Saturday To-Do: Plant Services Used Plant Sale

For great bargains on used plants, visit Plant Services (5514 Crystal Hill Road) in North Little Rock this Saturday, between 9 a.m. to noon. I have bought several gently used plants for amazing prices. Can’t make it this Saturday? Don’t worry. Plant Services has a used plant sale every second Saturday of the month.

Saturday To-Do: Plant Services Used Plant Sale

For great bargains on used plants, visit Plant Services (5514 Crystal Hill Road) in North Little Rock this Saturday, between 9 a.m. to noon. I have bought several gently used plants for amazing prices. Can’t make it this Saturday? Don’t worry. Plant Services has a used plant sale every second Saturday of the month.

Book Review: No Impact Man

No Impact Man by Colin Beavan is sort of like the film by the same title, except it has more stories and is better than the film. Beavan chronicles his yearlong experiment to live in New York City with his wife and baby daughter without making net impact on the environment. That means, as Beavan puts it, “no trash (so no take-out food), no carbon dioxide emissions (so no driving or flying), no produce from distant lands, no elevators, no subway, no products in packaging, no plastics, no air conditioning, no TV, no buying anything new….”

Just like the film, the book is less about how to live sustainably and more about what Beavan and his family learn about themselves and others during the experiment. Since Eddy and I sort of live like Beavans, I found myself nodding to some of the experiences that Beavans encountered.

Since Beavans swore off motorized transportation for one year, they decided to stay in the city for Thanksgiving instead of going home. Their decision was met by disapproval from their family, with Colin’s father remarking, “You should worry less about your carbon footprint and more about your family footprint.” Despite their family’s disapproval, Beavans discovered that staying home for Thanksgiving can be relaxing and enjoyable.

I often stay home during the holidays so that I can relax, not deal with holiday traffic, and emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions. Some people have a hard time understanding my action. Some times I wonder if I’m putting environmental footprint ahead of family footprint. Generally, I end up staying home and find myself enjoying quiet, stress-free holidays.

Another instance in which I found myself nodding to the book was when Beavans tried to switch to electricity produced from renewable sources. The problem was their electricity provider used natural gas to produce energy. Since Beavans lived in an apartment, they had no legal access to the roof space for solar panels or wind turbines. They did subscribe to their utility’s green electricity option but discovered that, although profits help sustain renewable energy production elsewhere in the country, their actual electricity would still come from natural gas plants in New York City.

Beavan writes:

In fact, it turns out that living in most American cities without access to significant outdoor space in which to generate your own power, no matter how much money you’re willing to throw at a problem, you can’t really get 100 percent renewable energy. Here was an area where individual action could not help me at all. If I wanted renewable electricity, I needed power companies to provide it and—at least while fossil fuels stayed cheaper than renewable energy—the government regulation that forced the power companies to do so.

Eddy and I constantly find ourselves running up against the limits to individual actions. We bike, but many roads are built for cars, not for cyclists and pedestrians. We love public transportation, but the one in Little Rock runs once every half an hour and ends its service early in the evening. We’d love to be able to subscribe to green electricity option, but our electricity provider doesn’t offer it.

Individual actions are great, but collective action is also absolutely necessary.

That realization prompted Beavans to visit their legislators and to volunteer with environmental organizations. Beavans continued to take individual actions, although some accused them of being antiprogress.

[P]eople started labeling me antiprogress. Sometimes angrily. “Are you suggesting we go back and live with tuberculosis?” they might add.

“No,” I’d say. “I just wonder sometimes whether the big hunk of metal and plastic that we call a bread machine is necessarily worth the financial and environmental cost.”

“Yeah, well, before they had bread machines, they also had tuberculosis.”

Eddy and I have had people accuse us of being antiprogress because we keep chickens for eggs, make cheese from milk, brew beer, and live happily without TV, DVR, and video games. We’ve had people accuse us, angrily, of being self-righteous because we do what we do.

