, I got the idea of using ration books and used one for the month of December (alas, read the haiku below), I signed a LOT of petitions, I stuck little slips of paper into library books with my blog's URL on them (hey-- I'm not the only one who does that), I joined Taking It Global (a youth organization that has lots of great resources to make change), and I wrote an article or two for Teen Ink on issues about the environment. I can't remember what else I've done-- I'll add them if I think of them...

So now with New Year's Day on its way, you're probably thinking about what New Year's Resolutions to try. Please keep the environment in mind for these such things! Here is a list of suggestions:

1) Commit to using half the amount of paper as you did in 2011. Here is a list of ways to do so on my Taking it Global blog. http://princesscat.tigblog.org/post/5331133

2) Go vegan-- try it for at least a month. If it helps to make a more official commitment, you can pledge on one of these websites: http://whyveg.com/pledge.php https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2055&c=pfvskvp09

3) Commit to bicycle to work/school/stores.

4) Decide to cut back on your television time by one-half. Even better, stop watching TV altogether!

5) Dry your clothes on a clothes rack instead of a dryer.

6) Commit to using a ration book every month.

Well, I could go on all day, but that's enough to give you the idea!

Hug a Tree Today, Seriously also has a New Year's Resolution-- I aim to get 1000 page views by the end of 2012! Can you help me achieve my goal? I already have 411 page views at the time of writing. You can see the number of page views at the bottom of the page-- it changes every time you visit. Please tell your friends and family about my blog so that I can reach 1000 page views by January 2013!

MOST IMPORTANT POINT!!!: To acheive your goals, you must plan them out carefully, decide what you want EXACTLY, decide how you will get there, etc. The best way to do this is to use S.M.A.R.T. goals:

Specific: What is your goal? "To use less electricity", while having good intentions, is hardly specific enough. Instead, you could say something like: "To use the clothes dryer once per week and hang out all other clothing on the clothes rack."

Measurable: How will you know when you have reached your goal? In the example above, it would be when you only use the clothes dryer once per week.

Attainable: Is it physically possible? "To consume nothing for the rest of my life" is impossible, but to comsume less resources is. If your goal is not possible, you will be chasing it for your whole life and constantly tripping up over it.

Realistic: This refers to whether it is likely to happen, judging by your lifestyle, needs, and how much you want it. For example, if your goal was to bicycle to work every day, but you work in a different town than you live in... well, good luck-- I won't be responsible for the outcome. Similarily, if you DO live close to work/school, but you aren't motivated enough to bike, your goal will, unfortunately, be useless. Make sure that you have the motivation to achieve your goals.

Timely: Set dates. In the clothes dryer example, you could mark January 3rd as your date to get a clothes rack, by January 7th you start experimenting with how well the clothes dry on the rack (you do not necessarily need a fabric softener for this, by the way, but if you do, make sure to go eco-friendly, vegan, and animal-testing-free!), by February you dry all your socks and underwear on the clothes rack, by March you dry pants and towels this way as well, etc.

Haiku:

It lies desolate

On my desk, almost all used up

This month's ration book

(My ration book was well used, however.)

By the way, here is the logo for Hug a Tree Today, Seriously. It is the picture that you should be able to find somewhere on your web browser while you are on this site! Does it work?

Up next: DIY Eco-crafts!



I'm Dreaming... of a Green... Christmas

Do you love Christmas? I know I do. We had better start being sustainable now before we have to be, don't you think?
Here are the things you need to know to have a truly eco-friendly Christmas. (I apologize if you don't celebrate Christmas, but perhaps you could adapt this information to your own holiday?)

1. Presents! Presents! Presents!
I have to admit, we tend to be so materialistic nowadays. It isn't a matter of what to do for someone special on Christmas, it is more a matter of what to buy. However, we can show someone that we care about them and the earth at the same time! Here is a list of green gifts for your loved ones on Christmas.

• Give them something consumable, like muffins or gingerbread cookies or even a pie! Edible things are always good-- they're going to eat something, so why not some delicious vegan baking? (But tell them it's vegan afterward, as some people don't realize that vegan food tastes like "normal" food.) Find recipes at www.allrecipes.com/Recipes/everyday-cooking/vegetarian/vegan/dessert/Top.aspx or adapt your own to be more green.
• Check out a nearby consignment shop for beautiful objects of all varieties. I visited a consignment shop once, and I found about five different things I wanted to take home immediately!
• Find a non-material way to help someone. Go over and help them as they clean their house or pet-sit for free while they are in New Zealand. This totally avoids cliches and it can be fun!
• Make something for them. This isn't only for kids; you can use your talents for this. If you are good with crafts, for instance, you can make a cool ornament for their Christmas tree made from old cans. See www.planetgreen.discovery.com/feature/green-diy-projects/ or do a Google search.
• If all else fails, buy from a green supplier that has organic or re-used materials. For those of you doing shopping on the Internet, a good website is: http://www.therainforestsite.com/store%20
• If you want to buy a video game for a child or friend, well, please don't, as it hurts the environment more than necessary, but if you aren't going to listen to me, then at least make sure that it does not include violence. I am convinced that one of the main causes to my classmates not seeming to care about animals, the environment, and general respect for one another is the violence and more that they were exposed to by video games, the Internet, and television.
• Did you know that about 4 million tons of shopping bags and wrapping paper are used every Christmas? WOW. So let's wrap our gifts in objects like scarves, reusable gift bags from last year, tea tins, and whatever else we might have on hand. Avoid ribbons and bows, too, as they go straight to the landfill. And make sure to bring your own bags to the store, okay?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I don't know about you, but I think that we need to re-think what we do with our Christmas cards! I remember being shocked as a young child learning that most Christmas cards are thrown away shortly after Christmas. It would be a good idea to cut out the picture on the front of the card so that you can use it next year. Or you can ditch traditional card-giving altogether and wish them a "Merry Christmas" in person instead.

