Raven's Eco Planet

Organic Myths

2010-02-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

Source: Organic.org

Myth: Organic food is too expensive.

Fact: In general, organic food costs more than conventional food because of the laborious and time-intensive systems used by the typically smaller organic farms. You may find that the benefits of organic agriculture off-set this additional cost. At the same time, there are ways to purchase organic while sticking to your budget. Consider the following when questioning the price of organic:

Organic farmers don’t receive federal subsidies like conventional farmers do. Therefore, the price of organic food reflects the true cost of growing.
The price of conventional food does not reflect the cost of environmental cleanups that we pay for through our tax dollars.
Organic farming is more labor and management intensive.

Myth: Eating organic food is the same as eating natural food.

Fact: Natural foods do not contain additives or preservatives, but they may contain ingredients that have been grown with pesticides or are genetically modified. In other words, the ingredients in the ingredient panel will look familiar, but they have not been produced organically. Natural foods are not regulated and do not meet the same criteria that organic foods do.

Myth: Organic food tastes like cardboard.

Fact: This may have been true of processed foods at one time—take crackers or pretzels for example—but this stereotype is as outdated as the hippie connotations that follow it. Today many organic snack foods taste the same as their conventional counterparts, while most people agree that fresh, locally grown organic produce does not compare to the alternative. Even organic produce that is not in season and has been shipped thousands of miles to reach our grocer’s shelves cannot compare to the produce found in our own back yard or at farmers markets. Taste is certainly an individual matter, so give organic a try and see what you think!

Try baking a couple batches of cookies or prepare a couple of bowls of fruit or vegetable salad; use organic ingredients in one and conventional ingredients in the other.

Recycled Flower Pot

2010-01-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

This green project keeps plastic milk jugs out of the landfill and provides and pretty and useful pot to plant flowers in.

What you'll need:

Plastic milk or juice jugs
Fabric or scrapbook paper scraps
Felt in coordinating colors
Scissors or a craft knife
Soil
White craft glue
Water
Bowl
Paintbrush
Potted flower

How to make it:

Cut the top off of the plastic jug, just under the handle. Save the handle to make our Bouquet Holder craft.

Turn bottom of jug upside down and have an adult poke 4 small drain holes in the bottom. (See photo.)

Cut fabric or tear paper into 1” squares. (See photo.)

Mix 2 parts glue and 1 part water in a bowl.

Paint glue mixture onto one side of the outside of the milk jug. (See photo.)
Decoupage the fabric or paper all over the sides of the jug, applying glue onto the jug first, then over the fabric or

paper to adhere. (See photo.)

Cut 1.5” wide strips from felt, enough to go around the opening of the pot. (See photo.)

Glue the strip onto the lip of the pot, overlapping both sides, inside and out. (See photo.)

Add a handful of gravel or small rocks to the bottom of the pot.

Add a small amount of soil then add the potted flower.

Fill pot with soil, carefully but firmly patting down the soil around the flower.

Water your flower and place near a sunny window.

Tips:

This pot makes a lovely accent to a patio table; however the decoupage will be ruined should it rain. To avoid this, before adding gravel, soil and flower, place the pot inside a clear plastic bag. Insert the overlap of the bag inside the pot, roll up the side if needed, you don’t want the plastic blocking the drain holes.
Place your pot on a plate before watering to catch any water that may drain out the holes.
These make great pots for herbs as well!

This craft was originally posted by Amanda Formaro on http://crafts.kaboose.com/recycled-flower-pot.html

Update!

2010-01-24T18:15:00.000-08:00

I want to apologize to all my loyal readers that I have not posted on here in several days. I am dealing with a major illness in the family and will post when I can! For those of you I have reviews to finish I will finish them asap. Thank you all for your understanding!!

Store Review: Goddess Gear

2010-01-17T17:20:00.000-08:00

Goddess Gear is an outstanding store. All of there products are eco friendly but not boring. All of their products come in great earth tones and they have an assortment of materials they are made with. As the name implies Goddess Gear caries all woman's clothing and it's very high quality.

I tried the Corduroy Cargo Pant and the Scoop Neck French Terry Top before I even put them on I discovered they were top of the line. Both of the items are constructed to last made with strong durable fabric. Goddess Gear's apparel also washes very well. Some clothes tend to fade or just not have that new look to them but this didn't happen with the corduroy pants or the scoop neck.

I loved the feel of the clothing as well. I expected it to be a little stiff like some eco friendly clothing can be but Goddess Gear's clothing is very soft and feels great to wear. I also got a lot of complements on the clothing.

Goddess Gear has clothing for all area's of your life I would defiantly recommend them to anyone that cares not only about the environment but how they look.

Toxic Beauty

2010-01-17T17:09:00.000-08:00

This article was originally posted on care2.com posted by Natieka Samuels Jan 13, 2010 3:18 pm

It all started with vanity: I hadn’t meant to change my purchasing practices or become a “label-reader,” that’s just how it turned out.

One day I decided that I wanted to have my dream hair: long, full, and healthily growing out of my own scalp. I did some research and joined an online community of women interested in growing longer and healthier hair. Naturally, much of the discussion on these forums is about the various products and concoctions that have worked or not worked on each person’s “hair journey.”

There was always a new ingredient to look for, or rather look out for, and soon a list of products containing said ingredient would be compiled. Soon I began to notice that women were looking for “paraben free” products. Not knowing what a paraben was, but assuming it couldn’t be good, I did a quick Google search and found that parabens are cheap preservatives used in cosmetics and personal care products, and that exposure to its various forms have been linked to breast cancer. Taking a look at the commercial hair products I already owned, not a single one was free of parabens.

The search for “sulfate free” shampoos was another common source of discussion on the hair boards. Sulfates, such as the popular sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), and ammonium laureth sulfate, are detergents: they create that satisfying foam and lather you get when you brush your teeth, use soap, do laundry, or wash your hair.

Most disturbing, the power of SLS as a detergent is so strong that it is also used as an engine degreaser. In addition to being very harsh, drying, and sometimes irritating to the hair and skin, sulfates have been linked to some pretty scary health effects.

SLS is in a class of chemicals called endocrine disruptors, which are chemicals that mimic the activity of sex hormones, such as estrogen. These chemicals interfere with the sex hormones in your body and are associated with male and female infertility, male sex organ abnormalities, early onset of puberty in females, and increased rates of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.

Of course, it doesn’t stop there.

Many nail polish brands contain formaldehyde, and many shampoos and conditioners contain formaldehyde-releasing chemicals. Even many products labeled “botanical” or “natural” contain toxic or irritating chemicals, usually in the form of detergents, preservatives, or the mysterious “fragrance,” which can refer to a myriad of different compounds and chemicals not required to be disclosed as they are considered a trade secret.

Furthermore, there are toxic chemicals that can affect your reproductive health and fertility hiding in the things that you use almost every day, such as your plastic tupperware, water bottles, canned foods and beverages, vinyl shower curtains, and disturbingly, even in your wine. Yes, your wine. Plastic stoppers in wine bottles can contain BPA, but also, wine ferments in vats that are often lined with resin or epoxy.

Epoxy (and the resin that lines metal cans) contains a toxic chemical called bisphenol-A (BPA), which is also an endocrine disruptor. Just as with canned foods, BPA leaches into the contents, but the acidic nature of wine allows toxins to leach into the liquid more rapidly than if water were in the same container.

Upon discovering this information, my first thought was, how can this be? If these chemicals are known to cause harm, why are they allowed to be used in the products I use every single day? Surely, I thought, the government had rules about this kind of thing.

It turns out the current law, known as the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), has not been updated in 33 years and does not give the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the authority it needs to oversee the safety of chemicals in everyday products or to hold industry accountable for testing the chemicals they manufacture. The result: many of the chemicals used in our everyday products have not been tested for safety and continue to remain on the market.

TSCA reform is desperately needed because, as you’ll discover when you take a look at the ingredients lists in your bathroom and kitchen cabinets, you can’t shop your way out of exposure to toxic chemicals, especially since manufacturers aren’t required to tell you what’s in their products in the first place.

