Mom Goes Green

One of my greatest frustrations is when I feel like I’m fighting the green battle against people I feel a bond with.  Whether it’s family, friends or groups I associate with, it can be really difficult to be the wave maker… well, I’m about to battle… enter: waves!

Our daughter brought home a letter from school that announced a special school program focusing on proper nutrition and making healthy food choices.  Sounded like a great program to me!  They’re setting aside a day where students can sample healthy foods and snacks. Still, a big thumbs up!

Then, I got to the part that asked for parent participation.  They asked for volunteers to send in apples (okay!), granola bars (can do!) or bottled water (no!  Say it isn’t so!)

So, while we’re teaching 400 kids about eating properly, we can give them a chaser of BPA laced water and bottles that will go into the school’s trash cans and create our very own space in a landfill.  Augh, I think I’m going to scream.

Now (since I am the Recycling/Environmental Programs Chair)  I get to contact all those in charge and ask “why” and “what can we do?”  I hate these confrontations, but I have to do it.  I’m expecting that “convenience” is the reason, so I will probably have to be content with the idea of pushing for a special bottle receptacle.  Sadly, we don’t have a plastics recycling program in the school.  It’s something I’m working for, but we aren’t there yet.  (You wouldn’t believe what it takes to get something so simple in place).

So, as I sit here, I’m preparing my approach to people that are trying to teach the right nutritional choices, but using bad environmental choices.  I have no idea how this is going to end up, but I don’t like where it’s starting!

I can see it now… Wednesday recycling pick-up is going to be crazy at my house after I lug 400 plastic bottles home and they later come flying out of my recycling can… and my neighbor’s…and the neighbor’s next to them….

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…