nonprofitshoppingmall.com, everyday giving starts here. Choose from three easy ways to shop and give

There’s no way we could let Earth Day go by without saying something of note – however – with the hundreds of thousands of articles, blogs and events already out in the e-sphere to commemorate the day, we didn’t feel like we had any new or unique content to contribute. We hope you’ll take the time to visit our Shop Green section and purchase something you need while at the same time acknowledging those retailers and products that are good for you and the planet as a whole.

In the meantime, I found this article written by Jocelyn Rice and Amber Fields in Discover Magazine called 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Recycling, which I found to be both strangely fascinating and just a little disturbing. I’m sharing it for just those reasons and hope you’ll forgive me if you find it a bit too weird for your tastes. This is a cleverly written piece and flows well, especially when read in order.

1. Drink up: It takes three months for a recycled aluminum can to make it’s way back on the shelf in reincarnated form.
2. Or build a bridge: In 2002 researchers from Rutgers University built a 42-foot-long bridge over a river using plastic beams made from polystyrene cups and polyethylene milk jugs.
3. Or construct a boat: During World War 1, enough metal was salvaged from corset stays to build two warships.
4. As of press time, the boat Earthrace was being prepared for an attempt to break the maritime around-the-world speed record. It will use biofuel, some of which comes from liposuctioned human fat.
5. No fat here: During Britain’ 2007 Recycle Now week, svelte models strutted down Brighton beach wearing swimsuits made of steel cans.
6. These boots were made for flooring: Nike gathers old athletic shoes and turns them into raw material for “sports surfaces” like tennis courts or running tracks.
7. Meanwhile in China, more then 1 million unsold copies of British singer-songwriter Robbie Williams’s latest CD will be used to resurface roads.
8. Last year Chinese hair salons caused a stir by unlawfully recycling used condoms, possibly donated by local nightclubs into hair ties.
9. Elsewhere in Asia, an enterprising dental technician established the Japan Denture Recycle Association in 2006 to cash in on the precious metals in discarded choppers. Proceeds go to UNICEF.
10. Each year Americans junk more than 80 million dollar’s worth of copper, gold, silver, palladium and platinum in the form of retired cell phones.
11. Cell phones, laptops, and, um, personal massage devices: New British laws mandate that old electronic appliances-including sex toys-cannot be dumped. They must be recycled with other so-called e-waste.
12. E-waste is for the birds: An Australian nut orchard converts the shells of vintage Macintosh computers into houses for pest-eating birds.
13. Humans need house too: when Luiz Bispo built his house in Rio de Janeiro slum out of construction waste last year, city authorities threatened to destroy it. Now the house-which floats atop a junk-filled river on a base of plastic bottles-is being touted as an icon of sustainable development.
14. Cities have long been goldmines for recyclers: Beginning in ancient times, tanners collected human urine to use in turning animal skins into leather.
15. In the middle ages, urine was also used to make saltpeter, an essential component of gunpowder.
16. Cities get recycled too: Masonry from Roman settlements made a handy source of stone for medieval church builders.
17. But enough is enough: In 1821 Turkish soldiers surrounded Greek forces holed up in the Parthenon and started stripping lead from the temple columns to make bullets. The horrified Greeks promptly sent the enemy a fresh supply of ammunition to discourage further recycling.
18. Using every part: There are now sheep-poo air fresheners. Sterilized sheep droppings are turned into packets stuffed with grass-or daffodil- scented material.
19. Green to the end: The Doggone Project in Mannheim, Germany, can recycle deceased pets into fertilizer.
20. You, too: Ecopods, a British company, sells stylish coffins made from hardened recycled paper, available in a range of colors including indigo and silver leaf.

It’s that time of the year again when we make lofty promises to ourselves – like getting really fit, working out everyday, eating healthier and getting a better handle on world news and national politics. Unfortunately, a lot of those promises get broken within days and we’re right back to doing what we do – we work out when we can, we try not to binge on sweets and we’re confounded by conflicting news stories that make getting a handle on what’s happening here and abroad hard to follow. In our perfect world, New Years resolutions shouldn’t be focused so much inward and, perhaps, take on a broader scope to look at the world around us. The thought of clean air, clean oceans and clean living sounds like a resolution that we, as a community, should seriously consider making and keeping. With that said, let’s welcome avid surfer, beach lover and world renowned Chef David Myers to this month’s People Who Care feature. Not only is he committed to eco-practices like serving locally grown organic produce and the freshest of seafood in his LA based restaurants, Chef Myers is committed to the Surfrider Foundation and its strategic initiatives of clean water, establishing marine protected areas, beach preservation and greater public access. Please check out action sports retailers Swell and Becker Surf for their special deals to support Surfrider Foundation throughout the month.

