Go Green Tips for November 29th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Monday, November 29th:

• When spending those holiday dollars this year, save money and keep local! Gas prices are rising and local merchants have lots of deals to share with you, the consumer!
• Over do it a bit last week on goodies? Don’t beat yourself up, instead, why not plan your meals a bit strategically with lighter choices like a couple of meatless meals. Perhaps a dip-itti-do night with veggies and lots of different low fat dip choices. The kids will love it!

Are you one of those who decorates the day after Thanksgiving? If so, I consider you an over-achiever! I can’t even go near the Christmas decorations until after December first and most of the time, it’s not even that early! I need transition time, work up to it, slowly, a light string and candy cane at a time. Speaking of light strings, LED strings are now cheaper than ever and are just a better choice to light strings of the past! They use a fraction of the energy of conventional light bulbs (up to about 15%) and they are cool to the touch and very durable, they’ll last you several years. If you’re online shopping you can find them that way or go Home Depot. For that matter, try your local hardware store! Call first, to make sure they’re in stock! We’ll be talking about lots of green choices to make during the holidays as The Go Green Ride at Five jingles on this month on 92.1 WVTK!

Go Green Tips for November 24th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Wednesday, November 24th:

• Shopping during the holidays? Try shopping local and keep your resources with your community!
• Planning that big meal for tomorrow is tricky! Keep an eye out for excess, because too much food means waste. Besides, you want them to save room for pie, anyway!

If you’re lucky enough to have the next couple of days off, take advantage and spend that time with your family. The number of times I’ve looked at my kids recently and thought: what happened? How’d they get to this point without me noticing? You don’t get these years back, and the want of them is an unbearable ache. So, forget about catching up with work, cleaning those dusty base boards or any other put off distractions you’d otherwise fill your vacation time with. Grab the kids and the dog and go on that long desired hike up that mountain in the distance or across that frozen field. Open up the game cabinet, have a gamers marathon, and the winner gets to put make up on the loser, or some such silliness that will one day be a precious memory they’ll share with their own kids. Appreciate and treasure the time you have with them now, because they’re off and gone before you know it. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving from the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK.

Kathy Hall/Vermont Adult Learning-November 23

Kathy would like one and all to come to their HUGE craft fair at Middlebury's American Legion this Saturday, Nov. 27th from 10am to 3pm. If you'd like to know more about the programs Vermont Adult Learning provides, email Kathy: khall@vermontadultlearning.org or visit their website: www.vtadultlearning.org

Go Green Tips for November 23rd

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Tuesday, November 23rd:

• Shopping during the holidays? Try shopping local and keep your resources with your community!
• Driving to family destinations for the annual gorging of the Thanksgiving holiday? That way the only gas expended will be a result of Aunt Mary’s stuffing. I did not just say that!

We all go a little crazy with the housecleaning when we’re anticipating a crowd of guests in our home. I’ve gotten a reputation for that in my house. I start a cleaning frenzy and my daughter asks me,”Who’s coming?”. I'd be insulted by that, but we do get a bunch of visitors, so I'm always cleaning. Try to keep in mind that using certain household cleaners can greatly increase the air pollution in your house or apartment, making the air you breathe irritating and even unsafe for your family and guests. Unless, of course, helping them find a reason to leave early is truly your purpose. Seriously, consider using safe, non-toxic cleaning methods and products. Make sure to also properly ventilate with fans and open windows if it’s not too cold outside. And then, when considering the menu, try to center it around local cuisine. Visit the coop and buy fresh! Oh and serve it on real dishes and save the paper products for the kids’ birthday parties! Celebrating a greener holiday on the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

The Buzz for Food/Cyclewise-Ducati Vermont November 22

If you'd like to know more about about Cyclewise/Ducati Vermont's Buzz for Food, email Tamara Boise, call (802)388-0669, or visit their showroom at 130 Ethan Allen Highway in New Haven!

