Canned What? (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Canned What?

In a nutrition course I took in the early 90s I remember the professor saying something to the effect of "if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it." Her comment was similar to what the CoolPeople are saying in the above article - take a look at the ingredients before you decide to buy something. All the packaging, branding and advertising in the world can't hide the fact that preservatives, colorings and flavor additives are chemical substitutes for what God created naturally.

I'm starting to see a lot more press on the link between chemical additives and health. A lot of it is still under research but in some ways it makes sense that processing foreign substances causes added stress to our bodies.

Sleep On It (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Sleep On It

I've heard the advice before - give all major purchases a 24 hour waiting period. That is usually more than enough to bring about (pre) buyer's remorse for something that you may "want" but not actually "need." There's no sure fire method, it is obviously very personal...

You could also "sleep over" at the grand opening of a new IKEA store though that is more likely to bring about a fit of consumption rather than offset it!

March Madness (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: March Madness

Along with the other themes mentioned above our family has been getting a handle on where our food comes from. The ADA site has some great advice for eating well.

On the Double (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: On the Double

Looking at the suggestions in the above article (reuse of paper towels, etc.) I have one other suggestions.

Reuse plastic storage/zip-lock bags. These can easily be washed to hold another sandwich or bunch of grapes. One caution, if you intend to put something really wet like watermelon in a reused plastic bag you'll probably want to check to see if it can hold water first...

How Sustainable is Your Table? (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: How Sustainable is Your Table?

Since giving my wife Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" we have been considering the extreme cost (human, financial, and environmental) of buying pre-packaged foods and those transported extreme distances.

Aside from Kingsolver's book the Sustainable Table site mentioned above is a great way to get started buying local and sustainable groceries.

Our locally owned Dorothy Lane grocery chain is our best bet at finding local and sustainable foods. They are often priced 30-70% more than the national chain stores but you've got to feel better eating food that is produced more naturally and easier on the environment.

Twice Worn (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Twice Worn

I have, for some time now, been a twice wearer. Underwear, socks, and workout clothing aside, how dirty do we really get on a daily basis?

Jeans and most shirts (worn over an undershirt) really don't get dirty/sweaty/oily at all as long as there aren't "external influences." Now having a two year old in the house leads to the inevitable food spray that needs to be cleaned daily...

Give your washer and the environment a break. Give those jeans and shirt the sniff test before throwing them in the laundry!

Call for Clean Water (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Call for Clean Water

Check the links in the above post to find out how to call your elected representative and urge them to vote for clean water.

You're In the Money (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: You're In the Money

I've done lots of speaking regarding the chasm that exists between what we in the US consider an "average" income and what most people around the world experience. Even the poorest people in the western world (N. America, Europe) are uber-rich in comparison to 90% of the rest of the world.

Just to check yourself, go to the Global Rich List site and enter in your income.

My pastoral compensation - including salary, housing allowance, benefits and retirement - puts me within the top 1% of worldwide wage earners.

We are indeed blessed with material wealth. And to those whom much has been given, much is required. Consider investing even a small amount in a micro-credit program such as Kiva - giving the chance for the poorest people in our world to establish businesses that will help them live sustainable lives.

Sock It To Me (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Sock It To Me

Sometimes I feel like the Imelda Marcos of socks. Too many socks, but what to wear with each suit, etc... I used to have a lot of colored socks - gray, green, tan - to wear with different suits but have now settled on blue and black. My old socks have either been worn to the thread or have gone to a local homeless shelter.

Now the socks that seem to get separated the most - where I end up with an odd number - are my cycling socks. These overpriced little gems made of micro-insulate-wicking-wonder fabric never fail to come up "one sock short of a pair." I like the idea of making a sock puppet - an all too expensive technologically advanced sock puppet...

Leap for Change (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Leap for Change

One of the suggestions made in today's column - this extra day of the year - is to tweak your ride with some Zen inspired driving tips.

For goodness sakes people of Ohio - use your blinkers! I've lived all over the country and have nowhere found such an innate fear of actually passing on kindness to other drivers by using your blinkers than I have in Ohio. Sheesh - not using your blinkers is a ticketable offense and will cost you points on your driver's license.

I know, I know - you are too cool to signal...

Spare Squares (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Spare Squares

I love when my favorite TV Series is right - Scrubs predicted this posting when they performed what is quite possibly the BEST EVER TV song "Everything Comes Down to Poo."