Since the FDA, not the EPA, regulates cosmetics, regulation of many of our personal care products would not be improved by TSCA reform alone. In order to have more comprehensive reform, we need to also ask Congress to give the FDA the authority to ensure that our cosmetics are safe. More regulation from both the EPA and FDA is needed to ensure that consumers are safe when using all products, whether they are necessities, for personal hygiene, or purely cosmetic.

Change needs to come from the companies themselves, and they aren’t going to make any changes unless the government or your absent dollars tell them to.

To give credit where credit is due, there are a few companies that dedicate themselves to natural, non-toxic ingredients, such as Giovanni Cosmetics, Aubrey Organics, and Dr. Bronners. To find out more about the safety of your cosmetics and personal care products check out the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, or the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. For more information about the movement to strengthen chemical policy, check out Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families.

It’s hard to believe that the search for the perfect conditioner led me to so much information about the dangers of everyday products or to changes in my personal life. These days I try to be as conscientious about my purchases and practices as I can. This means seeking out more natural (and often inexpensive) alternatives to commercial products, such as using apple cider vinegar to prevent razor bumps, using extra virgin pure coconut oil as a skin and hair moisturizer, or using concentrated castile soaps to create my own shampoos, body washes, or even laundry soap.

When possible, I make sure not to reheat my food in plastic tupperware, and I keep a reusable stainless steel/BPA free water bottle with me in my purse. When I do buy new products, I always check the label first. I’m not perfect, and every now and then I do purchase products that contain some not-so-great ingredients because I haven’t found safer replacements for them.

But I shouldn’t have to be an amateur chemist to buy laundry detergent: chemicals that are thought to be harmful should not be able to make it to our grocery store shelves. Stronger chemical laws will keep me, you and our families safer. So, together, let’s send a message to Washington and demand chemical policy reform.

And in the meantime, take action to protect yourself by banning these seven ingredients from your bathroom.

Natieka Samuels is a recent graduate of Princeton University and intern at the Reproductive Health Technologies Project in Washington, D.C. Her other interests include social taboos surrounding sexuality, and how messaging in the media can reinforce or change social norms.

Blue Dominoes Activity Dough Winner

2010-01-16T05:09:00.000-08:00

I want to congratulate Crystal V. on winning our first contest! I look forward to many more winners in the future!

If you didn't win this contest enter our OBOE contest!

Press Release: Feds agree endangered Florida manatees need more habitat protection

2010-01-14T12:41:00.000-08:00

For Immediate Release

• Defenders of Wildlife • Center for Biological Diversity • Wildlife Advocacy Project • Save the Manatee Club
January 12, 2010
Contact(s) Elizabeth Fleming, Defenders of Wildlife, (727) 410-0455 Miyoko Sakashita, Center for Biological Diversity, (415) 436-9682 x 308 Eric Glitzenstein, Wildlife Advocacy Project, (202) 588-5206 Pat Rose, Save the Manatee Club, (407) 539-0990

Feds agree endangered Florida manatees need more habitat protection
Despite finding, protection is indefinitely delayed

FLORIDA – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced today that new critical habitat protections are warranted for Florida’s endangered manatee, but the agency will wait for increased funding before it takes action. The notice, published in today’s Federal Register, is in response to a petition to revise the manatee’s critical habitat filed by Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity, Save the Manatee Club, and the Wildlife Advocacy Project. According to the petition, revised habitat protections are warranted based on a vast body of science developed over the past three decades, which has better identified the areas essential to the survival and recovery of manatees, as well as the important features of each area.

“While we are pleased that the Service has again acknowledged the Florida manatee’s need for updated protections, the fact remains that this acknowledgment won’t actually help the species,” said Patti Thompson, a leading manatee biologist and co-author of the petition for the Wildlife Advocacy project. “We stand by the science in our petition and we stand by our call for prompt action to protect this iconic Florida animal."

The Florida manatee was one of the first species listed under the Endangered Species Act and among the first to have critical habitat designated for protection. These protections have helped slow the decline of manatees and promoted their conservation, but manatees still face a host of threats, and new habitat protections are urgently needed.
"Today's decision to withhold critical habitat protections puts the Florida manatee in an administrative purgatory," said Miyoko Sakashita oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "Endangered species don't have much time to wait for bureaucracy, and the last stand of precious habitat may be developed or destroyed while manatees await needed protections."

Manatee habitat is threatened by a variety of factors, such as: Coastal development, propeller scarring and seagrass damage, dams and other water control structures, and pollution and marine debris, including derelict fishing gear. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, more than seven times the sustainable level of Florida’s manatees are killed each year by human activities, including vessel collisions. This past year was an especially deadly one for the Florida manatee – setting a new record with 429 manatee deaths in state waters. Records were set for cold stress-related deaths (56), watercraft-related fatalities (97) and 114 newborn deaths.

“With this year’s record deaths and looming threats, the species clearly needs all the help it can get,” said Elizabeth Fleming, Florida representative for Defenders of Wildlife. “Despite the Service’s determination on critical habitat, we will continue to work for any and all protections that will stop these tragedies and ultimately help the species recover.”

“Much is at stake regarding the appropriate designation and protection of the endangered manatee’s critical habitat, upon which countless other sensitive aquatic species also depend for their very existence,” said Patrick Rose, Save the Manatee Club Executive Director and manatee expert. “We are committed to working with the USFWS to ensure that the money is found to both update the designation and to reduce the out of control, record breaking watercraft and total mortality that manatees endured during 2009.”

Today’s announcement means that the Fish and Wildlife Service, despite recognizing that critical habitat designation would benefit the conservation of Florida’s endangered manatee, will most likely put off any action indefinitely.
“With manatee deaths at an all-time high, it is unfortunate that the Service has relegated this vitally important rulemaking to the backburner indefinitely, said Eric Glitzenstein, President for Wildlife Advocacy Project. “The Service should instead be embracing it as an important opportunity to stem the ever-increasing tide of manatee moralities and injuries.”

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 225,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places. For more information, visit http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/.

Defenders of Wildlife is dedicated to the protection of all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With more than 1 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit www.defenders.orgSave the Manatee Club was established in 1981 to protect manatees and their aquatic habitat for future generations and today, it is the world’s leading manatee conservation organization. The Club is a membership-based, national nonprofit organization that promotes public awareness and education; sponsors local and international scientific research and rescue, rehabilitation, and release efforts; and advocates for the conservation of manatees and their essential habitat based on the best available scientific data. For more information, please visit http://www.savethemanatee.org/

The Wildlife Advocacy Project is a non-profit advocacy organization that seeks to complement and supplement the efforts of grassroots wildlife protection activists to win long-lasting conservation benefits for animals and the planet. It pursues its mission through publication education and science-based advocacy, and urges recognition and respect for the innate wild nature of all wildlife, whether in the wild or held in captivity. For more information, visit www.wildlifeadvocacy.org.

Request for Indigo Snake Sightings

2010-01-14T07:51:00.000-08:00

Kevin M. Enge is collaborating on a paper on the status of the federally threatened eastern indigo snake in Florida and Georgia. I am interested in any sightings of indigo snakes on public lands, particularly those since 2000. I will also accept sightings on private lands, as long as a latitude and longitude or directions are included. The private-land sightings can be used to test our GIS-based potential habitat map. The minimum data required are the name of the public land, the year of the sighting, and the name of the observer and his/her affiliation. If you are unsure whether the snake was an indigo, please don't send me the sighting. However, if you have a photo of the snake, I would be happy to identify it for you. I have attached a montage of indigo snake photos to help with identification. Sightings from the Keys or the Panhandle are particularly critical. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thanks.

Kevin M. Enge

Associate Research Scientist
Reptile and Amphibian Research Subsection

Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

1105 SW Williston Road
Gainesville, FL 32601-9044
352-955-2081 ext. 121 (office)

352-955-2183 (fax)

Visit us at MyFWC.com

Press Release: Blue Dominoes Finger Paint

2010-01-12T12:14:00.000-08:00

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TAKE MATTERS INTO YOUR OWN HANDS!
ECO-FRIENDLY, GLUTEN-FREE, ALL-NATURAL FINGER PAINTS ARE HERE!

