Happy 40th Earth Day!

Hey all! Today is Earth Day.  Well actually, most companies and people consider April to be Earth Month because the Earth needs more than one day of service.  Earth Day is the largest non-religious holiday out there.  It all started 40 years ago when Cleveland's main river, the Cuyahoga, was so polluted that it caught fire after a trash and oil slick ignited.  The burning of the river prompted residents to demand a change.  A lot has changed, but that doesn't mean we have nothing to worry about.  We still have a depleted ozone layer, overflowing landfills, and a larger population demanding more natural resources and creating more waste.  Take a moment today or this weekend to give back.

Click here to see what events are in your area to see where you can get involved.  If you don't have time to attend an event or spend a day to give back, there are 10 little things you can do everyday to help our planet.

1. Take the Earth Day Pledge and win a chance to win a trip for two.

2. View this lists of deals and freebies from stores today.

3. Turn off the heated dry cycle of your dishwasher.  Wash clothes when you have a full load and use cold water whenever possible.

4. Replace all your regular light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs. 

5. Paper or plastic?  How about neither when you bring your reusable tote bags.

6. Head to a participating Target to recycle your phone, bottles, mp3 players or ink cartridge.

7. Sign up for paperless billing with your bank or cell phone company. 

8. Take care of those drafty windows in the winter.  In the summer, forgo the A/C and open some windows.  Fresh air will do you some good.

9. Save water by: taking care of that leaky faucet, cut your shower time by 2 minutes, and use water filters instead of bottled water.

10. Last but not least - reduce, reuse and recycle. Reuse those plastic bags and packaging boxes, reduce the amount of paper printed and used, and recycle all the appropriate things on recycling day. Any bottle that has a 1 or a 2 on the bottom can be recycled.

Go out there and make the world a better place to live, at least for another year.

Tech Thurs - Mandun Solar Charger

Mandun Solar Charger

I brought this online from cellphoneshop.net. I wasn’t sure it was going to work but I was curious to see a solar panel in action. I think I paid about $25 for it. A bit of an investment. I'm not usually that loose with my money. The item came with a variety of connection pieces to charge anything from a digital camera to an mp3 player and also a phone. There are two ways to charge the panel: You can use the wall charger or place the panel in direct sunlight. I used the wall charge method.

After it was fully charger, I tossed it somewhere and forgot about it for a couple of months. Then when I broke my phone I had to use my old one. Thank goodness I didn't have it recycled just yet. However, I couldn’t find the charger that came with it. So, I yanked out the solar panel, found the connecting piece and hooked it up. To my surprise, not only was it still charged, it began to power up my phone. Essentially, it’s a universal charger if you have a problem finding the right cord or your phone dies on the road. If your phone or device has a unique charge port, then it probably won’t have the part. All in all, it’s a great device for someone who loses their charger, travels a lot or goes camping and can’t be too far from modern conveniences.

Have you tried this device or something similar that used a solar panel? How’d you like it? Leave a comment :)
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