Chef David Myers was one of Food & Wine’s ‘Best New Chefs’ in 2003 and Angeleno’s ‘Chef of the Year’ in 2005 — pretty impressive for a chef who’s only in his mid-thirties. He’s owned and operated the West Hollywood hotspot Sona for six years (the only LA restaurant ever to receive 5 stars from Angeleno and listed in National Geographic’s 10 Best of Everything), the jewel-box patisserie Boule for three and a half and the recently opened, Comme Ça which brings a truly authentic taste of Parisian life to Los Angeles with its French neighborhood brasserie classics.

His fabulous cuisine and surfer-boy good looks have allowed David to cook his way into the hearts of foodies all over the country with appearances on The Today Show, CBS The Early Show and The Tyra Banks Show, each time demonstrating culinary tips on everything from budgetary cooking to the unusual and the exotic.

It’s not just David’s cuisine that gets talked and written about. His innovative staff bonding — gathering his staff for an early morning beach boot camp-has been featured in Gourmet as well as on MSNBC’s Your Business, and his tips on staying slim while working in a kitchen were included in both People and Food & Wine (to help us all stay slim – we’ve added two new health and fitness retailers to our roster; My Yoga Online and Dick’s Sporting Goods).

So in addition to running his FoodArt Group restaurants in LA, Chef David Myers, together with Chef Jill Davie are TV’s newest ‘go-to’ chefs with a specialty in navigating the vast world of kitchen essentials in the original new series Shopping with Chefs on the FINE LIVING TV NETWORK, airing nationwide Saturdays and Sundays at 1pm ET. Each weekend, the two help the time-starved, chef-at-home cook better by shopping smarter.

Taking off their chef hats, these two hit the streets to show how the experts shop for the most important room in the home - the kitchen. Whether you’re a casual cook or an accomplished chef, the first step to a successful meal is making sure you have the right stuff, which is where our new insider friends step in. From a kitchen knife to the kitchen sink - you know you need one, but how or where do you find one, let alone which one to pick? One way to start is to shop with a chef and, once you find what you’re looking for, check with foodie retailers like Chefs Catalog, Sur La Table, Chefs Corner and KlinQ.com to purchase and furnish your perfect kitchen.

• Non-stick pans are best for making omelettes. Some cast iron cookware comes with an enamel coating that comes in many colors and doesn’t need seasoning. Consider buying wood, plastic or silicone utensils for use with your pans. Metal utensils can scratch surfaces and chip non-stick coatings.
• An oven without all the “bells and whistles” usually does a good job and will cost less. If your kitchen space is limited, chose a size that takes up as little counter space as possible, yet has enough cooking capacity to fulfill your needs. Look for a model that cleans up easily.
• If you don’t need large amounts of juice, consider a hand juicer over an electric one. They are usually less expensive, easier to clean and are usually smaller and easier to store.
• Bread-makers are a good idea only if you plan to make bread regularly. Otherwise the expense and loss of counter space isn’t worth it. If you plan to make a variety of breads, look for a machine with extra cycle options. Consider a machine with a smaller capacity. Homemade bread goes stale faster than store-bought because it doesn’t have the added preservatives.
• New are the salad scissors, used for chopping up the ingredients in your salad. The scissors have a double-sided blade and micro serrated edge that stays sharp for a long time. They also have a safety feature that keeps the scissors closed while storing them. Cost is about $20. Combine with the new salad dryer bag that keeps salads fresh, crisp, and ready to serve.

FINE LIVING TV NETWORK, now in more than 48 million subscriber homes, is the first television network dedicated to helping time starved families do more with their time and money. For a cable provider near you, check your local TV listings or visit www.fineliving.com/tv.

We’ll be back soon with lots more information as to what’s going on here at nonprofitshoppingmall.com – for a quick preview tho – check out our new and improved SHOP GREEN section. With a number of new stores and new subcategories — we hope we’ve made it easier for you to find what you’re looking for there!