Energy Star Top Cities

I read in my school newspaper that The Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program has ranked Dallas-Fort Worth 5th in the nation of cities with the highest number of energy efficient commercial building in 2008. I was actually surprised to see my city on that high on the list, and it makes me very proud!

The article explains that Energy Star buildings typically use 35% less energy and emit 35% less greenhouse gases than average buildings.

Here is the list of the top ten ranked cities:

1. Los Angeles

2. San Francisco

3. Houston

4. Washington

5. Dallas-Fort Worth

6. Chicago

7. Denver

8. Minneapolis-St. Paul

9. Atlanta

10. Seattle

YAY Texas for having two cities in the top ten!!

Trail Mix

I have always thought it would be a really great accomplishment to run in a marathon and many times over my college career I have attempted to be dedicated enough to train for one. Unfortunately, I have never really tried hard enough and have always lost the motivation. So, I am attempting it one more time! I have a goal and a date to look forward to so now I am just beginning to educate myself on how to train. While researching I came across good, healthy snacks to eat for energy. One of the snacks was putting together your own Trail Mix instead of buying one pre-packaged. So here is the one I made, which is close to the mix suggested, that I thought I would share.

1/2 cup of Honey Nut Cheerios
About 2 tbsp of Raisins (substitute with any dried fruit if you don't prefer raisins)
About 2 tbsp of Lightly Salted Peanuts (or any nut)

So, try it and see if you like it! It was really inexpensive to buy the ingredients and they will last me a long time!

Earth Hour

I subscribe to the newsletter from Seventh Generation called 7Gen. I am a huge fan of the Seventh Generation products and they have a pretty cool newsletter too! I received their latest one today and there was an article about "Earth Hour". I had heard about "Earth Hour" a few weeks ago, but had totally forgotten about it. I usually don't get excited about things like this, but I do think this is neat. On Saturday March 28th at 8:30pm local time, everyone around the world is going to turn off their lights for a full hour. Obviously, participation in this is easy! Just turn off your lights from 8:30-9:30pm this Saturday and be apart of a united act to make a difference and a statement.

So, mark your calendars and light your candles...soy candles, of course!

Your Nature Place

I am back to reality, school, work and the Internet after a 7 day cruise to Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. It feels good to be home, but I would not mind if I had been stranded in a beachy location for a few more weeks. I have figured out that the warm sun and salt water does more for my body and soul than any spa. I am starting to believe that nature can provide healing and soul revival that medicine and makeovers can not.

About six years ago, I went to Taos, New Mexico for a dance program over the summer. The program included all types of dance classes as well as pilates and yoga classes everyday. I specifically remember an exercise that we did every morning in my yoga class. Our instructor had us lay on our back with our eyes closed. We had to envision a place of nature that was the most peaceful to us. It could be a meadow, the mountains, your backyard, a waterfall, etc. There were no limitations. I would always imagine a beach like the one I visited every year with my family. If you were to close your eyes and imagine a peaceful place in nature, where would it be?

Now...make it a priority to visit your place of nature. Bring a book. Get a drink. Whatever makes you happy!

(the picture above was taken during my tip by my sister's friend in Costa Maya, Mexico)

Read This: Green Marketing

I am currently reading the book on the right called Green Marketing: Opportunity for Innovation by Jacquelyn Ottman. Ottman is a consultant and a pioneer in green marketing. This book has great insight on the forces behind the green movement and how it effects marketing and business in general. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in marketing, advertising or consumerism. It is an easy read with short chapters, case studies, and graphs. I was not able to find it at my local bookstores, so I ordered it from Amazon.

Happy Reading!