GreenPrint

Mom is loving this new product. You have to check it out. It will help you save trees, money, CO2, toner, time, energy, and more. Whew! What a list of things to save by using one little product. This is one of those things that is not too good to be true.

So what is GreenPrint and how does it work? GreenPrint is a product that you can download here that eliminates wasteful pages in any printout automatically. Mom is always telling me how much paper is wasted when you try to print directions from Mapquest, so she doesn't print them. Not printing them has nothing to do with the fact that she sometimes gets lost, but if there were a way to print the directions without the map and banner ads, she would definitely do it.

GreenPrint works by analyzing each page of every document that is sent to your printer. It looks for typical waste characteristics like a last page with just a URL, banner ad, logo, or copyright. This is stuff that you don't need printed. By eliminating this stuff, you can print only what you need, thus saving trees, money, CO2 - you get the picture. It also features a PDF writer, a print preview called GreenView, and a reporting feature that keeps track of the number of pages and amount of waste you have saved.

According to the GreenPrint website:

• If all US households with a computer used GreenPrint, over $6 billion would be saved each year.
• If all new computers used GreenPrint, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by over 117 million tons (like taking 23 million cars off the road for a year).
• If all new computers sold in 2006 used GreenPrint, over 36 million trees would be saved every year.

Using GreenPrint is a no-brainer. Did I tell what the best part is? GreenPrint is free! Yeah! Just download and start printing responsibly. Do your part to help Mother Earth and as always, spread the word. We are all in this together.

To Moms Everywhere!

Today is your day! A day just for you! A special day that honors all that you are and all that you do for us.

In honor of Mother's Day, I am spending the whole day by Mom's side. I will not leave her alone for one second. I will be her shadow and at her beck and call. Yep, it's hard work but someone has to do it.

Mom and Dad do not have their moms anymore, so today is all about my mom. Dad decided to celebrate the day by golfing, so we are enjoying some alone time, just Mom, me, the laundry, the dirty dishes, and the vacuuming.

Mom takes really good care of me. She does the little things too, like making sure that I am comfortable in bed even if she isn't. That's right, she sacrifices her sleep for me and for that I love her.

Mom is also a really good mom to her sea turtle mommas and babies. Mom makes sure that the mommas have a safe place to nest when they come to Wassaw Island. She helps them dig a nest if they need assistance, she makes sure that their precious eggs get moved to a safe location if needed, and she keeps the raccoons away. When the babies hatch, Mom helps them to the ocean and says a little prayer for them so that they remain safe as they grow and thrive.

There is a show on PBS tonight called Voyage of the Lonely Turtle. It is about a loggerhead sea turtle named Adelita whose quest to be a mother is documented as she makes the longest migration known in the animal kingdom. She encounters sharks, jellyfish, and man-made death traps along her journey back to the beach where she was hatched over twenty years ago. Her instincts push her through all the challenges as faces as she crosses the Pacific Ocean, back home to become a mother.

Adelita's story is an inspiration to everyone who watches it and it has even more meaning today, as we celebrate all the mothers in the world. I blogged about Adelita in February, so if you didn't catch that post, please check it out here. Adelita's journey airs tonight on your local PBS station at 7:00 pm CDT and here is a quick video preview for you to watch.

PetAirways!

I really thought I had a great plan to go to Emmitt's house when I stormed out of the house last night, but as luck would have it, my plans did not pan out. Foiled again. Mom, as usual, won.

My plan was to race to the airport and buy a ticket aboard PetAirways. This new airline is a pet-only airline dedicated to pet-friendly travel. No cargo area for me. Nope. I will be chilling in the main cabin. With no people on board, besides the pet attendants, it is the perfect way for pets to travel. They fly out of an airport just a few towns over and their website said that they fly to Denver - perfect!I have never been on an airplane before, but I am not afraid to fly like Mom. I don't know how she ever goes anywhere because everywhere she wants to go she has to fly. This plane looked pretty spiffy to me and the inside cabin looked right up my alley. Mom would say that it is the "I think I can" airplane because it has propellers instead of jet engines. Remind her to tell you about the time she had to get on an "I think I can" plane after it landed on the beach in a third world country. Priceless!

