A Winter Day at the Zoo

OK, the holidays are over, the relatives have returned home, but the kids are still out of school. What to do when everyone is climbing the walls - how about a trip to the zoo?

My boys and I went to the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle yesterday and had a great time seeing all the animals. We went in search of red pandas, armadillos, snakes, and penguins. Along the way, we also enjoyed the porcupines, flamingos, elephants, night monkeys, and the fat-tailed gecko that we got to touch! The best part is that the zoos are relatively empty this time of year so you get a front-row view of all the animals.

We learned a few interesting facts too... Fat-tailed geckos (who looked two-headed to us since their tail looks a lot like their head) can drop their tails if they are under attack and the tail will grow back. Flamingos sleep on one leg to keep the other one warm (I thought they were just showing off their amazing balance on those teeny, tiny legs). We also learned there is only one armadillo that can roll completely into a ball to defend itself. That just so happened to be the Three-Banded Armadillo that we were looking for in the Night Exhibit, but we're fairly certain that tan-colored ball on the ground was him.

Our zoo is open 364 days a year - and I would imagine most others are as well since the animals and their keepers are always there so don't miss out on a chance to miss the crowds and get up close with the animals and their keepers.

Billions and Billions...

I remember as a child watching Carl Sagan on PBS as he talked about "billions and billions" of stars or miles or whatever the topic was for that show. Those big numbers were hard to grasp as a child - and even still as an adult today.

So much of what we hear about the Earth these days is in statistics - how many tons our carbon footprint is, how many plastic bags we consume in a year, how many acres of forest are lost every day... It's hard to truly understand the magnitude of it all, regardless of whether the numbers are in the thousands, millions, or billions.

A recent visit to the Chris Jordan: Running the Numbers exhibit at The Pacific Science Center in Seattle offered an amazing visual representation of all those numbers. Chris Jordan is a photographer from Seattle who depicts the vastness of our consumerism in striking images. When we walked into the exhibit, we encountered what initially looked like one of Georges Seurat's famous paintings with his signature pointillism technique. Upon closer examination, we realized it was actually a compilation of miniature pictures of 106,000 aluminum cans - equivalent to the number we use in the US every 30 minutes. The exhibit poster shows the picture below, but you need to see it in person to really grasp the magnitude.

The art of the photography really gets you to take a second look because most of the pictures look very different from afar and up close. What appears to be a beautiful image of Denali, the highest mountain in North America, morphs into 24,000 logos of the Denali SUV that were sold during a six month period.

Other interesting things represented in the photographs:

* The 426,000 cellphones we discard each day.

* The 2 million plastic beverage bottles we use every 5 minutes

* The 1.14 million brown paper supermarket bags used every hour (this was 2007, hopefully this number is going down)

* The one million plastic cups we use every six hours on flights

* The 380,000 kilowatt hours of electricity we waste every minute through inefficient energy use

The exhibit will be at The Pacific Science Center until January 3rd, 2010 and it's just upstairs from the Cartoon Network Animation exhibit, which was another big draw for my kids. The show is also currently in Boston and will travel to Haverford, PA; Austin, TX; Santa Cruz, CA; Charleston, SC; Eugene, OR; and Bellingham, WA in 2010-11.

Recycled Trees, Lights, and Packaging

The holidays tend to be a time of excess. In case you suffered some of that in your own household, here are some ideas for recycling your way out of the mess!

What to do I do with...

The tree? If you had a real tree, remember that it is biodegradable and can easily be recycled back into the Earth. In my neighborhood, the Boy Scouts come around every year and for a nominal donation will recycle it. If you're not so lucky, you can either put chop it up for your own yard waste or look for a drop off location at Earth911.

Broken or old lights? Rather than storing away the lights that no longer work for another year, you can drop them off at participating Ace Hardware stores. They were originally offering 15% coupons for the new energy-efficient LED lights, but those are actually marked down 65% now, so you can even get a bargain on next year's lights.

