Being “green” has been of utmost importance to iD Tech Camps even before it was trendy. Besides figuring out ways to be friendlier to our environment in regards to technology, as a team we are all doing what we can to be more conscientious as a whole. The leaders of the team, Pete and Alexa, have started a raffle for full-time employees who reuse bags at the grocery store, donate clothing and other items to charity, volunteer, and who carpool or take public transportation to work. I was excited to be a part of the raffle and this weekend donated 7 bags of clothes to the Goodwill! I also signed up to volunteer at our local library. Being a part of the iD family means more than just working hard, it means working to make this world better for your kids and ours!

No matter what your tradition, this time of the year usually means more travel, more waste and more debt! Here are some tips on how to make it through the season without the guilt.

Greener travel

• Use electronic tickets if flying.
• Make sure your tires are properly inflated for better gas mileage.
• Put a hold on mail and subscriptions.
• When renting a car, ask about hybrids or alternative fuel vehicles.

Greener gifts

• Consider making a donation to charity as a gift.
• Send e-cards rather than paper cards or make your own cards out of recycled materials.
• A week of summer camp makes a great gift, save $75 until 12/15/07. Click here for our Holiday Special.
• Register for iD Tech Camps electronically to save paper.
• Wrap presents in recycled materials. Americans throw away 25% more garbage during this season.

Most of all, remember, take time out to cherish your friends and family this season!

Our Hearts go out the Families Affected by the Southern California Wildfires.

Although I currently live in Portland, OR, I grew up in Encinitas, California, in San Diego County. I was visiting my parents this weekend when the fires started. We sat, glued to the television, making up checklists of things we needed to get out of the house if forced to evacuate. Then the calls started coming in. My cousin had to evacuate, my aunt got two reverse 911 calls telling her she was under voluntary evacuation; we added to our checklist. Medications, cat food, insurance papers, bedding…we imagined setting up our air mattresses at the crowded evacuation center in Qualcomm stadium, thinking of the images we saw from Katrina.

The fires roared on, the air quality getting increasingly worse. When we left the house to go to the train station, ash was sitting on the cars; it smelled as if a campfire was raging in our yard. People walked the streets with masks on. We couldn’t open the windows. I realized how much we take fresh air for granted.

People say that higher temperatures and global warming may be to blame for the fires. We haven’t thought however of the effect of the fire on global warming. According to Professor Thomas W. Boutton, Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Texas A&M University, the result of the burning of 384,000 acres across Southern California has resulted in the emission of 20 million tons of greenhouse gases or the equivalent of 3.5 million cars (25% of all of the cars in California).

This is a terrible tragedy for the people of San Diego County. Many people have lost their homes. Our hearts go out to the families affected by the fires and we hope they are contained soon.

Looking to find out if someone you know is safe? Check out the Red Cross Safe and Well list. https://disastersafe.redcross.org

As of this morning, my parents still haven’t had to evacuate.

The smoke heading toward my parent’s house October 23rd.