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Welcome to Carbon News Monthly for January 2011 where we find out what others have been up to in the world of carbon reduction.
Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and that 2011 brings you health and much happiness.
Well, there are numerous lists for everyone from the pet-lover to the gym enthusiast springing up everywhere of eco-friendly and "green" gifts that were recommended for gift-giving over the holidays or for any gift-giving occasion actually. Here's a sampling of some interesting items and all based of course on the reduce, reuse and recycle theory of eco-friendliness.
For the little kids, nothing compares to the good old sock puppet. Forever popular, these items always bring a smile to someone's face. They last forever, can be one of a kind depending on where you buy one, and are made from old sweaters and other various recycled wool products. You can expect to pay as much as $30.00 for one, depending where you look. There are online courses being taught by Colleges on how to be green and energy-efficient at home and in the workplace. They run approximately three months, and the cost for one in particular I see is $99.00 to enroll. Not sure how technical these courses are and I'm sure they would be to some degree in view of how much free information there is out there.
Pet lovers were offered for $14.00 vintage brass dog tags for their pets. These tags are made of recycled metal and comes with the pet's name stamped in.
A $2,000 water maker is a product that combines dehumidifying and filtering to create clean purified water out of the air. This would sit on a countertop and suggested it replace water coolers. Now for me, this just reminds me of how I feel about emptying my basement dehumidifier. Could I drink this? Hmm...not too sure. Solar powered watches are being sold for as much as 150.00 dollars. Have to say, it is quite irritating how often my present watch battery seems to die so quickly. Anyway, these watches can run apparently for 6 months on a full charge. For $60.00 eco-friendly gym bags made out of recycled polyester are selling to work-out enthusiasts. Great if you don't have one. I have a canvas-type grocery bag that will hold just as much, and it cost me 99 cents. I think I'll stick with this for now.
Solar powered media players are handy for charging a large variety of things like cell phones, cameras, and players for games, videos, music and e-readers. These sell for as much as $170.00 and are great for anyone, especially travellers. Would your family "cycle" to watch tv? A six-hundred dollar bike generator that attaches will give you a workout and generate power for power devices at home.
There are some interesting items here, but I think I'm more about the "re-use what you have" and I'm really not one for stuff I don't need just for the sake of having it. Some of them are a bit pricey too for my tastes and honestly a bit questionable of how they would fit into my home. The idea of cycling to watch tv would be kind of fun to me sometimes if I wanted a workout. It would be pretty dicey expecting my husband to do it though. Can't imagine it. But, this doesn't mean to say this isn't appealing to someone.
And Santa didn't bring me even one of these items this Christmas. Oh well, maybe next year.
Until next time, |
