IEP Investigation: Disability Education Training

You have successfully investigated the child's ability and the classroom in preparation for your child's next IEP. Now, it is time to check the disability education training for the providers on your child's Individualized Education Plan: Administration, professionals and paraprofessionals.

Each special need or disability requires a unique approach education. It is upon this premise IEP are designed. Each state has a disabilities board which educates providers of all levels how to effectively educate special needs children.

Administration

Depending on where you live, you will have up to two administrators involved in your child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP). All schools will have a principal. Most schools will also have a curriculum coach. Since both will need to be aware of the unique special needs capabilities/limitations' effect on creation of IEP goals, both will need to be trained in your child's disability.

The most direct route is to ask the principal to provide certification of the latest training each has had in your child's disability. If the principal is not forthcoming after a second request, proceed to the school district superintendent in a written request. Reference your need for the information for an IEP meeting. All requests should have an expected compliance date of thirty (30) days. You are entitled to this information.

Certain disabilities make major advances in the methodology used to teach children in short periods of time. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, cerebral palsy, dysgraphia, dyslexia, hearing deficits, spina bifida and many other disorders drastically change teaching methods as more is discovered about the abilities of the children with these disorders.

Therefore, current training is necessary. Ideally, administrator training should be every four years, but every six years has become the industry norm. Contact the state disabilities board to find out when the next trainings are scheduled for your child's disability and whether there is a time requirement your administrator has to meet.

If more than five years has transpired since the last training, request in writing the administrators attend a state-approved disabilities training provided through the disabilities board before the end of the school year. If such training is unavailable before the end of the school year, request training prior to the next school year.

Professionals

The core professionals in your child's IEP provider team are the special education teacher and specific therapists (speech, occupational and/or physical). Your child spends the most time with the special education teacher. Find out from the principal when the latest training was completed.

Ideally, training should be every three years. Average training across the United States is every five years. Parents must push the school to get the training for the special education teacher. Changes to the classroom are immediately noticeable after the training, even before the IEP meeting.

Therapists are often well within the three year ideal for disability training. Their specialty field licensing often depends on continuing education. The school district special needs representative should provide information on therapists training upon written request. In the event such information is not granted by the second request, request it from the school district superintendent.

The school psychologist often plays a role in social streaming. For this reason, the psychologist needs to know how your child's disability inhibits social interactions. Information about the psychologist's training can be gathered from the prinicpal or school district special needs representative.

Paraprofessionals

Guidance counselors and aides in the classroom may not have been trained in your child's disability. If you feel your child is hindered through this lack of training, schedule a conference with the principal to discuss scheduling training for them.

Classroom aides fall into three categories: retired special education teachers, those who wanted to be in the classroom without the pressure of being a teacher and those who specifically wanted to work closely with disabled children.

The first group has plenty of history and will quickly pick up on new techniques introduced by the special education teacher after a training. The second and third may or may not be as interested in the methodology of teaching as they are in the socialization of the children in the classroom. As a parent, you need to gauge whether your child would benefit from these aides being trained.

Guidance counselors play a smaller role in children's education than any other paraprofessional. If your child has frequent interaction with the guidance counselor or has an IEP accommodation for sessions with the guidance counselor, training may be appropriate. Discuss this with the principal and the guidance counselor. Ultimately, you must decide whether you want to push to have the counselor to attend disability training.

This final phase of the Investigation is the School District.

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IEP Investigation: Classroom

After completing the child's ability investigation, the second part of the IEP investigation is the classroom. You will discover the resources, professionals and paraprofessionals available to the children and the amount of time in structured activities versus the individualized instruction time your child receives.

Resources

Each classroom is equipped with some standard items: desks or tables with child-sized chairs, chalk or dry erase boards, bulletin boards, calendars, globes, art supplies. Special education classrooms need other items as well:

• Tactile teaching aids
• Visual teaching aids
• Communication aids
• Physical accommodations
• Auditory aids
• Social skill teaching aids
• Disability specific curricula materials

While your child may not need all of these materials, the last one on the list is mandatory for a successful IEP. You already know what the grade level curriculum expects. Now, the IEP goals must use the curriculum which will educate your child to the grade level requirements and is best suited to your child's disability and abilities.

Self-contained Classrooms

Certain disabilities offer self-contained classrooms where all students have the same disability. Arguments for and against these classrooms are not equal.

Arguments for self-contained classrooms favor the instructors. The curriculum is applied to the class in more structured activities than individualized time with students. Resources are located centrally, thus costing the school district less money. This practice allows for more instruction time to be spent documenting the work done.

Arguments against self-contained classrooms favor the students. Mixing children with different disabilities of varying capabilities offers all students the chance to learn from one another. They will inadvertently observe the instruction of other children and learn in the process.

Segregating single disabilities can stymie progress in certain areas, particularly speech and social interaction. Children whose disabilities include poor socialization skills need the outgoing nature of children who are not equally or more gravely disabled.

Peer pressure in a mixed environment is a positive influence. Children will naturally emulate the more advanced students. More advanced students will often empathize with their more disabled counterparts, taking on leadership and helping roles. Overall, this is the most widely accepted argument for mainstreaming all special education children for at least some part of their day.

Most poignantly, in mixed classes, instructors must spend more individual time with each student in order to meet IEP goals. Special needs parents use this argument most often.

Professionals

All of the great tools on the list are useless if there is not an instructor trained to teach your child how to use them. The professionals are the special needs teacher, speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist and psychologist.

Each school should have at least one of each of these professionals available to your child. If you are unsure if your child would benefit from one of these professionals in the school setting, ask your pediatrician to prescribe an evaluation to the school district. The school's professional will conduct an assessment to determine if your child meets the criteria for his grade level.

If he does, you will receive a report stating he does. This report may contain suggestions for you to pursue outside the school environment to help your child advance to stay on par with his peers. Discuss these suggestions with your pediatrician and a related, certified professional in the field who holds a minimum of a master's degree.

If he does not, you will receive a report stating he needs to be served by the school to address the areas in which he is deficit. When your child is receiving a school service, he should also be receiving a supplementary service from the private sector either in your home or in a clinical setting. The private therapist will create goals which will help him reach his IEP goals faster and/or will help you promulgate appropriate IEP goals.

Paraprofessionals

Paraprofessionals are the intermediaries between you and the professionals. Aides, curriculum coaches and guidance counselors are paraprofessionals.

Aides are the most important element to your child because they lower the student-teacher ratio. They can help your child with classroom activities, self-help skills and especially social skills. An aide is often your child's favorite person in the classroom. The aide will tend to place less pressure on your child, encouraging better results.

Curriculum coaches help keep you on track. By comparing IEP goals to grade level goals, the coach will keep your IEP goals high in your child's strength areas and reasonable where weaknesses arise. If this position does not exist in your school, employ the principal to play the role. As the school's administrator, she should have the complete knowledge of what is required.

Guidance counselors help both you and your child. Whether smoothing transitions, helping with social streaming or counseling you on behaviors which manifest during puberty or the IEP journey, the guidance counselor can give you information on how to help your child emotionally handle the changes.

Structured Activities

All classrooms have certain daily or weekly activities which all of the children do together. If the majority of the day is spent in structured group activity, begin asking important questions.

• Which IEP goal does this activity pursue?
• What progress toward my child's IEP goal has been made with this activity?
• How long will this activity remain in the daily/weekly schedule before it is exchanged for another activity?
• Can my child be scheduled for individual therapy during this activity, since it does not pursue an IEP goal?

Structured activities are a necessary part of the school day. They teach skills like sitting still, paying attention, being quiet, turn-taking and group participation. They do not provide the "I" of the Individualized Education Plan.

