Have you ever noticed how meetings run your life? Sometimes it seems that meetings have a life of their own and libraries of books have been written on the subject. But what if you had a crystal ball? Would that change how you show up at your meetings?
we love it when a nonprofit gets all edgy with a pinch of grace and splash of humor.
fundraising has turned into something of an art in the last decade. Along with the art has come plenty of competition. Why wouldn’t you do all you can to get your grant funded? It’s more than just luck, according to the Fundraising Strategist. Yep.
how would you feel if you could eat just one thing for the rest of your life?
yeah, check out our sister site and see why diversity has its advantages
You wouldn’t bake a souffle without a recipe, what makes you think you can raise the capital to support your pet project without a fundraising strategy? It’s easy as ABC, baby, and our friend the strategist will the tell you how.
Dear Water Bottle, We’ve had a beautiful romance, but I’m breaking up with you. It’s simple, really: I’ve learned that you’re a slow poison, and that just doesn’t work for me. In my quest to compost and recycle more I have been studying the various plastics in my life, which until now, I’ve considered a convenience. Well, an evil convenience, but still. Oh Plastic, you have made my life easier, but the fact remains that when the landfills are overloaded and when the Pacific Island of Trash manages finally to put us in a collective gasping choke-hold, I will have no one to blame but myself.
Here are five everyday plastics and why I need to rethink them:
#1 : The most commonly used plastic and can be found in microwavable food trays, water and juice bottles. This plastic absorbs bacteria and should not be reused.
#2: A stiff plastic used in toys, plastic lumber, picnic tables, detergent, household cleaner and shampoo bottles. This plastic is nearly neutral and can be recycled to make detergent bottles, floor tiles, pens.
#3: PVC is a soft, flexible plastic used to make teething rings, toys, cooking oil bottles clear food packaging, mouthwash bottles. Sometimes called “the poison plastic,” it contains phalates that interfere with hormonal development.
#6: Polystyrene is used to make disposable cups and plates, egg cartons, take-out containers. This material leaches styrene, a carcinogen, into food (especially when microwaved) and should be avoided.
#7: Polycarbonates are used to make baby bottles, sippy cups, three and five gallon water jugs. Contains bisphenol (BPA), which migrate especially if heated, and has been linked to heart disease. BPA, is a xenoestrogen, a known ednocrine disruptor.
So you see Water Bottle, it’s over. You and your extended family are simply toxic and I’m done with you. Now that I know, I will recycle your ilk whenever possible and avoid the worst of you when I can.
Ciao, baby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr76UJ0-hnU
A while back, I wrote about recycling, composting, and the ideas great and small that come of that kind of thinking. Well, I’m glad to report a kind of unexpected progress.
I got the counter-top compost bin I ordered, and have put it to good use; filling it and hauling it out to the green waste wagons at the curb. I continue to recycle what I can, even the smallest strips of plastic and unwanted paper. And guess what? The actual basket of trash that goes to the landfill has shrunk substantially. I mean Duh, right? And still. I didn’t expect it but there it is. The largest part of my household trash is either recycle- or compost-able. Yay!
I’ve reduced my personal carbon foot print by at least two-thirds, which I consider a personal best, and therefore pretty awesome. If I can do this kind of recycling on a weekly basis, I can redistribute my annual trash impact on the planet significantly, and that’s just crazy cool!
Graduation Day
It’s a rite of passage, a period of great change and enormous possibilities. One where you hope someone will be there, preferably holding a road map with a big fat X marking the next spot and detailed instructions on how to get there. Well, here it is. Your graduation “go-to” info from one of the funniest, and now wisest people . . . Jim Carrey.
Fancy me. I’m making progress in my personal green revolution. Not only am I growing lettuce, basil, cilantro, and tomatoes, but I just planted purple carrots. I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself Ida Skivenes, but well, you know. I’m doing what I can to green up my world.
I’ve been wanting to compost, but living solo, I just don’t generate enough green waste to reach practical critical mass. Even considering my habit of buying more produce than I can possibly eat in a week and throwing out an obscene amount of food, it’s still not enough to justify investing in a personal 100 gallon composting unit. Like my (brief) foray into READ MORE HERE
At the end of the day, we’re not powerless, we are powerful, but we have to do our individual and collective parts. Write your congressman, your local city council (hey, if San Francisco can ban the sale of plastic water bottles on public property, what can your city do?), anyone who will listen, and ask them to focus their resources on this VIP issue. When planting your garden, use bee-friendly vegetation. Plant native flowers, keep flowers blooming all spring and summer by planting a variety that work their way through the seasons, skip hybridized plants that don’t seed because they produce less pollen, and for Godsakes, skip the pesticides. Your grandchildren will thank you, and so will your friends, the bees. READ MORE HERE
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persephone's step-sisters 