There are many different butter brands available in stores, either salted or unsalted, creamy or spreadable, that it can be hard to find something that is just good, simple, and friendly for the environment.  Butter in the grocery generally comes with four individually wrapped portions, inside a cardboard box.  Those wrappers are normally wax paper, and are unable to be recycled.  If you go through a lot of butter in your household, that also means a lot of waste.  Here is a simple recipe to make your own butter at home, which will not only save you from that waste, but also save you some money.

This recipe allows for a lot of creativity and experimentation.  Make a starter batch to see how it turns out, and then add different herbs to make your butter unique and delicious.

To start, put in 1-2 cups of heavy whipping cream into a stainless steel bowl or stand-mixer bowl.  Add 1-2 pinches of salt (optional).  Beat the cream on medium high speed with a whipping attachment, scraping down the sides of the bowl periodically.  Whip the cream until you get "soft peaks" and keep going until it resembles the consistency of mashed potatoes and is slightly yellow. 

After one more minute of whipping, the cream will get grainy and more yellow, and liquid will separate into the bottom of the bowl.  Turn your mixing speed down to medium or low.  As it lumps together, buttermilk will start to pool.  Remove the buttermilk and use it for baking, or making homemade ranch.  Place your lump of butter into a clean bowl, run a little water over it and knead it with your hands for a few minutes.  Change out the water every few minutes until it runs clear.

Put your butter in wax paper and put it in the refrigerator.  You can also put it in ice cube molds so it's already in pads, or in silicone baking molds.  This is also where you could stir in dried herbs.

Making your own butter at home can be a fun family project.  On top of the benefits of being eco-friendly, it is also friendly on the wallet.  You'll cut down the carbon footprint on your butter by making it at home, since you won't have all the wrapping and cardboard, as well as the cooling and shipping costs.  You will also have butter that isn't filled with preservatives and chemicals to make it last longer.

Earth Day is quickly approaching, and people around the globe are getting ready to celebrate in different ways. There are people organizing recycling and clean up efforts for their city, and others will use the day to get the word out about living sustainably. There are so many events out there to celebrate Earth Day, and its hard to know what to do. Here is one event happening before Earth Day to get your gears turning that will be simple, easy, and can be done all over the world: Earth Hour.

Earth Hour is an event taking place before, which is Saturday March 28th. The event is incredibly easy. All you do for Earth Hour is turn off your lights for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 PM. The event is global, so Earth Hour will be different in each time zone.  Whenever 8:30 PM starts where you live, that's when you turn your lights out. You can go so far as to turn off all electricity during the hour, but the main goal of the campaign is just the lights.

This event is being promoted by a number of venues, from Esurance (the car insurance company that promotes a number of green programs) to the World Wildlife Fund. There is a website for people in the United States that allows you to pledge to turn off your lights during that hour. The website also has a section for kids, so you can explain what Earth Hour is and get the whole family involved and excited. Earth Hour US even has a Twitter feed that you can follow with informative links.

In years prior, there were global events where people were encouraged to turn off their lights at the same time for one minute. This was great in theory, but a minute is not enough. Earth Hour is different, since the time the lights are off is much longer, which means a more noticeable difference in energy uses.

So what can you do during that hour with no lights? Light candles and share stories with your family and friends, or have a romantic dinner. If you really want to dedicate yourself, turn off your lights for the hour before or after Earth Hour, or even leave them off for the whole day.

Get your friends involved, and spread the word about Earth Hour.  Together we can make a statement about the reckless energy consumption going on around the planet, and that we demand a change.

Even if you haven't been affected by the recent problems in the world-wide economy, it's likely that you know someone who has or have at least heard of the crisis on the news.  So many people are losing their jobs, and it is making it harder to get by day to day.  There is something on the horizon that could help with the growing unemployment, though.  That something is green.

With green products, services and technologies growing and an ever-increasing demand, that brings with it the possibility for more available jobs.  Every solar panel provider that opens to meet the demand needs employees and technicians, every store that opens selling eco-friendly materials needs sales associates.  

There is the expectation that as the demand for green energy and products will bring an influx of new jobs, and that is proving to be true.  There is even government support behind creating green jobs, with $20 billion reserved for greening the economy in the United States as part of President Obama's stimulus package.  There will also be "green training programs" that will receive $500 million from the package, and will ensure that the people who go through the training will benefit financially.  U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said that if someone makes $20 an hour before the training, they will make twice that afterward.

