In Conservation:

Dr. Laurie Marker - Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) based in Namibia, Africa. Having worked with cheetahs since 1974, Laurie set up the not-for profit CCF in 1990, moving to Namibia to develop a permanent conservation research Centre for the wild cheetah.

In 1992 the Cheetah Conservation Fund became a registered Namibian Trust. Today CCF’s activities are housed at their International Research and Education Centre in the main cheetah habitat of the country. In July 2000 CCF opened their field research station to the public, having developed a Visitor’s Centre, a Cheetah Museum and an Education Centre.

Laurie helped develop the US and international captive program to assist the cheetah, establishing the most successful captive cheetah-breeding program in North America during her 16 years (1974-1988) at ‘Wildlife Safari’ in Oregon, USA. She first came to Namibia in 1977 when she brought a captive-born, hand-raised cheetah to Namibia to determine if a cheetah must be taught to hunt or if the process was fully instinctual. This was the first-of-its-kind research to better understand if there was a chance for captive-born cheetahs to be re-introduced into the wild.

She learned about the conflict between livestock farmers and cheetahs in Namibia, discovering that wild cheetahs needed help. For the next ten years she continued traveling to Africa to learn more about the wild cheetah’s problems and what could be done to assist wild populations. In the early 1980’s, along with collaborators at the National Zoo and National Cancer Institute in the USA, she helped identify the cheetah’s lack of genetic variation, thus causing the species greater problems for survival.

In 1988, in collaboration with these two institutions she became the Executive Director of the Center for New Opportunities in Animal Health Sciences, based at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoo. She continues to serve as a NOAHS Research Fellow. In 1988 she developed the International Cheetah Studbook, a registry of captive cheetah worldwide, and is the International Studbook Keeper. In 1996 she was made a vice-chair of the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN) Species Survival Commission’s (SSC) Cat Specialist Group.

In 2000 Laurie was recognised as one of Time Magazine’s Heroes for the Planet and given the Burrow’s Conservation Award from Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2001 Laurie was locally honored in Namibia, receiving the Paul Harris Fellowship from the Windhoek Rotary Club, and in 2002 she received a special award from the Sanveld Conservancy’, signifying Namibia’s farming community’s public acknowledgement of Laurie and CCF’s contributions. In 2003 and 2005 she was named Conservationist of the Year by Chevron-Texaco and Living Desert’s Track’s in the Sand, respectively.

More recently she was awarded $50,000 by the Tech Museum of Innovation at the 2008 Tech Awards gala. The award recognized CCF’s Bushblok program, which uses a high-pressure extrusion process to convert invasive, habitat-destroying bush into a clean-burning fuel log, an economically viable alternative to existing products such as firewood, coal, lump charcoal and charcoal briquettes. Plans are underway to use the biomass to power electric plants to help energy-dependent Namibia manufacture its own electricity. Clearing invasive bush helps restore millions of acres of Namibian savannah to its original state and improve the habitat for both the cheetah and its prey.

Be Inspired by Dr. Marker: www.cheetah.org

Jane Goodall was born in London, England in 1934. As a child she was given a lifelike chimpanzee toy named Jubilee by her father. Goodall was not very interested in animals until her father brought her the stuffed animal. Today, the toy still sits on her dresser in London.

After the divorce of her parents when Goodall was only 12 years old, she moved with her mother to Bournemouth, England. Goodall’s interest in animals prompted notable anthropologist Louis Leakey to hire her as his assistant and secretary. He invited her to accompany him and his wife, Mary Leakey, to dig at Olduvai Gorge in eastern Africa. He asked Goodall to study the chimpanzees of Gombe Stream National Park (then known as ‘Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve’). She arrived at Gombe accompanied by her mother in July 1960. Leakey arranged for her to return to the United Kingdom where she earned a doctorate in ethology from the University of Cambridge in 1964. Along with Dian Fossey, famous for living with gorillas, and Biruté Galdikas, who advanced studies in orangutans, Goodall was one of three women recently dubbed by some as “Leakey’s Angels”.

