testing- Cruelty free Bath and Body Revised.

Just testing my google spreadsheet here. Bear with me till I finish up the complete cruelty free list

Chowder needs help!

My name is Chowder and I was born with Mega Esophagus

I am only 8 weeks old and I was born on Feb 10, 2010 ~ I really need your help!

My esophagus has a very big enlarged area & it starts out a normal size and gets really big.

It was discovered because I make a gurgle sound at times.

It turns out it is just air in there and it is not harmful.

When I eat is where the problem starts and food can get stuck in the enlarged area

and the food just stays there.

It can cause me to throw up or sometimes this can aspirate into my lungs.

I need to be fed soft food & have them made into pea sized meatballs

or like soup only not as thin.

I need to be fed in a special type chair that can be made.

The chair is called a Bailey chair.

I sit up like a person would when I eat and then I have to stay in the chair for 30 min

after I am done eating. You do have to feed me.

This chair has been very successful in giving these dogs like myself a

really good chance at an otherwise normal life.

I do run a higher risk than most other dogs do of aspiration and infection.

The vet said my case was bad and she did several tests to diagnose this

and she also consulted with other specialists.

Sometimes when we grow, it can get better but never cured, but I can improve.

The web site for more information is: http://www.caninemegaesophagus.org/

I will need someone that is committed and diligent in my care.

My life depends on your care, otherwise I will become weak, sickly

and I will either die from infection or starvation.

I am a huge responsibility but so full of love to give to anyone who takes me.

I will have to be fed at least 3 times a day for the rest of my life but I will be an incredible blessing to anyone who is willing to save and take good care of me!!!

-------------------------------------------------

* We are taking Donations for my Bailey Chair & Vet Care

* Your donation is tax deductible.

* You can send a donation check to * 322 North 105 Street * Seattle, Wash 98133

* OR PayPal on our website at: www.gingerspetrescue.org

* * * Thank you so much, Love, Chowder

Angel .. Foster number 4!

Angel is the sweetest and the nicest chihuahua you will ever meet. Here is her petfinder page!

She is a darling little girl and is waiting to find a forever home.

She got adopted on Feb 14th.. Wish her the bestest of life!!

The Strange being called Hubby !

Our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary is coming up (Feb 3). Instead of planning a celebration, my hubby is freaking out. He is getting all jittery! I think the big 5 is looking very big to him :). He gets all tingly about long term things :) He now wants to move to a new place coz we have been in Seattle 5 years too.. too long :) Change change change is the name of the game for him.

I, on the other hand, am a very settled person. I go through a couple of years of adventure and changes and travel then a couple of years of settlement and the cycle keeps repeating. But mostly I like the idea of having my own house and living there for a long time and making plans accordingly.. (Or maybe this settlement has come over me in the past few years)..But thats the way I would like to head.

And how you ask we 2 got married.. Now that is a looong story!..:)

We have been through thick and thin, crazy and even more crazy, weird and nice, fights and wars, love and more love in the 11 years we have known each other. And how much ever absent minded and crazy my hubby is, he is the most resilient person I've known and also the sweetest. He is going to make faces at me for writing this post:)

People who know him from his undergrad will never be able to believe that he actually learnt to cook for me. When mom left after 6 months here in 2007, He had to figure out how to cook. He picked up the challenge and made not just edible, but really good food! I still get to see that genius on some lucky days!

There are a lot of such challenges that he has had to work on and he never gives up! Biggest one named Me:)

Babes, Wish you a very happy and chilled Anniversary! Love you! And Thanks for dealing with this crazy me!

A poem

A Poem to my Foster Dog -- by Diane Morgan. http://www.pomrescue.com/pomrescuecom/motivationals.html

I am the bridge between what was and what can be.

I am the pathway to a new life.

I am made of mush, because my heart melted when I saw you.

Matted and sore, limping, depressed, lonely,unwanted, afraid to love.

For one little time you are mine.

