She Scribes

I love Polar Bears. I think they are beautiful creatures. It breaks my heart whenever I hear news on the TV about our environment and what it is doing to these magnificent beasts of the North.

Here are some interesting facts about Polar Bears.

-   The Polar Bears scientific name is Ursus Maritimus, or “sea bear”. They evolved around 200,000 years ago from Brown Bears.

-  An adult male Polar Bear can weigh around 1,200 pounds.

-  Female Polar Bears normally give birth to two cubs at a time. The cubs stay with her until they are two and a half years old.

-  Male Polar Bears can grow to be 10 feet tall (standing up). Females grow to be 7 feet tall.

-  A Polar Bear can live to be around 25 years old under the right conditions, even upwards of 30 years.

-  Baby Polar Bears are about the size of a rat when they are born and weight a little more then a pound. With proper nutrition a Polar Bear Cub can be the size of a man by the time it’s a year old.

-  Polar Bears are found in the North Pole, Alaska, Canada, Russia and other countries.

-  Polar Bears are the largest land predator.

Polar Bear populations are rapidly declining. That is due largely to environmental issues. Global warming has been melting the polar ice caps and forcing Polar Bears to go great distances to find food for survival. Many Polar Bears find their way into populated communities. They are not there to call malice but rather to find food. Sadly many of these bears are shot and killed rather then be relocated.

Whenever I see one of my family members doing something that could have an impact on our environment, not matter how small, I always reference the Polar Bears. For example, if my daughter takes a longer shower then she is suppose to I’ll tell her she’s killing Polar Bears. Or if my husband keeps the car running (idol) at the bus stop I’ll make him turn it off by saying “You just killed another Polar Bear”. That usually does the trick.

As you might already know, Polar bears have been part of Coca-Cola tradition since 1922, representing icy cold refreshment and friends and family togetherness. But the polar bears need our help in the Arctic. That’s why Coca-Cola is taking action and partnering with World Wildlife Fund for a campaign called “Arctic Home.”  Together Coca-Cola and WWF will raise awareness and funds to help create a safe haven for the polar bear.

I am so excited about this initiative. I hope it’s a huge success. I want to see the Polar Bears survive and thrive.

Coca-Cola has made a commitment to helping the WWF and polar bear habitat preservation by donating an initial $2 million and matching donations through March—up to $1 million.

To have Coca-Cola match your donation, simply text the code on specially-marked Arctic Home packages to 357357.

You can also make donations online at ArcticHome.com. Each donation accompanied by a code from specially-marked packages will not only be matched, but a designated parcel of the virtual Arctic Home refuge will be donated in your name on the site.

You can also find new red “Arctic Home” cans on store shelves. This new limited-edition can advances awareness of their efforts to protect the polar bear’s Arctic home. I love the new red cans. They are so pretty! Maybe Coke will consider keeping the design?

Whether you are a Polar Bear lover or someone who cares strongly about our environment and helping Earth’s creatures to survive, I strongly encourage you to check out the Arctic Home website. The introduction alone is stunning. I never know the Arctic could be so beautiful. And the Polar Bears are gorgeous (not to mention the super adorable baby Polar Bears).

On the Arctic Home website you can learn more about Polar Bears, watch Polar Bear videos, learn about what is being done to protect them and so much more.  

In honor of this special campaign I have probably one of THE CUTEST giveaways I have ever done. The package retails for $100 and includes the following.

-   Polar Bear Hat with attached paw mittens (one size fits all)

-   Polar Bear Stuffed Animal

-   Polar Bear 3-D Puzzle

-   Polar Bear  Shaped Pillow

-   Ice Cube Tray – Bear Shapes

-   Polar Bear Cookie Cutter

-   Red Throw Blanket

Super cute!

To enter please tell me what your families’ favorite part of the Arctic Home program? Is it the exciting limited-edition red cans, the fun polar bear videos on www.arctichome.com or snuggling through the winter with your polar pack giveaway? 

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each that you have done. Extra entries are optional. 

- Subscribe to She Scribes via E-mail or RSS. Both options are found on the right side bar.

- “Like” Coca-Cola on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/CocaCola.

- “Like” the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/WorldWildlifeFund.

- “Like” She Scribes on Facebook, www.Facebook.com/SheScribes.

- Follow Coca-Cola on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/CocaCola.

- Follow WWF on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/World_Wildlife

- Follow She Scribes on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/She_Scribes and tweet about this giveaway. Please include @She_Scribes in the tweet so I can see it too. This is limited to three tweets per day.