All that packaging? It is a few days past Christmas, so hopefully those messes are already cleaned up, but just in case here are a few thoughts. Save the boxes and bows for reuse next year. I just stack the nice gift boxes inside each other and then toss them down in the crawlspace for next year. Remember that in most cases, those horrendous plastic clamshells that encase many children's toys cannot be recycled. Unfortunately, those must be tossed. Did you get any styrofoam peanuts in packages that arrived by mail. Most packaging stores will gladly accept those for their own reuse.

Holiday cards? Recycling is an option for the cards that don't have foil or glitter, but another possibility is to reuse them for next year's gift tags. You can have your children cut out the designs and then pack them away with the decorations until next year. If your kids really like cutting out the penguins, snowflakes, and Santas, they may even turn it into a craft project to keep them busy while they're out of school this week. Ask them to create a winter scene from all the cutouts or have them make up a story to go with it.

What about you? What sort of excess is your home suffering from after the holidays? Feel free to post your own tips in the Comments.

Dark Days Challenge Week Five

Meat and potatoes... That's what the local meal was all about this week. My husband picked up some beefalo at the store and that was the inspiration for the meal. Local eating can be adventurous, but sometimes you just want the basics.

Of course, the first question my children asked was, what is it? Beefalo is a combination between bison (also commonly known as buffalo) and cattle. According to our source (Beefalo Meats in Ellensburg, WA), beefalo has up to 6 times less cholesterol, half the calories, and four times less fat. All I know is that it was gobbled up in moments by my children who loved the flavor!

The beefalo was grilled on the barbecue and we had potatoes (Oregon) and veggies to go with it. I had some kale and cabbage in the fridge, so I did a quick Internet search and found something to accommodate my ingredients. I have never cooked with kale before and my husband refers to it as the vegetable that decorates most salad bars, so I needed a little help. I ended up with a Kale-Cabbage Saute recipe adapted from Cooking Light. The beefalo, potatoes, and vegetables were all local. The spices and oils were not. Most importantly, both kids tried a little kale and cabbage - not their favorite vegetables, but at least they tasted them!

Kale-Cabbage Saute

Ingredients
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 cups vertically sliced onion
1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
5 cups chopped kale
2 cups presliced green cabbage
2 tablespoons water

Preparation: Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds; cook 1 minute. Add ginger; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add onion; cook 5 minutes. Stir in jalapeño and the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook 15 minutes or until kale is tender; stir occasionally.

Earth-Friendly Wrappings

Today is the 7th day of Hannukah and Christmas is 7 days away, so if you have children, there's a good chance you are wrapping presents right about now. I'm trying to get mine wrapped and under the tree before the kids are out of school for 2 weeks! Here are my Good/Better/Best ideas for Earth-friendly gift wrap. Feel free to share your own ideas in the Comments below - anonymous comments are always welcome too if you don't have an account to log in.

Good: Buy wrapping paper with a high recycled paper content. I confess I succumbed to the Innisbrook gift wrap drive from my children's school so I do have a stash of brightly colored paper. It isn't perfect, but the paper is recycled and they have improved their dying process by moving to 100% water-based dyes and recycling the leftovers.

Better: Use butcher block paper and tie it with string or yarn. The plain paper is cheap, dye-free and your kids can decorate it. A friend mentioned that she always uses raffia for ribbon, which I assumed was really green since it is a natural product. It is sustainable, but, if you use raffia, you may also want to check where it comes from. My quick Internet search showed that raffia comes from palm trees in Madasgcar (which seems a little far to source ribbon), but I'm sure there are other more local sources as well.


Best: Reuse!

* Find a new use for those countless kid drawings you have! (Note: you may need to ask your children for their approval on this so you don't induce tears when you reuse that special world map drawing they did in preschool). The polka dotted package below comes from an old art project and is tied with colorful telephone wire which we picked up long ago on a trip to Creation Station.

* Wrap the gift in another usable item - a cloth dishtowel, keepsake box, reusable grocery bag, cotton napkin, or silk scarf. Make the wrapping part of the gift itself.

* Reuse part of the newspaper, magazines, or catalogs. Be creative in which section you pick - Sports, Comics, ...

