GET HEALTHY

(Women's Health) These enviro-mantras are ridiculously easy to follow, make a big difference to the planet, and save you cash and that's the convenient truth. Turn it down. Turn it off. And for the love of God, lose the plastic bags. We're constantly hearing about all the things we should be doing or not doing to keep the planet from bursting into flames. We know you care about the birds and the trees, but let's be honest: We'd all get a wee bit busier if we knew there was a little more environmental payback to pocket:

• Replace the five most frequently used the lights in your home with compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. If every American replaced just one light, we would save enough juice to illuminate more than 3 million homes per year.
• Wash your threads in cold water. Hot water costs up to nine times as much per load as cold; warm costs up to five times as much. In general, chill out: you'll cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by 320 pounds.
• Turn your water heater down to 120 degrees. You'll save your skin, trim your electric bill by up to 10% if you've had it set at the typical 140 degrees, extend the life of your water heater and pipes by reducing mineral build up and corrosion. And eliminating 200 pounds of emissions per year.
• Lower your thermostat by two degrees in the winter. You'll save about 5% off your heating bill and 353 pounds of emissions per year.
• Go veg one day per week. The little red thumper in your chest will thank you. Skipping meat is also like eliminating 1,000 miles of driving when you factor in all the resources required to produce animal protein, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University say.
• Use a clothesline or drying rack. You will keep your shorts on and your shocks up, literally. The elastic in that stuff lasts longer if it air dries. And you'll save about $43 per year and silencing your machine will wring out nearly 800 pounds of emissions annually.
• Install a low flow shoer head and have while you sing, shower, and shave. Installing products like the Oxygenics TriSpa showerhead from http://oxygenics.com, can net a family of four each taking 10 minute showers a day, up to $415 per year in utility bill savings.
• Surrender the dishpan. Compared with hand washing, dishwasher usually clean better and use less water. If Americans traded their old workhorses for Energy Star approved dishwashers, they'd save as much water as the entire U.S. population uses to shower once a day for about 11 days.
• When you appliances start to kick it, replace them with Energy Star approved products. Certified items use 20 to 30% less energy. You could save up to $600 per year on your power bill and reduce your annual emissions by 30%.
• Ditch your beer fridge and that ancient basement freezer. Depending on its age, size, and efficiency, retiring your energy hog could save $100 or more annually. If 1,000 people scrape their units many can be recycles, the savings would equal taking about 97 cars off the road.
• Carpool once a week. According to one government estimate, if every solo driver in the U.S. took on one carpooler during rush hour, we would save 40 million gallons of gasoline per day

HOW TO SURVIVE MONDAYS

Everyone hates Mondays. In fact, they can actually be hazardous to your health. But you can take some of the stress out of the day and actually start the workweek feeling good, with the help of famed psychologist Dr. Robert Butterworth. "Mondays are so stressful that they can be life-threatening," declares Dr. Butterworth. "The highest proportion of workplace injuries on Monday." He says Mondays are also characterized by an increase in on-the-job heart attacks. Here are 10 great tips from Dr. Butterworth, to get you sailing instead of slumping into work:

• Don't stay out late Sunday night -- Just take it easy and on Monday morning you'll head for work and refreshed and raring to go.
• Take a look at how you spend your weekend -- If you're exhausted after two days off, schedule more leisure time for Saturday and Sunday.
• Exercise on weekends -- especially if your job involves physical labor. Working out will help keep your muscles loose so you're much less likely to hurt yourself when you get back into action Monday.
• Avoid heavy, fatty foods on Sunday night -- Research shows that heart attacks frequently occur after eating like this, and many heart attacks happen on Monday mornings. By combining risky food with a risky day, you're playing with fire.
• Try to wrap up projects on Friday if you can -- You won't have to worry about the unfinished work all weekend -- and you'll arrive at work with a fresh outlook.
• Allow extra time to get ready Monday mornings -- Arriving late will add to your stress and get you off on the wrong foot.
• Don't over schedule your Mondays -- Avoid setting urgent deadlines that day. Spread your workload out over the week.
• Plan as few chores as possible for Monday nights -- If you always do the laundry on Monday nights, for example, consider switching it to a different day. Use the time to unwind instead.
• Line up a pleasant social activity for Monday -- Have lunch with a co-worker or rent a video you've been wanting to see.
• Eat breakfast Monday morning -- Have an energizing meal of juice, cereal and some type of protein. If you don't, your blood sugar will be so low by mid-morning that you'll just be dragging your feet.

Thursday, July 31, 2008: On this day in 1790, the US Patent Office opened.  The first US patent was issued to Samuel Hopkins for a new method of making pearl ash and potash.

On this day in 1972, the cornerstone of the Philadelphia Mint was laid, which became the first US government building.

On this day in 1975, Jimmy Hoffa, the former Teamsters Union leader disappeared.  He was last seen on this date outside a restaurant in Bloomfield Township, near Detroit, Michigan.  His 13-year federal prison sentence had been commuted by President Richard M. Nixon in 1971.  On July 30, 1982 seven years and 131 days after his disappearance, an Oakland County judge declared Hoffa officially dead.