Goodall is best known for her study of chimpanzee social and family life. In 1977, Goodall established the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), which supports the Gombe research, and she is a global leader in the effort to protect chimpanzees and their habitats. With nineteen offices around the world, the JGI is widely recognized for innovative, community-centered conservation and development programs in Africa and a global youth program, Roots & Shoots, which currently has over 8,000 groups in over 100 countries. Today, Goodall devotes virtually all of her time to advocacy on behalf of chimpanzees and the environment, traveling nearly 300 days a year. Goodall is also a board member for the world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary outside of Africa, Save the Chimps in Fort Pierce, Florida.

Goodall was instrumental in the study of social learning, primate cognition, thinking and culture in wild chimpanzees, their differentiation from the bonobo, and the inclusion of both chimpanzee species, and the gorilla, as Hominids.

One of Goodall’s major break-throughs in the field of primatology was the discovery of tool-making among chimpanzees during her study. Though many animals had been clearly observed using ‘tools’, previously, only humans were thought to make tools, and tool-making was considered the defining difference between humans and other animals. This discovery convinced several scientists to reconsider their definition of being human.

Jane Goodall’s involvement in tropical forests and conservation has led her to be actively involved in a number of environmental issues, and to found the Roots & Shoots youth group. She has also endorsed the Forests Now Declaration, calling for new market based mechanisms to protect tropical forests. She is a patron of the Optimum Population Trust.
Jane Goodall has received many honors for her environmental and humanitarian work, as well as others.

She was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in a ceremony held in Buckingham Palace in 2004. In April 2002, Secretary-General Kofi Annan named Dr. Goodall a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Her other honors include the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement, the French Legion of Honor, Medal of Tanzania, Japan’s prestigious Kyoto Prize, the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, the Gandhi-King Award for Nonviolence and the Spanish Premio Príncipe de Asturias. She is also a member of the advisory board of BBC Wildlife magazine.

In 2002, the Canadian city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario dedicated a walking trail, highlighting some of the city’s efforts to rehabilitate environmental damage from the local mining industry, to Goodall. On 7 July 2007 Goodall presented at Live Earth. In April 2008, Jane was awarded the Montana State University Medal for Global and Visionary Leadership.

Be Inspired by Jane Goodall: www.janegoodall.org

For Animal Rights:

Ingrid Newkirk animal rights activist, author and President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Best known for her animal rights awareness campaigns organized on behalf of PETA, which she cofounded in 1980.  

As PETA’s president, Ingrid has spoken internationally on animal rights issues—from the steps of the Canadian Parliament to the streets of New Delhi, India, and from the drowning tanks of Taiwan to the halls of the U.S. Congress.

Ingrid was born in Surrey, England, and lived in Europe until she was 7 years old, when she and her parents moved to New Delhi, where her father worked as a navigational engineer and her mother volunteered for Mother Teresa and various charities. Ingrid’s early volunteer experiences—packing pills and rolling bandages for people who were suffering from leprosy, stuffing toys for orphans, and feeding stray animals—informed her view that anyone in need, including animals, is worthy of concern.

Until she was 21, Ingrid had given no thought to animal rights or even vegetarianism. In 1970, however, when she and her husband were living in Maryland and she was studying to become a stockbroker, a neighbor abandoned some kittens and Ingrid decided to take them to an animal shelter. This was a life changing-experience for Ingrid and led to her first job working in behalf of animals—cleaning kennels and investigating cruelty cases. Peter Singer’s book Animal Liberation and Ingrid’s experiences in that job and later on—including finding a fox and a squirrel caught in steel traps, finding a pig left to starve on a farm, and inspecting laboratories and circus acts for the government—made her realize that there needed to be an organization like PETA.

Ingrid has also served as a deputy sheriff, a Maryland state law enforcement officer with the highest success rate in convicting animal abusers, the director of cruelty investigations for the second-oldest humane society in the U.S., and the chief of animal disease control for the Commission on Public Health in Washington, D.C.