No harmful chemicals, free of the eight most common allergens and thoroughly tested – perfect for all the little children in
your life!

January 11, 2010 – San Diego, CA – Finger painting is a wonderful and therapeutic way for people, particularly children to express themselves and have fun. However, if children are sensitive to the ingredients being used in some finger paints
such as: gluten, wheat, toluene, synthetic chemicals and dyes – they
cannot participate in the activity and that is NOT fun.

Bluedominoes Safe Art™ Finger Paints are made from food grade ingredients,
free of the eight most common allergens including gluten, wheat
and soy, made with all natural colors, laboratory-tested to be free of
heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic and is free of chemicals
such as toluene. In addition, the Finger Paints have been certified by the
Celiac Sprue Association and accepted by the Feingold association assuring
the products are free of gluten and do not use artificial colors.

Debbie Lindgren and Linda Manaster founded bluedominoes after Lindgren’s
younger son reacted to art supplies being used in his Kindergarten
class. “His teacher realized he reacted to art supplies with yellow and red pigments –
particularly modeling products and paints. We together took steps to make his environment
and those of the other children in the classroom safer by identifying and
providing alternative options,” states Lindgren, who brought in her own formulations
for the classroom. Lindgren and Manaster eventually assembled an expert team who
aid in the identification of ingredients and product development. The team previously
developed Safe Art™ Activity Dough, which was recognized in Dr. Toy’s Best Picks
Children’s Products – 2009, and was selected as Most Innovative Product by the San
Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“Since children are tempted to taste art supply products, we felt it was necessary to use food grade ingredients in our art supply products aimed at younger children. In addition, toxins such as toluene and lead are both absorbed through the skin as well as through ingestion, so we took steps to use ingredients that do not contain these substances and to have our products independently tested by highly respected U.S. laboratories.” Though not legally required, bluedominoes lists all of its Safe Art™ Finger Paints ingredients on the package.
By complying with rigorous standards, bluedominoes Safe Art™ products are the first to receive certification from the Celiac Sprue Association and acceptance by the Feingold Association. Bluedominoes has a complete line of Safe Art™ products in the pipeline, and the company is committed to the same level of purity, safety and integrity for all of its products. All
bluedominoes Safe Art™ products are developed in San Diego, and all of its patent-pending formulas are manufactured in the USA. Products can be ordered by visiting www.bluedominoes.com.

About bluedominoes, inc: bluedominoes, with its highly informative website and safe children’s art supply products, is the go-to resource for parents and teachers to keep their children safe and the Safe Art™ brand manufacturer that parents and teachers trust. For more information about bluedominoes green children’s art supplies, including our award-winning Safe Art™ Activity Dough and trusted resources to keep your family safe, visit www.bluedominoes.com.

Butterfly Gardening

2010-01-10T14:30:00.000-08:00

A butterfly garden can be as simple or elaborate as you want to make it. Size or complexity will not bring success or failure. Good planning and research play heavily in determining the number and species of butterflies you attract to your garden.

Start with selecting a butterfly field guide specific to your geographic region. Your geographic region if you lived in North America could be, for instance, the United States or Canada. Confining your search to within a specific state or province would be a better choice, increasing your chances for success. Pay particular attention to species requirements for both nectar and host plants. Planting you garden with only nectar-rich plants will definitely attract butterflies. Adding host plants to your plan will provide you with a peak into the entire lifecycle of butterflies.

Choose plants from the list that you, as well as the butterflies, are attracted to. If you don’t like the flowers you have selected, even though the butterflies do, chances are you won’t spend much time in your garden. Plan on cutting some of the flowers. There are plenty to go around, and it in a good way to ensure continuous flowering over the blooming season.

An ideal location for your butterfly garden is in an area that receives at least six hours of full sunlight daily. This is generally listed as one of the requirements for most annuals and perennials that butterflies prefer as a nectar source. The butterflies also favor sunny locations. Please don’t be discouraged if your garden does not meet this requirement. I have personally found that success is possible with as little as two hours of direct sunlight a day.

Consider cultural requirements of the plants you select. Having your soil tested is a great way to determine if you can meet them. Adequately preparing you soil and adding the prescribed elements will be well worth the effort. Native wildflowers, or cultivars of the native species don’t require a lot of special care if you have properly prepared your soil. Seldom bothered by pests or diseases, they are an excellent choice for your garden.

If you make an effort to attract beautiful butterflies to your garden, then please don’t poison them with pesticides. A weed is merely an unwanted flower. Try pulling them by hand. What better excuse for spending more time in the garden. Insect pests seldom pick on healthy plants. Keep yours that way by picking up plant litter on a regular basis. Water your garden only when flowers and plants are showing signs of stress. Over watering causes many plant diseases, and it is not good for the plant’s root system. The rest is out of your control so leave it to the birds and beneficial insects to rid your garden of unwanted pests.

Consider adding a birdbath or butterfly hibernation box to your butterfly garden. These are additions that are both useful and pleasing to the eye. Butterflies need water, especially on hot summer days. A flat rock placed in the middle of a birdbath gives butterflies a place to drink. Hibernation boxes provide some shelter from the elements even though very few species of butterflies actually hibernate. Popular also among butterflies are large, dark, flat rocks placed about the garden for sunning.

All else is up to the garden’s creator. One last word “take time to smell the flowers”. Enjoy your garden and get the camera!

For a list of plants that are easy to grow and care for that you can include in your butterfly garden Click Here!

This article was taken from http://www.backyardwildlifehabitat.info/butterflygardening.htm

Brighten Up Your Winter Garden With Colorful Berries

2010-01-08T14:15:00.000-08:00

Just because the trees are bare and there is snow on the ground doesn't mean that your garden has to become a winter wasteland. A well-planned garden will provide year-round interest and visual treats. Many evergreens and hardy ornamental grasses can be quite stunning in the colder months.

But perhaps nothing can compare to the vibrant color of berries during the winter. Berry palates range from bright red to yellow to pale blue and white, so there is something sure to please your eye. Many berries will also attract a variety of birds to your garden. Here are a few suggestions for hardy berry-bearing beauties that can provide a bit of pizzazz to the drab winter landscape.

American Cranberrybush (Viburnum trilobum)
Berry: Red

Height: 10 to 12 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 3
Partial to Full Sun
Notes: This shrub bears clusters of white flowers in the spring. Some cultivars produce yellow berries. The European Cranberrybush (Viburnum opulus) has similar properties.

American Holly (Ilex opaca)
Berry: Red
Height: 20 to 25 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 5
Partial Sun
Notes: This evergreen tree bears small white flowers in the spring. It has many cultivars, such as “Xanthocarpa,” which bears golden-yellow berries.

Arrowwood (Viburnum dentatum)
Berry: Bluish-Black
Height: 6 to10 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 3
Partial to Full Sun
Notes: This shrub bears clusters of dark berries that are very popular with birds and bears clusters of small white flowers in the spring.

Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
Berry: Dark Purple
Height: 4 to 6 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 4
Partial to Full Sun
Notes: The berries of the “Autumn Magic” cultivar last an especially long time into the winter. Although the Red Chokeberry (Aronia arbutifolia) bears attractive red berries, it is considered invasive in many areas and should be avoided.

Common Snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus)
Berry: White
Height: 3 to 5 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 3
Full Shade to Full Sun
Notes: This hardy shrub grows well in shade as well as sun and tolerates almost every soil type.

Coralberry (Symphoricarpos orbiculatus)
Berry: Reddish-Purple
Height: 3 to 5 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 3
Full Shade to Full Sun
Notes: Like Snowberry, this shrub likes shade as well as sun and is very easy to grow. It is also know as Indian Currant.

Cranberry Cotoneaster (Cotoneaster apiculatus)
Berry: Red
Height: 1 to 3 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 4
Partial to Full Sun
Notes: Great for ground cover, this shrub bears tiny pink flowers in the spring. Other low-growing cotoneasters include Bearberry Cotoneaster (C. dammeri) and Rockspray Cotoneaster (C. horizontalis).

Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana)
Berry: Powdery Periwinkle Blue
Height: 40 to 50 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 3
Full Sun
Notes: The female trees bear these lovely berries (they are actually cones that look like berries) which are very popular with the birds.

Northern Bayberry (Myrica pensylvanica)
Berry: Pale Blue-Gray
Height: 4 to 10 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 3
Partial to Full Sun
Notes: This shrub is extremely hardy and easy to grow in most conditions. It is also salt tolerant.

Tea Viburnum (Viburnum setigerum)
Berry: Bright Red
Height: 8 to10 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 5
Partial to Full Sun
Notes: This shrub bears clusters of red berries in the fall and clusters of small white flowers in the spring.

Winterberry (Ilex verticillata)
Berry: Red or Yellow
Height: 8 to 10 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 3
Partial to Full Sun
Notes: Birds love these berries, so there is a risk that the berries will all be eaten before the winter is over. If you love having birds in your garden, however, this will do the trick.

Winter King Hawthorne (Crataegus viridis)
Berry: Bright Red
Height: 20 to 30 ft. tall
Hardy to Zone 4
Partial to Full Sun
Notes: This tree bears clusters off white flowers in the spring. The Washington Hawthorn (Crataegus phaenopyrum) has similar properties to the Winter King.

The above list, of course, is just meant to get you started. There are many more varieties of berry and winter fruit bearing plants. Many roses, for example, will develop colorful rose hips if the faded blooms are not pruned back. Likewise, some flowering plants, such as clematis, produce beautiful seed heads that can add interest to your garden through the winter months.

The important thing is to keep in mind that winter does not have to mean dreary for your garden. With just a little bit of planning berries can bring color and vibrancy to the winter garden and give you (and the birds) something to enjoy during the cold weather months.

This article was originally published on http://www.helpfulgardener.com

Craft: Coffee Ground "Fossils"

2010-01-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

Create your own fossils to display. These would work as visual aids for Science Projects.

What you'll need:

1 cup of used coffee grounds
1/2 cup of cold coffee
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup of salt
Wax paper
Mixing bowl
Some small objects to make impressions in the dough
Empty can or a butter knife
Toothpicks, optional
String to hang your fossil, optional

How to make it:

Stir the together the coffee grounds, cold coffee, flour, and salt until well mixed.

Knead the dough together and then flatten it out onto the waxed paper.

Use the can to cut out circles of the dough or use the dull knife to cut slabs large enough to fit your "fossil" objects.

Press your objects firmly into the dough. When you take the object out, you have your "fossil". If you want to hang the fossil, poke holes into the edge to hold the string.

Let the fossil dry overnight and then hang it if you wish.

Tips:

Annmarie Shafer wrote: We made these with my preschool class and had to bake them for a short period to get the "dough" to harden , but we loved the resulting "Rocks" which really resembled fossils (we pressed a shell into the dough). The kids (ages 5-6) LOVED THEM!!!

Note from the Craft Exchange Editor: We were never able to get these fossils to turn "rock hard". They are fun to make and the children enjoy them.

This craft was originally found at http://crafts.kaboose.com

Contest: OBOE Bag or Sac

2010-01-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

The winner will win one OBOE bag or Sac in your choice of color! Value $10.

To enter contest all you need to do is send an email to ravensecoplanet@gmail.com with your name, address, and favorite OBOE style and color. With OBOE Contest in the subject!

Contest Rules:

1 Entry per Email

Open to all ages

Contest ends Febuary 12,2010 at midnight

Bag Reviews: One Bag One Earth Bags and Sacs

2010-01-05T11:17:00.000-08:00

OBOE has an amazing product. I know everyone is buying those cheap unstylish reusable bags at all the stores, OBOE offers you an alternative to those.

OBOE's bags and sacs are slightly more expensive then those store bought ones but well worth the money. These bags are made out of a strong fabric that is able to carry your purchase. Other great thing about these bags is they have little sacks sown into the side of the bag so that you never lose the storage pouch for your bag. The pouch also makes them very easy to transport.

Another thing I love about OBOE is they come in an array of stylish colors and prints that will fit in with anyone's busy lifestyle. You can also get custom bags made for family reunions or any other event you might need some gifts. OBOE's bags are very well made this nice tight stitching to ensure they will last you a while, so you wont have to worry about them breaking like the cheap grocery store ones.

I also discovered while using my OBOE bags that I received a lot of complements on my bags. These are defiantly the next thing big thing in shopping! I love mine and I think they would make great gifts. OBOE offers 2 different types of bags, the bag and the sac. Now my personal favorite is the Bag. I use it for everything from shopping to traveling back and forth from work.

I strongly recommend OBOE!!

Tea Review: Mighty Leaf Organic Tea

2010-01-04T09:45:00.000-08:00

Mighty Leaf Tea is amazing it is some of the best tea I've had lately! Make no mistake I know good tea I drink gallons of it a week. One of the main things that I think sets Mighty Leaf Tea apart from other tea companies is the tea bags. Mighty Leaf's bags are a silk bag not the normal coffee filter style bag.

Mighty Leaf's Tea is also not a chopped up mess tea in a fancy bag. The tea has nice big pieces of tea in the bags. Which gives the tea a very full bodied taste.

Mighty Leaf Tea is very aromatic. All of the tea's I tried were very aromatic but the most aromatic tea was the Organic Spring Jasmine once I opened the pouch the entire room was filled with the aroma of fresh jasmine. It also had a very floral and fresh taste. Mighty Leaf's Organic Earl Grey is another excellent tea that is very full bodied with a wonderful bergamot flavor.

If Jasmine or Earl Grey aren't they type of teas you like to drink that is ok because Mighty Leaf has tea for everyone. Such as African Nectar is a rooibos with a hint of mango to give it an exotic full bodied flavor. They also carry an Organic Mint Melange that has a scene popping mint flavor that awakens all your senses.

So next time you want to curl up with a cup of tea and a good book check out Mighty Leaf for your tea.

Interior Department's decision imperils wolves, Endangered Species Act

2010-01-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

By Jamie Rappaport Clark Friday, January 1, 2010

"[T]oday, I've signed a memorandum that will help restore the scientific process to its rightful place at the heart of the Endangered Species Act, a process undermined by past administrations. . . . For more than three decades, the Endangered Species Act has successfully protected our nation's most threatened wildlife, and we should be looking for ways to improve it -- not weaken it."
-- President Obama, March 3

I felt distinct relief upon hearing those words. I was at the Interior Department in March when President Obama made this promise to an audience of conservationists on the 160th anniversary of the agency's founding. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar was by his side.

After eight years of conservation groups fighting tooth and nail to protect America's imperiled wildlife against the plans and rulings of the Bush administration, it looked as though the Obama administration would renew our commitment to conserving endangered species and biodiversity for future generations.
But this relief was short-lived.

Just three days after the president pledged to strengthen and restore scientific integrity to implementation of the Endangered Species Act, Secretary Salazar removed federal protection from gray wolves in the Northern Rockies. In making this decision, he adopted the plan developed by the Bush administration, relying on a flawed legal opinion crafted by that administration. His decision has undermined the protection of the gray wolf and countless other threatened and endangered species.

This misguided action places wolves squarely in the cross hairs of their opponents across the Northern Rockies, allowing as many as 1,050 of Idaho and Montana's estimated 1,350 wolves to be legally killed and jeopardizing the 30-year recovery effort to restore wild wolves to the region. As a result of Secretary Salazar's action, wolves in the Northern Rockies are being hunted prematurely. Already, 210 have been killed, and there are still three months left in the Idaho hunting season.

I work with an organization that is among the 13 conservation groups that have taken this issue to court. In September, a federal judge indicated our case is likely to succeed on its merits, although a final ruling will not come until later this year.

As a former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, I find it hard to understand why the Obama administration made this decision and why it justified it by relying on a legal opinion that has been criticized by a range of people, including academics and members of Congress. Worse, this decision affects more than the Northern Rockies wolf population. It also sets an alarming precedent for future listing and delisting decisions.

