Kyle & Melissa

Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

It is the start of the school year for my kids and I have already received my first correspondence letter about the school’s nature fundraiser. The faculty is conducting a year-long nature fundraising of collecting old books, notebooks, used papers, newspapers and plastic bottles to help raise money for their projects and development programs. I am supportive of this cause as it helps me raise awareness in saving the environment to my kids and encourage them to recycle. It also helps me dispose things that would normally end up in the trash. In this way, I can help mother earth by recycling.

Here are some other fundraising ideas for schools:
1. Raffle. You can ask for donations for the prizes and sell tickets for the raffle. This is virtually 100% all proceeds going to your cause.
2. Flower Sale. You can offer flowers on Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day.
3. Candy Sale.
4. Community Fingerprint-a-Thon. This fundraiser requires teaming up with a company that organizes and runs fingerprinting events, like www.thekidsafenetwork.com. Digital fingerprints and photos are taken of children, and the records are given to the parents. Earnings potential is in the thousands — and you’re doing something good for the community.
5. Garage Sale.

I admit I have been a pretty daredevil in my younger years. I feared no one, not even natural disasters nor dangerous crimes that might happen when I go home alone late at night after partying with friends. That all changed when I became a mother. I became aware of my mortality and how society can be very dangerous for innocent people, most especially children.

The decision to buy pepper spray was brought about watching the news every night on TV. There are just too many cases of crimes from robberies, harrassments and murders to make me feel safe with my kids when we go out. I cannot imagine myself carrying a gun, so a mace spray will do.

I preferred to get an OC spray (another name for pepper spray derived from its main agent Oleoresin Capsicum) because it works longer than tasers or stun guns, and it is pretty harmless. You can consider it as a deterrent to an impending attack because when you use it against your attacker as self-defense, it will cause coughing, choking, temporary blindness and an overwhelming burning sensation. The reason you aim for the person’s face is because when they get just a little bit of the pepper spray in their mouth, nasal passage, and airways it will burn so bad and put them on the floor. You don’t have to worry about them chasing you because the person will think they are dying.

Of course, I pray that I won’t ever have the need for it ever.

April is the month when we celebrate Earth Day and we are trying to be greener as a family, meaning more environment-conscious, making green choices and just reducing whatever waste we will throw. It is true, whatever we throw away will come back to us so might as well find a better use and recycle an usb barcode scanner for example.

I am happy that there is a city which banns the use of plastic bags in commercial establishments, even disposables. A restaurant was ordered closed and suspended after not heeding the implementation, giving away takeout food in styrofoam plates.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.