Don't forget to get the kids in on the action. Ask for their creative ideas for boxes, wrapping, or adornment (pinecones, acorns, etc.) and you may be amazed at what they come up with.

When the unwrapping part comes along, see if there is anything you can salvage for the next holiday. The gift bags are my favorite because they still look good when you reuse them and can be stored flat.

Dark Days Challenge Week Four

Now that I'm into week four of this eating local Dark Days Challenge, I'm finally taking some steps to having more local food on hand. If I'm going to cook one local meal a week in an effort to shorten the distance my food travels before it gets to my plate, I definitely need more advance preparation. For starters, I received my first delivery from a Community Sponsored Agriculture (CSA) local farm. On the recommendation of a friend, I chose Klesick Family Farms in Stanwood, WA. If you're interested in finding a local farmer near you, check out Local Harvest.

I purchased the all-Northwest box of food and received tuna, cabbage, leeks, potatoes, Pink Lady Apples, Concorde Pears - and a jar of enchilada sauce as a gift for my first order. The potatoes and leeks made it into a soup for my weekly meal (see below).

My next step was to spend a leisurely amount of time (i.e. no children with me!) at my local co-op browsing the aisles and seeing exactly what they have and where all the food comes from. I ended up with local chicken stock (which is good if you're not one of those cooks that has a lot on hand!), vegetable stock, tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, butter, and cream. I also scored a jar of miso that wasn't local, but does meet my kids' recent request for homemade miso soup.

For my meal this week, I actually borrowed a Potato Leek soup recipe from a fellow Dark Days participant who blogs at Married...with Dinner. Thanks for the recipe! It came out well and was perfect for a cold winter day. I'm happy to report that the soup elicited a "That's pretty good," from my 9-year old. My 7-year old is still a harder sell on new foods, but he was okay with it dipped in bread. Baby steps... The best part about it was that my husband played sous-chef and cut up all the vegetables for me. He still can't figure out how his wife ended up in a challenge that involves cooking!

Potato-Leek Soup - adapted from Emeril Lagasse
1 pound leeks
2 bay leaves
20 black peppercorns
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 T butter
2 strips bacon, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups chicken stock
1 pound starchy potatoes, peeled and diced
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 cup cream
2 T finely minced green garlic, chives, or tender leek greens

Tie together bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme into a cheesecloth bundle or infusing ball. Cut the white part of the leeks lengthwise and rinse well under cold water. Slice crosswise and set aside. Discard the greens, or save for making stock.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat; when melted, add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the bacon is soft and has rendered most of its fat; do not brown. Add the chopped leeks and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add bouquet garni, chicken stock, potatoes, salt, and white pepper, and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are falling apart.

Remove the bouquet garni and puree the soup with an immersion blender (or in batches — carefully — in a standard blender; then return to pan). Stir in the cream and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately, with minced chives or green garlic sprinkled over each bowl.

All was local, except for the bacon and a few of the spices. The potatoes and leeks came from Klesick Family Farms. The chicken stock was from Pacific Natural Foods. The butter and cream came from Organic Valley.

The 4th Grade Perspective

I recently had a chance to talk to my son's 4th grade class about global warming. What a great experience! My basic talk centered on separating what we know from what we're trying to understand. I explained that global warming is real - regardless of your beliefs on the causes, 5 of the warmest years on record have occurred in the past decade. I also shared that the Earth can warm for a variety of reasons - volcano eruptions, changes in the sun, and increases in greenhouse gases.

Talking about greenhouse gases showed just how complicated it gets, though. "Are greenhouse gases bad?" I asked. "Yes, no, maybe," were their responses. True enough. I explained that these gases (everything from CO2 to methane to water vapor) are what allow Earth to soak up the warmth of the sun as it has for millions of years. Have we put the delicate system out of balance lately with all our production of these gases? Probably.

"Who is the country that produces the most CO2 each year?" I asked. "Canada? Russia?" Partly right, but we're right there too. Whether we're looking at total emissions or per capita emissions, the US is one of the top 3 producers. For total emissions it's China, US, Russia. For per capita emissions, we share that distinction with Australia and Canada.

