Five Tips for Sustainable Gift-Giving:

Gifts of service require little or no use of natural resources and can be very personal and memorable. Try gift certificates for a massage, music lessons, childcare, car wash, pet service, yoga or a manicure/pedicure.

Giving the gift of an experience can bring fun and memories that can last a lifetime. Tickets to a show, concert or sports event. A family membership to the LA Zoo, The Autry Museum or LACMA.

The gift of history. Value and appeal don’t always have to mean “new and shiny.” Antiques and collectibles have value as well as the added appeal of history. And because they’re “re-used,” there’s no impact on the environment. Take a walk through Magnolia Park. You’re bound to find something!

Homemade is heartfelt. Your time and energy, and culinary skills are just as valued as that store-bought gift which they may not really even need! The gift of food is personal, easy on the environment, and not likely to go to waste. Bake a selection of holiday cookies or a pan of lasagna, put together a wine and cheese sampler on a nice platter, or how about a gift card to a local restaurant? The possibilities are endless!

Give the gift of giving. Last year, I sent money to the Jimmy Carter Foundation in my
sister’s name. I could choose how I wanted the money spent and it came with a nice card. She loved it! www.cartercenter.org
Give a membership to the California State Parks Foundation.
www.calparks.org/JoinToday
Help to make another family’s holiday a happy one and adopt a family through the Burbank Tempory Aid Center.
burbanktemporaryaidcenter.org
The Seva Foundation uses your donation to perform the service you select. Their “Gifts of Service” program includes restoring sight to blind people, clean healthy water, and education.
www.seva.org/site/PageServer?pagename=gos2008_home
Something a little closer to home – donate to the Friends of the LA River (FOLAR). They’re a non-profit organization founded to protect and restore the LA River. I recently went on a private tour with the founder and it was incredible! We were stunned by the history and beauty of the river and are intrigued thinking about what it could be again.
folar.org

Remember, it IS easy being green! Happy Holidays!

by Jennifer Jesperson

Did you know that 70 state parks are at risk of closing? Over the past few years, budget cuts to state parks have resulted in drastic service reductions and partial closures.

Thankfully, on October 4, 2011 Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 42, the bill sponsored by the California State Parks Foundation to help keep California’s state parks open. AB 42 will allow the Department of Parks and Recreation to enter into operating agreements with qualified nonprofit organizations to help keep state parks open.

“In the more than 40-year history of the California State Parks Foundation (CSPF), we’ve never seen our state parks system at as much risk as it is today,” said Elizabeth Goldstein, president of California State Parks Foundation. “Even with the success of AB 42, there may still be parks for which there is no easy solution, nor available community ‘safety net’ to keep them open. We remain committed to helping organizations, businesses, agencies, and Californians identify ways they can help work to save our state parks.”

Last month, I was fortunate enough to tour Annadel State Park in Northern California with the CSPF board. That park is on one of the parks on the closure list. As we walked along the beautiful pathways, hikers and bicyclists would pass us and ask us to help save their park. It was heartbreaking. Of course, they were “preaching to the choir,” but still, these places mean something to these people. I know our State Parks mean something to me and I want my son and his children to explore and enjoy them. Please, do what you can to help.

Visit the CSPF website for more information: http://www.calparks. org/
Remember, it IS easy being green! By Jennifer Jesperson

Just five minutes of low-impact outdoor exercise can significantly boost a person’s mood and self-esteem. Exercising in areas with water and woods makes people happiest because such spaces signal the presence of two things humans need to survive: food and water. Granted, we don’t have much of either here in Burbank, but if you “take it outside,” the benefits are immeasurable!

Outdoor workouts even tend to burn more calories than similar routines indoors because nature provides a distraction, which helps you work out for longer periods of time.

According to new research from the University of Michigan, spending time in nature will sharpen memory and focus more effectively. Subjects who strolled in the park performed 20% better than city walkers because walking in a city turns on voluntary attention, the kind needed to focus on the task at hand. Urban areas are noisy and you have to pay attention to your surroundings. Involuntary attention, the kind that you get by being in nature, gives your brain a break and makes you happier and more productive later.

