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Greetings!
Let's Give It Up - Literally
My theme for the merry month of May is REDUCE - the first R! Let's give some more stuff up and remind ourselves that there is only ONE planet. Here are Mrs. Green's top three picks for you to consider giving up - permanently. Yes, they are repeats and yes, they all need to be repeated until we all give 'em up and get others to do same. And guess what? Together, we can.
Plastics bags - no plastic bags, preferably no paper bags, just reusable bags. Food for thought: Twelve million barrels of oil were used to make the 88.5 billion plastic bags consumed in the United States last year. And it takes four times more energy to make paper bags. The best choice is reusable shopping bags made of cotton, nylon or durable, mesh-like plastic. Put a few reusable shopping bags in your car so you have them for the next trip to ANY store. If you happen to forget your reusable bag (as we all do!), recycle or reuse your paper or plastic bags. Mrs. Green's report card on this? A+.
Plastic bottles - Did you know that it takes 26 bottles of water to produce the plastic container for a one-liter bottle of water, and that doing so pollutes 25 liters of groundwater? If every household in the U.S. recycled just three more plastic bottles a month, we could divert more than 23 million pounds of plastic from our landfills each month. Stop buying bottled water. Use reusable water bottles instead made from materials like stainless steel or aluminum that are not likely to degrade over time. If you choose a plastic water bottle (which I think we find ourselves doing at times), check the number on the bottom first: Plastics numbered 3, 6 and 7 could pose a health threat to you, so look for plastics numbered 1, 2, 4 or 5.
Mrs. Green's report card on this? B - at best. Still haven't figured it out when I am in the car all day.
Catalogs - Let's give them up! We can do this! It will cost you NOTHING!!! Let me run the numbers for you! EVERY year, 19 billion catalogs are mailed to American consumers. All those catalogs require more than 53 million trees and 56 billion gallons of wastewater to produce. I don't have a clue how we got on so many mailing lists in the first place. Please visit CatalogChoice.org to put a stop to unwanted catalogs. Within 10 weeks, your mailbox will be empty of unwanted catalogs. A less cluttered mailbox means less pollution and less waste. Mrs. Green's report card on this? A-. Is there a DOWN side? It was a pain to sit down and actually take the time to fill out the information. But I did it and it works. Be sure to update periodically.
Mrs. Green Goes to the Toilet - With The Arizona Green Plumber!
This is a Did You Know / Shout Out green combo about our toilet and The Arizona Green Plumber. Truth be told I am a frustrated actress - shocking, I know. So when I got my new "GREEN" high efficiency, 1.28 gallon Niagara toilet from The Arizona Green Plumber, I became obsessed with doing a YouTube video that would be rated "G" - - not for green but for general audiences. Stay with me. Imagine my delight when our buddies at The Arizona Green Plumbers showed up at GreenFest2010 last week with my toilet (well not really mine) as a demo! I was beside myself. Enter the Mrs. Green Project manager and on-the-scene videographer, Katelyn, to save the day. You, too, can see Mrs. Green's toilet AND its high efficiency AND why The Arizona Green Plumber is so passionate about it. It's only a click away! (Have I mentioned lately how much I love being Mrs. Green?) One Big Green Hearted Welcome to Doucette Homes - Our Newest Sponsor
We all know those times when you meet someone and it all just clicks. You think "this is really a nice, honest person. I would like to get to know him/her better." Insert Tom Doucette from Doucette Homes into that thought! Tom is all about what's right about the world - a family man, a person of great integrity, vision and honor, a person who gives back to the community through his support of local non-profits - the whole green enchilada. And he is a man of vision with an organization of people around him who reflect all that he is and all that Doucette Homes brings to the Tucson community. Their corporate philosophy? To select unique community settings and design distinctive homes offering sustainable building practices with timeless appeal and ENDURING VALUE FOR THE HOMEBUYER. Translation? They build homes that last because they care about their customers. Tom Doucette is all about that - just ask people in the Tucson community...and Mrs. Green! Wahoo to the Girls Scout of Southern Arizona!
