Mom Goes Green

First of all, this has absolutely nothing to do with “Purple Rain”(!), but everything to do with saving cherished tropical rainforests!

The Prince’s Rainforests Project (as in Charles, Prince of Wales) was started in 2007, but is being given a big push by the release of this new PSA. If it takes royalty and celebrities to get a cause noticed, I don’t care… I’m all for it, as long as the cause DOES get noticed and positive steps are made.  I think this will appeal to kids too… take a look.

The mission of this project is to create public awareness, work with governments, businesses and non-profit organizations to find a solution for deforestation, and find sources for funding.  This global effort is aimed at getting top level support from nations around the world.

Saving these tropical rainforests is so critical because they absorb about a fifth of all man-made CO2 emissions, and we all know how CO2 affects climate change.  In fact, these forests are often burned down, which releases all of the CO2 they have stored back into the atmosphere, as if they had never existed.  And this doesn’t even consider the fate of the animals that call these forests home.

So check out The Prince’s Rainforests Project, sign-up to have your voice heard, find new ways to help and spread the word.  Stand up and say you want this preventable disaster to stop.

And when you take a look at The Prince’s Rainforests Project site, be sure to watch the counter at the top of the page.  In the time I spent reading one page on the site… 445,129 square meters of rainforest were destroyed.  How horribly sad.

(This giveaway is now closed for entries… congratulations “Marisa”!)

Last year was the first time we really participated in Earth Day.  We planted a small tree in our yard (that shortly thereafter became a deer’s lunch… but at least we tried!), read some books about the Earth and had an eco-friendly dinner complete with some dirt for dessert (don’t call the authorities – it was just the dessert that LOOKS like dirt!)

This year I was so excited to learn that Disneynature is premiering its first film, Earth, on Earth Day, April 22, 2009.  The trailer looks just incredible.  Narrated by James Earl Jones, this film tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journey across the planet we all call home.  Earth combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet’s wildest and most elusive creatures.  In fact, it’s directed by the same creative team behind the Planet Earth series (that we love!).

To make this an even more impactful event, Disneynature will also plant a tree in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (the most endangered rain forest in the world), in honor of every moviegoer who sees the film in its opening week.  If a weekday viewing isn’t possible, you can plan for the weekend too, and still make a difference!

To top off this great effort, Disneynature has also offered a giveaway to a Mom Goes Green reader.  This Earth-branded package (valued at $60) includes a canvas tote, a biodegradable tumbler, a fleece blanket and a tree seedling (that hopes NOT to become a lunch!).  To enter this contest, just leave a comment and tell me how you will spend Earth Day this year. You can also send a Twitter message that includes a reply to @momgoesgreen and a link to this blog or write about this giveaway and link back.

A random winner will be selected one week from today’s post (US residents only, please… sorry!)

So plan your Earth Day activities, schedule a viewing of Earth and enter to win… all in celebration of this great planet we share!

(NOTE:  This giveaway is now closed for entries.)

Since the day our kids were born we’ve always read to them, even before they were old enough to hold a book (sometimes I read “Parents” magazine aloud while I nursed them!) and as a result, nightly stories have become a regular part of our lives.

Now we’ve progressed to where our daughter is able to read to us (and boy, is that amazing… and sometimes alarming when our kids’ show switches off, the “On Demand” screen is promoting “grown-up shows” and our daughter screams “Mom!  What’s ‘Sex & The City’?”… oh yikes!).

Despite a new reader in our house, we still snuggle up and read to them and as they grow and become more aware of what the stories actually mean, I’ve really tried to buy books with a message.  One outstanding publisher I recently discovered is Barefoot Books – their vision is to “celebrate the world’s diversity, encourage children’s independent spirits and build enthusiasm for reading, creativity and discovery!”… just what we’re looking for!

