Spring of Sustainability 2012

The Shift Network is presenting a free program called 'Spring of Sustainability 2012:  Solutions for a Thriving New World.'  It starts today at 3 pm EST and continues throughout March and April.  There are lots of different presenters.  On April 10th, John and Ocean Robbins will present 'Green Lifestyles:  Eating as if the Earth Mattered'.  If you'd like to sign up, please visit http://springofsustainability.com/
The webcasts will be available online if you can't make it to the live program.

There's also something cool happening called the '99% Spring'.  Unfortunately, I'm on Easter break at my parents' house when this is gearing up, but if you want more info., please check out:  http://the99spring.com/

Spring is in the air and my sons and I were so excited to see a great blue heron back at our neighborhood pond again this year.  We think it's the same one we've been spotting for the past 3 years, but I'm not sure about that...we never get close enough to be that sure and I'd have to do some research about whether or not these birds return to the same spot each year, but I guess it's possible.  What a cool-looking creature, though....The boys love to watch him/her and see what he's up to.  It also makes them want to clean up the pond, which, sadly, has filled up with litter since our last clean-up efforts.  I took some video of our pond and will work on getting them uploaded along with my next post about what I've been up to lately.

I also watched Oprah's show about transcendental meditation last night...very interesting!  Has anyone been doing this?  You can get more info. about it here:  http://www.tm.org

I hope spring finds you and yours happy and healthy! :) Kate

Earth-Friendly Toothcare

I was browsing at http://www.reusablebags.com (amazing to watch their plastic bag ticker....over 141 billion plastic bags consumed this year - ugh!) for some type of reusable straw to carry along for restaurant visits when I got sidetracked noticing some new eco-friendly toothbrushes they are selling:  Eco-Dent TerrAdent Replaceable Head Toothbrush.

I was immediately interested because I have recently purchased the Preserve toothbrushes that can be sent back for recycling (which we have been pretty happy with, except for JD's which keeps losing bristles...probably because he BITES his toothbrush!), but reading some literature at the Eco-Dent site has made me think they are on to something.  They have an article called 'Lone Ranger Recycling' that is very interesting.  I wish it were from a more impartial source, but what they are saying seems to make sense: 
http://www.eco-dent.com/Lone%20Ranger%20brochure3.pdf

Before I found Preserve, we saved all of our toothbrushes for cleaning and to use as paintbrushes, but they will ultimately end up in a landfill.

Anyway, I noticed that they also sell dental floss in some type of recyclable cardboard packaging...which is exactly what I've been looking for - a less wasteful dental floss!  (I still wish someone would sell it in larger family-size quantities, though).

So this company has me pretty intrigued.  I will probably make a few purchases when our Preserve brushes are all used up.

You can check them out here:  http://www.eco-dent.com/

And for you Oprah fans, according to their website, Oprah even uses their products! :)

What eco-friendly toothcare habits can you share?  Keep smiling! :)