~ May Supplemental ~

Mother's Day

by Jeanne Leiter

Continued. . . We Pagans honor the five elements of air, fire, water, earth, and Spirit which flows around and through the first four. The following sections honor each element while also honoring the Earth, and saving you some money in the bargain. Most of the websites are for Los Angeles County or Southern California, but they will give you an idea of where to look in your local area for the information you need.

●   Announce a yard sale, either alone or with neighbors and allow others to use that which no longer needs to be at your home.

●   Don’t use smelly mothballs, but the pleasing aromatics of recycled cedar chips, lavender flowers/leaves, dried lemon peel, or a mix of herbs and spices such as rosemary, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves to keep those pesky bugs away from your clothes.

●   Recycle your candle jars by making more candles. The ones with lids can be used to display heirlooms such as Grandpa’s pocket watch, or Grandma’s locket. Display a teeny, tiny leprechaun among planted shamrocks or a pewter dragon standing menacingly on little rocks of lava (dragon food) or a seaside diorama. Make a mini terrarium.

●   Turn off lights so you’ll buy fewer bulbs which end up in a landfill.

●   You won’t have to dump BBQ grill ashes if you buy a propane-fired grill.

California is a desert. We, of all the states and a lot of other countries, must conserve, recycle, and use less of this most precious of resources. Not littering is the prime commandment, since most of what is thrown out your car window or dropped on the ground enters storm drains.

All litter going into storm drains ends up in the ocean; cigarette butts, gum wrappers, fast food wrappers, pet waste, pills down the toilet, leaves/grass blown into the street. Trash in the street is not only an eyesore, but can be dangerous–even deadly–to marine animals. An estimated 100,000 marine mammals and 2 million sea birds die each year from eating or becoming entangled in marine debris. Hazardous waste info phone 888-CLEANLA or go to www.888cleanla.org

●   Los Angeles County, has a free curb-side pick-up for hazardous waste: Curbside, Inc 800-HHW-PKUP (800-449-7587)

●   Don’t throw out water used to cook pasta or vegetables, instead cool it down and water your plants with it. Water that has had eggs boiled in it is rich in calcium. Your plants will love the nutrients.

●   Wash your car on the grass, no runoff.

                          For more information go to: www.bewaterwise.com

EARTH

There are so many recycle opportunities with the Earth! Here’s a few, use your imagination to increase the list.

●   Excess fruit/veggies from your yard can be given or traded to neighbors/friends. Example: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/COFEaltadena or start your own exchange group. Some homeless shelters take your excess citrus/fruit/veggies for the meals they provide and/or food baskets taken to needy families.

●   Place all food garbage, including coffee or tea grounds, in a compost bin (uses some shredded newspaper, too) or the green waste container (saves the disposal, fewer solids in your sewer pipes, and saves a bit of electricity, too).

●   Those occasional dried bread slices can be sprinkled on your lawn to give the local birds a treat. I don’t recommend putting out stale crackers, too much salt for the little ones, put them in the compost bin.

●   Leave grass clippings on the lawn, they return valuable nutrients to the soil, while reducing water usage and the need to fertilize.

Bring reusable shopping bags to all your stores or when buying one or two small items, just carry them out to the car in your hands.

●   In the office–use your own cup or bottle for water and coffee/tea, reuse your lunch brownbag.

●   Besides soda cans and bottles, you can also recycle plastic water bottles (although you’ll have less recycling if you use a metal bottle or your cup), containers for juice, coffee, tea, and vegetable juices. Don’t forget those shampoo and detergent bottles, plastic kitty litter containers, jars, paper, cardboard cereal boxes, magazines, and telephone books. If you take these to your local recycling center, you can put money back into your pocket.

●   Before placing those rings of plastic six-pack holders in the recycle bin, be sure and cut each one so, so if it ends up in a lake, river, or ocean, it won’t maim or kill any fish, birds, turtles or seals.

●   In order to not have so much junk mail paper to recycle go to www.OptoutPreScreen.com to remove your name from solicitation mailing lists. The other junk mail goes into your paper recycle bin.

●   Save and recycle (either with re-gifting or in the recycle bin) all the wrapping paper, gift boxes and bags from the multitude of presents you receive.

●   As for the gifts you’re giving, think of wrapping them with newspapers (comic section for a child or young at heart, and the business section for the serious folk) and magazine covers and decorating the package with saved ribbon, or to make it even more special, trim them with dried flowers, pinecones, yarn, fabric scraps, photos, or shoe laces–use your imagination.

●   Give gifts such as movie tickets or restaurant gift certificates, and recycle your fancy bottles by filling them with homemade jams, pickles, or your own unique spice blend.

●   Do you have plants that can be divided? Plant them in your extra pots, cups that no longer have a saucer or fancy jars.

●   When friends and relatives leave your dinner party, share the leftovers in reusable take-home containers.

●   Since you’ve obviously saved last year’s greeting cards, use these for post cards, or cut them up for gift tags.

●   If you’ve brought a beautiful looking and great smelling holiday tree into your home, be sure and find out when your city has the tree pickup.

These items either cannot be recycled, take a large amount of energy to recycle, are endangered (teak wood) or are harmful to Mother Earth.

1. Styrofoam cups (Use your special cup/bottle.)

2. Paper towels (Buy paper products with a high post-consumer recycled content and use cloth towels that can be washed and reused umpteen times.)

