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We may not all be lucky enough to live in a LEED certified building, but there are things we can do within our own homes to reduce or energy costs and the impact our family is having on the environment.  Here are some ways you can give back to mother earth in your life and in your home.

Walk, bike, and take the bus: Doing this one day a weak instead of driving your car can do wonders for the environment and not to mention your health. If you decide to walk or bike to some of your every day errands you are making two positive choices.

Buy a car with good gas mileage: Yeah, perhaps that brand new Hummer looks really cool but costs an arm and a leg to fill up at the pump. Well when you are looking to trade it in think about getting a more economical care that gets better gas mileage.

Install low flow showerheads and toilets: Low flow showerheads and toilets can save tons of gallons of water with every shower or flush. They are relatively inexpensive, about 10 or 20 bucks each and can save about 300 pounds of Carbon Dioxide a year if electrically heated and 80 pounds of Carbon Dioxide a year for gas-heated water.

Install blinds: Window treatments can do wonders for your energy bills. Try out Next Day Blinds, they have tons of varieties.  Next Day Blinds is sure to satisfy both your design and green living needs.

Replace old, less energy efficient appliances with new ones: If you are in the market for a new refrigerator or dishwasher, pick more energy efficient models. Front loading washing machines are much better than traditional ones. And just replacing that old fridge could make a significant difference in your overall energy consumption yearly.

We didn’t get to see the inside of many hotels in Bangkok Thailand, and that was OK, as we had much to see in this busy, beautiful city. I wanted a massage, Lydia wanted to shop, and we both wanted to sample as much Thai food as we could handle! Fortunately, our issue with the airport took only minutes to resolve as we had heard horror stories about people stuck at the official’s tables, that all turned out to be nonsense, as we were just about whisked through.

We went out the Weekend Market early and watched many of them setting up and them felt the pulse of the city awaken! This place is crazy, so many mopeds, pedestrians, cabs for hire, bleating, honking and roaring by in occasional plumes of black smoke. We got a shrimp kabob for breakfast. We went over and watched some silk weaving and Lydia bought a bolt of red silk to take back. She promised to make something grand with it! I could have bought a new suit but I stopped wearing suits and opted instead for a gold vaguely religious figure to hang from my pick up rear view mirror at home. We were told not to eat from the carts that pass by but we did (like I said we eat a lot!) and had some really hot and yummy pad thai that tied us over (no pun intended) for a while! I was a beautiful dish, full of little bitty shrimps  and tasting of fish sauce and garlic and lime. then we stumbled on a Buddha stature that soared into the morning sun, golden and shiny as his expression. We thought about taking a motor cycle taxi but we had no helmets and opted to walk about instead.

Considered the dining capital of Australia, Melbourne boasts every kind of cuisine imagineable. When we left Hotel Melbourne Australia we decided it was no time to diet. Oddly, we immediately went for fast food at Hungry Jack’s, the McDonald’s (or should we say Burger King) of Australia. They have the old regulars, the hamburgers, the french fries. Happily, the one we went to had vegetarian burgers, and bottled water so we could skip the soft drinks. The burger was quite good, try getting that back in the states. Fast food fix satisfied, we just needed some familiar chow, plus it was cheap and fast.

After that, some caffeine was in order, and a stroll down Degraves Street led us to, well, Degraves Espresso. We were too fast-fooded out to try the panninis, the free range eggs and chorizo, the foccacias, the place smelling strongly of ground coffee, everyone nice and friendly. We “settled” for velvety cappuccinos (even though it was mid-day) and were content to watch business men zip by, the tourists ambling about as we sat under our umbrella at this funky fun place.

We stumbled into Flagstaff Gardens and watched some lawn bowling at this leafy oasis and headed over to the Shanghai Noodle House on Tattersalls Lane. We waited for a table in this bustling enjoyable place, menus in Chinese but a few English menus circulate. As we waited briefly for a table a fellow waiting with us suggested we try the dumplings. They were really good. Who doesn’t love a good dumpling? Served in soup with shreds of pork and vegetables, seasoned with cilantro and a little seaweed, the dumplings were heaven in a bowl. It was cheap, and we were OK getting our own table ware, tea and water.

Great Yarmouth, England is better known by locals simply as Yarmouth. It is a coastal town located in the region known as Norfolk. It lies approximately twenty miles east of Norwich. It has a beautiful beach and two promenades, which are popular with locals and tourists alike. It is one of the area’s main tourists centers and there is a great variety of styles of Yarmouth hotels so that the perfect accommodations for all tastes can be satisfied. There are many interesting landmarks and historic icons as well as great contemporary social elements that continue to draw throngs of tourists to its streets every year. One of the intriguing stops most tourists make while visiting Yarmouth is a visit to the Tollhouse. This 13th century building retains its historic feel and includes dungeons, which captivates the imagination of the young and old alike.