I will feed you with my own hand.

I will love you with my whole heart.

I will make you whole.

I am made of steel. Because when the time comes, when you are well, and sleek, when your eyes shine, and your tail wags with joy, then comes the hard part.

I will let you go--not without a tear, But without a regret. For you are safe forever. A new dog needs me now...

----------------------------------

I saw the caged animals, saw the abused ones, saw the kitty with legs chopped off, saw the pitbulls with their ears ripped. I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal. And I was angry.
"God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?" God was silent for a moment and then He spoke softly.. "I have done something," He replied.
"I created You."

Life is more than just doing what everyone around you does.. education, job, family and fun... There is so much more that can be fit into it. Look around and help someone each day!

Cruelty Free Pet food

If you thought that your pet is living cruelty free .. think again.

Companies like Iams, Purina and other biggies, have animal testing labs where animals are kept in small cement enclosures and their stomachs pumped with food. Several other tests are conducted and the animals are then euthanized once they are incapable of being tested on anymore. There is more to this and it can be read here http://www.iamscruelty.com/

I just dont like shocking people into action because I know how much of a heartache it is to watch any such video of crazy inhumane humans. But sometimes it is quite necessary.

One day, hubby dear made a small joke about fur and I did not take it well. So I sent him some videos of how animals are skinned alive and how they are transported to and from the cruel facilities where they are skinned alive and left to die a slow painful death. He could not eat dinner that day! and now he will always remember to a) never buy fur, b) check all not that visible fur trimmings to see if they are faux or real. (trick to check faux fur -> http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/fur/field-guide-on-real-vs-fake-fur-final.pdf )

Heres a list of pet foods from PETA which are cruelty free.

Though cruelty free is a general term used by anyone and everyone, my definition of cruelty free is no animal testing on finished product as well as ingredients. On my blog i will usually add another category called cruelty free and vegan meaning no animal by products were used along with no animal testing.