What I failed to check on their website in my mad rush to get the heck out of Dodge, was that they don't start flying until July. July? I need to go to Denver now! The party will be over by July! The meatloaf will be gone! I will die of starvation!

There was nothing I could do except go back home, with my tail between my legs, and act like nothing had happened. I would act like I had just taken a really long walk, by myself, in the rain. Maybe Mom won't even notice that I have been gone so long. Maybe she's already in bed. Maybe she is on petfinder.org looking for a new pug. Oh, no! What have I done?

I raced home and found Mom crying hysterically. She almost fainted when she saw me sulk back through the door, all wet and dirty, shivering from the cold. "Stubby! My baby boy! I'm so glad you're back home safe and sound. Don't ever leave like that again!" Mom shrieked. She picked me up and hugged me so tight that I think she rung all the water out of me. She could not stop crying.

Dad walked in the room and rescued me and even he had tears in his eyes. He told me that Mom had called the police, the FBI, the CIA, and Scotland Yard after I left. She was certain that someone had snuck inside the house and stolen me because I would never run away, especially in the rain. After he dried me off and calmed Mom down, we all climbed into bed and fell soundly asleep.

Mom was still so upset this morning that she told me that I didn't have to fast anymore. Sir Richard could stand to lose a few pounds, so let him do it she said. Yeah! I can eat again! As Mom poured that last bits of food into my bowl I wondered if she planned on taking me to Popeye's tonight or if she had something else planned. Her and Dad left after lunch to do some shopping, so I decided to catch up on my sleep.

When Mom and Dad got home, I ran to the door to greet them, like the good pug I am. Mom had a huge smile on her face and I knew that something was up. She told me to come into the garage for a minute because she wanted to show me something. I hope she didn't buy a new car or something dumb like that because I wasn't interested in another car that I wasn't allowed to ride in.

I walked down the steps and turned my head toward where she was standing and that's when I saw it. My food! My Bil Jac was in the house! Yippee! I did my little pug dance and could not stop smiling as I danced around the wonderful 30 pound bag of yumminess.

I hope that Emmitt understands why I couldn't make it to the party. Maybe he could ship me some meatloaf and we could Skype, so it would be just like having me at the party.

Poor Stubby!

As I was eating dinner tonight, Mom informed me that I am almost out of dog food. What? Almost out? Run to the store - quick! Get more food now! I told Mom that if I run out of food, she will have to make me scrambled eggs for breakfast and drive me to Popeye's every day for chicken. That's just how I roll.

As you can see, the food in the container is all that I have left. I'm sure this will not last the weekend, so unless Mom jumps in the car right now and drives to PetSmart, I am doomed. You do not want a hungry Stubby in the house, trust me. I get very grumpy when I am hungry and I have been known to - well I cannot tell you what I have done in the past because it's not pretty. Just trust me on this one.

I was so mad when I finished eating, that I turned my cute butt toward Mom, the camera, and what's left of my food, and ran to find Dad. He is very logical and has been known to talk some sense into Mom. I pleaded with him to get Mom to take the fastest car available and race to the store right away. This is an emergency!

Of course, there was no talking any sense into Mom today. She kept saying how tired she was and that she had a headache. She had a long day at the zoo today and just didn't feel like going anywhere tonight. I am going to starve, woman!

Since Mom wasn't listening to me or Dad, I decided to go into the family room and ignore her. The cold shoulder was just what she deserved along with some very loud barking. She tried to play with me, but I grabbed my Buddy Dog and played with him instead. I even made her get up off the sofa and let me out and then back in the house several times, just to make her mad. I think all this 'Mom abuse' worked just a little too good because not only is she not going to buy me any food tonight, but she connconted a scheme to get back at me once and for all. Yikes!



You may or may not of heard that Mia Farrow has been on a hunger strike for the past twelve days to raise awareness for the horrible crisis unfolding in Darfur with the removal of 13 international aid agencies. She is fasting to ask world leaders to take immediate action and demand that international aid is restored. Hundreds of people around the world have joined her in fasting, in a show of solidarity.