Go Green tips for November 22nd

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Monday, November 22nd:

• Back to shopping, my favorite subject! For your holiday wear, this year, why not look into one of the fabulous resale shops we have in the area? The dressier the garment, the less it’s been worn: that equals nearly new!
• Reuse tip from an anonymous listener: save the wax packaging your cereal comes wrapped in. You can use it to bake with over the holidays or even package up a sandwich for lunch!

This morning as I sat down at my work computer, the first email that caught my eye was from my son’s school, Mary Hogan Elementary, here, in Middlebury. I love my son’s school, especially the professionals who are lucky enough to work with him, he is equally as lucky, by the way. They get him and therefore, he gets away with nothing! However, when I got the email this morning, it was a general email addressing all the parents about a special meeting taking place tonight. I’d love to receive more notices from my son’s school in this way. I loath the stacks of missives addressed to “parents” that often clog up Mike’s take home folder. Not due to his teacher or his aide, but that’s the way school administrators have always communicated with their parents. Nowadays, with everyone on email, it’s too bad they can’t try to enact a system where a parent can opt out of take home paperwork if they’re willing to hand out their email address. Less paper wasted, more resources saved. How do you feel about this? Feel free to email me at sarah@921wvtk.com or comment on the Go Green Ride at Five blog on 921wvtk.com. My soap box is never warm for long on the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

Go Green tips for November 19th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Friday, November 19th:

• Planning on doing some shopping for festive wear to impress the boss with at this year’s holiday party? Remember to buy washable instead of dry clean only! You’ll save money and cut down on toxic chemical use!
• What’s for dinner tonight? Why not go meatless once a week? You’ll save money and encourage your family to eat more and different vegetables!

Let’s look at recycling by the numbers:
9 cubic yards: Amount of landfill space saved by recycling one ton of cardboard.
98 percent: Percentage of glass bottles in Denmark that are refillable. 98 percent of those are returned by consumers for reuse. Now, that’s an awesome example to follow!
20 million: Tons of electronic waste thrown away each year. One ton of scrap from discarded computers contains more gold than can be produced from 17 tons of gold ore.
544,000: Trees saved if every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100 percent recycled ones.
I could go on like this forever, but I think you know where I’m going with it. Reduce, reuse, recycle…reclaim. That’s the way to go green and we’ll help! This is the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

Go Green tips for November 18th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Thursday, November 18th:

• Wanna save on gas? Easy enough, leave early and drive the speed limit! Talk about maximizing your milage!
• BYOB! Bring your own bag, shopping bag, that is!

• As the weekend approaches, start thinking about your errands now. Grocery shopping for the holiday must be on that list, perhaps some gift shopping, as well? Maybe you’re thinking of kicking in a few home improvement projects before the house fills up with company on Thursday? Whatever you have on your list to accomplish this weekend, consolidation of errands is key. Especially with the price of gas rising. We’re officially over $3 a gallon now in Addison County, if you’re in Rutland county, you might be still riding that line and if you’re in Chittenden county, well, I don’t want to depress anybody, so let’s stop talking the price of travel. These days, it makes so much more sense to simply go into town and get it all done at one time. Especially if you’re headed into Rutland, Burlington or Williston. So much at your fingertips, take advantage and get it all done while you’re in the area. And by the way, gentleman, mm-hmm, you know who I’m talking to: making a list does not make you less of a man. And you can quote me! This is the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

Very Merry Middlebury/Middlebury Money-November 17

Wow! The Town of Middlebury will literally sing during the month of December! Very Merry Middlebury events will all be posted on our Area Calendar page at 921wvtk.com! Keep up to date with Addison County and find lots of ways to celebrate with your family!

Middlebury Money can be used like cash and you can purchase it at all Middlebury branches of the National Bank of Middlebury, The Middlebury Inn and The Vermont Book Shop. It can be used at any Middlebury business and makes the perfect stocking stuffer!