Individualized Time

Individualized time includes both therapies and instructional time in the classroom. How much time is being spent directly on the IEP goals for your child? Even though the only child you truly care about may be your own, there are other children in the class.

• Of the time not spent in structured activity, is the remaining time split equally among the students?
• Is the time productively pursuing IEP goals for your child?
• Is time being wasted on goals already mastered?
• Is the curriculum being followed?

Only the third question should be answered "no". If more than one "no" is answered, an IEP meeting is in order after a conference with the principal and the special education teacher.

The next portion of the Investigation is Disability Education Training.

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IEP Investigation: Child's Ability

The most important person to consider when building an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is the child. Whether the special need is a physical, mental or learning disability or a combination, an IEP which actually provides an education for him needs to be based on his abilities, capabilities and potential.

Personal Observation

You know more about your child than his doctor, his teacher, his therapist...anyone else. By now you know what is expected of him at school. It is up to you to give your insight to everyone else on the team as to what he can accomplish.

Gather Resources

Buy a composition book. The pages do not tear from the book. Each time you write in the book, date the entry. While you may be tempted to video tape some activities, a written record can be reproduced to become part of his permanent school records. Tapes can easily be lost, damaged or erased.

For one week, write down all of the things you child accomplishes. Did he climb the kitchen cabinet to get a treat from on top of the refrigerator? (motor and cognitive skills) Did he ask you for chocolate cake for lunch? (language and social skills) Did he let you have a turn kicking the soccer ball? (social and motor skills)

Over the next week, try out some of the activities you foresee putting into the IEP. Did he name two of the colors correctly? Did he match five? Did he spontaneously point out a color in a book you were reading?

All of these accomplishments show readiness for the skills he needs to master. Staple the page where he matched the colors into the book. You will need to show your child is prepared to be challenged rather than coddled.

Audit a Class

Take a day to go to school to see what he does in school. Write your observations in the book.

• How is he interacting with other students?
• How much individual time is he getting with the teacher?
• Are the group activities aimed at satisfying his current (and/or future) IEP goals?

Your child will act differently in the school setting than he will at home. Be as unintrusive as possible in your observation of the class. You will see different strengths and weaknesses which present themselves only in the classroom.

Take a Day Off

Whether it is a day at the park, a trip to the zoo or simply a day care visit, being out of "his natural habitat" will produce a child you may not see that often. You will observe interests which can help you determine the best avenues for teachers to approach subjects to hold his attention. He may also excel in certain areas strictly by being exposed to a new environment.

Professional Observation

When negotiating IEP goals, therapists and paraprofessionals will give added weight to the opinions of professionals in their fields. Have your child seen by his speech pathologist, neurologist, gastroenterologist, orthopedic, audiologist and any other doctor or specialist treating him.

Bring your book when you go to the professional assessment. Your observations will be vital to the professional in accurately assessing your child beyond just the clinical observation which can be done during a regular appointment. Again, you are the primary resource the professional has in assessing your child.

Ask the professional to prepare a report with both progress and recommendations for integration of current therapy techniques into the educational classroom setting.

Assessments provided to the IEP team should be no more than six months old. Ideally, assessments should be one to three months old at the time of the IEP meeting.

Recommendations should be followed as closely as possible methods used to reach the goals. Often, recommendations from professionals will cross segments of the IEP presenting the possibility for more than one provider to help your child reach his goals.

You need to read the recommendations as well. Many of the recommendations can be implemented in your everyday experiences with your child. He will be no more the wiser you are helping him reach his goals!

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IEP: Special Ed. vs. Regular Ed.

Did you do the homework?

WOW! Did you notice something immediately? OK, I am going to give you a break if you did not do the homework...

Regular Education
When you look at the curriculum for the regular education for your child's grade level, you will notice a few things. The first of which is the length.

The goals are broken into categories of language, science, social science and mathematics.

On average, there are between 300 and 500 goals for elementary school children and 1,200 to 1,500 goals for high school children.

Special Education
Individualized Education Plans (IEP) are divided into four major categories: Cognitive (intellectual skills), Social (adaptive and self-help skills), Motor (physical ability) and Language (speech and communication).

Based on where you live, IEP average ten (10) goals per section, with many children having no goals in areas where they need no special attention.

A-B=Where is the "education"?
If you are holding your child's IEP in one hand (A) and the grade curriculum in the other (B), a good IEP will be balanced. The IEP will have the same goals adapted to suit your child's disability.

When A-B is less than a desirable balance, it is time for you to do some investigating.

Areas of investigation
In order to give credit where it is justly deserved, most especially in your child, your investigation must include all of the following areas.

Child's ability

• Personal observation at home, school and outside settings
  
• Assessments and meetings with doctors, therapists and paraprofessionals

Classroom setting

• Availability of resources
• Availability of professionals and paraprofessionals
• Structured activities vs. individualized education time
  

Level of disability education training

• Administration (principal, curriculum coach)
• Professionals (therapists, teachers, school psychologist)
• Paraprofessionals (aides, guidance counselor)

School District

• Availability and location of resources
• Disability education training and/or awareness of board member serving school
• Performance of supporting services (transportation, meal services)
  

We will tackle the investigation one step at a time over the next few posts to eliminate the majority of stumbling blocks to the successful IEP.

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George Chmiel: Leaving Wednesday

George is leaving for Egypt on Wednesday morning! If you have not already been, stop by his blog and leave a comment. Show your support!

Share the story of George and his courageous run, not on the smooth paved road, but in the grueling sun-parched sands of the Sahara Desert.

That's right. 155 miles in temperatures as high as 140 degrees Fahrenheit. And he will be carrying his gear and a ration of water.

He will be able to take a break in the evening at the virtual oasis: a tent where runners can send word back to those of us feverishly waiting on word from them.

George has been training hard these last few weeks. Stop by and leave him a note wishing him well. And while you are there, why not take a minute to donate to the MAGIC Foundation?

After all, if George Chmiel can run across the Sahara for Luci...

What would you do to save a child?

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IEP: It really is a team effort.

Over the next few posts, we are going to look in depth into the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) Process.

Today, we begin with the IEP Team.

The bare minimum for an IEP is:

• Parent(s)
  
• Principal
  
• Special needs teacher
• "Regular education" teacher
• Special needs representative from the school district
  
• Specialist(s) (Speech, occupation and/or physical therapist, psychologist)

Optional team members are:

• Advocates (from state or county/parish agencies, disability organizations or charities)
• Service Coordinator
• Personal or in-home therapists

Each person should have input toward goals, progress and accommodations in his/her specific area of expertise.

When certain goals have been met and need to be changed, parents have the right to waive the presence of certain team members who are not involved in the particular goal. (**Personal note** I do not recommend this at any time. Keep reading to find out why.)

The Team Leader:
Despite what the onlooker without a special needs child may think, the team leader is the parent. Even though the specialists may have more education in a certain area, no one knows more about your child than you do.

By the time a child is five years old, parents have spent more time with him than a specialist will spend with special needs children in the entirety of her career, even if that career spans 45 years.

Your advocate may know more about "the process", but without your information, there is no "process". Think of the IEP as a blank computer program. Until you put in your child's information, progress, strengths and weaknesses, the program does nothing.

There is no "I" in "TEAM".
All members of the team need to be working toward the goals of your special needs child: not standardized tests scores to get school funds (NCLB), not number of special needs children seen (IDEA), not personal career statistics.

All members of the team should be pursuing all of the goals on the IEP. While some specialists will focus on certain parts of the IEP, they should not ignore the remaining goals on the IEP. All activities for special needs children can be adapted to satisfy two or more areas of the IEP (i.e. cognitive and social, social and language, cognitive, social and occupational, etc.).

