An Earth-Friendly Edition For People Who Love The Planet

FUN STUFF TO READ, LEARN, & DO

“Cheers to a new year and another chance
for us to get it right.
~ Oprah Winfrey 

 

FUN STUFF TO WATCH:

Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy
A Netflix documentary 

Ex-insiders from the world’s biggest brands share the manipulative tricks they use to keep customers consuming–at a devastating cost to our lives.

 

FUN STUFF TO LEARN:

Good bug or bad?  Definitely good!

Everyone should know by now that polystyrene (Styrofoam) is NOT recyclable and takes hundreds of years to break down in the landfill.

Scientists in Kenya, Africa have discovered a mealworm larvae that’s capable of eating polystyrene!

Meet our new friend the Alphitobius darkling beetle. (Larvae are the juvenile form of adults beetles).

Thanks to Greg K for the Science Alert article. If you have something you think is eco-worthy and suitable for sharing with the group, send me a link!

TWO FUN THINGS TO DO:


1. HELP WILDLIFE IN WINTER:

  • Make a fat ball for birds.
  • Use a mix of lard (not bacon) and seeds.
  • They’re packed with energy to help birds survive the cold.
  • Re-use the net bag that fruit is sometimes packaged in.
  • Hang ball in a sheltered area.
  • Or purchase high energy suet cakes–same thing as above.

2. RECYCLE CARDBOARD BOXES: 

  • Only recycle dry cardboard. Wet cardboard (from rain & snow) has no recycling market.
  • Empty the box of packing materials.
  • Flatten/collapse the cardboard.
  • No need to remove tape and labels.
  • Making 1 ton of virgin cardboard requires 3 tons of trees! So get that cardboard into the recycling bin.

But how does cardboard get remade into new products? Stay tuned for February’s newsletter.