#19 "DIY Eco-Stickies"

#19 "DIY Eco-Stickies": I don't know what amount of Post-its are made from recycled material, but it seems they are usually "virgin tree yellow" in color. If you don't have a paper-cutter this will be harder, but scissors will do. The idea is to cut up your scrap paper and remake it into stickies. I don't know the mixture off hand, but there must be an eco-friendly kind of stickum one could cook up and slather on the stack of cut papers. Hmmm. Best that 3m just makes them, eh? Anyway, I want ec0-friendly sticky notes. And a spirograph. And a pony. Nyah.

#18 "Green Mainstream"

#18 "Green Mainstream": A website for the new movement of making Green something that isn't something you have to think about, proselytize or convince yourselves or others to "do". The best idea I can think of for the site would be showing what my pal Uncle Joe said to do; "be the change you want in the world". Show examples of normal people doing green things just because it's what they do. Tutorials on how to do subtle green things at the workplace to make it more normalized, habitualized, un-special. My underlying issue is with the current "fad" of green overtaking the actual caring for the earth by consuming less and using things more efficiently. It just has to be a cultural shift brought on by lots of people just doing it again and again, passing it on by showing people how it's just "what we do".

#17: "Banzai Micro Hydro Landscaping"

#17: "Banzai Micro Hydro Landscaping": extremely low-tech. Survey the lands of your back yard, and see if you have any sort of embankment or slope. It helps if rain would normally run down this slope. If you do have a slope, stare at it intensely until the image is burned into your mind, then close your eyes. With some mental muscle you should be able to envision that section of your sloping back yard area as the side of a mountain with a river running through it. Get a very detailed picture in your mind of the twists and turns the river makes. Open your eyes up and map that river out on the slope, perhaps with a stick. Then go inside and draw it out on paper, again with a very detailed image in mind. Put trees into the picture, waterfalls, mini rock slabs, you name it. Then go to a garden store (or better, look around your yard) and find the stuff you'll need to engineer the micro-river, and make that vision of yours a reality. The channels can be cut right into the dirt if you have the right soil, or you can make mud elsewhere in the yard to bring in, or if you're really excited you can actually make and pour small amounts of cement if you please... If you rock it hard enough, when it rains it will channel into your little scene and give you great pleasure. If it's not raining, pour some wastewater down the channel and see what happens. Ommmm.

#19: "(Shredded Paper) Family Brainstorm"

#19: "(Shredded Paper) Family Brainstorm": At some time in its life, paper usually ends up needing to be recycled or disposed of. Taxes from 1998, old checks, magazine offers, you know the drill. Rather than tossing all paper directly into the recycling bin as is your custom, use a shredder and make a bag of shredded paper. Gather up your friends and/or family and brainstorm at least 20 uses for the shredded stuff. Ideas already on the table: packing cushion materials, worm-bin layer, compost layer, wadded up into balls for firestarting in the fireplace. Shredded paper is just one topic for brainstorming. Make it a weekly event to come up with a bunch of new uses for stuff that is recycled or thrown away (landfilled). Great family bonding, and energizes the mind.

#18: "Creeping Crud"

#18: "Creeping Crud": This was my dad's idea. If you want your kids to help you clean the house, tell them that anything that's out of place harbors the deadly and mysterious "creeping crud". It has to be eradicated in order for the family to be safe. Run around with the kids and pick up clothes and trash and all things messy in a somewhat frantic fashion. The big trick is doing it with them. Pretty soon after the first few rounds of this as a child, I got an adrenaline rush from the mere mention of "creeping crud".

#17 "CD Disco Ball"

#17 "CD Disco Ball": What the heck do you do with those scratched CD's you have in your basement? I know, you're waiting for a miracle rub that will restore your bootleg copy of Nirvana's final show at Memorial Stadium. In case you're tired of waiting, but you don't want to throw the thing into a landfill, try your hand at making a funky low-tech disco ball: Get some really thick leather gloves, perhaps ones that no longer bend much and are still able to keep your hands safe. (If you don't want to do it by hand, just grab a hammer and have at it) Break the CD up into small pieces. You can etch patterns in the CD with a razor before you break it to make specific shaped pieces. Get some hobby glue and an old ball you have in the garage, and attach a sturdy string or some fishing line to the ball. Add a fishing spinner so the thing can freely spin. Then glue the shards on the ball. Aim a very bright light at the dangling ball of shards and you have a funky disco ball. Add a motor to it if you'd like the thing to spin without having to do it manually. Voila! If you have enough CDs to get rid of, skip the demolition step and just glue them (overlapped) together to make a much larger ball with half the mess.

#16 "Adopt-an-intern or apprentice"

#16 "Adopt-an-intern or apprentice": You probably know 3-5 kids who are just about to graduate high school. Maybe it's a neighbor or friends' kid or even your own niece or nephew. You also probably know a few things about the work you are currently doing. Make the leap (after talking to the parents first) and offer to show the kid around, tell them what you do, how you got the job in the first place, how to get a similar or better job, etc. If they dig it, see if you can help them get a job in the field. US culture desperately needs more lifeskills training and chances are pretty good you've got some knowledge to share or at least a connection that could be facilitated for a young adult.