You can log on to your account and go paperless. And, it is easier than ever. Every utility company, credit card, or other service I interact with now offers this as a convenient option. That is a magic word for humans right? “Convenient.”

This is not necessarily something folks didn’t know, but have you acted on it yet? I have taken advantage of it in the past and recently. Some offer automatic billing and/or they will email you an e-copy of your bill with plenty of lead time before it is due. There are often many options from which you can select. I love it.

Some companies like AT&T will even plant a tree in your honor for going paperless.

Try it…you’ll like it.

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Bonus: Using reclaimed wood reduces waste and conserves natural resources.

The most common wood in the reclaiming process originated from “old-growth” forests that were likely several centuries old at the time of their harvest. Although it varies by species, the older reclaimed woods often have a rich color and strength (tighter growth rings) that you can’t find with newer woods taken from younger forests. That is a huge benefit to many people looking to use wood as building material or decoration.

Reclaimed woods have a number of obvious uses including support beams, flooring, siding or shingles. People also use reclaimed wood to make walls, doors, furniture, and countertops. We can reclaim wood from a number of sources. Popular salvage comes from old barns and buildings, old docks, and even old logs found submerged in lakes and rivers. It is a great opportunity to reuse hundreds of different species of soft and hard woods especially those that are extinct or near extinct like the American Chestnut and Longleaf Heart Pine.

What a fantastic way to extend the life of a tree that had life taken away from it prematurely.

Check the internet for a lumber company that specializes in reclaimed woods. I recommend one that sources 100% of their product from the reclaiming process.

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So here it goes……

1.  Take it with you the next time you get take out. I have been guilty of watching employees of my favorite food establishments filling a paper bag (yes and sometimes plastic) with a to-go meal for the family, or just me. Now, I take a medium-sized paper bag with a handle on it. It works great.  Of course, plan ahead if you picking up food for a large group. Hey, it works great for other shopping runs too.

2.  Protect your paperbacks (and other books too). Some do it only to protect their borrowed school books from damage. Others do it to show off their artistic creativity or both.  Reusing a paper bag to cover a book is a great way of extending its reusable life-cycle before being recycled again.

3. Wrap a present in style. Cut holes in it like Swiss cheese, paint it, draw on it, or leave it plain. There are many possibilities. I made a pirate map on a paper bag, crumpled it up to give it an aged look, included a birthday wish on the paper, and wrapped the gift with it. You save money on paper, a card, and resources too.

4. The grocery/shopping bag that keeps on giving. Well, this one is obvious and helps my list get to 10. Reusing and recycling a paper bag can eliminate the possibility of it ending up in landfills that already receive a ridiculous amount of paper. According to Environmental Paper Network: “Approximately 40% of the municipal waste stream is paper and paper products.”

5. Countless craft projects. Make a kite, cut out snowflakes, a hat, and puppets, create holiday decorations, or use it as bark for that tree you are making for your school play. What have you seen done?

6.  Contain your recycled paper. On trash/recycling day I see, and pick up, a lot of paper that gets blown out of recycle bins. An easy solution, use a paper bag to hold smaller pieces of recycled paper products so they don’t become an eyesore and make it to the recycling center.

7. Protect your floor or counter. This reuse and then recycle trick works best with dry spills. You can cut open a bag and place it on the counter or use as a doormat.  The paper can catch the loose stuff and can then be easily disposed of properly with little cleanup.

8.  Enjoy fruit faster. Is your local farmers market, or grocery store, out of fruit that is at the peak of your preferred ripeness?  A few fruits that ripen faster in a paper bag include plums, pears, bananas, nectarines, and peaches to name a few.

9.  Lists that last. Do you buy the same items at the grocery each time? Well, even if you don’t you can cut the bag into smaller pieces. Use the scraps as shopping lists (and reuse them) or write notes to family or friends.

10. Make your sales stand out. Many of you do a great job using old garage/yard sale signs for other events. Why paint over the old wording. A few paper grocery bags and some tape can recover the old sign for use again. Lemonade 25¢, Yard Sale this Sunday, Welcome Home, Happy Birthday, Go Cubs!!  — o.k. I think you get the point.

