And loving it!

This morning I woke up to find I had been given the most wonderful gift by the Brighter Planet folks.

Brighter Planet, who helps people reduce and manage their carbon footprints, has decided to give fantastic FREE green gifts this year and best of all, they want to share these gifts with us!

Brighter Planet has allocated 25 Carbon Neutral days for KSW readers. Claim your Carbon Neutral certificate by following the link – for a limited time – you may even have a chance to pass this good deed along to someone else. This offer is first come, first serve so be sure to get yours before its too late

* This is a great stocking stuffer idea or a kind gift to stick in a christmas card.

Here’s a few words about this terrific campaign:

Forget fruitcake. This year, you can spread your holiday cheer by giving presents that contribute to the fight against climate change. The One Day campaign gives people the opportunity to give the gift of carbon neutrality for one day this holiday season. Brighter Planet will donate 136 lbs. of carbon offsets—used to fund renewable energy projects—to each One Day participant.

What’s One Day Worth?

The average American emits 136 pounds of carbon dioxide each day. About 36 pounds come from driving, flying, and other travel. Another 22 pounds come from heating, cooling, and powering our homes. The final 78 pounds come from producing, transporting, and disposing of all the stuff we buy, and from shared services like schools and street lights. 136 pounds would fill 5,000 balloons — imagine releasing that every day.

“This year, people are looking for low-cost, environmentally conscious ways to spread holiday cheer,” said Patti Prairie, CEO of Brighter Planet. “Although one day of carbon-free living is not your typical stocking stuffer, it costs consumers nothing, is a snap to send, and says we can give the gift of our planet to future generations. By participating in ONE DAY and following these conservation tips, people can make a very positive impact on the environment at a time when it needs it the most. “

Lighten up on lighting

Use more efficient LED holiday lights, which require only 10 percent as much energy, or install an automatic timer that turns the lights on only when needed – between dark and bedtime.

Cool your house; cool the planet

Turn down the thermostat when possible – 1 degree will save 136 pounds of carbon emissions in 2 months; 5 degrees will save 136 pounds in just a few weeks. 

Give Green

Give creative gifts like donations to charity in someone’s name or EnergyStar rated electronics. The method of shopping (online vs. driving around) and wrapping gifts (recycled paper, newspaper, blankets, etc) can reduce waste too. 

Audit your Energy

Turn a home energy audit into a fun family activity. Have the kids search the house high and low, and compete to find the most inefficiencies. An audit that saves just 1 percent of home energy usage would reduce a home CO2 footprint by 215 pounds annually. 

Cook carbon‐light

Consider a lower-impact vegetarian holiday meal, cook dishes together in the oven, run the dishwasher only when full, and cool foods outside to achieve major energy savings. 

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Dear readers,

I promise this post is as close to something political as you will ever see anything written on Kids Stuff World. Normally, I wouldn’t bring them up in our happy space, but this cause deserved some action on my part. A while back, I joined a group called 350.org. There goal is to put an end to Global Warming. The number 350 comes from a few scientists who have figured out that number 350 (in parts per million) is the key to balancing our earth’s atmosphere and preventing rapid climate change.

The 350.org mission, for the moment, is to gather as many personal invitations from US citizens asking the next elected president to attend a summit to develop an international climate treaty. They’re asking normal folks like you and me to send a quick (pre-written) email to the White House. They collected over 24,000 so far but would like to gather as many as 35,000!!!

Interested? Please visit www.350.org/invite to learn more about the organization or to send your personal invitation to our next Commander In Chief

It’s the least we can do for mother nature…

Photo credit: Daily Galaxy

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Five craft- and DIY-themed online communities – Craftster, Etsy, CraftZine, BurdaStyle and ThriftyFun – have launched the Creativity 350 partnership and contest to draw creative energy and attention to 350.org’s goal of reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million to stave off drastic climatic and planetary repercussions.

The Creativity 350 contest is actually two contests in one: A 350-themed craft contest and a 350-themed T-shirt design contest. For the craft contest, participants are invited to craft any project that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350, using any crafting technique. For the T-shirt contest, entrants may create an original T-shirt design that creatively expresses the importance of the number 350. 

Entries will be accepted from July 15 to August 15, 2008. Then the public will vote for their favorites from August 16 – August 31, 2008. Valuable craft- and green-themed prizes will be awarded to the two winners. A complete list of the prizes can be found at the contest Web site: http://www.craftster.org/350/. The winning T-shirt design will also be utilized by 350.org on t-shirts that will help the organization raise money and create awareness of its mission.

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