Going Green

Well, as mentioned on Alicia's blog, earth day is coming up. The always free Lincoln Park Zoo was having a big event called Green Apple Music and Arts Festival. It is actually the largest Earth Day event in the country. They had music and tons of booths promoting organic food, hybrid cars, organic clothing etc. We had a good time. They were handing out FREE reusable grocery bags. I went through the line to get one and when I came back I sent Ryan through! We had a fun time and there was a TON of people there!

Enormous Lollipop!

This was the stage. We didn't actually sit and listen to anyone play - we didn't recognize any of the groups/bands.

Learning all about the hybrid cars

Snack break!

Yay! It's spring!

I don't know how Eco friendly you are, but I thought I'd share some tips and tricks to easily become more "green" with little effort. A will place a * by the ones that I am going to work on doing better.


1. Turn off/unplug appliances when not in use. It reduces standby electricity loss and can save you money in the long run!

If you have a clock radio, place a battery in it instead of keeping it plugged in all the time.

If your coffee pot has a clock or anything on it that is constantly using electricity through out the day, make sure to unplug it after you've had your morning joe!

* Turn off your computer when not in use.

* consider spending a few hours each week electricity free.


2. * Walk/bike/carpool when you can.

3. Use your own reusable grocery bags

4. * Recycle and be accurate about it. Go to www.nrc-recycle.org for more info.
example: cardboard cereal box - good. greasy pizza box - not so much.

5. You can avoid unwanted junk mail by going to www.catalogchoice.org and www.greendimes.com

6. Check your cars tire pressure often. It will get better gas mileage when the tires are fully inflated. It will save you money too!

7. Grill out! Grilling is a more energy efficient way to cook.