For more information about Very Merry Middlebury and Middlebury Money, visit: bettermiddleburypartnership.org or call (802)388-4126.

Jingle and Shop Locally!

Go Green tips for November 17th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Wednesday, November 17th:

• Temperatures are cooling and odds are the windows probably won't be opening, anytime soon. Now is the time, before you have to stand in a foot of snow to do it, to store all your window screens. They definitely do not need to weather the winter with you and will have a longer life if carefully stored during the winter months!
• While I'm at it, make sure you've also already stored your summer equipment, as well. Your gardening implements, your hose, those open bags of mulch and potting soil, close them up tight and put 'em away!

In the green news: the county of Los Angeles is doing away with plastic bags. No, I'm not kidding. According to the Los Angeles Times, The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted just yesterday to ban plastic grocery bags in areas of the county under its jurisdiction. The first phase takes effect in July 2011, when 67 large supermarkets and pharmacies must stop providing disposable plastic bags. By January 2012, the ban will cover 1,000 stores throughout the county. The ordinance also seeks to keep shoppers from turning to paper bags as an alternative by requiring stores to charge10-cents to the consumer per paper bag. This ban does not include produce and raw meat bags. In Los Angeles County alone, 6 billion plastic bags are used each year, an average, per year, of 1,600 bags per household a year. And studies show that only about 5% are recycled. Not everyone is thrilled about this measure, many worry they'll be forced to buy plastic bags to simply clean up after their pets. Not only that, smaller merchants will feel the pinch since many cannot afford to stock reusable shopping bags to make available to their customers. I do think this is a step in the right direction, what do you think? Feel free to visit my blog at 921wvtk.com and post a comment or email me at sarah@921wvtk.com to give me your opinion! Reusable shopping bags are the wave of our green future, I'm on board, despite the inconvenience, how about you?

Hope's Model Citizen Fashion Show/November 16

If you'd like more information about Hope's Model Citizen Fashion Show at the Town Hall Theater on Saturday, November 20th at 7pm, www.hope-vt.orgor email Andrea Solomon at: asolomon@middlebury.edu.

Hope to see you there!

Go Green tips for November 16th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Tuesday, November 16th:

• When you clean out the lint filter of your clothes dryer before each load, you’ll reduce your energy use by up to thirty percent! Maybe post a note above the dryer to remind the kids to do the same!
• Reuse is the second cardinal rule of recycling, but make sure that what you’re reusing is safe. Plastic soda and juice bottles as well as other plastic utensils aren’t made for multiple uses and can break down, releasing chemicals, especially in heat (like the dishwasher) and cold, (like the freezer).

Hopefully there isn’t something in the water, but I’ve had quite a few friends, recently, become new parents. I remember those days, fondly. It’s amazing all the supplies you need to achieve parental success and even then, it’s a crapshoot! One thing some of my listeners may not know, is that you should ALWAYS buy a new car seat. Do not use a hand-me-down. No matter what. This is due to changing safety standards, and the fact that you can’t always prove that a seat hasn’t been involved in an accident of some kind. Now, if you’re on the other side of child rearing and are ready to dispose of the car seat, here’s a few things you should do before you put that seat out with the trash. And by the way, I understand how hard it is to throw it out, especially because you basically had to pawn your right arm to afford the overpriced albatross. Back to business: do not donate your used car seat, instead, cut the harness straps in half; remove all covers and padding, and visibly damage the seat with a hammer so that the seat cannot be used again. Place the separate pieces in an opaque trash bag and dispose of as household trash. This is the one time that I will not preach reuse, renew and recycle. The Go Green Ride at five on 92.1 WVTK!

