Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! Just as a reminder..
When dressing up your pet, make sure the costume is comfortable and easy to move around in. Don't force your pet to get dressed up if he/she doesn't want to.
When taking your pet Trick-or-Treating, make sure they are on-leash and someone responsible is holding said leash.
Most of all..
HAPPY HAUNTING!
- The admins, Shea and Silvia

Status 8/11/13

Yo, readers. I(Silvia), recently got an interest spike in Geography. Yeah. My second least favorite school subject, and I'm actually going on Wikipedia and stuff to find out more. I think I'm crazier than normal today.
Why am I interested in Geography suddenly, you ask? Because I've been learning about Africa and Asia and all those places recently, and dang, this world is messed up. The economies, the lack of money and supplies.. And believe it or not, it's actually linked up with pollution, deforestation, and all those things we environmentalists LOVE to hear about. (Sarcasm)
I'm probably gonna make an article on this soon. Stay tuned.

Second time fostering: Sammy and the Bottle Babies

Note: "We" in this case means Mom and I, unless otherwise stated.

Well, it started when we visited Tracy, the HSSA Volunteer Coordinator, to return Merlin and Twix, our first fosters. She had a small cage on her desk, which held three sleeping kittens, each one small enough to fit in your hand. Their names were Tigris, Mantis, and Blade, and all three were girls.

She let us say hello to the tiny bundles, and explained that they were still on bottle, despite being 5 weeks of age(old enough to be starting dry food)! Why were they so tiny? We got the whole story later.

These guys were taken to the vet about a minute old. The mother had possibly died giving birth, and the kittens still had the umbilical cord attached. For unknown reasons, the kittens had not yet grown larger than the size of a 2 week-old. The theory was that since they never got their mother's milk, they were possibly missing out on some thing vital to their growth, and the pushing and teaching a mother cat gives her babies.

Tracy also mentioned another foster she had, about a half week older than these guys, but the correct size for his age, named Sammy. Apparently, Sammy tried to be a surrogate mother for the bottle babies. However, his fierce licking of their bottoms gave one of the kittens diaper rash, and he had to be separated from them unless he was under constant supervisation.

She explained that Sammy, unlike the bottle babies, could be left alone in the house. She said he did very well without her.

A while after we returned Twix and Merlin, we got a call, from Tracy asking us to take Sammy. We agreed, and upon arriving at the building, found another carrier on the desk. This one contained a scrawny(he really was scrawny) black kitten who still had the kitten-blue eyes that would possibly wear off. Sammy. And he was voicing his displeasure at not being paid attention to. He had a small clear rubber-ish ball with a bell inside that he occasionally batted around. But it was clear that he wanted attention from humans at the moment.

"Meow. Meow. Meow."

We tried to calm him, let him paw at our hands(although sometimes he got just a little rough with the claws), and talked to him while trying to keep up conversation with the other humans in the room, but he wouldn't stop. We even held him for a while, which helped a little bit.

As it turned out, Tracy was going on a trip for three days and couldn't take her fosters with her. The constant feedings for the bottle babies, and paying attention to Sammy, was wearing her out badly.

We would have offered the take in the bottle babies. But we hadn't taken the class for caring for them and feeding them. Apparently, no one could take them in and Tracy was desperate. So she gave us a 3-minute bottle baby feeding class. She said we passed and we should call up the Foster Care Department if we had any questions.

So we ended up driving home with a complaining Sammy and three bottle babies who didn't seem to enjoy the car.

       Above is a photo of Tigris.

At home, we tested out our skills at feeding the bottle babies. Tracy said we should feed them as soon as we got home, because they hadn't been fed for a few hours.

It is really hard to bottle feed kittens. They squirm, they close their mouths tightly, they even spit it out, and if you don't hold them right you could make them choke. And even if they don't want to eat, you have to feed them.

Finally, we let Sammy, who had been exploring my bed, return to the floor. He mewled whenever the bottle babies mewled, and tried to reach them. It was heartbreaking to keep him away from them, but we hadn't forgotten the bottle Tracy had given us. It was labeled "Butt Ointment", and we had to apply a little daily onto Mantis's tiny bottom, thanks to Sammy's urge to clean the kits.