Under Ingrid’s leadership, legislation was passed to create the first-ever spay-and-neuter clinic in Washington, D.C. She coordinated the first arrest in U.S. history of a laboratory animal experimenter on cruelty charges and helped achieve the first anti-cruelty law in Taiwan. She spearheaded the closure of a Department of Defense underground “wound laboratory,” and she has initiated many other campaigns against animal abuse, including ending General Motors’ car-crash tests on animals.

Ingrid is the author of Save the Animals! 101 Easy Things You Can Do, 50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals, The Compassionate Cook, 250 Ways to Make Your Cat Adore You, You Can Save the Animals: 251 Simple Ways to Stop Thoughtless Cruelty, Free the Animals, Making Kind Choices, Let’s Have a Dog Party!, and One Can Make a Difference. She has also written numerous articles on the treatment of animals in homes, slaughterhouses, circuses, and laboratories.

Be Inspired by Ingrid Newkirk: www.ingridnewkirk.com

For Environmental Education:

Charlotte Uhlenbroek was born in London, but spent only 10 days on British soil before her parents moved to Ghana. Her Dutch father was an agricultural specialist with the UN who took his family round the world with him. From the age of five to fourteen she lived in Kathmandu, Nepal where her love of animals developed.

She furthered her interest in animals through her degree in Zoology and Psychology, at the University of Bristol. After university, Charlotte spent four years in the forests of Gombe, Tanzania, studying the communication of wild chimpanzees, under the auspices of world-famous Jane Goodall for her PhD. She lived in a tiny hut on the shores of Lake Tanganyika and spent her days with the chimps in the forest.

Charlotte’s first appearance on the screen was in the BBC Natural History Unit’s Dawn to Dusk series, in a programme on Gombe and its chimps. Her talent recognised, she went on to present BBC2’s Chimpanzee Diary as part of the Animal Zone (1998-99).

On television, in the series Cousins she introduced viewers to her extended primate family. Screened in 2000 it was Charlotte’s first big series for BBC1. In 2001, she presented Congo’s Secret Chimps for BBC2’s Wild zone, and in 2002 returned with the acclaimed Talking with Animals, a series that listened in on the communications of creatures as diverse as cuttlefish and wolves.

In her BBC1 series Jungle, Charlotte went back to the place she calls her second home to explore the world’s rainforests, from the tips of the canopy to the dark, inhospitable forest floor. More recently, Charlotte has presented Final Chance to Save…..Sea Turtles for Sky One and two specials for the BBC called Secret Gorillas of Mondika and Lemurs of Madagascar.

As well as her TV work Charlotte has written the books Talking with Animals and Jungle. Her most recent book, Animal Life, was published by Dorling Kindersley in October 2008. Charlotte has also written numerous articles for newspapers and magazines. She supports various organizations including the Ape Alliance, Fauna and Flora International, World Development Movement, Compassion in World Farming, Free Tibet, and the Jane Goodall Institute.

Respected and admired by her peers, in a recent interview, Sir David Attenborough named Charlotte as his potential successor believing she has the knowledge and the skills required. He said “I would be happy to see Charlotte take on a presenting role like this. She knows what she is talking about and is an excellent presenter.”

Be Inspired by Charlotte Uhlenbroek: BBC Science& Nature

Saba Douglas-Hamilton grew up in the Kenyan wilderness with her younger sister, Dudu. Her father introduced her to their extended family of 400 elephants at just six weeks old – so understanding animals is second nature.

After University, her first job was with Save the Rhino Trust (SRT) in the hinterland of the Skeleton Coast, Namibia, on a “Crafts for Conservation” project. This was followed by a brief stint in Tanzania as academic director for a School for International Training (SIT) semester abroad programme, then a position as anthropological consultant on the coast for the National Museums of Kenya. In 1997 she joined her father’s charity Save the Elephants (STE) as his chief executive officer and founded a research centre in Samburu National Reserve, north Kenya. It was while working for STE that she was talent-spotted by the BBC, and her life as a wildlife filmmaker began. She has fronted series such as Big Cat Diary and The Secret Life of Elephants, about her father’s Kenyan-based charity, Save the Elephants.