The fast had been going well for Mia until today. Mia has been instructed by her doctor to stop fasting immediately, due to serious health concerns. The people of Darfur are starving, or as the website Darfur Fast for Life says, they are fasting without option. These people do not have food and now that the government has removed 13 international aid agencies, it does not look like they will have food anytime soon.

Now that Mia can no longer continue her fast, Sir Richard Branson has stepped in to take over the fast for her. Mom loves Sir Richard, so to save him from serious health concerns, she has decided that I will continue Mia Farrow's fast. What? Me, fast?

Mom tried to put a positive spin on the fast, like only she can do, telling me that fasting would be good for me because I would lose a few pounds. This will make the doctor happy and will make me feel better. Are you kidding me?

It's not that I am not sensitive to the people in Darfur and their situation, but I cannot fast. I can send them some food (if I can find some) or send them a check (if I can write one), but fast I cannot do. What am I going to do? Someone save me!

Okay, Stubby, snap out of it and figure it out! Think! Just then the wheels in my cute head started spinning, all the neurons firing simultaneously, and it was at that moment when the light bulb went off over my head. Eureka! The plan of all plans, the most foolproof plan, the plan that Mom cannot ruin. I'm going to Partypalooza!

I told Emmitt I was coming, but I have been so busy working for slave driver Mom, that I haven't been able to get away this week. I am done working for the man, so I am heading to Colorado where there is plenty of food! I will be leaving tonight (asap) and I will be following Tweedles marshmallow trail all the way to Emmitt's house. Here I am saying goodbye to Dad before I head out. I didn't say goodbye to Mom, but Dad told her that I was so mad that I may not come back.

I know that Emmitt has a computer and a super fast Internet connection at his house, so if I have time between eating helping after helping of meatloaf, I will update my blog. While I am traveling tomorrow, please remember to Stamp Out Hunger by participating in the USPS food drive. Check out all the details here. My girlfriend Pearl has already collected some food to give to her mailman and I am hoping all my other blogging pals will collect some too.

Project Squirrel

Mom is very excited about this new venture. She is always looking to conduct scientific research and this time I get to help her out.

We are going to be squirrel monitors. Believe it or not, squirrels can tell us a lot about our local environment and how it is changing. But how will we know about squirrels unless people gather data about them? That's where we come in.

We will be observing squirrels everywhere we go. If I see a squirrel in the yard, I will tell Mom so that she can record the observation. This should be pretty easy to do because we have a squirrel who loves to steal food from one of our bird feeders. He hangs upside down on the feeder and when Mom sees him she sends me out in the yard to scare him off. Everytime this happens, we will record an observation.

If I am out on my walk and I see a squirrel, then that observation will also get recorded. If Mom is at the zoo and she sees a squirrel (or 2 or 3), she will record the observation. We will have our eyes peeled to the landscape looking for squirrels! The idea is to record observations everywhere you see squirrels because these observations help scientists better understand the ecology of our neighborhoods.

The observations are easy to record online. There is a form that Mom will fill out that asks for the date, time, and zip code of the observation. The form also asks how many squirrels you observed along with what type. Fox squirrels and grey squirrels are two of the most familiar species in our area and they are pretty easy to identify from one another.

The form asks for the setting of the squirrel observation - a house, apartment building, vacant lot, etc. Squirrels are everywhere! You are also asked if there were specific trees at the site of the observation. Mom tells me that areas that have lots of big trees typically have lots of squirrels. We do not have any big trees in our yard, but there are lots of big trees just down the block. I see the squirrel nests way up in the tops of the big trees when I crane my head all the way back.

We will also record if the squirrels we observed regularly obtain food from different sources, with one of the sources being birdfeeders. Do you think this is a bad thing that squirrels eat bird food? Are they really so hungry that they steal food from the birds or do they just do it to get on Mom's nerves?

I love the next question on the form - how abundant are dogs and cats at the observation site? I am the only dog in the yard, so dogs are not abundant there, but in places like a park where everyone walks their dog, dogs would be abundant.