 I had tried to get a photo of the black cat(which I'm sure you are aware is difficult).

There was a little bit of formula at the bottom of the bottle. Sammy appeared to be hungry, and although we were trying to get him to eat dry food instead of wet, a little couldn't hurt, right? 

We gave him the bottle and he latched on immediately, sucking with tremendous force. We could hardly get him to slow down.

We watched him for a while, gnawning on the rubber nipple of the bottle. We got a glimpse of his teeth and the same thought occurred to Mom and I at the same time.

"What if he chews off the nipple? Can he?"

As we reached for him to pry his jaws off the bottle, Sammy looked at us. I swear he had a "Oh, you don't want me to do this?" Mischievous cat look. He tilted his head up and gulped. We sprang for the bottle, but it was too late. The entire nipple, save the base, had been chewed off in a way that suggested sharks. And Sammy looked very contented with himself.

Mom open his mouth and looked, but we had to admit that he had swallowed the whole thing.

Mom ended up calling foster care about it. We were reassured that he probably wouldn't have any problem passing it, but we brought the remaining part of the nipple to them to make sure the amount he swallowed wouldn't clog his digestive tract. They compared the base to a whole rubber nipple, and said he would be fine. Sammy threw up the nipple later, whole. So I am very happy to report that he suffered no lasting damage from it.

However, that wasn't the last time this fostering would bring unexpected events.

We put Sammy in the tub, and the three bottle babies in a long cardboard box. We taped the top of the box up, and lined it with blankets. We fed them water with an eyedropper, since they couldn't yet lap, and we didn't want to leave them with a water bowl.

The feedings of the three bottle babies every few hours were very taxing. I had Karate to go to(about one hour per lesson), Mom had to cook and do the laundry, and homeschool me, and Dad had to work. It was only for the weekend, but it felt like forever.

The bottle babies needed to learn to lap, and then we could get them on solid wet food. 

We put a low bowl of wet food on the dining room table, with the tablecloth on, and placed the bottle babies near it. They were so underdeveloped they could hardly walk, and finally one walked up the bowl. She stood in it and continued walking until she was about halfway across, then seemed to realize that she was walking through wet food. She lifted a paw, inspected it with disgust, and shook it.  You'd think that wouldn't be too bad, but the act of her shaking each of her legs in turn, in an attempt to get off the wet food, made tiny particles of the food sail everywhere. It traveling a good 2-5 feet from where the kitten was, and soon Mom and I were covered head-to-toe in it. Mom wasn't amused until later, but I couldn't help it. I laughed and laughed as I scooped kittens up and placed them near the bowl, only for the same result. Finally, we gave up(for the moment), fed them with the bottle, and gave them their first bath, which was more like a sponge bath with a few dunkings in a bowl of warm water. They didn't like it, and the bath only helped to get some of the crusty food out of their fur. After that, we bought Kitten Wipes. 

Eating on her own!

Sammy was a climber and jumper

I think you now get the idea of it. I could go on for a much longer time with tales of food flinging and difficult feedings, but for your sake I'll get to the point. Suffice to say, they began to eat wet food off of our fingers, and even started eating from the bowl! They also learned to lap.

At one point, Mom and I went to the Furbaby Fiesta, an HSSA Event, to volunteer there and see Merlin and Twix, who got adopted that day. For more info on the Furbaby Fiesta and how it went, check out the article I made about Twix and Merlin.

After we were done at the event, we were walking at a moderate pace back to our car when Mom got a call from Dad. Apparently, the bottle babies and Sammy wanted to be fed and paid attention to, and they were making a lot of noise. We hurried back home and fed them, and attempted to calm down Sammy, and all was well until about 3 hours later, when the bottle babies wanted to be fed again. 

For the record, fostering is not easy. Mentally, and Physically, it taxes you. And the amount of love we pour into these guys.. The question I get asked the most is "Isn't it hard to return them?". Yes. It's hard. But you also get the satisfaction of knowing that you really made a difference to their lives. And we trust the HSSA to find the right match for them, or another foster family if they need it.