Vermont Actors Retertory Theater/November 15

Vermont Actors’ Repertory Theatre is entering its 6th season of presenting playful, poignant and provocative theatre. ART’s season runs from November through May and includes full mounted productions, staged readings of the winners of their Nor’Eastern Play Writing Contest and new works all at the Brick Box in the Paramount Theatre in downtown Rutland. For more information about ART please visit their website at: www.actorsrepvt.org

Go Green tips for November 15th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Monday, November 15th:

• In this age of Facebook, googling, utubing (is that a word?), etc., remind the kids to shut off the computer after they’ve logged off. It’s better for the computer and your electric bill.
• Last night on myth busters, they confirmed that keeping your tires air pressure at the recommended levels, ensures your vehicle is achieving the maximum fuel efficiency and giving you the most bang for your buck!

Less than two weeks away, Thanksgiving is looming and this year, my husband and I are hosting the celebration for our extended family. I’m looking forward to it, and dreading it all at the same time. Not because I don’t enjoy the family, I adore them one and all (just in case they’re listening!), but because of all the work that’s involved in organizing a gathering of that size, probably over twenty people. Taking shortcuts would be an option. Paper plates, plastic ware, store bought decorations, the list is endless of ways to cut corners. But time saved is not worth the impact on the environment. Eventually, the remnants of my special family gathering would end up sitting in a landfill and that does not sit well with me. Besides, I never get to use the good dishware, so it will see the sun for the day. I’d call it china, but, it’s merely the last set of dishes I own that is neither chipped or missing pieces. I keep it way up high away from the demolition crew better known as my family. I’ll use my best table cloth or cloths, cloth napkins, real silverware and encourage my daughter and her cousins to help with making our table centerpieces, place markers and other decorations to help us look as festive as I’m sure we’ll be feeling. Yes, indeed, I’m thankful to be green! The Go Green Ride at five on 92.1 WVTK!

Wilson & Moore/November 12

If you'd like to hear more of Wilson & Moore or would like to grab a copy of their cd: www.wilsonmoore.net. You will also find these amazing musicians at The Art House in Middlebury's Marbleworks at 8pm on November 12th! Don't miss this performance! Don't miss your opportunity to check them out on utube, either! They have a few videos posted that you're sure to get hooked on! Spread the word! Email Chip or Jesse!

Go Green tips for November 12th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Friday, November 12th:

• An incredible 69 percent of Americans still don’t recycle. Every once in a while, perhaps do an inventory check of your garbage can to make sure your entire family is on board the recycle ride!
• Air quality inside our homes is often much worse than the air outside. Ways we can improve it, non-toxic cleaners for a start and fill the house with plants, they absorb air pollutants and improve your ambiance!

Did you know that aside from being incredible annoying, a small drip from a faucet can waste up to 50 gallons of water a week? That’s enough water to run a dishwasher twice on a full cycle! Simply fixing the leak can save you money! So can installing a low flow shower head. We have one and I can’t tell the difference between that and the regular flow model. I’m picky, too. While we’re talking about saving water and money…don’t forget that those bottles of water you spend money on will end up in the landfill and forty percent of bottled water is tap, anyway. Now, investing in an inexpensive aluminum bottle that you can refill and keep with you for impending thirst, is a better way to go. I just bought a new one for $2.99 at TJMaxx. No, I’m not kidding. It’s cute, too! My fourteen year old wants one just like it, and if that’s not high praise, I don’t know what is! I’m stylin’ and green on the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

Eric Bussiere/Gathering of the Gamers/November 11th

Remember, for all you game-heads: the Gathering of the Gamers takes off Saturday, Nov. 13th at 7am at the Ilsley Library in Middlebury. It's an all-day extravaganza that will wind down at 9pm. Tons of games to play, or bring your own to share, take part in the raffles and door prizes and enjoy the day! Email Eric to find out more!

Go Green tips for November 11th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Thursday, November 11th:

• Many believe that you use less gas idling your car than it takes to start the engine. Actually, idling your vehicle for more than 10 seconds exceeds the fuel needed to simply restart it. Waste, waste, waste; and ten seconds goes by in a flash, unless it’s an awkward pause…then it seems a lifetime…
• In the habit of leaving your computer on? Do it and your electric bill a favor and shut it down when it’s not in use. Go one step further and turn off the power strip it’s hooked into, as well!

