Green Gal

This week, I took Beth Terry (of MyPlasticFreeLife.com )'s  Show Your Plastic Challenge . I met Beth last Sunday at a lecture she gave for Science Sundays at the Seymour Center at Long Marine lab, and I was inspired to be more conscious of plastic in my life and begin the process of living without it. You can read a little about Beth and the lecture that I attended  here . I purchased a copy of Beth's book at the lecture last Sunday, and I am LOVING it. She has not only great resources and facts about plastic, but she also includes practical solutions. I will be writing more about her book in future posts. The challenge is to " Collect all of your own plastic waste, both recyclable and non, for a minimum of one week ." I tried my best to do the challenge this past week, but I went home for the weekend (I spend most of the year on campus at UC Santa Cruz) and lost track of a few of the plastic items that I used while out to lunch with family. I also didn't pr

Today has been one of those days where a lot happens and you spend a lot of time doing something awesome, but as a result, your homework just doesn't get done. And I'm more than okay with that. Beautiful poppies along the road to the Seymour Center. This afternoon at the Seymour Center at Long Marine Lab in Santa Cruz, I attended a Science Sunday presentation by Beth Terry, author of the new book Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too and the blog  MyPlasticFreeLife.com (formerly known as Fake Plastic Fish). I think it was the first time I met a fellow eco-blogger in person, and I'm looking forward to spending more time on her blog, as well as reading her book. Though the presentation was only 45 minutes long, she somehow managed to explain clearly and convincingly the 9 reasons why personal change matters, particularly as it relates to her experiences living her life with as little plastic as possible. On the bus ride home, I started

If you've never laid in bed awake, unable to sleep, but smiling and laughing to yourself at how fantastic life is, then I highly recommend allowing yourself to do so next time you catch the life-is-awesome bug. If you're alone, talk to yourself about it. What is it that's so great about now? I know it sounds like something a crazy person would do, but believe me, it helps affirm the goodness of that moment and makes you realize so many things about yourself. At least that's what has happened to me the past two nights. And just now, as I was unable to sleep, thinking about how bright life is (especially when you get a lot of homework done in a short period of time), I realized that if I was a time-traveller, I would go back in time to 4th grade Green Gal and give her a hug, tell her that she is awesome for being who she is, and that she can do anything she wants. It's not that I wasn't told this myself as a child; I'm certain I was. But the present-day Gre

I was pleasantly surprised to come home this evening to find a new comment on my blog, alerting me that I had been nominated for the Sunshine Award by Canopy Avenue ! I was delighted and honored, as well as excited because when receiving this award, you are given the task to nominate 10 more blogs for the award! Here are the award tasks: 1. If you are nominated, you must blog a post linking back to the person/blog that nominated you. 2. You must answer some questions, nominate ten fellow bloggers and link their blogs to the post! 3. You should comment on your nominees’ blogs to let them know you’ve nominated them. Here are the questions: 1. Who is your favorite philosopher? Today, Martin Heidegger because I'm reading him in a class in college right now, and because he wrote this: "The threat to man does not come in the first instance from the potentially lethal machines and apparatus of technology. The actual threat has already affected man in his essence. The

I should really be reading Paradise Lost, but I figure if I spend 30 minutes writing this post right now, it will actually be written. The homework will get finished because it has to, but updating this blog is not mandatory. However, I really love the connections I've made through it and the interesting things I've learned from readers and from reading other bloggers, so I'm making it one of my priorities. That being said, some weeks, you may hear nothing from Green Gal, but I'll be back when school work slows down. Ok, now for the post! This week's Change the World Wednesday Challenge is to "conserve water by not wasting it. Consider every drop which typically gets poured down the drain and find creative uses for it. Examine your water use and see where, and how, you can make improvements." When I heard what the challenge was, I started thinking about ways that water is used that we don't always see or think about. Here are some thoughts I h

The challenge for this week's Change the World Wednesday Challenge  is... This week take a look at your yard for toxic and/or non-environmentally-friendly materials. For example, does your garden hose contain lead? Is the pool, yard toys (slides, swings, doll houses, etc.) made of plastic? How about buckets, tools, garden pots .... or window netting for insects ... are they made of harmful plastic? Identify the materials used for the things you have in your yard and then, make plans to replace those items with Eco-friendly, safe versions. NOTE: we're not asking you to run out and replace everything in your yard ... but simply to evaluate items and replace as you can or deem fitting. Or ... Don't have a yard, patio, etc.? Then your challenge is to look indoors. Focus on one room and do the same ... identify any harmful, non-Eco-friendly materials and make plans to replace them. This might include paint with harmful ingredients or a plastic shower curtain. Other