March/April Campaign: Free Full Size Caldrea and Dapple Products

Products Just In!  Need "Green Bees" to test them.  Make sure you get yours today.

And...



Send us an email to info@bylaurendaniels.com with the subject line, "March/April Campaign" and become a friend/follower on Facebook, Twitter, and/or this blog.  Find us on Facebook, type "Lauren Daniels Assistant Services".  On Twitter, type "LaurenDanielsCo". 

March/April Campaign: Caldrea and Dapple Giveaway

Would you like free, full size natural products?  If so read below.

Six times a year, The Lauren Daniels Company has a campaign that analyzes a company that makes "green", natural, eco-friendly, biodegradable, and/or organic products.  For the March/April 2011 Campaign, we are going to analyze and test...***drum roll***...Caldrea and Dapple, http://www.caldrea.com and http://www.dapplebaby.com.

“Caldrea creates quality, earth-friendly products in our exclusive signature fragrances for cleaning your entire home. We use the finest plant-derived ingredients and essential oils to provide natural freshness and cleaning potency. No harsh chemicals, no harsh fragrances; a simple, stylish and fresh approach to cleaning in a fragrance collection of your own choosing.”

&

“Dapple is a line of natural-based cleaning products for households with children. Dapple products are baby-safe and baby-specific-using ingredients found in nature that are also proven to tackle unique baby cleaning challenges, from dried milk on bottles to sticky fingerprints on toys.”

Our goal is to test their home care products, but other reviews about their products are welcomed.  Send us an email to info@bylaurendaniels.com with the subject line, "March/April Campaign" and become a friend/follower on Facebook, Twitter, and/or this blog.  Find us on Facebook, type "Lauren Daniels Assistant Services".  On Twitter, type "LaurenDanielsCo".  As always, I am taking suggestions for the next campaign.

Look at what we are doing to ourselves: Plastic Waste

Do we love plastic more than we love ourselves?

Resource:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-bassett/breaking-the-plastic-addi_b_781569.html

Van Jones: "Hug a Tree and a Child"

Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones is an American environmental advocate, civil rights
activist, and attorney.  He graduated from University of Tennessee at Martin and Yale
Law School.  He was a self proclaimed radical in the 90's but in the past 15 years he
has became an advocate for "Green Jobs". 

While on this quest of helping to change minds and hearts about our environment and economy, he wrote a book called "The Green Collar Economy" (my next read).  He also was a major advocate for the Green Jobs Act, which George W. Bush signed into law in 2007. The Act was the first piece of federal legislation to codify the term "green jobs." Under the Obama administration, it has resulted in $500 million for green job training nationally. 

He is also the founder of Green For All and according to the website, www.greenforall.org, it is a national organization working to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty. He was also the country's first green job czar, Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). 

If I could interview Mr.Jones, I am sure that he would say that his proudest title is husband and father to Jana, Mattai, and Cabral.  Today, Van Jones  continues to advocate for "Green Jobs" for everyone and lectures on on all things "Green". 

Check out his lecture on "The economic injustice of plastic".  As I do with all important videos, I gave it a different title, "Hug a Tree and a Child".  Those are the words from Mr.Jones himself. 




Resources:
(Image) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-bassett/breaking-the-plastic-addi_b_781569.html
(Video) http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/van_jones_the_economic_injustice_of_plastic.html
http://www.greenforall.org/
http://gawker.com/#!5352832/who-is-van-jones
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Jones

Strange Fruit: A Reason to Stop using Plastic Bags #3

Can you find the plastic bag? 

Hint: It is not were it is suppose to be.

Powerhouses

What is a powerhouse?
powerhouse [ˈpaʊəˌhaʊs]

n

1. (Engineering / Electrical Engineering) an electrical generating station or plant

2. Informal a forceful or powerful person or thing

 

We are all powerhouses in this "green" revolution.  Let your voices be heard!  We want a clean, sustainable energy source!  We no longer want toxins/chemicals in our homes or our environment!  We want fresh, nourishing food!  We must educate our children so they will discover ways to reverse the damage we have caused!

Powerhouses!  Let's keep the pressure on ourselves, our neighbors, our community, our employers, and our government!

Resources:

(Image) http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/11/powerhouse-solar-shingle-clever.php

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/powerhouses

Look at what we are doing to ourselves: Tire Waste

We have to do better than this!!!  Do you have any ideas on what can be done about tire waste?  We must always think: Recycle, Reuse, Reduce and Educate.

