Mom Goes Green

Going green certainly ISN’T an inexpensive choice.  If I could only cultivate that money tree in my backyard, I wouldn’t have a reason to complain… however, the tree isn’t doing so well, but my pursuit of “green-ness” continues.

My friend recently asked me to explain the reasons for higher priced organics, eco-products and all of the things that dub themselves ‘green’.  I can explain some… for others, there just isn’t an excuse.

Starting  with organic foods –  Although studies find them to be a healthier choice, the government isn’t supporting that suggestion.  Traditional agriculture is subsidized by the government, but organic farming isn’t.  (How does that make sense?) … Without a doubt, we definitely need a change there.

So, these small organic farms must first wait years for the land to be cleared of toxins and certified.  Then, because they are often smaller operations, the costs of turning out an organic product and getting it to market is “ex-pen-sive”!  Add to that, the intensity of compliance with the Department of Agriculture’s standards for certification… and yeah, costly!

When it comes to other green/eco-friendly products, we need to realize that it’s more expensive to assure that everyone involved in the chain uses environmental practices.  So yeah, more money.  I’ve also heard the law of supply and demand come into play…

Another acceptable reason I’ve heard is that many environmentally-conscious companies donate a portion of their profits to eco-, earth and environmental causes.  That, I can still accept.

However, the absolute MOST bothersome reason for higher eco-product prices… retailers.  They simply take a higher margin on organic, eco-friendly, green products because they can.  THAT really angers me.  They take more from consumers, because they CAN?  (Example:  Retailer sells Windex Window Cleaner for $1.99 per bottle.  Retailer sells Method Window Cleaner for $3.29 per bottle.  Yes… simply because they can! And we’ll pay!)  I say they’re taking advantage of the situation and our desire to buy ‘green’.  That is just crappy… and, to me, dishonest and greedy.  Shame on them.  They need a fierce “timeout!”

Unfortunately there is a cost to being environmentally responsible.  I’m sorry we have to bear that burden but, for now, it’s a burden I guess I need to be willing to bear…

So, who hasn’t heard about BPA in plastic bottles?  I think everyone has because it’s mentioned in the news constantly… and rightfully (frightfully) so.

It’s no surprise that my family drinks a lot of water (because I mention that constantly too) and the more that comes to light about BPA the more bothersome that becomes.

In a nutshell, BPA is Bisphenol A – an industrial chemical used in bottle manufacturing. It mimics the female hormone estrogen (all guys are scared now) and causes all sorts of health problems.  As much as I hate animal testing (they previously only tested on mice) they are now being tested on monkeys (since they are physiologically so close to humans) and some nasty stuff is being discovered (including behavioral problems, brain development issues, cancers and a whole slew of other debated conditions).

Does this scare anyone else?  Sure scares me.

Now the National Toxicology Program (the NTP – a division of the National Institutes of Health) issued an alarm giving it a designation of “some concern” (equivalent to ‘3’ on a scale of ‘5’).  As if I wasn’t alarmed enough.  I could give you a whole list of scary, ugly stuff about BPA, but let me just say it’s bad, bad, bad.

Last Mother’s Day my favorite gift (besides crazy amounts of hugs, kisses and love) was a Sigg bottle.  It’s a shocking thing when your water actually TASTES like water, instead of plastic.  But Siggs are expensive and unaffordable for some.

I’ve discovered an alternative bottle that is just as good, but affordable.  They’re from CynerGreen.  They’re BPA free, eco-friendly and the kid’s version already comes with the drink spout you need.  They even have a sippy cup.  Right up a green mom’s alley! And they start at just $7 a bottle. We have one and we love it!

I’m just so frustrated that the FDA doesn’t regulate this chemical, even though the CDC estimates that 92.6% of Americans, age 6 and above, have measurable BPA in their bodies.  The bottom line is there is just too much third party research that tells us all this stuff is bad news.

So I’m not waiting to find out… gather your plastic bottles, chuck them in the recycling bin, buy a few stainless steel or aluminum bottles and don’t look back…

Going green can be a long process…it certainly doesn’t happen overnight, in a week, or even a month, without massive changes and a lot of expense.

You can’t just take everything from the cupboards, cabinets and under the sink and toss them.  (Wouldn’t that be contradictory… just blobbing it all down the drain!) And sometimes it’s really difficult to leave behind those products that you’ve given your loyalty to for so long.  But don’t you just wonder… what have I pledged my allegiance to?

My dear husband (yes, he’s finally catching on… if I could just get him to turn off that perpetually running faucet!) told me about a brand new fab site he discovered called the GoodGuide.

They have researched, reviewed and rated over 61,000 (!) personal care and household chemical products for safety, health and green criteria, so they’re making it easy to find products that are right for you and good for the planet. Can you believe no one else has done this! You can “verify” manufacturer claims, “identify” the content and make a “green-ified” decision… Finally, a central resource for seeing what’s behind the label instead of trusting what the label tells us we need to know!