• Amoré Pet Services, Inc., 1-866-572-6673; www.amorepetfoods.com
• Animal Food Services, 1-800-743-0322; www.animalfood.com
• Artemis Pet Food, 1-800-282-5876; www.artemiscompany.com
• Azmira Holistic Animal Care, 1-800-497-5665; www.azmira.com
• Bone Vivant, www.bonevivantstore.com
• Boston Baked Bonz (entirely vegan), 781-752-4040; www.bostonbakedbonz.com
• Bravo Raw Diet, 1-866-922-9222; www.bravorawdiet.comn
• Burns Pet Nutrition, 1-877-983-9651; www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk
• CaniSource, 1-888-347-3523; www.canisource.com
• CountryPet Pet Food, 1-800-454-7387; www.countrypet.com
• Dr. Harvey's, 1-866-362-4123; www.drharveys.com
• Dynamite Marketing, Inc., 208-887-9410; www.dynamitemarketing.com
• Eagle Pack, 1-800-255-5959; www.eaglepack.com
• Evanger's Dog and Cat Food Co., Inc., 1-800-288-6796; www.evangersdogfood.com
• Evolution Diet, Inc. (entirely vegan), 1-800-659-0104; www.petfoodshop.com
• Feline's Pride, www.felinespride.com
• Fromm Family Foods, 1-800-325-6331; www.frommfamily.com
• Great Life Performance Pet Products, 1-800-470-2001; www.greatlife4pets.com
• GreenTripe.com, 831-726-3255; www.greentripe.com
• Halo, Purely for Pets, 1-800-426-4256; www.halopets.com
• Happy Dog Food, 1-800-359-9576; www.happydogfood.com
• Harbingers of a New Age (entirely vegan), 406-295-4944; www.vegepet.com
• Holistic Blend, 1-800-954-1117; www.holisticblend.com
• The Honest Kitchen, 1-866-437-9729; www.thehonestkitchen.com
• Know Better Dog Food, 1-866-922-6463; www.knowbetterdogfood.com
• KosherPets, Inc., 954-938-6270; www.kosherpets.com
• Kumpi Pet Foods, 303-699-8562; www.kumpi.com
• Mark & Chappell, 1-866-547-3368; www.markandchappell.com
• Max & Ruffy's, 703-465-4481; www.maxandruffys.com
• Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. (vegan options), 1-800-829-4493; www.naturalbalanceinc.com
• Natural Life Pet Products, Inc. (vegan options), 1-800-367-2391; www.nlpp.com
• Nature's Variety, 1-888-519-7387; www.naturesvariety.com
• Newman's Own Organics, www.newmansownorganics.com
• Nutri-Vet, 1-877-729-8668; www.nutri-vet.com
• Oma's Pride, 1-800-678-6627; www.omaspride.com
• Onesta Organics (entirely vegan), 619-295-1136; www.onestaorganics.com
• Pet Chef Express, 604-916-2433; www.petchefexpress.ca
• PetGuard (vegan options), 1-800-874-3221, 904-264-8500; www.petguard.com
• Pied Piper Pet & Wildlife, 1-800-338-4610; www.piedpiperpet.com
• PoshNosh Inc., 613-302-3156; www.poshnosh.ca
• Raw Advantage, Inc., 360-387-5158; www.rawadvantagepetfood.com
• Sauder Feeds, Inc., 260-627-2196; www.sauderfeeds.com
• Solid Gold, 1-800-364-4863; www.solidgoldhealth.com
• Sojourner Farms, 1-888-867-6567; www.sojos.com
• Timberwolf Organics, Inc., 863-439-0049; www.timberwolforganics.com
• V-dogfood, LLC (entirely vegan), 1-888-280-8364; www.v-dogfood.com
• Veterinary Nutritional Formula, 1-800-811-0530; www.vnfpetfood.com
• Want A Cookie?, 250-665-7387; www.wantacookie.ca
• Wow-Bow Distributors Ltd. (vegan options), 516-254-6064; www.wow-bow.com
• Wysong Professional Diets (vegan options), 1-800-748-0188; www.wysong.net

Please check PETA's list for updates here http://search.caringconsumer.com/

Thanks for reading, and please spread the word. We, the net gen use the viral nature of net for all stupid things like a stupid video of a guy shaving his bum.. but will not pass around some simple things which can make such a difference in the world. I think this is because it sounds too preachy, and is not fun. Not everything in life is fun ! and please dont wait for a life changing event to have that Aha moment.

Please also bookmark Emily's blog here http://www.livingcrueltyfree.com/

She has dome some awesome research and contacted many companies. If in doubt about anything, do look her blog up. She might already have that information on there.

Tuggs

Phew! Crazy December.. I have to put up a more comprehensive list of cruelty free bath, body, kitchen, house items and also include a list of vegan options. I did manage to make part of the list and wrote to a couple of companies to clarify on their animal testing policies. But this is going to take time and having an untrained foster puppy does take up almost all of the time!!

Tuggie/Tuggle/Tuggs is our second foster. He is a super cute 7 month old rescue pekingese chihuahua mix puppy. He was rescued from a Puppy Mill in Tacoma along with 20 other puppies and several older adults. The older adults are still being rescued 10 or 20 at a time every weekend. He was very skinny and starved when we got him, but he has already put on some healthy fat and muscle. His coat is shinier and softer and he smells great too!.

He is a very mellow dude. He doesnt mind getting roomed or bathed. He gets along very well with dogs,cats and all people. He is not a yapper, does not bite, does not chew on anything except bones, and is a cuddler. He will sit and cuddle and watch the whole movie with you! Here is a video of the cutie !! http://www.dogster.com/video/1086749/our_foster_dog_tuggie

He loves running in the yard and loves being with other dogs. He has an adorable under bite. He looks more like a chihuahua and has a pekingese jaw structure with the underbite and long floppy ears. He looks like Yoda from StarWars when he lifts his ears to listen to you :)

Because of this huge selection of similar looking puppies and adults, the adoption of each of them is taking time. If you or anyone you know are interested in Tuggs, please do contact me. Please do share and forward this around. Lets get some real use of the viral web!

