by Jeanne M. Robinson
Have you ever thought that the way you eat can help improve our environment?
One way is to eat less meat. Livestock herds account for about 10% of all greenhouse gases, especially methane gas. Their ever-growing population is unsustainable to our earth. The waste produced is estimated at 13 billion tons and contributes to pollution of land, water and air. Runoff to our water supply is especially devastating. There are also local effects such as rainforest destruction in Central and South America. Does this mean you have to give up meat entirely? No, just cut back where you can. You could go meat-free at lunch or skip meat one or two dinners a week. If a lot of people did this, the demand for meat would decrease to help reduce affects to our environment. Also, there are health benefits to eating less meat. There are many ways to get protein besides meat.
Eating locally grown food also helps our environment. The average fresh food item on our dinner table travels 1,500 miles to get there. (source: Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture). Buying locally produced food eliminates the need for so much energy to transport the food and usually results in less packaging. The food is usually grown with less pesticides and is more tasty and nutritious.
And when you are purchasing your food, what kind of bag do you put it in? Plastic bags litter our soil and water. Many animals think floating plastic bags are food and die after trying to eat them. Plastic bags that end up in landfills may take up to 1,000 years to break down, and they separate into smaller and smaller toxic particles that contaminate soil and water. Producing plastic bags consume millions of gallons of oil. Paper bag also have problems such as the number of trees required to produce them. What should you pick? Reusable shopping bags made of materials that don’t hurt the environment while being produced are the best option. If you still choose to use plastic or paper bags, be sure to re-use them for as long as possible and then recycle them.
And what about the packaging the food comes in? Look for the least amount of packaging and packaging that is biodegradable or recyclable. Less is more.
These are small steps but can have big impacts if we all do our part.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Environment Needs YOU!
By Jacqueline Cook and Abigail Cook
Have you ever thought to yourself, “what can I do to save the environment…I’m just a kid!”? Well, if you have then today is your lucky day. The truth is that kids do more to change the world than they get credit for. But, it can seem overwhelming to both kids and adults to think about saving the environment because we just don’t know where to start. The best thing you can do is start small and, most importantly, make it fun! If you make it a game and get your whole family, neighborhood, or even school involved before you know it your small change will have multiplied into a giant change, and that’s how we will save our planet.
You may have already heard of the three R’s of the environment, but in case you haven’t they are “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”. Most people focus on recycling, which is great and very important, but what about reducing and reusing? They are just as important and, if done well, can help your family save money!
REDUCE – When you look around your house can you think of anything that you could reduce how much you and your family use each day? What about the obvious thing – food! Does your family throw away a lot of food? Maybe you buy too much at the grocery store and it goes bad before you can eat it, or maybe your family doesn’t like leftovers. Well, this would be a great place to start to get your whole family going Green.
Here’s what you do:
- Instead of letting food go bad, why not pick someone in your family to be responsible for checking the expiration dates on the food that could go bad, like dairy products. For example, if that person sees that the sour cream is going to go bad in a few days, that same person has to find a recipe that uses up all of the sour cream. It’s OK if your family doesn’t have a lot of cookbooks at home. There are all kinds of websites on the internet that you can use to look up recipes based on what kind of ingredients you want to use. Try www.allrecipes.com. Oh, and each week a different person should be responsible. It’s important that everyone gets a turn.
- Each time the family uses up the food before it goes bad, the whole family gets a reward. Decide as a family what that reward should be, and make it something good! For example, keep track of all the money your family saves by not wasting and they create a family fun jar and put all the money in there and watch it grow! Use the money to go on a family vacation, or to an amusement park, or to build a swing set in your backyard. The possibilities are endless!
- Have a family leftover night. One night each week gather all the leftovers in your refrigerator and make dinner with them. Make it a challenge with prizes. For example, if the family is able to use up half of the leftovers on Family Leftover Night then the family gets to play a board game together (let a different person pick the game each week). If the family uses up all the leftovers, the family gets to go to the park together! You can decide on whatever prizes work best for your family, but the point is to make it fun. Oh, and don’t forget – by eating up the leftovers you’re saving money again so put the savings in the family fun jar!
