Kate's Considered Life

On Shamrock Shakes, Extremism and Other Miscellaneous Ramblings

2012-02-10T01:47:00.000-05:00

An old and dear friend posted a picture of McDonald's Shamrock Shakes on my Facebook wall and said they remind her of me. It's true....the "old" me was a Shamrock Shake fan. Before I became a mom, when I was a working woman, every year at Shamrock Shake time, I would organize and outing to McDonald's so we could hang out and ingest the minty green concoction with delight. I haven't been able to bring myself to buy one for a few years, since I've been realizing the environmental impacts that my lifestyle is having. As my mom says, "When you know better, you do better."

A lot of people in my life think I'm an extremist. It's extreme to a lot of people to never drink a Shamrock Shake again just because you believe it's bad for the planet. It's just one Shamrock Shake, after all.

A wonderful blogger, Ryan Elizabeth Cope, just wrote a post about an article that upset many of us 'extremists' dealing with this very thought. You can check it out here: http://sevenintheocean.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/straws-suck-no-really-they-do/

It's just one Shamrock Shake, right? I'm extreme because I won't let myself have one. It's extreme to refuse a straw. It's extreme to have to bring your own bag...or water bottle...or utensils.

Well, to me, it's extreme to put 3 items in a plastic bag that will be used once and tossed. It's extreme to defend the right to consume single-use plastic every day when there are animals being killed and oceans and beaches being polluted at rates that are unfathomable. It's extreme to not think about what impact our actions are making on the world around us, to live an unconscious life. When you know better, you do better.

One of my sons came crying to me this week telling me that he was sensitive and that meant he had to run away when a friend of his said something that hurt his feelings because he felt like he was going to cry. And he is sensitive and this really upsets him. I told him that I think I know the person who passed on this sensitivity very well and I have it on good authority that sensitive people are some of the very best people on this planet because they feel things so deeply that they can often discover things that other people do not notice and make other people aware of them before they cause more harm.

Chris Jordan is a sensitive soul. His artwork captures breathtaking scenes of beauty, agony, anguish, despair, hope. His work for his documentary, Midway, is what first made me realize the horror of the plastic that I was tossing on a daily basis and start to change my actions. I am so grateful to him, among many others, for his inspiration and courage in following his heart and his convictions and giving that gift to the world.

Another such inspiration is Goffinet McLaren, author of Sullie Saves the Seas, a beautiful book for young people about plastic pollution, who I had the extreme honor to meet on Facebook!. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has a young person in their life and even those who don't - I loved reading it as an adult! If you want to try to win a copy of the book, Beth Terry is giving one away here: http://myplasticfreelife.com/2012/02/sullie-saves-the-seas-a-story-for-children-and-adults/

There is always fear around extremes. We worry that our freedom will be taken away. What will life be like without a Shamrock Shake? I understand the fear, but we need to push past it to make new discoveries that lead to a better life. I'm testing out some homemade shamrock shake recipes that come without the plastic cup, plastic dome lid and plastic straw.

I think we need to live a life that is in line with what we believe and who were truly are inside. When we see the pictures of birds on Midway dying with bellies full of plastic and make the connection with what we are throwing away on a daily basis, we need to have a response. Maybe an extreme response. When we know better, we do better.

The Importance of Education for Sustainability

2012-01-27T15:07:00.000-05:00

I was fortunate enough to have been selected to participate in NJ Learns Keystone Year 2011, an effort by The Cloud Institute for Sustainability Education. Generously paid for by The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, this experience has greatly enhanced my ability and desire to affect change in our world. I was motivated and inspired by all of the wonderful people who are making good things happen each day in the name of sustainability. This group is not unlike the world in which we live: full of diversity, ideas, challenges and ready to unite around common goals. It is so powerful to feel what can be accomplished when we work together, using the best of our individual talents to add to the whole.

What is Education for Sustainability? In the words of The Cloud Institute, "Education for Sustainability (EfS) is defined as a transformative learning process that equips students, teachers, and school systems with the new knowledge and ways of thinking we need to achieve economic prosperity and responsible citizenship while restoring the health of the living systems upon which our lives depend." You can learn more about The Cloud Institute and the work they do here: http://www.cloudinstitute.org/ .

One of my favorite parts of this experience is the access to another network of people who share my passion for sustainability. Just as this blog has connected me to wonderful people like David who writes at http://beyondplastic.wordpress.com/ . His words always seem to inspire me to get my words out of my head and onto this page. His most recent post is about connections and I know you will enjoy reading it!

Another connection: Beth Terry of My Plastic-Free Life ( http://myplasticfreelife.com/ ) recently added me to her blog list. Thank you, Beth, for this honor - I will try to live up to your example and inspiration (although when you hear about the plastic I am considering buying, it will not make you smile)!

A fellow NJ Learner recently mentioned the book Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein. Have you read it? I have not, but plan to. You can read it here if you'd like: http://sacred-economics.com/read-online/ . I listened to the first 15 minutes of a recording by the author here: http://soundcloud.com/ianmackenz/charles-eisenstein-money-gift and am intrigued. It connects to something I've been thinking about at school lately....

We are getting ready for our Mother-Son dance. The theme is a luau. As always happens when we get ready for these events, we are looking for gifts. Door prizes, game prizes, etc. And, of course, our budget is very small. We ask for local companies to donate gift certificates or baskets of goodies. This is definitely an area that I struggle with as I have been asked to track down gifts for the boys. We have karate class and gym gift certificates and now they are looking for physical objects....toys. And they need to be 'cheap'. I was pointed in the direction of plastic boomerangs which cost $3.33 each and little plastic cars. Most of the things that have been purchased in the past are no doubt sitting in a landfill at this point, since they were cheap, plastic and easily-breakable. I could easily buy those boomerangs, but I won't. At a slightly higher price per item, I found these: http://www.amazon.com/Green-Toys-EcoSaucer-Flying-Disc/dp/B001Q3KUB4/ref=sr_1_45?ie=UTF8&qid=1327694120&sr=8-45 . Yes, they are still plastic. It makes my conscience feel a little better to know that they are made in the U.S.A. from 100% recycled plastic grocery bags, but I know I could do better. And the best would be to do without.

I'm hoping to gain more insight into this problem and the solutions from the book above. But I am constantly faced with the realization of how important Educating for Sustainability is in our lives. As Einstein said, and The Cloud Institute has reinforced, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." We need to think differently and act differently. What new ways of thinking are you implementing in your life?

I Am...

2012-01-13T01:12:00.000-05:00

I find that I don't post as often as I think about posting...so many words and thought swirling around in my mind, that I'm never sure I'll do them justice, bring them to life the way I want them to come across...so many connections, mixed emotions, contradictions....will you understand what I'm trying to say? This year, I am telling myself to relax a bit and just put the words out there. I've set a goal to do this at least twice a month, hopefully more often. It might not be pretty or poetic, but I'm happy to be here among friends, so thanks for reading!

I sat down on the morning of January 1st and watched the documentary "I Am" by Tom Shadyac. http://www.iamthedoc.com/
It sums up a lot of what I've been feeling and thinking and what seems to be a rising consciousness in our world - we are all connected. Each one of our actions has an impact on the world....what are our actions doing? Are they protecting, preserving, sharing, caring? It was a good way to start the year, thinking about who "I Am"......

That's how I started this blog, trying to think about the actions I was taking and see if I could inspire and be inspired by others. Who am I? I guess that's the universal question. Some of us know much earlier than others. Another connection to 'I Am'...Mattie Stepanek. A young man who wanted to be known as "a poet, a peacemaker, and a philosopher who played." Wise beyond his years, inspirational beyond his life here on earth. He wrote a poem entitled "I Am/Shades of Life" and Billy Gilman recorded a song using his lyrics. Mattie's mission was peace. He thought a lot about what each individual's impact was in the world and knew that it meant a lot. You can read more about him at http://www.mattieonline.com . I had the great honor of meeting his mom, Jeni, in September when we traveled to Maryland to visit a park built in Mattie's honor. I took my family there because I have 3 sons who I hope will be inspired and encouraged by Mattie....One of them is named after him. Jeni Stepanek continues to spread her son's vision of peace. When you read the 'Pathways to Peace' publication that she has created, you will see the incredible wisdom of her son: http://www.mattieonline.com/brochures/Pathways_to_Peace_brochure_NEW.pdf

Who am I? I think it takes some slowing down to ponder that question. It seems to swirl around in my head a bit louder now that I am 3 months away from turning 40. Age is just a number, but milestones have a way of making us slow down to think about things. I have a son who will be a teenager in 1 1/2 years. How can that be when it doesn't seem that long ago that I first became really aware of the fact that my actions impact another, when I was 'eating for 2' and wondering why we don't all eat as though we are eating for 2. Not that long since, as a new mom, I moved into a new townhouse with my husband and infant son who would not sleep unless he was upright (which I later found out was due to a milk intolerance, passed on through breast milk since I was drinking lots of milk). Because of this, he slept in his carseat, right on the ground, on the newly installed wall-to-wall carpet that 'would be perfect for a baby to crawl around on.' The same carpet that I believe gave him asthma. Nope, it's not scientific, just a mother's intuition....another one of my gut feelings. After almost 40 years, I'm finally starting to trust my gut. To continue to question who I am. To try to make sense out of this gift we call life....

It's such a beautiful thing.

I have so many things I want to write about....some you might like and some you might not. I welcome the agreement, the disagreement and everything in between.

Thank you for sharing my journey and stopping by to share yours, too!

“In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, are mosaic of gifts,
to nurture, to offer, to accept.”
— Mattie J.T. Stepanek

I Am.....Someone who considers you a brother or a sister.
I Am.....Looking for ways to be a better person so that my positive changes have a positive impact on you.
I Am.....Not perfect.
I Am.....Grateful.
I Am.....Ready.

I Am....

Are you?

Being Gifted with Plastic

2011-12-30T16:56:00.000-05:00

The holidays are drawing to a close...how much new plastic did you take in this week? How much went out? Are you somebody who thinks about these things? In my little corner of the world, I sometimes feel like an alien. I worry about plastic. I think about it a lot. I try not to bring it into my life. But then there are the times when I receive a gift. What if that gift is plastic? What is the common courtesy around such things?