3. Bleached coffee filters (Use a metal filter to rinse and use again, and again. . .)

4. Teak and mahogany

5. Chemical pesticides and herbicides (Buy organic, local in-season produce. At home, use lady bugs to control any aphids on your plants.)

6. Conventional household cleaners (For Mildew Remover mix equal parts vinegar and salt. For Window Cleaner mix 1 tsp liquid soap, 3 tsp vinegar in 2 cups water (use and store in a spray bottle). To Remove Ink spots: stir 1 tbsp cream of tartar in 1 tbsp lemon juice (test on a portion of material that doesn’t show). Oil Stain remover: simply rub white chalk on the stain before laundering. For a Shoe Polish stain, believe it or not, rub with a banana peel (and you get to eat the banana!) Be sure and put the already recycled banana peel into the compost bin or green waste bin.

●   For more alternative household supplies that are safer for your family and the environment go to: http://ladpw.org/epd/hhw/alternative.cfm

7. Toys made with PVC plastic

8. Plastic forks and spoons (Bring stainless steel utensils to the picnic in a plastic bag, then just put the dirty ones back in the bag to bring home to wash.)

9. Farm raised salmon

0. Rayon

●   For more information go to: www.GreenAmericaToday.org

1. Appliances (Many stores recycle old appliance when you purchase a new one. Goodwill accepts working appliances. If not working, the steel can be recycled www.recycle-steel.org

2. Sport shoes (One World Running will take athletic shoes. Still wearable shoes are needed in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti.) Nike actually takes your old stinky athletic shoes and has them turned into playgrounds and athletic flooring. Yippee! www.nikereuseshoe.com

3. Auto batteries (These can be left when buying a new one, or can be brought to many auto supply stores) Check out: www.batteryrecycling.com.

3.5 Small appliance batteries (These can be recycled at any Radio Shack store, and kaput rechargeable batteries can be brought back to retailers that sell them.)

●   You can also check in your local area to see if your Community Center, City Hall, Library, or Public Works Service Center will accept them.

4. Clothes (If they’re wearable, give to your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, local thrift stores, church, etc. Donate wearable business women’s clothing to the nonprofit Dress for Success) www.dressforsuccess.org

4.5 Donate unwearable clothes (or unusable bedding–sheets, quilts, bedspreads) to local animal boarding and shelter facilities which use them as pet bedding.

5. Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) (KEA accepts these for recycling.) www.ikea.com You can also order a Sylvania RecyclePak from: www.sylvania.com/recycle//recyclepak

6. Computers and electronics (To find the most responsible recyclers.)

www.ban.org/pledge/Locations.html

Free E-Waste pick-up in the San Gabriel Valley: 800-266-7551

7. Foam packing peanuts (Local pack-and-ship stores will gladly accept these for reuse. To dispose of them call the Plastic Loose Fill Producers Council to find a drop-off site: 800-828-2214.)

7.5 Foam blocks (For drop-off sites contact: the Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers: 410-451-8340)

8. Ink/toner cartridges (Many churches/charities will accept used cartridges and they receive a cash percentage back from the companies.) www.recycleplace.com

9. Motor oil and used oil filters (Some auto parts store accept used oil and filters.) Remember, motor oil that ends up in the sewer contaminates our drinking water, can create an oil slick, and can poison birds and other wildlife. www.recycleoil.org

10. Telephones (Collective Good will refurbish your phone and sell it to someone in a developing country) www.collectivegood.com  Another choice is to contact your local Community Center, Library, City Hall or Public Works Services Department. They will have a free, postage-paid bag in which you can send your cell phone and/or printer cartridges for recycling. Call to Protect reprograms cell phones to dial 911 and gives them to domestic violence victims www.donateaphone.com

Pills (Most of us take vitamins and one or more prescription drugs. When they’ve expired, do not flush them down the toilet, this eventually goes into everyone’s tap water. There are two ways to recycle them.

●   The best way is to take them to a Household Hazardous Waste Collection event.

●   Another way is to crush them and dissolve them in water, or dilute liquid medications in water, then mix the solution with kitty litter, sawdust or another material that a child or pet would find unattractive. Then place it in a bag and seal it well. Just remember, this is one more ‘thing’ that goes into the landfill.

For those of you who have Type 1 Diabetes and have to use needles for insulin injections, do not dispose of them in the trash, it is dangerous and illegal. Check with your city for a Sharps Waste Recycle program. (Arcadia, Ca will send you a recycle container by calling 626-256-6554.)

There are many suggestions and references here. But the most important thing is being conscious of what we do and how we live. Always be aware that we live on and walk upon the body of the mother. We can reverse what has been done by being conscious and by our commitment to the seventh generation. We need to treat the Earth, our Mother, as if every day is Mother’s Day.

U.S. Department of Energy: Green Power

To find out about purchasing green power (clean renewable sources such as wind and solar) www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower

Resources for action:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Climate Change

http://epa.gov/climatechange/index.html

Energy Star: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency & U.S. Dept of Energy

Information concerning energy efficient appliances

www.energystar.gov

Green Living Resources:

www.GreenAmericaToday.org

www.greenpages.org

www.climateaction.org

www.fairtradeaction.org

www.responsibleshopper.org

Misc

www.epspackaging.org/info.html

•   Instead of using all the colors on one filter, make some with warm colors (red, yellow, orange) and some with cool colors (blue, green, purple).