On average how much junk mail do you think you receive a week? Five to ten pieces, or maybe it’s ten to twenty? What strikes me boldly is the waste. Endless piles of paper, serving no purpose other than to clog up first, our mailboxes and eventually, landfills. But what can we do? There’s a couple of websites that help with the process of getting yourself off direct mail lists: and https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t. Beware: sometimes, it costs money to enlist their services, so choose carefully. Perhaps another option is to make sure you don’t end up on the list in the first place. Whenever a cashier or website asks for your address or phone number for a company's rewards program, you're probably being added to a list of other victims soon to be dealing with said company's direct-mail campaign. Corporations track your purchases to identify what products you are more likely to buy, but a resounding "no" to their original offer to join that crowded club, can save you some postal harassment and subsequent trips to your shredder. Down with tangible spam on the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

Larry Goetschius/ACHHH/November 10th

If you'd like more information about the upcoming flu vaccine clinic:

Go to www.achhh.org or call (802)388-7259

Here's the dates and locations:

November 18: 2-6pm, VFW, Exchange Street in Middlebury

Remember, the best action is PROaction! Get your flu shot!!

Go Green tips for November 10th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Wednesday, November 10th:

• Get the kids to turn off video games (both the TV and the console) after they're done playing, and you'll win back about $100 per year.
• Artificial lighting accounts for 44 percent of the electricity use in office buildings. Sure, you don’t pay the bill, but take the initiative and turn off the lights when you're leaving any room for 15 minutes or more.

I went today, where I have never gone before. I started my holiday shopping before December. I’ve never been so proud of myself. It’s always such a huge dent in the budget in December, so I’m trying to spread it out a bit. There’s less impact on the account that way. This morning, I spent at TJ Maxx, discount shopping for my fashionista fourteen-year-old and ever growing ten-year-old. But it’s not always necessary to buy new for the holidays. Why is it that second hand is such a taboo under the tree? I have no problem with it, I got a beautiful sweater two years ago from my husband, who found it at Neat Repeats in Middlebury. I still enjoy wearing it! Shoping via your keyboard this year? Well then, go second hand online. Today, navigating through Google, I found some great sites where, instead of purchasing new DVD’s, books or games, I can swap what we have and no longer use for gently used or even new books, music, movies and games. Here's two sites to start with: swapadvd.com and swap.com. As long as you’re willing to pay the postage, you can save big time this holiday season by going second hand. This is the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

St. Mary's Parish Bazaar/November 9th/Information

St. Mary's Parish Bazaar happens Saturday, November 13th from 9am to 4pm, features holiday decorations, Thanksgiving goodies, crafts and home goods. Raffle tickets are 3 for $5 or $2 each and are available at the Bazaar on the 13th or at any of the following:
St. Mary's Rectory, 326 College Street
St. Mary's School, 86 shannon Street
County Tire, 33 Seymour Street
Greg's Market, 3 Elm Street
Taylor Rental, 1448 Rte. 7 South
Pratt's Store, 2504 Rte. 22A, Bridport
Thread Connections, Rte. 7 South, at Creek Road
The drawing will be held on November 14th after 10am Mass; winners need not be in attendance.
Call 802-388-2943 for more information or email Davil Millson at copyman@gmavt.net.

Go Green tips for November 9th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Tuesday, November 9th:

• Reuse idea alert! Do you keep your knives in a drawer? Use flattened, empty, paper towel rolls to sheathe your sharp utensils to avoid accidents!