Here's an example: Our elementary school decided to sell Smencils. They are pencils that smell...like fruit or gum or whatever else. I had a little talk with my sons and we all decided we didn't need smelly pencils, especially since we had enough pencils and the Smencils each come in a plastic tube to keep the smell intact. The tube claims that it is biodegradeable (I am currently testing this out to see how long that actually takes and whether it works at all). The Smencils come to the school in #3 (PVC) plastic tubs. (Yeah, that's PVC, the 'poison plastic' - doesn't recycle many places and is toxic from start to finish. The tubs are now sitting in my garage because our PTO pres. gave them to me to use in the classrooms as Terracycle collection tubs - but I don't want any more PVC in our school, so I am determined to find a place that will recycle them. This is stressful to me, though, as I really wish we did not buy pencils packaged in plastic inside of plastic!) So, back to my story....I tell the PTO pres. that it really is OK that my kids do not get Smencils...since our school has a policy that everyone gets a Smencil, even if they can't afford to order one for themselves. But people are allowed to buy Smencils for other people, so that's exactly how we ended up with a Smencil. My next-door neighbor bought a Smencil for my son. A nice gesture. He accepted the Smencil happily with a 'Thank you' and brought it home from school. Did I tell the PTO about the issues I had with Smencils before they started selling them? - yes. Smencils are marketed as eco-friendly, so when I told them, they had the same reaction they have to most of my anti-plastic statements....not again! Why do I think about these things? Don't I know how cool Smencils are? They are made of recycled newspapers. Do I want to deny our kids the joy of experiencing them?

I went to the mother/son dance last year with my then-1st-grader. They had a dance contest and he won a prize. The DJ handed him something and he came over to show me what it was: a set of plastic teeth with a battery inside. When you bite the plastic, it lights up inside your mouth. Packaged in plastic. Great! Just what we needed! My son knew that this was not a good gift, but what could we do with this item now? We could give it away and it would still end up dying in a landfill or the ocean or elsewhere, stuff leaking out of the battery, if it didn't already leak into some poor child's mouth!

Every class party, my kids bring home treat bags. I usually cringe before opening them, because I know what they are full of: plastic dollar store trinkets and candy, all wrapped in plastic. Full of good intentions, but nothing that we needed or wanted.

So what do you do with gifts like these? I think the only thing you can really do is educate ahead of time and hope that people will listen to your requests. When they don't, I'm not sure there is much you can do unless you want to alienate these people from your life. People have told me I should just give the things away to 'those who don't have toys and who would appreciate them'. It's not that I don't appreciate the thought, it is that I don't appreciate the harm that comes from these things. And I don't really want to pass that along to another person. It's the same way I feel about donations to the food bank: If it's not something I would want to eat, why would I want to give it to another person?

So to anyone reading this who is thinking about giving me a gift, please hear me when I say: Your smile, your presence, the delightful sound of your laughter, the funny stories you tell, your delicious homemade cookies, the way you put up with me and still stick around...all of these are my most treasured possessions, the things that I want from you. If it is plastic, please do not buy it for me or my family. And if you invite me for dinner on plastic plates, please do not be offended if I take them home to reuse and if the next time I eat at your house I bring my own plates. Thank you very much!!!

p.s. - Thank you, Mom, for hearing me about the plastic! It is a shame that those earwarmers had to come packaged in a hard plastic case, but other than that, you did not add to my plastic tally this Christmas - yeah!!! We didn't buy much for Christmas this year. It really warmed my heart when my middle son told me that his favorite gift was a book of bedtime stories since he would get a chance to read them to us every night.

Have a peaceful, less-plastic-filled New Year!!!

End of the Year Thoughts

2011-12-18T15:45:00.000-05:00

Hello, Dear Friends! It has been much too long - my apologies for being out of touch!!

What have I been doing? Clearing out. After almost 6 years in our new house and having 3 sons, we accumulated a lot of stuff. When I look around, I wonder how it is possible that we have so much stuff, most of which we don't need and the things that bother me the most are the things that I'm sure nobody needs: useless plastic. Toys that were given out at class parties that broke within days and now sit in a box, waiting for a creative reuse opportunity. The only problem is that the box is now overflowing and nobody seems overly eager to make a plastic creation that will ultimately end up in the landfill or one of our oceans.

Straws and plastic lids....when I finally came to my senses and decided to stop doing fast food, we had a few slips along the way. But I couldn't bare to throw the straws and lids away, so they also went in a box. The straws make great construction toys and we've made lots of straw buildings and more, but now what?

I always had a hard time throwing things away, but now I really struggle because I know where it will go. There is no away. So I am taking my time. Clearing out. Clearing my mind. Being very careful about what I bring in, because it will eventually have to go out again.

The other day, a friend called me to ask if I knew where we could recycle DVD players. Yep, I do. I said I'd take it since I have been given others and I will be making a trip there soon. She said her daughters were getting a new one for Christmas. I looked at the personal DVD player staring at me in perfect condition. For the heck of it, I plugged it in. It is in perfect working condition! It will now be a Christmas present for my sons. This friend is one of my biggest Terracyclers and I'm so thrilled that she wanted to recycle the DVD player, but I'm sad that she didn't think of giving it a new life first. I know we live in a 'throw-away' society, but we need to turn this around!

Yesterday, I celebrated my grandfather's 95th birthday with him. He is the kind of guy who will tape his glass frames until they can't be taped anymore. His trash can is a milk carton that he keeps near his sink. It rarely gets full in a week. When things break, he fixes them. If he doesn't need it, he doesn't buy it.

Which brings us to the topic of 'need'. This week, I saw a picture that summed up some things that I've been thinking about a lot this season:

(I found this online from Pastor Kevin Stowe, but am not sure of the original creator).

My husband was telling me we don't have anything exciting to put under the tree this year for our sons. To me, that IS exciting, because what we have to give them is exactly what they need: our time, our care, our love, our example.

Why have we become a society of people who 'need' so much?

When we think about what we truly need, we often find that we can have it in abundance if we just care enough to see it.

I think it's safe to say that almost all of us could give up some physical gift this holiday season. We could give up the money spent on gas, tolls, time spent in line, impatience and rudeness toward others from overcrowding at stores, etc. Instead, we could join together in love and peace and help heal the world. I guess to a lot of people, that sounds like a fantasy. We are the creators of our reality. Together we can make a difference.

I wish you peace, love and joy this holiday season and into the new year!

Sweet Tea Recipe

2011-09-30T14:16:00.000-04:00

One of the simple pleasures I remember from my childhood is iced tea. My mom would make sun tea on our back patio and it was such a delight! I can remember watching it brew and then the delicious taste that I equated with goodness coming straight from the sun!

I feel like this is something I need to bring back into my life since we have so many commercial iced teas around now. Last summer, when McDonald's was advertising $1 Mickey D's Sweet Tea, my kids fell in love with it. With it's styrofoam cup, I was not loving it. I thought about all of the bottles, mostly plastic now, that are being thrown away with each sip of store-bought bottled tea and how much could be saved, financially and environmentally, by making our own.

Here's a link I found to a sweet tea recipe that is close to McDonald's, if that's what you like:
http://askville.amazon.com/looove-McDonalds-Sweet-Tea-make/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=3014389

The recipe I use is so simple, but it makes me happy every time I make it:

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add 2 family-size tea bags or 5-6 regular tea bags. Turn off heat and set timer for 3 minutes. Add 2 more cups of water and squeeze (& compost) tea bags. Add 1 TB local honey, 1 squeeze fresh lemon, 1/2 c. sugar (more or less to taste). Stir. Add 2 more cups of water & stir. Makes 2 quarts.

Sometimes we don't use honey, add oranges and lemons instead of sweeteners, add fresh mint, etc. I taught my 2 oldest sons how to make this and they love to experiment and vary the recipe.

Next summer I will try to make sun tea again. But for now, we have our sweet tea with no styrofoam or plastic waste - hooray! Do you have a favorite drink recipe to share that eliminates plastic packaging?

No Impact Transportation Day and Other Random Thoughts

2011-09-21T01:11:00.000-04:00

Today (officially yesterday now) was Transportation Day for Yes! Magazine's No Impact Week and I knew this would be my toughest day before the rain even began to fall. The thought of getting my 4 year old to our preschool (at our district elementary school) without a car is extremely daunting to me and brings to mind images of near-death situations. I really wish it were not the case, but I don't even feel safe riding my bike or walking alone on most of the streets that I travel, let alone doing it with a child. Just yesterday I watched in horror as a couple walking their dog was almost mowed down by a speeding car turning a windy corner - good thing for fast reflexes and good brakes! And then there are my Terracycle duties...how would I get all of those boxes to school without my car? And get home and back to the PTO meeting and do everything else that needed to be done in between on time?

Needless to say, I failed miserably at not using my car today. I did think about carpooling to the PTO meeting and called 2 friends to see if they'd like to join me, but got no takers. Something to work on, though, as there are many opportunities to carpool that I don't often take advantage of. One of the main reasons: time, or perceived lack thereof. So what is more important to me? That's really at the heart of why I'm writing this blog. What matters? What is worth giving my time to? What is worth thinking about and considering? Sitting behind a truck giving off terrible emissions on my way home from the PTO meeting struck me tonight in a way that it never has before. Every day, I am part of the problem. I drive. I try to drive responsibly, but what does that really mean? I follow the speed limit. On a recent trip to visit my brother on the PA turnpike, I drove the speed limit the entire trip and only passed 1 car - this is amazing to me, considering the volume of cars on that road. The one white-haired gentleman that I passed was driving about 30 mph. Everyone else seemed to be going at least 70 mph or more. We are a nation in high gear. Where are we all racing to? What are we hoping to gain by rushing through our lives? So many times if we would allow ourselves to slow down, we would have time to think about the consequences of our actions and that would be a really good thing!

So here's to bike lanes and walking lanes and trails that make it safe for us all to share the road! And to taking the time to build them, explore them and use them. Here's to slowing down to consider those around us who are sharing the path on this journey we call life. We all want clean air to breathe and clean water to drink, don't we? The things we value are not so different when we take the time to think about it. So let's think and let's act. Differently....together....better.