This is why all members of the team should be present every time a goal is changed on the IEP. A change to one portion of the IEP may open a world of possibilities for another service provider for your special needs child.

IEP is not just for school.
Yes, the IEP is educational. After all, the "E" stands for "education". Do not leave the IEP in the hands of the school.

As a parent, you have taught your child all he knows. Nothing changes when he goes to school. YOU are still his first and best teacher. Ask your service coordinator, advocate and teachers for activities which you can do at home to help your child meet IEP goals.

Next post, we will explore the first stage of preparation for the IEP meeting.

For homework, check out your state's Department of Education website. Find the requirements for the "regular education" grade level for your child.

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Meet Luci: George Chmiel's Inspiration

Here she is. Luci is George's inspiration in running across the Sahara.

She is a charming three-year-old who suffers from panhypopituitarism. It causes her hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, adrenal insufficiency, growth hormone deficiency and partial diabetes insipidus. Her little system is not strong enough to fight off a common cold. In spite of all of that, she loves to read and play with the family dog.

Jolie and Mike (Mommy and Daddy) have to give her medicine and injections everyday. And the frequent flier miles are accumulating between home and Texas Children's Hospital.

How do they do it? With the support of other families of children with growth disorders Luci they met through The MAGIC Foundation. Networking at the annual convention MAGIC holds in July. Meeting professionals who deal with growth disorders everyday and can provide accurate information and treatment.

The MAGIC Foundation is a501(c)(3) charity which operates on donations. Jolie and Mike host a "Walk for Luci" each fall to benefit MAGIC.

This year George Chmiel is going to run across the Sahara Desert to raise money and awareness for panhypopituitarism for MAGIC. And he leaves in five days. And this is where he is going:


Are you up for 155 miles across THAT? ^^^

George is tackling it after only running for two years. If he can do that, what can you do to help save a child? How about some ideas?

• Stop by George's page on MAGIC and donate directly to the cause.
• Pass this link to everyone you know who cares about children or has a special needs child.
• Go to George and Luci's website to learn more and donate.
• Join The MAGIC Foundation. Your membership will get special families the information and help they need for their special children.
• Let your doctor know about The MAGIC Foundation. Let your clinic get the best information available to diagnose children properly.
• Learn more about the disorders which affect children and are effectively treated with growth hormone.
• Show your support by joining The MAGIC Foundation's cause on Facebook, inviting your friends and donating.

George is only $18,000 away from the total goal of $53,000. Would your employer or physician sponsor George or donate directly to MAGIC? Help support a champion.

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Never stop talking!

We had an autism breakthrough this weekend!

We were on the way for a celebratory "Happy Birthday, Daddy!" breakfast at a local restaurant. Along the way, the road is lined with fields of horses and cattle, corn and pine trees, lakes and tractors. While his sister was busy pointing out the flora and the fauna, Nicholas was looking out her window at something entirely different.

He was listening to us talking to her as she pointed things out to us and watching like a tennis match between her and me as we talked. He wanted to play, too. As we passed a line of tanker cars parked on the railroad tracks alongside the road, Nicholas clearly said, "Train."

So, chalk up word number 18! Even if your child is non-verbal, you just keep talking. Talk about everything. Narrate everything you do. Identify everything you pass...even if all you pass is the cabinet, the bathtub and the rubber ducky.

While we do not have a locomotive to walk past at home, we do have a book we read regularly which identifies all the cars on the train. He may be acting like he is not paying attention all the time, but he is understanding.

So, keep reading. Read one book everyday for a week. For fun, read a second book your child picks out. Keep a record of what you read. You may just discover what interests your quiet little one!

No matter how old your child is, never give up on speech therapy and talking to your child. Even non-verbal children who successfully sign can learn to talk. I met a woman this weekend whose daughter began talking at eleven.

Celebrate and rejoice in every single utterance!

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What a finish line!

Does this just not look like the most beautiful finish line for anyone? This is where George will cross the finish line in his race across the Sahara!

After 155 miles, seeing the pyramids rising out of the Giza plateau (and knowing it is not a mirage) has got to be a comforting thought. Let's hope it fills George with a renewed energy to push toward the finish line for Luci!

George is running to raise awareness and money for the MAGIC Foundation* and panhypopituitarism. Panhypopituitarism is a disorder which affects the pituitary gland: The master gland which tells the body to produce hormones like growth hormone, adrenaline and estrogen or testosterone. With panhypopituitarism, the pituitary gland does not send enough signals to the glands of the body to produce what is needed to grow, mature or even live.

Luci will need treatment for her entire life. Learn more about panhypopituitarism. George is running across the desert to get your attention. Let him know you are listening by joining the MAGIC Foundation and/or making a donation.

* The MAGIC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. All donations are tax deductible.

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A stark contrast

What a BEAUTIFUL morning on my mountain! The breeze is crisp, and the air is cool. (No, that's not my mountain. Read on!)

It makes me want to bottle it up so George can take it with him. I am sure he would love to open a bottle and have a sweet, cool breeze caress his face after running in THAT all day! --->

Did you know there were going to be about 150 others competing in the Sahara race? It is one of the legs of 4Deserts Series, which includes the Atacama Crossing (Chili), Gobi March (China) and the Last Desert (Antarctica).

George is going to have to carry his clothes, gear and his ration of water. As if 140 degrees, the blazing sun and sand were not enough, you read that right: ration of water. Participants are given equal portions of water to keep the race fair.

The race will feature a cyber tent so the participants can email and blog and send their results to friends and family around the world eagerly anticipating word of their progress.

If you have not already done it, you need to learn more about George, Luci and why he is willing to take on this grueling race. Amazing what one will do for the love of a child.

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What would you do to save a child?

The time has come to turn a new page and begin a new adventure.

As most of you know, I spend an inordinate amount of time promoting non-profit organizations in their various endeavors to make our planet a better place. Now, I am making a commitment of a larger proportion.

I shared with you my personal story of choosing human growth hormone for our son. Now, I would like to share with you another, more touching, more courageous story.

George Chmiel is going to run (not walk) 155 miles across the Sahara desert. Let that monumental undertaking sink in for a moment. Why would anyone do that? You ask.

Luci Horvath. She is 3 years old. She has panhypopituitarism. All of the hormones produced by her pituitary gland are decreased, and the condition will last her whole life.

George is a family friend who saw the daily struggles of this family first hand. He wants the world to understand this rare disorder which affects Luci. To do just that, he is going to run across the Sahara Desert.

All of the money he is raising is going to the MAGIC Foundation*. MAGIC is the premiere authority on growth disorders affecting children.

So, I have to ask you...What would you do to save a child?

Charitably yours,
Ann Marie

*MAGIC Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity. All donations to MAGIC Foundation are tax deductible.


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I have enjoyed my time off since the completion of the new book. Taming the Terrible Twos: A Parents' Survival Guide was an adventure which revealed how much two-year-olds mirror, when it does not completely foretell the behavior of, teenagers.

T3, the affectionate name of the book, also took on the task of explaining some of the behaviors of older children and some colleagues. It offers tips and tricks for nutrition for picky eaters, enhancing speech, the benefits of schedules and routines, teaching responsibility, teaching second languages, the ever present need for discipline and the building of character.

The guest articles from Barbara Whitlock and editor John McDevitt gave the book interesting counterpoints. It was fun to find the wisdom of other parents who noticed the parallel between twos and teens.

The final chapter was named Parents' Successful Survival. Along with Barbara (mother of five), John (father of two and grandfather), Tina Hartley (mother of three and grandmother) and Melanie Denyer (mother of one) revealed four totally different images of how the terrible twos affect the lives of parents, siblings, grandparents and children.

Use the coupon "Facebook" to save on your copy of Taming the Terrible Twos.
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What's the catch?