Be Inspired by Saba Douglas-Hamilton: www.douglas-hamilton.com

In Memory of:

Helen Freeman also know as “the Jane Goodall of snow leopards”. Optimistic and determined to succeed, she single-handedly set up the Snow Leopard Trust, an international conservation body dedicated to saving one of the world’s most beautiful and charismatic animals, the snow leopard of central Asia.

The trust, which now employs local staff in China, India, Mongolia, Pakistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, is based on an ethic of co-operation that was way ahead of its time when it started. Freeman also helped set up a self-sustaining breeding programme of captive snow leopards.

She was born Helen Maniotas, the only child of Greek immigrants who settled in Everett in Washington state where they ran the London Café. Her parents ensured that their bright daughter received a college education: she went to Washington State University, where she graduated in 1954 with a degree in business administration.

From her school days on, Freeman spent her spare time working as a volunteer at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo. She became so fascinated with the animals that, once her children were in school, she returned to university – to the University of Washington, at Seattle – to study zoology, receiving a second degree, in animal behaviour, in 1973. This enabled her to join the staff of the zoo, where she was eventually appointed curator of education in the early 1980s.

The turning point in Freeman’s life came with the arrival at the zoo, in 1972, of a pair of rare snow leopards from the Soviet Union, named Nicholas and Alexandra. She described the moment as “love at first sight”. By watching them for hours at a time, she became expert in interpreting the animals’ behaviour. “The more I learned, the more I saw them, the more interesting they were to me,” she recalled.

Her expertise helped the zoo to design a programme that overcame the usual reluctance of snow leopards to breed in captivity. Over the years, Nicholas and Alexandra have produced 29 cubs. For five years from 1982, Freeman chaired the snow leopard “Species Survival Plan”.

In 1981, Freeman set up a foundation to help her favorite animal: the Snow Leopard Trust. Her credo was straightforward: “I think it’s important that we preserve diversity,” she said. “I don’t think every animal we look at should be domesticated. We evolved to share with every other creature on this planet.” However, she was ahead of her time in placing the emphasis on helping people to improve their standard of living in exchange for protecting the leopards and their rugged environment. From the start, the trust sought to make links with local officials and communities in central Asia, establishing partnerships and cooperative ventures, and working out ways for people and snow leopards to co-exist peacefully.

As the trust’s first director, Freeman travelled, sometimes alone, to most of the countries where snow leopards are found. Using all her native persistence and charm to drum up support, she consorted with Maharajahs in India, trekked the Himalayas in Nepal, sailed the Yangtze River to Chungking in China, and helped to organise, and participate in, symposia on the snow leopard in China, India and the Soviet Union. She was also a tireless lobbyist of potential US supporters. She retired as director of the trust in 1996, but remained an active board member.

Among Freeman’s awards were the Alumni Achievement Award from Washington State University and a medal of honor from the Woodland Park Zoological Society. She also won the 1998 Evergreen Award from the US government’s wildlife service “in recognition of worldwide partnerships in wildlife conservation and understanding”. An ensemble of bronze sculptures at the Woodland Park Zoo help illustrate the lifetime passion of Freeman who passed away in 2007 as does her memoir, Life, Laughter & the Pursuit of Snow Leopards (2005).

Be Inspired by Helen Freeman: www.snowleopard.org

Rachel Carson, writer, scientist, and ecologist, grew up simply in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania. Her mother bequeathed to her a life-long love of nature and the living world that Rachel expressed first as a writer and later as a student of marine biology.

Carson graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham College) in 1929, studied at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory, and received her MA in zoology from Johns Hopkins University in 1932.