And they don’t just pan some products…they actually give you alternative choices. It’s really hard to explain how much great info they give you, but they even rate the companies that manufacturer the products – if their products are good, but their business practices stink, they let you know.  You really have to try it…

Isn’t it great to sometimes land on the ground floor of something new and cool.  Congratulations… you have landed!

(if you feel compelled, this is a video of the creator of GoodGuide talking about the site at TechCrunch50 earlier this month — Click here.)

So, you may remember my frustration with “My neighbor – the tree hater!”  (She chopped down a dozen healthy, beautiful trees in her backyard!) Well, this weekend the saga continued.

I was snuggled up with our daughter (who had planted herself in the middle of our bed) in the early morning, enjoying “snooze-land”,  and my eyes nearly popped out of my head at the sound of blaring chainsaws.

I could not believe my ears.  First of all, it was way too early for chainsaws.  Secondly, I thought “how could she find more trees to kill…they’re all GONE!”

Lo and behold, it was my OTHER neighbor, on the other side!  Has everyone in my neighborhood lost their marbles?  They were taking down two trees and I truly can’t imagine why, except that they were squarely in the middle of a section of yard…and they probably had a selfish reason I don’t want to know about.

Our kids were mortified.  At first they wanted to go over there themselves and tell them to stop, “because cutting down trees is mean to the earth.”  When I told them they absolutely weren’t going over there, they demanded that I go!  When I tried to explain that it’s their yard and I can’t tell them what to do, they actually seemed disappointed in me!  As bothersome as that was, it actually made me proud of them for being so passionate.

If nothing else, it gave us the opportunity to discuss how important trees are – for providing oxygen and shade, improving air quality, conserving water, preserving soil and supporting wildlife (as both food and habitat) and so much more.

This additional ‘loss of nature’ has me wanting to plant trees!  Better yet, for our next gift-giving occasion, let’s all give someone a tree.  Seriously.  The National Arbor Day Foundation has made it very simple.  It’s their “Give-A-Tree” project and it helps to replant our national forests for a very small donation.  They even give you a nice little card, that explains the project, to give to the recipient.

Oh no.  I just realized I need to buy 14 of them…

Have you ever watched a movie that felt so real, it kind of left you feeling dizzy when it was all over?

Well, we just watched a movie that left me feeling like I was in a tornado… and the worst part?  — it was real.

The movie is called “The 11th Hour.”  It’s all about global warming, sustainability and the environment, and it spews out some serious, hardcore facts that come from scientists, environmentalists and all kinds of big-brained people.

Truth be told, it disturbed me because it really laid out how critical the climate crisis has become.  I almost didn’t want to watch because it felt so out-of-control and upsetting (because there’s only so much I can personally do to change things).

One of the things that really hit me was the realization that people rally around the fact that they want to “Save the Earth” when in reality, it’s not about saving the earth…it’s about saving ourselves.  The earth will survive…WE are the ones in jeopardy.  If we turn our planet into a place that’s uninhabitable, we’re simply risking our own existence.  Sheesh. That gave me chills all over again.

As one expert pointed out -  99.9999% of life that has existed on earth has become extinct.  It really IS a frightening prospect.  And pretty profound when you think about it that way.  I wish I could talk to everyone who thinks global warming is a hoax and beg them to open their minds.

The bright side is that they didn’t conclude without offering hope.  And we all need hope, or it would be pretty depressing.

I don’t have a witty conclusion for this post, but I think this film said it all… “the hope is you.”

(there are great resources for ideas and solutions at: 11thhouraction.com)

This weekend I was out running an errand with my kids and I met an ostrich.

I was rockin’ one of my organic cotton tees.  The shirt is green and says “My favorite color is green” with a swirly vine design around the words.  A woman walked up to me and (I suppose she was just trying to be friendly) said “…and MY favorite color is blue!”  (oh brother!)

I smiled and said “oh, no.  Actually it means ‘green’ as in ‘the environment’.”  She looked at me blankly for a few seconds and then said “Oh? OH!!!  I get it!”

Umm, no lady.  You don’t get it.

In today’s world, it shouldn’t take that long to “get it.”  I really wonder how many people are still living with their heads in the sand when it comes to recognizing the critical state of our world in terms of the earth, global warming and the well-being of our environment.

I guess it always surprises me when I get comments like this because it’s so much in the forefront of my mind, I can’t imagine how it can be so far from others’.  And then I wonder what else I could be doing…what else I SHOULD be doing.

I suppose “doing, leading and teaching” is my contribution.  I am “doing” the right things in my daily life (learning along the way, and hopefully getting better all the time!).  I am “leading” others in the right direction by helping to put practices into place (in my kids’ schools, for starters).  And I am hopefully “teaching” others through this blog.

I truly appreciate your comments, your “kudos”, your “thank yous” and your time to share this journey with me.  It’s been three months now and I believe it’s been well spent!