Happy Holidays from all of us!

Ginger's Pet Rescue presents....

"Our 2009 Christmas Dog"

"Meet Princess Grace !"

* Christmas Day is almost here & even on holidays we never stop our 24/7 rescue work !

Here is a wonderful Christmas Miracle for a lucky dog named Grace ~ a 9 year old Black and White Chihuahua.

Grace was found lost in the raging 800 acre San Bernadino Forest Fires.

A firefighter found her shivering against a tree and brought her to the local shetler.

The shetler immediately wanted to euthanize her because of her ugly teeth and

her age being 9 yrs old and they also felt she was unadoptable and no one would ever want or love her.

Our rescue team saw the beauty in this adorable little girl felt the urgent need to save her !

We had her vetted, added Princess on to her name & had her transported up to Seattle!

Now the good news is Princess Grace just got adopted out today!

Joan the foster mom has decided to adopt Grace & give her a forever

wonderful home for the rest of her life !!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

This past year, Ginger's Pet Rescue have taken in so many special need dogs that are deaf, blind,

one eyed, 3 legged and many senior dogs with huge medical issues.

They all required special care while our vet bills continue to grow !

For the Holidays ~ if you can you help donate $ 5.00 or $ 10.00 to help us to save

more special need dogs ~ we would be so grateful !!!

* You can either PayPal us on our website: www.gingerspetrescue.org

Or mail your donation 322 North 105th * Seattle, WA 98133.

This would be the best Christmas gift anyone could ever give us !

* Thank You and Happy Holidays ~ From Ginger & all the Dogs.

Simo, our first foster dog

It is so natural to just take the easy way out of everything. People who can ignore that urge are the ones who can actually make a difference!

Everytime I had a single stupid thought about how difficult fostering is and maybe I should volunteer to do something easier, I thought of Ginger and Laura. Ginger started Gingers Death row rescue and Laura started People united for pets, 2 small rescue groups in and around Seattle who do great work by rescuing so many dogs each year. They have their lives and families and plans too, but they run the rescue everyday, each day of the year, come rain , come shine, come exhaustion.

We got our first foster dog at home last Sunday. His name is Simo and he is a super sweet white and tan parti pomeranian. He was rescued form the California Wild fires and was not adopted from the overcrowded shelter at san bernardino.He was scheduled to be euthanized soon but He along with lots of others was transported here by Gingers Death row rescue and came to our house as a foster and now is awaiting adoption into a loving family he can call his! Its been crazy for him to move from the pound to a 3 day road trip to seattle and to a new house which is also temporary.

The first few days are always tough when you take up such an endeavor. You dont know anything much about him, how he will react, how many things in your house he will pee on or chew, etc etc. (and that does not really matter) and how attached you will get to the sweetie!.

Doing something good and selfless is never easy. It is additional work to figure out vacations, weekend plans, other day today plans and so on. It is additional work getting up in the middle of the night to take the dog out if he has an upset stomach. It is additional work of loving and training the dog. It is additional unconditional love that you get in return... It is additional heartbreak that you deal with when you let him go to his own forever home and hope that he has a happy life and a loving family.

Today, we left Simo at the adoption event. I couldn't stay and watch him sitting in his crate, being looked at by people. But that is the way they get adopted. and he did, and I am sure by a really nice family. I wasn't there when they took him home. I just hope that he has a super happy and nice life after the crazy ordeal he has been through.

Hugs and more hugs to you Simo. Now if only these tears stop rolling......

Cruelty free Body and Bath

Here is the first set of cruelty-free products. This is of course not a complete list. I have also tried to avoid companies which have conflicting information on their sites.

