I wanted to give a shout out to Chaplain Andrews who is currently serving in Iraq. He is writing a series this week about things we can all do to make the Earth a little nicer place to live. He has reminded me that Earth Day and Arbor Day are both this week. He also points out that the changes we make do not have to be major. Today's post was about using a filter at home and refilling water bottles instead of buying new ones. How easy is that?! If you are lucky enough to have good tasting water, you can even skip the filter!

One thing I'd like to add is that I have heard through the grapevine that some of the places that Americans have been sending their recyclables are no longer taking those items thanks to the expense of recycling. Some areas no longer have pick-up service for their recyclables because it is just too expensive for the companies that used to come out. PLEASE PLEASE buy recycled goods when you can. I know it is often more expensive, but it is worth it in the long run. I won't get into the economics, but it is good for so many reasons!