Oh Christmas Tree!
Please don't buy a Christmas tree! It is sad to see all the trees lined up to go into the garbage every New Year. However, buying a plastic tree is not the answer, either, as plastic virtually doesn't break down. Instead, use a live, potted Christmas tree, which you can plant outside after a few years. It'll be nice to have a little tree inside the house for a while anyway. You could even go really symbolic and use a teeny sapling as your tree to symbolize new life.

Christmas Cooking tips
Like I said earlier, it is more environmentally-friendly to follow a vegan diet. You can learn more here: www.chooseveg.com/environment.asp . Also, aim for organic foods this Christmas to avoid pesticides. My last piece of advice would be to only cook what will be eaten. If there is waste every year, make smaller portions of your Christmas dinner foods so that everyone gets enough but doesn't have to deal with leftovers.


A Final Thought...
Christmas should be fun, so enjoy it, but remember to wish the Earth a merry Christmas by taking care of it at the same time!

More info: www.eartheasy.com/give_sustainchristmas.htm

Thanks again, everyone!

Eco-friendly conferences and what they offer

Last weekend I attended the 2011 Ecomentors Youth Conference, and in September I was at the 2011 Youth Summit for Biodiversity and Sustainable Living. Since I love making lists, here are the highlights of each conference.

• 2011 Youth Summit for Biodiversity and Sustainable Living, hosted by the Ontario Nature Youth Council
• Took place at a YMCA camp in the lovely Cedar Glen, which is in the Oak Ridges Moraine. There were cabins with running water and everything!
• Programming was wonderful. The workshops I went to included a nature hike, "Waterlution", electric cars, archery, and more.
• Vegetarian/vegan food was served for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and snacks, too.
• Major group activities such as icebreakers, keynote presentation from Lisa Glithero (founder of Students on Ice excursion group), and the Great Group Challenge! Late in the evening, we got to listen to an Anishanabe elder's Aboriginal stories and sing songs around a campfire.
• What I got out of it: FUN, motivation, information, freebies, and membership in the Ontario Nature Youth Council. (To join the Ontario Nature Youth Council, go to the Ontario Nature's Website.)
• Insiders info: There's gonna be one next year, so make sure you go!...
• See pictures at: http://www.ontarionature.org/connect/nature_guardians/biodiversity_summit.php (and try to find the picture that I am in!)

•  2011 Ecomentors Youth Conference
• At St. Paul's University in Ottawa
• Lasted for the day
• My workshops included: Jane Goodall's Roots and Shoots, Becoming Nature Guardians (with Ontario Nature), All About Forestry, Greening Sacred Spaces: Protecting What We Love, Biodiversity Issues.
• At the beginning and end of the day we had presentations. The first one was from Emily Hunter, "eco-warrior" and daughter of Robert Hunter, who is the founder of Greenpeace. The second wasn't very good, so I won't mention it. Emily Hunter is an awesome speaker and person, though.
• The day also offered Ecomentors Speed Training, which people could enter if they wanted to teach others in their community as an Ecomentor!
• Their website is: http://www.ecomentors.ca/, put together by Earth Day Canada; go to http://www.earthday.ca/pub/
• A "green lunch" was served, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. (I didn't try it, though!)
• What I got out of it: information, motivation, springboard for new ideas, inspiration, a chance to connect with other Earth-caring people, freebies, and info on how to participate in some eco-friendly contests (Upcoming-- go to http://www.everydayheroesfestival.com/ and http://www.earthday.ca/pub/campaigns/upcycling/ .)
• Chances are, there'll be one next year, so keep checking their website!

If you're not a youth, but you want to get involved, you could either volunteer at one of next years events or go to a non-youth environmental summit (although youth would be welcome at most of those, too). For global conferences (some of which are in Canada), see http://www.conferencealerts.com/environment.htm . Medium things are on http://www.planetfriendly.net/calendar/?list=environmental-conferences-in-canada . If you want a small-scale event, go to http://www.greenottawa.ca/ . You may be able to find something ecofriendly at http://www.ottawafestivals.ca/category/festival/ . Please, get involved! The environmental movement needs you!