- Here’s one last really great and easy idea. Reduce how much water, electricity, and gas your family uses. When you brush your teeth, turn the water on only when you need to rinse off your toothbrush or get a drink of water. When you run your dishwasher, only run it when it’s full. When you leave a room, turn the lights off and try not to turn any lights on during the sunlight hours if possible. In the winter, think about wearing sweaters and slippers around your house so you can keep the heat setting as low as possible. In the summer, see if your family can stand setting the air conditioner just one degree warmer and try not to open doors too much. Get your family together and walk around your house and make a list of all of the ideas you can think of together for ways to conserve water, electricity, and gas. Then, have your parents keep track of their bills so everyone can see if their efforts are working. If they’re not working, see if you can try even more things. If they are, guess what? Your family just earned more money for the family fun jar!
REUSE – There are so many things you can reuse instead of throwing them away, and you can start doing all of these ideas today!
- Use the cloth sacs for grocery shopping instead of plastic bags.
- If you bring your lunch to school, pack it in a reusable lunch bag and try to use washable plastic food containers instead of plastic baggies.
- Donate all of your old clothes and toys to charity rather than throwing them out.
- Be creative and think about saving things you normally would throw away to be used in arts and crafts projects.
RECYCLE – And last but not least, let’s not forget about recycling! By now most cities and towns across the country are participating in recycling. If your family isn’t recycling yet it might be because you have to request recycling bins and service from your town’s waste disposal company or sanitation department. Have your parents call and find out. Here are some things you can do:
- Look at the items that you buy and try to buy things with recycled materials in them.
- If your home recycling bins don’t let you recycle plastic bags or other things, go online and research where you can recycle those things. Recycling at your home can reduce your trash by half, sometimes even more if you’re really good at it!
- Talk to the principal at your school and ask what the school is doing about recycling. If they’re not doing anything, or if they are doing a little but would like to do more, ask if your school can form an environmental action team made up of students, teachers, and parents to help the school get going on their recycling plans.
These are just a few ideas but the truth is that there are so many things you can do to help planet Earth if you take the time to look around where you live and be creative. Keep it simple in the beginning and start with one goal you know you can reach, then keep expanding and doing a little more until before you know it your family fun jar is completely full and the three R’s of the environment are just a regular part of how your family lives. Also, for more ideas check out the web. A few good websites are:
http://greenguideforkids.blogspot.com/
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/recycle.htm
Good luck, and thank you for joining the cause!
Have you ever thought to yourself, “what can I do to save the environment…I’m just a kid!”? Well, if you have then today is your lucky day. The truth is that kids do more to change the world than they get credit for. But, it can seem overwhelming to both kids and adults to think about saving the environment because we just don’t know where to start. The best thing you can do is start small and, most importantly, make it fun! If you make it a game and get your whole family, neighborhood, or even school involved before you know it your small change will have multiplied into a giant change, and that’s how we will save our planet.
You may have already heard of the three R’s of the environment, but in case you haven’t they are “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”. Most people focus on recycling, which is great and very important, but what about reducing and reusing? They are just as important and, if done well, can help your family save money!
REDUCE – When you look around your house can you think of anything that you could reduce how much you and your family use each day? What about the obvious thing – food! Does your family throw away a lot of food? Maybe you buy too much at the grocery store and it goes bad before you can eat it, or maybe your family doesn’t like leftovers. Well, this would be a great place to start to get your whole family going Green.
Here’s what you do:
- Instead of letting food go bad, why not pick someone in your family to be responsible for checking the expiration dates on the food that could go bad, like dairy products. For example, if that person sees that the sour cream is going to go bad in a few days, that same person has to find a recipe that uses up all of the sour cream. It’s OK if your family doesn’t have a lot of cookbooks at home. There are all kinds of websites on the internet that you can use to look up recipes based on what kind of ingredients you want to use. Try www.allrecipes.com. Oh, and each week a different person should be responsible. It’s important that everyone gets a turn.