No Impact Week With YES! Magazine: September 2011

2011-09-19T09:01:00.000-04:00

This week I'm taking part in YES! Magazine's 'No Impact Week'. There's still time to join!:

http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/no-impact-week-with-yes-september-2011-2/no-impact-week-with-yes-september-2011

Yesterday, we focused on consumption. The topic of consumption has been on my mind for a while now, so it wasn't the hardest of the challenges for me. My kids brought home a 'Back 2 School Smencil Gram' flyer, though, so it presented the opportunity to have a little talk. Did we need any more pencils? The answer was an easy, 'No!', as we save pencils from year to year and have more than enough to last us for a few more years without buying a new one! Would they be upset if all of their friends got a Smencil Gram and they didn't? I didn't get an immediate 'No!' to this question and I could see the wheels spinning. I asked them if there was something we could do together as a family to show our love for each other instead of sending out the Smencil Grams. Bingo! 'Can we play Candyland together, Mom?' An extra family game night sounds like a great idea to me!

(For those of you who don't know what a Smencil is, it is a pencil made of recycled newspaper which has a scent - there are lots of scents and according to their website, they are "the same as those used to make soaps and candles, which are safe for reasonable personal use as tested by the manufacturers." They also state that "by using corn-based biodegradable plastic tubes, even Smencil and Smen packaging is environmentally friendly." While that sounds good, I'm not sure the plastic tubes can biodegrade in the landfill, where I'm sure most of them end up. If you need to buy a pencil, it seems to me it would be more eco-friendly if it weren't in any type of packaging at all. I can be a real killjoy, can't I? ;) ).

Today's topic is Trash. One of the recommendations for today is something that I thought I had done, but their suggestion is much more complete:
Put together a no-trash travel kit for the week with a reusable drinking receptacle for hot and cold liquids, a handkerchief/old t-shirt, Tupperware®, utensils, and reusable produce bags.

So I am adding a few things to my take-along kit! One thing I noticed that I accumulate a lot of is tissues. I do buy recycled tissues, but with 3 little boys (one who currently has a cold!), the tissues add up! The old t-shirt suggestion for handkerchiefs is a good one for me! I'm going to try to cut some up later today - will try to post some pictures.

Now that's what I call FUN! Do you have a no-trash travel kit? How have you used it? Will you add to it this week?

Want to join me in the fun of the No Impact Week? I'd love to hear your experiences!

Climate Reality Project - 24 Hours of Reality

2011-09-14T23:23:00.000-04:00

http://climaterealityproject.org/videolanguage/en/
Are you watching? Thoughts?

For Our World Campaign. Read it.... on Twitpic

2011-09-09T19:23:00.000-04:00

Please click the link below to read Mattie Stepanek's 'For Our World' poem and share it with everyone you know! Thank you!!!

3500 followrs PLEASE RETWEET For Our World Campaign. Read it.... on Twitpic

For Our World - Reflections of a Peacemaker and The Circle of Life

2011-08-12T19:42:00.001-04:00

I know I've commented many times before on the way things come around full circle - the 'circle of life' - and how everything is connected. Please bear with me as I do this again! I was recently reminded of a young man who was "a poet, a peacemaker and a philosopher who played", Mattie Stepanek. He was a true saint. If you don't know about him, you can learn more at http://www.mattieonline.com . On 9/11/01, he wrote the poem, "For Our World". It speaks many innocent truths about how peace can be achieved. I believe it connects so strongly to how we can attain sustainability. We need to just stop....to think...to do better....to do our very best. I'm slowly decluttering my house and my life. I see all of the 'things' that have come into my life over the past 39 years. How did they get here? For most things, I can't even answer that question. They got here somehow in the unconscious. From this day forward, though, I am going to be conscious...of everything that comes into my life. There are so many things that come into our lives each day. We can just let them pass by and not reflect on their meaning, or we can choose to be conscious and make sure that what is coming into our lives reflects the values that we hold dear to our hearts. For us...and For our world....

FOR OUR WORLD

We need to stop.
Just stop.
Stop for a moment…
Before anybody
Says or does anything
That may hurt anyone else.
We need to be silent.
Just silent.
Silent for a moment…
Before we forever lose
The blessing of songs
That grow in our hearts.
We need to notice.
Just notice.
Notice for a moment…
Before the future slips away
Into ashes and dust of humility.
Stop, be silent, and notice…
In so many ways, we are the same.
Our differences are unique treasures.
We have, we are, a mosaic of gifts
To nurture, to offer, to accept.
We need to be.
Just be.
Be for a moment…
Kind and gentle, innocent and trusting,
Like children and lambs,
Never judging or vengeful
Like the judging and vengeful.
And now, let us pray,
Differently, yet together,
Before there is no earth, no life,
No chance for peace.
Mattie J.T. Stepanek ©
September 11, 2001

Hope Through Heartsongs
Hyperion, 2002
Just Peace: A Message of Hope
Andrews McMeel, 2006

Making a Commitment to Make Things Better...One Step at a Time

2011-05-16T02:21:00.000-04:00

Change is never easy. Sometimes we don't change because we don't think there's a reason to change. Or we don't know there's a reason to change.

And sometimes we do know...but it's easier not to change. Or so we think.

A lot of things in our society are 'convenient'. I run a Terracycle program at our Elementary School. Terracycle has had a brigade called the 'Home Storage' brigade for a while now. It is sponsored by Ziploc, who recently decided to end their sponsorship. So the brigade is going away...slowly, a few schools at a time, in the reverse order of when you signed up. Since we were one of the first to sign up, we were one of the first to go. Not having this brigade around is upsetting a lot of people. REALLY upsetting people. Enough that they are willing to write letters to Glad and Hefty and ask them to take on sponsorship of the brigade.

So this has me thinking and wondering. Are Ziploc bags really that much more 'convenient' than anything else? When I started becoming aware of how much plastic our family disposed of, I made a commitment to stop buying ziploc-type bags. When the last one came out of the box, that was it. I bought 2 sandwich containers for my sons to take to school and we saved some empty butter containers to use as snack containers. We've lived Ziploc-free for over a year now and it doesn't feel any less 'convenient' to me. If I were going to do it over again today, knowing what I know now, I would probably buy stainless-steel sandwich containers instead of the plastic ones I bought back then, but when I see all of the Ziploc bags being thrown away every day at school, it makes me glad that I took that one small step.

And now this act by Ziploc gives me another chance to spread the word. You can survive without your Ziploc bags. Some people tell me they still wash and reuse their Ziploc bags and I think that's great, but I still ask them when that last bag comes out of the box to consider a better alternative. In turn, they tell me that I shouldn't buy butter in plastic containers and indeed, they are right! So we encourage each other and help each other along the way.

I also think that if you are passionate enough to write letters to companies asking them to sponsor your desire to keep using and discarding (and then Terracycling) your plastic bags, you should be passionate enough to ask them to think of better alternatives, too. I grew up as a fast-food kid and have a guilty-pleasure of taking my sons to Chick-Fil-A on occasion (please don't shoot me for this!), but every time I go there, the styrofoam cups drive me insane! So I write to them. I've probably written 20 letters so far, but the response I always get is that they feel that styrofoam is 'overall' the best environmental choice they could make. I disagree, so I no longer buy drinks if I take my boys there. And I find that we go there less and less often now. For a while, I would buy the drinks, feel so guilty, and save the rinsed out cups. My mom would take them and use them as packaging when she shipped things for her small business. Somehow this allowed me to feel less guilty. But the last time I handed her a stack of cups, I knew the insanity had to stop! Like a smoker who knows it's their last puff, I quit, cold-turkey! I made a commitment and declared it out loud to my family: "We will no longer buy drinks in styrofoam cups!" It is our latest commitment and for 2 months now, it has stuck. It makes me proud when my sons say, "We don't like styrofoam because it never goes away. And animals eat it and get sick. And some die." They get it. They made the commitment with me.

We're not perfect. We go to Rita's water ice for a treat. Yep...it comes in disposable paper cups. No, it's not the healthiest treat in the world. But every time we go (which is not very often because it is an expensive treat for a family of 5!) now, we take our own spoons. And we are not shy about it. People see our spoons and say, 'What a great idea! That's something I can do.' And that's the whole point.

The other day someone wrote on my Facebook wall that she was happy to report that her son no longer uses straws because he was inspired by the story I told him about Milo. (http://www.bestrawfree.org) And he is passing the word on to others!

Do something good. Make a commitment. Inspire others.

We're not perfect, but together, we'll get there. One commitment at a time.

Random Environmental Thoughts

2011-03-03T23:30:00.000-05:00

Sustainability....one of the latest buzzwords. I just got back from the 'Tri-County Sustainable Communities Forum' that was hosted by Sustainable Cherry Hill and Sustainable Jersey. I had to push myself outside of my comfort zone on several levels to attend this event: First, I had to drive on some really big highways (Ok, I'll admit, anything more than 3 lanes in each direction gets my heart beating a little faster - and these were 4 lanes! With 'roundabouts'! And I'm more of a backroads kinda' gal, but I did it!! One hurdle down!). Then I had to walk into a huge room full of people who I did not know and mingle. Talk. Meet people. OK, this wasn't as hard as I thought thanks to the many kind and accepting people that the event drew. So I came away with a few more friends who are walking the walk with me, adding up our footsteps to make a bigger impression in the world. I reached out. It wasn't easy, but I did it......and it wasn't as hard as I thought - I actually enjoyed it! One of my favorite things about sustainability is community - we're all in this together.

Which led me here and then I caught up with one of my favorite blogs, from another fellow friend who is walking the walk and talking the talk, and I'm so honored to read that he includes me among his inspiration - Thanks, Dave!!!:
http://responsibleplastic.wordpress.com/2011/03/03/why-you-should-read-this-blog/#comment-113

And it truly brings me full-circle, because I see that these connections are part of the bigger picture. It reminds me of the Cheers song: "Sometimes you wanna' go...where everybody knows your name. And they're always glad you came." That's how I feel among all of you and that's how I know that I'm in the right place, doing the right thing.