I will keep adding to this post and write more posts about other household items. Please read, keep some brands in mind when you go shopping next time, and make your house cruelty freeee

Save me!

The following are some of the brands i use or have used at home which test on animals so they are Not cruelty free.

Daily body and bath

Bath: Dove, Olay ,Caress

Hair: Dove , Pantene, Johnsons baby, john frieda, head and shoulders, clairol, herbal essence, Aussie, L'Oreal, Neutrogena, Fekkai( has been acquired by PnG), Suave, Redken, Tresemme, Nexxus

Body: Clean and clear, Neutrogena cleansers, Jergens, Vaseline, Cetaphil, dial, Gilette, Nivea, Old Spice

Most are owned by Unilever, or PnG.. Badd.. baad companies!

These are the products which DO NOT test on animals and are cruelty -free!!

Hair: Farouk Chi(Not on my list anymore, only some products are not tested on animals), Avon, John Paul Mitchell, avalon, Organix, Burt Bees, Ahava, Beauty without cruelty(by Avalon), Nick Chavez, Got2b,

Herbal or organic shampoos from whole foods

Bath/Body: Burt Bees, Yes to carrots, Boscia, Philosophy, Dr Bronners, Jolen, LUSH, Arbonne, H2O, Ulta Bath, Avon, Eucerin, Ahava

I love the CHI products and paul mitchell of course. I am going to replace some more bath stuff in the coming weeks and will put up a review for all the new products on the blog as well. Chi products make my hair feel heavenly and they are cruelty free!! The only problem with some cruelty free products is that they can be difficult to find in regular drugstores or grocery stores. For eg, Chi and Paul mitchell products are available in walgreens but usually they are marked too high. I got some great deals online. So it is sometimes an effort to find the products, but how many times a year do we shop for shampoos and conditioners. I feel a 10 minute research for deals on these slightly costlier products, once in 6 months, is not much to ask to help save an animal from a tortured short life!

The caringconsumer site has search filters by product type, so you can search for shampoo, shaving cream, toothpaste etc.

Here is the link

http://search.caringconsumer.com/search.aspx

I just realized that all my teeth care(toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash) etc are all by companies owned by Procter and Gamble or Johnson and Johnson!. Phew, need to replace all of those as well.

Other sites to check on companies

• http://www.mymakeupmirror.com/MakeupWithoutCruelty.html
• http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/product.php?prod_id=268
• http://vidacompassion.org/main/list/company.html
• http://vidacompassion.org/main/list/compgood.html
• http://search.caringconsumer.com/search.aspx

Hope this helps!. Please also write to me about your favorite brands and if you find any good cruelty free brands that you have tried and love!

Animal testing!

We humans pretty much test anything and everything we want to ever use, consume or fashion, on animals. Whenever I come across any reference or mention of how cruelly the testing is done, my hearts gets crushed and I feel suffocated. If you are like me, then please do devote some time out of the day today busy schedules to read and take some steps to do something about it.

There are several sub debates under this big debate. Animal testing for medical purposes is one where i sometimes end in a deadlock. But other needless animal testing for cosmetics, body and hair care, lotions, fur, kitchen and home products etc are where i am always on the against side!

It just seems ridiculous to me that a rabbit, chimp or a dog has to have their eyelids stapled and heads immobilized to get some products dropped into the eyes till they go blind or die coz of the pain. There are several such heart wrenching painful examples which I do not want to go into. If you love animals and think that animal testing is cruel, then there are tons of options. It is just a matter of one time research to decide on things you want in your house and where you can get them.

I am trying to replace everything in my house in phases and also devoting some time to this research. I will keep updating the blog about what I replace and what options I find. Please keep reading and make some changes! Everyone can make a difference. Every drop makes an Ocean!

