Meteor Shower to Celebrate Memorial Day Weekend

A very beautiful, and very rare surprise comes just in time for the holiday weekend! Spend late Friday night into Saturday morning stargazing to see the Camelopardalid Meteor Shower!

The Camelopardalid Meteor Shower is forecasted to show 200 to 1,000 meteors an hour between 2am and 4am EST Saturday morning! No one has seen this meteor shower before! “We have no idea what the comet was doing in the 1800s. The parent comet (comet 209P/LINEAR) doesn’t appear to be very active now, so there could be a great show, or there could be little activity,” said Bill Cooke, lead for NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office.

“New meteor showers don't come along that often. It'll be the first time in a generation that a new meteor shower will show up,” according to CNN Meteorologist Sean Morris.

The comet 209P/LINEAR is a Jupiter family comet discovered in 2004. Earth will travel through debris ejected from the comet 209P/LINEAR in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries! If the comet was actively producing a lot of dust during that time, the Earth may be treated to a potentially incredible meteor shower.

North America will have the most visibility of the shower, and the best places for viewing in the U.S. will be east of the Mississippi River or in California, as rain in Pacific Northwest and Plains will affect viewing.

Milky Way against silhouetted Owachomo Bridge at Natural Bridges National Park, Utah

We are excited about viewing the sky tonight in hopes for a meteor shower that could rival the prolific Perseid meteor shower in August!

It's exciting, the unpredictability of the shower. Like life, there is no certainly that the outcome will be as expected. We just have to prepare, show up and hope for the best!

For optimal viewing in your area, seek out a dark sky with minimal light pollution.

If you're having trouble seeing it, or if you want to join other amateur astronomers across the country as it happens, NASA's website will host a live chat from 11 p.m. Friday until 3 a.m. EDT Saturday, as well as offering a live view of the skies over Huntsville, Alabama.

A view of the Milky Way Galaxy at Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania.

Dumbbell Nebula as seen through park's telescope at Observatory Park Geauga Park District, Ohio

5 Green Lifestyle Products

Our Earth Day fever is really heating up but before we begin discussing really awesome environmentally friendly, sustainable and all-around better options than the traditional versions currently available, we'd like to first encourage you to think closely before you buy. If you've decided that yes this is something you need, then also think about alternative ways to get it.

For instance, can you borrow it? Make it? Grow it? Build it? Being green is not just about buying green. It's a way of life. It's thinking and acting in sustainable ways.

We love this 'My Not-Shopping List' because it encourages us to treasure everything by repurposing or repairing items. Is also encourages us to build a community by borrowing items instead of buying a version for ourselves when we can share with friends, family and neighbors.

One of our favorite things to do is go to swap meets and thrift stores to find something we want or need. Buying second-hand means that you are adding to the life of something that would have ended up in a landfill. Plus it's also pretty neat to browse previously-loved products from record players and old clocks to bike parts and jewelry!

Again, we'd like to reinforce re-using and upcycling before you purchase new.

With that being said, we know that things eventually break, again. Nothing lasts forever. We want to highlight some incredibly innovating, thought-provoking and revolutionary products that are simply better for the environment, your home and your family.

Glass Water Bottles
First thing first, stop buying plastic water bottles. There, it's been said. Let's move on to what you can and should buy for when you're on the go, because drinking water is an essential part of staying healthy. Re-usable plastic water bottles leak chemicals into you water, instead re-usable BPA/BPS-free and phthalate-free glass water bottles and caps, like these adorable ones from Lifefactory provide fresh and clean drinking water safe for consumption!

Camioncyclette
Designer Christophe Machet describes his invention as, "It is not a bicycle with added baskets, but a basket with added wheels that can be rode." 40% of car rides are 2 miles from the home and under. We'd like to point out here that isn't that perfect biking distance! You can travel 2 miles in just a couple of minutes by bicycle. Biking is a healthier and environmentally safer option than driving for many reasons, and we believe that the biggest deterrent for biking over driving is the cargo! This mode of transporting both you and your produce, park essentials or school/work gear up to 32 gallons! We know you'll have more fun riding it than this guy -->

This particular bike may be hard to buy as it's not available in most stores, but when contemplating a bike purchase think light weight frame and storage (bikes can have baskets both in front and back!).