Studies show that people who live within half a mile from a park or large garden are less likely to get sick than those who don’t. They are also more satisfied with their home, job and life in general.

Even if you don’t live near a green space, you can take a ride up to Angeles Crest or head to the beach or the desert for an afternoon. Spend a long weekend in the mountains and you’ll have a nine percent jump in “natural killer” cells, a type of white blood cell that fends off bacteria, viruses and tumors in the body. And the immunity boost can last for up to one week afterward! “Tree huggers” have more energy and lower levels of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. So head to the mountains! You wont’ regret it!

Remember, it IS easy being green!

by Jennifer Jesperson

Canada took it a step further and declared it a toxic substance. Unfortunately, here in America, we have a huge group of powerful lobbyists that represent the wealthy chemical companies and have convinced our government representatives to not ban BPA from baby bottles or anything else. Crazy, right?

There are things we can do — buy items that are BPA-free. In some cases, however, it’s not that easy as there aren’t many BPA-free options. This is the case with canned foods. BPA is found in the linings of all canned goods, with just a few exceptions.

A recent peer-reviewed study indicated can linings and food packaging are a major source of BPA exposure and that by eating fresh or frozen (not canned) foods, choosing glass and stainless steel food and beverage containers, and not microwaving in plastic, we can decrease our exposure to BPA by as much as 60%!!!

Spread the word. In America, we often have to vote with our dollars—if food-makers see how many consumers actually care about BPA, they’ll be more likely to stop using it.

The top ten canned items that contain the most BPA are:
Coconut milk, soup, meat, veggies, meals like ravioli, spaghetti…, juice, fish, beans, meal replacement drinks and fruit.

It’s gonna be tough to cut some of those things out, but in the long run, it will be worth it! Are you game?

Here’s how you can help.  Bring your old cell phones to the office during the week of the 18th. There is a card board box decorated with cell phones underneath the counter where Diedre sits. We do NOT need the chargers.

We are also now collecting chip bags so if you are having any parties or just eat chips on a regular basis feel free to contact Karen Carter (818) 445-1749 or Claire Torrey (818) 843-1585 and they will meet you before or after school to pick any of the above mentioned items. Please spread the word and tell anyone and everyone you know to donate their old cell phones!!  All the money earned goes to the Arts and Dance programs!

We spent spring break in Florida. I was appalled by their lack of recycling. I can’t even begin to imagine how many plastic bottles were thrown away at Universal Studios, Orlando.

Here are three reasons why you should stop buying bottled water whenever possible:

1. Bottled water isn’t a good value!
Take, for instance, Pepsi’s Aquafina or Coca-Cola’s Dasani bottled water. Both are sold in 20-ounce sizes and can be purchased from vending machines alongside soft drinks — and at the same price! Assuming you can find a $1.00 machine, that works out to five cents an ounce. These two brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Most municipal water costs less than one cent per gallon.

In the U.S., the average price per gallon is hovering around $4.00. There are 128 ounces in a gallon, which puts the current price of gasoline at a fraction over two cents an ounce.

And that’s why there’s no shortage of companies that want to get into the business. In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame.

2. No healthier than tap water!
In theory, bottled water in the United States falls under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration. In practice, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight.

While public safety groups correctly point out that many municipal water systems are aging and there remain hundreds of chemical contaminants for which no standards have been established, there’s very little evidence that suggests bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than its tap equivalent.

3. Bottled water means garbage!
Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. According to Food and Water Watch, that plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce. Over 80 percent of plastic bottles are simply thrown away.

Thanks to the slow decay rate of plastic, the vast majority of all plastics ever produced still exist — somewhere.

Please recycle. Consider yourself lucky that we live in a state that cares enough to give us recycling bins. Now if we could just use them…

by Jennifer Jesperson

According to a recent nationwide survey, 900,000 American children aged one to fivehave blood lead levels higher than the Center for Disease Control’s level of concern.

Today, lead is recognized as the single most significant environmental health threat to American children. Lead is found to be of greatest harm to children ages one to six. Young children of urban minority families are at greatest risk of lead poisoning.

Children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of lead, because their highest potential exposure comes when they are most physiologically susceptible. Lead affects virtually every system in the body and is particularly harmful to developing brain and nervous systems of fetuses and young children. Low blood lead levels can impair cognitive and physical development. As exposure increases, the severity of symptoms increases as well.