You can use the following pre-made Tweet to make it easier…

Learn more about @CocaCola Arctic Home program and how you can donate! http://bit.ly/zVpVaX #ArcticHome #giveaway @She_Scribes

- Share this information and/or giveaway with others on Facebook, Digg, Technorati and so forth. Be sure to tell me what you did and please provide a name and/or URL so I can verify.

- Leave a thoughtful comment on a non-giveaway post on She Scribes and tell me which post you commented on. There is a limit of one comment per post, but you can comment on as many posts as you want for an unlimited extra entry option.

- Post about this campaign and/or giveaway and please link back to this post. Please provide the URL.

This giveaway is open to US residents only and will end on January 22, 2012 at 11:59 PM (EST). The winner will be chosen at random using a random number generator from all eligible entries. The winner will be notified via e-mail and will have three days to reply with a name and mailing address (no PO Box). Failure to do so will result in a new winner will be chosen in their place.

Other fantastic giveaways can be found on the right side bar under “Win It”.

Kimberly

*I am going to be receiving free sample products. There was no financial compensation. The opinions expressed are my own. The prize was provided by Coca-Cola, but Coca-Cola is not a sponsor, administrator, or involved in any other way with this giveaway. All opinions expressed in the post are my own and not those of Coca-Cola.

Related Posts:

• Totino’s & Box Tops for Education Giveaway!
• Get Ready for a “Souper” New You! (Giveaway)
• Get GifteDD This Holiday Season (Dunkin’ Donuts & Keurig Giveaway)
• PA Dutch Noodles – Year Supply Giveaway!
• Do the Swap! (Giveaway)

Yesterday I posted some easy things everyone can do in 2012 to help not only our environment, but also ourselves. Today I’m going to post tips 7-12. If you would like to read tips 1-6 please visit my other post, http://www.shescribes.com/2011/12/12-easy-ways-to-go-green-in-2012-part-i.html.

7. Plant a Garden. Anyone can plant a garden. They don’t even need to take up much space. More and more “city dwellers” are finding creative ways to have gardens including window boxes and gardens created in alley ways and tended to by neighbors or people in the community.

Why grow a garden? With the high price of food growing your own fruits and vegetables can help you save money. It will also encourage you to eat healthier.

Growing your own produce means less reliance of grocery stores which translates into less shipping of products around the globe which decreases emissions.

A community garden is a great way to help supplement local food banks to provide nutritious foods for those who would otherwise go hungry.

Gardens are inexpensive to create and maintain. The only “expense” to you would be your time tending to the garden (which many people find relaxing).

Planting trees also benefits our environment.

8. Share a Ride. Consider carpooling with friends and co-workers rather then take your own vehicle. According to the University of California Transportation Center, each shared car replaces 15 personally owned vehicles. In 2009, car-sharing was credited with reducing U.S. carbon emissions by more than 482,000 tons. 

Many cities and towns across the country have carpool programs in place to help commuters find an ideal ride to get them to and from work.

Not only is carpooling a great way to reduce carbon emissions it can also help save you money on gas and tolls if you split the costs with your other riders.

If you cannot find anyone to carpool with, and your town/city doesn’t offer a carpooling service, consider taking mass transit or better yet, biking or walking to work if possible.

9. Support Local Food Recovery Programs. What is a Food Recovery Program you might ask? Each year approximately a third of all food produced for human consumption (roughly 1.3 billion tons) gets wasted. In the United States alone 34 million tons is wasted, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The biggest waste of food comes from bakeries, grocery stores and other food providers who throw away tons of food daily. Much of the food that is toss out is perfectly edible but is cosmetically imperfect or has passed its expiration date.

To combat all this food waste, many organizations have set up food recovery programs to collect th food and to use it to provide meals to homeless shelters and food banks. Not only does it feel the hungry it also keeps food away from landfills.

You can help by donating dried or non-perishable food you won’t be using to your local shelter or food bank. You can also encourage your local grocer or favorite restaurant to consider donating edible food “waste” to a local shelter or food bank too. 

10. Turn down your heat. I live in the Northeast. I know how bitterly cold the Winter can be. Thankfully we have direct sunlight all day long which helps to heat our condo. We also live on the top floor so anyone below us who turns the heat on we ultimately feel it too (hot air rises). The only time we put the heat on is early in the morning to get rid of the chill. Sometimes it gets so warm in here we have to open a window in the dead of Winter.