The overuse of TP is one my poop peeves (did I say that?) Really though, how much paper does it take? Stephen's description of the cat playing with the roll pretty much describes how kids approach TP too. It takes a little training to get them over the novelty of wiping with a downy soft pillow... I digress.

Since everything else has gone green/eco can we just call this "eco wiping"? "Green pooping" just doesn't have the same appeal...

Cash Out (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Cash Out

Micro-economy cash purchases are one of the best ways to ensure small businesses gain the most profit from each transaction: credit card fees for purchases of coffee, newspapers, snacks and other goodies add up for small vendors. As an added incentive you can add your change to the tip or donation jars at many establishments. A few cents per transaction adds up for someone making minimum wage.

On the other hand I'm a huge fan of the debit card and not having to carry around wads of cash for purchases like groceries and gas. As a matter of course larger vendors generally can include the cost of these fees in the cost of goods and/or negotiate really sweet processing fee deals that minimize the impact on their business.

Abunga (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Abunga of Fun

This falls into the "shameless commerce" category - I toured the Abunga site and it is OK and I'm glad they are providing a place for listing "family friendly" resources but...

It is nowhere as complete of a site as other online book sellers and retailers. Speaking of shameless commerce, if you click on THIS LINK to buy books, etc., Nexus Church gets an affiliate referral fee for sending you to the site.

Eating Disorder Awareness (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Eating Disorder Awareness

I don't have a lot of experience with those who have eating disorders but "I know it when I see it." Reading a few of the references to the above post it gives me some ideas of how to approach the topic, even with a complete stranger. Liking our bodies is one of the hardest things for us to do in light of the media images we see. The image of "perfection" is not only unrealistic for most people, it is unhealthy...

The History Behind the Hisotry (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: The History Behind the History

The history behind February as "Black History Month" is the topic of today's CoolPeopleCare post. I mentioned it before, but one of the best books that I've encountered recently on the issue of Civil Rights is "No Turning Back" by Gurdon Brewster. As a whiteh nortnern Episcopalian seminarian he spent the summer of 1961 with "Daddy King" - Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. at Ebeneezer Baptist Church. It is a fascinating story of transformation and learning from both Rev. Kings Sr. and Jr.

The Garbage Game (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: The Garbage Game

Check out THIS LINK. It is really eye opening to look at what happens to the things we throw away...

I played The Gotham Gazette Garbage Game and sent 1,897,872 tons of refuse across 2,507,831 miles.

Work It (Twice) - (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Work It (Twice)

I reuse printer/copier goofs and proofs. The (most often) blank back side of these printed sheets are perfect for note taking, outlining and to-lists. Anything that you want to write down and don't need to keep forever. I reuse the paper these purposes and it still gets recycled when I'm done with it.

Foil Me Once (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Foil Me Once

Reusing and recycling aluminum foil is something I have been doing for a long time. Our recycling program accepts it and if it isn't too goopy or torn I tend to fold it up and put it back in the drawer. I find that the heavyweight stuff - although it costs about 1/2 more than the thin foil - holds up to washing and folding much better.

If you think you can reuse foil it definitely is more economical to buy the heavier version so that it holds up longer.

I Love Mountains (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: I Love Mountains

I went to the site linked at the above message (http://ilovemountains.org/myconnection/) to find that at least some of the coal that fuels powerplants in SW Ohio comes from mountain top removal strip mines in West Virginia and Kentucky.

I've seen and read a lot about the dangers of surface mining - the amount of chemicals needed to process the coal is much higher than coal extracted from deep mines. That waste ends up somewhere - most often stored in communities where the poor and vulnerable are threatened by exposure to these chemicals.

A long term solution may be the end of mountain top surface mining but in the near term we can call for better regulations on the disposal of this sort of waste. The "I Love Mountains" site also refers to enforcement of clean water regulations. Everyone deserves clean water and a safe environment.

Chemical Cleanout (COOL Lent: 2008)

5 Minutes of Caring: Chemical Cleanout

At the end of the last planting season I looked through the gardening cabinet and cleaned out most of our old chemicals. I've kept a few compounds like bloodmeal around but the rest went to the disposal site.

We've used a lawn service the past few years and I'm going to ask if they will be using environmentally friendly compounds - and if not we'll switch or start finding a way to fertilize and control weeds on our own.

It is one of those "duh" things - but doing the right thing is pretty difficult given that the most available (and affordable) options are not environmentally friendly.