You can be a squirrel monitor no matter where you live in the U.S. as long as you see squirrels. The researchers appreciate all the observations they can get, but they would like you to make at least four observations per site per year. They also want to know if you are in an area where it seems like there should be squirrels but there aren't.

Project Squirrel started in 1997 and since then they have received over 1,000 observations, primarily in the Chicagoland area. They have learned a lot about squirrels from the observations they have received like the fact that they found more fox and fewer gray squirrels than expected in areas with single-family homes, and that gray squirrels were found more often than expected in association with oaks and pines, whereas fox squirrels were associated with elms and maples. This is neat stuff!

Okay, I'm off to take my morning walk with Dad and to look for squirrels. I am so excited to be collecting actual scientific data that I finally understand how Mom feels. I am a pug scientist! Maybe Mom will get me a little lab coat like the one she wears so that I can look real official.

For more information on becoming a squirrel monitor, please check out http://www.projectsquirrel.org/. Even if you don't plan on being a squirrel monitor, there are some cool squirrel photos and interesting findings on the website. I might even submit a picture so that you can see my squirrels. You just never know what I am going to do next.

Please Click to Give

This is the easiest thing you will do all day! If a pug can do it, then anyone can do it!

My aunt Gayle sent Mom an e-mail this morning about The Animal Rescue Site. It seems like they are having trouble getting enough people to click a button on their site that when clicked, food gets donated to abused and neglected animals. Their corporate sponsors and advertisers use the number of daily visit to donate the food in exchange for advertising. The Animal Rescue Site needs to meet a daily quota and all of us can help.

Simply click here or click on the big purple button to go to The Animal Rescue Site. Click on the big purple button like the one you see above and you will be doing your part to feed animals in need. After you click the button, you will receive a nice little thank you that tells you that your click has been counted and that today you have given the equivalent of .6 bowls of food to rescued animals - yeah! Ads will be displayed from the sponsors of The Animal Rescue Site and 100% of the money from these advertisers goes to their charity partners who fund programs to provide food and care for rescued animals.

You can even sign up to receive a daily reminder e-mail from The Animal Rescue Site so that you can click every day to help animals. When you do this, they will even give three extra bowls of food to the animals and send you a cool purple paw pin.

These people at The Animal Rescue Site are really smart because they use the power of the Internet to provide food for animals. According to their site, there are 27 million unwanted animals given to shelters and 10 million are put to death because they are abandoned and unwanted every year in the U.S. Yikes! This makes me so sad because I have a nice place to live, food whenever I want it, and people who love and take care of me. Not all animals are this fortunate, so please click to give them a chance. Click the button every day and spread the word to everyone you know.

I'm Famous!

I was just hanging out on my surfboard in Dad's office when Mom walked in and told me that I was famous. Duh Mom! Are you just figuring this out? I've been famous for years. Get with the program!

Mom whipped out a piece of paper, put it next to my head, and quickly snapped a picture. I look a little miffed in the picture because I was completely in the dark - I had no idea what was going on. I was just about to take a quick little nap when Mom walked in, but after she showed me the paper and told me all about it, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep.

Mom wrote an article about my blog for The Writer's Block, the newsletter of the College of Lake County Writing Center. Mom works as a tutor at the Writing Center and is always telling the tutors about my blog. Some of them look at her like she has lost her mind when she tells them I blog. Some people just ignore her. But some people actually think it's great that I do something with my time other than my daily security duties, eat, and sleep (not necessarily in that order).

When Mom's boss Kim asked her if she would like to write an article for the newsletter, Mom of course said yes, but then asked what she should write about. Mom is full of ideas but most of them are not about writing. Then Kim suggested that she write about my blog. Kim visits my blog all the time and is always telling Mom how much she loves it. Mom wondered who would want to read about my blog, but Kim assured her that she could write a great article about it and viola - here it is!
Who is that good-looking guy on the front page? The front page! Oh yes, that's me, looking very cute indeed. The newsletter is distributed electronically to the entire staff at the college, with hardcopies available at the Writing Center, so hopefully lots of people will read the newsletter and then stop by my blog to say hi.