- Each time the family uses up the food before it goes bad, the whole family gets a reward. Decide as a family what that reward should be, and make it something good! For example, keep track of all the money your family saves by not wasting and they create a family fun jar and put all the money in there and watch it grow! Use the money to go on a family vacation, or to an amusement park, or to build a swing set in your backyard. The possibilities are endless!
- Have a family leftover night. One night each week gather all the leftovers in your refrigerator and make dinner with them. Make it a challenge with prizes. For example, if the family is able to use up half of the leftovers on Family Leftover Night then the family gets to play a board game together (let a different person pick the game each week). If the family uses up all the leftovers, the family gets to go to the park together! You can decide on whatever prizes work best for your family, but the point is to make it fun. Oh, and don’t forget – by eating up the leftovers you’re saving money again so put the savings in the family fun jar!
- Here’s one last really great and easy idea. Reduce how much water, electricity, and gas your family uses. When you brush your teeth, turn the water on only when you need to rinse off your toothbrush or get a drink of water. When you run your dishwasher, only run it when it’s full. When you leave a room, turn the lights off and try not to turn any lights on during the sunlight hours if possible. In the winter, think about wearing sweaters and slippers around your house so you can keep the heat setting as low as possible. In the summer, see if your family can stand setting the air conditioner just one degree warmer and try not to open doors too much. Get your family together and walk around your house and make a list of all of the ideas you can think of together for ways to conserve water, electricity, and gas. Then, have your parents keep track of their bills so everyone can see if their efforts are working. If they’re not working, see if you can try even more things. If they are, guess what? Your family just earned more money for the family fun jar!
REUSE – There are so many things you can reuse instead of throwing them away, and you can start doing all of these ideas today!
- Use the cloth sacs for grocery shopping instead of plastic bags.
- If you bring your lunch to school, pack it in a reusable lunch bag and try to use washable plastic food containers instead of plastic baggies.
- Donate all of your old clothes and toys to charity rather than throwing them out.
- Be creative and think about saving things you normally would throw away to be used in arts and crafts projects.
RECYCLE – And last but not least, let’s not forget about recycling! By now most cities and towns across the country are participating in recycling. If your family isn’t recycling yet it might be because you have to request recycling bins and service from your town’s waste disposal company or sanitation department. Have your parents call and find out. Here are some things you can do:
- Look at the items that you buy and try to buy things with recycled materials in them.
- If your home recycling bins don’t let you recycle plastic bags or other things, go online and research where you can recycle those things. Recycling at your home can reduce your trash by half, sometimes even more if you’re really good at it!
- Talk to the principal at your school and ask what the school is doing about recycling. If they’re not doing anything, or if they are doing a little but would like to do more, ask if your school can form an environmental action team made up of students, teachers, and parents to help the school get going on their recycling plans.
These are just a few ideas but the truth is that there are so many things you can do to help planet Earth if you take the time to look around where you live and be creative. Keep it simple in the beginning and start with one goal you know you can reach, then keep expanding and doing a little more until before you know it your family fun jar is completely full and the three R’s of the environment are just a regular part of how your family lives. Also, for more ideas check out the web. A few good websites are:
http://greenguideforkids.blogspot.com/
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/recycle.htm
Good luck, and thank you for joining the cause!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Meet Molly and Velvet
By Ada Demlow, Children’s Librarian and Empathy Educator
As a children’s librarian and empathy educator, I see over and over the power stories have to sow kindness and grow peace. Two stories I have used many times feature a couple of spunky characters that are both fun to meet and have a lot to teach us about the importance of being ourselves. Neither Molly nor Velvet try to “be like” everyone else to get accepted. Instead they stay true to themselves and discover that “being me” is the best thing to be!
