Funny that yesterday at the used bookstore I picked up a copy of Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man, and then today, lo and behold, saw this post about the upcoming No Impact Week!

Starting October 18th, No Impact Week challenges us to consider our environmental impact in a new way and start to make new goals that better ourselves and the environment. Huffington Post has published a great and helpful guide, so please check it out and participate!

I just read an article in the NY Times that made me feel the following:

The United States of America is finally having an important debate where:

1- the strained debate on global warming, 2- the too often ignored debate on civilian protection, genocide, and poverty, AND 3- the often sensationalist debate around national security threats for the United States are suddenly interconnected:
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Read about it here!

How was YOUR Earth Hour? What’s that you ask? How was your Earth Hour Andrew! Alright, alright! I’ll tell you. I completely FORGOT about Earth Hour! HA! However, I had all my lights out any way! DOUBLE HA!

I practice something called transformational breathwork - it’s a kind of yoga thorugh the breath. And to do it, I turn off all the lights for one hour! And I started at around 8:12 pm and finished at 9:16 pm. My computer was on, as I was playing music, but it was unplugged! So basically I did Earth Hour on accident. But it was a good breathwork session! And I still saved electricity for one hour almost exactly in time with the rest of the planet. Though I’m in Hawaii so I’m one of the last people on the planet to experience 8:30 pm. I guess YOU can say I’m living in the past! That is unless you’re in Samoa or a couple of other islands. But I’m pretty sure you’re not. So for me, you’re in the future! But either way, point is, I still observed Earth Hour even if it was an accident. I hope you did it consciously!

Saturday, March 28 from 8:30 to 9:30 pm your time is EARTH HOUR!

For one hour, people around the world are turning off their lights in a simultaneous action that will not only save an enormous amount of energy but initiate global mindfulness around our use of energy.

We are all beginning to learn that the looming threat of global warming has given us an unprecedented opportunity to come together and change things. Green energy is an amazing way for humanity to work with Nature opposed to against it, create jobs, stop funding despotic regimes in exchange for their oil, and fight poverty and even genocide.

Being part of Earth Hour is a small but profound way to join the entire human race as one world, for one hour in a movement that will transform the globe. Turn off your lights at 8:30 pm Saturday March 28 and don’t turn them on until 9:30 pm.

After you do this, if you blog about your experience and thoughts about doing Earth Hour on the HPA Common Room and then send a link of your blog to your HPA House Prefect at (your house name: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor,etc.) @thehpalliance.org - you’re House will be granted twenty points for the Accio Books! House Cup Competition.

If you post a youtube video on the HPA Common Room and send a link to your House Prefect you’ll get twenty points as well. So please consider this a bonus round where you can earn 40 points for your House.

But more important, whether you send us that or not, please join us in Earth Hour! The world is waking up and not a moment too soon!

There are many ways that each and every one of us can be more environmentally friendly. Many of our everyday actions lead to the destruction of forests, increase of endangered species, and the pollution of the land around us. From now on, I will be putting on my Groundskeeper hat every Saturday to provide a weekly tip to encourage and inspire green living.

This first, very simple tip will help decrease the over-use and resultant pollution of plastic bags. Instead of accepting the bags provided while shopping, bring your own canvas bags when you go. Don’t forget that they are useful at more than just the grocery store, bring them on any shopping trip!

And you don’t have to just get boring old canvas bags, either! You have many stylish options that are still eco-friendly (for example, at Nubius Organics). Another option is to go to your local craft store, pick up some plain canvas bags and some fabric paint and make a project of it! In fact, my brother’s girlfriend printed designs onto special paper and ironed them onto canvas bags for Christmas gifts this year. They were personal, adorable, useful, and eco-friendly! It doesn’t get much better than that!

If you are concerned about the bulk of carrying around a stash of canvas bags, look into other options for more compact re-usable bags. In my area, we use ChicoBags, a very compact bag that has a rather large capacity!  Feel free to do some shopping around!

Or the bees. When small creatures start to disappear in droves, it’s a sign that there is something dramatically off. Whether that something is a giant basilisk living within the walls of Hogwarts or unsustainable farming methods that are destroying our planet - the point is, the fact that bees are rapidly dying faster than ever in the US and now in Europe too, points to the need for a better way of farming. This article proposes one.