"Should we limit our production of greenhouse gases?" I asked. "Yes! Definitely!" Ahh... the enthusiasm of children!

"Are you willing to live in smaller houses? walk to school? take less airplane rides?" I asked. "No! Never!" Ahhh.... the spoiled Americans that we are. We want everything to be better, but we also like everything just the way it is.

Of course, there aren't any immediate answers, but I'm excited that today's kids are at least studying these issues. After all, they are the leaders, consumers, and scientists of tomorrow.

The Whole Truth

Today is the first day of the 2 week climate summit in Copenhagen. I have hesitated to blog about it because lately it seems more politically charged than scientifically motivated. First, there was the debate about which sessions President Obama would attend (on his way to Oslo to accept his Nobel Peace Prize - another politically charged discussion), then there was the debacle of the leaked emails from the British scientists. In case you haven't heard, the emails refer to things such as "tricks" in how the data is presented. All in all, it did not show the scientists in the best light.

The summit has only just begun, but here is the one thing I think we have already learned: we need the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth on this issue. Climate change science is muddy right now because we're trying to spot present-day trends that are best viewed from a distance (meaning hundreds, thousands, and millions of years from now).

Research studies don't always come out the way you expect. I learned this on a simple level when I was teaching Junior Achievement to a group of 2nd graders last month. We did an exercise that was supposed to show why assembly line production is much faster than individual unit production. Great concept, except it didn't work out that way. That's okay - I didn't fudge the data, I just used it as a chance to teach the importance of communication and how that may have impacted the results of our exercise. The research on climate change isn't going to be perfect and likely won't all point to the same answer - and that's okay. It's all part of the bigger picture we need to understand what's going on.

Just as we need to teach our kids the value of honesty, we also need to expect it in our leaders, scientists, journalists - everyone. Let's not lose sight of the issue just because we want to be right. Do I believe in climate change? Yes, I do, but I also know there is a lot we still don't know. Did I change my opinion after hearing about the email scandal? No, the fact that some people want to bend the data to make their case more compelling is disturbing, but it doesn't change the science behind it.

And, what do I say to those who don't think there is any scientific proof to back up climate change? To them, I say, let's look at this from a common sense perspective. Does it seem like a good idea to be releasing all these gases and chemicals into the air? Even if we don't know the cause, do you think we should be worried about the icebergs melting? From a common sense perspective, I would say we should be worried and be doing our very best to get the best scientific answers we possibly can - regardless of whether that science proves or disproves current theories.

Dark Days Challenge Week 3

Ok, it's Sunday evening and I haven't made my local meal this week (the deadline for getting included in the weekly blog about the Dark Days Challenge is Sunday so this is a problem). I've learned that most of the participants in the challenge are waaaaaay more versed in the locavore world than I am. This week's email dialog has been full of debates on canning, freezing herbs, and finding local grains - all topics I know nothing about.

Ah well, I do have local cabbage in the fridge and would love a nice salad, so here goes. This recipe is adapted from the Firecracker Slaw recipe from The Fast Track One-Day Detox by Ann Louise Gittleman. It's not something I do regularly, but I did try the detox a few years ago and it introduced me to a lot of organic veggies I'd never thought of eating - daikon radish, dandelion greens and raised some interesting questions about what happens to our bodies when we fill them with chemicals.

Firecracker Slaw

1/2 small green cabbage

1/2 small purple cabbage

1 c. mixed peppers (red, green, yellow, orange)

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

4 tsp. flaxseed oil

Cayenne Pepper - season to taste

The cabbage was fresh and local; the peppers were frozen and leftover from the summer farmer's market. I usually use them for cooking, but was unsure how they would hold up in a salad once they were defrosted. It turns out they work just fine and even maintain a little crunch. The oil, vinegar, and cayenne were my non-local ingredients. I'm sure I could find apple cider vinegar since I live in the land of apples, so I'll have to think about that for the future.

Now, if only I could convince my kids to eat cabbage!