The Bush administration's legal opinion overturned more than 30 years of interpretation of the Endangered Species Act. By this reasoning, protection of species can now be determined by political boundaries and manipulation, not biology. Adjusting populations in this unscientific way -- carving out areas along state lines, as Salazar did in exempting Wyoming from the areas in which wolves were no longer to be considered endangered -- makes the act subject to political manipulation. This legal sleight of hand is in direct contrast to Obama's pledge to restore scientific integrity to decisions about endangered-species conservation.

Salazar should not have allowed the gray wolf to be delisted without first engaging in a clear and transparent public process and without exploring the ramifications of relying on this flawed legal opinion. Defenders of Wildlife reached out several times to work with the Interior Department to craft a plan that would ensure continued wolf recovery while returning management of wolves to state fish and wildlife agencies. Our efforts were ignored.

Because of my intimate involvement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone, I was very much looking forward to the day when the wolf population would no longer need federal protections. But wolves and endangered-species conservation now face an uncertain future. If the president's pledge to restore scientific integrity to the Endangered Species Act, and to improve the law, is to be fulfilled, action must be taken immediately. The interior secretary should withdraw the flawed legal opinion on which his delisting relied, restore federal protection to gray wolves in the Northern Rockies and engage all stakeholders in developing a plan to ensure that one of our nation's greatest conservation successes, the restoration of gray wolves to Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies, will not be lost.

The writer is executive vice president for Defenders of Wildlife, which has worked on wolf conservation for more than three decades. She directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from 1997 to 2001.

Craft: Trying to Get Organized? Try Tiled Tin Cans for Storage

2010-01-02T14:24:00.000-08:00

Tile tin cans for personalized decor.Credit: L.Sikes

We've already shown you plenty of ways to makeover tin cans for reuse as organizers, chic storage, and other one-of-a-kind decor, but this Instructables tutorial gives cans an even more intricate look by repurposing another material you might have too much of: styrofoam.

The trick is turning the styrofoam into colored "tiles"—and since you don't want them to look too perfect, you don't have to stress about them being the same shade, size, or shape (stick with squares and rectangles to keep it simple, or add letters for a custom look). Glue the squares onto the can, keeping them 1/8-inch apart (or less), and then spread them with grout—just as if you were using regular tiles. After the grout is dry (this should take about 30 minutes), use a slightly damp sponge to take off the extra grout; then let your artwork dry fully overnight, and apply a layer of sealant the next morning for added shine.

When your work is totally dry, you'll have personalized containers that are perfect for any room of your home: for organizing utensils in the kitchen, keeping pens and pencils close at hand in your office, or separating toys and blocks in the kids' playroom. Make them for your coworker's birthday, your anniversary (with a bouquet of flowers, of course), or for a housewarming gift—and put your otherwise unwanted materials to good use.

This craft was found on http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/organized-tiled-cans-storage.html

Beauty Review: The Holy Mud Company – Facial Masks

2009-12-31T15:23:00.000-08:00

The Holy Mud Company several different facial masks that work wonders for a variety of skin types. I currently got the opportunity to try three of their facial masks.

The first one being The Dead Sea Mud Mask, this one was by far my favorite of the three I tested. The Dead Sea Mud Mask is black in color with a bit of a silver sparkle to it. I loved that I could actually see the minerals in the mask. This mud has a gritty texture and a pleasant smell. Once I washed this mask off it gave my skin a nice healthy glow.

The second mask was the Dmae Mask, it is a pink clay mask, designed to help firm your skin. I only tried this mask once so I didn’t really get to notice a substantial change to my skins firmness. This mask did have a nice texture and an ok smell to it. When I washed this mask off it did leave my face a pretty rosy glow.

The third mask I tried I didn’t like at all and it took all my will power to even test it. This one was The Pumpkin Glycolic Mask. I found I had many issues with this mask ranging from the smell to the texture. This mask had a weird fresh pumpkin smell, with a slimy texture, that only gets worse when you’re washing it off. With that said my face looked amazing after I used it but it just isn’t my cup of tea.

All in all The Holy Mud Company makes an amazing product and is worth the price!

Craft- Home Made Soap

2009-12-29T09:21:00.000-08:00

Good Clean FunMake your own natural bar soaps for the perfect holiday gift. By Sara Snow

After years of taking a backseat to liquid pump options, bar soaps are finally making a comeback. Browse any specialty or gift shop and you’ll find a multitude of cleansing bars that are both beautiful and eco-friendly. Pump soaps require a lot more packaging—plastic bottle, plastic tube, plastic pump—than their old-fashioned friends, which usually come wrapped in a single layer of plastic or paper.

With the holidays approaching, now is the perfect time to jump on the bar-soap bandwagon and create your own fragrant works of art. Not only are bars of soap a good green choice for the home, but they also make special gifts when wrapped in brown or decorative paper and tied with a bow. Plus, by making your own soaps you can control the ingredients and keep the product natural for your friends and family.

For the soap recipes below, start with a basic soap and add ingredients from there. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can start from scratch and make your soap the traditional way, with fats, water and lye. Or you can do it easier (and perhaps safer) with our melt-mix-pour method. This will allow you and your kids to personalize the soaps you make by simply mixing your favorite essential oils, exfoliators, moisturizers, herbs and flowers into a basic store-bought soap.

Stellar Suds To create natural, gift-worthy soaps, choose one of our three recipes (below) and follow these instructions.

1. Start with a fragrance-free soap: glycerin, white or olive oil. (We used glycerin soaps in our recipes.)2. Have your child help you cut 8 oz. of the soap into small pieces, using a plastic knife or other safe utensil. Melt the pieces down in either a double boiler over low heat or in a microwave (take care to keep little hands away from the heat). Stir frequently. If using a microwave, heat on medium power in short time segments to avoid a mess.3. Once the soap has melted, allow it to cool slightly while stirring frequently. Help your child mix in ingredients and pour into the mold of your choice. Cupcake or loaf pans work well—a small loaf pan allows you to cut your soap into rectangular pieces, while a tube or a pipe (such as a piece of PVC pipe) creates beautiful rounds. A cupcake mold (mini or large) produces perfectly sized individual patties.4. Allow your soap to sit overnight. Once it has set, remove from the mold and slice (if necessary). For gifts, your child can wrap one or more soaps in recycled paper and tie with a ribbon. As an added touch, include a note explaining the benefits of each herbal ingredient.

Recipes

Lavender Soother8 oz. melted soap1/2 tsp. lavender essential oil 1 Tbsp. dried lavender flowers
Lavender helps calm achy muscles, soothe colic and guarantee a good night’s rest. We mixed lavender essential oil with dried flowers for an effective and beautiful bar of soap.

Nori Cleansing Soap8 oz. melted soap 1/2 tsp. tea tree oil 1 sheet nori, cut into slivers
Nori is an extremely nourishing sea vegetable that can help with cell regeneration. Tea tree oil is naturally antifungal, antibacterial and antimicrobial. The combination of these ingredients makes this soap perfect for acne-prone skin.

Softening Oat Scrub8 oz. melted soap 2 Tbsp. quick oats (the pieces will be smaller than regular oats) 1/4 tsp. cedarwood oil 1 Tbsp. honey

The oats act as gentle exfoliators, while the honey soothes and softens skin. Once finished, this soap will be honey-brown in color. Since the honey and cedarwood oil are both gentle antiseptics, they’re great for oily skin. Also, try swapping cedarwood for birch sweet oil, another mild-scented essential oil.

Sara Snow is the host of Get Fresh with Sara Snow and Living Fresh, both on the Discovery networks. Sara also writes for CNN.com and Treehugger.com.

Online Store Review: Kidbean.com

2009-12-27T17:39:00.000-08:00

I don’t know about you but I’m not always sure about online shopping. I have the same worries that most of you have am I really going to get the top of the line organic item I am buying. Although it takes a lot of that worry out to just to drive to the store, it’s just easier sometimes to buy online.

One online store that offers you fantastic products is Kidbean.com. At Kidbean you are able to buy safe organic items without worrying about the quality. I was lucky enough to try a Sachi Organics, organic buckwheat pillow.

The pillow is like a little piece of heaven! I always have to be so careful because of my allergies with pillows but I had a great night sleep with this pillow. One might this that since it makes a slight crinkling noise when you move the pillow around that it would bother you during the night, let me ashore you it doesn’t. This pillow is completely organic, the pillow casing is cotton with a pleasant buckwheat filling.