Mom kept the article a secret from me because she wanted it to be a surprise. It's kind of like a pre-birthday gift and I couldn't be happier!

Red Wolf Pups Released into the Wild Yesterday

Dateline Chicago. Happenings at the zoo. This is big news. This news doesn't happen every day. This news has never happened in Chicago before. This news will make you happy!

On April 24, six critically endangered red wolf pups were born at Lincoln Park Zoo. This is the second litter for the pair that have been together since 2006. Last year's litter were sent to zoos earlier this year where they will continue to serve as ambassadors for their species.

Yesterday, four of the new pups began their journey to North Carolina where they will be released into the wild as part of the Red Wolf Recovery Program. The pups will be fostered by wild adult wolves after being inserted into the dens of the adult wolves who will serve as foster parents. These are the first pups from Lincoln Park Zoo to be released into the wild.

Red wolves were once very common throughout the southeastern U.S. but in the 1960s their populations were decimated due to intensive predator control programs and loss of habitat. In 1973 they were declared endangered and efforts were made to round up as many wild red wolves as possible. Only 17 wolves were captured, which is a really small population. Of these 17, 14 became founders of a successful managed-breeding program. In 1980, because of their low numbers, the US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the red wolf extinct in the wild.

Fast forward to 1987. Due to the successful breeding of the founder wolves, a restoration program on the Alligator River Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina was created. During the 22 years since then, the experimental population area has expanded to include three national wildlife refuges, Department of Defense and state-owned lands and private property, totaling 1.7 million acres.

The red wolf fostering strategy of placing red wolf pups born via a managed breeding program into wild dens has been very successful over the past decade. According to Arthur Beyer, red wolf field coordinator for the US Fish & Wildlife Service, "Wild mothers have readily accepted the pups as long as the pups are placed in the den when they are this young. The field team has identified two or three denning pairs where Lincoln Park Zoo pups are an ideal fit." Yeah!

The pups were pulled from their zoo den earlier yesterday morning and examined by zoo vets before embarking on their journey to North Carolina. It was unknown at the time whether the pups will be placed in a single den, or split among a couple different wild dens. One thing is for certain - once they are placed with their dens, they will left alone with their foster mothers and no one will check on them for a year. Yikes! A whole year? This strategy has worked so well in the past because the pups will be placed with mothers who have raised pups in previous year.

Mom thinks the pups are very cute, but not as cute as pug puppies. She is very excited about the pups being part of the recovery program and she hopes that she can visit them in the wild one day soon. Zoo visitors love seeing the wolves and when they learn about the wolves near demise, they are encouraged and hopeful for a comeback. Mom love pointing out the wolves, as they run around their nearly 10,000 ft habitat, to visitors. They are located in the Pritzer Family Childrens Zoo, whose theme is At Home in the Woods. Walking through the exhibit is like walking through the woods, so the animals found their are animals that are or were once in this area. There are river otters, beavers, black bears, kestrels, screech owls, fox snakes, walking sticks, box turtles, Blanding's turtles, and more. It is a very special place in the zoo, which sits in the middle of the city. You almost forget that you are in the city as you get wrapped up in the natural sites and sounds of the woods.

As for me, I never get to go to the zoo or to wildlife refuges. I just live vicariously through Mom.

The Red Wolf Recovery Program is a cooperative conservation effort between the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Red Wolf Species Survival Plan and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service. For more information on the program, check out http://www.fws.gov/redwolf/.

Addicted To Plastic

Mom and I watched this film today and we both highly recommend it. It offers an insight into the world of plastic, from it's early days to present, and it showcases our obsession with plastic.

Addicted To Plastic is a full length documentary about the problems with plastic and solutions to these problems. The filmmaker, Ian Connacher, narrates his journey to 12 countries on 5 continents, searching for answers to the ever growing problem with what has become the world's obsession.

