What's Your Score

I was recently going through my emails and web sites from last year when I happened upon this wonderful web site. I do love the web and emails, it reminds me of how much paper we used to waste, writing letters, getting junk mail and of course printing stuff out to read again later.

Any way the web site was earthlab.com and you can get to it from their banner above. I pulled up the site, typed in my email and pass word and there was my score from last year. My ECP (earth conservation plan) score and my carbon output score. Now my score for last year was below the average for my city and for the US in general but could I be doing better this year. You bet, I re-took the test and dropped another 19 points. The nice thing about this is that it keeps your history and shows that you are making a difference.

It even has a place to enter your pledges. Things that will in the end lesson your carbon footprint. You can read other peoples pleges and then add your ideas for more. Below are three of the ones I entered with their tips.

#1 NO pesticide use in the garden;
Blend 1 garlic clove, 1 small hot pepper and a quart of water in a blender, then pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Spray it on your inside and outside plants, and this recipe will help keep the pests away in a natural way.

#2 Seperate plastic lids from the bottle;
The cap on your recyclable bottle is not made out of the same plastic as the bottle, and is not recyclable. By leaving the cap on, the purpose is defeated because the entire bottle will be discared at the recycling plant. Make sure to remove the cap before tossing your bottle into the recycling bin.

#3 ?Recycle your dryer lint;
Yes, you can compost dryer lint! Just make sure that if you use dryer sheets, they're chemical-free.

This site just has so much to offer and the fact that you can check back every so often to check your progress is great.