Here are some reference sites, lists of companies that test or Not test on animals.

http://vidacompassion.org/main/issues.html

http://search.caringconsumer.com/

http://www.leapingbunny.org/shopping.php

http://www.mymakeupmirror.com/MakeupWithoutCruelty.html

http://shopcrueltyfree.peta2.com/index.aspx

I cant really go out there and stand in front of those big bad ass companies, testing animals daily and shout out to them yet, but i can definitely stop using their products !

Still need convincing.. check out some horrid images on this forum http://www.sodahead.com/living/do-you-believe-in-animal-testing-if-no-what-are-your-solutions-for-research-if-yes-please-defe/question-9954/?link=ibaf

and some more links here

http://www.angelfire.com/moon2/lorions_nemed/animaltesting.html

Heres an excerpt from one of the sites above.

T I P 1	What are you trying to accomplish?
	Many companies that test on animals really do not care about what goes on in their labs. You have to look at the one thing they do care about and that comes down to .. money. In other words, how many units of Item A or Widget Z are they selling to what demographic and how can they sell more of them. As long as they are selling Item A, they do not care how many animals are tortured in order to get Item A to market.
T I P 2	How can YOU make a difference?
	Every time you opt not to buy Item A and choose cruelty-free Item B, you are, in essence, voting with your dollars. You are saying "I'm not going to support animal testing" and choosing to give your money to an alternate company that has made a conscious decision not to torture animals. Does one person's decision make a company stand up and take notice? Of course not, but as long as you make that decision and others do their part as well (be sure to inform your friends of their choices too), eventually, a drop in sales may be noticed. In some ways, it is much like voting, your one vote may be meaningless, but you exercising that right is the part that is meaningful, as is you becoming part of the process.
T I P 3	"It's too overwhelming, I can't keep up with everything."
	It's important not to let yourself get too frazzled with all the different products and trying to keep up with every single item that is cruelty-free and which isn't. Even I can't do that every time I find myself at the drug store at 1:00 AM. Don't get discouraged because you come home with a product and later find out that it comes from a pro-animal testing source. The most important event is the time you put a cruel product back on the shelf and choose an animal friendly product over it. At that point, you have made a difference.
T I P 4	The "Little Things" You Can Do
	A) Look through your bathroom, find products that are "replacable" B) Print off the Cruelty/Bad Company Page, take it shopping with you C) Browse through the Good Company List, make a "mental note" of familiar names that you may want to check out next time you go shopping D) Don't get "too" attached to any particular animal right's group list. Unfortunately, at ALL organizations of size, money/influence do enter the picture. Anyone who has L'Oreal or Estee Lauder on their "good" list is highly syspect. One of the few lists I trust other than my own at the present is NatureWatch.
T I P 5	"Isn't this going to be EXPENSIVE???
	Not really. The price difference in products is usually negligible. Sometimes, yes, it can be a bit higher. The reason for that is volume sales. The cruelty-free companies are usually much smaller and don't enjoy the economies of scale that large companies do. But, wouldn't you rather pay an extra 30 cents in order for animals to not be tortured? Also, these smaller companies generally use better ingredients and make a better product anyway (they don't have the economic pressure to shave fractions of cents per unit production in order to realize some significant addition to the bottom line).
T I P 6	ONLINE SHOPPING: Just Use It!
	The proliferation of online shopping has made the task of selecting cruelty-free products so much easier. Almost all companies now have websites. The cost of shipping is negligible in regards to the cost of driving to the store. The "lock" some of the huge cruel companies, like P&G, Colgate-Palmolive and Unilever have on stores shelves (where they pay retailers to keep small competitors products off the shelves) has made online shopping one of the few options left to those in saturated markets. Another benefit, is, you can go to Good Company List and click directly over to the retailers, or open it up in another browser/window while shopping at a consolidated online retailer.
W H Y ?	Why do companies test on animals???
	I'm sure the first thought is, who are these heartless sickos that conduct these unnecessary tests in this day and age when so many companies do not? Sadly, they are people like you and me (well, maybe not just like you and me). In loose terms, two things contribute to the continued use of animal tests. One, large companies are slow behemoths when it comes to change. Enough of us need to stop buying their products to bring such about. Two, the fear of liability is so pervasive, especially for American companies, that changing testing methods makes their legal counsel shudder. Yes, they may be aware that there are much better and more accurate methods of testing out there, other than their antiquated animal tests. But, even if their products are harmful to humans (even though animal tests can not convincingly disprove or prove such), they can stand in court and say, "we've been conducting these same tests for 70 years and nothing would indicate .. blah, blah, blah."

