We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands! - Simple Environmental Solutions #2

We all know that Mother Earth is in peril. With each day that pases, she's tread on more and more...with some of us leaving debris and waste with each step.

It's time to tighten up and do something. There are so many easy-peasy ways to make this land beautified and healthy. Start small...one step at a time. :)

This weekly series will give you tid-bits each week of how you can do your part!

(Thanks to the Practical Environmentalist for supplying some of this info!)

Love and light,
Jess

2. Lower Your Thermostats!

That’s right, thermostats, plural! Most people have their heater, hot water heater, and refrigerator thermostats set at unnecessary temperatures.

Try this out for a few months: Set your heater at 68 degrees F or lower in the winter and 78 degrees F or higher in the summer. Programmable home thermostats are an even better way to heat and cool your home responsibly.

Next, adjust the temperature on your hot water heater to 140-degrees F or lower if possible. Most people keep the temperature on the hot water heater much higher than they really need. Try it out!

And finally, make sure to use the energy-saving settings on your refrigerator. Better yet, try switching to a more modern, energy saving frig. Look for new refrigerators with the Energy Star label.

What’s with all this Energy Star Business? Check out the U.S. government’s Energy Star program homepage to find out more about how you could be saving money on energy costs and help the environment at the same time. It’s win-win, baby!

The people of Haiti need our help!

We are all saddened by the devastating affects of the earthquake in Haiti this past week. We have also been amazed by how so many people have come together already to help in any way they can. There has been a huge outpour of love, support and donations to help provide food, shelter, medical care, water, and other necessities to the people of Haiti. Unfortunately, they still desperately need our help.

We’ve gathered information to share several ways that you can help with the Haiti relief:

Send a Text Message.
Texting seems to be the most immediate way to help. Send a quick text to the numbers below and a small donation will appear on your next phone bill (about $5-$6). This donation will go towards helping the earthquake victims in Haiti. It’s easy, fast and convenient!
• Red Cross – text ‘Haiti’ to #90999
• Yele Haiti – text ‘YELE’ to #501501
**T Mobile, AT&T and Verizon have all waived their text messaging fees for Haitian relief.
**Texted donations can usually take approximately 90 days to get to their destinations. But all parties involved in this effort are working extremely hard to get the money to the charities as quickly as possible.

Donate to a cause that is specifically fundraising for the Haiti relief.
• Doctors Without Borders
• Unicef.org
• Friends of the World Food Program
• International Rescue Committee
• Partners in Health
• Clintonfoundation.org/haitiearthquake
• OxFamAmerica
• United Nations World Food Program
• Yéle Haiti
**If you donate by credit card, Visa, Master Card and American Express have all agreed to waive donation percentage points they would normally get off of your charge. Good for them!

If you can contribute to help fund these emergency efforts, please do.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with everyone!
~Lovebug

Help stop the animal abuse at Ringling Bros. Circus

Animals at some circuses unfortunately live miserable lives of deprivation, confinement and abuse. Ringling’s animal-care history is riddled with USDA violations and penalties. (Click here to learn more) Twenty-six Ringling elephants, including four babies, have died since 1992!

After a change of heart, former Ringling trainer Sam Haddock provided never-before-seen heart-breaking photos of baby elephants bound by the legs, neck and body with ropes and chains while being shocked and hit with bull hooks in order to learn unnatural stunts.

Please join the ARFF at their demonstrations in Orlando thsi week:
When:
• Thursday, January 14 at 6:00pm (opening night candlelight vigil; please dress in black!)
• Friday, January 15 at 6:00pm
• Saturday, January 16 at 10:00am, 2:00pm and 6:00pm
• Sunday, January 17 at 11:30 noon and 3:30pm
Where: Amway Arena - 600 West Amelia St., Orlando (view map)
Everyone will meet on the Amelia Street side of the arena, facing West Colonial Drive

Post-Ringling brunch
When: Sunday, January 31 at 10:30am
Where: Ethos Vegan Kitchen, 1235 N Orange Avenue, downtown Orlando
Even if you can't make it out to the protests, ARFF invites you to join them for brunch and find out how you can help at upcoming events. There will be a special protest recap and speaker. Don't miss it! Please RSVP to: ArffCentralFl@arff.org.