My Dad was fanatical about keeping the thermostat at 65 degrees. Even if our home was chilly we were not allowed to turn up the heat. Instead we had to wear sweats and wrap blankets around ourselves. I have taught my kids the same thing. If they are chilly they need to put on socks, sweats and if need be wrap themselves up on their Snuggies.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that consumers can save up to 15% on their heating and cooling bills just by adjusting their thermostats. Turning down the heat by 10 to 15 degrees Fahrenheit for eight hours can result in savings of 5-15 percent on your home heating bill. Make sure to turn down your thermostat when you leave for work (no point in having a warm home when you are not there to enjoy it). Or consider purchasing a programmable thermostat and set it to go on just before you get home to warm your home before your arrival.

11. Switch to Eco-Friendly products. There are so many wonderful eco-friendly products available on the market these days, and most of them are comparable in price to their non-eco-friendly counterparts. Such products include Energy Star rated products, energy efficient light bulbs, products made our of recycled or re-purposed goods and products that will decompose and not sit in a landfill for the next million years.

12. Freeshare/Freecycle unwanted items. Most towns and cites across the country have a local Freeshare or Freecycle group. If you do not have one locally consider staring one.

A Freeshare/Freecycle group works like this. If you have an unwanted item that is still perfectly good, you simply just don’t need it anymore, you can let the group know about it. If someone in the group has a need for the item they come and pick it up. This is done for FREE. There is no exchange of money. You are simply giving away (for free) an item you no longer have a need for.

Over the years I have Freeshared/Freecycled my kids bikes that they outgrew, toys they no longer played with, books we no longer needed to hold on to and many other items. In turn I have picked up some great books and toys for my kids, even a guitar!

If you feel uncomfortable doing this with strangers, that is understandable. I felt the same way until I Freeshared / Freecycled a few items as well as picked up some items for my family. Most people are friendly and you get to know others in the group very well. If it makes you feel more comfortable you can start your own group with your neighbors, friends and co-workers. Get together once a month or a few times a year and swap your unwanted goods for items you might have a need for.

Not only does it keep perfectly good items out of landfills it also saves you money because you won’t have to go out and purchase the items.

There are just 12 things you can do in the new year to be more Earth friendly. If you have additional ideas I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment.

Kimberly

Related Posts:

• 12 Easy Ways to “Go Green” in 2012 – Part I
• Marcal Small Steps Blogger of the Month
• Vision Boards
• ALWAYS read the fine print
• A few friendly reminders

By now most people are aware of the environmental issues effecting us globally, not just in our own “backyard”. When I hear statistics about the accelerated rate of deterioration our planet is experiencing it literally makes me sick to my stomach. Yet many people, companies and even nations still have not got “on board” with “going Green” in order to save the Earth.

Some people are under the asumption that “Going Green” requires them to buy special products and that it’s a lot of work to do. That is not the case. Becoming more Earth-friendly is very easy, and in most cases doesn’t even cost a dime. There are simple things you can do starting TODAY (why wait until 2012?). One or two people might not make much of a difference, but if we can ban together and encourage our friends, family, neighbors, place of employment and people we know online in our social networks, we can make a massive impact.

Here are twelve simple steps anyone can do. If you have anymore tips please feel free to leave a comment to share it with me and other readers.

1. Eat less meat. I’m not suggesting that you become a Vegetarian. By simply omitting meat from at least once meal a week you can actually help the environment. Why? Because livestock is responsible for 18% of Greenhouse gas emissions. Simply put, cows “pass gas” a lot. And believe it or not that gas they produce ultimately effects the Ozone and feeds into the Green House effect that causes global warming.

Livestock also consumes almost 25% of the water used in farming and agriculture. Farmers need to make sure their livestock has plenty to drink to stay healthy so that they can be slaughtered to be someone’s hamburger one day.

Make one day a week a “meatless” day. Perhaps you can do a Meatless Monday? There are so many delicious things you can prepare that do not involve meat of any kind. If you don’t have cookbooks you can always Google recipes. Meatless Monday (www.MeatlessMonday.com) is a great source of recipes.

Too much meat is not good for your health either. So consider going meatless at least once a week (more if you can) to improve YOUR health as well as the health of our planet.

2. Turn off your lights. I’m always telling me kids to turn the lights off. Even if it’s in the middle of the day they will turn the bathroom light on. Why? There is more then enough light coming through the window.

Having your lights on when they are not really necessary is just wasting electricity. It irks me when I see people leave all their homes lights on when they go out for the evening. One or two lights is more then enough to convey th message that someone is home. You don’t need every light on.

Rather then leave your outdoor lights on all night long consider replacing them with motion sensored lights. That way the lights are on only when you need them, and they will frighten away intruders because they wouldn’t want anyone to know they are outside.

Only put lights on in the rooms that you are in.