This pillow is worth every cent. Most people buy cotton pillows that lose their shape after a while but since this pillow is filled with buckwheat it will last a lot longer than your standard cotton filled pillow. So even though you are spending more on buckwheat you’ll be saving in the long run.

Even if buckwheat pillows aren’t your thing you should defiantly check out Kidbean for other high end organic products.

Did you know?

2009-12-24T09:10:00.000-08:00

That one of the number one needed items in homeless shelters are socks? That right a clean dry pair of socks something most of us take for granted is something that the homeless shelters need the most. The reason is most people think to donate coats and canned goods but most never think of something as simple as socks.

There are several things you can do to help! If you have homeless shelters where you live, take them some socks. If you don't have shelters near you, you can contact a church to see if they do work with any shelters or you can contact organizations such as the United Way.

There is a third option I found online today! Hanes is working with the United Way to help. If your on Facebook you can go to this link Send Socks and send some of your friends virtual socks and for every pair you send Hanes will donate a real pair to someone in need!

I know it's the Holidays and everyone is so busy, but also remember this is a time for giving! Lets not forget the true meaning of the holidays when we get sucked into buy mode by the retailers!

Puppy Mills Need To Stop!

2009-12-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

Puppy mills are a disgusting problem that we need to encourage the government to give the people that run them harsher punishments.

There is a big difference between dog breeders and puppy mills! Dog breeders love their animals and take very good care of them. They don’t over breed their dogs or mistreat them in anyway. Dog breeders also care about were their puppies go. Puppy mills on the other hand only care about one thing the all mighty dollar!

Their breeder animals live in poor conditions such as small cages and only get the basic needs they need to keep these cash cows alive. These poor animals spend their entire lives either pregnant or nursing. They don’t get the proper time needed in between pregnancies to heal properly!

The puppy mills just keep them going until they breed them to death! Just so they can make a fortune on over priced pure breed dogs. Now I’m not saying there is anything wrong with pure breed dogs, I have one at home. Bruiser is a silky terrier that I bought from a private breeder that loved her dogs very much.

If you want to pay top dollar for a pure breed by all means do so but do your research and make sure that you are not buying your dog from a puppy mill!

Toy Review: Green Toys Inc. – Indoor Gardening Kit

2009-12-22T06:28:00.000-08:00

Being someone that loves to garden I thought this was an amazing product. It’s also good for kids as well as adults. This gardening kit comes with 3 flower pots, a trowel, soil, 3 packets of organic seeds (sunflower, basil, zinnia), and a pea pod shaped planter tray.

Once I opened the package I found simple instructions on how to set up my indoor garden. I really enjoyed putting it together. Even though I don’t live in an area where I suffer with the harsh weather that other people do I love being able to bring spring indoors anytime.

This indoor gardening kit is very eco friendly as well, not only is it always good for the environment to plant flowers but this product is made for 100% recycled plastic. These green toys are actually made from recycled milk jugs, but make no mistake this is a high quality product. All of the plastic pieces are a nice thick heavy plastic, with a nice texture.

This indoor gardening kit makes a very attractive addition to your kitchen or it’s great for a child just starting to get into gardening or the perfect gift for someone that just loves flowers.
This is a product you can feel good about buying. It’s completely eco friendly down to its recycled cardboard box. It’s safe and non toxic. Green Toys Inc. takes the worry out of toy shopping.

Craft: Cd Case Picture Frames

2009-12-21T07:53:00.000-08:00

The clever Jennifer of the tongue-in-cheek blog Ramblings of a Crazy Woman asks, "What mother would not want pictures of her children for Mother's Day?" Good point Jennifer! She has shared with us this wonderful tutorial for how to turn regular jewel cases (CD cases) into a hanging picture frame. This is a great way to recycle spare CD cases and is an inexpensive craft gift for Mother's Day, Father's Day or any other occasion.

Materials:
1 or 2 slim jewel cases (CD cases)
ribbon
craft glue
scissors
packaging tape
pictures of child 4x6
anything to decorate your frames such as flowers or buttons

Steps:
Cut ribbon into 4 pieces that are 5 inches long.
Dab a little glue in each corner on the inside of the cover of the case.
Slide ribbon under the inside tabs (and on top of the glue) of the case making a border.
Place picture on top of ribbon and secure with tape. You could stop there and make it a standing frame.
For the double picture frame hanger, repeat steps 1-4 on a second jewel case.
Cut 2 pieces of ribbon equal lengths to use to connect the two frames.
Secure both ribbons to the back of the jewel cases with tape. Make sure there is equal space between both cases so your picture frames hang straight.
Cut another piece of ribbon for the hanger. Loop from one side of the top frame to the other. Secure with tape.
Now decorate the front of the frames.

Note: It would be cute if one of the pictures the child was holding a sign that said," Happy Mother's Day ! I Love You !"

Now I think this is such a cute idea!! I don't think it is just a great mothers day gift but anytime you need a gift!!

Kissimmee Valley Audubon Society Up coming Events

2009-12-20T22:18:00.000-08:00

Field Trips:

Saturday, December 26, 2009 -- Christmas Bird Count

Not exactly a field trip, but more! We have numerous teams that spread out close to home to count birds from sunrise to sunset as part of an annual Audubon Society citizen science and conservation project throughout the western hemisphere. This is the 110th year!

Sunday, January 17, 2010 -- Viera Wetlands

Brevard County's Viera Wetlands is actually part of a waste water treatment facility. They use man-made wetlands of several kinds (lakes, marshes, etc.) to absorb remaining nutrients so the water can be released into the environment. The water in these stages is actually quite clean and the birds and other wildlife love it. We have encountered Soras, American Bitterns, Limpkins, and thousands of Blue-winged Teal close up, and upland birds like Caracaras, Harriers, and Kestrels too! Much of our birding will be from our cars, as you can drive on the berms.

Meetings:

Meetings are held at 6:45 pm at the KUA (Kissimmee Utility Authority) Building 1701 W. Carroll St. in Kissimmee

Tues., January 26, 2010 -- Mike Godwin -- Alligators and Wading Birds: A Natural Symbiosis

Too many Floridians seem to think the only good 'gator is a dead one. Did you know alligators are crucial to many healthy Florida ecosystems, and that wading birds actually prefer to nest over swamps crawling with 'gators? This presentation will show you what a successful rookery full of nests of herons, egrets, storks, and even spoonbills can look like in Central Florida. Rumor has it Mike might bring one or more critters with him!

Mike Godwin is the grandson of Gatorland's founder and is on the board of Orange Audubon Society. He has developed what we think is a healthy obsession with creating great photographs of beautiful birds. He keeps telling us, "I'm not a birder," but we beg to differ!

All events are open to the public!!

Plant a Tree!

2009-12-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

Did you know that you can help stop global warming by planting just one tree? That's right your helping with every tree you plant. Tree's breath just like we do but instead of breathing in oxygen, tree's breath in carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the causes of global warming.

It really doesn't matter what type of tree you plant they all do their part to help clean the air. Even if you live in an apartment you can still plant a tree. There are tons of fruit tree's that you can by in a dwarf size that are perfect for a planter on your patio.

Which not only would you be helping the environment you would also be growing some of your own yummy fruit. What could be better then that. Dwarf tree's also work for renters that aren't allowed to change the landscape of their property.

As you can see it doesn't really take much for you to make a difference the only thing you need to do is want to!

Contest: Blue DominoesActivity Dough 5 pack

2009-12-18T20:50:00.000-08:00

The Winner of this contest will receive a 5 Pack of Blue Dominoes Activity Dough! To enter this contest you need to follow Blue Dominoes on twitter at http://twitter.com/bluedominoes and Raven's Eco Planet http://twitter.com/ravensecoplanet

Once you are following us send me an email to ravensecoplanet@gmail.com with contest in the subject. Include you name, address, email address, and twitter id in the body of the email.

This contest is open to all ages. If you are under 18 years old ask a parents permission before you enter. One entry per email address.