Getting it Right the First Time

Last week, a nice young man rang our doorbell and asked if we would like a free window inspection the next day. While I haven't been thinking about replacing my windows, I was intrigued when he said they would measure the efficiency of my current windows so I signed up.

Image by Vardhana via Flickr

I wouldn't recommend the experience unless you're truly in the market (sort of reminded me of used car shopping), but I did learn some interesting things:

* 70% of the heat loss in your home is through the windows.
* Double pane windows do virtually nothing to keep the heat inside in the winter or outside in the summer.
* The important thing is what is in between the panes - krypton, in this case. Wow - I thought that was just for Superman.

* The test to "measure the efficiency" of my current windows involved shining a light bulb outside my sliding glass door and feeling the heat through the other side. Hmmm... I probably could have managed that on my own.

* And, finally... replacing windows is incredibly expensive.

When we finally got to the part about how it would cost nearly $50k to replace all the windows in my house, I was left wondering, why is it that we don't build things right the first time around? While they guaranteed I would save 40% in energy costs instantly if I replace all my windows, it would take a lifetime to earn back that huge replacement cost. No, I did not sign on the dotted line.

If we have the knowledge to build more energy-efficient homes, why don't we? I know there are exceptions to this rule, but the norm still seems to be to use the cheapest parts. Is it simply because we, as consumers, always want the lowest price?

Why Shop Locally

Believe it or not, I actually had a great shopping experience this weekend - even amidst the dreaded Black Friday. My plan for the long weekend was to get the house decorated for the holidays and I had a few small things I still needed to find. Wanting to avoid the malls, I visited local stores instead.

What a refreshing experience! On Sunday, in search of a tree skirt, I stopped by J. Matheson in Everett and found the owner outside hanging lights on his store. Although the sign indicated they were closed, I inquired anyway since there were a few lights on inside. Saying he never liked to turn customers away, he offered to open the store up for me and his wife met me inside. I found a beautiful and unique skirt in a few minutes, and even my boys didn't mind shopping because the store comes with a cute dog that loves to play.

I also shopped at Christmas Gifts on Broadway and was instantly transported back to another generation. Each room of the old home is filled with decorations and classic gifts for children (books, Madame Alexander Dolls, wooden blocks, tea sets). You can nibble cookies and drink hot tea while you wander through the rooms. There was no hustle or bustle and my boys were amazed to see a shop owner who actually used her math skills to total up the purchases. No calculator, no computerized register, just pen and paper!

With the economy still hurting, I love the idea of keeping the money I do spend in my community. While the items I bought weren't necessarily made in my local area (which would have been even better), research shows that local businesses reinvest in the community 3 to 5 times more than chain or "big box" stores. In the end, they were both great shopping experiences that warmed the heart, rather than leaving me tired and jaded.

What about you? What local stores do you support and why?

Dark Days Challenge Week Two

On to week two of the Dark Days Challenge of eating locally... Thanksgiving offered the perfect opportunity, but I didn't quite have my act together to pull off an entirely local meal, so instead I did a leftover meal the next day.

We had Open-Face Turkey and Cheddar Sandwiches, accompanied by Potato Pancakes and Honeycrisp Apples. The turkey was our leftover Thanksgiving turkey from Shelton, WA and the cheddar cheese was Organic Valley. (Note: I bought the cheese thinking it was from Washington because it was labeled "local" at my co-op. I know Organic Valley has locations near me, but now that I look at the label it says it is certified organic by Oregon Tilth so I'm guessing it's from Oregon). The potato pancakes were leftover mashed potatoes (also from WA) making their debut the next day in a new form. The honeycrisp apples gave us something light and fresh to go with it all.

Now, it would have been ideal to have fresh home-made bread for all of this, but I am not yet a breadmaker (tune in later in the Dark Days Challenge to see if this changes...) so I bought some local organic bread - Dave's Killer Bread.

I hadn't yet fully defined "local" for the purposes of this challenge, but after discovering the bread came from Milwaukie, OR which is 200 miles away from my home, I decided I would define local as Washington and Oregon. Many places in Oregon are actually closer than Eastern Washington.

