14th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments
The Statesman had a nice little article today about places in Austin that accept used books. Check these out and see if one of these spots is near you:
There are a few organizations in Austin that accept donated books, including the Inside Books Project, which sends free books and other materials to Texas prisoners. Inside Books does not accept hardcover fiction, magazines and outdated reference or textbooks. There are a few different drop-off points in Austin, including the Space 12 art space, 3121 E. 12th St., and MonkeyWrench Books, 110 North Loop Blvd. For more information on donations, visit insidebooksproject.org.
Another Austin-based organization, Books Beyond Borders, accepts donations of used books, including current textbooks and fiction (no mass-market paperbacks), to help fund Project Schoolhouse, which works to promote education in Central America. Drop donations at the group’s warehouse, 622 Pedernales St. For more info, visit booksbeyondborders.com.
The Austin Public Library’s Recycled Reads program, 5335 Burnet Road, resells used books and donates unusable books to Books Beyond Borders, which converts them into building material for use in developing countries. Donations are accepted at all Austin Public Library locations and at the Recycled Reads store. Another resource is the Lake Travis Community Library, 2300 Lohman’s Spur, which accepts all book donations, DVD’s and CD’s. The Georgetown Friends of the Library store, Second Hand Prose (located in the Georgetown Public Library, 402 W. Eighth St.) also accepts used books.
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14th July, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 1 Comment
My answer: sadly, not so green. If you’re interested in finding out what kinds of chemicals are in your beauty products, check out the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Safety Database. They have descriptions and ratings for tons of products, and I was surprised at the levels of toxicity in some of the items I use, even some that are labeled “organic.” It’s definitely a challenge finding eco-friendly alternatives to the vast assortment of beauty products out there. My process is to replace my old products when they run out with greener, less chemically options. I’ve done this for my shampoo and conditioner (although I looked them up on the database and they’re not as green as I thought!), soap, toothpaste, and deodorant. But I still have eye makeup remover, makeup, and lotion, among other things, that have all sorts of crazy chemicals listed on the back. I don’t want to be wasteful, so I’m trying to use them up, but once they’ve run their course, I’m going to check out the database for some better options. Also, here’s a helpful list of some recommendations for six green beauty products, including makeup remover, mascara, and bronzer.
14th July, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment
I have been using Howard Garrett’s book “Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening: The Total Guide to Growing Vegetables, Fruits, Herbs, and Other Edible Plants the Natural Way” ever since I started getting semi-serious about gardening this summer. It’s very useful- every common vegetable and fruit are covered alphabetically, and for each one, the book describes when to plant, what kind of soil treatments to use, and has a page of common problems for that particular plant (for example, plant not producing fruit, or plant covered in white spots), with the possible causes listed for each problem (for example, a certain disease or pest), followed by a solution (often treatment with materials you can easily find or make in your home, like compost, garlic, and red pepper). The book also has a section on organic additives, a section on common pests, and a section on beneficial insects. I found it very helpful and liked it so much that I am going to buy a used copy online (I checked out my copy from the library).
Even if you’re not totally committed to organic gardening, it’s useful if you’re new to gardening in Texas because it has Texas-specific planting times and Texas-specific pests, which I found very helpful.
not my garden, but so pretty!
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