We don’t know about you, but our cell phones never leave our side. With all the constant phone calls, texting, facebook-ing, and tweeting phones tend to run down pretty quickly. Not to mention all the cool new phones coming out. But what do you do with your old cell phone? Throw it away so it can sit in a landfill and let the toxic chemicals seep into the ground and our water systems? Do what I used to do and put it in a drawer with other old junk? OR do what I do now recycle them. There are a few different ways to get rid of your old cell phone and help local organizations.

So, do the right thing the next time you get a new cell phone - recycle the old one!

Piece out,
Monica, Casey, Kayla, Zachary, Jordan, Alex & Renee

Christmas is right around the corner and all of our wallets are cashed out! What to do? Shop at Goodwill or thrift shops can calm the chaos in your life by purchasing presents for your loved ones with a small amount of mullah. You will find timeless pieces while filling your wallet, not the landfill.

Plato’s Closet is another good resource for buying used clothing that is in a college student’s price range and fashionable. First, go through your closet and bag up all of your summer clothing that you don’t want or can’t fit into anymore. The staff at Plato’s Closet will sort it, then buy the clothing and re-sell it. This can give you some extra cash to spend on your friends and family during the holidays. You might find some clothing, accessories, or shoes while in the store to give as gifts for Christmas. This benefits the environment by reusing clothing and keeping it out of the landfills. Waste not, want not!

A different way to give green gifts, or gifts that are economical, is to make them. Homemade presents hit the heart where store bought gifts can’t. Homemade cards, food, candles, picture frames, clothing, and other products are affordable and mean much more. Everyone enjoys an original card created by their loved one, a delicious dish that is made with TLC, or even a picture frame that is personally decorated. The season of giving doesnt have to be impossible this year, especially with the economy in the shape it is. You can’t put a price on love, gifts from the heart, or the environment! This year, celebrate with red and green!

Piece out,
Monica, Casey, Kayla, Zachary, Jordan, Alex & Renee

Between teachers passing out handouts, students doing their homework and even in the food court, we go through a fair amount of paper each day at IUPUI. Did you knwo that the average American throws away 3.5 lbs. of trash each day? And Indiana has the highest per capita trash in the entire country!

Piece out,
Monica, Casey, Kayla, Zachary, Jordan, Alex & Renee

As college students, many of us tend to buy coffee every morning to start the day. In one year, Starbucks alone uses more than 2.5 billion cups. That’s equal to 9.4 million trees being cut down. However, where do these coffee cups go? Once we drink the contents, we automatically aim for the trashcan for our method of disposal.

Piece out,
Monica, Casey, Kayla, Jordan, Alex & Renee

Do you have some great green ideas about how to make IUPUI sustainable? Well, how would you like to make some gree by helping IUPUI go green? Enter the Common Green Contest with your proposal and you could win $600 for first place and $400 for second place for students, and $400 for first place for staff. The fall contest deadline is Dec. 1, 2009; the spring contest deadline is April 1, 2009.

Piece out,
Monica, Casey, Kayla, Jordan, Alex & Renee

Surely many of you have heard all the talk about Global Warming, especially across the IUPUI campus. The common theme for the IUPUI community for the next two years is the consequences of our consumption and the healthier, greener and more sustainable communities we might build here in Indiana and around the world. The topics of the common theme for IUPUI are: green economy, healthy community, and just sustainability. To support the common theme many of us are reading the book Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben. You have the chance to see Bill McKibben and even ask him questions on two different occasions. You can also find out more information and become engaged in the common theme by attending the sustainability film series at IUPUI.

Piece out,
Monica, Casey, Kayla, Jordan, Alex & Renee

Giving thanks is easy. Giving up hard-earned dollars, particularly at a time when wearing your frugality like a medal is suddenly popular again…well, that’s a lot tougher. And if your bank account balance is dwindling or you’ve recently found yourself on the wrong end of a pink slip, giving can feel nearly impossible.

That’s why we’re thankful for Goodsearch.com. Unlike that other popular search engine that starts with a “G,” Goodsearch donates a little change to our fave environmental charities every time we use their site to perform a web search.

Here’s a short list of land- and animal-focused Indiana organizations that benefit from Goodsearch.com.

Central Indiana Land Trust
Friends of Indiana Dunes
Friends of Indianapolis Animal Care and Control
Hoosier Environmental Council
Humane Society of Indianapolis
Indianapolis Parks Foundation
Keep Indianapolis Beautiful
Nature Conservancy of Indiana

Attention online shoppers: You can also give back by using Goodsearch’s sister site, Goodshop.com. Search the list of retailers (it includes the big ones like Amazon, iTunes, Macy’s, Target, etc.), designate your charity, buy your stuff, and voila! The retailer will donate a percentage of your purchase (usually between 1% and 7%) to your chosen charity.

You’re just a point-and-click away from protecting the planet…get to work!

Piece out,
Renee & Meghan

IUPUI is doing something very uncommon for the next two years. We have a common theme. Our common theme this year is based on the book, Deep Economy, written by Bill McKibben who will be coming to IUPUI and to share his ideas. IUPUI as a campus is promoting McKibben’s focus. Most of the classes around campus have already been introducing the common theme.

Piece out,
Monica, Casey, Kayla, Jordan, Alex & Renee