The film starts with Ian's journey to the North Pacific Gyre, a floating city of plastic twice the size of the state of Texas. Called the largest landfill in the world, this plastic city contains debris from around the globe and is a hazard to everyone on Earth. Ian is looking for answers while on a ship traveling through the gyre and he gets some as he retrieves piece after piece of plastic floating on the surface of seemingly pristine water. This may seem shocking to some as they watch this film, but this is the reality we are faced with. I think this segment was a perfect way to begin the film because this is not typically what people think about when they think about plastic.

Detailing the path of plastic over the last 100 years, the film digs in deep with interviews from experts in the fields of marine research, the plastics industry, recycling, environmentalism, and more. These people offer solutions to what to do with all the plastic we throw away every day. Ian shows us some great and cutting edge solutions that will give hope to you as you watch this film, but ultimately, education is the key to dealing with this issues.

I don't want to give away too much of the film because I want you to see it, learn from it, take action, and spread the word. I'm hoping that by watching this short trailer for the film, you will be inspired to watch the entire film. There is so much knowledge to be gained from the film's 1 1/2 hour viewing time, that you will never think about plastic the same way again. That, I believe, is the real message of the film. To raise awareness and to get people thinking about the issues. We can change the future, but we all need to do our part.

Wednesday Wag Out!

Salt Lamp

Mom always thinks she is the last one to find out about all the cool stuff in the world. This is simply not so. She finds things and then forgets about them, so this is a memory thing, not a first to know thing. She loves these lamps, but when she first saw them last year she didn't tell me about them. Duh! How can I blog about them if I don't know about them?

Salt lamps don't just look beautiful, they are even good for you. The salt comes from the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains which is on the other side of the Earth. Salt lamps generate healthy negative ions that cleanse the air, kind of like how the air changes after a good rain. The change in the air is due to negative ions and that is exactly what these lamps give off. The best parts is that they don't lose their power over time.

But why do you need negative ions in your air? Negative ions help purify the air of allergens, dust, smoke, bacteria and more yucky stuff. Not only is this lamp a source of light and a natural air purifier, it can also help people who have various respiratory ailments. Mom has asthma, so now that she told me about these lamps, I am going to remind her to buy one for her office. See if the negative ions help cleanse your air by buying a salt lamp at http://www.natural-salt-lamps.com/.

Eco'brella

Mom always has umbrella issues. I just don't get it. Why go out when it rains anyway? Just wait until the rain stops and then go out. Silly humans!

If you must go out in the rain, shield yourself in style with this great Eco'brella from Totes that is made of 70% recycled components. The canopyis made from 100% recycled PET bottles, the fram is made from 70% recycled steel and aluminum, the handle is made from bamboo, and the handle strap is made from waxed hemp. It features a cool recycled symbol on it so that everyone knows you are doing the right thing. This is a must have for all those springtime showers, so head on over to http://www.totes.com/ to get yours today.

Dung Bunnies

Okay, I thought this was a joke when Mom first told me about it, but then she showed it to me and I couldn't stop laughing. Dung bunnies? Just what every pug needs!

Susan Bell is a Denver artist who one day wondered what to do with all the manure produced by her two horses. Then the light bulb went on over her head and Dung Bunnies was born. These days she doesn't just make bunnies, she also makes duck, pigeon, frog, and cats sculptures. Hey, no pug sculptures? I am going to e-mail her and tell her that I will gladly model for a pug sculpture.

The sculptures are made entirely out of horse manure so they are perfect in the garden as decoration but also as fertilizer because they decompose slowly over a period of a year or so. They don't even smell because the manure turns to compost in 2 years at which point it is ready to be turned into bunnies and more (soon pugs). The more you have in your garden, the healthier your plants will be. Mom cannot wait to get her dung bunnies and she is glad that these bunnies won't leave any poop in the yard. Head on over to http://www.dungbunnies.com/ to get yourself a bunny or two.

Farewell My Subaru

Mom got this book from the library last week after deciding that it was finally time to read it. She has seen it last month, thought it looked good, but decided that it wasn't the type of book that she was looking to read at the time. I don't know why it is the right time to read it now, but it is. I don't argue with Mom when it comes to books because she loves them and I don't. I prefer to get all the info I need through osmosis.