It can also be hard to tell similar kittens apart by appearance. We were having trouble telling Tigris, the runt, and her sister Blade apart. Mantis was easier to tell from the others, because she was blue and gray in some places, like her face.
We spent a while figuring out how to tell the sisters apart, but we eventually came up with a few ways.

They wouldn't often stay still while we were weighing them.

All the time we were worrying about whether or not the bottle babies were growing, Sammy was growing. A lot. He began to fill out his scrawny frame and slowly began to put on pounds. He played ferociously with a bird toy, climbed Mt.Couch, played with his ball that had a bell, and overall proved he was a healthy kitten.

But there were two concerns.

One, he wouldn't eat dry food. We'd leave it for him, mixed with some wet, and he'd eat around the dry pellets, licking off the wet food.

We tried adding water to the food, but then he barely ate it.

Mom chopped the dry food up, but then it was so small he didn't pay much attention to it, especially one he discovered it was all dry. So we added the chopped stuff to the wet, but he still ate around it, and what he did swallow was so small it wouldn't fill him much.

We had a little bit of dried catnip that came with scratching boards we bought, so I even added a little of that. Sammy still wanted wet food.

This was worrying, because he was losing weight when we were supposed to be making sure he gains some pounds, and we were also supposed to get him to eat dry food.

Finally, we ended up not feeding him unless he'd eat the dry food, and that mostly worked, but Sammy gave me a dirty look every time he ate some dry.

Second, he played too rough. We discovered this the hard way. As we played with him, he'd get more and more rough, until he was actually using claws. It didn't hurt too badly, but we had scratches on our hands, and we couldn't let him continue scratching anything but his scratching boards.

Mom's theory, which I agree with, is that because Sammy didn't have any playmates, he didn't have someone who would squeal and hit him back when it hurt. So we tried pinning him to the ground, not enough to hurt, to try to get the message across. He didn't get it, so we stopped the attempt.

Mom came back from the consignment shop with a Beanie Baby stuffed cat, who became Sammy's playmate. He loved the cat, who I named Shell, and would "rabbit kick" the stuffed animal for a long time before becoming tired of the play. I would hold the stuffed animal and move it around like a real kitten, and Sammy would attack it. We also gave him a stuffed sheep I had that had once been a dog toy, which he slept with.

Stuffed Animal friends. Can you spot Sammy?

As it turns out, Play-Time was the only sure fire way to get Sammy to be quiet. He would even try to meow while eating.

On the day we returned the bottle babies, I was weighing them one last time, to see how much they'd grown.

The bottle babies were coming worrisomely close to the edge of the counter. They didn't seem to understands that they could fall from the counter, and seemed to be determined to slip off. 

I grabbed one of them to keep her from slipping off, and Blade, who I had to release, did slip off.

The fall from the counter is only about 3 feet, but Blade was so tiny I immediately panicked. She was alive, but was on her back and writhing in a very scary way. Mom shrieked, automatically coming to the conclusion that Blade's back was broken, causing Dad to come over.

I won't lie, tears were shed. Mom held Blade to her chest until she stopped squirming and her breathing returned to normal. Then we rushed her to the HSSA, and brought her to the vet stationed there. The vet checked her out while we waited with the other two kittens in the carrier, and when she came out with Blade the vet said Blade was absolutely fine. Relieved, we explained that Blade was actually weeks older then she looked, which got a shocked look from the vet.

We still aren't sure why she went into that trauma, but Blade is sturdy, like most kittens.

The hardest part was explaining what happened to Tracy, who I secretly feared would never let us take another foster. This was not the case, thankfully.

We kept Sammy a few weeks more, and we slowly recovered from losing so much sleep while we had the bottle babies. Mom said we wouldn't take in another litter of bottle babies, but we ended up taking more months later. But I'll write a separate article on that.

When we returned Sammy, people were impressed at how sleek his once-patchy coat was. 