Because I'm not always among friends. This week, I went to a screening of a documentary entitled 'Crude' at our local library. It tells the story of the indigenous people of Ecuador's battle against Texaco/Chevron for environmental and health devastation that has taken place in Ecuador. It was eye-opening for me since I didn't know much about that struggle, but it was a familiar struggle that I've seen in several documentaries that I've watched recently. David vs. Goliath in the war on the environment. So at the end of the movie, I grab a chocolate chip cookie and turn around with a man, much taller than myself, standing less than 6 inches in front of my face. He proceeds to tell me how much I scare him. Me and all of the environmentalists like me. (I know some of you have never seen me, but at 5'4" and with the voice of a 1st grader, I'm hardly a threat!). This man was about 20 years older than me and was singing the praises of drilling in Marcellus Shale (a local fracking site) and telling me that reusable bags spread e-coli. I opened my mouth to speak, but he immediately filled the air with more reasons why environmentalists are 'dangerous'. The library received angry e-mails saying that they had a 'pro-green conspiracy' for even showing the film. "What exactly is a 'pro-green conspiracy' anyway?", I wanted to ask. "You non-environmentalists scare me!" I wanted to say....but never got the chance. There would have been an opportunity for real discussion here if the man stuck around to hear what I had to say. But I guess I was too scary, so he told his side and left.

Leaving.....why do we leave? Why do we turn a blind eye? Thankfully, I have met many, many people who do not want to turn away. They want to know more. They want to find out what they can do. They come to me, because I know some things and they want me to know everything. Sadly, I don't. I started a Terracycle program at our school. It's doing very well. People want to Terracycle everything. I asked for e-waste and put out a detailed letter stating that we could only take cell phones, mp3 players, cameras and laptops. The first day, I got a Cuisinart coffee bean grinder.....that still works! It's been very interesting collecting trash for Terracycle. People trust me. They trust that I will do the right thing with their discarded items. They know that even if it can't be Terracycled or recycled, I will try to find a responsible thing to do with it. Sometimes I can, as is the case with the coffee bean grinder, and sometimes I can't, as is the case with MOST plastic items that people give me with the hope that I can make it disappear. How I wish I could wave that magic wand, click my heels and make it all go away. How my husband wishes this, too (so he could get all of these hopeful items out of our garage)! I can't. But I think we ALL can...working together, piece by piece, until we are truly living in a society that is sustainable. The path isn't always easy (and many times it feels like 'the long and winding road'). It usually isn't a profitable path. I know many, like myself, who volunteer a lot of time to this cause, never seeking compensation.

To all of these friends, I offer one of my favorite poems of all time, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost:

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;	5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,	10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.	15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.	20

I Do Not Heart Monsanto or Corporate Greed!

2011-01-31T00:25:00.001-05:00

Almost 2 hours of my day today was spent watching 'The World According to Monsanto' -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH4OwBYDQe8
and feeling pretty sick about it. I try to be a positive person, but it's hard to watch the stuff that's going on in India and Mexico and now right here in the good 'ole US of A and not feel really angry about corporate greed and the impact it has on all of us, but especially the poor of the world. Some of the damage I contribute to as a US citizen really hurts my heart. So now I have to decide what to do with this information. Where do we go from here? If you just sit back and look at these big picture stories, like the polar bear mom whose baby died because she had to swim so far looking for ice and just couldn't make it any longer; all the plastic particles that are now everywhere in every part of everything we do, eat, breathe, etc.; and now Roundup Ready alfalfa takes over the world.....it all feels a little overwhelming, doesn't it? I think my conclusion today is that it is overwhelming. These are times that I just have to turn to my faith to carry me through. There are no easy answers. The best I can do is my personal best, one step at a time, day by day, spreading (non-GM) seeds and hoping they take root and grow, learning from others and trying to find the love in this world. That's the optimist in me. Here comes the pessimist....
This video was an eye-opener for me because I realized how many things I am just naive about and don't even begin to know about. There are lots of Americans just like me. We live in a little bubble not even realizing all of the things that are going on around us until they hit us right in the nose. That's the life I wish we could all have, though....the simple life. When did everything get so complicated? It wasn't good enough to drink the milk of a cow, we had to inject her with all kinds of hormones until she got mastitis and then administer antibiotics to heal the mastitis, so now we have pus, antibiotics and igF1 (a hormone, I think?) in our milk....and the best part is that if we didn't purposely try to find out about it, we might never have even known!?! And that milk is probably not killing us, but think about it and think about all of the bad things that it IS doing. Is it worth it? The milk is just one tiny example, a drop in the bucket. I think about my grandparents and how hard they worked to put food on the table and how they grew gardens to nourish their families. Is there anybody in the world that dreams of feeding their kids pus? antibiotics? hormones? toxins? I have to say that I'm really disappointed in our government for constantly giving in to corporate greed and putting profits ahead of people. When will we learn? Why does it seem like the simplest things are often the hardest to understand?

My Plastic-Free Life's Show Us Your (Plastic) Trash Challenge

2011-01-04T13:47:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!!!

I've been saving my plastic trash for a while now, but never really tallying it up or documenting it, so in an attempt to make myself analyze it a little more this year, I'm going to take Beth Terry's (My Plastic-Free Life) challenge. If you want to join me, the link is here:
http://myplasticfreelife.com/showyourplastic/challenge-show-us-your-plastic-trash/

Let me know if you're taking the challenge and what impact it makes on your life.

For some reason, my calling in life revolves around trash! It's been a focal point in my life for a long time and I'm finally coming back around to it. I used to save candy wrappers in my bedroom as a child because I thought they were too pretty to be thrown away. I saved a lot of things like that, always wondering why we used things one time and then 'got rid' of them....where did they all end up? So here I am in my 30's (almost 40's!) and thinking about trash consumes a lot of the time I spend on this earth. When I found out how much food is thrown away each year in the U.S., it really astounded me, so I started to take a look at our food waste and what we could do about it. We started composting and I can happily say we've cut our food waste down to almost nothing. I just ordered some worms to try vermicomposting, so I'll do a whole entry on composting one of these days.

Anyway, the point I was trying to make is that thinking about (and actually analyzing) what we're doing is usually a good way to make a change (or decide that you like the way everything is going and stay the same). Yes, life is short and it does take time to do things like this, but I think the time spent is worth it if it produces helpful results. So, who's with me? :)

Cleaning up the plastic soup

2010-12-07T22:57:00.000-05:00

5 Gyres does such important work and recently they gave Facebook fans a chance to ask them some questions...and one of mine got picked!!! :) 5 Gyres co-founder Marcus Eriksen answers it here:
http://5gyres.org/posts/2010/12/07/5_gyres_qa_thinking_about_solutions

If you have a few minutes, check it out - he shares some really interesting and valuable information!

Applause for 5 Gyres...Food for Thought

2010-11-16T14:50:00.000-05:00

The following was written by Stiv Wilson at the '5 Gyres' blog and really spoke to my heart: "What, I ask, is our legacy? Or better, when will we band together not as just a people but a species and demand that our legacy is one worth having? Already, your children will never, ever walk on a beach anywhere in the world without plastic -- are we really so foolish to give up such incredible beauty for the sake of a to-go cup? I think not. And so we sail on."

The value of the things we are losing are so much greater than the value of what we are destroying them with.

Say CHEESE!!!

2010-11-11T11:01:00.000-05:00

Last year, I started a TerraCycle program at our Elementary School. In case you haven't heard of TerraCycle, they take your trash and upcycle it into cool new stuff....find out more here: http://www.terracycle.net .

Well now I have a reason to love them EVEN MORE....because they have a new CHEESE BRIGADE!!!!!!!!

We all know about America's obsession with cheese...and along with that cheese comes a lot of plastic. So until a more environmentally-friendly packaging comes along, it's great that the packaging no longer has to sit in a landfill or pollute our Earth!

So if you are saving your trash for me, start adding your cheese wrappers, please!!!!!!

And if you eat a lot of cheese, consider finding a TerraCycle Brigade or starting one of your own!

SAY CHEESE!!!!!! :)

Christmas Light Recycling at Home Depot

2010-11-11T10:57:00.000-05:00

Hi, all!
In case you have some of those old incandescent light strings hanging around, you can drop them off at Home Depot for recycling now through Nov. 14th. In return, you will get a $3 coupon for new LED lights for each string you turn in, up to 5 strings. So you could get $15 toward new energy-efficient lights and your old ones will be recycled! Hurry in!

The Story of Electronics - Pass It On

2010-11-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

You've probably heard of Annie Leonard and 'The Story of Stuff'...so here comes the latest story: The Story of Electronics. Good info. and I'm trying to spread the word since they want 1/4 million people to watch it by Black Friday. If you can help out, click below to watch and let me know what you think! Have a Great Day!!! :) Kate

"This morning, we released our newest Story of Stuff Project movie - The Story of Electronics - a look at the 'design for the dump' mentality so prevalent in the electronics industry.

This movie couldn't come at a better time: this November, Americans are expected to spend over $8.5 billion on consumer electronics, motivated by enticements to buy gizmos we don't really need or to replace gadgets that are still working with slightly newer versions.

The thing is, making all these devices takes an enormous environmental and public health toll: mining the metals trashes communities from Congo to Indonesia; assembling them uses huge amounts of water and energy and exposes workers to a host of toxic chemicals; and getting rid of them when we're on to the next, newer, better model creates mountains of e-waste.

The good news is that while the production, consumption and disposal of short-lived, toxics laden electronics are a really big problem, the solution is pretty simple: Make 'em Safe, Make 'em Last, and Take 'em Back.

We're releasing The Story of Electronics today to send a clear message to the electronics industry: it's time to send that design for the dump mentality to the dump where it belongs and start making less toxic, longer lasting and more easily recyclable products.

Our goal is to get a quarter of a million people to watch The Story of Electronics by Black Friday, just over two weeks from now.

You can help us reach this goal by:

Watching The Story of Electronics;
Sharing the movie with your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, fellow students and anyone else you think might be interested;
Reading Annie's Huffington Post piece about the movie, and then commenting on it, liking it or sharing it; and
Working with our partners at the Electronics TakeBack Coalition to tell two of the largest electronics manufacturers-Acer and Lenovo-to "Make 'em Safe, Make 'em Last, and Take 'em Back!"

Every time we release one of our movies, we're floored by the way our community jumps in to spread the message. We know this time will be no different.