In addition, though along different lines, are the two piers that city has. The Britannia Pier and the Wellington Pier each have their own charming and dynamic elements. The Britannia Pier is home to the Britannia Theatre, which is one of the last remaining end of the pier theatres in all of England. During the summer months the theatre hosts popular a series of popular shows that are enjoyed by the thousands of tourists that are visiting the city. Some of the more popular performers include Chubby Brown, The Searchers and Cannon and Ball. There was also a theatre on Wellington Pier though it was torn down in 2005 and is currently being rebuilt. That won’t stop tourists from enjoying the rest of the attractions found along Wellington, nor will it impede their interest in the sandy shores of Pleasure Beach. The seafront is reached by walking the beautiful promenade known as The Golden Mile. The beach and Golden Mile stretch include plenty of arcades and indoor amusement centers, as well as fabulous restaurants and other entertainment and adventure options.

If you are deciding whether or not to take the kids to the 2009 US Open tournament, you should really think about doing so. The Open has many fun events for kids to participate in and will offer you and your kids a unique bonding experience that you simply cannot get anywhere else. The Arthur Ashe kid’s day takes place on Saturday August 29th, 2009. The day’s events offer the best in tennis and entertainment. First off, you can see some of our favorite players such as Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova competing in matches so that kids can get an up close look at some of their favorite tennis athletes.

That is the tennis side of the event, there is also going to be some heavy hitters from the entertainment world at the Arthur Ashe kid’s day as well. You can expect appearances from comedian Will Ferrell and former American Idol winner Jordin Sparks. She is set to perform her new single “Battlefield” at the kid’s day.

The even will also allow for autograph sessions with some of the people participating and appearing. So this could be a great chance for you child to meet their favorite tennis player or musician. There is also going to be circus activities at the event including face painting, plate spinning and juggling.

This is a great way to create a unique experience for younger children, since they will not really be focused too much on the US Open tennis scores and more on the experience as a whole. It’s so great that they have opportunities to give children of all ages a unique experience when it comes to tennis. Perhaps it could spark a new hobby for these children and they will pick up a sport that could last them a life time.

Volunteering at the Bhutanese refugee camp in Nepal, we noticed they have a new way to prepare meals without using firewood or kerosene; they are implementing the use of the solar cooker. We asked how it works and we were told that the solar cooker works by reflection and absorbent of sun rays. A special type of mirror reflects the light of the sun, which causes a pan that’s placed in the middle of the cooker to heat up. We drove back to one of the Nepal hotels to meet up with an associate of ours and tell them about this very inexpensive way to save the local forest.

When we arrived and met up with our associate we could hardly contain ourselves with the excitement we had about this solar cooker. We told our associate that like a meal of lentils, rice and meats could be cooked in a hour given the conditions are right. It would take longer on a cloudy day. The solar cooker looks like a satellite dish, or some kind of put together spare parts disassembled junked out spacecraft.  It also helps with purifying the water, but you don’t need water to cook eggs or potatoes.

The ecological impact is the best part of the solar cooker, all the near by forest of Nepal have forage for fuels. Every day the refugee camp residence would set out to cut down trees for wood to make fires to cook their meals. Illegally, of course, and this was rapidly causing the deforestation rates in Nepal staggering. So, the introduction of the solar cooker, costing the refugees about a dollar, has drastically reduce the devastation of the forest.

When our associate listened to us explain all the benefits this simple cooker provided to the camp and how it made life a little bit more bearable as life goes for refugees, we all decided to invest our funds out to provide as many solar cookers to all refugee camps around the world.

The British county of Herefordshire sets quaint town markets, Herefordshire Hotels,  and a variety of quaint villages and a variety of topographical landscapes all in the the relatively unspoiled country.  There is a cultural richness along this countryside, as well as a conservation and protected beauty, a leisurely and laid back lifestyle mixed with an interesting history, making this one of the top United Kingdom destinations for travel, relaxation and exploring.  Hereford itself is a very old city, with the towers and spires of the Saint Ethelbert and the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary rising above the Wye River and the medieval era bridge.

The Cathedral was built in 1079 A.D. and is the oldest cathedral in the country of Great Britain.  All of these monuments stand as testaments to the past and the distinguished heritage of this incredible region of England.  The town of Hereford is located close to the border of Wales, in the rural region of the landscape.  This is an area dedicated mainly to farming and agriculture, along with the cultivation of fruit crops and apple tree orchards.  The most productive cider industry is located in Hereford, and the the famous breed of Hereford cattle, well comes from Hereford.  There are many gardens and museums that offer up travelers the opportunities to explore the unique history of the past.

And today the modern amenities of life are intermingled with the rich heritage and architecture of the past.  Situated so closely to the borders of the North Western region of England and South Wales, this is still an important link between the two, with train rails and roads leading back and forth.  This is a center of the region that is of historical importance.  One of the most cultivated and extensive Libraries is located in Hereford, as well as the Mappa Mundi, which houses the famous map of the world.  Many of the museums, as well as the historical cathedrals, also house distinctive cafes and fine dining restaurants as well.  This is one of the many regions to walk, to explore and to discover a bit of history that is significant to so many cultures that are thriving today.