She was hired by the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries to write radio scripts during the Depression and supplemented her income writing feature articles on natural history for the Baltimore Sun. She began a fifteen-year career in the federal service as a scientist and editor in 1936 and rose to become Editor-in-Chief of all publications for the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

She wrote pamphlets on conservation and natural resources and edited scientific articles, but in her free time turned her government research into lyric prose, first as an article “Undersea” (1937, for the Atlantic Monthly), and then in a book, Under the Sea-Wind (1941). In 1952 she published her prize-winning study of the ocean, The Sea Around Us, which was followed by The Edge of the Sea in 1955. These books constituted a biography of the ocean and made Carson famous as a naturalist and science writer for the public. Carson resigned from government service in 1952 to devote herself to her writing.

She wrote several other articles designed to teach people about the wonder and beauty of the living world, including “Help Your Child to Wonder,” (1956) and “Our Ever-Changing Shore” (1957), and planned another book on the ecology of life. Embedded within all of Carson’s writing was the view that human beings were but one part of nature distinguished primarily by their power to alter it, in some cases irreversibly.

Disturbed by the profligate use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, Carson reluctantly changed her focus in order to warn the public about the long term effects of misusing pesticides. In Silent Spring (1962) she challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government, and called for a change in the way humankind viewed the natural world.

Carson was attacked by the chemical industry and some in government as an alarmist, but courageously spoke out to remind us that we are a vulnerable part of the natural world subject to the same damage as the rest of the ecosystem. Testifying before Congress in 1963, Carson called for new policies to protect human health and the environment. Rachel Carson died in 1964 after a long battle against breast cancer. Her witness for the beauty and integrity of life continues to inspire new generations to protect the living world and all its creatures.

Biographical entry courtesy of Carson biographer © Linda Lear, 1998, author of Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature (1997).

Be Inspired by Rachel Carson: www.rachelcarson.org

Drink For Change is a public-awareness event that supports cafes across Victoria who want to save water. During the first week of December, customers at participating cafes can donate change for their complimentary water. The money raised in these cafes will go towards initiatives that will help the cafe save water.

Drink for Change highlights how an industry can make a big difference by committing to environmentally friendly practices through the support of their customers.

Get involved. Nominate and support your local cafe …

The Woman of Action is a Role Model for others representing determination, passion, a connection with nature and a self assured confidence that inspires us all to be bold and seek out adventure!

A guardian of Wild Heritage and the catalyst for a Sustainable Future, women who take action and pursue their passions with purpose are key to generating positive change for the betterment of our earth.

Show the world you mean business and let everyone know you are a Woman of Action! The store has a selection of accessories to chose from and make the ideal gift for Christmas.

Visit: Action Addicts - Bare Essentials Store

Click on the cover for your free download!

Lighten your Lifestyle Load with the following actions:

1. Action is the best distraction for depression- when you catch yourself thinking about the bills or worrying about work shift gears and do something that costs nothing but completes something.  

Take 5 minutes right now to list activities that offer immediate benefits, these can include:

Exercise (as little as 5 minutes of movement can free up your joints, reinvigorate and remind you of the amazing gift that is your body).

Clearing clutter (this will bring clarity and peace of mind to your living space and make it easy to be creative).

Learning something new (if you have the internet, why not visit one of many educational sites, that offer ‘how to’ tutorials on everything from cooking to martial arts, try www.about.com or www.videojug.com and if you don’t have access to a computer pick-up a book or take a trip to the local library!)

Celebrating by creating (the mind is most happiness in a state of progression and creative expression, give yourself something to celebrate and focus on a project that you enjoy.  Make a card for someone special reminding them how much they are valued.  Write your own novel or movie script, creating a world that inspires and relieves you of your daily stresses.  Cook something comforting, everyone deserves a treat once in a while and nothing smells sweeter than the aroma of freshly baked cookies.

Exploring beyond your front door (do as Attenborough would and grab a pair of binoculars, a magnifying glass, a field guide if you have one and a sketchbook then hit the backyard or nearby park and the wonders of nature delight your curiosity).

Getting stuck into your Garden (toiling away in the soil not only connects you with nature but exposes you to fresh air and sunlight whilst offering you physical benefits also). 

2. Save more than you Spend- Just like exercise and food we must balance the energy coming in with the energy going out to see results.  Here are a few suggestions and resources to tip the scales back in your favor!