Update on Nosey the elephant
Sadly, it appears that "Nosey," the circus' solitary elephant, remains in poor health. (USDA inspectors have repeatedly noted the elephant's "extremely poor skin.")
Please contact the President of the Osceola Flea & Farmers Market and urge him not to host circuses with animals in the future.
Frank Buonauro, Jr., President
Osceola Flea & Farmers Market
2801 E. Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy.
Kissimmee, FL 34744
Fax: (407) 846-3392
E-mail: usaflea@aol.com
Online comment form

Thank you for anything you can do to be a part of helping our animals!

Peace, Love and Light!
~Ami

Make a difference - Brushing your teeth

Try to get into the habit of turning off the tap while brushing your teeth in the morning and at bedtime. You can save up to 8 gallons of water per day, which could save about 240 gallons monthly.

The Shift - A movie being made by a movement

Check it out!

Reusable is what they are....

"Next time you go to toss a reusable sandwich bag, think to yourself: Can I rinse out and resuse? They don't call them reusable for nothin', honey"
~Healthy Bitch Daily

Red Fridays - Support our troops

Wear your red on Fridays as a sign of support and love for our troops. Lets no longer be silent and voice our gratitude and warm wishes to all our brave soldiers away from home. They need to know that they are not forgotten …that we have them in our hearts and prayers.

By word of mouth, press, TV – we can all come together in making the United States a sea of red on Fridays …. much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves our troops will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know that we are all on their side more than ever.

So don’t forget to wear your reds this Friday to be a part of showing the solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect -- and continue each and every Friday until our troops all come home!

The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is. "We need your support and your prayers." Please help to spread the word….

Earthlings - Intense!

The trailer to this documentary called Earthlings is why I am a vegetarian. Please prepare yourself before watching this trailer. It is intense - AND real! I've read a bunch of details about what we are doing to our animals and could barely get through each word, but actually seeing some of it goes way deeper. The cruelty and inhumane torture of animals is beyond my comprehension. Please take the time to watch this....it's hard to watch, but if we can eat it, we need to see it .... we need to know.... we need to be aware of what we are promoting by what we eat. So please have the courage and the heart to watch this and help spread awareness by sharing it with others.

Earthlings - watch the trailer here

Person to person advocacy

Put that compassion into action for the animals! By spending just a few hours handing out literature and talking with people one-on-one, you can educate countless people about the exploitation of animals. The Animal Rights Foundation of FL (ARFF) needs your help to leaflet at the following events:

• Maitland Art Festival, October 2-3.
• Winter Park Autumn Art Festival, October 10-11.

If you can help please contact: ArffCentralFl@arff.org

Help needed at ARFF Information tables

Information tables are a great way to educate the public and provide them with literature and information they need to be informed about animal exploitation and abuse.

Animal Rights Foundation of Florida will have a booth at the Central Florida VegFest on Saturday, October 24 in Orlando's Loch Haven Park.

If you would like to sign up for a shift for one of the following events, please contact: ArffCentralFl@arff.org.

McCruelty: I'm Hatin It!

In the U.S., chickens killed by McDonald's suppliers are slaughtered using an outdated method that results in extreme suffering. As the biggest seller of chicken meat in the U.S., McDonald's has the responsibility and the ability to reduce this abuse. They can demand that their U.S. suppliers use a less cruel method of slaughter available to them called controlled-atmosphere killing, or CAK, and it would cost the corporation nothing to demand that its suppliers use it. CAK would eliminate the worst abuses currently suffered by chickens killed for McDonald's.

Please help Animal Rights Foundation of Florida speak for the chickens and educate the public at our McMurder protest.