So, thank you, and we hope you enjoy The Story of Electronics!

Sincerely,

Annie, Michael, Allison, Christina and Renee

The Story of Stuff Project Team"

Hello, Again!

2010-11-07T15:35:00.000-05:00

It feels like a REALLY long time since I've written an entry!
It was a fun summer (and a bit more!)!
I'm going to be back in blogging mode now, so stay tuned.
Hope all is well! :)

Healthy snacks that are good for the Earth, too!

2010-06-23T13:32:00.000-04:00

I just watched a link featuring "Healthy summer snacks for kids"...you can view it here:

http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=resources%2Flifestyle_community%2Ffood%2Frestaurants&id=7467176

It reminds me of the irony that I'm faced with so many times when trying to find eco-friendly solutions. It's so great that they featured ecolunchboxes.com and their reusable lunchboxes. The irony is that the hosts of the show are gushing over the "cute packaging" of the space-age, NASA-designed applesauce pack and ProBug pack which go in the exact opposite direction of what ecolunchboxes is really all about.

I wonder why they didn't mention that you could fill one of the reusable containers with applesauce or yogurt and be just as healthy and also good to the planet. Or better yet, you could pack an apple with no packaging at all! I'm a mom of 3 boys with very big appetites. I completely understand the need for convenience. I know we need to have quick snacks for our kids that are healthy and nutritious. But we need to stop buying into all the 'cuteness' and 'convenience' that is being sold and realize that the best snacks we can send our kids are really the simplest ones: grapes, apples, oranges, bananas, carrots, etc.

I mentioned the words "waste-free lunch" at a recent PTO meeting and was met with gasps and replies that it would never happen at our school. Why not? Is it really that hard? Or have we just been brainwashed to believe it is?

As the TerraCycle coordinator for my school, I see first-hand how much is thrown away each day from the students' lunches. When I collect juice pouches to be upcycled by TerraCycle, half of them are at least 30% full (and a juice pouch isn't very big to begin with!) and some are completely sealed with the straw still in the wrapper when they are thrown in the TerraCycle bin. I think not only about how many resources could be saved, but also how much money could be saved by hard-working parents if they would only realize how much better it would be to send a reusable bottle for their child's drink. Whatever is left can be saved for later or they can adjust the amount they send based on what is being brought home each day.

The same is true for chip bags. I collect several each week that haven't even been opened and many more that are half full when they are "thrown away".

Is that convenient? Is the convenience worth the waste that comes with it?

Lugging cases of juice pouches and bottled water home from the big-box store doesn't seem any easier to me than pre-filling a few reusable bottles each week.

What if the school glamourized fruits and vegetables the way they do chips, cookies and ice cream? What if instead of moldy bananas and half-bruised apples the kids could choose from fresh fruits and veggies? That's the world I hope for. Our kids need us to wake up from the marketing blitz and help them make better choices....for their health and the health of the planet!

The North Atlantic Garbage Patch, Among Others

2010-06-22T18:29:00.000-04:00

Did you know that there are huge garbage dumps swirling around in our oceans?

I was surprised to learn that there are still lots of people who don't know about this issue when my son was asked to repeat his recycling presentation to classes throughout his school. Many of the teachers came and were shocked to hear about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and learn about the 5 Gyres and all of the trash, mostly plastic, that's floating around in them. The really heartening part was that once they did learn about it, everyone asked so many questions and wanted to figure out ways that they could help be a part of the solution.

That's exactly what we need! Lots of people spreading the word and educating others about these issues that affect us all and then everyone taking the learning to heart and figuring out what we can do to solve the problems.

If you want more information about the Garbage Patches and the Gyres, you can visit http://www.5gyres.org .
Their 'What is the Solution' tab has great information for spreading the word and leading by example.

When we took my husband to dinner on Father's Day, it took me an extra minute to grab a little tote bag and 3 reusable containers with lids to bring along with us. At the restaurant, I heard so many positive comments around me as I loaded our leftovers into my containers from home and packed them into my tote.

People want and need to be inspired. I'm thankful to all of you who inspire me and lead the way, lighting a path for the rest of us to follow! Keep up the great work!!! :)

Recycling Really Matters (and Ways to Drink in Public)

2010-06-15T14:25:00.000-04:00

My 10 year old son just completed an independent study project on recycling. As part of his work, he started a website that I wanted to share with you: http://home.comcast.net/~mesaia

He will keep updating it and adding links, so please check back.

Our whole family learned a lot from the information he shared. One thing that really strikes me is how much better we can do at recycling things that are "closed-loop" like aluminum cans....wouldn't it be great if we recycled them all?!? And how much paper ends up in our landfills....Much of which we could probably do without or reuse or definitely recycle. And then there's plastic....The more information I read about plastic, the more convinced I am that we should find better alternatives where we can. There are so many places we CAN find better alternatives. Everyone had to bring a snack for their presentations at school. I sent orange slices (and composted the peels) which were devoured almost instantly. We didn't really need a drink since the oranges were juicy. Which leads to my next thought....

For every activity we have at school, there is always a list of things to bring and 'water bottles' is always on the list. Has anyone found an alternative to this? I know the BYO bottle solution will have a tough time gaining popularity at our school based on feedback I've gotten from members of our PTO. What ever happened to water fountains? We have one but it seems nobody EVER uses it....Have they all become so unpopular because of the press they got about having more germs than a toilet? I know I avoid them because of having that thought in my head. But it seems like we need to bring them back! What other ways can kids share a drink with the class without adding more trash to the environment? Bring on the ideas!

Celebrate World Environment Day on Saturday, June 5th!

2010-06-03T13:52:00.000-04:00

Every June 5th since the year I was born has been World Environment Day. This is the first year I've ever heard of it, even though it was hosted by the U.S. in 2005, so I thought I'd share with you! This year it is hosted by Rwanda and they are focusing on biodiversity. Here's some info. from their booklet:

"Did you know that you are one in a million? Or more precisely,
one of millions on this wondrous planet - anywhere in fact
between an estimated 5 to 100 million species. If you think
about it that means there is a lot we still don’t know about
our planet, or whom we share it with. We do know though
that humans are among only a handful of species whose
populations are growing, while many animals and plants are
becoming rarer and fewer.
A total of 17,291 species are known to be threatened with
extinction, but this is just the tip of the iceberg; many species
disappear before they are even discovered. Human activities
are mostly to blame – what we use, where we live and what
we consume, all have an impact on the Earth’s resources.
As a result, we are risking the loss of the very foundation of
survival. The variety of life – known as ‘biodiversity’ – gives us
our food, clothes, fuel, medicine and much more. When one
species is taken out of the intricate web of life, it can trigger a
domino effect with unforeseen consequences.
At the same time, humans do have the power to stem the
tide of extinction. Through conservation action, we have
brought species back from the brink and restored vital natural
habitats. But, we need to do much more and faster.
The United Nations has declared 2010 the International Year
of Biodiversity to stress the importance of biodiversity for
human well-being and encourage a redoubling of our efforts
to reduce biodiversity loss.
The theme of World Environment Day (WED) 2010, “Many
Species. One Planet. One Future.” echoes this urgent call to
conserve the diversity of life on our planet."

For more information, check out:
http://www.unep.org/wed/2010/english/

A Buying Freeze and Other Thoughts

2010-05-18T18:07:00.000-04:00

I've been on a 'buying freeze' for a few weeks...and our refrigerator and freezer are quickly emptying! I started with drawers full of produce and am now down to a few carrots and 2 bell peppers. Our drinks are almost gone. I made 3 quarts of homemade iced tea this week, so we still have that...woo hoo! I've been checking out options for different things we use a lot of and trying to find better alternatives to single-use plastics. One thing I found an alternative for is the regular skim milk container with the plastic ring and cap. I just discovered that Whole Foods sells its 365 brand of skim milk in the 'old-fashioned' type of container with no plastic cap! Unfortunately, most of the family drinks soy milk, and the 365 brand of soy milk HAS the plastic cap...not sure why, but I'm guessing it's the producer that makes it for them...another letter-writing campaign! So I'm still on a mission to find plastic-free soy milk because making it from scratch is a task I don't feel ready to take on at the moment. Until I find it, I will definitely cut back and use less.

Our son, JD, is a cheese-aholic. If he could live on one thing alone, it would be cheese. I don't buy Kraft singles anymore...thinking about individually-wrapped slices of cheese can set me off on a whole other tangent...but we still get a plastic bag from the deli counter. I already get made fun of for my voice at the deli counter, so I'm not sure I'm brave enough to ask them to use my cotton bag to put my cheese into, but I'm hoping to gather the nerve to do it soon. I know, I know...I need to stop worrying about what other people think...it's still a weakness. If only there were a self-serve deli....

The next thing we eat a lot of is apples and oranges. I used to get the pre-bagged oranges, but now I will take the time to bring my cotton bags and load up my own. Same for apples...luckily, we even have organic apples cheaply priced at our local ShopRite, right across the street, so that's an easy one for me.

I'm getting used to grabbing a head of lettuce and putting it in my cotton bag instead of getting the pre-bagged or packaged lettuce. It's a little extra work, but it's worth it to me.

My boys love tomatoes and it's hard not to grab those little clamshell containers full of cherry or grape tomatoes....This Saturday, we'll visit our local Farmer's Markets to see what's available and I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised...look for my post about that next week! We also started our own garden, thanks to Whole Foods who supplied us with a free 10'x10' plot of ground to grow on this year. I will do a post on that sometime soon, too.

Beth Terry (Fake Plastic Fish) posted this really awesome guide to storing fresh fruits and veggies from Berkeley Farmers Market (which has gone plastic-free!). Check out her blog this week for lots more great tips:

http://www.fakeplasticfish.com/images/Berkeley%20Farmers%20Market%20Tips%20for%20Storing%20Produce.pdf

Slowly, but surely, I'm finding ways to reduce my plastic use and it feels really good. I was digging in the sandbox with our almost-3-yr-old the other day and was saddened to find some little chips of plastic mixed in with the sand...this in such a tiny space of sand...imagine what the beach is like with all of the plastic trash it is bombarded with on a daily basis. I want the beach to be here for my grandkids and their grandkids to enjoy....so all of my plastic-free efforts feel like a step in the right direction!