We handed in the paperwork explaining Sammy's habits, which would be handed to his adopter when was adopted. On it, we had mentioned Sammy's habit of playing rough, which now included teeth. The woman checking out the paperwork told us where to sign, and circled the part of about confirming  the foster doesn't have rabies.

"Oh, no, it's not that kind of biting." Mom said.

"I know, that's why I circled it." Was the reply.

I explained that Sammy liked his ball to be with him, and the volunteer who picked him up assured us that she'd make sure his ball stayed with him in the kennel.

After we returned Sammy, Mom said that he was harder to return than the others, because Sammy looked up to her as his mother. It's true that Sammy seemed to bond to one person.

About a month later, pictures were posted by the bottle baby's new foster. The sisters were renamed, and had grown amazingly! They were about the same size as they should be, their fur had grown a bit, and their eyes were brighter. It's amazing what foster care can do.

Finished!

The Pokemon of Afisia chapter is finally done, hope you enjoy it!

Can they? #2

Question: Is it true that a parrot, if dropped on its beak from high up, will not be hurt?

Answer: NO. The parrot can still be seriously injured from the fall, and chances are you'll break its neck if you drop it from too high. Take care of your pets.

Status 8/24/13

Started a new Pokemon fanfic, since I currently have writer's block on my other ones. It's called Pokemon Fenoa'in, it will probably be posted soon.
Since ES Blog is getting kind of personal, I'm considering started a new blog for all my everyday stuff, and keep ES Blog more to the environmental stuff. If this happens, my family and friends will most likely have "code names" to protect their privacy.

2nd Foster Dog update: Angel

She's got a home in New Hampshire now. :) A 90 year old man who should have no trouble with her, she's nice and calm.
She will be going to her new home soon, probably this weekend.
You were lovely to have, Angel. <3

Foster Dog Update: Angel

She's settled in well. Acts like a normal elderly dog.
She's sweet and quiet, but I fear that Lulu is teaching her to alarm bark.
She's dong well on her treat training, too. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks?

Foster dog: Angel

Yo readers! Yesterday my uncle Steve got a new foster dog from Golden Hugs Retriever Rescue. Her name is Angel, and she's a real sweetie! Very tolerant, loves to be brushed. And she has a TON of hair. We brushed her undercoat yesterday and today, and both days we ended up with an entire bag of shed fur.
She came from Kentucky, and we're in Vermont right now. :O She was found on the streets, picked up by animal control, and was schedualed to be euthanized that day. Apparently she and the other dogs were forced into submission with an electric rod! How anyone could do that to such a sweet puppy is beyond me. She loves dogs, and going for walks. Not sure if she's OK with cats. She's friendly and submissive towards everyone, and she's a little fat. She's about 9 years old, but fairly energetic, getting spurts of energy.
We brought her to the dog park yesterday and she was very good, being nice to the dogs, but not too interested in the people.
It turned out that she had fleas, and we gave her a bath with flea shampoo and the hose, which she obviously did not like but tolerated very well. Such a nice dog. The fleas are almost gone, we think, and a few rounds with the flea comb should do the trick.
She's missing a few teeth, unfortunately.
She's in foster care to get her more used to the house, but from her familiarity with the leash and door(she asks to go out and in!), we'd say she was once someone's pet. Please don't leave your dog on the street. If you have to give them up, don't abandon them, bring them to your local no-kill shelter!
Note: From her traumatic experience in the animal control basement,  she's extremely afraid of kennels. Again, please don't put your dog through this. Or any animal. Care for them like your children.

More updates as the days progress.

Can they? #1

Q: Can Pit Bulls really lock their  jaws?
A: No, they can't. The common belief that Pit Bulls can "lock" their jaws and continue to hold onto prey longer and harder than most dogs is a myth. Any dog will hold on and shake, whether in play or in aggression. There is no special bone structure that allows them to be more vicious, not to imply that they are.