There are other companies who will be able to re-hire lost employees as they green their business models.  The demand for products that are not sustainable has gone down, causing some businesses to go under and have to lay off workers.  If the same companies begin to sell more energy-efficient products, the demand goes up again, and they can hire back the employees lost.

Going green is starting to become more than just living your life more sustainably.  It is now a way to support your country, a way to support your economy, and a way to support your neighborhood.  When you make the choices to live green, it causes a karmic ripple effect that goes past you and spreads to everyone that gets touched by your choice, from the recently hired sanitary worker who picks up your curbside recycling to the newly trained technician that installs your solar panels.  Being green is proving to more than a trend, and it could be the way to solve a lot of problems.

The latest video from This Is Reality once again dispels the myth that coal is anything but what it really is; dirty and harmful.  This new spot is directed by Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen.  The video opens to a woman using an air freshener in her home, and a salesman coming in to tell her that she is not fully harnessing the clean potential.  What she needs is Clean Coal, since it uses the power of the word "clean."

No, it's not really clean, but it says it is.  That must be good enough, right?  No.  As soon as the woman starts spraying it in her house, the air is quickly filled with black, dirty air.  Her husband starts coughing, as do her children who walk into the room.  Well, wait, if it's clean, why are they coughing?

The answer is that clean coal isn't clean, no matter how many times you say it is.  I can say "clean dirt" but you wouldn't be likely to believe me, since dirt in its nature is, well, dirty.  That goes the same for coal.  Why use something that is so completely unclean when there really are clean energy options out there?  That is the debate that This Is Reality want to get started.

Share this video with your friends and family, and get into the conversation.  Don't be as stupid as Big Coal thinks we are, and don't buy into the idea that coal is clean just because they say it is.

Frank Talk About Making The Menstrual Cycle a More Eco-Friendly Experience

It is a fact of nature that every month, women go through certain physical changes.  Some women try to hide it, others pretend it doesn't happen at all, and there are a few women who have no shame about it and tell anyone who will listen.  That thing is their menstrual cycle.

There are so many over the counter remedies and cures for all the little symptoms of the monthly cycle, but how eco-friendly are these options?  There are heating pads that help with the pain, and there are pads and tampons in different sizes, absorbencies and scents.  With so many options, there should be a pretty good amount of green choices available too.  Unfortunately, these green choices are harder to find.  The stigma around women's cycles is to take care of it, cover it up, and dispose of the evidence.  With all the women around the world doing this, it leads to a lot of waste.  Here are a few more eco-friendly options to take it from "the curse" to something a little more bearable.

The Diva Cup is a device that is worn internally throughout the cycle.  Since it is reusable after washing, it is a lot more sustainable then a tampon that is disposed of.  The Diva Cup is a pliable material that is approved by the FDA, and it can be worn for up to 12 hours and during all sorts of activities.  It's as comfortable, if not more, as a tampon.

The Luna Pad is a washable sanitary pad that is worn similar to a disposable napkin.  They come in the same sizes, but have the advantage of being softer and more comfortable to the wearer.  They also come in a lot of fun colors and patterns.  If you have a few of these pads, they can last you through a whole period without needing to purchase a disposable one.  You just wash them out at the end of your cycle in water with color-safe bleach and you're good to go.  These are easy to make, too, with a little cotton fabric and batting.

Instead of buying the OTC heating pads that only last 30-45 minutes, purchase or make a rice bag instead.  They're easy to make, and cheap to buy.  These are reusable, and just need to be popped into the microwave.  Heat is proven to help cramps, and there is no reason to buy single use heating pads when you can have a reusable rice bag.

These are just a few of the options out there to make your period more environmentally friendly.  Reducing waste is always a good idea in your day-to-day habits, and there's no reason not to include your period in that.  To make these even better, they also save you money!  It's a one time cost of something that can be washed and re-used, instead of a reoccurring cost of something that you just throw away and can't be reused.

I was recently the lucky recipient of a gift bag filled with random goodies, and one of the products inside is one that I am really excited about.  They are mini shower gel packs by Pangea Organics, and they came in great scents like indian lemongrass with rosemary.  That isn't the only reason I was excited for them.  There was also a little piece of paper that informed me about Pangea Organics, and that their products are zero-waste.  What is zero-waste?  Well, the cartons that Pangea Organics products come in are made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and are mixed with organic seeds.  All you do is take off the label, soak the box in some water, and plant it in the ground, and you've got flowers and trees on the way.  What a unique and eco-friendly idea!

