Swaptree.com will plant one tree for each swap on Earth Day

As I mentioned on my guest post on Twilight Earth on Friday, I'm not particularly keen on buying things to celebrate Earth Day, but swapping things on Earth Day - well that's downright earth friendly. And if that swap comes along with the planting of tree, that's even better.

Swaptree.com, the site that allows users to swap books, dvd's, cd's and video games for free is working with The Nature Conservancy’s ‘Plant a Billion Trees’ program and will be planting a tree for every trade completed on Swaptree on Earth Day.

While currently several thousand trades happen every day on Swaptree, their goal on Earth Day is to do 10,000 trades and therefore plant 10,000 trees. While the average Swaptree user, given its emphasis on recycling and sharing, lowers their yearly carbon footprint by 180 pounds and saves trees from being turned into new books, with this initiative they hope to offset literally several thousand tons of CO2.

If you've been meaning to check out Swaptree but haven't done it yet, Wednesday is the day to do it. I've written about this earth friendly site several times before, but you know what, I have yet to complete a trade. I signed up for an account and someone tried to trade with me last summer when I was on vacation, but by the time I got home the trade had expired or been recinded or something. I think maybe I'll see what I can trade tomorrow on Earth Day.

Better Holiday Candles: Soy and Beeswax

I need candles for the candle holder in fireplace candle stand. We don't light the candles in there that often, so it's been a couple of years since I bought them. The last time I bought them, I went to the dollar store for them. I was able to fill the stand with candles for less than $10.

I need new candles for it, and I priced them out over the weekend - to the tune of $48. Have candles really gone up that much? No, the conventional dollar store candles are still available at the dollar store. I'm not willing to buy the conventional candles anymore. I'm looking to buy soy candles. Here's why.

Conventional candles are made from paraffin. Paraffin candles are made from petroleum and emit harmful carcinogens when burned. Their creation is bad for the earth's environment and their use is bad for the environment inside your home.

In contrast, soy candles are made from soybeans and are non-toxic. No carcinogens are emitted when they burn. They usually cost more than paraffin candles, but they burn longer. They don't need to be replaced as often. 

Another option is beeswax candles. Beeswax is a completely renewable resource. Beeswax candles burn longer than paraffin candles and they are almost dripless making them a good candle to put on top of a tablecloth - no difficult wax drips to try to clean off. Like soy candles they bur clean, and like soy they are more expensive than paraffin.

Sometimes better, cleaner, more environmentally friendly costs more. This is one of those times. I don't know if the soy and beeswax candles burn long enough to cancel out their higher cost. I do know that I'm not willing to pay $48 for the candles in my fireplace. I'm either going to find them cheaper or do without for now.

But, considering it's the holidays and a lot of candles are going to get burned in the next three weeks or so, I thought I'd let you all know what the better choices are.

Is Being Green More Difficult in the Cold Months?

I was thinking yesterday about how I don't feel as green as I did a couple of months ago. Let me explain.

• It's been over a month since I've been able to hang clothes on the line to dry. November was a very rainy month, and now it's too cold.
  
• My garden is gone and so is the farmers market. My produce is no longer local.
  
• With the cold and the rain, I've been driving to places that I would walk to if the weather was better.
  
• My communion with creation is much less. Over the summer I was sitting at my picnic table at this time of the morning, writing and noticing the different types of birds and critters that share my backyard with me.

Could it be that I miss being outside? When's the last time that happened? When I was a kid? I've spent so much of my adult life indoors. While that has slowly been changing over the past couple of years, it changed greatly this past summer.

I think I'm going to have to learn to deal with the cold and get outside in it. I'm also going to have to put a clothesline in the basement. There isn't enough room to be able to dry all the laundry down there, but I could do a little of it. And what happens if I hang laundry out when it's 40 degrees? It will eventually dry, right? It might be cold when I bring it in, but it will warm up, right? Hmmmm. It's going to rain today (of course), but tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 40. I think I'll see what happens if I hang out something light like bed sheets.

So how about you? Are you finding your greenness fading to a bit of a lighter shade with the early fading of daylight? Will there be times where it's possible to be greener than other times or am I just a wimp?