Child Labor! What would you do?

Picture courtesy GMB Akash.

Heres a set of very compelling pictures a friend sent me

http://www.gmb-akash.com/view_gallery_photos.php?album_id=16

I get worked up sometimes when I feel helpless about certain issues feel strongly about. Child labor is one of those. But really, we can make a difference, even if it is just one person we can reach. We decided to get some current situation updates and had this discussion with a bunch of friends in India. According to them, most industrial places now do not have child laborers because of the stringent laws and fines. This is good to hear.. but i am sure there are small scale places which still employ children and what about domestic help?

For example, another friends family recently replaced their domestic help by a 11-12 year old girl. Reasons for getting that young a girl

- Cheaper labor (she is taking home 1/5 th price of 17-18 yr old)

- young children are more honest, dont necessarily steal and dont keep switching jobs.

Of course that was enough to get me to figure out ways to convince them that it is not the right thing. But then the discussion came up with some more points

- They are also giving her a better place to live, better clothes, better manners, teaching her household work, a little bit of math etc

- She is anyway going to work some place or the other, plus as she gets older it gets more unsafe for her to just work anywhere.

- They got the older girl (previous domestic help) married into a good family, to a man with a stable job. if she was anywhere else, she might have been married off earlier to anyone because her family was always in need of money!

Though, I would have wanted them to also send her to school, but the argument remains that when will she work if she goes to school. I am sure there could be options of a few days a week school, but we were in general losing the argument. She sure is getting a safer home!

What would you do, if faced with a similar situation?

Go Greeeeeen!

We 6 billion humans are clogging up this beautiful planet.. not just with our population and buildings and cars.. but with the GARBAGE! And are using up all the resources in excess like there is no future!!

We, as Indians, have come from a less consumer oriented background. I remember mom always saving evverything from food and water to clothes and bags for reuse. We have always been taught to reuse and never use in excess, hence automatically hardly using things like plastic bags or bottles. After being in this country of excessive consumption and consumerism and accessibility( plastic water bottles everywhere!), I think we have forgotten our roots and all the knowledge that was imbibed in our growing brains just a few years back!

It is high time that we and everyone we can reach, make some changes to save not only our beautiful planet, but ourselves and our future generations!

So here are the things V and me have already done

• Grocery Totes ( we end us getting 5-6 plastic bags each weekend. Thats 312 plastic bags each year per family of our size. Just within our friend circle , that is 5000 non bio-degradable plastic bags, which will end up clogging some beautiful place like the pacific ocean -The Great pacific Dump )
• CFL bulbs: Use 75% less energy and lasts 10 times longer!
• Environmentally friendly Seventh Generation Carpet Stain Remover -( house hold cleaners add toxic materials to the air, water, your house and your body. Some of them have already been connected to autism, brain disorders, allergies, cancer!)
• Simply Green all purpose cleaner for kitchen and bathroom.
• Bio-degradable poop bags for Chewie( he poops twice a day and he has been with us almost 15 months.. Thats 900 plastic bags saved!!! cost: only 8$ for 120 bags on amazon)
• Toilet flush (Added a leak sentry and controlled water flow fill-valve assembly. Half of the world does not have water to drink, and we here waste water in things like a leaky flush or tap and have bubble baths! As the saying goes, A drop at a time will make an ocean. Save Water!! Cost just 6$ more than the usual fill valve)
• Reusable water bottles!- This is the simplest step to eliminate plastic water bottles from daily use!
• Recycle, Recycle: Paper, Cans, plastic!
• This is the current list that comes to mind. Will add more later.