Take 10-20 minutes to conduct an inventory analysis and prepare a plan for prosperity:

Kitchen- Scan your cupboards and fridge to see what items are costing your wallet and our earth unnecessarily.

Foods that are contained in excess packaging such as individually portioned snacks or pre-packed salads should be removed from your grocery list and replaced with bulk buy items that can be served up in glass bowels or divided into a family set of tupperware.

Next check labels to identify foods sourced locally from those imported from overseas.  Supporting the local economy and reducing the pollution and cost of buying transported items.

Consider your menu, meat is a costly buy and choosing cheaper cuts should be avoided as they are a potential health risk that will cost you more than money.  From an environmental perspective, the meat industry places a heavy demand on resources including land, soy, corn and antibiotics.  Meats also offer an unhealthy dose of antibiotics, growth hormones, heavy metals, and possible exposure to cannibalistic diseases (such as Mad Cow Disease).

Decipher how much of your money is dolled out on drinks.  Buying bottled water is not only pointless but painful to our planet, if you don’t already have one add a water filter to your shopping list.  Alcohol in moderation can be a good thing that is if you are into wine and anything with antioxidant benefits but beer equals an unwanted belly bulge, bottles for the bin and you guessed it a busted up budget!

Laundry/Bathroom- What you use to clean your home and yourself maybe washing money down the drain.

A one fix solution, instead of buying several different cleaning products to wash the dishes, scrub the floor and wipe down the bench-tops try a mild dish soap instead.  Dish soap can be used as a laundry stain remover, a window cleaner, a surface spray, a carpet stain remover, fruit and veggie wash, and to clean most surfaces in your home.

Switch to Fluorescent, save money on the household budget by replacing the bulbs in your home with fluorescent ones.  They do cost more initially but save in the long run as they last longer  and use 2/3 less energy to provide the same light.

Restock with Reusable Mops and cloths to stop the on-going expense of replacing disposable cleaning products choose microfibre cloths and an old fashioned mop that doesn’t use disposable heads.

Make your own cleaning products using inexpensive household staples. Vinegar is a great all-purpose cleaners. Baking soda is gentle enough to use as a mild abrasive in many areas of your home. Lemons have a natural bleaching ability.  Here are few links to get you started: 

Baking Soda Uses

Homemade Bathroom Cleaners

Homemade Kitchen Cleaners

Homemade Furniture Polish

Homemade Glass Cleaner

3. Abundance is a state of mind - Happiness is within our power to create and it depends on our outlook.  By choosing an attitude of gratitude the wealth of the world is yours and generating momentum for a positive and happy life comes naturally.  

Take 5-10 minutes everyday to focus on what you have instead of what you don’t:

Can’t think of things to be grateful for? This slideshow will help!

Other motivating resources:

The new James Bond film has viewers once again enthralled in mystery, action and adventure always set against a varied background of international travel.  If you dream of following the jet setting escapades of the worlds most stylish spy then you will love this travel log containing details on destinations designed to appeal to the woman of action (click on the image to access the site)!

Finding ways to prevent exhausting the resources we rely on, means a reserve of energy for more creative and productive endeavors. So how do we go about designing the ultimate eco-living space and our own personal zen zone?

Here is a list of innovative equipment sure to minimize wasted energy around the home or in the office:

The following devices will help ‘Home Theatre Fan’s’ who want to minimize their electrical bill without sacrificing their entertainment experience.

Video Eyewear or Virtual Reality Visors are a great alternative to flat-screen plasma TVs providing the same quality experience for watching movies, playing video games or surfing the Web.

Vuzix Corp.’s latest entry in the video eyewear market is its iWear AV310 Widescreen, which fits over the wearer’s eyes like a virtual reality visor should and replicates the effect of watching a 52-inch (130-centimeter) screen. The visor connects to PCs, portable media players, gaming consoles, cell phones and laptops. Vuzix offers five different visors that range in price between $200 and $400.

