If you want to clean green but don’t want to pay extra for green cleaning products consider making your own. The Joy of Green Cleaning
Last week, while volunteering at my daughter’s classroom Halloween party, I flinched a little as I saw one of the other parents dutifully strolling around dispensing the requisite waterless, chem-filled hand sanitizers. Aside from my skepticism that anti-bacterial soaps will actually do much to kill a virus, I also suspected the ingredients in the sanitizer weren’t much better than the germs they were designed to kill. So when the teacher instructed two of my daughter’s peers that they were supposed to wash their hands with soap and warm water instead (apparently per parental instruction), I quickly chimed in that I wanted Eliana to do the same. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what other chemicals were being sprayed around the room when the cleaning staff arrived. Read the rest of this entry »
I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas: Gifts, Decorations, and Recipes that Use Less and Mean More
I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas is a fabulous book full of tips, expert advice, crafts, recipes, decorating ideas and directions and pretty much everything you need to make the holidays more eco-friendly. Read the rest of this entry »
What counts for 25% of most households’ electricity consumption? Your refrigerator. So, of course, you are going to want to make sure you are running it the most efficient way that you can!
1. Be Organized–You waste time and energy with keeping the door open while trying to find something in your messy fridge. I have to admit that I am horrible with this, which is why I tidy up my fridge one day a week. If I didn’t, it would be scary! Up to 30% of the cool air in the fridge escapes every time you open the door, which is quite a bit! Be quick when you get something out!
My small town, all 475,000 of us, are at the forefront of solar energy! On August 5, 2009, eSolar unveiled the 5 MW (mega watt) demonstration plant known as Sierra SunTower. The solar power plant has 24,000 mirrors and two giant tower house boilers. The boilers create what’s known as “thermal solar” which is said to be more cost-effective than the standard photovoltaic approach used in solar cells. The process creates steam to drive the turbine generators. The project was completed in 14 month time frame and has already begun to distribute power to Southern California Edison.
eSolar’s site says “Sierra SunTower will supply 5 MW of clean, renewable energy to the grid. This full-scale power plant, the only one of its kind in the U.S., produces electricity for Southern California Edison (SCE) and will power up to 4,000 homes.”
SIGG bottles, long upheld as the standard by which all non-plastic drink bottles should be compared, favourite of hippies and eco-gurus, juggernaut and arguably the biggest player in the metal bottle industry, has finally fessed up.SIGG kept this cozy little secret by constantly releasing reassuring statements that their proprietary formula had been extensively tested and was never found to leach BPA.
The subtle truth hidden in their messages was that they never said there was no BPA in there to begin with. But now, one entire year after changing their liner to a new “EcoCare”, BPA-free formula, they are now admitting what so many have suspected all along.
(image via ci.wixom.mi.us)
Mapping out your errands with your kids can turn into a fun activity to plan and execute. Make a game of running errands by mapping out the shortest route. Grab an old map of your city or use an online map service to draw your own. Involving your children will help deepen their respect for reducing the pollutant they put in the air to run their errands now and as they grow older. You can also point out that since you took the time to bunch all your errands together you have more time to do things you really enjoy.
To live green means to live a sustainable lifestyle that won’t deplete or pollute the earth’s natural resources–and to find ways to replenish or recycle these resources and materials. To be green means to preserve and to protect our environments and our planet. Even small things like mapping out your errands teaches your children this important concept.
You can simply and easily reduce your carbon footprint, save money on your power bill and teach your kids through example how to help the earth just by tweaking your cooking techniques a bit!
Did you know:
I spent the first weekend away from my sons ever at BlogHer ’09 in Chicago. And my favorite session—hands down—was the Green Bloggers session. (Why yes, it was nice to meet the writers I adore!)
There, while we discussed good resources for product ingredient lists and standards, an audience member dropped what sounded like a bomb to all of us in the natural parenting, green cleaning and organic living world:
On January 1, 2010, all household products will have full ingredient lists on their labeling.
How did this amazing change in chem-laden products come about? Blame Thank Canada.
Here are the deets on these requirements. Read the rest of this entry »
Say hello to eco-friendly non-stick cookware and goodbye to toxic Teflon coated pans that off-gas hazardous chemicals into the air and who knows what they put into your food.
Cuisinart has a new line of non-stick cookware that is non-stick while being PTFE and PFOA free, which means it has none of the nasty chemicals that Teflon (and similar coatings have).
The Cuisinart GreenGourmet pans are petroleum free, they have a hard anodized interior, an aluminum alloy core, and a Cuisinart Ceramica (TM) interior that makes the pan non-stick.
So what does all this mean, you may be thinking? Keep reading to find out. Read the rest of this entry »
Eco Child’s Play
News, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a more healthy, eco-friendly life
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