One thing is for sure, this challenge has absolutely made me more cognizant in the store about where everything is coming from. I'm hoping to get on a weekly delivery schedule for a local farmer to make my cooking life a little easier in these upcoming weeks!

Which is Better: Real vs. Fake Trees

Thanksgiving has passed and, if you celebrate Christmas, it is on to the decorating. Which do you favor - a real or fake tree?

I was a big believer in real trees until I finally gave up the romantic vision of our family trekking off to the woods to chop down our own. More often than not, it was me and two children standing in the rain in The Home Depot parking lot trying to figure out how to wrangle the tree home. My husband appreciates a lot about the holiday season, but buying and decorating a tree are not on that list.

Putting the tree in the stand was another issue all by itself - one that was complicated many years by a persistent pug who liked to knock the tree down. If you think getting the tree straight once a year is bad, try doing it several times! Of course, if you ask our children, they'll tell you the biggest reason we switched was because our male dog kept confusing the Christmas tree with some of his favorite outdoor trees. So, for a variety of reasons, we are now an artificial tree family.

Better for the environment? I thought so at the time, but it turns out that's not necessarily true. The book Celebrate Green covers this subject and points out that fake trees take a lot of energy, chemicals, and petroleum to make, package, and ship. The box that ours came in says Made in China, so it is definitely no exception.

A live tree supports your local farmers, and helps the Earth while it is growing (by making oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide). While it may be better to leave it growing, keep in mind these trees were usually grown with the intention of being cut down after several years. Still feel bad? You can always buy a potted tree and then plant it in your yard when you're done with it.

Since I already have an artificial tree, I'm going to keep reusing it, but the real trees do seem to be the better choice. Celebrate Green mentions that most trees are discarded after four years, but we're planning to keep ours as long as we can.

I'm Thankful For...

Happy Thanksgiving! Today, I'm reflecting on a few of the many things I have to be thankful for.

• The AWESOME readers who visit this blog. Your comments, suggestions, and encouragement motivate me every week!
• Rainbows in the sky that can even brighten a rainy November day.

• The beauty mother nature gives us - the lakes, oceans, mountains, valleys, sunsets, waterfalls, wetlands, high plains, deserts. All so unique and beautiful.
• Global leaders who are willing to talk about climate change next month in Copenhagen.
• Children who always find the wonder in our Earth and help us see it through their eyes.
• Thanksgiving cards with turkey handprints from my children.
• The Wampanoag Indians who helped the Pilgrims when they were in need in 1621.
• Abraham Lincoln who made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863. Setting aside a day to truly think about what you are thankful for is important.
• A husband who loves to cook!

Have a great Thanksgiving!

29 Cent Turkeys

The newspaper inserts this week are full of ads for 29 cent Thanksgiving turkeys. I had already been planning to buy my turkey from Manna Mills, a local organic store and knew that I was paying more, but ten times more?!?

That big of a difference made me stop and pause. Is it worth it? I bought a 16 pound turkey for just under $50. That is definitely a big expense, but I am feeding 12 people a special holiday meal. Less than $4/person for the meat seems reasonable. When you think about it, what are you really getting for 29 cents a pound? Perhaps the stores are using the turkeys as loss leaders, but it also shows how mass-produced turkeys have become.

What do I get for 2.99/pound? A local free-range, antibiotic-free turkey. There are other ways to save money on the holiday and I'll concentrate on those instead. Some suggestions: be realistic in how much food you make (and eat!), send guests home with leftovers, reuse your own in something creative - soup, potato pancakes, sandwiches, etc.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Dark Days Challenge

Challenges in November must be the new thing to pull ourselves out of the winter doldrums. Maybe if we're busy, we won't notice that it is cold, rainy, and miserable outside? As if attempting to write an entire book this month isn't taxing enough, I've decided to take on The Dark Days Challenge.

I first read about this in The Everett Herald on Sunday - the challenge is to make one local meal each week between November 15th and March 31st, 2010. Sure, eating local in the summer is easy when the farmer's markets are teeming with fresh fruits and veggies. Even local meat is easier to come by then. But, the winter? Nah... that's too hard. I would need months to prepare for that.