A plea for Kittens and Puppies

Please, please, please spay/neuter your pets. We beg you. You've heard it before, we know, but then why don't you listen? You say spaying or neutering is wrong, but what's more wrong is abandoning helpless newborns whose existence is partly because of you, the one who became an accidental breeder.
What's your goal, by allowed your dog or cat outside, where they can have kids with anyone? When she gets pregnant, it's too late to spay her until she's given birth to the pups or kits. And then what? You leave them outside to die? You give them to your neighbor, who doesn't want them either? You keep an entire litter, plus the mother, in your house or apartment? The logical choice, you say, is to give them to the shelter. Yeah, that same shelter where they will probably not be adopted, and die? OK then, a no-kill shelter, you say. Well guess what? They can barely afford to take care of the animals they have! And you're still abandoning these animals to a place where they may stay their whole lives.
Even if your pet is male, he will still be contributing to the overpopulation resulting from many owners not spaying or neutering their pets.
According to the American Humane Association, approximately 8 million animals are taken into local shelters. 3.7 million(nearly half) don't make it out.

'Simply put, there is no such thing as “accidental” breeding. Spaying and neutering is a conscious choice.'- Quoted from the American Humane Association Pet Overpopulation page @ http://www.americanhumane.org/animals/adoption-pet-care/issues-information/pet-overpopulation.html.

One can spay one's puppy or kitten safely at 8 weeks of age. The only side effects are a happier, healthier pet, and one or two days of grogginess, to get over the anesthesia.
Still want to keep your pet inside, to keep them from breeding and saving you from having to spay or neuter? Trust me, your pet will be very unhappy, especially males that sense a female in heat. Behavioral problems may result, and some un-spayed or neutered animals become snappy. Escapes are not unheard of.

Are you refraining from spaying or neutering because of cost? Imagine the cost of lives, or caring for an entire litter. That's the cost you'll be placing upon the Humane Society too.


This is Silv, signing out, and urging you to reconsider if you were not going to spay or neuter your pet. Millions of animals thank you.

Legends of the Flight: Short stories #1

Hey guys, here's a sort of practice  round for the short stories.

Silv got an idea!

Hey, hey, hey readers! I was about to log off the computer 'cause I promised Mom I'd do some Math, when I got a great idea! (LOL, sorry Mom)
It's kind of a surprise, but.. Let's just say it has to do with Legends of the Flight....But short stories! It's a side thing, the regular story will still be going.
That's all, can't tell you what kind, will say more soon.
Infuriating, huh?

Bye, <3 you all,
- Silv

P.S.
Hey, hey, this is Corpish here! You know, from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon? Hey, hey, I like Silv's idea, but hey! Let's try to get her to do short Pokemon of Afisia stories to! She's a more experienced writer now, hey! C'mon, hey, hey.

Status 4/15/13

Hai all! Legends of the Flight will be updated soon, whoot! I'm here to apologize to the actual Gilberto and Mike. You guys helped make this possible by allowed characters to be based off of you. Now, with great regret, I must admit that the battle between the two in Legends of the Flight is not anywhere near a typical competitive battle on Pokemon Showdown! Pokemon Online, or over Wi-Fi. You two are both great at battling, so the two characters' way of battling is not meant to be a reflection on you.
Like the Pokemon anime, this battle is designed to have mistakes, bad move choices, etc.,  to make it more interesting, as well as easier for people who have never competitively  battled, and are therefore unfamiliar with terms like "Sweeper" or "EVs".
Wow, I really rambled, huh? This is Silv, signing out, and saying "Love you all, readers and other people!".

Status 7/3/13

Heyyyooo readers! What's up? Independence Day(Also known as the Fourth of July) is coming tomorrow, and guess what that means? Articles will feature some pretty and colorful characters, animals that show off some red, white, and blue all through the year(or at least for most of it)!
Also, some articles on global warming are coming too.

Aside from that, please tell us what articles you'd like to see. Anything that piques your interest, mention it!

Saving up plastic bags: They aren't one use items, By Silvia Phenora

If you go to our house, and open the closet next to the door, one of the first things you will notice is a very large bag filled with rolled up plastic bags. Those are grocery bags, so called "one-time use" items. Every time we get home from shopping, the bags go in there.
Here's just a little of what you can do with saved bags:

We use them while fostering. It's great to be able to put all the litter and paper towel waste in a hanging bag to dispose of later.