Contest Ends January 16,2010

Toy Review: Blue Dominoes – Activity Dough

2009-12-18T20:33:00.000-08:00

I know what you are thinking all this is, is another type of play doh. Well that is where your wrong even though this activity dough is played with the same way as play doh it’s completely different.

The first difference you will notice with this activity dough is the texture! Blue Dominoes activity dough has a gritty texture to it but not only that it is very pliable. It’s not rock hard like play doh is. I also found while I was playing with this activity dough it didn’t start to dry out and get hard to work with the more that I played with it. I was able to sit there and play with it for over an hour with my son and the activity dough stayed as fresh as it was when I took it out of its cute little tub.

These aren’t the only things that make this some of the best activity dough around! It’s also all natural and organic! So your kids can spend hours playing with this top quality dough without you having to worry about chemicals in the dough or if there is lead in the toy your child is playing with!

This is how Blue Dominoes Activity Dough came about, Co-Founder Debbie Lindgren’s son Mark, got lead poisoning from the family’s dinner plates. After that Mark was sensitive to the modeling products they were using at school. Blue Dominoes saw a need for safer art supplies and by making this eco friendly all natural product they are making play time safer for our children.

This is the best activity dough I’ve come across on the market today! Not only is it fun but it takes the worries out of play time.

Site Update

2009-12-18T20:20:00.000-08:00

Hello to all my readers.

I know I have been very quiet the past few days but that is do to Internet problems but a tech came out and took care of the issues I was having so now I'm ready to start kicking out some eco friendly information for you!

Some of the things we have coming up are a couple of contests and some eco friendly product reviews! I've gotten some amazing products in the mail and I can't wait to review them for you!

I also want to take a moment to welcome a new writer to Raven's Eco Planet Kim Aka Swamp Girl! I look forward to reading her contributions! We also have some new articles in the works by Matthew!

Getting To Know Endangered Species: Spruce-fir Moss Spider

2009-12-10T10:54:00.000-08:00

Did you know that the Spruce-fir moss spider was first identified in 1923? These spiders make there homes in the moss that grow on rocks underneath the forest canopy in the Southern Appalachian Moutains. They are found in high elevated sections of the forest.

They construct tube like webs believed to be housing for prey has never been found in them. They feed on springtails that are abundant in the mossy mats.

The Spruce-fir moss spider were put on the endangered list in 1995 due to the lost of there habitat. There has been a wide spread death of fraser furs cause by the infestation of Balsam woolly adelgid. The death of these trees are causing a drying of the forest ground, drying the moss, from the loss of the forest canopy.

Craft Project: Recycled Wind Chimes

2009-12-10T08:38:00.000-08:00

Use up your old scrap pieces of wood and clay pots to create this summer wind chime to enjoy. I used a Sailboat theme with an old scrap piece of wood, little clay pots, white nylon cording for strings and added big washers for the chimes. Hand paint a theme of your choice. Drill a few holes in the wood for hanging at the top. Add your clay pots and washers and you're all set to enjoy both the visual beauty & sounds this wind chime will make.
Approximate Time: 1 hour or less (drying time of paint)

Supplies:

piece of wood any length (this one is 12 inches)

Drill with smaller drill bit to drill your holes in the wood to hang it and to add your clay pots)

amount of clay pots you desire (get the ones with holes in the bottoms already)

nylon cording to hang your pots

acrylic paints of your choice to paint your theme
paint brushes various sizes

washers to add to the bottoms to create the chimes sound (clay pots will also create a separate sound as well when they hit)

clear spray paint to protect your finished piece after your done with your design and it has dried)
Sailboat theme paint colors are: 2 tones of blue sky blue for sky /slate blue for the ocean water level line/flesh for the sand/white for the waves break around the sailboats bottom and on the shoreline/gray and white for the seagulls flying/ any color for sailboat but I used gray for the boat and mask pole then white for the sails/red & white for the

washers to look like life preservers

water to thin out your paints to give a muted hazy effect

old newspapers to lay your items on to paint and use as a paint pallet for your paints colors to easily reach

Instructions:

So simple to make and both pretty to see when it's done as well as the lovely sounds both the pots & washers will make.
Start by drilling two holes in the top of your wood piece about 1/4 way in on each side so you can attach your string here for hanging. For my sailboat theme I let my knots be tied on the front side to be revealed giving it more of a sea fairing look.

Drill your holes desired in the bottom side of the wood going by the number of pots you will use. Here I used 3 so my holes were spaced out in the center.

Paint your scene on the wood and clay pots turned upside down then let dry. Anyone can paint this sailboat scene, the next few directions discuss how to do it.

Using a medium sized soft paintbrush wet it first then wipe off with old rag then put out a quarter size or less amount of each color paints on a piece of newspaper. Starting at the top of the wood first use the lightest blue just a bit in your brush and just paint across the first top 1/4 of your wood in a wave motion until you have your sky

Then rinse your brush and wipe it almost dry on your rag and do the same thing using your 2nd darker blue color which will create your ocean water line on the 1/2 of your wood across which creates your deepest water.

Take the gray color for your sailboat paint on a smile like shape on the darkest water line and paint on a line up the center of the boat for your mast.

Paint your sail doing the same smile shape on one side of the mast pole but paint it on vertically. Take the white of your paint brushes end just tab on in a light punching method some white paint around the bottom edges of the boat and across the darkest water line horizontally which will create your water break on the ocean.
For painting on seagulls, use a thin liner brush and paint on v shapes in 2 or 3 tiny sizes far apart then go over again just lightly on the edges with white paint still using your liner brush and this will create the wings color of your seagulls.

If you desire to carry the same theme onto your clay pots you do the same thing but next to the last bottom edge of the pot will be flesh color paint for the sand beach line then I added the blue below it as water rushing up into the sand.
The washer for life preservers will be painted white then just paint on red every other area in a curved on way. Let all dry then spray with 2 coats clear spray paint to seal it.

The nylon string will be different lengths that you decide. You just want your clay pots and washers to barely over lap while hanging beside each other so when the wind hits them they will touch and create sounds.
Put your nylon string through the clay pots after you get the distance you desire and tie off knots underneath them. That way they stay in place.

Then extend your string on down and tie on your washers. Usually I would of used fishing line in most of my projects but this being a sea theme the white nylon string look best and the more knots you tie in the strings the better they fit into this particular theme.

Hang and Enjoy.
By Julie from Tenn

This craft was originally found on http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf26517135.tip.html I think it's a great craft that I just had to share! I found making these were a lot of fun and easy to make. I changed the painted design on mine to flowers so have fun with it and make it your own!!

Florida Cottonmouth

2009-12-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

This venomous snake is a common snake. It's diet consists of fish, frogs, lizards, snakes, small turtles, salamanders, baby alligators, small mammals, and birds.

They are found mostly around water ways such as rivers, lakes, streams, and ditches, This snake is commonly mistaken for a non venomous water snake which sadly causes the banded water snake to be unjustly killed.

Which killing any large amounts of snakes causes an effect on the eco system by taking away a predator that helps to control the population of other wildlife that share the same water ways. So please if you can avoid it don't go out of your way to kill any snake just because it's there.

Also cottonmouths tend to be very aggressive snakes so do not go out of your way to mess with them. They will go after you and try to bite you. If you are ever bitten by a cotton mouth snake seek immediate medical attention. If it's on one of your limbs tie a bandanna or something similar tightly around the bitten limb to help slow the spread of the poison through out your body.

I hope that between the two photos that I decided to use you are able to see some of the differences between the venomous cottonmouth and the non venomous banded water snake!! In case your not sure the top photo is the cottonmouth and the bottom photo is the banded water snake!

Fun Facts

2009-12-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

Metal:

1) Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for three hours -- or the equivalent of a half a gallon of gasoline.

2) During the time it takes you to read this sentence, 50,000 12-ounce aluminum cans are made.

3) Once an aluminum can is recycled, it can be part of a new can within six weeks.

4) An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now!

5) There is no limit to the amount of times an aluminum can can be recycled.

6) We use over 80,000,000,000 aluminum pop cans every year.

7) Every ton of recycled steel saves 2,500 pounds of iron ore, 1,000 of coal, and 40 pounds of limestone.

