Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Product Review --  Properly inflated tires save money, improve handling, extend tire life, reduce fuel consumption, and reduce uncomfortable bouncing and vibration from uneven surfaces. According to Verona Chadwick of the Get A Life Sales company: “ Experts recommend checking your vehicle's tire pressure every month to ensure a safe, comfortable ride and maximum fuel efficiency.” In our household that chore is up to my husband Dave who’s taken the responsibility to check our wheelbarrow, bicycles, RV trailer and Jeep tires, among others around the house from the lawnmower to various wheeled tools and gates. It isn’t that I am unwilling to do the chore, it is just such a difficult thing to do. You have to balance your body in awkward positions, try to read the pressure gauges that tend to be dirty or foggy, and depending on the weather or time of day, this can be a very difficult chore indeed.  Not all pressure gauges are easy to use as well, trying ...

-- Quote of the Day --      "I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in." ~ John Muir    -- Positive News --  Kudos to the Japan Electrical Manufacturers' Association which reached a 35 % reduction on carbon emissions over a 5-year period (2008-2012) voluntary action plan for global warming mitigation. Business actions like these have a profound  impact, going  far beyond just the initial energy, fuel and carbon savings... which is in itself a powerful thing. Beyond this though the action will inspire their customers, their employees and other people in their industry as well.   Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, their radio program, blog, and more at: http://brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, clicking those social networking buttons, or visiting the Brummet's St...

How to Properly Recycle Appliances - Why is this important?  * Today's article was written by: Gina Howard - an avid DIYer who has had to repair, replace, and recycle many appliances in her fixer upper home.  Gina is concerned about making DIY projects as green and eco-friendly as possible, and prefers to repair appliances if at all possible, but if not, making sure they do not go to a landfill and that they are properly recycled. When appliances break down or you simply want new ones, it is time to think about their disposal. It may seem easiest to throw small appliances in the trash, but this is wasteful and harmful in many ways. Appliances do not break down and disappear, and some large appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioners, contain harmful substances, and some appliance parts can be repurposed and metal and steel recycled. In addition, refrigerators and freezers pose a danger for children who may become trapped inside. Fo...

 -- Quote of the Day --  “I do not think the measure of a civilization is  how tall its buildings of concrete are,  but rather how well its people have learned  to relate to their environments and fellow man.” ~ Sun Bear of the Chippewa  -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio --  * Airs live @ 10-11 AM (Pacifc)  - all episodes are archived indefinitely within moments after they air live, and are available for you to listen to later on at any time of day.     Sign up via itunes for the Conscious Discussions Radio show: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id262138144   Best of Conscious Discussions series offers highlights from some of the best discussions we've had in the past. Today is our 35th episode in this series – Featuring 2 experts offering advice on: Energy & Electronics.  Our first guest: Executi...

-- Conscious Living Events --  Date : March 17th, Saturday All Green Recycling Event    Time : 10 AM - 4 PM Location : St Mark's City Heights at 4227 Fairmount Ave (across the street from El Cajon Blvd) - San Diego, CA (USA) Info : Drop by and join in a free electronics recycling event where All Green Recycling will make a donation to St. Mark's based upon the weight of the items collected. * St. Mark's promotes social justice ministry, and runs programs to help the community.  -- & -- Date : March 17 Seedy Saturday Location :  Heron Park Community Centre 292 Manse Rd.  Scarborough, ON (Canada) -- Positive News -- Kudos to Japanese residents!  The Council for PET Bottle Recycling released the 2011 PET bottle recycling report.  According to the report, Japan collected PET bottles at the rate of 72.1 percent in 2010, proving to have a higher ...

 -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio -- Today's episode features a Positive Eco-News segment... these air every 2-3 weeks or so, as time allows on the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show. Today we'll focus the topic on Green Construction, Plastics and Recycling News, along with some inspiring quotes and resources that we'll share in this one-hour radio program. Check it out via the link below... and if you join us live, we'll also have the chat room open for you to access... otherwise the show will be archived for your convenience Live @: 10AM-11 (pacific)... 11AM-12 (Mountain) http://www.blogtalkradio.com/consciousdiscussions/2011/12/22/positive-eco-news Find Dave and Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio program, newsletter, blog, and more at: www.brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by telling your friends, or visiting the Brummet's Store - every sale raises funds for charity as well!

 -- Quote of the Day -- " There is no calamity which a great nation can invite which equals that which follows a supine submission to wrong and injustice and the consequent loss of national self-respect and honor, beneath which are shielded and defended a people's safety and greatness ."  ~ Grover Cleveland -- Positive Eco-News in the Electronics Realm --  From Japan for Sustainability ( japanfs.org ) Fuji Xerox Co has developed a bio-mass plastic using inedible wood-derived and woody cellulose, a plastic that does not interrupt the food chain and utilizes waste from the food and forest industries that are difficult to compost. They are currently in the testing phases for the applications of the newly designed material. But they are saying that because the materials it is made from are so readily available – the new bio-plastic can be made anywhere and therefore can reduce fossil fuel and related ...

-- Quote of the Day -- " Be fully in the moment, open yourself to the powerful energies dancing around you ."  ~ Ernest Miller Hemingway -- Electronics -- While drop-off depots for out-of-date or defunct electronics at recycling centers is a great option for the world – reuse is another.  There are many charities that collect working computers and peripherals (cables/wires, monitors, fax machines, keyboards, speakers, etc), which the volunteers and staff then clean up, clear their memory and upload proper programs for needy agencies like schools and non-profits, and low income families.  The Electronic Recycling Association ( ERA.ca ), the Vancouver Literacy Society ( vcls.ca ), Free Geek ( freegeekvancouver.org ), Empower Up ( empowerup.org )… and many, many others. Find a list of several other organizations @: http://earth911.com/recycling/electronics/computers/reuse-elec...

