No, I don’t mean your computer.  There there’s a good website called -haveUrebooted.com, where you can get a free mail-in label or  find a drop- off location near you.

Did you know cell phones are one of the least recycled electronics in the world?  Over 100 million go out of use every year in the US alone.   They are horrible for the environment, if they get thrown away, and every part of them can be recycled.

Many of us reboot, when we upgrade or change carriers.  Most of the cell phone stores are drop-off locations, or are participating in the reboot program.  So, why reboot?  Well,  it’s free and easy, it’s green and good for the environment, and it saves energy.   When you recycle your cell phone, it helps recover valuable materials used in the manufacturing process.  It  also helps prevent unnecessary mining of these raw materials, that can be reused.

The EPA has targeted recycling cell phones, because as hard as it may be to believe, only 10% of all cell phones are recycled each year.  This is because most people don’t know where to recycle them.  By recycling cell phones, we are making a significant contribution to help save the environment.  It is also beneficial to those in need, even our soldiers overseas.  In fact, recycling just a million cell phones, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to taking 33 cars off the road for a year.  A “green” step in the right direction.

At haveurebooted.com, you can host a reboot fundraiser for your organization, or you can request to have a reboot drop-off box at your place of business.  You can even register to win reboot gift cards, valued at up to $500!  But, it doesn’t end there.   You can get your creative juices flowing, and create an original commercial about recycling cellphones.  Then, you post it in response to the HaveUrebooted video at You-tube.  If your video is chosen, you could win a Dell laptop!

So, clean out your junk drawer, recycle (reboot) that old cell phone, and get creative, and most of all have FUN!  Here’s to you and working toward a better tomorrow!

See where the cutest ladybugs live!

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions in order to ward off a dangerous rise in global temperatures may be more of a challenge than previously thought.  Scientists have published studies in the last month, suggesting that it would require the world to cease carbon emissions altogether by mid century.  This means that both industrial and developing nations, must use other fuel sources, instead of fossil fuels during this same suggested time frame. We must do this in order to prevent warming that could change weather precipitation patterns and greatly alter or dry up water sources globally.

There was a meeting on the issue in Paris, France last week, that involved the countries of China, India , France, Germany,and the United States, among others. The countries represented produce 80% of the world’s greenhouse gasses, and are among the worlds fastest growing economies.

President Bush stated in his speech, that the United States would cut it’s CO2 emissions and other heat-trapping gases by the year 2025.  Most of the world arena considered his speech to be a huge disappointment. Many nations consider President Bush, as an obstacle to the fight against global warming. Over the past year, he has shown more awareness of the dangers of planetary warming and human -caused carbon emissions. Although, it was the first time he has set a specific target date. The problem is we need to address these problems well before the year 2025. Several attendees felt the speech “takes a huge step backward.”  Other critics feel the United States needs to “cut emissions- not just limit their growth.”  If we set the example and cut our emissions, perhaps other developing nations would follow our lead, because some countries still look at us as having the world’s largest economy.

During this conference, there was also a push for ways to expand the use of bio fuels beyond the use of corn and other food crops. The growing use of bio fuels has been blamed for rising food prices and grain shortages, which have caused riots in some countries.

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, much has changed. Now we find our Earth in crisis. There are answers, even if it does seem like too little to late. We need to stop our dependence on fossil fuels, and have a government more willing to look at the other options that have been on the shelf for far too long.