Entries for September, 2008
September 17, 2008
This originally comes from IdealBite, and I found it at Conscientious, where you can also download the original PDF. Most of these apply to the home, as well, so don't bypass it if you happen not to work in an office environment. :) My comments will be in italics after the point in question.
1. Kick the Bottled Water Habit.
Every year, 1.5 mil barrels of oil go to making plastic water bottles used in the United States, and less than a quarter of those bottles are recycled, so choose a reusable bottle instead. I do this! ^_^
2. Compute This.
Set computers to enter sleep mode after 5 min of idle time, and you’ll be saving energy during lunchtime and other outings. And shut them down at night – contrary to eco-myth, it’s better for the earth and your computer to shut them off before you head home. I shall keep this in mind when I eventually get my own computer, preferably a laptop.
3. Zap Your Phantom Energy Loads.
Plug your office electronics into a power strip so that you can easily turn them all off when you’re not using them - you’ll keep your devices from sapping “phantom” electricity loads when they’re off but plugged in. On average, 40% of the energy used in homes powers turned-off appliances. Also a wise idea with your home electronics, of course.
4. Purify with Plants.
It doesn’t take a forest to clean the air in your office, only about one plant for every 10 square yards. Plants like philodendrons and peace lilies absorb airborne pollutants, keeping the air you breathe clean and clear.
5. Forgo Bad chems.
Standard keyboard cleaners contain toxins you definitely don’t want to inhale. Just one 10-oz can of chem duster has the same greenhouse gascreating effect as burning 100 gallons of gas. Take CTRL: Just turn your keyboard upside down, give it a little shake, and slide a piece of 2-sided adhesive tape between the keys.
6. Dodge the Drafts.
Printer drafts, that is. Unless you’re printing something superimportant, save ink and paper by tracking your changes in electronic documents. If you absolutely need to print something, print it double-sided. Who could conscientiously object to that?
7. Pay the Piper Online.
You probably already do it at home for convenience, but lessen your paper clutter at the office too by banking and paying bills online. Phone companies alone use 23,280 tons of paper per year just to bill U.S. residential customers for single lines of service.
8. Get Inked.
Ink cartridges can take up to 450 years to decompose. Recycle your old ones, and next time you buy, go with refilled cartridges, which work just like conventional ones and cost up to 75% less than new ones.
9. Safeguard Your Lunch.
Baggies are piling up in landfills quicker than you can say “ziplock,” and toxins in plastics are no picnic. Reduce waste by taking your lunch in reusable, safe containers. Some plastics, like PVC (#3), polystyrene (#6), and polycarbonate (#7) contain hormone disruptors or other nasty chemicals. Stay healthy with plastics #1, 2, 4 or 5. This number will be located on the bottom of the container inside a triangle, though it will probably not appear on older containers. If you are using one old enough not to have a number, you should probably be getting new ones anyway!
10. Climb Your Way to Green.
A surefire way to avoid awkward elevator silences and save energy? Take the stairs instead. No surprises here: Climbing stairs burns up to 10 times more calories than standing in an elevator. And, depending on type, capacity, and usage, an elevator’s yearly energy usage can equal the energy used to power seven homes annually. That's a lot of energy! o_O I'm glad I don't have to use elevators at all for any of my business, personal or otherwise. I wonder how much escalators use? They run constantly!
Miscellanea
(( 1 made ripples in the pond ))
September 24, 2008
I found this at White Cross Studio.
Mother's father worked as a carpenter. On this particular day, he was building some crates for the clothes his church was sending to some orphanage in China. On his way home, he reached into his shirt pocket to find his glasses, but they were gone. When he mentally replayed his earlier actions, he realized what happened; the glasses had slipped out of his pocket unnoticed and fallen into one of the crates, which he had nailed shut. His brand new glasses were heading for China!
The Great Depression was at its height and Grandpa had six children. He had spent $20 for those glasses that very morning. He was upset by the thought of having to buy another pair. "It's not fair," he told God as he drove home in frustration. "I've been very faithful in giving of my time and money to your work, and now this."
Several months later, the director of the orphanage was on furlough in the United States. He wanted to visit all the churches that supported him in China, so he came to speak one Sunday at my grandfather's small church in Chicago. The missionary began by thanking the people for their faithfulness in supporting the orphanage. "But most of all," he said, "I must thank you for the glasses you sent last year. You see, the Communists had just swept through the orphanage, destroying everything, including my glasses. I was desperate. Even if I had the money, there was simply no way of replacing those glasses. Along with not being able to see well, I experienced headaches every day, so my coworkers and I were much in prayer about this. Then your crates arrived. When my staff removed the covers, they found a pair of glasses lying on top.
The missionary paused long enough to let his words sink in. Then, still gripped with the wonder of it all, he continued: "Folks, when I tried on the glasses, it was as though they had been custom-made just for me! I want to thank you for being a part of that."
The people listened, happy for the miraculous glasses. But the missionary surely must have confused their church with another, they thought. There were no glasses on their list of items to be sent overseas. But sitting quietly in the back, with tears streaming down his face, an ordinary carpenter realized the Master Carpenter had used him in an extraordinary way.
Author Unknown
Inspirational
(( throw a pebble in the pond ))
September 30, 2008
I found this at White Cross Studio.
Satan called a worldwide convention. In his opening address to his evil angels, he said, "We can't keep the Christians from going to church. We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship experience in Christ. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.
"So let them go to their churches; let them have their conservative lifestyles, but steal their time, so they can't gain that relationship with Jesus Christ.
"This is what I want you to do, angels. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"
"How shall we do this?" shouted his angels.
"Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered.
"Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow.
"Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon, their home will offer no escape from the pressures of work!
"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive. To keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.
"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards.
"Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes. Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines so the husbands will believe that external beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. That will fragment those families quickly!
"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted and unprepared for the coming week.
"Don't let them go out in nature to reflect on God's wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy!
"And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions. Go ahead, let them be involved in soul winning; but crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus.
"Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! It will work!"
It was quite a convention. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there.
I guess the question is: Has the devil been successful at his scheme?
You be the judge! Does "busy" mean:
B-eing
U-nder
S-atan's
Y-oke?
Author Unknown
Inspirational
(( 1 made ripples in the pond ))
Tell Others!