Go to your local library and check these out! (Or get a copy of your own, because I bet you will want to read them again and again!)
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon
by Patty Lovell
Even though she had a voice like a “bullfrog”, Molly Lou Melon’s grandma has always told her to “Sing out clear and strong and the world will cry tears of joy.” A grandma like that helps Molly to be a pretty confident child, but this is put to the test when she is forced to move away to a new town and faces a new school with a bully named Ronald Durkin. Molly stays true to herself, and is not only able to make new friends; she actually is able to make peace with Ronald.
This story is wonderful on many levels. First and foremost, it shows the absolute importance of believing in yourself, and staying true to your ideals. However, it also shows kids that just because you have a conflict with someone, it doesn’t mean that you have to be their enemy forever, things can and do change. Finally, it shows the importance that family plays in building peace and confidence in children. Molly’s relationship with her grandmother is pivotal to her ability to be self-confident and manage conflicts with her peers.
The story and illustrations in this book are very well-done, making it a great choice for reading aloud.
Odd Velvet
by Mary Whitcomb
On the first day of school, while the other children bring the teacher cinnamon tea and potpourri, Velvet offers "an egg carton filled with seven rocks, her favorite red shoelaces, and a half a sparrow's egg." This begins her classmates belief that Velvet is “odd”. It doesn’t stop there. Velvet does many things that make her peers wonder just where it is she came from.
Just like Molly Lou Melon, Velvet does not let her new kid or “different” status deter her from being true to herself. Like Molly she uses her gifts and talents and true self to show the kids what is inside of her. Slowly, but surely they start to see more than just an “odd girl”, but rather someone unique and pretty special.
This story takes on the additional element of the dreaded birthday party invitations.
Despite not being given the best hospitality, Velvet invites her classmates to her birthday party, and they accept the invitation and come. It is this party that really helps them start to look at Velvet in new ways and this shows kids that sometimes, even when it is difficult, you have to take the risk and invite people into your life rather than waiting for them to come on their own.
As a children’s librarian and empathy educator, I see over and over the power stories have to sow kindness and grow peace. Two stories I have used many times feature a couple of spunky characters that are both fun to meet and have a lot to teach us about the importance of being ourselves. Neither Molly nor Velvet try to “be like” everyone else to get accepted. Instead they stay true to themselves and discover that “being me” is the best thing to be!
Go to your local library and check these out! (Or get a copy of your own, because I bet you will want to read them again and again!)
Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon
by Patty Lovell
Even though she had a voice like a “bullfrog”, Molly Lou Melon’s grandma has always told her to “Sing out clear and strong and the world will cry tears of joy.” A grandma like that helps Molly to be a pretty confident child, but this is put to the test when she is forced to move away to a new town and faces a new school with a bully named Ronald Durkin. Molly stays true to herself, and is not only able to make new friends; she actually is able to make peace with Ronald.
This story is wonderful on many levels. First and foremost, it shows the absolute importance of believing in yourself, and staying true to your ideals. However, it also shows kids that just because you have a conflict with someone, it doesn’t mean that you have to be their enemy forever, things can and do change. Finally, it shows the importance that family plays in building peace and confidence in children. Molly’s relationship with her grandmother is pivotal to her ability to be self-confident and manage conflicts with her peers.
The story and illustrations in this book are very well-done, making it a great choice for reading aloud.
Odd Velvet
by Mary Whitcomb
On the first day of school, while the other children bring the teacher cinnamon tea and potpourri, Velvet offers "an egg carton filled with seven rocks, her favorite red shoelaces, and a half a sparrow's egg." This begins her classmates belief that Velvet is “odd”. It doesn’t stop there. Velvet does many things that make her peers wonder just where it is she came from.
Just like Molly Lou Melon, Velvet does not let her new kid or “different” status deter her from being true to herself. Like Molly she uses her gifts and talents and true self to show the kids what is inside of her. Slowly, but surely they start to see more than just an “odd girl”, but rather someone unique and pretty special.
