Jen's Green Journal

I'm giving away an Earth Day goodie bag that I put together in celebration of Earth Day. But I don't want this to be a prize for an already converted greenie. This is all about trying something new, so if you:

• Live within 10 miles of downtown Salt Lake City, and
• Don't use environmentally-friendly cleaning products on a regular basis, and
  
• Haven't switched out your incandescent lightbulbs for compact fluorescent ones yet, and
  
• Are open to learning and trying new things
  

 . . .then this contest is for you. You could win an earth day goodie bag, in a reusable cloth shopping bag with Albertson's logo and filled with :

• ! roll (120 2-ply sheets) Seventh Generation 100% recycled paper towels
• 2 75-watt equivelent compact fluorescent lightbulbs
• 1 bottle Seventh Generation natural dish liquid (citrus scent)
• 1 can Bon Ami earth-friendly cleanser
• 1 Endangered Species brand 3 oz. chocolate bar
• any other earth-loving thing that I have the urge to add to the bag in the next few days

The reason you need to live 10 miles or less from Salt Lake City:  I will be hand delivering the bag to you, or if you prefer, letting you pick it up from me in order to save shipping hassle and charges.

If you'd like to win this Earth Day Goodie Bag, please do the following:

• send an email to green jenni blog [all one word, no spaces] at yahoo (dot) com with the words "Goodie Bag" in the subject line so that I don't delete your email as spam
• in your email, tell me one  thing that you pledge to do in the next year to help protect or preserve the environment or to live a greener life -- you won't be judged on what you action you choose. Please include your zip code in the email, so I can be sure that you are within my delivery distance.
  
• Email me by noon on Wednesday, April 25th

I'll conduct a random drawing (with my family as helpers and judges) from all entries received. I will also highlight the best suggestions/pledges in a blog post, and I'll credit you if you like, or keep it anonymous -- whichever you prefer.

For those that live outside of the SLC area, or who are already living a green lifestyle, I'd still be glad to include any earth/environment ideas and goals that you have. You can comment to this post or email them to me at the address above. Please put "earth day" in the subject line.

I love entering contests and always thought it would be fun to host one for this blog. Thanks to Jenny Chang at Iron Weed Films, I have the opportunity to sponsor my first contest.

The prizes: Five Earth Day filmfest DVDs from Iron Weed DVD-of-the-month club which features the films "Blue Vinyl" and "Crude Impact"

The Rules: I'm pretty sure that you must be a resident of the U.S. (for mailing purposes - I'll check on that). If you have a Live Journal account, just respond to this post indicating that you'd like to enter. If you don't have a Live Journal account, email me at green jenni blog (all one word with no spaces) at yahoo {dot} com and put something like "contest" or DVD in the subject line so that I don't delete your email as spam. All "entries" must be made by 8 a.m. MST Thursday (April 19th). I'll write up each name on a slip of paper and have my 3 year old draw the 5 winning names out of a bowl. My husband will serve as the contest judge. If you are a winner, I'll let you know and then you can give your mailing address and Jenny at Iron Weed will mail it out to you.

About Iron Weed:

"In the spirit of “An Inconvenient Truth,” Ironweed, the acclaimed new DVD-of-the-month club, is tapping the power of film to mobilize audiences and raise environmental awareness this Earth Day.

Hailed as a “monthly progressive film festival on DVD” by the New York Times, Ironweed introduces film-lovers to provocative, socially-conscious independent films you won’t find at your local multiplex. Each month, subscribers receive a limited edition DVD, which they get to keep, showcasing feature films, shorts, and resources that explore the issues raised by the selected films."

(snip)

"Founded by Adam Werbach, who made history in 1996 as the Sierra Club’s youngest-ever president at age 23, Ironweed will feature the 10 original short films that won the Convenient Truths contest (http://truths.treehugger.com/) on its June 2007 DVD. A joint effort between Treehugger and Seventh Generation, and endorsed by former Vice President Al Gore, the contest asked entrants to submit short videos on everyday solutions to climate change.