So, back to the buying freeze.....do you have a stockpile of plastic in your fridge, freezer or cupboard? Are there plastic-free alternatives readily available? If yes, take inventory, phase out your plastic and make your voice heard with your purchasing power! Let me know how you are doing! Give me your ideas! Have a great week! :)

We Can Do Better - My Challenge to You!

2010-05-17T13:55:00.000-04:00

Just watched this video, like many others I've seen this year:
http://riseaboveplastics.blogspot.com/2010/05/shocking-plastics-video.html

It makes me feel motivated to do more and do it faster since I know we all want a better world for future generations than the one we're leaving behind right now.

So here's my challenge: Get rid of as many single-use plastics as you possibly can, as soon as you can. Make it a thought that stays on your mind. Use your purchasing power as your vote. I watched an interesting video on the 10 R's of Sustainability made by high-schoolers and one of them said something so simple, yet so profound: We need to slow down. This is so true. If we can slow down, we will be able to think about the choices we are making. If we can slow down, we will be able to make the better choice. If we can slow down, we will have more time to enjoy our lives. We are being sold quickness and convenience, but we are losing what really matters the most.

It's a tough challenge.....Who will take it with me? Let me know what you are giving up, trading in, finding alternatives for and how it's going! I just made the decision to ask for my kids' drinks in glass, like the adults from now on when we eat at a restaurant. JD drank from one at breakfast yesterday and did quite well. If he can do it, so can the older boys! Small steps...big changes...right now! Are you with me?

Plastic is bad, Waste is worse

2010-05-10T18:05:00.000-04:00

Hello, Dear Readers! :)

I've been TerraCycling for our school since November (see earlier post for more info. about that) and it has been a real journey, to say the least. I started out wanting to do good for the planet and I feel like I am in a small way, but it has also made me think about so many issues that are bigger than chip bags and juice pouches. Like how huge the plastic problem has become and how we don't even think of it as a problem in the U.S. It doesn't make the nightly news, even though there are huge gyres of plastic filling up our oceans....the very oceans we depend on for survival. And like how much we waste in this country. If you ever want a lesson in waste, take a look at what is thrown away at a typical Elementary School lunch. This leads me to so many other thoughts. Do parents realize how much money is being thrown away, even if they aren't at all concerned about the environment?

I haven't posted for a while because all of these thoughts are swirling around me like a gyre. I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do with them. When I do, I'll post more, but if you have some of your own that you'd like to discuss here, please let me know.

Have a great week!

Slow down and notice the trees....and other stuff

2010-05-03T09:26:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of an original post, but I loved this micromovie and thought I'd pass it along in honor of Arbor Day which recently passed - it only takes 2 mins. to watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l7MXkBOhg4

I found it from the comments section at Fake Plastic Fish since I agreed so much with what Clif said there (Here's just part of it):
"P.S. How about that Gulf oil spill – will it be the 3 mile island of deepwater drilling? Another holocaust for wildlife – from plankton right on up the food chain. We are outraged when a single innocent person suffers injury from others or when someone poisons a neighbor’s dog, but wildlife takes repeated blows from us and on we go."

I also think you'd probably love some other info. from Clif that can be found here:
http://cbplace.com/about_this_website.htm

If you get a chance to read his 'Life at 12 Miles an Hour', let me know what you think!:
http://cbplace.com/index.htm

If you have 4 mins. to spare, this video is definitely worth a watch...I think these guys really hit the message home with what they say about plastic:
http://riseaboveplastics.blogspot.com/2010/04/plastics-get-there-first-malloy.html

Putting Little Green Thoughts Into Practice

2010-04-24T18:52:00.000-04:00

There are a bunch of green things that I've heard I should be doing and I'm finally getting around to doing a few of them. I still have a list of others waiting to be tried, but one at a time, I'm adding them up! Here's what I'm up to:

Putting the lid on my pots when I'm boiling water. I've finally made this one a habit and I can definitely tell the difference in less cooking time.
Catching 'gray' water in our shower. I put 2 open top watering cans in our shower and catch the water that runs when our shower is heating up...since our house is built on a concrete slab, it seems like the hot water takes a while to get upstairs. After each shower, we empty them into a big container with a lid to use for our garden.
We've been doing cloth napkins for a while, but now I've started to think of ways to use less tissues. This idea was stolen from my Mom, who does many green things that she doesn't give herself credit for! Instead of using a tissue for my eye makeup remover, I started using one of the boys' old baby washcloths. It's just as soft as a tissue and that's 365 tissues I will save this year! Thanks, Mom! :)
My Mom has to be the queen of quick showers...I think she would win a contest! So taking my cue from her, I've started cutting down on shower time. Once the water is hot, I quickly lather up my hair & rinse, then turn the water off while I condition my hair and wash my body. I also skip showers on days that I'm home and not in need of one, which gives my hair a break and saves resources. Still on my radar to try is getting rid of shampoo and conditioner in favor of more earth-friendly ones. Has anyone tried this?
I've been turning off all of the lights after the boys have gone to bed (usually around 8:30 pm) and working by candlelight or just keeping one small light on. I'm looking into those Smart strips that conserve phantom energy for our tv, computer, etc. - who has these and do you have any recommendations?

Those are just a few that are on my mind right now, but I'll post more later. What little green thoughts have you put into practice? Thanks for reading and sharing!

Big Green Families?

2010-04-18T17:23:00.000-04:00

I found an article that touched at something I've been thinking for a while, too: big families aren't necessarily bad for the environment!

You can read it here:
http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/magazine/big_families_are_the_new_green/

Let me know what you think!

No More Blog Music

2010-04-15T08:41:00.001-04:00

Please come back to my blog!! I turned off the music so it won't bug you...sorry! It was a lesson to be learned! :)

Earth-Friendly Toothcare

2010-04-14T12:26:00.000-04:00

I was browsing at http://www.reusablebags.com (amazing to watch their plastic bag ticker....over 141 billion plastic bags consumed this year - ugh!) for some type of reusable straw to carry along for restaurant visits when I got sidetracked noticing some new eco-friendly toothbrushes they are selling: Eco-Dent TerrAdent Replaceable Head Toothbrush.

I was immediately interested because I have recently purchased the Preserve toothbrushes that can be sent back for recycling (which we have been pretty happy with, except for JD's which keeps losing bristles...probably because he BITES his toothbrush!), but reading some literature at the Eco-Dent site has made me think they are on to something. They have an article called 'Lone Ranger Recycling' that is very interesting. I wish it were from a more impartial source, but what they are saying seems to make sense:
http://www.eco-dent.com/Lone%20Ranger%20brochure3.pdf

Before I found Preserve, we saved all of our toothbrushes for cleaning and to use as paintbrushes, but they will ultimately end up in a landfill.

Anyway, I noticed that they also sell dental floss in some type of recyclable cardboard packaging...which is exactly what I've been looking for - a less wasteful dental floss! (I still wish someone would sell it in larger family-size quantities, though).

So this company has me pretty intrigued. I will probably make a few purchases when our Preserve brushes are all used up.

You can check them out here: http://www.eco-dent.com/

And for you Oprah fans, according to their website, Oprah even uses their products! :)

What eco-friendly toothcare habits can you share? Keep smiling! :)

The 40th Earth Day will be a very special one

2010-04-12T09:46:00.000-04:00

Today I start the 39th year of my life...yes, I am the big 3-8! I was born 2 years after the first Earth Day celebrations. It is the big 4-0 for Earth Day this year!

I just checked a new book out of the library: Whole Green Catalog: 1,000 Best Things for You and the Earth, edited by Michael W. Robbins. Here's a small bit from the foreward by Bill McKibben:

"The series of interlocking environmental crises we now face - global warming, water shortage, food supply, peak oil - seem daunting. That's because they are daunting, the worst cul-de-sac into which human beings have ever stumbled. It will take every bit of wit and skill we have to chart a course through the next few decades - and it will demand real community and political engagement from everyone who cares.

But of course, that's the view from up high, taking in the whole sprawling mess. It can also be viewed, productively, from down below, where each of us actually lives. Where, a hundred times a day, we make small choices that influence the future, our own and the planet's."

(The emphasis is mine). I am excited for this Earth Day because I think there is a collective consciousness rising that is the start of a new revolution - one that will treasure and protect this Earth that we live on. We are all called to make a difference and so many are taking up the charge. I am so thankful for all of you and encouraged by you! You inspire me and give me courage to do better. There are so many caring people, but the following are some I especially want to thank:

I LOVE this blog post by David McKay at:
http://responsibleplastic.wordpress.com/2010/04/09/plastic-has-made-everything-cheap/
I also want to give a shout out to Ryan Elizabeth Cope's thought-provoking blog (I think he is on course to be the Jamie Oliver of the 'plastic revolution'): http://sevenintheocean.wordpress.com/

And to my own Mom, who has a beautiful new blog:
http://thoughtsonturninggreen.blogspot.com/

To Green Lifestyle Consulting for their wonderful blog:
http://www.greenlifestyleconsulting.com/2010/04/what-impact-does-1-watt-have.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GreenLifestyleConsulting+%28Green+Lifestyle+Consulting%29

And Beth Terry at Fake Plastic Fish:
http://fakeplasticfish.com/

We always hear 'Let's make Earth Day every day' and this year I think there are enough people carrying the wave that it will keep rolling.....

Environmental Toxins

2010-04-10T23:20:00.000-04:00

Wanted to pass on this great link http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1976909_1976908_1976938,00.html from http://losingplastic.blogspot.com .

It's Time magazine feature on environmental toxins and the perils of plastic.

How do you feel about plastic in our everyday lives? Any issues jumping out that you'd like to ponder, share or discuss?

Supersized Everything - Waste Included

2010-04-08T20:54:00.000-04:00

Glad to be back after a bit of a break! I'm in MD staying with my parents. I am finding a lot of food for blogging down here, though! :)

We stopped at McDonald's for ice cream cones last night. For 3 ice cream cones, they gave us 27 napkins! Not an exaggeration and not a misprint! Here's a picture:

Now my boys are messy, but even they don't need 9 napkins for 1 ice cream cone (a very tiny ice cream cone at that)!