Debbie Rich, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona, liked the new Mrs. Green website but the first thing she said was: "What about a kid's page?" So, Mrs. Green listened and we have a kid's page. And then Debbie said: "We will sponsor the kid's page." Check out their very cool ad on our website and a BIG Mrs. Green thank you for being such an active part of Mrs. Green's world. Your team never ceases to amaze me. You are all doing such great things for this community, for all those whose lives you touch every day and for the planet.
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Upcoming Shows
 5/1
Are you ready for - Livin' the Green Life from the Inside Out? We hope so! Doucette Homes, Clean Cities, the Habistore and Mrs. Green are heading out to Doucette Homes at Civano Orchards for our first in a series of green business markets! Instead of selling produce or organic goat cheese like the Farmers Market, our dream is to gather businesses committed to selling tried and true green products and to show case them. We will have vendors with products for your home and/or who provide services that improve the quality of all of our lives - the first model in the country? We hope. Green home builder, alternative fuel vehicles, solar companies, eco-friendly deck tiles, green plumbing, green cleaning products - just color it green! We need you to help create the buzz and to successfully put the spotlight on Tucson!
 5/8
Michael Shuman - author, activist, brainiac. When I heard Michael Shuman speak at the University of Arizona several months ago, I couldn't stop talking about his message and actually, I still haven't. Author of The Small-Mart Revolution, Michael shared story after story about how local businesses are beating the global competition. He knows that bigger isn't always better and that in many cases, small locally owned businesses often outperform their "big box" competition. Michael will share with us dozens of specific examples that prove that small businesses are still the backbone of our Country's economic foundation. He is fun, he is informative and inspirational. You will love this show and Michael's message.
 5/15
GasHole - Mrs. Green will interview filmakers Jeremy Wagener and Scott Roberts, who will talk about their documentary: Gashole. The two have joined forces to bring the history of oil prices and future alternative fuels into focus. Concerned with American dependence on foreign oil and curious as to how America could go from the largest exporter of oil to the largest importer, Wagener and Roberts sought out the opinions of such experts as U.S. Department of Energy officials, Alternative Fuel Producers, Alternative Fuel Consumers, Professors of Economics, and congressional leaders from both the Democratic and Republican parties. If you buy gas, you will want to tune in as Mrs. Green seeks some answers to the questions that many American consumers would like answers to. AND we will have a special interview with Mayor Bob Dixon from Greensburg, Kansas - the town destroyed by a tornado in 2007. Mayor Dixon will give us an update on what is planned in Greensburg to celebrate the anniversary of the Midwest town that was literally too tough to die!  5/22Chapman - What's new in the auto world? Our very own Neb Yonas, Chapman General Manager and human being extraordinaire will be letting us know! Not only is Chapman Tucson family owned and one of the largest car dealerships in southern Arizona and the entire State, Neb knows everything I have ever asked him about any car in all of the Chapman dealerships. I know that I will be asking him to more adequately explain the inner workings of the amazing Honda Insight but I will also ask him to give an overview on the health of the auto industry, what's new, what's hot and what's not! I will also do my "Neb, what can consumers expect to be driving in 10 years? Is there an alternative fuel vehicle that will lead the way? I love having Neb as a guest because he is fun AND full of knowledge about things we all want to know. Please plan to join us.
 5/29
Chris Jordan - "Life-altering" is the way my friend Cindy described her experience after viewing Chris Jordan's work. A picture is worth how many thousands of words? I am not quite sure how Mrs. Green is going to pull this interview off because in a perfect world, pictures that Chris has both taken and created would be flashed up on the screen. My vision for this interview is to get to the heart of the matter: why Chris Jordon, internationally acclaimed photographer, shifted his focus and committed his life's work to environmental & social justice. People can change the interpretation of facts simply by omission. What people can't argue with are unaltered pictures of baby albatross dying in record numbers from eating pieces of plastic floating in the ocean in the Midway Islands. This show might not be fun - but it promises to be life-altering. Are you ready to join me? I hope so and I hope you will check out Chris's diverse exhibits on his website.
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Mrs. Green Goes Mainstream's All Green Talk Radio Show
Please remember to tune in to Mrs. Green Goes Mainstream every Saturday at 12:05 p.m. PST on NEWSTALK KNST 790 AM or live, streaming on the internet at www.790knst.com.
Spread the Green Word!
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Mrs. Green welcomes your comments and feedback: info@mrsgreensworld.com
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