The truth is, we like what we do. That’s why we do them. Beavans found themselves enjoying many of the changes they made. Biking and eating locally helped them lose weight without going to the gym. Shutting off electricity made them stop working at night and instead spend more time with their daughter. Beavans continued to embrace laptops and cell phones. They just used them less often.

I refuse to believe living lightly on the Earth is antiprogress. When people had tuberculosis, they didn’t have renewable energy technology. To live sustainably, we need a combination of technology, innovation, and best practices from past and present.

And most importantly, you have to have fun while living sustainably. Because if living sustainably makes you severely unhappy or uncomfortable, you will most likely stop living such a life. 

The book No Impact Man explored acceptable and unacceptable choices for sustainable living. It’s a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it. Central Arkansas Library System has a copy of it, so check it out!

Weekend To-Do: Feline Rescue & Rehome Yard Sale

I LOVE cats, so naturally I’m drawn to organizations that support cats. Feline Rescue and Rehome, or FuRR, is a wonderful local organization that rescues cats that have been abused, abandoned, or surrendered to shelters that practice euthanasia as a means of animal control.

Every few months, FuRR holds a HUGE yard sale to raise funds for its activities. This weekend, they will hold another one.

The sale will be held Friday-Saturday, November 5-6 from 7 a.m. on the corner of Kavenaugh & Cedar, near Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, in Little Rock. Come on out, buy used, and support this wonderful organization!

For more information, visit FuRR’s website at: www.teamfurr.org.

Saturday To-Do: Plant Services Used Plant Sale

For great bargains on used plants, visit Plant Services (5514 Crystal Hill Road) in North Little Rock this Saturday, between 9 a.m. to noon. I have bought several gently used plants for amazing prices. Can’t make it this Saturday? Don’t worry. Plant Services has a used plant sale every second Saturday of the month.

Saturday To-Do: Friends of Fayetteville Public Library Fall Book Sale

Find great bargains on great books!

Friends of the Fayetteville Public Library will host Fall Book Sale, this Saturday, October 9 between 9 a.m.-Noon at the lower deck of Fayetteville Public Library parking garage (401 W. Mountain, Fayetteville). Paperbacks are 25¢, and hardbacks are 50¢.

For more information, visit http://www.faylib.org/welcome.asp.

Saturday To-Do: Household Hazardous Waste Day in Garland, Hot Springs & Clark Counties

The Southwest Central Regional Solid Waste Management District, which serves Garland, Hot Spring and Clark counties, will hold a one-day household hazardous waste collection on Saturday, October 9 between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Household hazardous wastes are unused or leftover household products containing chemicals that are toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive.

These products should not be disposed of in household trash, poured down sinks, toilets, storm drains, or just dumped on the ground. If left stored improperly at home, they can be a hazard to children and cause hazardous fumes or fires.

Materials accepted during this collection include:

• Automotive – antifreeze, brake or transmission fluid, waxes and polish, cleaning compounds. (Oil filters cannot be accepted. Used oil is accepted at many auto service centers.)
• Paints – Oil-based, water/latex-based, stains, shellacs, lacquer, varnish, preservatives, aerosol cans.
• Thinners, strippers and solvents – Mineral spirits, paint thinners, turpentine, alcohol, other non-chlorinated solvents. (Check your container.)
• Household pesticides and herbicides – Over-the-counter products only and pet care products. Must be in original containers.
• Water-based cleaners – All home cleaners for carpet, drains, metal, mildew, ovens, toilet and ammonia products.
• Oxidizers – Bleaches, Clorox, peroxide, carbon tetra chloride.
• Compressed gas cylinders – Outdated propane bottles, disposable and expired fuel tanks.
• Flammable liquids – Kerosene, diesel fuel
• Passenger car tires and electronic waste – including monitors, CPUs, keyboards, mouse, VCRs, DVDs, TVs (19″ or smaller), electronic games – will also be accepted at the Hot Springs collection site.

Products must be in their original labeled container. Unknown products will not be accepted. Lead acid batteries will not be accepted. These can be recycled at most garages.