Continuing our talk about getting our homes ready for the cold stuff. Last summer, if you remember, I encouraged one and all to buy ceiling fans if they hadn’t already installed them in their homes. I said at that time, you’ll use your fan all year long. How and why? Many ceiling fans come with a handy switch that reverses the direction of the blades and this is particularly useful in homes with higher ceilings. Counterclockwise rotation produces cooling breezes while switching to clockwise makes it warmer, because warm air pooled near the ceiling is circulated back into the living space. Thus, cutting your heating costs as much as 10%! Another quick fix that will save you money is lowering the temperature of your hot water heater to 120 degrees F or even lower. When the temperatures are cooler outside, the water will feel warmer to your body, anyway. Take the temperature down and reduce your water heating costs by 6 to 10%. This is the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

Go Green tips for November 8th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Monday, November 8th:

• Wanna save on groceries? Try eating meatless once a week. Say hello to black beans and rice with some salsa added. Yeah, baby, that’s how I say “ole!”
• The classified ads aren’t just for lining the bottom of the bird cage, Take a look, you won’t believe what you’ll find…cheap or even better, for free. Talk about recycling, that would be my favorite kind!

Throwing an extra heavy blanket or comforter on your bed in winter can save the planet, sort of. For every degree you turn down the thermostat, you keep up to 320 pounds of greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere over the course of the season. By the way, the myth that “keeping your heat on one setting is more efficient”, is just that – a myth. According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy or the ACEEE, you'd have to keep your home temperature four to six degrees cooler all the time (brrr!) for the savings to equal setting it back the recommended eight degrees when you are at work or under the covers. Just don't turn off your heat completely in freezing weather since that might be dangerous for your pipes. The ACEEE says that with twice-daily, eight-degree, eight-hour setbacks, you can save 16 to 32 percent of your heating energy. So, adjust away!!! This is the Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

Go Green tips for November 5th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Friday, November 5th:

• Green your fridge! Make sure the temperature is kept between 35 and 38 degrees, double check that the door is air tight and make sure it’s positioned away from your hot appliances.
• It’s right about now, when we begin to see the signs of the season that we tend to boost up our heat. If you want to save money, you’ll turn that thermostat the other way and put on a sweater!

Go Green tips for November 4th

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Thursday, November 4th:

• Cooler temperatures means digging out those winter time duds. The perfect time to schedule a clothing swap with some friends! Their kids are outgrowing what your kids will soon be able to fit into! One of my favorite winter jackets I got from a friend’s growing son!
• Love to shop with friends? Think of it as a carpool and do it more often to save gas!

Though many people gear up to work on their yards and gardens in the spring or summer, fall is actually an ideal time for yard work. Here’s a couple ideas for bringing your garden to life in the fall: By the time autumn rolls around, summer heat waves are long past, especially in Vermont. Rainfall is usually more plentiful, especially if we use today as a gage and new trees, bushes and flowers have a greater chance of surviving than they would if they were planted during a hotter season. Choose species native to your area as well as those that are drought and pest resistant and can grow in the kind of soil and amount of sunlight available on your property. In otherwords, don’t be afraid to ask questions at Agway or whereever you buy your greenery. Fall is also a perfect time because garden centers are often running specials this time of year. Gardening in the Autumn means saving money! Those leaves on the ground make the ideal ingredients for Springtime soil if you compost them now! So, don’t bag’em, compost ‘em! Never too late to talk gardening on The Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

Go Green tips for November 3rd

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Wednesday, November 3rd:

• This morning instead of idling my car to defrost the windows, my husband moved it into the sun for me. We save gas and limit our emissions impact that way! Besides, I hate scraping!