Messy projects. We can have a disposable bag on hand any time.

Trying to double wrap something, like a gift.

Crafts. It's amazing what you can make out of them! Do some google searches. I've seen articles on how to make sandals(yes, shoes!) out of them!

On-the-road, compact trash bags for our Airstream Travel Trailer. Simply hang, and put all your trash in it until it's full.

Doggy bags.

And SO MUCH more! Be creative, and think of how you can go green,  and reuse!
Note: Even though plastic bags have many uses, always choose a "Green" bag at the grocery store. They're greener in the long run. This article is meant to encourage the world's people to reuse already-obtained plastic bags.

Note from the admins

All right. Time to get serious. Silv's been fostering cats, doing school, and doing karate, and Shea's been doing school, taking care of pets, and going on internet-less trips.
Our lack of articles ends now.
Wit summertime, shall come ES Blogging time! Stay tuned, our faithful readers. A story from Silv will be coming up very soon.

Status 4/23/13

Hi, it's us, the Admins.

Just wanted to say sorry for not getting those Earth Day articles up. Silvia was celebrating her Birthday, and Shea is on a trip.
Hopefully, we are all becoming environmentally conscious enough so that Earth Day isn't really different from any other day.

Have a great day!

Sincerely, the Admins,
Silvia and Shea

Earth/Birth Day

Heyyy everybody! It's Earth Day! That means that by the end of today, we'll have Earth Day articles! Plant a tree(Please do)! Do fun, Earth-Friendly activities! Collect rainwater!

It also happens to be Silvia's Birthday! :)

(If I, Silvia, post this, will it seem vain? xD)

Status 3/24/13

Heyyyy readers...Wow. We have been totally inactive on ES Blog, huh? Sorry about that.. We'll get some more articles up soon, we promise.
Silvia has a note for you. Here ya go:
Heyo, just wanted to add some things here: 1. The new Legends of the Flight chapter is going great, it'll be posted soon.
2. I have a few surprises for you people...Hope you like them. Expect something new in a few weeks.
3. The Rescue Dog article is what I'm currently working on. It wouldn't take more than 3 days to write out, but unfortunately, I will be without internet for a while. Sorry, don't worry, I'll be active again soon.
So, that's all, folks!

Thanks for reading! Please stay tuned.

Sincerely, the Administrators,
Shea and Silvia

Snowy wilderness

Dear readers,
As I am typing this, it is snowing outside, in my state, Arizona. I just came back in after having some snowy fun outside. It is perfect packing snow, and about 1 1/2 cm. thick so far. I made a snowball, and just put the snowball in the freezer.
While I was outside, I had time to muse on how global warming was affecting the planet, and how, if we don't act quickly, this unusual phenomenon could never happen again. In the arctic regions, right now, it is snowing there, too. But in there, it's different. The snow there is nessasary for their survival. It's not a pesky nuisance people shovel off the sidewalk, or a wonderful flurry people and animals play in. It's Life.
 As I threw a snowball into the air, I thought about how global warming affects our planet.
I urge you dear reader, please, please contribute to the prevention of further global warming. It's already here, and we need to stop it. 

I took a warm bubble bath halfway through writing this. The soap bubbles reminded me of snow. But the bubbles thrive in warm water, while the snow thrives in the cold.

I have a book with a wonderful poem about the winter. Unfortunately, it would be a copyright violation to post it here.
I hope you find your own poem in the snow, sand, or sky, wherever you are.
Sincerely,
Silvia Phenora

Valentine's Day is over, but the fight for the Earth is not!

Heyo, it's after Valentine's Day, and here are some quick tips on how you can help be more green!

1. You know those flowers you got that person you spent Valentine's Day with? Compost them when they die. If you haven't bought cut flowers, how about potted ones? An avid gardener will love a bulb that can be planted outside later, and regrown year after year!
Houseplants make the home cleaner, unlike fake plants, which collect dust.

2. Those envelopes that the cards come in. Recycle them. If you aren't the type to save cards, recycle those, too. Please don't just throw them away if they are recyclable.
Oh, and recycle the empty box of chocolates, too, please.