In the wake of record high gasoline prices in 2008, the automakers will introduce more hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles in 2009 than any other year. Before jumping on the bandwagon, know the pros and cons.

Gas/Electric Hybrids

Hybrids have gasoline engines with electric motors. The electric motors take over during city driving, allowing the gasoline engine to run less. Select hybrids also turn off cylinders not in use to reduce fuel consumption. Less gasoline is a definite pro.

Another pro is the limited carbon emissions. By burning less gasoline, the vehicles produce far less carbon dioxide than gasoline-only vehicles.

Cons include failure to meet mileage expectations and a very large price tag at the dealer. This is a double whammy: You will pay more for the car thinking it will save more money on gas, only to find out you are spending more on gasoline than originally promised.

Diesels

Diesels have gotten a "dirty" reputation from their European makers failure to met US emissions standards. As of 2008, diesels only represented four per cent of the cars on American roads. "Why?" is a good question. They routinely get 25 to 35 per cent better mileage than gasoline vehicles.

European auto manufacturers have successfully met the US emission standards. Research into bio-fuels are now producing diesel from plant and crop based oils. Researchers say they are only a few years from a bio-diesel using chicken fat. Be on the look out for more diesel cars.

Ethanol

Many models are designed to run on ethanol blended gasoline, since it burns cleaner and increases mileage, definite pro. Con for ethanol is it takes more energy to produce than it produces when it burns.

Ethanol was originally made of corn. Burning it in cars drove the food corn price through the roof. Research into substituting switchgrass and other cellulosic biomasses are not yet feasible.

Plug-in Electrics

The majority of auto manufacturers have been testing the technology of all electric cars, with Ford and Chevrolet producing concept cars. Saturn's 2010 model is the first of the production models to be offered for public sale. A complete departure from gasoline means minimal carbon emissions, inarguable pro.

The cons include expensive batteries and long battery charging times. One long term, far-reaching con is the possibility of overloading power grids. Arguers for all-electrics claim computers can modulate charge times for off-peak hours. They are not concerned with driver need times in this argument.

Hydrogen

As one of the best alternatives to gasoline engines, hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles are hitting the road in California. $20 worth of hydrogen can take a driver 270 miles with its 68 mpg estimate. It only emission: Water vapor. Big pros.

Cons: Very few fueling stations, fuel-cell costs, hydrogen handling regulations and safety, and the costs of hydrogen production.

Other

India is trying an air car. BMW is researching steam power over a century after steam cars went out of production. Hydraulics researchers are making headway in making heavyweight commercial vehicles more fuel efficient in heavy traffic.

Please credit this link if you quote this blog: http://www.helium.com/items/1358590

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Computer driven cars?

Cars of today are safer in America than ever before. Are we moving toward computer-driven cars from the advances in computer-operated active safety features?

One of the top factors in choosing a new car is safety, according to J.D. Power's survey of new car buyers.

Manufacturer response to consumer demands and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) passenger protection mandates means safer cars for Americans.

Airbags
The current trend is adding more and smarter airbags. Even affordable sedans are offering a standard six airbags: Two front and four side curtain airbags. Luxury vehicles are doubling the effort with twelve.

New airbag offerings provide multi-stage deployment and passenger detection systems. In the event of a crash, airbags deploy only when a person occupies the seat and in stages for maximum injury protection.

NHTSA estimates airbags have saved nearly 22,500 lives since 1987.

Head restraints
Even lower speed crashes can produce whiplash-type head and neck injuries. Manufacturers offer most vehicles with active head restraints to prevent the backward motion of the head at impact.

While the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) reports quite a few models do not make their highest safety rating, the majority of American cars do.

Vehicle construction
The NHTSA has determined American vehicles have neared the safety ceiling for vehicle construction with the advances in alloys, crumple zones and modified cabin and roll cages.

Most vehicles introduced earn the highest safety rating offered by the NHTSA and IIHS. All vehicle safety construction changes have been made to obtain the NHTSA's five star rating and the IIHS's good rating.

Current research into roof construction will lead to a new NHTSA standard. The next frontier for vehicle safety is crash avoidance.

Vehicle stability
Under NHTSA mandate, all new vehicles must have electronic stability control by 2012. Computer-operated stability control could save as many as 10,000 lives per year and reduce single vehicle crashes by as much as 34 per cent.

Future technology
Since computers react faster than drivers, more active safety features rely on computers.

Lane departure warning systems are being added to some models for the NHTSA to research their efficacy before mandating their installation in all new vehicles.

More complex systems, like collision avoidance systems, are the first baby steps toward computer-driven cars. These vehicles anticipate crashes, close windows and sun roofs and preload brakes.

Slowing cars prior to impact reduces the severity of crashes. Closing of cabin openings, like sun roofs, increases the stability of the cabin, reducing injuries inside.

Read on to find out how these changes are making the safety ratings harder to attain and driving safer.

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Cold Weather Driving Safety

With the cold weather back, please drive safely!

Winter driving safety is as easy as following the three "P"s.

~ Prepare

1. Prepare for the winter season. Maintain you car to perform in cold conditions. Check the battery, windshield wipers and tire tread. Put no-freeze windshield wiper fluid in the washer reservoir. Check your antifreeze.

2. Stock your car with essentials in the event of a breakdown, bad road conditions or an accident:

Flashlight Jumper cables Flares Sand or cat litter Ice scrapers and snow brush Shovel Blankets

While the first three should always be in your trunk, the last three are winter necessities. Sand or cat litter will help you gain traction should you find your car on an icy road or parking lot.

When your car stalls, put on the hazard lights, put out flares and put on the dome light. Make sure other motorists can see you.

Ice scrapers are a necessity for clearing the windshield. Remember, ice builds up while you are parked in a lot, so you need scrapers in the car. Snow flying off the hood can stick to the windshield and refreeze into ice. Brush it off.

If you could not control the skid and ended up in a snow bank, you will need to dig out your tires, hence the shovel. If your car is stopped, use the shovel to be sure the exhaust is clear so you can stay in the car and be warm.

You know the heater works, so why carry blankets? If you are in an accident or the car breaks down, you cannot guarantee your heater will work. In freezing weather, hypothermia can grip you in as little as fifteen minutes.

3. Plan your route. Avoid areas where accidents occur on clear days, as they will be particularly dangerous in wintry conditions. If you must go through these areas, be overly cautious.

Plan how long it will take to get there and add ten minutes. No one will fire you for being early.

Check the weather. On days of snow, allow an extra minute per mile to account for other drivers who may not be as winter driving savvy. Leave earlier for sleet.

Let someone know your route and when you should arrive. If you are late, they can call for help for you.

4. Practice winter driving. If this is your first winter, you are uncomfortable on winter roads or you are inexperienced, drive during daylight in an empty, snow-covered parking lot. Get a feel for the way you car reacts to the conditions.

Steer into a skid. Turn your wheels into the skid. Pump standards brakes or apply constant pressure to anti-lock brakes. Practicing what to do when you skid on ice will help you calmly react if you skid on the road.

Know braking distances. Cars are harder to stop on water, snow and ice. Test how far it takes you to stop the car.

~ Protect

Protect yourself by buckling your seat belt. Use child safety seats and restraints properly. Never place a rear-facing infant car seat in front of an air bag. Keep children under twelve in the backseat, buckled up.

~ Prevent

1. You are the number one person to prevent an accident. Never mix alcohol or drugs with driving. If you are planning to drink, designate a sober driver.

2. Slow down and increase the distance between your car and other drivers. Watch out for pedestrians and bicyclists. Share the road courteously.

3. Avoid fatigue. Get plenty of rest. If driving long distances, stop every three hours. When you can, alternate drivers.

Driving safety is the responsibility of all drivers. Driving safely in winter does not have to be difficult.