 -- Quote of the Day -- “ Changing mass consciousness is an individual responsibility ." ~ Dennis Weaver   -- Positive Eco-News --   The city of Tokyo too is seeing the value of recycled metals and is now accepting electric circuit boards and hard disks from home appliances – And according to the article I read from JapanFS.org – they can now extract gold, silver, copper and rare metals including palladium from old appliances – not just office equipment and entertainment machinery, but also microwaves, electric fans… and even vacuum cleaners! Find Dave and Lillian Brummet , excerpts from their books, information about their radio program, newsletter, blogs, and more at: www.brummet.ca * Support the Brummets by tellin...

-- Quote of the Day -- " You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club ." ~ Jack London -- E-Waste -- What to do with the electronic waste? This is a common question - and I've decided to share an article today on the subject that I received from Associated Press: A first-in-the-nation law went into effect recently in Maine, requiring makers of televisions and computer monitors to pick up the tab to recycle and safely dispose of their products once they are discarded. Under the law, which mirrors the approach taken in Europe and Japan, manufacturers must shoulder the cost of sending electronics to recycling centers where toxic materials such as lead and mercury are removed. " It's time to bring them out of the attics, out of the garages, out of the closets, out of the basements ," said Jon Hinck of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, which lobbied for the new law. The Maine recycling law is the first to bill manufacturers ...

-- Quote of the Day -- “Small business owners, professionals and really everyone – need to remember is that 67% of people are searched online. …What happens is that the person viewing the comments online are not going to decipher whether the comment is fact or fiction, they will just move on to someone else. …The importance of your virtual presence is so critical today. …People can be stalked online and it can be truly scary and is becoming more prevalent online.” ~ Dec 10, ’09 – Sue Scheff Today's quote originates from a Conscious Discussions talk radio show interview with Sue Scheff that aired in December 2009 - titled: Internet - A Dangerous Asset -- Bio-Plastic ?? -- While the term "bio-plastic" might seem new to many of us, they have been in use for many years but have not been able to supply a "highly advanced flame retardant" product for electronics, vehicle and other high-energy applications - until now. A new flame-retardant bioplastic (polylactic aci...

-- Quote of the Day -- “ In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught. ” ~ Baba Dioum -- Conscious Discussions Radio -- I first learned of our featured guest of the day through John Kremer’s Newsletter, where after reading a piece by Joshua Tallent about formatting books for Kindle I approached him about coming on to our show to explain the electronic aspects of the publishing industry. Joshua is a professional e-book converter and the author of: Kindle Formatting – The Complete Guide . Today we discussed the e-book industry's growth, e-book distributors and publishers, formats, size, length or e-books and how to obtain ISBN's and the benefits they bring to society. To access today's interview click on the hyper-linked show title: All About E-books , or access the links located on the right side of this blog for the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show. -- Conscious Living -- In the last 4...

-- Computer Recycling -- *Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ben_Nystrom As more people become aware of the need to conserve natural resources and keep our environment clean, recycling old computers has become incredibly popular. But what is computer recycling, exactly? Why is it so important? And can one take a computer to be recycled? What is Computer Recycling? Computer recycling is the process of extracting valuable secondary raw materials from obsolete computers. The EPA estimates that 30 to 40 million personal computers are ready for recycling each year. But because of the source material used to make them, simply throwing away your old computer can be dangerous and harmful to the environment. Depending on their age, computers can contain such toxic materials as lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium, and radioactive isotopes. They also contain valuable materials worth recovering, such as gold, tin, aluminum, iron, silicon, copper, and an array of different plastics. Why ...

-- Xmas Excess Getting You Down? ...What to do with those electronics you no longer use -- According to the Recycling Product News Magazine’s Oct 2008 issue (www.baumpub.com): The United Nations pegs the total amount of e-waste generated globally between 20-40 million tones annually. Thankfully recycling programs are slowly sprouting up and their successes are inspiring countries across the globe. In Canada we are responsible for about 160,000 tones of e-waste annually and that is expected to grow another 30% by 2010. In some areas, handling fees are used to process the items either upon taking it in for recycling or upon purchase – depending on the region. Now many of you have heard me discuss the aspects of Urban Mining and the valuable components that are hidden inside electronics. Today I’d like to touch on plastics. Now the Recycling Product News Magazine, who I mentioned earlier, states that there are several different types of plastics being used for each item – to further compl...

Whew! This day has simply flown by. I found myself only able to spend a few hours in the office this morning. Appointments and engagements kept me out of the office until... well, here it is 4 in the afternoon already! -- Quote of the Day -- “…(re: illness) It is like the old story about the toy on the top of the stairs – if you know it is there, you can take the extra steps to avoid it. If you don’t know it is there, you are going to go down those stairs at a velocity you really don’t want!” ~ Richard Diaz 06/26/08 This couldn't be more true! I feel that though Richard Diaz was originally referring to the health of our bodies, that quote can easily be applied to the health of our planet as well. Consider the seemingly small and fairly harmless Battery... Electronic waste and batteries contain toxic substances like lead, mercury, and cadmium, yet are illegally dumped in landfills at an alarming rate. In 2005 in San Diego alone, 2,237,570 pounds of batteries were sold but only 790 p...