Goal For The Green

Update

Congratulations, to to NASCAR’S, Jimmy Johnson.  He was Sunday’s (May31,2009) winner of the Autism Speaks 400.  The race was held at Dover International Speedway in Delaware.

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On Sunday, May 31,2009, The NASCAR Sprint Cup Race will be held at Dover Internaational Raceway.  The name of the race is the Autism Speaks 400.  Autism Speaks was founded in 2005, by Suzanne and Bob Wright, who are grandparents  to a child with autism.  It has become the nation’s largest organization, focused on autism science and advocacy.  Their mission is to fund for the causes, studies, prevention, treatments and cure for autism.

The NASCAR communnity, includes many families and individuals who are affected by autism.   This race helps promote awareness, compassion and hope to the NASCAR community and the entire nation.

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There is a new effort being made, to require insurance companies to provide benefits for the treatment of autism.  The bill made it through Missouri state senate, but failed to make it through the house.  The push is on to have autism insurance available in 2010.

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Controversy is always swirling when it comes to autism.  Anything from the GFCF (gluten-free casein free) diet, to this treatment or that treat ment.  Which one, how much is enough or too much?  Then of course there is always the Question- To Vaccinate Or Not? As if, autism itself weren’t enough for parents and caregivers to  cope with.

According to the scientific community, the topic of whether to vaccinate or not, has become the most debated, diverse, and persistent medical myth of our times:  that autism could be caused by childhood vaccines. Scientists and research says there is no connection.  Obviously,trust and accountability are some of the main reasons Why Many Parents Believe Myths About Autism AndVaccines.

Currently, the odds of autism are 1:150 children affected here in the U.S, and 1:88 in the UK.  The biggest question is why?  Now, in the most recent study conducted at Cambridge University, many children are “undiagnosed.”  This, could bring the number of affected children to 1 in 64.  I find this very troubling…and still the biggest question is …WHY?

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See where the cutest ladybugs live!

On April 2,2009, ATP’s Earth Drive opened in Sunnyvale, CA with great success.  ATP®, is a leading flash memory manufacturer known for its high quality, durable memory solutions. They continue building upon the success of Project:Earth Drive with this year’s Earth Day celebration.

Entering its second year, Project:Earth Drive, a reforestation program initiated in conjunction with a partnership with American Forests, continues garnering attention from supporters of the cause who are concerned about the state of the environment.

Founded in 1991, ATP is a leading manufacturer of high performance and durable flash memory solutions as well as DRAM memory module products. With strictly regulated ISO 9001 certified facilities and advanced technologies in memory packaging, testing and qualification, ATP offers a broad range of the highest quality DRAM memory products for mission critical applications such as server blade, workstation, network communication, and embedded systems. ATP flash media products offer protection from water/moisture, dust, static discharge, and extreme temperatures.

“Since the launch of our EarthDrive USB series, more and more corporations, organizations, and educational institutions have come to us with interests in supporting the program,” said Michael Plaksin, ATP Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Earth Day should serve as a reminder for all of us to examine what we have done in conserving the environment. Through this program, we continue to inspire and motivate everyone to take part in this critical global effort.”

Contest

ATP is also calling for personal stories about planet preservation as part of its 2009 Earth Day celebration. Personal accounts about ways to help preserve and enhance the environments can be emailed to earthdrive@atpinc.com. Every week throughout the month of April, ATP is giving away one 2GB EarthDrive to the winner. Every winning story will be posted at their site.

“Through this contest, we want to show our appreciation and encourage even more people to join the momentum and support the cause.” The ATP Earth Drive was also recently chosen by OverClockersHQ to receive the Editors’ Choice Award. “It looks like earth friendly doesn’t necessarily mean “hippie grade”… I am very impressed; the ATP [EarthDrive] was quite literally off the charts for performance in the low level bench mark,” said Justin Desjardins of OverClockersHQ.com.

“Every day, people around the world are taking simple steps in their daily lives to make a difference in their environment. As simple as these actions may seem, they are actually significant, because collectively, the impact is so powerful,” Plaksin continued.

Through Project: Earth Drive, each Earth Drive sold will contribute towards American Forests’ Global ReLeaf projects. American Forests’ Global ReLeaf projects allow for tree planting throughout the United States as well as on a global basis to offset our carbon footprint and replenish the environment. With the launch of this important program, ATP has already helped plant thousands of trees on a National and International basis. American Forests already planted more than 25 million trees through over 500 projects on a global basis. Be sure to go to the text link here for more information on ATP Earth Drive and the Earth Drive Project.

Last Saturday, March 28, 2009, proved to be the most successful Earth Hour ever.  With nearly 4,000 cities and  towns participating in over 88 countries world wide, the message of caring about climate change  was sent loud and clear.

The next big event in  the “green” movement, is Earth Day, which is April 22.  It is my pleasure to keep you informed on natural living tips and ideas, as well as, environmental issues that are important to us all.

I believe that this Earth Day page will offer you the power to find; natural cosmetics, resource conserving appliances, and tips on how you can do your part to reduce waste for the environment.  You will also find meaningful eco-tips at Become.com’s  “Earth Day Tips and Resources”

So, what is Become.com all about?  They are a comparison search engine designed to help consumers doing product research on the web. They crawl over 3.2 billion web pages specifically from guides, expert reviews, consumer reviews, articles, specifications, forums, merchants, and a variety of other useful information to help consumers make better buying decisions.  Become.com also has a “Nearby Stores” feature that allows users to plug in a zip code and get store names, addresses, phone numbers, hours and Maps.  This feature can help you go shopping in your community, and be armed with informed choices.

They also have a blog  about featured green products that they carry.  It is a relatively new blog for them, but they are anticipating more eco-friendly product posts for the near future.

Become.com was recently named one of the best deal-tracking websites by PC Magazine, and selected as Best Search and Comparison site by the Sloan Center for Internet Retailing at the University of California, Riverside .  At the following link, you  can also view additional industry recognition and awards for Become.com

It is my hope that the information provided here, along with what Become.com has to offer, will help you in making the best and most informed  decisions in your green living quest.  Together lets work for a better tomorrow, and the best Earth Day ever.