Green your 4th of July

Here are a few easy and cheap idea's to remember to keep our environment healthier.

Carpool - If you can try to carpool with someone else by you.

Compost - Place a compost bin next to the garbage and encourage guests to compost their compostable scraps (this will also educate non-composting guests).

Reuse Plasticware or use Silverware - Place a bucket of soapy water next to the garbage(and compost) and encourage guest instead of throwing out the plasticware to place it in the bucket so you can wash and reuse later. Also if you are having a small gathering of people or have enough silverware use that instead.

Mind your Cup - Place a market out next to the cups to encourage guest to mark there names on the cups so if they misplace them they know which is which. This will save of the amount of cups to enter the landfill. Of course if you have enough "non-disposable" cups to go around that is always the best, however I know most of us (including myself don't)

Biodegradable Plates - Typically biodegradable plates are much more expensive however Chinet plain plates are biodegradable and have always been. Instead of throwing the plates away encourage guest to compost them. Just watch your green and brown ratios (plates are brown). Typically what I do after a party of composting plates when we and my neighbor cut the lawn I add in both his and my lawn clippings so I can add extra greens to offset the brown.

Share the Wealth - After the party is over typically the host is left with tons of food and drinks some of which are un-opened. Either share the leftovers with your guest or donate to a shelter.

RECYCLE - I don't know how many times I go to a party and people forget to put out the recycle bin. Don't forget the recycle bin!

As always have a happy and safe 4th of July.

Conversation between God and Saint Francis (Suburbanites and our Environment)

I was given this by a friend I dont know who orginally wrote it and if anyone knows please let me know so I can give proper reference.

When I orginally read this it really opened my eyes to what we are doing as a civilization.

GOD: St. Francis, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the World is going on down there in the USA? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honeybees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

ST. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers weeds and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD: Grass? But it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy.

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it, sometimes twice a week.

GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?

ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags.

GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it?

ST. FRANCIS: No, sir -- just the opposite. They pay to throw it away.

GOD: Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away?

ST. FRANCIS: Yes, sir.

GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back On the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the gro wth and saves Them a lot of work.

ST. FRANCIS: You aren't going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it.

GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a Sheer stoke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form compost to enhance the soil. It's a natural circle of life.

ST. FRANCIS: You'd better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away.

GOD: No. What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the Winter and to keep the soil moist and loose?

ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy Something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves.

GOD: And where do they get this mulch?

ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch.

GOD: Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?

ST. CATHERINE: Dumb and Dumber, Lord. It's a real stupid movie about.............

GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.