Free exercise

Hiking in the foothills at Camel's Back Park with my husband, Chris, and youngest daughter

View from the bottom

Holy Crap! I'm out of shape!

Views from the top

Lunch after our hike-in the shade. Silly Alexis with sandwich hanging out of her face!

Think Globally, Hoop Locally

Wilson's Rebound Basketball Shows Company's Commitment to Making the World a Greener Place

Just in time for Earth Day, the global sporting goods company releases the planet's first "green" basketball.

04.11.2008

CHICAGO, IL-April 11, 2008- The key to curbing global warming and greenhouse gas emissions is to re-examine the way we do business. Wilson Sporting Goods is taking the lead by producing a green basketball that will be good for the player and the planet he or she dribbles on.

Wilson's Rebound came about when the company's engineers decided to tackle the question of how to produce an affordable basketball that would have less of an impact on the environment. The ball itself, which will be available just in time for Earth Day on April 22nd, is comprised of a surface that is made from 40% recycled rubber. How will the use of recycled rubber impact the planet? In practical terms, every 70 Rebound basketballs Wilson produces is the equivalent of one less tire ending up in a landfill.

"We know that today's young athletes are very aware of their impact on the environment," says Mike Kuehne, General Manager of Basketball for Wilson Sporting Goods Co. "And we're always looking for ways to improve our own performance. The Rebound will afford young players the chance to work on their game in an environmentally friendly way. Wilson is proud to be a leader in moving towards a greener, more sustainable planet."

In addition to the green composition of ball itself, the Rebound's display box is produced from nearly 80% pre or post consumer board. To add to the greenness, The Rebound was designed with a green and black color palette and features the slogan "Think Globally, Hoop Locally." The Rebound retails for $14.99 and will be available in stores across the country.

Making Music Biodegradable

Think I am going to have to get my son some of these guitar picks. They are from a company called Wheatware and they sell a lot of biodegradable products made from wheat and corn. Here is some into from their website....

Wheatware.com™ exclusively distributes Wheatware™ and Cornware™ products in the USA. Our products are manufactured in America from annually renewable crops grown in America. Who we are is a company of people committed to environmental values.

Purchasing our crop-derived Wheatware™ products, instead of forest-derived wood or cardboard products, helps supports Wheatware.com’s mission to annually save millions of virgin forest trees and their precious habitats. Within these habitats, a multitude of species live. As these habitats are destroyed, species are perishing everyday. We also recognize the importance of our forests acting as air conditioning systems for our planet. With each forest lost, Earths capacity to cool itself becomes diminished.

Forest-derived products, such as chopsticks, clothes hangers, golf tees, cardboard drink coasters, and drumsticks, combined, cause the destruction of over 30 million forest trees per year, typically by “clearcutting” (see deforestation).

Our commitment is to continue to offer an ever expanding number of products which replace virgin forest wood products in order to help secure a sustainable future for our children and generations to come. We thank you for buying our Wheatware™ and Cornware™ products…..you make a difference.

Their website is www.wheatware.com