Protecting your identity online is more than just worrying about what you put on your credit cards.  There is now an entire field of marketing dedicated to protecting something more precious than your bank account, your online reputation. Online reputation management is now an entire sector of marketing. It helps companies and individuals take back control of their online identity.

Because there is no internet police, literally anyone can write anything about you. The problem with most internet information is that it can have completely no basis in fact and still be designed to look like it is true.  Most of the information online does not have anything solid or particularly scholarly to back it up. While that is what makes the internet great, it is what also can make it a very frustrating way to receive information.

For example, the company Next Day Blinds has run into this. Despite having won numerous awards from customer service, it is still easy to hurt their reputation. If someone, or even their competition writes something online that is untrue about them is can cause Next Day Blinds review to come up in a search engine.  That might cause someone searching for the company to click on Next Day Blinds review.  Even if Next Day Blinds review are very few and far between.

This is just an example of how the internet can be unreliable and why managing your online reputation is so important. This is especially so if you are one of the many job seekers right now in America. Because you can bet that most employers are probably doing an internet search on you. It’s important to go ahead and Google yourself to see what kind of results come up. That way if you don’t like them you can try and change them.

When I attended a special opera event at the Buxton Opera House, I was approached by a volunteer asking if I’ve ever attended the Buxton Puppet Festival which the opera house presents every year. Of course, I have not. I don’t live here, I only come here on special requests from the Opera House for a particular fund raiser. The volunteer was so excited to find out that I’ve never been the the Puppet Festival and asked me if I had time for her to tell me all about it. Her enthusiasm was overwhelming, so I couldn’t deny her the chance.

This up coming August will be the Puppet Festivals sixth annual event. It’s in conjunction with Funny Wonders. In addition to the puppet performances, there will be workshops for all age held at the Opera House, at the Paupers Pit and all around town. At the Opera House, there will be two favorite puppet performing, Presto Puppet Theatre will be returning with the retelling of Aladin and the Lempen Puppet Theatre present a touching Fable, Journey of Turtles.

Funny Wonders Young People’s Company will present ‘The Silk Road’. A culmination of an on going project that started over a year ago.  Apparently, the company travelled to Japan and collaborated with another puppet theater and what they experience will be brought back here and has inspired the performance of ‘The Silk Road’.  Later, after that performance the Japanese puppet master Nori Sawa will hold a workshop for children and adults. As for the Paupers Pit and the Old Hall Hotel, there will be daily programs of puppet shows. Then there will be two unique events outdoors in the Pavilion Gardens.

The volunteers energy never waned when she told me all about the Puppet Festival. As I returned to one of the Buxton Hotels, I couldn’t help remember how much I loved a good puppet show. I’ve never really attended a professional show, only the ones my siblings put on to entertain the family during summer breaks. I think I’ll have to come back next month and revisit fond memories.

The national parks in the United Kingdom are often times located in the wilderness of the country, the wild, spectacular and dramatic areas of the countryside that will bring tears to the eyes of the first time traveler staying in a Lakes hotel,  or simply looking out the window of a train bound for Edinburgh.   Each and every park is under their own jurisdiction, they manage the enhancement of the beauty that is found, and take part in the conservation and protection of that beauty.  The qualities of the heritage, the culture and the wildlife combine to make any trek into the wilderness of the United Kingdom an experience that one will never forget.  Sitting here today, I remember the open fields on the train from the Gatwick Airport to the University of London.  I remember the train ride that took place fifteen years ago, from London to Edinburgh.  The awful smell of cigarette smoke in the bar car combined with the flavor of the freshly drawn Guinness, with the castles and the heather growing along the tracks.

The national parks of the Lakes district are just one in a family of fourteen.  Others include Dartmoor, Loch Lomond, Northumberland, the Dales of Yorkshire, and Brecon Beacons to name just a few.  Until the beginning of the nineteenth century, these areas were remote and wild…seen as dangerous and un-civilized.  However, leave it to the poets who during this time found the region full of inspiration complete with the not tamed world, the un-discovered territory with all her attractions.  Wordsworth said of this region, that everyone has a right, everyone with an eye for and a sensibility for that which brings the heart and the senses to full enjoyment of the natural world.  By the beginning of the twentieth century, people became aware of the fact that to retain a bit of sanity, of well-being…time must be spent outside of the city life.  The freedom and the renewal of physical and spiritual energy depended upon that, and the parks became important to the lifestyle.  Much as Central Park in New York City is crucial to the mind set of New Yorkers, the parks located throughout the Lakes District in the United Kingdom have offered this peace and a bit of respite from the daily grind.