What all we have to do: Working list

• Put in aerators in all taps( Aerators reduce the water consumption of the house, but you will still get good pressure from the taps/shower heads! Reduced water consumption and reduced water heating bill!!
• Change our laundry detergent and dishwasher soap to environmentally friendly brands.
• Bio-degradable Trash bags( once the huge costco set gets over)
• Smart power Strip: it switches off when connected appliances are not in use.75% of the power used in home electronics is used when they are turned off.. the computer, TV, monitor etc!!
• Recycled paper towels, paper napkins
• Biodegradable food storage and cutlery: Whenever we have a party we end up using a lot of plastic disposable plates, cutlery, cups etc. The aim now, is to eliminate as much plastic as possible from the Kitchen!
• Energy efficient appliances: This is a big step, so we have to plan this depending on how long we will be in this house:)
• More to come!

Some more ideas at

http://www.greenhome.com/

http://www.seventhgeneration.com/

http://www.thegreenguide.com/

and lots more.. Bing "go green" or "living green" !!

The blue marble: Picture courtesy NASA

Can we ever go Vegan

(All links are Graphic. Please be advised)

I wear my emotions on my sleeve these days. I always did so, but the sleeves used to be a bit covered up, but now they just sit out there in the open.

It is probably because i am not working. I am not using up my time and energy worrying about work, people, deadlines, and politics. I have time on my hand to click on the some stories I would normally avoid and time to read some too.

There are tons of stories on puppy mills (mass breeding operations http://stoppuppymills.org/ ) and they are heart wrenching. And even more apalling is the lack of action.

Another face of inhuman treatment is factory farming (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_farming ) in the US and the dairy industry in india

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/india_dairy )(Please dont click the link if your heart is not strong.)

Oh, and how can i forget the faux faux fur story. The faux fur products you buy here with a made in china label are actually cat and dog fur!! http://www.peta.org/feat/chineseFurFarms/index.asp

It is just amazing what people can do to achieve basic needs as food to completely useless needs of entertainment(dog fights, fur industry).

What can I do? I can atleast take a stand. Raise awareness.

Try to be vegan. I am not sure how successful that will be, since we indians have too much dairy in our diet. Can i give up all the khoya sweets?.

Though the stars are in my favour. I am slightly lactose intolerant since last year. Vegan, here i come.

(note to self) Try to

- Always adopt, never buy a pet

- Think of the animal before thinking meat.

- Fur looks good, but it is usually not fake. There is some animal somewhere who was skinned alive for it.

- Take time out of the busy schedule to think of other things apart from work and home.

- Go Green!

Puppy Mills..A Sad day for the state of washington

Sad week or month is more like it. The puppy mill raids are on the news everywhere. The number of rescued dogs increasing by 100s with every article. And no arrests for the very cruel and evil owners of the business.

Some years back i would have been too enraged and opinionated about it. Seems like maturity has finally set in. It is a very appalling and depressing situation. But sh** like this is everywhere. So instead of getting pained and depressed about it, i have decided to help out. I cannot physically help them out right now, but will surely do when i can. So monetary help it is. And raising awareness it is.

If you happen upon this blog, please do checkout the stop puppy mill site to know more about what exactly goes on in one. http://stoppuppymills.org/

"Puppy mills are mass dog-breeding operations. These canine breeding facilities house dogs in shockingly poor conditions.

Life is particularly bad for "breeding stock," dogs who live their entire lives in crammed cages and are continually bred for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. These dogs receive little or no veterinary care and never see a bed, a treat or a toy. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are commonly killed, abandoned or sold to another mill. The annual result of all this breeding is hundreds of thousands of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems."

Also read about the recent raids in the state and how you can help save these very sad eyed dogs.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008665665_puppies24m.html

Let us pray together for a little less cruelty and evil in this world.