Environment - Step 14: Bring a Reusable Mug When Going to the Coffee Shop

If you are a regular visitor to your local Starbucks, you have probably thrown away your fair share of disposable coffee cups. While one cup may not seem like much, think back to how many cups you probably threw away over the past year. Then, think of the millions of people who visit Starbucks or other coffee shops every year and throw away their coffee cups, too. That equates to billions and billions of cups entering our landfills every year! And don't forget the resources that are being used to make these cups. You can do your part to elimate this wasteful practice by bringing your own reusable mug the next time you get coffee. Sustainability is Sexy (http://www.sustainabilityissexy.com/) makes it its mission to get everyone using reusable mugs when visiting the coffee shop. Visit their site to get more details on the huge environmental problem that disposable cups are.

Starbucks is trying to do their part to reduce waste and encourage customers to use reusable mugs. You can check out their goals for reducing cup waste by visiting this site: http://www.starbucks.com/sharedplanet/environmentalInternal.aspx?story=greenerCups. Note that you will get a 10 cent discount if you bring in your own mug - depending on how often you visit, you could make the cost of the mug back pretty quickly! Also, if you are staying in the store, you can ask to have your drink put in a ceramic mug. I've read on the web that not all stores have ceramic mugs available, so you may want to talk to the store manager and find out what their plans are to get mugs in your local store. And you can go online at http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/ideaHome and tell Starbuck that you want mugs at your local store.

Just make sure that you put your mug in a place that will ensure you use it every time you visit the coffee shop. And have a regular schedule for washing it and putting it back in its place each night. Over time, it will become a habit - a habit which helps the planet.

Take Care,
Kara

Giving - Step 7: Help Offset CO2 with Trivia Answers

I'm always on the lookout for ways to raise money for great causes for free. I've blogged about http://www.freerice.com/ before, and now I've found another one - Let's Offset (http://www.letsoffset.com/). The site asks trivia questions in the areas of entertainment, sports, history, and science/environment. For each question you answer correctly, the site will purchase a carbon offset for 15 grams of CO2. The site raises the funds to purchase these offsets through advertising and private dontations. The offsets are purchased through CarbonFund (http://www.carbonfund.org/), who I've purchased carbon offsets from in the past.

So, if you are a Trivial Pursuit and Jeopardy junky, check this site out and help the environment at the same time!

Take Care, Kara