The scent of Evergreen and pine seems to be a rarity in American homes these days. Instead, a Christmas tree is imported from China and made of hazardous PVC materials (but we'll leave that for another day). If you're anything like me, guilty as charged, I've stored and unpackaged the prettiest four foot plastic tree for a couple of years now. It's easy and pre-decorated with red bows and tiny white lights. But although the pine leaves never fade, the magic does. I kind of miss having the fresh scent of Christmas in the air.
I thought I was helping to conserve a tree by not annually cutting one down just to satisfy my own senses. Needless to say, I was wrong. Sure - December is a tree-killing time of the year but the alternative (again, guilty) of buying some foreign plastic mockery is worse; not just for your holiday spirit, but for the environment as well. So, what to do? The stress of the holidays can't actually start with the tree picking process, can it??
Fortunately, you don't have to pick between the two choices. I stumbled across this GOOD article featuring The Living Christmas Tree Company that offered an alternative way to RENT a Christmas tree. Seems like the perfect solution.
They grow trees, in actual pots with soil and roots that grow and stuff (not just a water based container). I know - I've never seen a Christmas tree in a living room with actual roots either. But one can be delivered to your door step and then picked up after the holidays. This means, you can have a Pine, Cedar, Cypress or Sequoia without the guilt, hassle or stress of wondering how you've hurt or helped the environment. The truth will be that you helped. Because after you're done with the tree, The Living Christmas Tree Company will replant your tree until it is too large to be in an average sized living room. From there, it goes onto a pasture and planted to become big, beautiful trees that inhale and exhale oxygen for all of us living creatures.
The bad part: The Living Christmas Tree Company is limited to California only. But my guesses are that, with a little research, and a lot of help from Google, you can find something similar in your vicinity. It might be too late this year to get involved with a program like this, but next year I'm definitely changing my habits. With all the different selection of size, type, and price it's customizable for you, me and everybody.
I don't have to tell you sport fans that the 2010-2011 Football Bowl Season is right around the corner. In fact, all the bowl games and their respective teams were announced yesterday, with Oregon vs. Auburn in the National Championship game in Arizona. But I wanted to make a new announcement: you have the opportunity to win tickets to any bowl game your little heart desires AND give to charity.
Aiming to increase awareness, reduce waste and promote recycling, Keep America Beautiful and PSGive.org have set up an online event that encourages people to compete for an amazing deal on a bowl game trip: two tickets, plus hotel and airfare for any NCAA bowl game. The event runs until December 9th, so act quickly and place your lowest unique bid! Yes, lowest bid. Let me explain. This isn't Ebay. You aren't trying to outbid another person with the highest price. So potentially, the bowl package valued at $5,000 could be given to you for $1.03 or 94 cents.
How it works: Sign up, go to the event page and place a bid that is the lowest price and unique (unlike any other offers). The person with the lowest unique offer is able to buy the package at that price.
Sounds fun and interesting. And, just by participating in the event, you could help Keep America Beautiful and win an amazing trip for two!
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Innovation is more than something we do, it's something we value. The difference has allowed us to stay ahead of the curve in a sector that demands accountability.
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Today is World Aids Day the global annual movement to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS, promote prevention and search for a cure. Often referred to as one of the greatest humanitarian pandemics of all time, HIV/AIDS is preventable. We just need to practice, inform and educate. I added a video below that will hopefully inspire you to do something today for the 33.3 million people living with the disease globally. Of this, 68 percent of all people living with HIV residing in sub-Saharan Africa, carrying the greatest burden of the epidemic and the least amount of resources.
