How ELSE Do We Use Oil?

Think gas and oil prices are too high? Did you know that it takes 1 cup of crude oil to produce the plastic in one disposable diaper? Or that 12 million barrels of oil are used each year to produce plastic shopping bags? The higher the demand for crude oil, the higher prices OPEC sets. Consider using cloth diapers and reuseable shopping bags. It's better for the environment and reduces our dependency on fuel from an unstable Middle East. You might even save some money, too!

A $300 investment in cloth diapers, when used from birth to potty training, can prevent approximately $3000 in disposable diaper purchases AND it keeps the diapers out of our landfills.

Reuseable shopping bags typically cost the consumer money.  The "free" plastic bag that your purchase is put in at the checkout counter costs the retailer money. By not requiring plastic bags for your purchases, you are reducing the need for the crude to make the bag, the resources used to transport the bag to the store, and keeping costs down for the retailer (because let's face it - they can't stay in business if they don't pass their costs along to their customers), not to mention the reduced cost of disposal once these bags enter the waste stream. Some retailers even give you a discount when you bring your own reuseable bag. Target discounts 5 cents off your purchase for each reuseable bag you use when making a purchase.

A New Direction for MoreGreen4ME

I have stepped away from this blog for quite a while, and I have been considering lately what, if anything, I want to accomplish with it. While I think that the money savings aspect is useful, I think there are plenty of resources out there that get into this area in a lot more detail than I am able or willing. The topics that interest me most are more thought provoking and are more related to sustainable living, environmental issues, conservation and also household money savings. The thing is that I believe all these topics are very much related. Now that I have that out, here is what you can expect from this blog in the future:  Posts that promote breastfeeding and cloth diapering, and why they are important not only for kids but also for the environment (and perhaps the economy); tips on how to save gas and energy; kid-friendly activities; the occasional crafty project (sewing can be VERY economical on the household budget); a yummy recipe here and there; promotion of green products; review of products that are ecofriendly/time saving/money saving, and occasionally a giveaway here and there.  You can expect to read about my personal efforts to become part of a more sustainable, ecofriendly and budget-conscious household, what obstacles I encounter along the way and how I manage to engineer a solution, adapt my behavior or select a different solution to my projects along the way. I will not make daily posts. I do expect to post at least once a week, perhaps more. I hope that you will find this blog to be useful and thought inspiring, and please share us with your friends.