Resource:
http://www.rodale.com/earthship-homes?page=0%2C2

Sports, Sports, Sports and "Green"

                                             
Since we did not get any men to sign up to become a tester for our FREE, full size natural, eco-friendly, biodegradable, and/or organic products in the last campaign, I decided to post something that most of them really care about...SPORTS.  Well, sports is going "Green" if you did not know.  Super Bowl XLV is today, so I decided to focus on the stadium were the two deserving football franchises are playing.
                                            
Dallas Cowboys Stadium teamed up with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make this stadium the first to gain recognition in the EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track Program.  This means that the Dallas stadium has to meet every goal of saving energy, water, reducing waste, and reducing their carbon footprint. 

Arlington mayor Dr. Robert Cluck was quoted in the website, www.Arlington.org, as saying “A massive building like this ‘going green’ is huge news across the city, the nation and the world.  If we can be successful here on this high-profile project, others should be successful, too.  I’m more interested in cleaning the air.  I want everybody to get the message that we’re environmentally sensitive and we can clean the air and prevent diseases that are occurring because of dirty air.  This is a great step in the right direction.”

In the design of the stadium only, they installed a retractable roof that allows nature light to lighten the stadium during the day, so power for lights are not needed. They also installed a permeable pavement that absorbs rainwater and the grass filters the rainwater so there was no need for underground drainage underneath the parking lot.

"Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knew that “going green” to help the environment would cost him some  “green” – as in money – in the construction costs.  But it was a financial burden he was willing to bear.  Now he’s realizing that spending money to “go green” will save him money in the future on energy and water costs.
“We’ve certainly in our design anticipated savings on water,” notes Jones.  “We think we’ll save a million gallons there.  We’re spending $1.2 billion total here, so a figure of 1% (extra cost) is meaningless, really.  If you start early enough in the design with your architect and have that mentality thru construction, you can design towards these kinds of savings.  I would think we really minimized our cost because we got on it so early.”"

To learn more about other franchises/stadiums and their "Green" initiatives go here.

Resources:
(Image) http://www.holamun2.com/news/versus/versus-pittsburgh-steelers-vs-green-bay-packers
http://www.arlington.org/sports_recreation/cowboys_football/onsite/goinggreen2
http://www.motherearthnews.com/healthy-people-healthy-planet/green-stadiums.aspx
 

Did you get your free stack of pancakes? These 10 Americans did. I know I received my share.

Check out this video!!! 

Updated: Kid-Safe Chemicals Act: 10 Americans @ Yahoo! Video

Leave your comments. :)
We will be looking more into this Act.


Resource:
http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/kid-safe-chemicals-act-10-americans-video/

Strange Fruit: A Reason to Stop using Plastic Bags #2

I saw this plastic bag on I-75/85 headed toward downtown Atlanta.  Is this your plastic bag?

Eating Healthy is "Green" Too: Butter Beans, Kale, and Cilantro Soup

Butter Beans, Kale, and Cilantro Soup

I created this recipe after my family got tired of eating a meal of speckled butter beans, kale, corn, and whatever meat I cooked last week.  I did not want my wonderful organic vegetables that were delivered from Nature Delivered (http://ga.naturesgardendelivered.com/) to go to waste. Plus I cooked and seasoned them to perfection (my daugther's words not mine).  I decided to put my VitaMix Blender to use and made a wonderfully unexpected, healthly, tasteful soup.  I hope you enjoy as much as my family did!!!

1 1/2 cup of cooked Organic Speckled Butter Beans (seasoned to your liking)
1 cups of cooked Organic Kale (seasoned to your liking)
1/4 cup of Organic Cilantro
1 cup of Organic Carrots
1 tbs of Agave Nectar
1 cup of Vegetable Broth or Liquid from Kale
1 tbs of Earth Balance butter
1 cup of cooked Rice (I used the Lemon Grass and Coconut 90 minute Rice from Trader Joe's, but any rice would work.)
4 Organic Tomato Slices
Few Cilantro leaves for garnish

Using a VitaMix Blender, I did the following:

1. Put the butter beans, kale, cilantro, carrots, agave nectar, and broth (or kale liquid) in the blender.

Note: Add more liquid for your desired consistency.

2. Blend on High setting for 5 minutes until soup is warm.

3. Add butter

4. Blend for 2 more minutes.

5. Pour soup in the bowl, place 1-2 tbs of rice in the center of the bowl, place a tomato slice on the side, and place a cilantro leaf for a garnish.

Makes 4 cups of soup.