Date and time: Saturday, October 3 (for World Farm Animals Day), starting at 6:00pm
Location: 2535 Howell Branch Road (SR 436 & Howell Branch Road), Casselberry 32707

If you can make it to the protest please RSVP to ArffCentralFl@arff.org

Ask IHOP To Let Hens Out of Their Cages

When IHOP serves its pancakes and eggs, you can be sure the eggs come from hens crammed into wire cages so small the animals can barely move for their entire lives. The restaurant chain most known for its breakfasts refuses to take make a change and buy their eggs from cage-free farms that don't cruelly confine hens in barren battery cages. Major restaurant chains such as Denny's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. got on board earlier this year…. Why can’t a restaurant as large as IHOP make the same changes?

IHOP's refusal took on new urgency this week with the release of this undercover video that reveals shocking abuses at IHOP's primary egg supplier. As you can see, the footage reveals filthy conditions, sick and injured hens, and birds forced to live in cages with the decomposing corpses of dead birds.

You can help to move IHOP away from this cruelty. Please urge IHOP to follow its competitors' lead and start switching away from battery cage eggs. Here's how:

TAKE ACTION
Please make a brief, polite phone call to Argonne, a company that owns hundreds of IHOP restaurants, at 404-364-2984 (if voicemail picks up, press '1' for Argonne President Michael Klump). You can say something like this:

"Hello, my name is [your name] and I am calling to ask IHOP to start using eggs that don't come from hens crammed into cages. I just watched the undercover video of your egg supplier, and the images of animal cruelty are appalling. Please start switching to cage-free eggs. Thank you."

After you make your call, please follow up with an email to IHOP headquarters to let them know that customers care about animal welfare.

Revitalize Your Soul! - Healthy lifestyle

Most of you who know me well are aware that I have made some big changes recently to live a healthy lifestyle. I quit smoking, barely drink alcohol, no longer eat chicken and rarely eat red meat. I also work out a lot at home and love going to the gym! My life has changed for the better in so many ways. I feel strong, emotionally balanced, healthy, fit and just all around blissful. I just want to spread my happiness to everyone and let you all know what a great blessing these changes have been to my life.

For those of you that are trying to make some of the same changes in your life, I wish you all the will power, motivation and encouragement you may need to carry you through. You will definitely reap all the benefits of taking care of your mind, body and soul. I know I am :)

Here are a couple of articles I read today that you may want to read:
Eat your way to great abs
Does exercise matter for weight loss?

Much Love and Peace to all!
~Ami

Recycle your Electronics

We wanted to share with you a great opportunity to help the planet as well as animals!

Have you ever wondered what to do with all your old electronics? Now you can recycle your old cell phones, MP3 players, laptops, and many other electronics through a company called My Bone Yard. It's simple, safe, and My Bone Yard will even pay for shipping.

How does this help our animals? ..... By recycling through this company, the value of your items will be donated to The Humane Society. Get started now and visit My Bone Yard for more information.

Peace and blessings!
Lovebug

End Dogfighting Program

The End Dogfighting program through The Humane Society of the United States focuses on young men on the streets who have been involved in fighting dogs. This program gives these dogs the opportunity for a new and better life that is free from animal cruelty. They offer free pitbull training classes to these young men who can not control their lunging, snarling animals. They have the opportunity to gain pride their dog's performance and experience positive competition, which makes dogfighting much less tempting. The men begin to see their dogs as friends, not fighters -- and with these new feelings and beliefs, they realize it is no longer the way they want to treat their pets. Some men even become community representatives and help pull others out of the quicksand that is urban dogfighting.

Over the last year alone, the End Dogfighting programs have reached hundreds of at-risk youth and dogs with constructive alternatives and a message of compassion. So many cities across America are desperate for The HSUS's innovative community-based outreach programs.

This program is about change -- the kind of change that inspires. Both people and pups can make astonishing progress through The HSUS' End Dogfighting program. But they can’t continue to make a difference without our help.

If you would like to contribute to this wonderful program, Click Here to make a special gift today . This is an opportunity to reduce dogfighting on the streets and protect dogs from this horrible lifestyle and brutality.