Let’s all keep fighting the good fight!  Green is a beautiful color but it’s an even more beautiful CAUSE!

I’m back up and running.  We have power, phone, our safety and our home — something that many, in the wake of Hurricane Ike, cannot say.

Our utility company said we peaked at over a million customers without power and we’re now down to about a quarter of a million… and some, whose power will not be restored until sometime Sunday…eek.

I’ve been seeing the aftermath and hearing chainsaws all day but, again, we have our safety and our home to be grateful for.

…sending all the best to those who can’t say the same…. wish I could hug you…

I suppose I should have been saying this Sunday afternoon BEFORE the remnants of Hurricane Ike decided to take his hike through Northeastern Ohio, mix with a cold front entering from the west and stir up 70 mph winds that toppled trees, ripped down powerlines and left us WITHOUT power or phone.  Yippee!  Thanks, Ike!

It’s not fun around here.  They say it will likely be FRIDAY before everything is restored.  FABULOUS!  But at least we’re not in Galveston… 

That’s where many of our power crews have gone to assist in restoring their power first.

Right now, I am away from home, on borrowed power, with a borrowed connection and I am, unfortunately, on hiatus until everything is restored.

It’s the power and force of Mother Nature.  Don’t suppose it has anything to do with global warming, do you?  Hmmmm…..

If you knew my father-in-law you might think this is a comment he is making about my mother-in-law, but alas, it is not! (And after 49 years, I suppose he doesn’t mind the hot air all that much!)

But I’m having the strangest little obsession with public restrooms and the unimaginable amount of paper towel waste that gets generated in a single day.  Don’t get me wrong…I’m not lying awake at night thinking about it, but for the longest time I’ve felt that while I’m recycling my tiny cream cheese box, all around the country there are public restrooms that essentially “allow” people to use four feet of paper to dry their hands.

One of the greatest things I’ve seen recently is an EXTREMELY high powered hand dryer that dries your hands in about 7-10 seconds flat…poof, you’re done… then it shuts off immediately. (Warning: they also nearly blow the flesh off of your hands and it almost shot our son across the room, but they’re great!) Problem is, you don’t see them often and far too many public restrooms haven’t even moved away from paper towels.

The thing I struggle with is the germ-factor.  When you walk away with damp hands, it’s a place for even minimal germs to hang around.  Paper towels help you dry better, right?  Plus, that door handle-factor…even our kids will occasionally yell out, “I got it, Mommy!” and use the paper towel to pull the door open.  Then I prop my foot by the door and they run back to throw it in the trash.

When I was thinking about alternatives, I discovered that in many Asian countries, you aren’t provided either choice.  You carry a small towel or handkerchief for hand drying!  I think that’s pretty cool, but how neurotic would I look doing THAT around here?

Given the choice, I wish more public restrooms would use hand dryers.  They are the far better choice for the environment…just a lot of hot air!  And despite the energy usage, that doesn’t compare to the extreme paper waste of dispensers.

On second thought, the back of my kids’ shirts will do…never mind.

H2O…a requirement for healthy little bodies. Our kids love water, but it can be dull, dull, dull.

When our daughter was about a year and a half old, my husband and I started talking about what a goldmine it would be to package water in a really cool box (like juice boxes) because I truly believe the package is a HUGE part of the appeal.  We even named it “Aqua Box”, but never developed the idea.

Bad move. There are some great products out there now and I missed my boat! There goes my mansion!

Now, as our daughter gets older and has more occasions to be away from us, (although she is a big water drinker) we worry that she’ll get sucked into the vortex of “Juice Box World!”  She’s bound to be surrounded by tons of over-sugared, artificial temptations that will be offered to her.  Good lord, I’m making it sound like a 6th grader is going to corner her on the playground and offer to sell her a juice box!!!

But, honestly, I found a really cool solution for water (that went quite a few steps further) and I had to share.  It’s called bot.  Simple as that…bot.  It’s a vitamin fortified water, made without artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors or preservatives, with 75% less sugar and calories than 100% fruit juice!  It comes in four flavors – grape, orange, berry & lemon – and tastes great to boot.

Top that off with a recyclable bottle made from recycled materials, and a company that donates 1% of their annual revenues to environmental causes, and it’s a green mom’s dream.

The bottles’ characters are way cute, too, and each has a little personality that our kids love.  Now they don’t feel left out when their friends are rockin’ their juice boxes, because they have something cool of their own.

Honestly, it’s great to send to school, on playdates, to sporting events, on the road — and it’s even yummy enough for mom and dad (although our kids won’t let us get near theirs with a 10-foot pole!)

So, if H2O is an H2-NO(!) in your fam, give it a try! It’s like the Cristal of kiddie water and they might just like it!

(*Does the “Betty Botta”-thing make you think I’ve lost my marbles? It’s actually a tongue twister I remembered from being a little kid.  Don’t believe me?  Then check here!