3. This one can be applied to any day. Do you need to get something at a nearby store? Go for a walk with your sweetheart, or bike. Don't drive if you can walk or bicycle.

4. Next year, buy recycled paper cards, or make your own cards out of homemade recycled paper!

5. Show your love for the Earth by planting a tree with someone you know. Remember, any day can be Earth Day!

Hope you liked the earth-friendly tips, Go Green as well as red this year!

Water, water, water.....

Water, everywhere. Pools, streams, creeks, ponds, lakes, seas, rain, puddles...water can be found all over, even in the driest deserts. And without it, we couldn't survive.

So why waste it? We all need water. It is totally pointless to waste water, and wasting does harm. That tiny trickle that kept coming out of the faucet because you were too lazy to turn it off completely? Yeah, according to USGS website, that wastes(no joke) an entire gallon of water in one day. And that is assuming the faucet does 20 drips per minute, on a 1/4 millimeter faucet. Yours may drip much more. Shocked yet? How about this quote from the EPA's website:
'Leaks can account for, on average, 10,000 gallons of water wasted in the home every year, which is enough to fill a backyard swimming pool.'

And another quote from the EPA: '10 percent of homes have leaks that waste 90 gallons or more per day.'

So now it's quite apparent that leaks that go unfixed are huge water wasters. Let's now look at the statistics for water wasted for other reasons, like in the shower. If you want to take a long soak, a bath may actually be less wasteful. It may seem worst at first glance, gallons of water in the tub, but believe me, if you know how much water goes down the drain during hour-long showers..Before deciding to take a bath or shower, look realistically at how long you will be in there. Are you washing up to go to work in 20 minutes? OK, then, take a shower. 
Are you going to spend an hour in there because you need to relax? Seriously consider that bath.

Need more? How about..The garden hose? No playing with it while watering. The garden hose is one of the biggest water consumers. A singe hose can waste more than six gallons per minute. Gah. That's more than you need to drink in 24 DAYS. Yikes.
And here's one more EPA quote: 'Each person uses 80 to 100 gallons of water per day, on average.' Note that that is for an American Household. 



So. Seen enough? Good. Now, how can you reduce your waste of water?

1. Take shorter showers.

2. Have leaks fixed professionally. Yes, professionally. Even if you think you can do it, don't. You may think it's fixed, but there's a chance that it's not fixed, and you don't realize it until it's wasted another half gallon.

3. Don't play with that hose too much. It uses up water fast, especially while on a strong setting.

4. Use the public pool. Believe it or not, using your own pool uses more water.

5. Just be overall water-concious while doing "everyday" things. Before doing a load of laundry, stop and think about whether you could wait until there is more laundry. Doing small loads wastes more than large loads. But don't use this as an excuse to slack off.

And when you use the washing machine. Think about how much water your washing machine uses, and wash the dishes by hand if you can do it without using a ton of water.

Remember: Statistics are general facts. Don't lose sight of the amount you hurt our environment, and what you can do to stop it.

We have got to Save this planet now. This is the time for action. You're not alone. If we all work together, we can fix the harm we've done.

Vegetable Oil Cars? By Shea Montgumery

How great is a car that runs on vegetable oil? Well it may seem like a good idea, you know a car that doesn't hurt the planet buy producing harmful exaust.  Think again.  While the car it self may not be harmful to the evironment, but it needs some way of getting the vegetable oil.  See the flaw in this brilliant plan yet? No? Let me enlighten you.  The big vehicles used to collect the ingredients for vegetable oil use a ton fuel! Because most people do not use vegetable oil cars more fuel is wasted by the large farming vehicles than is made up for by the earth friendly cars.

Global Warming

We don't know how fast Global warming will destroy our planet but we do know that its already changing our lives. Huge storms that were rare and uncommon are happening every few years now.  The ice caps are melting and who knows how long it will be before the sea level rises enough to destroy low level areas on the coasts.  Global warming is serious and its happening now.  Do anything you can to put an end to it.  Lives are in danger don't take it lightly.
       


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photo by mirjoran