Things We Can Do To Save The Environment - Issue No. 16 - Pay Your Bills Online

I bet you didn't know that by paying your bills online you're helping the environment.  Think about it.  Every time you get a bill in the mail, your statement is printed on 1 to 6 sheets of paper.  Imagine all the trees you could save by accepting your bill electronically.

Ryan and I pay our bills online, but it wasn't until 2 or 3 months ago that we stopped all the paper nonsense.  Another thing to mark off our "Saving our Environment" list!!

Giving credit to TIME,  I'd like to thank them for showing us the many ways we can help save the environment.  Just one person can make a difference, and it starts with YOU!
 
                                                   ~ Peter aka Blade7184  

16. Pay Your Bills Online

Eliminating your paper trail by banking and paying bills online does more than save trees. It also helps reduce fuel consumption by the trucks and planes that transport paper checks. If every U.S. home viewed and paid its bills online, the switch would cut solid waste by 1.6 billion tons a year and curb greenhouse-gas emissions by 2.1 million tons a year, according to Javelin Strategy & Research. Worried about security? Don't be. Just ignore e-mails "phishing" for personal data, and monitor all (electronic) statements for any unauthorized debits. Report problems immediately, and your credit won't take the hit. To avoid unnecessary carbon dioxide-emitting car trips to the bank on payday, ask your employer to directly deposit your paycheck. You'll get your money faster that way too.
 

Make sure to follow Blade 7184 every Tuesday for a new issue of Things We Can Do To Save The Environment.  Each issue is thought-provoking, informative and may hold the key to saving your children and grandchildren's future.  Please feel free to click on my logo to read previous issues.

Another State Down, 42 More To go

Before I continue with my blogs I did want to mention an important achievement that occurred yesterday.  In a move that has Washington Republicans and conservative bible thumpers screaming their lungs out - marriage for the gays was passed in the state!

In a vote of 28 to 21 the Senate passed a marriage equality bill where it is expected to easily pass through the House.  Once that is done, Governor Christine Gregoire will sign the bill into law!!!  And for those who are unaware, she's actually the one who introduced the bill.  And for that we're thankful!

We love you Christine - the gays love you!

It's Okay To Be A Bully, So Long As It's For Religious Reasons

Jacob Rogers

Yep, the good 'ol south - you gotta love'em. It hasn't even been a month since a local gay teen in Tennessee was buried that a new law allowing kids to bully is being proposed by the State Legislature.  I know, you're thinking I'm trying to push some liberal agenda, that no conservative would ever do such a thing.  But guess what, it's true!

As local news channel WSMV is reporting, the proposed law change by state lawmakers would allow students to speak out against homosexuality without punishment if that's what their religious beliefs call for. [source]

So in other words... if my child is walking through the halls, minding their own business, and a religious kid comes up and tells him or her they are going to hell, they're a sinner or sodomite, they will have every right to ridicule them and belittle them?  Yes, this new law will allow that.  You mean to tell me, if they tell my child "you're a fag and are going to burn in eternal fire," and my child might not even be gay - that will be okay? YEP.

It's true and it's sad, but this type of behavior is what led many of us to contemplate suicide when we were younger.  I would often find myself praying myself to sleep asking God to make me normal, asking him why would he made me this way if I was his child.  Depression kicks in, and everything you're taught to believe in this world turns out to be a lie. You start to believe that everyone, and every thing is a lie!

In correspondence with the Tennessee Equality Project, the state's main gay rights group, state Rep. John Ragan, R-Oak Ridge, claimed gay people commit suicide at a higher rate than others and suggested Jacob's sexuality itself drove him to kill himself. Ragan asked whether the suicide could have had "more to do with his own proclivities and behavior than anything to do with schoolmate bullies ..."

Blaming the victim is necessary to prevent Jacob's death from damaging chances for passage of Tennessee's 2012 state legislative priority—a bill to make it easier for young bigots to mistreat gay schoolkids. This legislation brought by conservative Christians who oppose special protections for gay people actually gives special protections to homophobic bullies. [source]

Post Secret Fridays - Issue 078

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

See More Secrets. Follow PostSecret on Twitter.

Want to see older Post Secret Friday issues? Go here.

With The Heat Comes The Dried Up Lakes and Rising Utility Bills

Still think it's not global warming?  Check out this picture of a Catfish decaying in a dried up lake in San Angelo Texas, on Monday.  

Things are getting pretty bad.  When my water bill is hovering around $179.00 and my A/C rounding up around $400.00  in one month, we have some serious problems.  Our land is getting scorched at an all time high.  Indices this week will be between 105 - 110 degrees according to CNN, some even as high as 112, like in Killeen, TX.

It's so bad I overheard some people wishing for Hurricanes the other day.  They feel that if a hurricane comes ashore, we can get all the rain that comes with them; that's desperation folks.