What to do? Boycott the Christmas gift giving tradition? Of course not, there are alternatives. Here are five tips to get you started.

1. Plan your shopping trips, so that they occur along your usual routes as much as possible. If you work downtown take a stroll by the shops. Is there a shopping center or mall along your route from work? Check it out?

2. Carpool. If you’re planning to go to the local outlet mall, get your friends together and make it a shopping date.

3. Give sustainable gifts: water bottles, canvas shopping bags (decorate them with fabric pens or iron on patches for a personal touch), or stainless steel travel mugs. Check out other suggestions on Treehugger’s Holiday Gift Guide.

4. Give recycled gifts. Look in your closet, your cabinet or storage space. What’s in there that you haven’t used in the longest time, is gently used and could be of service to a family member or friend? Read Brian Smith’s story at Altenet.org. You can also recycle or create decorative wrapping paper and cards using old Holiday cards, decorations and papers that you have around the house.

5. Give homemade gifts. If you make great holiday cookies, pies, or other treats. Whip up a batch and give them as gifts in reusable decorative container. If you’re an artist, create miniature works to share with family and friends.

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Sure I can scour the web for hours to find website for building eco-friendly housing and organic food,clothing and etc. But when it come down to it, where are these website businesses based? These are the communities I want to be a part of.

I want to be part of a like minded community that says they are moving ahead and planning for the future as opposed to a community that says “I need a big truck so I can go mud ridin’.”

Take a look at one family that is more than doing there part. They are almost self sufficient (when it come to food anyway)

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Next time I’ll address some of the main criticisms to this that I’ve encountered. Then maybe we’ll get on with the program.

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If a glance at a site can trigger me to write about a line, then “A Small Collection” by Alyson Fox really intrigued me . As I looked through her fantastic website and saw her wonderful pieces, I read that she is all about being “Eco-friendly” with her garments and details. She uses no zippers and buttons made from Fallen branches, so unique.

Since more and more companies are “going green”

www.asmallcollection.com

-Manuel Paul

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“This is the smallest hole for a decade”.

The ozone layer is on track to a full recovery, with the latest sets of satellite images showing the hole is shrinking.

“Apart from the (unusual) 2002 hole, this is the smallest hole for at least a decade,” CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric scientist, Dr Paul Fraser, said.

The hole in the ozone layer has been progressively shrinking since the phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halon gases in the 1990s.

“I think our long term prediction is still basically out to 2060 before we’ll get long-term recovery,” Dr Fraser said.

“We’ve got this large reservoir of CFCs and halons sitting in the atmosphere, slowly leaking into the stratosphere where it does the ozone destruction,” Dr Fraser said.“The slow leakage means it will around for a long time. We’re paying for the sins of the past.”

He added that increased levels of greenhouse gases are likely to push delay an ozone recovery by a few decades.  Simon Turner

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> The science of how the Earth is warmed is relatively straight-forward.

>Energy and light from sun go through the Earth’s atmosphere and strike its surface, which warms the planet.

>The Earth emits the energy, but it is trapped in the atmosphere by naturally occurring greenhouse gases — like water vapor and carbon dioxide — which help maintain a warm, comfortable temperature for life to exist.

>The earth’s temperature is generally about 60 degrees Fahrenheit (about 16 degrees Celsius).

>Without the naturally occurring greenhouse gases, the temperature would plunge to about 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 degrees Celsius).

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This is something I had written in a previous blog a while ago, but it is fitting for this Christmas holiday season.  Remember what the Clean Air Council had mentioned about paper waste?

>In the U.S., an additional 5 million tons of waste is generated during the holidays. Four million tons of this is wrapping paper and shopping bags.

Among friends, family, even though it is nice to have gifts wrapped, think about not wrapping some of your gifts and remembering what positive effect this will have on the environment.  Otherwise, how about using banana paper?  Normally, banana wrapping paper is made from the thrown away stalks of the banana tree.  It saves trees. 

 Peaceful Valley sells 100% recycled gift wrapping paper as well as banana gift wrapping paper and notecards printed with soyink and embedded with wildflowers so you can plant your good wishes after the holiday season and watch something beautiful grow (did you see the pics at the top of this blog?) - all with great designs for the holidays.  Please check them out.

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The easiest way to avoid this trap to start with a list. Make a list of everyone for whom you will be buying gifts this year. Take a good look at the list and see if there is anyone that could be eliminated. Don’t be a Scrooge, but look at the list objectively. Maybe a card will do. Perhaps your extended family would be willing to draw names this year instead of giving individually?

Once you have “the list”,

Like anything else.. you gotta stay with it. . Stick to your budget. if you unexpectedly find the perfect present for someone that is less than what you budgeted, consider yourself lucky and bank the difference. Don’t be tempted to spend the extra somewhere else.

Hmmm.. now what you say..Okay, I’ll give a toaster to someone

Gifts You Can Make

- Fill a portable ice chest with “from scratch” frozen dinners, e.g.,

- Collect a roll of postage stamps, note cards (you find great ones

- Create gift baskets for people who are passionate about certain

Bought Gifts:

- Subscription to a magazine on a topic of interest but not related

And especially at this time of year,

So last but not least… the gift of Your time. You’re only limited by your imagination.

And some fuel for your list making

PB& J Bars

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 c. creamy peanut butter
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
18 oz. jam
2/3 c. salted peanuts, coarsely chopped (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 X 13-inch cake pan.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed about 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and mix until all ingredients are combined.

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the peanut butter mixture. Mix just until combined.

Spread 2/3 of the dough into the prepared cake pan and spread over the bottom with a knife

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