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A tree is just a tree?

How important to the environment are trees really?

Air pollution destroys the atmosphere which protects the Earth. Trees "eat" pollution by taking the carbon dioxide out of the air, and then they "exhale" oxygen. Planting a tree can help prevent pollution as well.

What is atmosphere, and why is it important?

The atmosphere is composed of mostly nitrogen and oxygen. It acts like a security blanket around the Earth. The ratio of nitrogen to oxygen is the tightly woven fabric of the blanket.

The atmosphere traps radiant warmth from the sun's rays. It keeps the temperature of the planet stable and warm enough to support plant and animal life, yet cool enough to maintain water in the oceans.

How is the atmosphere damaged?

Many everyday activities produce air emissions: pollution. Even human breathing produces pollutants. Humans exhale carbon dioxide, after taking oxygen from the air. These pollutants damage the atmosphere.

Energy consumption, the burning of fuels such as coal, gasoline and diesel, removes oxygen to burn and replaces it with pollutants which collect beneath the atmosphere. The effect of this pollution is adding another blanket to the Earth. It increases the planet temperature and destroying the delicate nitrogen to oxygen balance.

Use of electricity causes air emissions which strip away portions of the atmosphere, essentially tearing holes the security blanket.

Why is planting trees great for the atmosphere?

By removing the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, trees remove the extra layers in the atmosphere which threaten Earth's temperature. By replacing the carbon dioxide with oxygen, trees restore the nitrogen to oxygen balance and ensure enough oxygen for animal breathing.

Where should trees be planted?

Trees planted along the Interstate highways help absorb the pollution of the traffic, but they help the atmosphere another way as well. Trees need to have their roots protected. The ring of mulch around the trees reduces the amount of grass that needs to be cut. Less fuel burned and less pollution result from less area being mowed with tractors, whose exhaust systems are not regulated for emissions.

Sidewalk trees are planted to beautify streets, but they are doing triple duty. They reduce the need to run pollution coughing lawn mowers and the pollution caused by the trucks which transport them. Add to that, sidewalk trees pull cigarette pollution out of the air from the sidewalk denizens.

Landscaping a yard with small trees and shrubs trims yard size. Trees make great shade for your home, reducing the need for cooling. Less energy used equals less air pollution produced.

Manufacturing and transporting fertilizer uses many forms of energy and produces many different air emissions and pollutants. Recycling the leaves which fall from trees in autumn into mulch makes the landscaped and native shrubs healthier. Healthy, flowering plants "eat" more pollution and "exhale" more oxygen.

Planting plots of trees helps regulate not only the amount of oxygen produced in an area, but also the wind pattern. By creating a large area to vacuum carbon dioxide and making a wind block, wind patterns change to accommodate the new obstacle and distribute the gases of the atmosphere equally.

Changing wind patterns can ease weather conditions, such as drought, or promote different weather conditions, like rain, which require nearly exact chemical balance to exist.

Planting trees is great for the atmosphere not only because they reduce existing pollution, but also because they prevent pollution.

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What does ethanol really cost?

When everyone is looking for better fuel efficiency and cleaner burning energy, biofuel is quick to the attention of eco-conscious consumers. So how expensive is ethanol?

Bio-fuels seem to present a renewable resource alternate to fossil fuel. A closer examination of the costs of producing ethanol and biodiesel shows the true economic and ethical costs involved in choosing bio-fuel as a long term solution.

All of the following depend on fossil fuel to produce bio-fuel:

Hybridization of crops
Planting and irrigation
Fertilizer and pesticide
Harvesting
Grinding biomass
Transporting the crop
Production facility machinery

To gauge how efficient the bio-fuel alternative truly is, a joint study by Cornell and University of California -Berkeley determined that the energy output of both ethanol and biodiesel were not worth the effort of producing them.

Ethanol production from switch grass required 45 percent more energy than the resultant ethanol produced. This is the equivalent of spending $1.45 to buy a dollar.

Biodiesel produced from sunflower plants required 118 percent more energy than the biodiesel could produce. Would you spend $2.18 to buy a dollar?

These pitfalls are considered short-term shortfalls. As bio-fuel machinery becomes more widely available, the production costs will go down. Yet, the research into such machines is not likely to begin for more than another decade and only when the United States government decides which bio-fuel to endorse.

The long term pitfalls are more ominous. Ethanol and biodiesel do not burn as cleanly as burning biomass, pure wood or switch grass waste. The air emissions contribute to the greenhouse effect and further global warming.

Bio-fuels need a constant agricultural supply. To meet the United States need for liquid fuel, one of two scenarios present: 1. Residential property will be regulated to upward growth only (apartment dwelling). 2. Rural residential lands will be relegated to subsidized agriculture of biomass producing farms.

Both scenarios result in larger air pollutant emissions. The transportation of food contributes the second largest air pollutant emission in the United States. Multi-level housing creates traffic congestion and household emissions in higher concentration.

Additionally, the choice to use wood biomass to produce ethanol would result in fewer trees to protect the atmosphere, higher fossil fuel demand than even switch grass (12 percent) and increase prices of common wood based products. This price increase would impact industries that produce or use paper, cardboard, furniture, building supplies and wood as a fuel source.

So what does that mean for food prices, water and soil pollution, sustainability and fertility?

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Your car's carbon footprint=Big Foot?

You recycle. You conserve water. You adjust your thermostat. You get in your car and go to work. There are five main areas where you can lower your car's carbon footprint: Shopping, errands, work, maintenance and driving. It starts with you.

If the number one way to reduce your impact on global warming was to drive less, how many excuses could you supply why you cannot drive less? How about some practical tips to help you not only drive less, but reduce your emissions when you have to drive?

Even if you cannot afford to trade your car for a more efficient, electric or hybrid model, you can do a lot to reduce the impact your vehicle has on the environment.

Shopping

1. Shop for frozen and dry groceries and household supplies once per month. Limit shopping for perishables to once per week, and then only on your way home from somewhere else. Save gas and money by planning ahead.

2. Shop for clothing, shoes, items for children, gifts and other items quarterly or bimonthly. These non-essentials should be planned to avoid prolonged or frequent driving.

3. Shop locally. This is more than going to the neighborhood market. Buy items produced locally as well. You have direct control over pollution caused by transporting goods over very long distances to get to you.

Errands

1. Go to the bank, post office, doctor's office and pharmacy on the same day. By plotting your itinerary to include at least three stops, you save gasoline, money and time while reducing your carbon emissions by as much as 70%.

2. Go with a friend. While not as efficient as carpooling, you can choose who has the most efficient vehicle and completely eliminate the emissions from the other. Best practice is to go everywhere with at least two other people.

3. Go on time. Schedule your errands so you will not rush. This leads to more considerate driving, better braking and less stress.

Work

1. Telecommute. Many companies offer choices in telecommuting. More offices are closing an additional day each week to save on overhead. Work from home one day, or more, per week.

2. Carpool. It is cool to carpool. Schedule meetings during your commute. Again, choose the most efficient car to get you and your colleagues to work on time.

3. Transfer. If you are commuting more than fifteen miles to work, consider a position closer to your home. When possible, work within walking distance of your home.

4. Move. If you are commuting more than fifty miles to work, you are losing money, time and breathable air. If you cannot move, transfer to a position closer to home.

5. Detour. If your commute is spent sitting in traffic, find a new route to work. If there is only one way, change your work hours to avoid standstills.

Grab ten more tips on how to reduce your car's impact on global warming.

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Still looking for proof?

Ten convincing signs show global warming is affecting today's Earth. The "gloom and doom" is not something of concern for great-grandchildren as yet unborn. These major changes are the proverbial "tip of the iceberg".

