Happy Earth Day!

Yes, its "Earth Day". How many of you participated in turning off your electric things a couple of days ago when we were asked to? Well I did and I didn't. Midway through the day I realized that there was no way we would be able to have all that stuff turned off at the requested time, when Joycee got home from school. My wife is a very dedicated teacher and brings 'homework' every night to do after supper. Having the computers and other appliances off just wasn't going to work. So, I turned them all off in the late afternoon for an hour + (and took a nap). What a great solution, I think. Talk about win - win,

Oprah is on and she is doing a "green" show. Did I tell you that I built a compost bin? There is always left over wood around here, so about 4 weeks ago I gathered up some of the scraps (I love it when I can recycle wood) and built a compost bin and put some soil and compostable material in it to get it started. Each day I add any vegetable leftovers to it and I turn it with a shovel about every three days.By using only vegetable and fruit scraps I don't have to be concerned about smells or animals getting into it. The meat scraps I give to the neighbor for their dog. It has cut down greatly the waste we had before and the compost is great for the plants. Win -win.

These are all small things. It is always great to think we would like to save the earth, but we often forget about the small things we can do daily. I think people tend to think if they can't do something big that they can't help. WRONG!! Its many of us doing the small things that will change the earth. Each person doing the little things we can add up to the major changes that make the difference. I mean, sure, it would be great if I could eliminate poverty or some dreaded disease from this world. But lets get real, I only can with the help of all the people who have the same dream as me. Together we have the ability to change it all. Share with me how you are helping. I would like to hear your ideas.

Celebrating "Earth Day",
Bob

The new store and the environment.

After several months work, the new store is up. Two years ago, when I first decided to build web stores, the first one I was anxious to build was a "green" store offering recycleable, reusable, and sustainable products. The store is now open and there is only one type of product so far. (I am looking at and for other products, and am trying out some solar yard lights.) I first thought that finding eco-friendly products would be easy. It isn't. Sure there's lots of stuff out there, but It is often overpriced, not well thought out, or not available. Then there is the question of quality. I won't market anything I don't believe in, so I test, personally, each product before I put it in my store. That takes time.

I am excited about this new stuff. Bioplastics are a new generation of materials that are made from natural products like corn, soybeans, and potatoes. It is a compostable, biodegradeable, replacement for all those styrofoam, paper, polyethylene and plastic dinnerware we used to buy for parties, picnics, and barbecues. Under perfect conditions the material can be turned into compost in as little as 180 days. When you compare that with our previous choices that sit in our landfills for hundreds of years and leave toxic remains, this is a huge step forward. I have been using the products in my home and am very pleased with the results. Yeah, at first my wife was upset that we weren't using the china, but now, she is equally impressed. We wash them and use them over as many as 10 times, and they hold up very well. They are strong enough to withstand cutting any meat or what ever and don't fold, even when I overload my plate. I'm done with the testing and they will be the exclusive dinnerware for our 2 week Christmas holiday at Big Pine Fish Camp in the Keys, and for all the trips in our 1966 Airstream. If you see us somewhere, stop by and I'll show them to you.

Oh yea, the new store is TocobagaTraders.com.