Yesterday, the Eco Geek columnist/blogger wrote about it again in the same newspaper and announced she was taking the challenge. She also mentioned that she didn't have hens out back, a freezer full of her bountiful summer garden, or anything else. And she has a toddler. We all know that makes cooking, eating - everything - more difficult!

Okay, if all these other people can do it, I decided I can too. Having just decided this morning to take the challenge, I have done absolutely no preparation. They are already 4 days into their first week so I had to think fast. Voila... the smoothie. I know some might not consider it an entire meal, but it is what I eat for breakfast so I'm counting it!

I actually do have a ton of frozen fruits that meet the SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) requirements of the challenge so it was a natural starting point for me. I started with the Organic Valley milk (Duvall, WA) and added local strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and peaches.

Stay tuned to see if I can handle this challenge... My husband is stopping by the buffalo farm on Whidbey Island today so maybe he'll bring home next week's meal! I'm thinking that dusty pasta maker may finally get pulled off the shelf too!

Anyone else want to sign up??? If not, then feel free to encourage me, give me ideas, and go check out the (not so) Urban Hennery blog to see what the other Dark Days people are up to.

Are the Little Things Enough?

I'm sitting in Starbucks and supposed to be writing my book, but, instead, I've been distracted by their garbage cans. On a completely unrelated note: in case any of you ever dream of writing your own book, you should check out National Novel Writing Month which challenges, motivates, and pushes you (beyond the procrastination!) to write 50,000 words in a month!

How could the garbage can be compelling enough to distract me? It is the little sign on it announcing that it isn't a garbage can. Actually, it contains free packages of used coffee grounds that you can take home to your garden. Coffee grounds make a great mulch for your flowerbeds. I also remember my mom using them when I was young to change the color of her hydrangeas (enough coffee will change the pH balance of the soil).

I am sipping my non-fat Chai latte (and enjoying my 10cent discount for bringing my own cup), while watching the Starbucks guy point at the lightbulbs. I assume he is here as part of their recent announcement to convert 8,000 more stores to LED lighting.

Changing a lightbulb is a small step, but does it contribute to the bigger picture? In the case of Starbucks, they are aiming for a 7% reduction in energy use per store as part of a broader goal to decrease their total energy usage by 25% by the end of 2010. When they first looked into changing light bulbs, they weren't happy with the choices available (any of you have CFC lightbulbs at home that are a little funky in terms of brightness or color?) so they worked with GE to create something that worked for them.

I won't say that Starbucks is great for the environment, but I do think they are offering a good role model of a company who is looking at their individual footprint and finding a way to lessen it - while keeping us Seattleites (and the rest of the world) in warm, caffeinated drinks. Oh...and in regards to those millions of cups that get sent to the landfills? Here's their answer: use a commuter cup if you're on the go, ask for a ceramic cup when you're in a store (I didn't even know that was an option). By 2015, they are aiming for 100% recyclable or reusable cups.

What do you think? Do the little steps add up or is it entirely missing the point about changing our ways?

Moon Reveals Its Secret

On October 9th, NASA crashed a rocket into the Moon's surface in an attempt to challenge the theory that the moon is dry and desolate.

Image via Wikipedia

Success!

Results are now back that prove the Moon does have water. Apparently, lots of water. Does this mean that it could one day support humans visiting the Moon? Hmm... it's amazing to think what might be possible in our kids' lifetime. Of course, even if it could support human life, I would question whether we would want to send people up there given our history of exploiting the Earth's natural resources.

Interesting fact: It took the rocket 113 days to travel the 5.6 million miles to get there. That would be a very long family road trip!

The data is still being processed so stay tuned for the Moon to reveal more secrets.