Paper:

1) To produce each week's Sunday newspapers, 500,000 trees must be cut down.

2) Recycling a single run of the Sunday New York Times would save 75,000 trees.

3) If all our newspaper was recycled, we could save about 250,000,000 trees each year!

4) During World War II when raw materials were scarce, 33% of all paper was recycled. After the war, this number decreased sharply.

5) If you had a 15-year-old tree and made it into paper grocery bags, you'd get about 700 of them. A supermarket could use all of them in under an hour! This means in one year, one supermarket goes through 60,500,000 paper bags! Imagine how many supermarkets there are in the U.S.

6) The amount of wood and paper we throw away each year is enough to heat 50,000,000 homes for 20 years.

7) Approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in the U.S.

8) The average household throws away 13,000 separate pieces of paper each year. Most is packaging and junk mail.

9) The 17 trees saved (above) can absorb a total of 250 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air each year. Burning that same ton of paper would create 1500 pounds of carbon dioxide.

10) The construction costs of a paper mill designed to use waste paper is 50 to 80% less than the cost of a mill using new pulp.

11) Each ton (2000 pounds) of recycled paper can save 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4000 kilowatts of energy, and 7000 gallons of water. This represents a 64% energy savings, a 58% water savings, and 60 pounds less of air pollution!

Plastic:

1) Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour! Most of them are thrown away!

2) Plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1,000,000 sea creatures every year! 3) Recycling plastic saves twice as much energy as burring it in an incinerator.

4) American throw away 25,000,000,000 styrofoam coffee cups every year.

Glass:

1) Every month, we throw out enough glass bottles and jars to fill up a giant skyscraper. All of these jars are recyclable!

2) The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.

3) A modern glass bottle would take 4000 years or more to decompose -- and even longer if it's in the landfill.

4) Mining and transporting raw materials for glass produces about 385 pounds of waste for every ton of glass that is made. If recycled glass is substituted for half of the raw materials, the waste is cut by more than 80%.

Landfills:

1) The first real recycling program was introduced in New York City in the 1890s. The city's first recycling plant was built in 1898.

2) About one-third of an average dump is made up of packaging material.

3) The U.S. is the #1 trash-producing country in the world at 1,609 pounds per person per year. This means that 5% of the world's people generate 40% of the world's waste.

4) Roughly 90% of landfill contents are recyclable.

5) Out of every $10 spent buying things, $1 (10%) goes for packaging that is thrown away. Packaging represents about 65% of household trash.

6) On average, it costs $30 per ton to recycle trash, $50 to send it to the landfill, and $65 to $75 to incinerate it.

7) Americans generate and throw away 9 times as much waste as does a person in Africa or Central America, but we also generate two to three times the amount of waste as people living in industrial countries with a comparable or better standard of living as us.

Misc:

1) More than 20,000,000 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day, using 133 square miles of tinfoil. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it.

2) McDonald's saves 68,000,000 pounds of packaging per year just by pumping soft drink syrup directly from the delivery truck into tanks in the restaurant, instead of shipping the syrup in cardboard boxes.

3) Rainforests are being cut down at the rate of 100 acres per minute.

4) A single quart of motor oil, if disposed of improperly, can contaminate up to 2,000,000 gallons of fresh water.

5) You can walk 1 mile along an average highway in the United States and see about 1,457 pieces of litter.

6) The Washington, DC-based Institute For Local Self-Reliance calculates that recycling creates 36 jobs per 10,000 tons of material recycled compared to 6 jobs for every 10,000 of tons brought to traditional disposal facilities. (6 times higher employment!)

7) A typical family consumes 182 gallons of pop, 29 gallons of juice, 104 gallons of milk, and 26 gallons of bottled water a year. That's a lot of containers -- make sure they're recycled!

This is a list of fun facts that was found on the internet a while back the site that they were on is no longer a valid site so I would like to that the person that took the time to compile this list!!

Cuban Tree Frogs

2009-12-08T10:57:00.001-08:00

The Cuban Tree Frog is a big problem in Central Florida because they are an evasive species.

What that means is they are not native to this area. They are considered to be a pest because they will eat anything, such as any kind of bug, and they even eat other frogs. They are even cannibalistic which means they will eat their own kind as long as it's a smaller one.

So by them being here they are killing off our native green tree frogs and disrupting the balance of our eco system.

Cuban Tree Frogs come here in crates shipped in from Cuba. Sadly there is really no way to prevent them from getting here.

Clean It Up!

2009-12-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

You don't have to wait for a volunteer opportunity to take charge and clean up! If you live in an area like I do that is full of lakes, ponds, and even retention ponds you will tend to find trash littering the water ways. I find it very sad that some of the people visiting these areas can't or wont clean up after themselves.

So I tend to take it upon myself to bring a couple of trash bags with me when I go fishing or just sunning by one of our bodies of water. I even take them to the beach as well, so that I can help clean up a bit. I really can't enjoy my day with the trash polluting the natural beauty.

There are many reasons it's important to keep water ways clean. The most obvious is looks, but looks only scratch the surface of the problems pollution causes. Pollution changes the quality of the water which cause changes the structure of that areas eco system. Which will eventually results in the death of some of the local wildlife and plant life resulting in the loss of crucial food supplies for the local wildlife that depends on certain plants and wildlife.

Another major problem pollution to water ways cause is wildlife eating the trash. Ingesting trash such as plastic bags can cause choking, blockage of the digestive system, or toxic poisoning. It's not just trash bags that cause problems another item that causes a lot of problems with birds especially are those plastic rings that hold cans together. They get tangled around the birds neck and slowly strangle them.

Toxic poisoning is a big problem where chemicals such as mercury are dumped into water ways. The mercury doesn't just cause toxic poisoning but it also causes birth defects. It also makes fish toxic for us to eat as well as local wildlife.

So next time your out remember to clean it up! It's not just for you but it's also for the ones that can't tell us what is wrong.

Make a toad abode for your garden

2009-12-07T14:01:00.000-08:00

Toads are a very important part of the eco system and they can help your garden flourish. Did you know that one toad can eat up to 10,000 insect pest over the course of the summer. Imagine how much a couple of toads could help your garden, with out the use of harmful chemicals. Toads are very sensitive to chemicals and pesticides, so if you are going to do a toad abode in your garden your going to need to avoid using anything other then eco friendly pesticides.

Some of the things toads like are damp shady areas but they also need a home or toad abode! You can either buy a toad abode or make one yourself. I personally love crafting so I prefer to make my own. Once you have your toad abode your going to want to put it in your garden with some leaf littler lining the toad abode and since toads love water your going to want to have a little dish of water near the abode.

Now once you have your toad abode set up all you'll need to do wait for one of your area toads to move in. Wait for them to move in don't take toads from other area's or release pet toads into your yard.

For those of you that are crafty here are some ideas for making your own toad abodes! There are several things you can use as a base for your abode such as a piece of pvc pipe or an old terra cotta pot. Once you know what your going to use for your abode you can figure out how your going to decorate it. Remember this toad abode is also going to be a cute decoration for your garden.

If you decide to use pvc pipe your going to want to bury one end a bit into the ground giving the toad a hole type abode to live in. So just decorate the area of the pvc pipe that isn't going to be buried. If you decide to go with an old terra cotta pot your going to want to put the pot upside down so the top is actually the bottom of the pot, your going to want to put a small door in the pot so the toad can get in then decorate the outside to your liking. Another way to use a terra cotta pot is to turn it on it's side and partially buried, then decorate the rest of the pot.

Which ever design you decide to go with have fun with it!

Introduction

2009-12-07T13:34:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! I wanted to take a moment and thank you for checking out my blog! I hope you will enjoy the content of the blog I want to try to do a blog that is a little different from all those other Environmentally friendly blogs out their. I don't want to just tell you what is Environmentally friendly but help you to make changes to your everyday life to help save the planet and make it a cleaner place for our children!

Now with that said this blog isn't going to be one of those angry blogs written to scare it's readers into doing what the writer wants. I want this to be fun and inspiring!

Together we can save the planet one blog at a time!!