This story takes on the additional element of the dreaded birthday party invitations.
Despite not being given the best hospitality, Velvet invites her classmates to her birthday party, and they accept the invitation and come. It is this party that really helps them start to look at Velvet in new ways and this shows kids that sometimes, even when it is difficult, you have to take the risk and invite people into your life rather than waiting for them to come on their own.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
BE ME
by Stephen Costen
This month we will focus on one of the Peace Center’s four concepts. That concept is to “BE ME - discover the wonder and beauty within, were peace begins. Explore emotions, feelings, learn self-esteem, and use your talents and uniqueness.” It seems to me that the key here is to find the peace within.
Let’s begin our journey with the definition of exactly what peace is. The word peace encompasses a whole range of meanings, so let us narrow down our search for the meaning of inner peace or peace of mind, the kind that pertains to us on a personal level. For that there are three pertinent definitions- (1) state of tranquility or quiet: (2) freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts: (3) harmony in personal relations. The main idea that pops out at me when I read these definitions is that peace results from a particular state of mind. In other words, it is not something that we can receive from other people or that we can buy from a peace store. It is something that we accomplish by the way we think. It is the absence of conflict in our mind. It is important to note that external conflict is not related to peace of mind. Indeed external conflict is necessary for our inner growth.
By facing outside challenges and solving them in a calm and peaceful manner we practice cultivating our inner peace. How awesome it is to know that with the troubles, we can also have peace as well. Peace of mind! But we have to work to make it happen, it doesn’t just fall into our laps. Okay, now that we see what we are looking for, the next question becomes; how do we achieve it? Having a belief that the power of love and forgiveness will overcome any negative thoughts is a first step. Also, realizing that anything that brings conflict into our lives is just a temporary condition and by taking charge of our situation and our way of thinking in a positive manner will bring harmony in our lives. HARMONY = PEACE! With the knowledge that no matter what happens in this life, we can control our own inner peace simply through the use of positive thoughts and self-talking makes the problems of the world seem insignificant and therefore powerless to perturb us. This is not to say this is an easy thing to do. It takes much practice, determination, and willpower in order to change our way of thinking. The practice of meditation is one great way to still the disturbances of the mind. It allows us to block out all of the outside noise from a chaotic world and find the calming, soothing voice of our inner guide . Another practice that will allow us to experience inner peace is to make it a habit to forgive others when they do you harm. By forgiving the actions of others you are not condoning what they do, but you are saying no matter what you do I still love you. It is impossible to feel hate and conflict if you truly have love in your heart for your fellow man. The chief obstacle that stands in our way of doing this is pride. This is the main obstacle that make us the most vulnerable to attack, misbehaviors, and insults”, in other words, all the things that take away our peace of mind. When we think about it doesn’t most of our conflict with others come from having our pride hurt? Learn to forgive! You will be amazed at how that simple act will unshackle your mind and soul to bring you peace.
I hope that these thoughts will inspire you to act. Only when we are truthfully at peace within ourselves can our true potential shine forth. With the power of peace, the world is ours!
This month we will focus on one of the Peace Center’s four concepts. That concept is to “BE ME - discover the wonder and beauty within, were peace begins. Explore emotions, feelings, learn self-esteem, and use your talents and uniqueness.” It seems to me that the key here is to find the peace within.
Let’s begin our journey with the definition of exactly what peace is. The word peace encompasses a whole range of meanings, so let us narrow down our search for the meaning of inner peace or peace of mind, the kind that pertains to us on a personal level. For that there are three pertinent definitions- (1) state of tranquility or quiet: (2) freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts: (3) harmony in personal relations. The main idea that pops out at me when I read these definitions is that peace results from a particular state of mind. In other words, it is not something that we can receive from other people or that we can buy from a peace store. It is something that we accomplish by the way we think. It is the absence of conflict in our mind. It is important to note that external conflict is not related to peace of mind. Indeed external conflict is necessary for our inner growth.