10. Increased allergies. Lifestyle change and pollution leave more people vulnerable to seasonal allergies and asthma. Global warming temperature rises in combination with higher carbon dioxide levels trigger plants to bloom earlier. This increase in the amount of pollen, and its lingering longer in the air, aggravates allergies.

9. Wildlife migration. Beginning in the early 1900s, species have begun to move to higher elevations seeking their premium habitat. Global warming trends have sent chipmunks, mice and squirrels to higher elevations. Polar bears are moving closer and closer to the poles as their ice shelves melt due to the global increase in temperature.

8. Blooming Arctic? Ice, which normally holds tightly to Arctic plants, is melting earlier. Eager plants are enjoying longer growing seasons. Chlorophyll levels in today's Arctic are far higher than that of ancient Arctic soils.

7. Draining the lakes. Permafrost is frozen ground that makes the floor supporting Arctic lakes. As global temperatures rise, the permafrost melts. The lake water seeps through the ground, effectively draining the lake. Ecosystems based on the 125 already drained lakes are disappearing along with the water.

6. Sinks and slides As permafrost melts at higher altitudes, the ground shrinks unevenly based on its elemental make up. This leads to sink holes and damage to human structures, such as rail tracks, houses and roads. On the side of mountains, melted permafrost becomes rock and mud slides.

5. Evolution. With spring beginning earlier, hibernating animals face extinction faster than those who can reset their biological clocks. Migrating animals can move earlier, eat more food and reproduce earlier. Sleepy heads may miss out on the early food and their adolescents may not be mature enough to move come the cold of winter.

4. Speeding tickets? Carbon dioxide gives off heat when molecules collide in dense air near the Earth. Increased carbon dioxide molecules from emissions in the upper atmosphere, where the satellites live, radiate this heat away because they cannot collide as often because they force air lower into the atmosphere. This creates a cooling effect and erases the air's drag effect on the satellites. Less drag means the satellites speed up.

3. Taller mountains. Glaciers on the tops of mountains, like the Alps and the Himalayas, are heavy and push the mountains down. Global warming is melting these glaciers. Without the excess baggage, the mountains are growing faster, and the soil is springing back.

2. Lost wonders. Global warming's extreme weather and floods have already damaged some of the world's oldest artifacts that have stood the test of time, until recently. Ancient temples and settlements cannot survive these new changes. The original architects never could have planned for these changes in water levels and temperatures. 600 year old Sukhothai, the once capital of a Thai kingdom, has already fallen prey to a global warming flood.

1. Wildfire. Earlier snowmelt and warmer temperatures mean that drier areas, like the western United States, stay drier for longer. This long dry period increases the chances that a forest fire will break out and burn for longer.

These are only ten ways that global warming is effecting the Earth today. Without change in the current carbon dioxide emissions, these patterns will not only continue, but also intensify.

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Pollution Prevention: Individual Effort

We've all heard about global warming and climate change and the Kyoto Accord, but have you seriously considered how your pollution is affecting the Earth? Over the next week, we will focus on some serious issues and some very simple steps each one of us can take to preserve the planet for our great-grandchildren and beyond.

What is the role of pollution prevention in addressing climate change?

CO2 and water vapor are the largest contributors to the greenhouse effect that regulates the Earth's temperature. The atmospheric blanket around the Earth absorbs the radiant energy released after absorption of the sun's rays. Pollution of the atmosphere directly impacts the temperature control of Earth.

Increased CO2 emissions create an extra layer of blanketing in the atmosphere. This extra warming leads to climate change in the forms of warmer oceans, melting ice caps and glaciers, more pronounced flooding and droughts, agricultural shifts in fertility, human migration and increased global temperature.

Human industrialization over the last 200 years has increased the CO2 in the atmosphere to 30% above the natural level of increase that should have occurred after the last ice age. The planet cannot compensate for this large a fluctuation in its natural chemistry.

The natural evolution of Earth would see increased growth of forests after volcanic activity, sinking and rising of islands and a gradual encroachment of the oceans onto the major land masses over the course of five to ten centuries. With the human acceleration of the warming process, these events are due to occur in a smaller time window.

At current levels of consumption and pollution this window will shrink to less than two hundred years. Pollution prevention is necessary to slow this progression to nominally increased levels rather than the drastically increased current level.

Over 50% of CO2 emissions are resultant from transportation and domestic energy use. Great strides toward industrial reduction of CO2 emissions are laudable, but only a small portion of the effort that needs to be implemented. Individual efforts to conserve energy and reduce transportation dependency are of paramount importance.

In the absence of such pollution reduction, the planetary temperature will continue to rise. As the oceans warm, they will expand further, engulfing low lying, industrializing nations and island communities. The change in the water to land mass ratio will affect the amount of water vapor in the air through accelerated evaporation of the oceans.

Droughts and floods will be more pronounced in areas prone to such weather conditions. This dual effect will compromise the fertility of agricultural land. Further, refugees from such areas will displace land currently regulated to agriculture and reduce current forestation levels for the development of housing.

Finite growth patterns mean that the forests cannot rebuild within the time frame necessary to perform their role in the reduction of CO2 in the atmosphere. Alternative solutions, such as the use of recycled steel, for housing construction must be employed to combat the decimation of the forests.

Deforestation will reduce the CO2 removed from the atmosphere. This completed cycle from increasing CO2 to reducing CO2 consumption will change the face of the Earth irrevocably. The hostile environment created will not be conducive to human existence and will hasten the next ice age.

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How safe is an efficient car?

Wanted: A safe, American-built vehicle with excellent fuel efficiency in 2015.

While this does not sound like a tall request, American automakers have been joined by Oriental and European giants, like Toyota and Volkswagen, in proclaiming they cannot make such a vehicle with a consumer-friendly price tag.

Mandated fuel economy

Proposed Federal fuel economy regulations aims to speed up the schedule for producing fuel efficient cars to combat oil consumption and carbon emissions. Manufacturers are on a slower paced plan.

Since 1975, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program have increased fuel economy in manufacturers' fleets to 27.5 miles per gallon (MPG). Current CAFE regulations are codified in United States Code Title 49, Sub. VI, Part C, Ch. 329. CAFE sets the fuel economy for each year, which increases annually 3.3 per cent.

The proposed amendment would increase that rate to 4.5 per cent. Passenger car and light truck MPG would be 31.6 by 2015.

Safety factor

Manufacturers are balking at the price tag for producing cars with this fuel efficiency. In order to preserve jobs and make a profit, they will need to price these cars above the reach of the average consumer.

No manufacturer has publicly commented it would sacrifice safety for fuel economy, although environmental impact statements (EIS) of current models profess body weight as the biggest deterrent to fuel economy.

Since 1950, manufacturers have striven to improve crashworthiness, the vehicle's ability to survive a crash with its occupants alive or unharmed. Internal safety advances include seat belts and air bags. While those do not impact fuel economy, advanced roll cages, the car's skeleton, are the heaviest components in the car. External advances included bumper systems and crumple zones. These have varied effects on the weight of the vehicle.

Uncrashworthy cars are a liability for owner and manufacturer. When cars do not survive crashes, occupants sue the owners of other vehicles and the auto maker who produced the unsafe car.

Practical fuel economy

Technological advances in fuel economy are the first attack in producing more fuel efficient cars. Manufacturers declare this avenue as exhausted: The engine cannot be more economical.

Aerodynamics are next. Vehicles have smoother lines to resist air drag. Consumers have rejected the most fuel efficient designs as undesirable, even though the cars are economical to drive and safer than most other designs.

There is an undeniable link between weight and crashworthiness. Will fuel economy standards lead to less crashworthy cars?

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What was your resolution?