Or consider Headplay Canada Inc.’s visor is designed to let the wearer surf the Web, play video games or watch movies through a video console that fits over the head like a tennis visor. The price tag for Headplay’s device, which connects to XBOX, PlayStation and Wii gaming systems as well as PCs, DVD players, satellite TV systems and iPods: around $500.

If you still prefer the old fashioned picture theatre atmosphere of a projector then perhaps it’s time to downsize and invest in a mini digital projector otherwise known as a “pico” projector.

Mini digital projectors the size of an iPhone are sprouting up to provide “big-screen” viewing of movies, videos and other visuals stored on iPods, PCs, gaming systems and other devices.
Microvision SHOW–Microvision expects its mini projector will be available for iPods and PCs by mid-2009. The company plans to deliver a version of SHOW that can also project content from mobile phones. The company estimates the device will cost at least $300 on the low end.

For the Book Buff’s conscious about cutting down trees to fill up their library, it’s time to swop over from paperbacks to digital devices.  Not only will it give you peace of mind about your role in conservation but clearing your living or work space will help keep you focused and unencumbered by clutter.  Still relatively pricey recent models are more efficient and offer a versatile storage and access unit for newspapers, journals, books and word documents.

Here are a few options:

The DIY Kyoto Wattson which is a portable wireless unit that allows instant reading of electricity use anywhere in the home. The accompanying sensor clip attaches to either of the main electricity cables leading from the meter box to the fuse box, and is plugged into a transmitter that sends information to the wireless unit. The LED digital display shows how much electricity is being used in watts. A blue glow means your home is using less energy than average, a purple glow indicates average energy usage, and a red glow means you’re an energy hog. Wattson itself uses up to four watts of energy. Price tag: about $150

Sony’s PRS-700 E-book Reader, priced at $400 

Amazon.com’s Kindle, priced at $359

Looking for Lights that won’t zap your energy?

How about Kennedy & Violich Architecture, Ltd.’s Portable Light Reading Mat. This invention is a luminous reading mat (still in prototype phase) that integrates high brightness solid-state lighting (HBLEDs) and flexible photovoltaic (solar cell) technology in a textile that weighs less than eight ounces (227 grams). With no heavy or breakable glass parts, the mat can be rolled or folded for shipping or transport and is easily carried on the body in clothing or equipment. The mat is a fully self-contained and renewable light engine powered by flexible photovoltaic panels that produce up to 12 volts of DC electrical power and 160 lumens of light in five hours of charge time. By day, users can harvest and store electrical energy from sunlight. At night, the mat emits up to four hours of white, digital light. Pricing is not available.

Or SunNight Solar Enterprises Corp.’s BoGo Light which are solar-powered LED flashlights with photovoltaic panels that gather energy during the day and store that energy in the flashlight’s battery for use at night. Each eight-hour charge will deliver between four and six hours of continuous light. The company estimates that each flashlight’s battery can be charged and recharged for up to two years before it needs to be replaced. Under SunNight’s purchase program, when someone living in the U.S. buys an SL-1 or SL-2, a second light is donated to any of a number of nonprofit aid organizations worldwide. Price tag is $39 for the SL-1 and $49 for the SL-2

Want to stay in touch with time the green way?

Bedol’s Water-Powered Clock is an eco-efficient way to tell time. All you need do to make this four-inch (10-centimeter) by 3.5-inch (nine-centimeter) clock run is fill its tank with tap water. (You might have to add a small amount of table salt, depending on the composition of the local water.) Refill the tank as the water evaporates over time; the clock’s memory retains the correct time even while it is being emptied and refilled. Price tag: $16

Bathroom Basics for the water savvy conservationist!

Avoid wasting hot water or scolding yourself with temperature controlled shower indicators. This shower temperature indicator LED will let you know the instant the cleansing cascade is ready for you to step in. Turn the water “on” and the blue light shines through the water stream. When it reaches 89 degrees Fahrenheit (31.7 degrees Celsius), the LED changes to red. Price tag: $45.

These are but a few ideas to reclaim that which was lost to an energy drain!