By facing outside challenges and solving them in a calm and peaceful manner we practice cultivating our inner peace. How awesome it is to know that with the troubles, we can also have peace as well. Peace of mind! But we have to work to make it happen, it doesn’t just fall into our laps. Okay, now that we see what we are looking for, the next question becomes; how do we achieve it? Having a belief that the power of love and forgiveness will overcome any negative thoughts is a first step. Also, realizing that anything that brings conflict into our lives is just a temporary condition and by taking charge of our situation and our way of thinking in a positive manner will bring harmony in our lives. HARMONY = PEACE! With the knowledge that no matter what happens in this life, we can control our own inner peace simply through the use of positive thoughts and self-talking makes the problems of the world seem insignificant and therefore powerless to perturb us. This is not to say this is an easy thing to do. It takes much practice, determination, and willpower in order to change our way of thinking. The practice of meditation is one great way to still the disturbances of the mind. It allows us to block out all of the outside noise from a chaotic world and find the calming, soothing voice of our inner guide . Another practice that will allow us to experience inner peace is to make it a habit to forgive others when they do you harm. By forgiving the actions of others you are not condoning what they do, but you are saying no matter what you do I still love you. It is impossible to feel hate and conflict if you truly have love in your heart for your fellow man. The chief obstacle that stands in our way of doing this is pride. This is the main obstacle that make us the most vulnerable to attack, misbehaviors, and insults”, in other words, all the things that take away our peace of mind. When we think about it doesn’t most of our conflict with others come from having our pride hurt? Learn to forgive! You will be amazed at how that simple act will unshackle your mind and soul to bring you peace.
I hope that these thoughts will inspire you to act. Only when we are truthfully at peace within ourselves can our true potential shine forth. With the power of peace, the world is ours!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
The Festival of Trees 2010
The first annual Cobb Galleria Festival of Trees is off to a tremendous start!
The trees on display in the atrium of the Embassy Suites are nothing short of magical! If you have not seen all of them up you really owe it to yourself to come over. They look amazing at night or by daylight. The staff here all havemany individual favorites.
We want to personally THANK YOU each of you for your efforts and support of this first-year event. The effort you each put into the theme and décor to get the message across for your organization are incredible. It is apparent to all of the viewers that many hours and much thought went into each tree.
As you know, the purpose of these trees is to raise awareness and funds, and they have had overwhelming support already in just the first week! We have over 100 donations envelopes that were deposited in just the first few days and due to the holiday occupancy we were not even very busy. We can’t wait to see the volume of donations the next two weeks while the hotel is sold out almost every night.
The PR is working well too. A church bus full of folks came in yesterday to view and vote on their favorite trees.
We encourage you to please promote your trees by telling others to visit also to vote on their favorite. It costs only a little bit of time to see all of them, and the hotel is giving away complimentary hot chocolate to all tree visitors!
We finally have a website at: http://tiny.cc/festivaloftrees This took about three weeks to get up, and now that the trees are up we are going to upload actual pictures of your trees in place of the stock photos on here. Please get this site linked to your web pages!
Lastly, we look forward to seeing you at the Gala Reception December 16th to receive your money and enjoy holiday food and music. Your invitations are going out today, so please remember to RSVP. Your organization is allowed to have up to four people here that night, and at least a minimum of one.
Thank you again for your tremendous time and effort!
Dale P. Gustafson, CMP
Director of Sales & Marketing
Embassy Suites Atlanta Galleria
2815 Akers Mill Road
Atlanta, GA 30339
web: atlantagalleria.embassysuites.com
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Children's PEACE Center is a fun, interactive, hands-on traveling "Field Trip" museum for children in Elementary grades K-5th. Utilizing puppets, games, puzzles, crafts, computers, role plays, challenging discussions and teamwork activities, children are empowered to make better life choices, learn steps to conflict resolution, emotion management, and encouraged to develop better character traits and accept responsibility for their actions.
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