To become an Ironweed member, visit www.ironweedfilms.com. Subscriptions range from $14.95 (monthly), less than the cost of two movie tickets, to $160 (annual)."

Good Green: We walked/strollered and took the Trax to the Step it Up event on Saturday. I also sent my "step it up" message and signed up to get the latest editon of the Redirect Guide, which is due out this week. I also learned a few things about becoming more green that I wasn't aware of.

Bad Green: We got Pie Pizzeria pizza slices at the event, which had a cardboard holder, and of course being very greasy, need several paper napkins to eat. We could have brought a packed meal if we were thinking ahead. It also would have been nice if the organizers (and I'm aware that the event was put together in less than 3 weeks, which compromises some things) had invited earth-friendly food vendors. There were 2 booths were you could get food: The Pie and a hot dog stand. There was also a tent where you could buy canned soda.

One of several Step It Up Events around Utah this weekend. The big one:



All the Utah events:


More info at http://events.stepitup2007.org/events/search

Good Green:

I've gotten a lot better about bringing reusable cloth bags to the store when grocery shopping. I even have enough now for large grocery trips, thanks to the cloth bags that Albertson's sells for 99 cents each - a bargain by reusable bag standards, and with the 5 cent bag credit for each used, you only have to use your bag 20 times to have it pay for itself. The cashiers seem to like them as well -- the flat bottom construction of the Albertson's bag makes the job much easier. You can fit about twice the amount of groceries in one of these bags vs. the plastic variety.

Bad Green:

I love the dollar store. But the dollar store has a lot of cheaply made items that use up resources, and then there's the ethical dilemma about the working standards and pay for the people that produce all that stuff. We live about 1/2 a block away from a dollar store and it is a big temptation for me (I get especially weak when I hear the siren call of the office and school supply aisle . . .)

I am not a car person -- never really have been. But then came the Mini and I understood for the first time the lust-like enthusiasm that car lovers feel when talking about automobiles. But then . . .

A couple of weeks ago my family visited the Utah Museum of Fine Arts. In the lot we parked next to the most adorable car I've ever seen -- even cuter than the Mini!. We all got out and spent 10 minutes admiring it when someone came towards us. We asked if it was his car, and he said it wasn't and he was just coming out to ask us if it was ours. He did know a little bit about the car, though. He told us that it's called a "Smart Car" and it's a joint project of Swatch (remember the watch company that was popular in the 80s?) and Mercedes-Benz.

These cars are a common sight in Germany, and there have been recent imports to Canada - the car we saw at the museum had Canadaian plates -- but I couldn't find any info on the web telling me whether these are available in the U.S. (especially Utah) yet.

This car gets 46.3 mpg in city, and 68.9 mpg highway.

The problem with a car like this one for our family is that it's only a two-seater. In a perfect world, it could be our second car and we could get a hybrid Civic for the family car . . . ah, dreams . . .

In recognition of Earth Month, I'm bringing back the Good Green/Bad Green series I did last April. This is a way for me  to evaluate what I'm doing right and what I can improve -- and publicly admit my green faults and pat myself on the back for my good green deeds.

Good Green: I signed up yesterday  to bring our Blue Sky blocks up to the amount of electicity we use each month. We had only be purchashing 2/3 of the amount we use. For an increase of $1.99 per month, our home will now be 100% wind-powered.  Blue Sky program from Rocky Mountain Power

Bad Green: My brother-in-law left us his car when he went on a trip to Chile a few weeks ago. We are normally a one car family, and we make do with one car by taking turns walking/traxing or careful planning. We took advantage of the ease that an extra car brings, and we've gotten pretty used to having a car available whenever we've wanted it for the past 3 weeks. It will take some mental preparation to go back to the old (and earth -friendlier) way of doing things.