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Did you know: It is the largest of all wild “horses” (i.e., in the horse or horse family). A newborn zebra will “imprint” on nearly any living thing. That’s why you may see a momma zebra being so mean to others while her baby discovers their real momma.

Check out Planet U’s featured species of the month here.

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I had a whole bunch of old utility and credit card bill stubs I had been saving. The reason, I was worried about recycling them with personal information on it and I was being a pack rat and keeping stuff unnecessarily. So, I bought a paper shredder for just such a thing.

Before I made the investment in protecting my privacy I did some research. I found that, on the first of each month, a town near me not only accepts shredded paper documents (the traditional strips all the way to the confetti kind) they also recycle it!

So, I felt a bit of relief knowing that my shredded paper could still go to future iterations of paper products rather than a blob taking up landfill space.

Why you will make a difference: Expanding your thinking with what you can recycle is huge and can save a lot of trees from being destroyed.
Even envelopes with the little plastic windows can still be placed in the recycle bin. Yes, paper with staples too (if you forget to remove them). Foreign material like plastic and metal gets removed when the paper is converted back into pulp, goes through a de-inking process, and is then screened for unwanted stuff.

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The disease first penetrates the permeable skin of the amphibian and begins attacking the Keratin layer (a protective layer that prevents unwanted substances from getting into the body). Wild and captive amphibians are both susceptible to the Chytrid fungus. Experts have identified at least two primary ways the related disease spreads (i.e., contact with other “carrier” amphibians and contaminated sources near or in water).

Amphibians are a key indicator species and play a role in balancing the food web from forest ecosystems to marshes. Aside from being a food source for those further up the food chain, they play a large role by consuming insects and other invertebrates that would otherwise harm sustainable croplands. Amphibians also help control pests that carry disease and can even help curb the spread of certain invasive species.

Why you will make a difference: While there is no known remedy to cure the disease, one can prevent other amphibians from getting the disease by not capturing and relocating amphibians, or capturing and placing wild amphibians in the same place that one have other amphibian pets. It is best to enjoy them where they reside rather than the thought of capture. Besides, one could injure them during capture, or worse. Experts recommend that all people treat all waste materials from captive amphibians as clinical waste. Yes, it’s that serious. In addition, disinfect the used water with 1:9 bleach/water solution and let it stand for 24 hours in a safe place before disposing of appropriately. Contact your local municipality to determine the appropriate way of disposing of these liquids.

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Polar Bears have evolved over the last 200,000 years to be masters of cold climate ice hunting. They have a layer of insulating fat that can be up to 4.5 inches thick, a multi-layered coat of transparent, pigment-free hollow fur, large footpads, etc. And, to top it off, they are big — that’s why they win the prize for the largest land predator.

Their hunting grounds are shrinking due to rapid ice melt. This influences range, birth rates, animal health, food supply, and the bear’s resilience through leaner times. One sub-population saw more than a 20% decline in their population since 1980. That’s the equivalent of 572,000 Chicago residents disappearing off the planet. That would cause some concern wouldn’t it? How would you respond if I told you that the number jumped to 1,887,000 over the next 40 years? The time to act is now. Not only for the Polar Bear, but with respect to positive change — period!

Countries with Polar Bear populations recognize the need for conservation, education, and environmental protection for the species. The US Government updated the status of the Polar Bear to “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act (May 14, 2008).

Kudos to all involved in assisting the Polar Bear, the planet, and its species.

Are you interested in learning more about how you can help? Please visit PolarBearSOS.org for more information and education on the subject.

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No, no…this does not mean that a predator projected ill intentions that will cause harm to its prey. It really means that a species is placed into one of three categories as part of the Threatened sub-set according to the ICUN. The catalyst is a decreasing population of that species through all, or a significant portion, of its range. There are three tiers of threatened. They are Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable. I will provide more on these definitions later.

Plants and animals on the list can change from on category to another. Animals can be “rediscovered” or one can have a surviving population deteriorate. Also, species can be “delisted” by the proper authority if sufficient data points to healthy and recovered populations. Most of the time the populations get worse. 99% of the threatened species can be linked directly to human complacency.

Read the full article here.

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