AquaFarm
Grow > buy. Not only is it cheaper, but it's greener! Growing an herb garden is a great way to cut costs in transporting plants from where it's grown in the world to your supermarket. Think of all the emissions you'll be eliminating! So when we can across this self-cleaning fish tank from Back to the Roots that grows herbs, we were thrilled!

Graze Organic
Let's talk about plastic bags, the sandwich and snack kind in particular. Graze Organic has created reusable, washable alternatives to traditional wasteful plastic bags. Bags are made from washable, durable organic cotton and available in such fun colors and prints, these sustainable bags are an adorable way of sprucing up lunch and reducing waste!

Re-usable Produce Bags 
If you haven't done so already, and we highly suggest you do, please purchase alternatives to grocery store plastic bags. Many cities, states and countries have a ban on them and therefore are not in grocery stores, but for the laggards who do not currently own reusable grocery bags, get some! We highly recommend these produce bags from Flip and Tumble because they are not only reusable, but easily washable! You can even wash produce in the bags! They also roll up into very small size to carry one or all with you in your purse, briefcase, school bag, etc. Best part, they're $12 for a set of 5!

What are some of your favorite green products? Share with us in the comments below!

-the Little Critterz team

Earth Hour 2014

I'm sure you've heard of Earth Day, but what about Earth Hour? One sole hour can't make an impact on our planet and communities, you argue. But it can!

You may remember a post last March about a way to unite and empower people around the world regardless of where they live, if not, take a look here.


The Symbol

For one hour, Earth Hour and WWF ask you to turn off the lights -- one simple action that means so much. With the unnecessary lights off the world is silent, slowed, and in it's natural state -- the way is was a mere hundred and fifty years ago. This one small, inspiring action says much more. It is voicing your commitment to the future of our planet. It is participation and action to achieve a more sustainable world. For one hour, light some candles, unplug your coffee machine, hair dryer, and other unnecessary appliances and enjoy the darkness. The ultimate goal however, is to go beyond the hour.

The Burj Khalifa tower (L) in downtown Dubai during Earth Hour 2013. (AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB)

The Movement

The 2007 inaugural Earth Hour was held in Sydney by over 2 million participants. Spreading quickly, in 2008, 371 cities and towns in over 35 countries turned off their lights to conserve power and voice a message about the state of the world's resources and environment. Even a sizable number of television and radio stations suspended regular broadcasting, halted transmissions or turned off the lights in their studio for an hour. National Geographic Channel, Cartoon Network, DhiTV and Villa TV (Maldives), Canal 5 (Mexico) and ABS-CBN (Philippine) were a few of these.

What started as an hour of conservation has turned into a global movement.

In 2011, Beyond The Hour was launched to give supporters a place to share their stories and pledge to do more. And in 2012, the I Will If You Will campaign was launched and more than 200,000 accepted an I Will If You Will challenge. Such challenges included a man would do a polar bear swim if 2,000 people agree to pick up trash by the beach, or Bill and Giuliana would wear Chicago Bears jerseys down the red carpet if 5,000 people commit to Earth Hour.

Over the last few years, dozen of projects have been completed by Earth Hour and WWF from the changing LED lights in the United States to planting half a million trees in the forests of Uganda. Today, Earth Hour Blue is an open source platform that allows people to crowd-fund projects all over the world! You can choose to donate to projects ranging from adopting puppies to train them as be crime fighting dogs, to installing solar lights in India to prevent tigers from entering villages.

The power is yours.


Celebrate Your Commitment To The Planet

On Saturday the 29th of March 2014 from 8:30-9:30pm local time join millions of people who switch off the lights for one hour to raise awareness for the planet. This worldwide grassroots movement, organized by WWF, unites people to protect the planet by engaging a massive mainstream community on a broad range of environmental issues.

For more information on celebrating Earth Hour visit here.

See if your city is one of thousands participating in Earth Hour 2014.