Lead is found in paint formulated prior to 1978, dust, dirt, drinking water and food. For pre-school children, lead in paint is the greatest source of exposure.

What Parents Can Do:
Test your children. If you have concerns about your child’s blood lead level, you can get them tested. Ask your pediatrician, medical provider, or state childhood lead poisoning prevention program for information on testing. 
 If you live in a home or renting an apartment that was built before 1978, find out if it contains lead-based paint. Federal law requires disclosure of known information about lead-based paint before the sale or rental of most housing built before 1978. You can also hire a professional for inspection and risk assessment. For more information, contact the National Lead Information Center at (800) 424-LEAD.

Reason in the Season

Reduce the hail of unwanted mail – Are catalogs pouring out of your mailbox every day? You can slow the flow of unwanted mail coming to your mailbox. Here is where to go for some of the most common types of unwanted mail.

Catalogs: www.CatalogChoice.org Identify the catalogs that you want to receive and those that you would like to decline. Catalog Choice contacts the catalog provider for you, asking that you be removed from that mailing list.

Direct Marketing: www.dmachoice.org This online tool was developed by the Direct Marketing Association; choose what companies you want to contact you. It’s easy to do, and you’ll be reaching some of the biggest direct marketers in the country.

Credit Cards: www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPTOUT (567-8688). This service allows you to opt out for two years or permanently. No matter what you pick, the same service makes it easy for you to opt back in at any time. Either process will ask for your social security number, full name, address, and telephone number.

Phone Books: www.yellowpagesoptout.com Simply enter your zip code to find the phone book publishers in your area that are participating in opt out requests. You will need to inform each phone book publisher that you would like delivery stopped. Opt outs take 60 days to process.

Sign up for a service. There are some nonprofit organizations that will work on your behalf to opt out of junk mail for you for a small fee. Check out Junk your Junk Mail or Precycle to learn more. Give the gift of waste reduction this year…

Then recycle - Household paper—glossy catalogs, old phone books, window envelopes, shipping boxes – all are generally considered “recyclable.” Find out about recycling options in Burbank: http://www.ci.burbank.ca.us/index.aspx?page=1

Some wrapping paper cannot be recycled because it contains too many un-recyclable materials, such as foil or fuzzy textures. Keep that in mind when purchasing your wrapping paper. For those types, the shredder is better.

VERY IMPORTANT: Before recycling, rip up or shred the credit card offers before you discard them. Prevent identity theft and protect your credit rating and privacy!

A bright idea: LED holiday lights - If you use strings of holiday lights at your house, switch to light-emitting diode (LED) lights this year. LEDs use a whopping 90% less energy than incandescent holiday lights: powering a string of 280 LED lights will cost $0.56 for the entire holiday season as compared to $6 for similar incandescent lights. (EnergySavers.gov) LED lights in many colors are widely available at retail, last for an estimated 40 years, and are cool to the touch, which reduces the risk of fire. Look for ENERGY STAR qualified strings of lights.

Christmas Tree recycling – At the curb/alley: From January 3rd through January 14th, 2011, the Burbank Sanitation Department will collect trees placed in the alley and at the curb.

In two parks: From December 27, 2010 through January 14, 2011, drop off your holiday tree at:

1. Brace Canyon Park, 2850 Haven Way, in the parking lot off Haven Way.
2. Verdugo Park, 3201 W. Verdugo Avenue, near the corner of California Street and Verdugo Avenue.

Have a safe and wonderful holiday season and remember, it is easy being green!

by Jennifer Jesperson

As of August – 2010 was as hot as the hottest years the world has witnessed since record keeping began. Every month has ranked above average, compared to the 20th century average.

One of the hardest things to comprehend about climate change is that scientists predict both severe droughts and historic floods will be a consequence of global warming. As weather patterns shift, some areas will be starved of moisture, while in others, warmer air will hold additional moisture that it will unleash in fiercer storms.

“Things that used to be one-in-100-year events maybe now are one-in-25-year events.” Says Gavin Scmidt, a NASA climate scientist.