Farewell My Subaru is about a guy, Doug Fine, that leaves the good life behind in Manhattan to move to a ranch in New Mexico to see if he can reduce his carbon footprint by living off the land. Everything that can go wrong does go wrong and the book is an attempt to bring humor to serious issues regarding global climate change. Doug has to grow his own food (including animals), use only the sun to power all his electronic gadgets, and consume little to no fossil fuel for an entire year. Sound difficult? You bet it is, considering he had never raised chickens or grown beans before.

The theme of the book is self-sufficiency and how you can cut-back on or eliminate the consumption of fossil fuels. America has become so dependent on fossil fuels that it is killing us - literally. No one wants to give up their way of life and neither does Doug Fine. In order rid his lifestyle of fossil fuel, he has to install solar panels on his house at the Funky Butte Ranch and get rid of his beloved Subaru, the LOVEsubee, in favor of a vegetable oil-powered truck.

Doug also vows to shop locally and finds this very challenging due to the remoteness of his ranch. The only store around that has everything he needs is Wal-Mart. There are so many people in the U.S. who only shop at Wal-Mart because they can get everything they need there. This is a good and a bad thing. We are fortunate to live in an area where stores abound and where Wal-Mart is not the go to place for us. Shopping locally does not mean purchasing everything you need at Wal-Mart because Wal-Mart is a global conglomerate. Mom doesn't know what Doug ultimately decides to do about his shopping issues, but so far not good.

Anyone who is looking to make changes in their lives by moving toward a more sustainable, renewable, off the grid existence, should read this book. There are even recipes in the book and Mom can't wait to see what they are. Sidebars in every chapter contain facts about going green that you never even would have thought of. Some of the best sidebars are:

Every year, the average American adds four tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere based on food choices alone. (This is Mom's favorite.)

The average tomato travels 1,500 miles from the field to the table. (Yikes!)

Household use accounts for 1% of water use in the U.S., while irrigation accounts for 39%. (Most irrigation usage is for crop feed.)

I'm not suggesting that everyone up and move to New Mexico to do an experiment like Doug, (though Mom would because her and Dad visited last year and loved it), but I am asking everyone to take a look into making small changes in their lifestyles. We really shouldn't use all the resources we do and we don't have to. We can live with less and still live a comfortable existence. We must make changes now to ensure a future for tomorrow.

Animals Save the Planet!

Does this guy look a little upset? This is Cyril and he is one of the animals featured in short clips from Animal Planet called "Animals Save the Planet". Mom thinks that Cyril is a pug, but I don't think so.

Cyril does have a curly tail, but it's hard to tell if he has a BTOT. His bio reads "Lacking in ambition and devoid of any serious goals, Cyril enjoys chasing his tail all day before falling into a deep, dream-filled sleep. Too bad it's not that easy, little dog." Um, lacking in ambition - check. Devoid of any serious goals - check. Chasing his tail - check. Falling into a deep, dream-filled sleep - check. Okay if you just read his bio you may think he's a pug, but then you see the video and you shake your head no because he's sleeping in a dog bed at night. Everyone knows that pugs sleep in bed with their parents, not alone in a dark room in a dog bed - yuk!

Cyril is upset because all the electronic devices in the room where he is trying to sleep are on standby and humming as he is trying to sleep. He tries everything he can think of to silence the noise, but in the end he finally pulls the plug on all the devices. His message is to turn off what you don't use. If electronics are on all the time, they create greenhouse gases that in turn are harmful to the planet.

Cyril is one of nine animals with a message. All the messages are important, especially as Earth Week comes to an end. Please do your part to help the animals save the planet. Check out all of the short clips at http://www.animalssavetheplanet.com/ after watching poor Cyril 'the maybe pug'.

Your Hair Can Help The Environment

When Mom first told me about this idea I thought it was a little crazy, but I agreed to look into it to see if it was for real. It is and I think it is a great idea. This is definitely something all of us (pugs included) can get involved in to help the planet.