This morning I got a big taste of what’s to come in the cooler seasons ahead when I walked out of my carpeted bedroom onto the hard cement floor of my living room. The feeling has just returned to my toes. That got me turning my thoughts toward my drafty home. This year, we’ve decided to cut back on our heat a bit to save a few bucks a month. So it’s very important we make sure our house is air tight and ready for winter. It’ll be here before we know it! Catching those drafts is probably the easiest task to start with. Making sure you’ve applied caulk where you can around windows to seal those leaks. If you live in an older house and don’t want to replace those antique windows, and who would blame you? Then why not buy a window insulation kit? Installed correctly, the plastic is virtually invisible unless you come up right against it and it’s an inexpensive alternative to replacement. Adding a buffer against drafts and extra still air space can give a nice boost to your older home's ability to hold heat. Bundling up, and keep the warm air in on the Go Green Ride at Five.

Larry Goetschius/ACHHH November 2nd

If you'd like more information about the upcoming flu vaccine clinics:

Go to www.achhh.org or call (802)388-7259

Here's the dates and locations:

November 4: 2-6pm, St. Peter's Parish in Vergennes
November 18: 2-6pm, VFW, Exchange Street in Middlebury

Remember, the best action is PROaction! Get your flu shot!!

Go Green tips for November 2nd

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Tuesday, November 2nd:

• Keep recycling in mind when you make your purchases. How a product is packaged says a lot about how a company feels about the environment!
• You might be able to afford it, but does that justify the investment of brand new ski equipment? You can get used gear at a huge savings to your wallet and the environment! Or just rent your equipment, it’ll save you from having to schlep it from the car!

We’ve all heard of random acts of kindness. Those are great things to practice, I encourage them of my kids everyday. But, why not up the ante to random acts of green? Those, I also expect. Nothing huge: little ways or steps that we all can take towards a greener tomorrow. They can be achieved by sacrificing that steaming, hot, long soak in the shower for a short, luke warm showering experience. Maybe reusing that large yogurt container instead of immediately tossing it into the recycling bin; or turning off the water while you brush your teeth. Got some errands to run this week, your random act of green could be condensing them to one evening, so you use less gas. See? These aren’t king- sized, life altering leaps we’re taking, just small steps that add up to wonderful examples for our kids to follow later. They watch, they learn and they’ll live a better life as a result. Random acts of green, I’m all about ‘em on The Go Green Ride at Five on 92.1 WVTK!

Project Hope November 1st on 92.1 WVTK

If you'd like more information about how you might be able to help Jeanne Montrose and her team at Hope in their mission to make Addison County healthier (and warmer) or if you'd like to know more about the Model Citizen Fashion Show on November 20th just click below:

www.hope-vt.orgor email Andrea Solomon at: asolomon@middlebury.edu

When no one else can help, HOPE is there. If you need help this winter, the only shame is in not asking for it. Wanna talk?: sarah@921wvtk.com

Go Green Tips for November 1st

Gotta tip you want to share with Sarah and the Go Green Ride at Five? Email her: sarah@921wvtk.com!

Here Sarah's groovy green tips for Monday, November 1st:

• All those leaves in your yard…when you rake, try to compost instead of simply throwing them away.
• With all the plastic in our landfills, why not take advantage of that tap in your kitchen instead of buying another bottle of water. Pick up an inexpensive aluminum reusable water bottle today for just such an occasion!

I’m always preaching buying green, but that can be somewhat confusing. Especially when it comes to the use of the term "natural". Just because something is natural, it doesn't make it environmentally friendly. Mercury is natural, so is arsenic, uranium, lead and asbestos - but all these things can be harmful if released into the environment. And when something like shampoo has a laundry list of natural ingredients, many of which don’t necessarily benefit the user, but are only there to persuade the consumer into making a purchase, well that certainly doesn’t help the environment. Especially when we’re needlessly pulling resources. In other words, a product packed with natural resources isn’t always a good thing for the environment. It’s still consumption, no matter how you package it. The key, is looking into where these ingredients come from. Some resources are actually in short supply because of over-harvesting. Take the time, do a little detective work, Do these natural ingredients really do you any good? Will you benefit through application? Hmmm. Don’t just accept the marketing spin, and I bet you’ll save money as you save resources! Green is the word on the The Go Green Ride at Five!