The latest, greatest selection to hit our bookshelf is The Barefoot Book of Earth Tales.  It’s a compilation of some of the sweetest earth stories from different cultures around the world and how they live in harmony with nature.  They even include kid-friendly eco-tips and activities following each story.

Any day is a great day for fantastic stories like these, but in celebration of our upcoming Earth Day I have a copy I would love to give away to a reader! Just leave a comment and let me know if you have a favorite Barefoot Book; but if you’re a newbie, that’s okay too… let me help you get started!  You can also send a Twitter message that includes a reply to @momgoesgreen and a link to this blog or write about this giveaway and link back. It’s a perfect book for your kids or a gift for the little eco-minded one in your life! (My kids really LOVE it!) The winner will be randomly selected one week from today’s post (and again, US entries only, please… sorry!).

In addition, the fine folks at Barefoot Books are offering a 10% discount now until April 30, 2009.  Just use code: SCETALES at checkout.  Plus, for every Earth Tales book you purchase, Eco-Libris will plant a tree in your honor in celebration of Earth Day.

So kick off your shoes, enter to win, buy a copy and take a Barefoot walk through Earth Tales!

Well, that was harsh.  But research has shown that it’s true.

I’ve talked about my frustration with my neighbor cutting down all of the trees in her backyard, and then (as if a “tree-hating virus” had attacked the street) my other neighbor cut down healthy trees too!  We were all heartbroken at this senselessness, but there was little we could do to stop the insanity.

I wish I could have shared the results of the latest research with them before the chainsaws-went-to-town.  We all know how environmentally important trees are – for providing oxygen and shade, improving air quality, conserving water, preserving soil and supporting wildlife (as both food and habitat), but the latest research has found that trees actually make people live longer and feel happier… and that doesn’t really surprise me.

According to studies:  (1) treed streets have a lower rate of crime, (2) residents have happier relationships and (3) perform better in tests; (4) trees help us to psychologically rejuvenate and they even (5) impact our “physical, psychological and social well-being”; (6) residents live longer and (7) have an overall better health and (8) children behave better in a “nature setting” than in a treeless area, especially those with an attention deficit concern… all I can say is “amazing”.   The research even showed that those with less access to green space (even if only a nearby park) have a shorter attention span, poor management of major life issues and poor impulse control.

I’m definitely not a supporter of money spent frivolously on silly research but I admittedly like that these studies support what I’ve suspected all along:  aside from the environmental importance of our precious trees, they truly have an altering effect on our well-being.

Today, I’m asking you to… hug a tree, love a tree, feel grateful for every tree you see… and please, don’t cut the healthy ones down… because they have a greater impact on our lives than we ever realized.

*(tree hug photo:  Jim Sabo)

Okay, so who likes bills?  If they are currency bills… yes, I’d like to sign-up for a large pile, please.  But unfortunately I’m talking about the kind that arrives at our home telling us we have to dip into our own pile!  Not nearly as fun.

I have one day every month where I sit down and pay every new bill we’ve received.  This is usually a dark and gloomy day because wow, they add up quickly and the grand total is often earth shattering (especially that $400 heating bill that popped up, thanks to arctic temperatures this last month!).  But for at least the past four years I have been paying everything online through our bank and this got me to thinking… hey, this is actually a pretty ‘green’ practice and I never really recognized it.

When I looked further, this is what I learned…

By some estimates, if all households in the U.S. paid their bills online and received electronic statements instead of paper, we’d save 18.5 million trees every year, 2.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and 1.7 billion pounds of solid waste.

Again, WOW!  That really adds up.  Many creditors and utility companies will now offer electronic bills upon request.  If they don’t, at least you can shred the bill and recycle it, along with the return envelopes and other enclosures, to insure that they don’t become trash when they are returned to the company with payment.  Plus you save on the postage, so it’s a really economical choice too.

So sign-up for online banking, tell your creditors and utility companies to “email me” and almost one whole tree a year will thank you!