Pangea Organics offers a great selection of products on their website, including skin/body care and lip care.  They also offer gift sets that are incredibly affordable and really fun, with different options to chose from.  One set, the "Harmony" holiday set, includes a bar of soap, shower gel, body lotion and a soap dish in amazing scents.  The box that the set comes in will grow a Spruce tree, and includes gardening instructions.

All the products offered at Pangea Organics are made with organic materials, scents and seeds.  Pangea Organics products don't use any harsh chemicals, and the ingredients are always listed on the bottles and packages so you know exactly what it is made from.  Their website even offers an ingredient glossary, so you can always be sure that you know what you are putting on your body.  They figure that if you are going to care for your body and make it beautiful, you can do the same for the Earth at the same time.

You can order Pangea Organics products online, or find a store near you.  Their products are available at spas, co-ops and natural markets around the world.

Being green and eco-friendly does not have to be an ugly endeavor.  You can look and feel beautiful while keeping our planet looking and feeling just as good.  Beauty doesn't have to mean chemicals, dyes and scents.  There is no excuse for making our planet suffer so you can look good when there are options out there like Pangea Organics that will be good for you, and Mother Earth.

Discovery News just broke this story about how chemicals that are frequently found in most households do hold a link to infertility in women.  This study is the first of the subject, and the results are troubling.  Since the study is the first into this topic, further research needs to be done, claims Chunyuan Fei.  Fei is a Ph. D. student in epidemiology at the University of California.  Fei feels that her results are worrisome enough to research the matter more in depth.

The study looked into chemicals that are grouped together called perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs.  PFCs are incredibly potent greenhouse gases, with a greenhouse warming potential (GWP) that is higher than carbon dioxide by staggering amounts.  The production of PFC is regulated as part of the Kyoto Protocol.  PFCs are common in household products, from pesticides to aluminum.  This study in particular looked at perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfleurooctanoate (PFOA).

Previous studies on the matter of PFOA and PFOS have linked it to toxic effects in the liver, immune system, and reproductive system in animals.  Evidence of PFC derivatives, such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid, can be found in blood samples.  Fei's study focused on these effects in people, and found that women with multiple children had lower levels of PFOA and PFOS in their blood, while women with fewer children had a higher amount.

The team collected blood, as well as surveyed, more than 1,200 newly pregnant females who were a part of the Danish National Birth Cohort, a long-term study of health.  All the participating women were pregnant on purpose.  About 30% of the women had tried to conceive for more than six months before becoming pregnant, according to the results.  Half of those women had been trying for longer than a year.

The study separated women into groups depending on their chemicals.  Their research showed that women with higher amounts of PFOS in their blood had a higher likelihood of needing six months or more to become pregnant.  Women with the most PFOA had an even higher likelihood to have problems conceiving.

While PFOS and PFOA are near impossible to avoid, there are things you can do to make sure your house has the least amount of it as possible.  Research PFCs and find out what products have higher amounts than others, and make an active effort to change your purchases.  Refrain from using pesticides in your garden, as those can affect your PFC levels.  Use all natural cleaners in your home, and limit the use of chemicals you spread into the air.

While there are many reasons to live green and cut out greenhouse gases, this could be one of the most important.  Living green is about cleaning up the Earth and giving it to our children in better shape than we inherited it in, but what if we can't have children to give it to because of how we lived?

Almost everyone has heard of the phrase "pay it forward." That basically means to do something nice for someone, who will in turn do something nice for someone else, and so on so forth.  Eventually the world will become a nicer, more pleasant place to be in.  There needs to be a new movement, one that is similar to "pay it forward" but with a sustainable twist, and I'm calling it "green it forward."

The idea behind "green it forward" is simple.  The key is to go past living green yourself, and helping those around you make the changes they need to live green too.  You can buy fluorescent light bulbs for your parents and while you're helping them replace their old bulbs tell them about why living green is so important.  You can sign up your best friend to stop receiving junk mail, and when you call to tell them about it, explain how easy green changes can be.

There are so many people out there that want to live more sustainably, but don't know where to start, what to do, or who else is living green to network with.  If you take the step for them and get them started, and share information in the process, more people will see how easy it is to be green.

Knowledge is infectious, and when you spread green information and show people how easy it really is to live green, that will spread from just your family and friends to your neighborhood, town, state, and eventually the whole world.