If possible replace your light bulbs with energy efficient light bulbs. They cost a bit more then traditional light bulbs but they last longer and save on electricity, so in the long run they actually save you money.

3. Recycle. Need I say more? I know it’s a bit inconvenient to have to separate your papers from your plastics, but in the long run it really makes a huge difference.

We keep two small garbage cans in our home. One for paper and the other for metal and glass. Our condo complex has recycling bins. My husband has made it a habit to take the recyclables with him every day when he leaves for work and drops them off. If I get any boxes during the day I take them with me when I pick the kids up at the bus stop. Once you make it a habit it’s not that big of a deal to recycle.

4. Turn on your tap, and take quick showers. Did you know that the energy required to produce and transport water bottles could easily fuel 1.5 million cars for a year. Think about that for a moment. The production and transportation of bottled water could fuel YOUR car and 1.5 million other cars for a YEAR. That is like getting free gas for an entire year. WOW! That just boggles my mind.

Nearly 1 MILLION TONS of water bottles end up in landfills, in the ocean, on the roadside and just about anywhere else. That is horrible!

Public water has strict guidelines to ensure that the water you drink is healthy and free from harmful elements. Bottled water is NOT regulated. Nearly 10% of bottled water contain pollutant matter including fertilizer, pharmaceuticals (drugs!) and get this – even ARSENIC!

Makes you think twice about drinking bottled water doesn’t it? 

Drink tap water – not bottled water. Reusable water bottles are available pretty much every where you go. If you don’t like the taste of your town’s water or well water use a water filtration system like BRITA. 

Another thing we need to focus on is the use of water and why you shouldn’t waste it. Of all the water in the world, only 3% of it can be used for human use. Of that 3% we only have access to 1% of it. That is because the remaining water if found in the polar ice caps or in places where it cannot be reached.

Think about that the next time you take a long shower. It’s kind of a scary thought when you think about it.

Here are a few things you can do.

- Take quick showers. Five minute showers are ideal, but no more then 15 minutes. Turn off the water when you are lathering up or washing your hair. You only need the water to wet your body and hair and to rinse. There is no need to keep it on while you are lathering up or washing your hair.

- Install water saving appliances such as low flow shower heads and toilets that require little water to flush.

- Turn off the water when brushing your teeth or shaving. Again, you only need the water to wet and rinse your toothbrush. You do no need it running the entire time. When shaving fill up the sink with water to rinse out your razor instead of letting the water continually run.

- Gather rain water to water your plants.

5. Buy Local. When you buy locally grown produce and other products you are making a huge environmental impact, as well as an economical impact.

When you purchase products that are not locally produced it requires the use (and waste) of fuel, not to mention the environmental impact of the manufacturing of the products. For example, if you purchase apples that were harvested in Oregon, and you live in New York, it takes a lot of fuel to have the apples driven by a truck across the country, or flown by air. It makes perfect sense to buy locally grown apples that only have to travel a few miles to get to you.

Most products you find in the grocery stories are products that were purchased elsewhere, including overseas. Even the apples, pears, cherries, cucumbers and lettuce they sell (for example) are NOT locally grown but rather come from places like Chile or Mexico. A LOT of fuel was wasted to get those products to you on the store shelf.

When you buy locally made products and goods you are supporting your local economy and invest in your community. Purchasing locally made goods and products can also create more jobs within your community. There are even tax implications which are beneficial to you simply by purchasing things locally like eggs, milk, meat, fruits and vegetables.

Local farms are also more accountable for their actions, leave a small environmental footprint and provide you with personalize customer service.

6. Ditch the car keys and take a walk (or a bike). I know this option is not feasible for everyone, but if you live in a large city, or not too far from where you work or “play”, consider walking or riding a bike instead of driving or taking mass transit. As you know walking is a great form of exercise (it’s great for the heart too!). It’s an easy way to lose weight and stay in shape (with a nutritious diet of course). Walking doesn’t cause any kind of an environmental impact.

If you have to go a bit further consider riding a bike. It’s also a great form of exercise and doesn’t harm the environment. Some cities even have special bike programs set up to encourage people to ride bikes rather then drive. Riding a bike is fun too!

Tips 7-12 can be found on this post, http://www.shescribes.com/2011/12/12-easy-ways-to-go-green-in-2012-part-ii.html.

If you have any additional tips I would love to hear from you.

Kimberly

Related Posts:

• 12 Easy Ways to “Go Green” in 2012 – Part II
• The Cell Phone, the Toilet and the Rice that Saved the Day
• Marcal Small Steps Blogger of the Month
• Seven Tips for Making the Most of your Family Videos and Photos
• Vision Boards