Matter of Trust is a nonprofit that matches businesses' donations to smaller, needy nonprofits. It began a cutting edge donation program in 2000 that collaborates with thousands of salons around the U.S. as well as abroad, that donate their hair clippings to help soak up oil spills. Lots of oil spills occur each year, but you don't necessarily hear about them because most are not that high profile. Each and every oil spill has an impact on the environment and must be cleaned up right after it happens, but how exactly do you clean up an oil spill?

Phil McCrory, a hair stylist Alabama, first discovered how hair could help with oil spills while watching news coverage of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. He noticed how the fur on Alaskan sea otters were completely soaked with oil. Instead of just watching in horror and sympathizing with the little guys, he began testing how much oill he could collect by just using the hair clippings from his salon. Viola - a great idea was born! He invented a hairmat that could be used to clean up oil spills, but that can only be used by flower growers due to hair providing a slow release protein.

According to their website, the U.S. has over 300,000 hair salons and each cuts an average of a pound of hair a day. Wow! Salons, schools, and even individuals can participate in the hairmat program. Donations from salons or groups work best because hair in bulk saves on processing time. Donated hair can be any length or type, but it must be clean. They even accept pet hair, and though it doen't work as human hair, dog groomers can still participate in the program.

Hair is shipped to a warehouse in San Francisco that Matter of Trust shares with San Francisco Carpet Recycling. This great partnership combines resources, reuse, and even provides green collar jobs. Once at the warehouse, loose hair is stuffed into nylon stockings which they double up and tie together to make "booms" that surround and contain, as well as soak up oil spills. They also send hair to nonwoven needlepunch factories to make the hairmats that are used for emergency oil spills and for oil bird and mammal cages. They are continuously fundraising to purchase their own needlepunch machine so that they can make hair mats. With this machine, they can provide jobs and training to at risk youths transitioning out of foster care.

How can you get involved? Please tell your hair salon owner and/or dog groomer about the program. Give them the website http://www.matteroftrust.org/programs/hairmatsinfo.html and ask them to join the program. For teachers or for those with children in school, please contact the school to start a collection program. This program provides the opportunity to teach so many educational messages to young people everywhere. The more I learned about this program, the more I understood the need for it. We need to help all living creatures and this is just about the easiest way to do it. We may never end oil spills, but we can help clean them up. Like Mom always says, you are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Be part of the solution today by getting involved in Matter of Trust.

Happy Earth Day!

Today is one of my favorite days of the year! The day the whole world comes together to celebrate Mother Earth. I love how everyone starts thinking about changes they can make to save the planet and become a better steward of our one and only planet. Education is the key to changing the bad that has been done and just remember to spread the word.

In honor of Earth Day, I am spreading the message about a new film. A film that makes its debut, very appropriately, today. Earth is a film by Disney Nature that follows the lives of three animal families - polar bears, African elephants, and humpback whales - and their amazing journeys across the planet. What? No pugs? Sorry, they did not make the cut. But that's okay, because this movie focuses on endangered animals and pugs, thankfully, are not endangered.

James Earl Jones narrates the film as it captures the most intimate moments on our planet. Even if you have seen movies or documentaries like this before, it is still worth going to see this film. Mom always says that you learn new things whenever you seeing something again. Plus a film like this, with spectacular footage of some of our planets most endangered animals, never gets old. This film is about educating everyone about the plight of animals in peril. These animals are running out of time and may not be around forever.

If you purchase tickets to this film during its opening week, Disney will plant a tree in your honor. Wow! What a great thing to do. Advance ticket sales for the film have already exceeded 500,000 so there will soon be that many more trees on planet Earth. The trees will be planted in critical areas of biodiversity, including Brazil's Atlantic rain forest which is one of the most endangered in the world. So many plant and animal species that haven't even been discovered live in rain forests, not to mention the thousands that have. Everyone needs rain forests for their survival and once they are gone, well it's not going to be pretty. Kudos to Disney for helping out in such a huge way and for setting an example for all to follow.

So get out and see this film, learn from it, ask questions about it, and take action now before it's too late. Pugs are lucky they are not endangered, but not all animals are. You can make a difference, not just on Earth Day, but every day, because every day is Earth Day.