Eco Child’s Play

The poor guy just wanted to watch a baseball game. And then this selfish, nasty woman had the gall to–gasp!–breastfeed in the seat in front of him. Oh, the horror!

So he did what any sane representative for a radio program would do: He Tweeted his disgust. He made sure to toss a few choice words in there, like:

‘crazy‘, ‘no shame‘, ‘rude‘. And don’t forget that ever-popular suggestion, ‘Can’t she go in back?‘

But this so-called radio personality, Tim Mihalsky, had standards, folks. It’s indecent to breastfeed in front of him. That is, unless…

if she was hot, it woulda been a different tweet

But people were watching. It’s the magic of Twitter. Use a term, and anyone following that thread can watch your foot-in-mouth disease as it gets progressively worse. That’s where he came up against Feminist Breeder, a former rocker mom who is from, as DJ articulate said,

Chicago or, some ghetto place like that.

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The formula is simple, and the story has been written and rewritten a million times over. Take Scott Harrison from Charity: Water, who was so moved by his visit to West Africa that he was inspired to start an organization dedicated to providing clean water to people in Africa, and now, the world. Or the story of Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, who was raised on a farm in Pennsylvania and went on to lay the foundation for the environmental movement of the 60’s and 70’s.

These stories share one common thread–empathy. Those inspired to make change connect with their cause empathically, by having immersed themselves in the environment they ultimately choose to support. Their drive and their accomplishments are sustainable because they are empaths.

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When I think of Angelina Jolie naked, I think, “Breastfeeding.” You too? No?

Just minutes away from Brad Pitt’s birthplace, Phantom-Financial has posted a life-sized park bench statue. It’s apparently inspired by last year’s cover of W magazine, and the statue is just in time for World Breastfeeding Week.

I, too, was inspired by Jolie’s nursing pic. As a lactivist, I think it’s fantastic when women like this show that natural human processes are even done by hot starlet MILFs.

And though the statue is “not endorsed by any celebrity”, WTF is up with the naked breastfeeder? And–gasp!–in public?!

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Gardening with your children provides valuable lessons, family togetherness time and plenty of fresh veggies to dress your table.

I’m a big slacker this year.  My big, fat, Eco-Confession?  I didn’t plant a garden this year.  This means we have been relying on farmers markets and u-pick to survive!  Ugh.

But, wait… I have a pretty good excuse.  We moved this Spring.  Our Spring was consumed with painting, cleaning, packing and unpacking.  It was pretty crazy around here.  Then my beloved Mama passed away and I didn’t want to do much of anything for a good two months.  Now, I’m up and running… but my yard is far from it!  Since this is a new to us home, there was already a bunch of yard work to do.  Needless to say, we haven’t gotten around to much of it, which includes clearing the garden beds and replanting.

So, that’s the plan this weekend.  Get those beds cleared and start our transplants inside the house.   Good thing I have plenty of kids. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s berry picking season.  There is nothing better than strolling to the wild vines at the back of our property and plucking fresh, warm, untainted berries from their spiky perch.  Except maybe, the lemonade one can make with those berries.  It will never cease to amaze me how excited the kiddos get about going out to pluck a handful of fresh berries or climb the tree after cherries.  I don’t even mind the purple and red stained hands.

The photo is our fresh pitcher of berry lemonade made just moments ago and already teetering on the edge of emptiness again.  This batch was made with blackberries and raspberries which had gotten a little soft over the last couple days. Read the rest of this entry »

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing to issue new recommendations regarding circumcision and its supposed ability to low the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

One new group hopes to have a big voice in the circumcision debate. Intact America is based in New York and backed by a pro-intact Texas millionaire.

Circumcision rates are currently at about 50 percent in the States, with rates varying dependent on region. Intactivists worry that if government officials choose to rely on select African studies, the circumcision rate will again begin to rise. Read the rest of this entry »

Kidzsack is an eco-friendly backsack made from 100% recycled cotton and soda bottles. A cute bag for back to school, the end of summer, or just to have for fun these bags allow a child’s creativity to come through.

The Kidzsack comes with a set of 8 washable markers that kids can use to decorate the bags. Then they can be washed and colored again. It’s usable coloring sheet for kids to enjoy.

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Annmarie Schulte and her husband Matthew had planned on a natural birth for their fourth daughter. They had also planned the perfect name for the babe. What they didn’t plan on was Annmarie reaching down and delivering the baby while stuck in rush hour traffic on the I-43 near Milwaukee.

Annmarie shouted to Matthew at 7:48 a.m. after she felt her baby crowning,

She’s here!

As we all know ad nauseam, OBs generally warn against a vaginal birth after C-section, or VBAC.  And in this case, it would be a VBA3C; all 3 of the Schultes’ daughters were born by cesarean. This time, to ensure they’d get the natural birth they wanted, the couple worked with two doulas, a midwife, and a physician throughout the pregnancy.

And whoa boy. They got a natural birth; an unassisted natural birth.

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Are you looking for eco-friendly solutions to disposable dinnerware and paper towels?  myEARTH360 has got you covered!  Recently, I received samples of the following products:

VerTerra Eco-Friendly Party-Ready Plates — 6” x 6” disposable plates created from fallen palm leaves, gathered and pressed into distinctive shapes. Using fair wage labor and sustainable production methods VerTerra is the elegant, guilt-free choice to help make a difference in the world one party at a time.

Aspenware Biodegradable Wood Utensils — Biodegradable and made from birch and aspen — hardwoods that are ordinarily burnt or left to rot during regular industrial logging.

SKOY Cloth — A fabulous, absorbent, biodegradable and natural multi-use cloth. These re-usable earth friendly cloths are perfect in your kitchen, bathroom, and on most surface areas in your home or office. SKOY cloth can be used in place of your sponge, wash cloth or paper towels.

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My mommy instincts told me playing on shredded tires was not good for my children’s health, but apparently the EPA lacks such intuition.  According to the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibilty (PEER), the EPA has admitted it does not know “the extent of childhood exposure from ingestion or inhalation of an array of toxic chemicals found within tires”. Read the rest of this entry »