Mom Goes Green

There are so many things we use and choose in our daily lives that we never give much thought, but those little choices “add up” and maybe, just maybe, those little things amount to a great big deal.

Here are ten crazy, little facts I’ve discovered that you can consider the next time you need to make one of these choices:

• ATMs – don’t get a receipt if you don’t need it.  Annually, these receipts use enough paper to stretch two billion feel long!… and then get thrown away. (Same goes for gasoline pump receipts!)
• Books – borrow from the library or buy secondhand. 400,000 trees are needed to print books annually.
• Candy & ingredients – buy the loose bulk kind instead of the wrapped and packaged versions.  The majority of the wraps and papers are not recyclable and can be heavily treated with chemicals.
• Luggage tags – buy some!  Americans alone use paper tags, from ticket counters, equivalent to sixty million sheets of paper each year. And request e-tickets to save even more paper.
• Matches – choose paper matches over wood matches or lighters.  They’re often made of recycled paper, whereas wooden matches require 5.5 million trees per year and lighters create harmful and toxic landfill waste.
• Music – consider music downloads instead of buying CDs… every month 45 tons of unwanted CDs wind up in landfills.
• Napkins – take only what you need instead of grabbing a whole stack and then throwing them away, unused.  If everyone took just one less it would keep a billion tons out of the landfill annually.
• Pens – buy the refillable kind.  The US discards 1.6 billion disposable pens each year and a refill is no more expensive that a disposable pen.
• Q-tips – buy the kind with a paper spindle instead of plastic…they’ll actually biodegrade, the plastic won’t.
• Voicemail – answering machines in the US use two billion kilowatt hours annually and then create electronic trash when they stop working. Sign-up for voicemail with your phone service provider.

There are plenty of things in our daily lives that deserve the mantra “don’t sweat the small stuff”, but these are truly little choices you can make without ever breaking a sweat!

Water is essential for a healthy body.  (In fact, 60-70% of our bodies are made up of water.) 

So when my husband recently announced that the landlord of his studio space had decided to get rid of the water cooler and buy bottled water instead, I  GASPED!  Then I immediately emailed him some of my objections and begged him to reconsider.

First, bottled water is both wasteful and harmful if their containers are not properly recycled and they wind up as trash in a landfill – and every year 38 billion bottles, valued at $1 billion, DO end up in landfills. It even takes approximately 1.5 million barrels of oil to meet America’s $22 billion(!) annual demand of bottled water! Add to that the cardboard bases they use, the plastic wrap that goes around the case and the carbon footprint of transportation… more waste, more trash, more CO2!  Not very environmental or economical.

I also have an on-going concern with the BPA content in the bottles themselves.  Research has shown links to side effects that include behavioral problems, brain development issues, cancers and a whole slew of other debated conditions, especially when consumed by children.  That alone should be enough to scare anyone away.  Not very healthy.

But now I have a crazy idea… tap water anyone?!  I know there will be some groans at this suggestion and objections about the taste, as well as questions about whether tap water is really safe, but in most cases, yes, it is absolutely safe.  If you have concerns or just want more assurance, install a water filter… simple as that.

We were raised on tap water, right?  But marketers have “gotten” to some of us by glamorizing bottled water (as if it “says” something about us) or claiming some health benefit.  Don’t buy it or “buy it!” And despite some companies trying to make a more environmental product (like boxed water), I can’t be swayed! Bottled water is convenient, but the best, most environmental, healthiest choice is investing in a good, reusable, stainless steel or aluminum bottle, and “tap into your tap”!

Next time someone asks if you’d like a bottle of water, be prepared to hold it high and say proudly “no thanks… I have my own!”

… a big CONGRATS to “Marie”!  You just won a copy of The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales! I hope you enjoy this wonderful collection of earth stories from different cultures around the world!  You and your kids will have an amazing adventure as you  ‘trave’l through storytime!  ENJOY! … and thanks (to everyone) for entering to win!

Check back soon for more Mom Goes Green giveaways!

We all just concentrated on raising awareness of global warming during Earth Hour, and one of the topics that came up that night was the plight of the polar bear. THIS did not make our daughter happy.

Our daughter’s beloved polar bear may actually become extinct during her lifetime.  (If you want your heart crushed, take a moment to watch this.)  And there are 10 others that top the list of animals that WILL become extinct in ours.  Can you even imagine these animals completely fading from existence?

Two organizations I love are WWF and National Wildlife Federation.

Since 1961, WWF has been working to save endangered species and protect their habitats – polar bears, orangutans and tigers top the list.  (Well, that certainly covers some of my family’s favorites.)

And for over 80 years, National Wildlife Federation’s mission has been to inspire Americans to protect wildlife for our children’s future.  (And isn’t that what we all want?)

Both of these organizations do an amazing job of working tirelessly to protect and preserve nature and animals through education, advocacy and action, and (despite recently commenting about an abundance of mail from NWF!) I whole-heartedly support both of them.  They are also great resources for information, ideas and ways to get your family involved… and for our children, this is so crucial.

In fact, the next time you need to give a gift, consider shopping their stores – “adopt” an animal, “plant a tree”, buy a magazine subscription – or simply consider donating to their cause. We all have a long list of people who “have everything”, so next time make the gift truly meaningful.

Our daughter was so inspired to help save her beloved polar bears that she wants to donate some of her own money.  And I’m absolutely going to let her.