March has just begun, and already the majority of Americans cannot remember what they resolved to do this year...except to save more money. When thinking about saving green, going green (more specifically: Blue) is a terrific way to help you keep more money in your pocket. Would you like to save up to 25% of your water bill? Make some resolutions you can keep!

New Year's resolutions are easy to keep when you go green with some of these easy to implement environmental ideas.

Catch a bucket Place a bucket where it can catch rainwater. Use this to water your plants or wash your car instead of the hose. Recycled water is great-pour fish bowl water on your plants. Bathe the dog in the yard. Rinse dishes in 1/2 sink full of soapy water, then place in dishwasher. Use the water to wash the sink.

Sort it out Sorting your trash reaps big environmental rewards. Here are just a few statistics to help you keep the resolution:
* Composting vegetable waste makes natural fertilizer- reusing, reducing and recycling in one pile. This is better for the environment than a garbage disposal and requires no water.

* Sort all plastic out. Bottles, packing plastic and shopping bags are all recyclable and reduce production energy up to 67% and air pollution emissions more than 25%. Recycling one plastic bottle conserves enough energy to fuel a 60 watt light bulb for almost six hours.

* Crush those cans.
~~~Steel is the number one recycled material in the United States. Of the 100,000,000 steel and tin cans used in America everyday, enough cans are thrown away to build all of the cars in America.

~~~Make aluminum a contender: Recycling of one ton of cans will conserve 12,725 kilowatt hours, equal to the amount of the electricity used in the average American home in 10 years. This energy is the equivalent to 2,350 gallons of gasoline, or enough to drive a new car 82,250 miles. Recycling one saves enough gasoline to fill it half full.

* Read the paper online. Of the 62,000,000 newspapers printed today, 44,000,000 will be thrown away- 30,000,000 trees. Recycling one ton of paper conserves 4,077 kilowatt hours of energy or enough to heat and cool an average American home for 6 months.

* See through the waste. Recycling one glass bottle will light a 100 watt light bulb for 4 hours.

Turn it off Sleep mode requires energy. Turn off the computer, DVD, shredder, satellite converter, TiVo, lights, television, every appliance.

Down the drain
* Turn off the water while you brush your teeth (save more water than some humans get in a whole day), install low-flow shower heads, turn off the hose at the faucet. Turn off the water while you shampoo and condition- that's 50 gallons a week. Take a short shower- 5 minutes less will save about 1,000 gallons a year.

* Front loading washing machines: If you cannot afford one, wash only full loads of clothes. If you cannot do that, use the correct water height and the coldest water temperature. Line dry- uses less electricity and naturally humidifies the air.

Read on to find a way to burn some calories and save more water!

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Investing in Landscaping: Your wallet & the environment

Grass seed. Check. Rake. Check. Sun hat. Check. I've already spent $200 and not planted a seed! Where's the return on my investment?

Landscaping is an investment in your home and the environment. Average landscaping increases the value of a home by five percent. Excellent landscaping can increase property value by as much as 11 percent.

Landscapes which reduce the cost of heating and cooling the home produce as much as an additional three percent increase in home value. Plants and trees combat carbon dioxide, while protecting the environment from additional carbon emissions from energy consumption. Non-flowering plants can reduce the number of allergens inside a home.

Two types of landscaping investments can increase the selling price of your home: Long term and short term. Both have some similarities. Each type is diversified differently.

Common Sense Advice

~ Hire a local professional to design the landscape. You will implement a design with a good survival rate, complementary to the surrounding neighborhood and with an eye for detail you may never have considered.

~ Ask for indigenous plants and trees. These are more likely to survive drought conditions and will require the least amount of upkeep.

~ Avoid high maintenance designs. Shrubs which need constant trimming will be very costly in the long run and could cost you more money in the short term. You do not want to hire someone to replant perennial flowers before you sell the house. A buyer may not want the bother or expense of a high maintenance yard.

~ Avoid trendy items. Water features and statues fall out of fashion quickly and may turn potential buyers away. Stay natural.

~ Use natural elevation and drainage to save water costs. Proper landscape design will reduce the amount of water needed to sustain a garden.

~ Plant evergreens on the north side of the home to block winter winds. Plant deciduous trees on the south side to shade the home in summer. Proper tree placement can save up to 25% of heating and cooling costs. The boost in energy efficiency will increase the value of the home.

~ Plant according to the mature size of the plant. Overcrowding plants decreases their survival rate and increases the maintenance work, as plants will need to be removed over time.

~ Protect your foundation. Planting large rooted trees and shrubs too near the house will have disastrous effects on your foundation, sidewalks and driveway.

~ Weed protection. Shop for inexpensive weed control barriers. This investment will reduce maintenance costs for the life of the landscape.

~ Mulch. Cover around and between plants...

Read the remaining long term and short term investment tips to make your landscaping a positive return for your wallet and the environment!

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Make my tax refund retirement

Tax season is the second largest spending season of the year: Second only to winter holidays. Rather than spend the tax refund before you get it, think about the future. Need a step-by-step guide to retirement?

It is never too early to plan for retirement. The landscape of the world of retirement accounts changes as you reach retirement age. Tax benefits begin to disappear. Tax implications become more plentiful. Retirement is the practical application of "A penny saved is a penny earned."

Begin your road to retirement by exercising wise economic choices: Buy a house you can afford, spend wisely on cars, stay out of consumer debt and maintain a healthy credit report. All of these choices build big retirement muscles.

Set your retirement goals. Calculate your current yearly expenses, including utilities, property taxes, car expenses and food budget. Do not include your mortgage interest payment, but do include your principal. Double the total to estimate how much income you will need to retire. Multiply that by the number of years you will be retired. This will be your target savings amount.

Talk to an investment counselor for help in gauging your risk tolerance, income security, dividend reinvestment and portfolio aggressiveness.

I am 20. Is it too early to start saving?

You cannot start too early. The more you do now, the less you will need to do later.

Enroll in a 401(k) plan with your employer with matching contributions or begin a retirement account. Contribute the pre-tax maximum ($15,500) to your retirement. Learn to tailor your expenses to the money you bring home. You are learning to control money better.

401(k) is not enough. If you work thirty years contributing $15,500 per year, your nest egg before dividends will be $465,000. This may sound like a lot today, but when you retire, you will only have $31,000 per year to cover all of your expenses. How much did you need again?

Discuss with a financial adviser or investing consultant whether your needs will be best served with an individual retirement account (IRA), a mutual fund account or a stock portfolio or a combination.

Do not spend tax refunds. You lived without that money all year. Instead of spending it recklessly, invest the entire refund into your retirement. You will be saving more money than your employer is investing in your 401(k).

Assess your risk tolerance. How much are you willing to gamble with your investments? Consider higher risk investments with larger dividends to grow your money faster. At this age, you will be more resilient to market losses than you will in a few decades.

I am 30. Should I change what I am doing?

You are beginning to build equity in your home. How does this affect your saving?

Keep reading. The advice continues through age 60!

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Christmas shopping???

What do taxes and holiday shopping have to do with one another? Stress. Before you get busy spending that tax refund, think ahead to how you got stressed last year. Avoid it this year.

Planning ahead is the key to avoiding financial holiday stress and the New Year's credit card hangover. If travel is in your holiday plan, conquer the shopping early. With three months left over, you will be able to leisurely plan a trip without going into debt or stressing the details.

Be done shopping by August. Perfectly doable with this strategy.

Do the math. Plan to spend 1% of your annual income on holiday spending. This money will not be spent totally on gifts. Decorations, cards, food, fuel expenses traveling to parties and incidentals will fall into this 1% as well.

On December 26, do not stand in line to return anything. If it does not fit, will it fit someone on your list? If it doesn't match, will it fit in one of your recipient's homes? If you don't like it, will someone on your list? "What list?" you ask.