Revitalize Your Soul - Change

There will always be something going on in our lives or around us that we wish were different or wish it would just go away. Although somethings are completed out of our control, we need to focus on the areas that we do have control over. Instead of complaining about it and dwelling on the negative, lets take the time to figure out what we can change - what we need to change, in order to improve the situation. Usually the change has to be within ourselves. We have full power over our actions, reactions, emotions and decisions, how we treat ourselves and how we treat others...even every word we speak has an outcome. So if something is picking at you and you want it to go away - sit back, take a deep breath and figure out what you can do to set that change in motion. Don't just think about it - BE the CHANGE!

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten”.
-unknown

Peace & Blessings to all!
Lovebug

Healthy school lunch options for our children

Congress will shortly be considering revising what children are fed in schools, as part of the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization. As this occurs, the meat, dairy, and junk-food lobbies push hard to keep their products front and center in schools. As it stands, children are eating more of these unhealthy products than ever before, and childhood obesity is at its worst levels ever.

ARFF (Animal Rights Foundation of FL) are now pushing Congress to mandate vegetarian (vegan) options in schools. Currently, most schools do not offer anything along these lines.

Add your name on a petition to Congress

Remember to also spread the word to others so that they also have the opportunity to be a part of this important change for our children. The more names on the petition, the batter chance we have to win this battle.

Protect animals and their fur!

Please join ARFF (Animal Rights Foundation of FL) and local activists to speak up for the millions of animals who are poisoned, electrocuted or skinned alive for their fur every year.

Together, we can educate others about the cruelty involved in the fur trade. Help to make our community aware in hopes that they will choose compassion over fashion by no longer buying fur. Hopefully, they will also spread the word to others and we can truly make a difference.

Posters and leaflets will be provided by ARFF, so just bring yourself and anyone else who may want to be a part of this cause.

Date and time: Wednesday, August 26 from 12:00 to 1:00pm
Location: At the corner of International Drive and Universal Drive

If you can make it to the protest please RSVP to ArffCentralFl@arff.org

Help to stop Puppy Mills!

Many of you are probably aware of the investigations linking Petland to Puppy Mills. Well, on January 10, 2009 a bunch of people came together for a demonstration and crowded the sidewalks in front of 22 different Petland store locations to tell the company to stop supporting puppy mills. What an amazing experience this must have been! Hopefully the word is getting out to more and more animal lovers and will encourage them join this effort to protect our animals from this cruel treatment.

Are you interested in attending or helping to organize future demonstrations at a Petland near you??? Please email the Humane Society at stop-puppy-mills@hsus.org with the following information:

1. Your name, email address, phone number and closest Petland: Go Here for a list of locations (just scroll down to the bottom of the page to do a simple search)
2. Whether you would like to be an attendee or organize and lead a demonstration.
3. Whether you would like to take photos at a demonstration.
4. Whether you would like to accept pet supplies (including towels and blankets) at a demonstration and take them to local shelters.

We can make a difference if we put our hearts out there....

Peace and God Bless!
~Lovebug

Cell Phones for Soldiers!

Got any old cell phones laying around the house? Has you or anyone you know upgraded or bought a new phone recently? What should we all do with all these old phones? ....... We have the best solution for you that's super easy AND free!

Donate your old and unwanted phones to our brave soldiers. The phones are recycled and the money is used to offer a source of communication for our troops to keep in touch with friends and family. This is a true gift from the heart and is so simple to get your donated phones shipped out...

... Just throw them in an envelope (chargers and batteries are not required, but gladly accepted). CLICK HERE and print your postage free shipping label. Stick the label to the envelope and toss it in the mail.

I've shipped out old phones twice already in the past month and I have to tell you..........It feels GREAT!

If you prefer, you can also collect old phones from friends and family (spread the word) and bring them to one of our future gatherings or donation drop off locations and we'll ship them out for you.

Well, we hope this has given you another opportunity to share your hearts and send a gift of love.

May you have a restful night's sleep and wake up feeling at peace and rejuvenated!
xoxoxo
~Lovebug