A free paint exchange area will be maintained for trade.

Collection will be at the Garland County Fairgrounds (4831 Malvern Ave.) in Hot Springs. For more information, call (501) 321-6911.

What Can Cloth Do for You?

Guys, if you are squirmish about things such as female menstruation and feminine hygiene products, stop reading right now.

Did you know that the average North American woman will, in her lifetime, use more than 11,000 tampons or pads? North America is home to 85 million women of menstruating age. Consequently, 12 billion sanitary pads and 7 billion tampons, plus their packaging, are dumped into the North American landfills each year. According to the Center for Marine Conservation, over 170,000 tampon applicators were collected along U.S. coastal areas between 1998 and 1999. That’s disgusting.

When I learned about the environmental impact of disposable feminine hygiene products, I knew I had to do something. Fortunately, there are alternatives such as The Keeper and DivaCup, which are reusable rubber cups designed to catch menstrual flow. The maker of The Keeper also sells a silicone version called Moon Cup. Unfortunately, my hyper sensitive skin rejects rubber and silicon, making it difficult for me to switch to reusable menstrual cups.

That’s when I found out about cloth pads. Cloth pads work just like disposable sanitary pads. Only difference is that you clean them after you use them. They are often made using cotton, which is the only fabric that my hyper sensitive skin accepts.

I bought my first set of cloth pads several years ago. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them! They are much softer and 10,000 times more comfortable than the disposable kind.

And, you only have to buy them once. I paid $6-8 each for my cloth pads. In comparison, a pack of 24-36 disposable pads costs about $6-8, and you have to buy them month after month, year after year.

An added bonus: Many cloth pads are crafted by cottage industries and work-at-home moms and sold on the Internet. By switching to cloth pads, you’ll be reducing your environmental footprint, saving money, and supporting cottage industries. Can’t beat that.

I buy my pads from Punky’s Pads. Her pads are soft, comfortable, and absorbent. They are stylish, too! My shopping experience has been nothing but pleasurable.

If you are interested in switching to cloth pads, shop around. Gladrags, Lunapads, New Moon Pads, and Pandora Pads all make a wide range of cloth pads. Read the reviews and find cloth pads that work for you!

Saturday To-Do: Plant Services Used Plant Sale

For great bargains on used plants, visit Plant Services (5514 Crystal Hill Road) in North Little Rock this Saturday, between 9 a.m. to noon. I have bought several gently used plants for amazing prices. Can’t make it this Saturday? Don’t worry. Plant Services has a used plant sale every second Saturday of the month.

Thursday To-Do: U.S. Green Building Council Residential Green Discussion Group

Interested in building or renovating your home using green design and materials? Then, join this discussion group hosted by the U.S. Green Building Council – Arkansas Chapter, tomorrow, August 26 between noon and 1 p.m. at Arkansas Studies Institute (401 President Clinton Avenue) in downtown Little Rock.

Toby Burkett, President, Pulaski County Habitat for Humanity, will discuss Habitat’s ReStore resale outlet in North Little Rock. ReStore sells donated reusable and surplus building materials to the public for a fraction of the original retail price. Every ReSTORE has different merchandise, but they all help fund local Habitat homes through proceeds from sales.

No reservation necessary for this free event. Bring your own lunch. For more information, contact Anncha Briggs at anncha1@aol.com.

Saturday To-Do: Used Plant Sale

For great bargains on used plants, visit Plant Services (5514 Crystal Hill Road) in North Little Rock this Saturday, between 9 a.m. to noon. I have bought several gently used plants for amazing prices. Can’t make it this Saturday? Don’t worry. Plant Services has a used plant sale every second Saturday of the month.

Saturday To-Do: Used Plant Sale

For great bargains on used plants, visit Plant Services in North Little Rock this Saturday, between 9 a.m. to noon. I have bought several gently used plants for amazing prices. Can’t make it this Saturday? Don’t worry. Plant Services has a used plant sale every second Saturday of the month.