At least half of our favorite eating fish like tuna, salmon, cod and sea bass among them – are at risk of over-fishing. In some areas, it’s up to 90%!

Coral reefs are not only beautiful but are home to one-fourth of all marine species, and provide habitat to fish and shellfish that feed half a billion people. Unfortunately, about half of the corals in the U.S. and its territories, and as many as 70% worldwide (including the Great Barrier Reef in Australia), are severely degraded or at risk of extinction. Global warming, fueled by our burning of fossil fuels, is the most likely culprit in the warming of the oceans. Corals are fragile enough without these global threats: the runoff from nearby farms and cities, along with the stomping of indelicate tourists, would put many reefs at risk even without global warming and ocean acidification.

Perhaps you’ve heard of colony collapse disorder, that still-mysterious disease causing U.S. honey-bees to abandon their hives? The disorder has caused a staggering death toll that has seen one-third of the nation’s commercial bees die off each winter for several years now. That’s a serious problem! Consider that roughly one-third of the food crops we eat is pollinated by bees. While the extent of the problem isn’t known, experts believe loss of wild habitat and indiscriminate use of pesticides are likely culprits.

One in three amphibian species is at risk of extinction, with as many as 500 species of frogs, salamanders and the like so near to the end that experts think their only hope is to live in zoos – not the wild. Meanwhile, in caves throughout North America, as many as 90% of hibernating bats are dying of emaciation.

While frogs and bats may not seem like the most essential creatures, both play important roles in the ecosystem (and bats actually eat lots of mosquitoes and farm pests); without them, the world would be decidedly different, in ways we can’t necessarily predict.

Viruses and bacteria were on Earth before humans, and they’ll be here after us. It’s a fact of life. And unfortunately, that’s because they are quick to evolve to changing conditions – including changes in the environment or changes to the drugs we use to fight them.

Whether it’s drug-resistant salmonella in eggs, or E. coli in ground beef, the food supply is increasingly falling prey to tiny pathogens that were virtually nonexistent a generation ago. Meanwhile, three-quarters of new infectious diseases emerge from wildlife, but affect humans. So, wash your hands often, stay home when you’re sick and take good care of yourself and our planet. It’s the only one we’ve got.

Remember, it is easy being green. By Jennifer Jesperson

by Jennifer Jesperson

This year, we at Stevenson hope to make our little corner of Burbank a little greener. Stevenson has recycling programs in place that you may not even know about! These programs are easy and not only are we being responsible citizens by recycling, we can actually make money for Stevenson that will benefit our children!

I’m delighted to announce that this year, we have a recycling chairperson at Stevenson! Karen Carter has generously donated her time and is going to help us help our planet and our school!

Check it out and remember, it is easy being green!
Batteries: Please save your dead batteries. I keep mine in a jar in the kitchen, when the jar is full, I bring them into school. We have a bin in the office and whenever necessary, our librarian, Beverly Boussard makes a phone call and someone comes to pick it up. It’s so easy!

Ink Cartridges: Bring in your ink cartridges. Some companies pay over $3.00 per cartridge! You can even ask at work. Some companies allow employees to take their ink cartridges. Just think of how much we could make!

Please see Karen’s note below and let her know if you have any questions.

My name is Karen Carter and I am the recycling chairperson at Stevenson this year. I have signed our school up for several “brigades” with Terra Cycle. With your help collecting items that would otherwise go to landfills, I’ll send them to Terra Cycle and they up-cycle them. Terra Cycle will send Stevenson money once they receive our “trash.” They are a wonderful company that might just keep our children’s world from being one gigantic landfill.

The brigades I have us signed up for are: Drink pouches, energy/granola/cereal bars, and cookie wrappers. We’re also working on a program for used cell phones and we’ll let you know when that’s in place.

The rest of the brigades will be collected at school. I’ve been given permission to speak to our children during lunch to give them some information about Terra Cycle. We’ll have special bins for the children to toss the items into.

Another service I’m willing to provide is to meet parents at pick-up or drop-off if you are inclined to collect these items at home. Please email me at the address below.

If we work together, we can make money for our school and keep recyclables out of the landfills!

Sincerely,
Karen Carter
karenspartyhelp@yahoo.com