Good to Know

  I no longer buy or eat shrimps, so I can save lives. Can you connect the dots? The coastlines of more than 80 countries around the world contain vast stretches of tropical forests known as mangrove swamps. The mangrove swamps offer an excellent defense against hurricanes and cyclones. Unfortunately, countless mangrove swamps have been destroyed to create huge shrimp farms. In 1999, when a super cyclone hit the coast below West Bengal, where the mangrove swamps had been destroyed, more than ten thousand people were killed and 7 million were left homeless. The villages located near the country’s second largest mangrove swamp reported no deaths. The mangrove swamps had protected them from the deathly cyclone.  

  Greening Your Christmas stop buying non-recyclable wrapping paper printed with petroleum based inks and dyes use wraps made out of recycled paper use a gift bags that can be reused many times over and over again Use materials from around the house such as old wall paper, the Sunday comics, old fabric etc. more than 300 000 trees are felled each year to produce all the holidays cards sold in North America to save money and trees send e-cards instead of paper cards, check out www.hallmark.com , www.Americangreetings.com , www.bluemountain.com make your own cards from recycled materials if you are determined to send cards choose cards made from recycled paper and that benefit non-profit organizations hometown.aol.com/naturecards/page1.html to save on fossil fuels support your local artisans by buying local arts and crafts look for stores that sell gifts made from recycled materials rather than