Q: Paper products contribute to global warming in the sense that their production requires fossil fuels, even though trees must be continuously planted to sustain the paper industry. You can reduce your paper use by making a few simple changes, such as: Not printing emails you don't have to. Using the library or reading e-books instead of buying printed books. Getting e-bills and asking that stores don't print off receipts for you. Asking your parents to buy recycled paper products, like facial tissues, bathroom tissues, and writing and printing paper. Scanning books instead of photocopying them. Sending e-cards instead of paper cards. Most municipalities provide perfectly safe drinking water, so there's usually no need to buy bottled water in America. But consumers love this convenient and portable product, even though it takes three liters of water to produce one liter of bottled water, and millions of barrels of oil are needed to manufacture the bottles, caps, and packaging required to meet the demands of American consumers alone. If your parents buy bottled water, ask them to stop. Even if they don't, you can opt to use a reusable glass or metal canteen that you refill with tap or filtered water. The majority of packaging used in North America has more to do with advertising and gimmicks than it does product preservation or consumer safety. Because most of that packaging is plastic, fossil fuels have been used to create it, and lots of it cannot be recycled. By refusing to buy products that have excessive packaging, you will reduce your carbon footprint and tell businesses that their methods are not acceptable.
A: Use less paper. Don't buy bottled water. Avoid products that use excessive packaging.

Q: The fresher the sorbet is, the better it will taste. You should eat it within a week of making it, but it will be best the day that you make it. While some people may want to eat an entire quart of sorbet right out of the carton with a spoon, if you're serving guests, you'll likely want to make your presentation nice. You can scoop the ice cream out with an ice cream scoop or large spoon. If you want to get fancy, garnish your sorbet. You can place a whole piece of fruit on top, garnish with a sprig of mint or another herb, or drizzle with a colorful syrup or reduction. You can store your sorbet for up to a week. It is best if stored in the back of your freezer, behind other food items and away from the door to regulate the temperature more effectively.
A: Eat as soon as possible. Scoop into small bowls. Garnish if desired. Store in an air-tight container. Finished.

Q: If your extended family is too large for you to see everyone on either Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, use Boxing Day to include them in your holidays. Have a formal holiday feast or keep true to the more relaxed spirit of Boxing Day and have a simpler get-together. Popular food served as a Boxing Day meal includes leftover Christmas turkey served as sandwiches or another full meal, or alternately a cold ham or roast beef served as a buffet to minimize prep and cooking. In the UK and Canada, many restaurants welcome large parties for Boxing Day carveries, or buffets serving roast meats carved to order. If you've already checked family off your list of holiday duties, feel free to make Boxing Day a time to spend with friends instead. Go to a sporting event or watch one at the local pub. Or just hang out together at someone's home. Put the formality of the holidays behind you. Host a potluck where everyone's free to get rid of their leftovers. Make it a pajama party if you want to make it even less formal and more inviting. Tune into the football marathon on TV, zone out, and be merry. Since sports and exercise are such a large part of Boxing Day, stay in the spirit and have the whole family get some exercise. Use this extra time together to go for a long hike through the woods or walk through the streets. Take the young kids to see this family-friendly piece of lively theater based on fairy tales, which is traditionally performed on Boxing Day. Sing along with the musical numbers and interact with the performers onstage.
A: Visit family. Spend time with friends. Keep it casual. Go on an outing. Attend a pantomime.

Q: In fact, some new parents decide to leave the umbilical cord and placenta attached to their baby's navel until it falls off naturally. Keeping the umbilical cord on until it falls off naturally can be cumbersome, though. Most parents have the cord cut shortly after birth; they don't feel comfortable with the idea of carrying the placenta with their baby until the umbilical cord separates. If you plan to bank your baby's cord blood, the cord will need to be cut. Since the umbilical contains no nerves (like hair, for instance), neither the mother nor the baby will feel the cut. This is a common practice, as immediate clamping allows the baby, especially if they are high risk or premature, to be evaluated right after they are born. Recently, there has been a shift to delayed clamping, where the umbilical cord is not clamped until at least 1 to 3 minutes after birth. Many physicians feel that delayed clamping is a more natural process, and provides better circulatory support during the baby's transition out of the womb. At birth, a significant amount of the baby's blood is still in the placenta and umbilical cord. Delayed clamping allows the baby's circulatory system to recover of much more blood, often as much as of the baby's total blood volume. Similar to the procedure in immediate clamping, the newborn should be held slightly below the level of the mother to enable some of that blood to return to the baby. In full term infants, babies with delayed clamping had less anemia and iron deficiency during the first 3 to 6 months. However, in some cases, phototherapy for neonatal jaundice was required. Premature infants whose clamping is delayed have a 50% lower chance of an intraventricular hemorrhage, or bleeding into the fluid cavities in their brain. Keep in mind that skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby should not be postponed with delayed clamping. Be clear about your expectations for clamping your baby's umbilical cord with your doctor before giving birth.
A:
Be aware that clamping and cutting the umbilical cord are not necessary. Expect your doctor to perform "immediate" clamping within the first moments of your baby's life. Keep in mind your doctor may do "delayed" clamping. Understand the benefits of delayed clamping. Talk to your doctor about which type of clamping you would prefer.