We visited Applebee's and the boys were given the plastic kids' cups with lids and straws. When they asked for a refill and tried to give the waitress their cups, she set them down and brought them brand new plastic cups....?!? So instead of 3 plastic cups, lids, straws (which was bad enough), we ended up with 5 of each...for 1 visit.

And then there was our visit to Walmart. We all love low prices, but sometimes you have to wonder at what price these low prices come. But now TerraCycle has partnered with Walmart, so it makes me want to give them a chance. Well, the Walmart that I visited here didn't have any TerraCycle items to be found and when I asked 2 of the workers, they looked at me like they had never heard of TerraCycle before...so I wasn't off to a good start. I did need some allergy meds., though, so I purchased a few things while I was there. When I pulled out my reusable bag to ask the lady in the 'less than 20 items' lane to use it, she shook her head 'No' and told me to push my items up and she was shoving them as quickly as she could into her plastic bag. All around me, I watched carts piling up with tons of plastic bags....it seems that Walmart has a policy of only putting 5 items in a bag, no matter what their size. Some people had what looked like 10 plastic bags for what I'm guessing was no more than 30 items. ?!? Did I mention that the entire Walmart store smells like badly offgassing plastic? What is that all about? They are not really doing much to improve my impression of them, although I do realize that their prices are hard to beat and there are many people who depend on them for cheaply priced items. I have a love / hate relationship with Walmart. I really want to love them, but I keep finding more reasons to hate them. I guess this story is to be continued...

And I now have 3 letters to sit down and write. I'm hoping they will be taken seriously. Have you ever written a letter to a company and gotten a really great or satisfying response?

What's your Walmart story? What do you think about fast food and restaurant waste? Lots more food for thought....

A Fair Trade Easter....and Beyond

2010-03-31T08:35:00.000-04:00

One of the truths behind our food that hasn't been in the big spotlight lately is that a lot of our 'treat' items that are available so cheaply and consumed so widely get to us via abuse, slavery, very poor worker conditions and many times this is happening to children, too. Coffee, chocolate, sweat-shop clothing and more fall into this category. I've been trying out Fair-Trade chocolate for the past few years and it's absolutely delicious. It is more expensive, but I feel happy buying less and enjoying it more. I absolutely believe that the small choices we make can make a huge impact. This Easter (and beyond) will you consider replacing some of your non-Fair-Trade items with ones that are Fair Trade? Maybe you can start small with hot chocolate that you drink only a few months in the winter. Or pick a holiday and try to make all of the candy fair-trade. While you're at it, think about things with less packaging that do less harm to the environment. Have you found anything like this to share? I've purchased coffee, tea, hot cocoa, nuts and chocolate from Global Exchange and I've been really happy with all of them.

I took the following from http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/EasterEggHuntKids :

"Celebrating Easter and the innocence of childhood go hand in hand. Joyful children dress sweetly in fancy Easter clothes, and relish the suspense and fun of Easter Egg Hunts for chocolate and other sweet treats. This year, your Easter Egg Hunt can also bring freedom and joy to children on the other side of the globe. Much of the chocolate candy on the market for Easter (and year-round) contains cocoa produced with grueling child labor or slavery, which is not in the spirit of Easter.

There is an alternative. Fair Trade Certified chocolate comes from cocoa farms that are inspected annually to ensure there is no abusive child labor or slavery. Fair Trade farmers also receive a more equitable price for their cocoa, allowing children to go to school, visit the doctor, and have enough food to eat.
What can I do to make my children's Easter Egg Hunt Fair Trade?

Use Fair trade chocolate! Fair Trade chocolate is available at stores near you and Global Exchange's online store!!

Explain to the kids about Fair Trade and why it is important. Read Global Exchange's Fair Trade chocolate activity book to the kids and let them color the pictures! Or just give a short explanation of Fair Trade before the hunt. Browse Global Exchange's Fair Trade cocoa pages for more information. Be sure to educate the grownups, too!

Have the kids color and sign Global Exchange's Fair Trade Easter cards, addressed to World's Finest Chocolate, asking the company to start sourcing at least 5% of their cocoa as Fair Trade! Click here!"

The Grass is Greener?

2010-03-29T18:58:00.000-04:00

Ever since I moved into our suburban NJ neighborhood, I've felt out of place. Our neighborhood has rows of neatly manicured lawns with little plastic flags flying throughout the year, declaring their freedom from weeds and pests. And then there's my lawn, welcoming to "pests" and dandelions happily shining their sunny faces in the breeze. But I hate walking past those little flags with my kids, with their warnings to keep kids and pets away, as though we are intruding on a space where we don't belong.

I just started reading the book Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough & Michael Braungart. So far I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Imagine my delight when I came across their description of a modern lawn on pg. 33:

"The average lawn is an interesting beast: people plant it, then douse it with artificial fertilizers and dangerous pesticides to make it grow and to keep it uniform -- all so that they can hack and mow what they encouraged to grow. And woe to the small yellow flower that rears its head!"

The saddest part of my lawn is that the more natural I try to let it be, the less marketable and desirable our house becomes. Most people who live here don't seem to be into the natural state of things very much. I have already had neighbors' lawn companies sprinkling their chemicals onto my lawn so that nothing from my wild side spreads to their tamed one. So before I start with my xeriscaping plans, I need to be sure that we will be living here long enough to make it doable.

But every time I pass a dandelion, I will smile and cheer and be thankful for its sunny disposition and the fact that it is a fighter and a survivor. And I'll hope it's naturally sunny disposition starts to spread....

Reusable stickers and a few green notes

2010-03-26T13:32:00.000-04:00

Do you have name labels sitting around that you will never use? I don't get these too often anymore since I cancelled a lot of direct mail being sent our way (you can do this at http://www.DMAchoice.org ), but the ones I do have, that I will never use, are being repurposed as yard sale stickers, mini calendar stickers and stickers for the kids. All you need to do is cut the address part off and often you'll have enough white space leftover to make great yard sale price stickers (or labels for your file folders, or whatever else you could use a little label for). Most of the time there are also little pictures on the labels which make great stickers. If you have a local organization that sends things to kids overseas, they might take these, too. We had a collection for them at our school and were told that the kids really loved and appreciated the stickers.

Tomorrow night at 8:30 pm is Earth Hour. According to their website, http://www.earthhour.org ,
"On Earth Hour hundreds of millions of people around the world will come together to call for action on climate change by doing something quite simple—turning off their lights for one hour. The movement symbolizes that by working together, each of us can make a positive impact in this fight, protecting our future and that of future generations." I did it last year...for me, it was a time to think about how we use electricity in our house and try to take inventory and figure out ways to use less.

Mother Nature Network just put out some new green inventions. I love Corky the little brown mouse. You can check them all out here: http://www.mnn.com/green-tech/gadgets-electronics/photos/new-green-inventions-15-cutting-edge-items/electronic-footprin#image

Love (& Music) Makes the World Go 'Round

2010-03-25T12:06:00.000-04:00

I was sitting at my son's Suzuki piano lesson last night and picked up a copy of the magazine put out by the Suzuki Association of the Americas. The editorial was so interesting and had a description of some comments made by fellow teachers at a recent Suzuki conference about the ideas behind the Suzuki philosophy. Unfortunately, I didn't capture them all, but here are a few:

"Capture the heart of the child."
"Each person has a wonderful living soul."
"We need to be respectful of every human being."

The editor goes on to state that this is why she loves the Suzuki philosophy. I love it, too! In Dr. Suzuki's own words, “When love is deep, much can be accomplished.”

I love the fact that Dr. Suzuki sees the potential in everyone and works so gently to bring forth the best in others. There are so many lessons to be learned from this. Personally, I have grown as a parent and a person by being involved with this practice.

If you'd like to learn more about Suzuki, please visit http://suzukiassociation.org/
You can also pick up a copy of the book Nurtured by Love by Shinichi Suzuki.

It's nice to have things in our life that remind us to keep the Golden Rule at the heart of it all and help us to remember that "love is all we need". For me, it is sometimes a challenge to put love first, above anger and other emotions that come to the surface in daily life. Our family is Catholic, so in this season of Lent, we are reminded of Christ's deep love for us and his messages to us of the importance of love. What things do you hold dear in your life that keep the Golden Rule close to your heart? In the busyness and business of everyday life, is there something that helps you stop and remember to spread the love, even when you might not be feeling it?

Easter Basket Reuse Craft

2010-03-23T20:14:00.000-04:00

When my middle son went to preschool at St. Andrew's in Cherry Hill, he had such wonderfully creative teachers, Mrs. Huff and Mrs. Minardi. They gave out Valentine baskets and I thought they were fabulous! They made them out of 1/2 gallon ice cream containers (after the ice cream is gone and they are washed out, of course!), tissue paper and decorations. I stole the idea and gave it a twist: Easter baskets!

I love them because they are taking some stuff that would otherwise end up in a landfill and giving it a cool new life! You can have everybody on the block saving their ice cream containers for you and you will end up with enough to give out to a whole classroom full of kids!

Here's what you need to make one:

1/2 gallon ice cream container - washed out
1 sheet of tissue paper (this can be reused, too....lots of times you have used tissue paper from gifts sitting around and for this project, it doesn't matter if it's crinkly or not!)
Another small scrap of tissue paper for the inside bottom.
glue (I just use Elmer's glue in a big bottle, but rubber cement would work well for this, too)

That's it! First, you glue the small scrap of tissue paper to the inside bottom of the ice cream container. It will go up the sides a little and that's good! Next, you set the ice cream container in the middle of the sheet of tissue paper and bring one side up and around the ice cream container and glue it to cover the inside. From there, you just continue around the ice cream container until the tissue paper is all glued - sort of like wrapping a present, but you are gluing, too. This will get easier with practice and you will figure out better ways of doing it each time! The ice cream container will be wrapped in tissue paper.

Now you can decorate to your heart's content. You can add a handle by stapling a stiff piece of paper or paper board to the sides of the container and decorate the handle however you want. I added little scraps of ribbon that I had left over from some balloons we were given (balloons usually have such pretty ribbon attached to them and it's usually pretty long, so it can live another life if you cut it off before you get rid of the balloon). Mrs. Huff & Mrs. Minardi used glitter glue to decorate theirs. They didn't have handles, but they decorated the lids so the kids could close them up later (this is a little tricky because sometimes the lid rips the tissue paper or doesn't fit because of the tissue paper).