There is one type of gift I recommend giving this year: One that means a lot to someone. No “because I have to” gifts, no “cheap stuff that maybe they’ll like” gifts, but ones that really mean something, hopefully to the person receiving the gift, but also to someone else in the world as well. Does your gift receiver have their heart set on something? Then by all means fulfill their wish. But think about your choices when you do. So many things come in many different forms, and some are by far better for the environment and people than others. Was it made in a sweatshop? Was it made in a way that hurts the environment? Do the proceeds support people who need support?

These are questions I ask myself regularly when I buy things, gifts or not. I want my money to support a healthy future for all of us. But at this time of year, we all have an even bigger opportunity to make a difference! So here’s a great last-minute gift guide where you can make so many people happy and healthy with just one gift (other than the obvious brand new HPA t-shirt). This is by no means a complete list, so please search on your own for that perfect gift, and leave suggestions in the forum! Read the rest of this entry »

On my trip, I got to see some truly wonderful things. But what stood out the most, and what I’m most passionate about, are the natural wonders out there. Two places in particular were absolutely incredible, and I highly recommend seeing them if you get the chance! First up was the Badlands National Park of South Dakota. I’ve seen badlands before, but this was something else!

While watching out for poisonous snakes, I took the time to enjoy the serenity of the place. This is a place you can really think, relax, just enjoy the moment. I wandered off by myself, leaving the crowd of tourists behind, just to watch things for a while. There was a herd of animals down in the valley, happily grazing. A gentle breeze was blowing. A bird was flying around the cliff face, darting here and there. The occasional bug wandered by. It was so amazingly peaceful. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve always enjoyed odd or unusual things. I love expressions of creativity, especially the quirky ones! I think that is why Dumbledore is one of my favourite characters; he does odd things because they amuse him, and he doesn’t really care what others think of that. So whenever I travel, I keep an eye out for unusual roadside attractions!

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It’s Day 9 of the Eleven Days of Breaking out of the Muggle Mindset! Today, we have been using the resources that Mother Earth has given us quicker than ever before. Nature has played an incredible part of the Harry Potter series; the use of herbolgy was a crucial part of the daily lives of witches and wizards. Without the use of mandrakes, Hermione would have never been revived from petrifaction. Ron would have died from poisoning without the beozar. If these parts of the environment had disappeared because we lacked the skills in taking care of them, the wizarding world would never be the same. We need to do the same in our world and take care of the environment so humans can use it for years to come.

Even JKR has pushed for an environmental agenda. J.K.Rowling helped popularize printed books on recycled paper which in turn “saved 200,000 trees and had the same carbon impact as taking 1,577 cars off the road. Furthermore, printers across the country began stocking more recycled and FSC-certified paper to meet the demand.” To read the rest of the article on green publishing, head over to the MinnPost website.

To make a small contribution to the environment, we suggest reusing something around your house instead of throwing it away. For instance you could:

*Take an empty jar, like a spaghetti sauce jar, and fill it with a homemade cookie recipe mix, muffin mix, or some other tasty treat. Write up a nice label to go with it, instructions, and you have a great gift for a friend!

*Have old calendars with pictures you love? Save them and decorate your walls! Same with old magazines. Cut out the pictures you like and make a unique piece of art.

*Do you have old clothes that aren’t in good enough shape to donate? Make them into something new, like a bag for going to the store or a purse! You don’t need a sewing machine or great skills to make something fun, personal, and useful.

*Need a new game for a rainy day? Set up empty plastic bottles like bowling pins, find yourself a small ball (or make one!) and have fun! (If you are buying bottled water, stop! Just buy a reusable bottle and bring water from home! Don’t like the taste? Get a cheap filtration system and keep a jug of water in your fridge. It makes your fridge work less by keeping the fridge cool, and you have fresh cold water on hand whenever you want it.)

For example, I reused on old crate lying around my basement, painted it, and turned it into a side table for my bedroom. To see pictures of my idea and share some ideas of your own, please head over to our forums.