Hey, where’s your mind?  You know I’m talking about Christmas trees, right?  Of course you did!… sheesh.

But the debate over real Christmas trees vs. the artificial option has been raging for some time.  Both sides give a pretty good argument but for as long as I can remember, my mom and now my own family have gone the route of artificial trees.

Aside from the fact that you can now buy them with the lights already attached (for the “no-cursing-over-the-tangled-light-strings”-factor!) they are easy to assemble so you can get to the fun part of decorating!  And my eco-friendly favorite factor… they get used year, after year, after year…

My husband would probably tell you a different story and that is the fact that I have compassion for literally everything(!) and would never dream of killing a tree!  He has been known to yell “OUCH!” when I bite into a piece of broccoli (to which I scream back “STOP IT!”) because then I feel bad for the broccoli! (Now you think I’ve gone mad, don’t you!)  Don’t laugh.  A friend of mine won’t put anything in the dishwasher by itself because she thinks it will be lonely.  (See, we’re all nuts!)

But seriously, the environmental side of using live trees is the fact that they require herbicides and pesticides for about 8-12 years before they’re a “sellable” size.  Add to that the carbon footprint of getting them to a selling site, unless you live near a tree farm or cut your own.  At the end of the season, they end up in the trash, unless you seek out a source for recycling them for mulch or compost.

On the opposite side, artificial trees are often manufactured in China (with PVC and, some say, lead) and you have to consider the “cost” of getting them to your local retailer, but they do get used again and again.  And often, they get donated to another family or organization before they eventually meet a landfill once they are tattered, old and no longer loved.   Unfortunately, I haven’t heard of a biodegradable artificial tree just yet.

So what is the answer to the debate?  Simply… I don’t know for sure.

Actually, the most environmental choice would be to buy a live, uncut tree with the root ball still intact and then plant it right after the holidays.  One consideration though (especially in cold climates) is digging a hole in the frozen ground.  For this, I recommend digging the hole ASAP and then you can just plant it as soon as the holidays are over. ( I also recommend talking to a professional about how to move them outdoors and properly plant them, to increase the chance of survival.)

But whatever you choose for your family, do the responsible thing and see that your real tree gets composed or mulched or use your artificial tree for years and years to come.

Now, I have to get back to steaming some broccoli…awww.  Poor broccoli.

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…

I’ve mentioned a couple of times about our house being situated on a treed ravine. It’s really beautiful and is part of the attraction of our house. Obviously our backyard is also filled with trees, as is every neighbor’s yard, all the way down the block, along the ravine.

A few years ago our next door neighbor sold her house and moved to Atlanta. The new family is friendly and pleasant enough. They take care of their house and yard and even bailed us out of two feet of snow this past winter…(honey, anytime you wanna buy a snow blower, don’t stop yourself!…although, undoubtedly, the emissions aren’t good for the environment!)

Then one morning we were awakened by the roar of blaring chainsaws…slashing away at every limb, branch and trunk of all 12 of the neighbor’s backyard trees. By the end of the day, there were 12 sad, little, one-foot stumps sitting helpless around their yard.

I wanted to throw-up.

Even my kids knew how horrible it was. Our daughter said “Mommy! Why did she do that?!?!? Cutting down trees is baaaad!” She said she was tired of the leaves and acorns. Wow. Leaves and acorns. Such a problem. I cannot imagine EVER taking down a tree unless it is dying and a threat of falling. (In fact I have two pretty gnarly trees in my yard but can’t imagine taking them down.)

Trees are so very, very crucial to our environment. They provide oxygen and shade, improve air quality, conserve water, preserve soil and support wildlife (as both food and habitat) and the list goes on and on. Truly, it broke my heart.

Sure their new grass is thick, lush and green now. Mine is sparse in spots and slightly pathetic because of the limited sunlight, but when I look out into my yard, I’m at peace with Mother Earth and I know she’s at peace with me.

photo by: www.kracked.com