Hello Jasper community! My name is Sonja Corbin. I'm a Jasper mom and your environmental chair for 2010-2011 school year. That means that from time to time I'll be respectfully reminding you about not only the good we can do for our earth through all aspects of sustainability, but the economics of these policies. In most cases, it really makes good fiscal sense to recycle and reuse.

Each classroom and office area at Jasper should be equipped with a blue, "single-stream" recycling bin. Single-stream means everything goes into one bin: paper, plastic, etc. Teachers and administrators: if you don't have a blue bin or would like another, please email me at sonjacorbin@tx.rr.com.  I'll do my best to provide you with what you need and answer any questions you may have.

How many of you have those cloth grocery bags in your car but have trouble remembering to bring them into the store with you? Kroger and Tom Thumb recently joined forces in a campaign to encourage the bags' use AND to remind customers to bring them in! During this successful initiative, Kroger encouraged customers to trade in their used plastic sacks for a free cloth bag printed with the slogan "Got your bags?" Further, the company stenciled those words in the pavement at the end of parking spaces, hoping to catch shoppers' attention before entering the store. Check out a video featuring the entire campaign on livegreeninplano.org, a valuable on-line resource. (A tip, which helps me sometimes, is to leave one bag in the front passenger seat as a reminder, the rest stay in the trunk.)

Here's a link to another wonderful website: takecareoftexas.org. It features (among lots of other good stuff): information on easy computer recycling, how to get your kids involved in green efforts, and even a virtual house tour with tips on conservation inside and out. The latest "tip of the week" mentioned the cost-savings of installing a low-flow shower head. (And the newer, low-flow shower heads are great; you don't feel like you're under a dribble.)

Lastly, as Halloween is next month, here are some green suggestions for your celebration.

·         Throw an eco-friendly party! Since mylar balloons take hundreds of years to biodegrade, choose latex as they break down in about six months. And consider serving organic foods, since kids' and teenagers' bodies are still developing and they consume more than adults relative to their body weight.

·         Head to the dump.  After each Halloween at my house, I notice a marked increase in our trash. But every day, each of us creates 4.6 pounds of trash, and 55 percent goes to landfills (the other 45 percent is recycled or incinerated). Take your kids on this interesting fall outing: see where your trash goes post-can. Let your 15-year-old drive and you could get those parental observation hours in too!

·         Light soy candles. We all use more candles in the fall and at Halloween, both for decoration and in pumpkins. Check that the wax in your candles is vegetable-based and petroleum-free. Soy candles both burn longer and take less of a toll on the planet.

·         Use cloth napkins. This fall at parties, happy hours, coffees, buncos, etc. at your home, why not make a commitment to use cloth napkins instead of paper? Americans use an average of 2,200 paper napkins per person per year. It's actually less expensive to throw cloth napkins in the wash than to buy paper ones again and again.

·         Buy local. When shopping for your party produce or those jack-o-lantern pumpkins, buy from local farmers or grocers. It's fresher: produce shipped from outside the country travels up to two weeks before it arrives in grocery stores. Plus it takes 4-17 times less oil to produce local food compared to non-local.

Please get in touch with your own ideas and suggestions for sustainability; I'd love to share them in our next communication. You can reach me at sonjacorbin@tx.rr.com. Go green!