You could use this idea for any special basket and it makes a cute little container to give a gift, too, if you also save and decorate the lid.

Here are some pictures of the baskets I made last year for my son's preschool class (purple for girls, blue for boys):

Here are the ones I made this year for my religious ed. class (green for boys, purple and pink for girls):

I hope you have fun with this craft! I'd love to hear what reuse crafts you make!

WWW: World Water Week

2010-03-22T15:34:00.000-04:00

Today is the start of a week to bring awareness to global water issues.

It's a good time to think about how we use water in our daily lives.

From RARE: "It takes 3 litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water & in the USA alone an additional 17 million barrels of oil. via @UNEPandYou"

Something easy we can all do today is say 'No' to bottled water!

Here's a cool video about it:

http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/

You can calculate your water footprint from here:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/infographic-all-the-water-in-the-world-doesnt-amount-to-much.php

Here's a petition for the right to clean water (one of many petitions floating around on this topic):
http://www.joinliveearth.org/page/s/speakup

Here's an effort to help Haiti:
http://www.charitywater.org/unshaken/spreadtheword.php

Interesting paragraph about water and meat production here:
http://blog.peta.org/archives/2010/03/world_water_day.php?c=pfs

This year I'm looking into rain barrels. Do you have any experience with these?

What do you do to save water? Thanks for sharing!

BYO Utensils? Bags?

2010-03-20T22:51:00.000-04:00

Today I'm thinking about all of the plastic utensils that get thrown away every day in the U.S. - it must be a huge number! What got me thinking about it today is that it was the day that Rita's Water Ice gives away free ice to everyone who wants it and since it was such a beautiful weekend day, the lines were HUGE! So I was thinking about all of those spoons.....

When we eat out, I collect things to take home and recycle or reuse and our 5 yr. old son is so used to this now that today he asked me if we should collect the spoons that we ate our Rita's with "so the birds won't feed them to their babies and get sick and die" (You gotta' love the little guys!). And indeed we did. But I couldn't help thinking that it would have been so much better if we had brought our own spoons to use instead. SO...after those 5 plastic spoons were washed, I packed them into my purse for future use...so the next time I'll have them instead of always thinking what a great idea it would be. I think I'll put some in the glove compartment, too.

That's how I kicked the plastic bag habit...I had to constantly load my car with reusable bags until it just became a habit to grab them on my way to the store.

I really applaud the restaurants that take the extra effort to not use disposable utensils and containers. I need to start letting them know that I appreciate their efforts. Maybe it will spur them on to do even better.

I've read that some people are now bringing their own containers to extra food home from the restaurant in - I love that idea! Don't we all hate those styrofoam containers? Usually the waiters just bring them to the table for you to load yourself, so why not bring your own?

What bring-your-own things do you do? Let's talk BYO for the environment!

Local Eating - Composting and Starting a Garden!

2010-03-18T09:13:00.000-04:00

Spring is in the air! Does it make you want to get outside and garden? It's pretty easy to grow at least a few veggies in your own yard, on your balcony or even on your windowsill.

Last year, we grew tomatoes, peppers and basil. Our peppers never made it...too much rain? But we enjoyed lots of yummy tomatoes and even had plenty to share with friends! This year I'd like to try some new veggies like lettuce, carrots, zucchini...and the kids want to try watermelon! If you are experienced with any of these and have tips to share, please do! We have a compost pile and our tomatoes really loved the compost...plus I fed them each a banana peel when I planted them! :)

Even if you don't want to have your own garden, there are probably local choices you can make. Here's a quick article from Yes! magazine, but while you're there, you might find some other interesting articles on issues you care about:

http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/food-for-everyone/8-ways-to-join-the-local-food-movement-shop-outside-of-supermarkets

Last year our family joined a local CSA and picked up veggies once/week. We loved it, especially when the fresh NJ corn was in season! It was a wonderful experience, especially for my 3 sons. They LOVED going to the farm each week! Sometimes we would get to go cut sunflowers to take home and sometimes we could pick beans. We got tons of heirloom tomatoes...very interesting varieties that I never would have seen if we hadn't joined the CSA. Together we learned about some new veggies that I had never cooked before. We ate acorn squash for the first time and had a few fresh bitter greens that we never quite figured out. How nice it would have been for someone like Jamie Oliver to teach me about some of those strange-looking veggies I encountered - but that was part of the adventure!

Do you have a garden? Belong to a CSA? What ways have you found to eat local? Thanks for sharing!

Have Faith - Persistence Pays Off!

2010-03-17T23:50:00.000-04:00

I love Tyler Perry and his latest e-mail message is so inspirational, I hope you will read it:
http://mobile.tylerperry.com/messages/2010-03-17.php

Rejection is painful. I don't even tell anyone about my blog for fear of rejection! But I do have a great friend who gave me a big boost today by telling me she'd care to read what I have to say. What a kind statement!

What are you afraid of? What things do you need to be more persistent about? Who can support you and who can you support?

Thanks to everyone who supports me and makes me want to keep going!

Food Choices

2010-03-17T09:26:00.000-04:00

We've been coming to a more global awareness about the food choices we make. Last night on Planet Green, I watched an episode of 'Blood, Sweat and Takeaways' - so many great insights from that show (another topic) so if you get that channel, try to check it out sometime!

Oprah finally had her vegan-friendly show with Alicia Silverstone and Michael Pollan (author of The Omnivore's Dilemma among others - http://www.michaelpollan.com/ ). People are watching 'Food, Inc.' and learning about where their food comes from. It's awesome to have this information. Knowledge is power!

Whether you are a full-fledged carnivore, an omnivore, a herbivore or anywhere in between, learning about others food choices can help you define your own more clearly.

Lately, I've been getting so much wonderful info. from Kind Green Planet that I have to give it a shout out here:
30 Missions Vegan at Heart Programs & Services Kind Green Planet

Don't let the vegan part scare you away. This site is friendly and upbeat and I'm sure you will come away with some great ideas even if you are a meat eater!

I will talk more about food choices in detail in later posts. Food for thought....What do you want to talk about?

Battery Recycling

2010-03-15T15:57:00.000-04:00

Since yesterday was 'Spring ahead' day, I remembered that it's a recommendation to change your smoke alarm and CO2 alarm batteries at this time to make sure they keep working. When we do that, I've noticed that our batteries are not completely dead. They will still work for small toys or other small items that need them. So I've been saving them up in a little container for when they are needed.

If they are truly dead, you can (and should!) recycle them. Most Home Depot stores will take batteries for recycling (check in the tool dept. or at the front desk). Many municipalities will also take these at their local recycling center (ours does - yeah!). If neither of these is an option for you, check out http://www.call2recycle.org/ .

Think about your battery usage and try to find ways to make it greener. Please share your tips with us here!

TerraCycle - turn your trash into treasure!

2010-03-13T15:40:00.000-05:00

The very best way to eliminate trash is to use less and eliminate it at the source. But let's face it: we're not all perfect. So there are things we throw away that can't be recycled. But there's a big list of things that can be TerraCycled! TerraCycle will take your trash and turn it into something useful...and they'll even pay your charitable organization for it!

This year, I started some TerraCycle brigades at our Elementary School. If you don't want to start a brigade yourself, check with a local school (colleges included) to see if they have a program you could donate to.

Here's what our school collects:

Juice pouches
Chip bags
Cookie wrappers
Energy bar wrappers
Yogurt cups
Kashi products
Huggies wrappers
Scott brand wrappers
Scotch tape dispensers and rolls
Candy bar wrappers
Elmer's glue containers
Bear Naked granola wrappers
Aveeno tubes
Neosporin tubes
Margarine/spread tubs

Whew! There are even more brigades available. You can check it out at http://www.terracycle.net/ .

I'd be willing to bet you have at least one of these items in your house during the course of a month. If not, way to go - you are doing a great job at waste reduction! If yes, wouldn't it be great to give your trash another life before it hits the landfill? You can check out some of the cool things that TerraCycle makes at their website. In April, they will have lots of their products on sale at WalMart stores across the country.

Our school has raised almost $50 for just a few months worth of trash (much more waiting to be sent in and counted!), but even better, we've saved hundreds of chip bags, hundreds of yogurt cups and almost 2,000 juice pouches from being landfilled.

Start TerraCycling today!!!

Buying Less - No to Silly Bandz

2010-03-12T12:43:00.001-05:00

Like most moms, right up there on my priority list in life is my kids and their future. Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about what kind of world they will be left with. Did you see the pictures of the birds after they've eaten all the little plastic garbage that's part of our everyday life in America? Or see the work being done by groups like 5 Gyres? It made me stop and think.

And now our kids are obsessed with the latest craze: Silly Bandz. (I know these have been around for a while now...we are a little behind here in NJ!) Not to single out one company when they are just a drop in the corporate bucket, but my kids came home asking for these, too. So I wrote to the company asking what they were made of, was any of it recycled and could the used bandz be recycled. The only response I got back was this: "Sillybandz are made from 100% medical grade silicone." A typical response, I suppose. That's what worries me. Most companies aren't thinking about these issues. It's for somebody else to worry about.

And who is that somebody else? I think it needs to be us moms. We are our children's protectors. We worry if they scrape a knee. We want the best for them. Is a world full of dead sea life, polluted waters and closed beaches what is best? I don't think so.

So I'm saying 'No' to Silly Bandz. It's a first step....I will say 'No' to many others like them. No....Not until you think about the product you are putting out into this world that belongs to all of us and our children. No....Not until you take responsibility for becoming part of the solution instead of contributing to an ever-growing problem.

To many, this seems like an extreme position. Many will argue that these are harmless fun and kids need to follow the trends and have fun with their friends. I just believe there are other (better) ways to do this. Silicone doesn't biodegrade. Do silicone bands really need to be packaged in even more plastic packaging? Watching sea life and birds feed discarded Silly Bandz (shaped in their images, nonetheless) to their babies isn't silly...it's just sad.

What items have you said 'No' to because you were passionate about a cause? Share your ideas here!