Whether you’re looking out at the first snows of December or if the rain is pattering against the window, we reckon you might be indoors – so here are a few stories to make the time fly.
When the stress is piling up and everywhere you look there something that needed to be done yesterday – it’s easy to let exercise routines slide. They’re part of our “free time”, and work’s more important, right? Except by doing so, we’re pretending our minds and bodies are two different things. As Jonathan Fields comprehensively explains, mind and body are one (the old adage is true)…so aerobic exercise directly generates thinking-power.
If you’re thinking to increase your family by a four-legged friend or two this year, we’d be grateful if you put animal shelters at the top of your list. The statistics are still shocking.
Ah, that stretch after Thanksgiving where every meal is dominated by leftovers. Nothing wrong wrong with that, mind: it’s the way for food to soak up the best taste (which is why Indian chefs recommend curry is cooked up the day before it’s eaten). But what to do with an acre of turkey? Wisebread has 4 suggestions for post-Thanksgiving meals, and 10 ways to make that turkey palatable.
Three months on from the last Greenpeace Guide To Greener Electronics update, and have things changed dramatically? Has Nintendo dragged itself off rock-bottom, for example? And where is Apple? As GreenerComputing notes, a big surprise is that everyone’s favorite gadget-maker rates poorly in the e-waste stakes. (Less surprising is that Nokia is still the cream of the crop).
Now, what can we make of this? Christopher Booker of the British newspaper The Telegraph lambasts President Elect Obama for his commitment to combatting global warming, going as far as to suggest that climate change is a storm in a tea cup. (Be sure to read the comments: they’re very entertaining). Perhaps Mr. Booker should keep an eye on what’s happening to the north of us.
Meanwhile, in Arlington County, where have all the acorns gone? (It’s not just the squirrels).
It’s not just human beings that get wanderlust. Take the species featured in Live Science’s top 10 migrations, and the distances they cover (10 miles a day – for a lemming?). If you want to track some of these incredible journeys, use your copy of Google Earth!
If you were thinking that organic and eco-conscious wine production was still a small-scale operation, check out this list of 102 Californian wineries committed to going green. I’ll drink to that.
Amongst your array of bill-busting green upgrades, could the thermal leak detector be the next big thing? (Via Green Options).
It’s always best to make use of what you have already – and this applies to cars as well, which haven’t always been paragons of wasteful inefficiency. The Daily Green has identified five retro fuel-efficient cars that would make a good green bargain at your local secondhand car dealer.
How much do your Christmas gifts convey your belief in frugality, moderation and being thrifty? If you’re still racking your brains, Blissfully Domestic may be able to help.
Admitting your mistakes is a sign you’re a fully-rounded human being. When it’s super-entrepreneurs who have become rich from doing things the Bad Old Way, perhaps it’s a different story. Certainly they’d have to work hard to shake off the spectre of greenwashing. What are your thoughts on these five CEOs who now claim to have embraced environmentalism, over at Treehugger?
Diamonds used to be forever – now, in the form of engagement rings, they’re increasingly being recycled for cash when times are hard. Get the full story here courtesy of Maura Judkis at the Huffington Post.
Finally, an energy meter that’s a little different – as it blooms when you’re conserving and wilts when you’re wasting!
Image: swimboy1