Each year, impulse buying for last minute additions to recipient lists account for nearly 15% of all holiday spending. Eliminate this spending, by knowing ahead of time for whom you will purchase. Parents, children, grandchildren, partners and best friends make the list every year. If possible, pare the list to the bare minimum. Your boss' secretary's husband does not need a gift.

Group you recipients into these categories: Gift, food, craft and card. Cards, wrapping and craft supplies should be purchased at after holiday sales. Crafts should be completed by June, wrapped and put away. By wrapping the present and applying a tag with a name, you have officially crossed the name off of the list. Beside the name, you should place a the total cost of the gift, wrapping included.

Sign holiday cards while watching a Little League game or cheer leading practice. Sign only as many cards as you have names on your list for which you do not have an email address. Remaining cards should be boxed for another year. On average, cards need only be purchased three out of every four years.

November 28-30, make a personalized holiday newsletter on your computer to impart the year's accomplishments/joys and to send best wishes for the New Year. This should be added to the cards the first week of December and mailed. Save postage by sending your newsletter via email to as many recipients as possible. Make note on your list as to the postage paid on your list, along with the cost of the cards and stationery stock/ink to print your newsletters. Cross off those names.

Divide your gift recipients into seven groups. Shop for one group...

Don't be in the holiday cold and hung over (or overdrawn) in January. It's not too late to start today!

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Tax refund exploitation

America has fallen for the instant tax refund. Are you being exploited? Yes. How?

The advent of the "instant tax refund" was designed to target low-income workers by H & R Block in the 1980s. The outline of the profitability of the program was very clear.

Traditionally, the users of tax preparers were high-income earners with complicated tax returns. 1984 saw the largest graduation of certified public accountants (CPA) in American history. Market research predicted that if tax preparation companies did not target a wider range of clientele, they would become obsolete within a decade, due solely to the glut of competition.

With a huge amount of venture capital, H & R Block launched the "Instant Tax Refund Loan", touting that users could have their checks in as little as three days. The focus of the ad campaign was young families with small children. Not one commercial featured a business suit.

Within three years, satellite "offices" cropped up in shopping malls, and the word "loan" disappeared. The instant tax return was born. Now, younger people and seniors joined the ad campaigns.

Traditional tax preparers, most notable being Jackson Hewitt, signed long term contracts with major retailers like J.C. Penney, Rent-a-Center and Wal-Mart to host their tax preparations. With access to break rooms, preparers were instructed to entice the employees, some of the lowest paid workers in the United States.

Retailers would take the next step and cash the checks in the knowledge that the holder would shop before leaving. This was no noble gesture on the part of tax preparers or retailers. The unprecedented success of the project was complete.

An army of attorneys had carefully drafted the contract between the earner and the preparer. Fine print included clauses of default and error: Should the return be reduced for any reason, notwithstanding preparer error or earner negligence, earner will be responsible for reimbursement of monies distributed and payment of all fees and interest thereon.

Translation: If the preparer makes an error that results in the earner not receiving a refund, the earner must repay the money, exorbitant interest and a handling fee for the error. Bear in mind that the check was not the actual tax refund, but only a loan against what the tax refund would have been.

So where is the $3 billion in profit? In interest and fees: Interest rates vary from an annual percentage rate of 70% to 1700%. The average prepared tax return is $2,000, with a fee of $250. 12% of all of the refunds are going into the pocket of the preparer and the lender.

The IRS states that the average income for 79% "instant refunds" is less than $35,000. 57% of those who got "instant refunds" filed for the earned income credit (EIC) which provides financial assistance to the working poor. Without a doubt, making $1.7 billion from the lowest paid workers in the country is truly designed to exploit.

References: National Consumer Law Center, Internal Revenue Service, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Affairs, Attorney General for California, Attorney General for Illinois, Attorney General for Washington

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What is a medical diary?

You've heard about medical diaries, but what really goes into a good one? While outlining what goes into a child's medical diary, you will soon see a pattern which can easily be applied to teens or adults with any medical or mental malady.

Keeping a child's medical diary will ensure that your child gets the proper medical attention in the fastest way by eliminating many avenues pursued in search of the best way.

The medical professional will have a complete history without compiling research from every doctor and hospital in your child's past. Why waste valuable time that could be the difference between life-saving measures and long term effects?

Preferred medical diaries will be bound editions that will not collect stray information or allow for information to be removed.

Begin with the basics
At birth your child begins to receive medical care. They will receive an APGAR score within sixty seconds of birth. Don't be surprised when he is five and his doctor asks you what it was.

Ask your nurse in the hospital to record his vital statistics at birth. The nurses will keep the diary in the nursery upon request. Include the following:

Place, time and date of birth
Hospital name
Attending pediatrician
Temperature
APGAR score
Audiogram result
Weight and length
Immunizations
Car seat test results (if given)
Tests and results

First trip home
Before the two week well-baby check up, note everything that you find. Much like a baby book, include any of the following:

Sleep pattern and total hours slept
Coughing or fever
Vomiting (not spit up during burping)
Excessive gas
Diarrhea
Date lost umbilical stump

Professional visits
Record everything from the first visit and all other professional visits that follow to doctor, dentist, nurse practitioner, psychologist, psychiatrist, orthopedic, dentist, optometrist or any specialist:

Doctor's full name, address and telephone number
Time and date of appointment
Vital statistics (blood pressure, oxygen saturation, temperature, weight, length)
All vaccines
Tests performed
Treatment received (fillings, glasses, hearing aids, orthotic devices)
Prescriptions (dosage, prescribing physician, pharmacy-with address and telephone number, pharmacist, prescription number)

Back at home
Over the next months and years, your child will change. Record everything that affects health, including the following:

First tooth (which one and date)
Loss of teeth (which one and date)
Fevers (temperature and duration)
Colds
Rashes (include diaper rash that occurs for more than 72 hours)
When and what new foods/juices are introduced
Changes in baby's reaction to light and sound
Childhood illnesses (chicken pox, measles)

Get the rest of the recipe for a great medical diary!

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Breastfeed in the closet?

Having breastfed and used a bottle with our many children, I found the arguments why women should not "be allowed to breastfeed in public" astonishing. Enjoy this foray into why asking breastfeeding women to cloister themselves is equal to a human rights violation for both mother and child...as well as a look at why the "against" arguments are anatomically incorrect.

Segregation is equivalent to assigning a lower class ranking to breastfeeding mothers for choosing the best for their children.

Proponents of public breastfeeding stand on the time-tested argument of breast milk's natural and nutritionally unequalled content as the perfect food for babies delivered in the most convenient, natural way. Feeding directly from the breast is how all other mammals distribute milk.

Breastfeeding mothers are the largest proponents because they have more intimate knowledge than any other in the argument arena.

Breastfeeding desensitizes the breast. After nursing an infant, women are unlikely to receive any sexual stimulation from the breast. This is the natural maturation of the breast and the maternal reception of the nervous signals.

Prior to birth, the breast has not experienced nervous stimuli such as the let down reflex, correct latching or a baby's natural pecking signal. Once these signals are received for the first time, the breast interprets all other signals thereafter as prompts to perform or incidental contact to be ignored.

Societal taboo attached to an sexualized image is mistakenly associated with breastfeeding. Suckling the breast is not a sexual act for the mother.

Opponents believe the nipple covered by the baby's lips is vile, embarrassing, and cause for shame. Ironically, the nipple covered with a smaller amount of spandex is beautiful, sells products and is to be coveted.

These opponents do not take into consideration the function of the breast. In fact, the breast's main purpose is the nourishment of offspring. The secondary issue of bonding is the proximity of the breast to the mother's heartbeat. This anatomical design is of note.

And there is more...read on.

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