For Americans, the holiday season is synonymous with indulgence – food, drinks, shopping, gifts, parties, and traveling.  Unfortunately, all the extras around the holidays take their toll on more than just your waistline and pocketbook.  Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, American’s create 6 million tons of extra waste.  That’s 25% more waste per week than any other time of year!

With that number continuing to climb, it’s important to be aware of our environmental impact during the holidays.  But don’t think of this as one more thing to stress about this season.  Reducing, reusing and recycling are easier than you think.  Implement some of these simple strategies over the next month and consider it your holiday gift to Mother Nature.  In the process, you can save money, time and calories!

Shopping & Gift Giving

It’s safe to say that a good amount of the holiday season is spent shopping & delivering the perfect gift for everyone on the list.  With just a few painless changes, you can lessen your environmental impact and still present your loved ones with that one-of-a-kind gift they’ll love and remember for years to come.

Bring Your Own Bags. The most popular way to “go green” while shopping is also the easiest – simply bring along your reusable grocery bags to reduce the number of plastic sacks headed to the landfill.  Popular gifts are regularly outfitted with excessive packaging, which is then covered in wrap, ribbons, bows and name tags.  Even gift cards are cashed in for products that are taken home in boxes and more bags.  Lessen the load by remembering to bring your own bag.  This will also make it harder for family members to figure out where you’ve been shopping for their gifts!

Experiential Gifts. Pop quiz: What did you get for the holidays last year?  Chances are, you can’t even remember.  This year, consider the recipient’s interests and hobbies and purchase a unique experience to ensure that yours is an unforgettable gift.  Send a child on a whale watching trip or buy passes for the dinosaur exhibit at the local museum.  Snag a couple tickets to a concert your spouse will love.  Or pick up the tab for that new restaurant or art class your best friend can’t stop talking about.  The memories created will outlast any clothing items, electronics, or toys that you might have picked up otherwise.  And isn’t the holiday season really about creating memories with loved ones?

Shop Online. Running around from store to store can be i

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The postcode lottery of treatment in the NHS has been exposed by the largest government analysis of healthcare in England, which reveals wide regional disparities in patient treatment.

The NHS Atlas of Variation, a copy of which has been obtained by the Guardian, lays bare the tension between the health secretary’s vision of a “localised” health service and the need to impose basic minimum standards of acceptable care.

While ministers accept that “some variation is warranted because different populations have different levels of need”, the differences in cost, quality and patients outcome mean that “unwarranted” inequalities need to be ironed out.

The most stark contrast shows up in the rate of prescribing anti-dementia drugs, with patients in some parts of the country – such as North Lancashire – prescribed 25 times as many treatments and tablets to help “temporarily improve or stabilise symptoms” than in Kent.

One possible reason for such disparities, according to the report, is the lack of awareness some local GPs have in spotting Alzheimer’s early.

Charities have long warned about the barriers put in place by clinicians. “Ou

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Switching to an electronic cigarette or e-cig is perhaps the most sensible thing to do today if you are a smoker; not only will you be able to enjoy an even better smoking experience, you can also save a lot of money and enjoy tons of added benefits in the process. To get started, you simply need to select the right vaping device to purchase. Here are a number of things to consider before you buy an electronic cigarette.

First, you need to understand that there are two main types of electronic cigarette mechanism: the more modern two-piece design and the slightly older three-piece one. Full Post…

I have prayed the Memorare every day since my mom (and others) told me to go to Mary with my depression. Its clear from the words of this prayer that Mary hears all pleas, but especially those uttered in desperation. I thought I would post it today since it is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, but also since, during this time of year, I feel a special connection to Mary:

Remember O Most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to your protection, implored your help, or sought your intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly to you, O Virgin of virgins, my mother. To you I come; before you I stand, sinful and sorrowful.

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