Water is healthier than soda, right? It is for you, but water is hurting our planet. I'm talking about BOTTLED water. You see it everywhere. Plastic bottles are in backpacks and gym bags, on desktops and in lockers and in car cupholders. All too often they are tossed empty on the side of the road, too.

According to The New York Times, Americans spend over $11 billion per year to chug more than 8 billion gallons. We are the world's largest consumer of bottled water.

Like I said, it is good for us. The plastic bottles are not. They use huge amounts of fossil fuel to produce and transport. Then, they end up in landfills.

You say, "Hey! Soda comes in plastic bottles, too. What's the difference?" Buying water in bottles in unnecessary and wasteful. The tap water in American cities is perfectly drinkable. Tap water in the developed world is cleaner than bottled water and has fluoride. You are just paying for the convenience of the bottle.

It may be easy for you, but it isn't easy on your budget. For example, in New York City, eight glasses (8 oz. each) per day come to $1.46 for one YEAR. The same amount of bottled water? $1,400.

The Environmental Working Group (non-profit Washington D.C. group) tested 10 popular brands of bottled water. They found 38 chemical pollutants, with an average of 8 per brand. 4 brands contained bacteria. Hmmm...is the tap sounding better, yet?

We hear the term "carbon foot print" tossed around a lot. Bottled water leaves a big one. The manufacture of the plastic bottles (U.S. only) eats up more than 17 million barrels of oil...each year. That doesn't include the oil used to transport it to far away destinations and refrigerate it. Annually, over 38 billion of these same bottles end up in landfills. They can remain intact for up to 1,000 years.

In a country where our drinking water is safe, this is a wasteful luxury. Buy a refillable bottle and hit the tap. Put the money you would have spent on water in your piggy bank. Better yet, donate it to someone who has real needs.

Peace, love, hydration.

In his first 8 months, President Obama has been slammed. The United States is in its worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Two of the three big car makers collapsed. The fall out from Iran's disputed election has been truly violent. North Korea is a nuclear challenge. Troops in Iraq are trying to pull out and troops are pouring into Afghanistan. Gives me a migraine thinking about it.

If all that isn't enough drama, Barack is trying to address climate change and reduce our dependence on foreign oil AND reinvent health care coverage so that virtually all Americans have insurance. But that's not all...he wants to overhaul an immigration system that the previous administration tried (and failed) to fix. All of these will cost money...money the US currently doesn't have.

And members of Congress have the nerve to heckle and boo the man? I'd like to see Senator Joe Wilson stand in those purported size 12's and remain cool. When he took the time to address our school children, parents refused to let their kids hear him speak? Tell me what you find offensive.

Instead of giving the man more stress and grief, work with him. Join the dialogue and find the solution to our nation's problems. Ditch the hubristic display of anger and resentment. Worry about the American people and our nation's image in the world...not your own ego.

Peace, love, bipartisanship.

My partner in crime has returned to school. *sigh* I drive around with an empty passenger seat. No assistant. No silly Gingie Lola. How many days until Holiday Break?

"Marriages and holy unions are ceremonies where two people promise to live out their lives and grow together in peace. According to the laws of the State of Ohio, only marriages partake of the blessing of the State and Law, but this congregation celebrates with equal dignity the marriage of two people who share gender. The state has no agency over what we deem holy and good."

I like this...a lot!