Written on
November 19, 2009 by
SusanC
Last week, I shared some of my ideas for what makes a good kid toy. This week, I would like to share with you some sources and suggestions for toys that are durable, fun, useful and green!
Next week is Thanksgiving and as we know the day after T-day the Christmas spending season begins. However, some folks (like me) observe a special day of consciously not consuming (known as Buy Nothing Day). I really like this website that has great ideas to make the day after Thanksgiving Make Something Day.
And if you just don’t have the time, skill, materials….
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Written on
November 9, 2009 by
SusanC
This time of year, the urge to splurge on family is everywhere. While the sentiment is nice that we “greenies” are reminded of certain candles to avoid, of how to reuse packaging, and how to keep our holidays green in general, one thing seems to be forgotten: nature itself.
While many of us enjoy using all natural products, we forget that nature is still out there and still needs protecting. As a biologist, one of the things that always strikes me as odd is how one can very quickly spend the dollars for a label that says all natural without any care as to where the ingredients came from.
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Written on
November 3, 2009 by
SusanC
It was just five months ago when my husband and I moved our family into an 1852 single-family farm home. There was so much we loved about our new home: the increase in living space, the playroom, two large bathrooms, the character that comes with an old home. We saw past the much-needed improvements, looking forward to painting rooms and re-decorating together.
What we did not expect were the struggles we would have with the hard water. For weeks I would pull out freshly-washed clothing from the washer, only to find them looking increasingly dingy. The worst, though, was our cloth diapers.
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Believe it or not, Christmas is coming.
At least, that’s what retail companies will have you think. And we all know what that means: ‘tis the season for the onslaught of catalogues and junk mail.
If you’re like me, you already receive notices of upcoming sales and new product information for the companies you patronize via email. I don’t mind these (the same way I don’t mind my favorite local pizza place texting me their weekly specials). It’s green, takes only a few seconds to scan and delete if desired, and doesn’t clog up my mailbox. What irks me is when I receive said emails just to get the mail and find a 50 page, 10 pound catalogue from the same company, announcing the same sale.
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Written on
October 29, 2009 by
SusanC
One of the best ways to reduce our carbon footprint is to use less fossil fuels- pretty simple right? The complicated part is expanding our awareness so that we understand the ways that we are consuming.
In the winter I notice my energy use raising. A few examples: I turn the lights on earlier in the day, I sneak the heat on, I tend to watch more TV, and I eat more cooked foods and less fresh out of the garden. Some of the less obvious might be: I buy more stuff. Ever notice all the catalogues that show up in late October, early November?
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Written on
October 20, 2009 by
SusanC
When I was little my parents didn’t buy Halloween costumes, we created them; it was so fun. Believe it or not, it wasn’t until I became a mother that I realized the overwhelming choices in commercialized costumes and decorations.
Driving through semi-rural, semi-suburban southern Rhode Island, I have noticed the abundance of gorgeously colored fallen leaves contrasted with plastic Halloween decorations. I have been in the checkout line at the discount store where many are purchasing stringy, plastic, scarecrows that will undoubtedly end up in a landfill in three weeks, if not torn apart and carried away by the wind.
I like a homemade Halloween; in second grade I was a tree.
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Recycling. It’s eco-living 101, right? For most of us, it’s second-nature by now, and if your area offers commingled curb-side recycling, it’s even easier than ever, isn’t it?
But lately, I’ve found myself hesitating every time I’m about to drop something into the recycling bin, because my area’s recycling center’s list of unacceptable products keeps getting longer and longer. I can still recycle aluminum cans, but not glass. Corrugated cardboard is ok, but not pizza boxes. And the real toughie? Milk jugs are a yes, but margarine containers are a big, fat no.
I’m new here, so you don’t know this about me, but in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit to you all my huge dependence on margarine.
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Written on
October 12, 2009 by
DianaP
Last week Mireya Navarro reported for the New York Times on the greening of suburban municipalities. In Green and Greener in Suburban Towns Navarro highlighted the Long Island town of Babylon.
“FOR two years, Valerie Williams had been considering making the five-bedroom home she grew up in more energy efficient — hoping to shrink her $350 monthly utility bill — but more pressing expenses always came first.
Then the town of Babylon came up with an offer she couldn’t refuse: if she and her husband, Carlos, paid $250 for an energy audit, the town would finance the recommended upgrades. The couple would repay the town at a monthly rate below the savings on their utility bill.”
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Written on
October 5, 2009 by
DianaP
It is no secret that I love food. Local, slow, whole, delicious food. It should be no surprise then that I simply could not resist the opportunity to spread the word that the fifth annual Eat Local Challenge is underway.
I don’t recall a fundamental shift in perception ever having taken place. Rather, it was a slow and steady evolution that led us to curb our long-distance consumption at the dinner table. It wasn’t a conscious decision made, but it did turn out most convenient and achievable that way. I imagine much in the same ways that it would be most achievable for other families to go about it in the same way; slowly integrating local when and where it’s most possible.
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Please give a warm 5 Minutes for Going Green welcome to our newest guest poster, Andrea Deely. Andrea is a blogger at the new virtual world for kids, MiniMonos and a passionate green advocate.
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Al Gore’s movie ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ caused an epiphany for mother-of-two Melissa Clark-Reynolds and put her on the pathway to creating MiniMonos, a virtual world for good green kids.
Seeing Melissa’s tears during the movie, her husband solicitously suggested she have a cup of tea to calm down, but tea wasn’t going to cut it for Melissa. She wasn’t going to rest until she got hold of Mr Gore himself.
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