New Non-Fiction for Kids

Just in time for the holidays... There is a new trend in the book publishing world with more adult books being adapted for children. Because of the issues these books tackle, I wouldn't call them easy reads (check out the age recommendations below), but they do present some interesting topics for older kids to ponder, or for families to read together. Check out the bottom of this post for recommendations good for all ages.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: The Secrets Behind What You Eat, Young Readers Edition, by Michael Pollan. Although it's definitely geared to kids 12 and up; the lighter text, pictures, and graphs help bring it down a level. With the knowledge of this book, your kids will be vastly more knowledgeable about what they're putting into their body. It's divided into 4 meals or sections: The Industrial Meal: Food from Corn; The Industrial Organic Meal; The Local Sustainable Meal: Food from Grass; and
The Do-It-Yourself Meal: Hunted, Gathered, and Gardened Food. Don't be surprised if your kids are more interested in the backyard garden and local farmer's market after reading this book!

Next up is Our Choice: How We Can Solve the Climate Crisis, by Al Gore. This book is just out in hardcover and is a young readers edition of the follow-up book to An Inconvenient Truth. This full color book is geared at kids ages 9 - 12.

The final book on this list doesn't deal with climate change or scientific facts, but rather social change. I read Three Cups of Tea a few years ago and was amazed to learn how far one man (author Greg Mortenson) has gone to build schools in the lands of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Opening with an American hiker who has failed in his attempt to summit K2 and then becomes lost in Pakistan, the reader is introduced to the meaning behind the title: "With the first cup of tea, you are a stranger. With the second ... a friend. With the third cup of tea, you are family." The School Library Journal pegs this at grades 6 - 8, but I think it has enough of a story that it could also be a read-aloud for younger children.

If you're looking for book recommendations for younger kids, check out my earlier post, Earth-Friendly Fiction for Kids. Or, if you are just looking for some new fun reads for kids (on all topics), check out a great blog, The Booknosher.

Anyone else have favorite books to share with the list? Feel free to put them in the comments.

What Food Does Your Food Eat?

I am currently reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan, and I'm finding some of the information in this book shocking. I haven't finished it yet, so I haven't reached his conclusions, but the book examines what humans eat and what happens to the food before it ends up on our plate. Suffice it to say, I think reading this book is going to have a dramatic impact on my eating habits.

I've lived in Nebraska before so I've certainly heard of corn-fed beef, but originally never thought about why the cows were eating corn? If you've never driven through the heart of our country, you may not know how much corn our country produces, but that will give you the beginning of an answer. The picture is from my drive earlier today in a rural area near my home. I don't know if these are beef cattle, but it was nice to see them munching on grass!

Corn is incredibly plentiful which gives the agricultural industry a way to raise beef cheaply. Cows used to be slaughtered at 4-5 years; today, they're slaughtered at 14-16 months. In order to fatten them that quickly, they need to be intensely fed, and a simple diet of roaming around and eating grass doesn't produce quick enough results.

Antibiotics are added to the feed to make sure the healthy cows don't get sick. That makes me wonder about all the lectures parents get from doctors about not giving children antibiotics at the drop of a hat. I agree with that, but who is out there saying that perhaps feeding our children with antibiotic-laden food (i.e. meat) on a daily basis isn't a good idea either?

Unfortunately, the problem isn't limited to beef. Chickens, turkey, even farmed salmon are being raised as cheaply as possible on a diet of corn and antibiotics. Is organic food the answer? I don't know, but I do know that we need to be aware not just about what we are feeding our kids, but also when animal products are concerned, what those animals are eating. What can you do? For starters: educate yourself, read labels, and get acquainted with your local farmers. Also, this blog has been all about meat, but don't forget the meatless options of fruits, vegetables, and grains which all have much small footprints on our Earth.

I have a local friend (check out her blog First Hand Food) who is experimenting with raising cattle and we have committed to purchase 1/4 of a cow from their small farm in January. The cows aren't certified organic (which is a very expensive process), but we know that they're wandering around right now eating grass, not antibiotics and corn. We bought 2 chickens from her earlier this year and the results were yummy!

Fall Has Fallen

Leaves, leaves everywhere. They're turning colors from crimson-red to pumpkin-orange and this morning, they were swirling around in the wind on my street.

When I was a kid growing up in New York, we had two giant Norway maple trees in the front yard. I know I was small and may remember things from a different size perspective, but the trunks were so big that my mom, dad, brother, and I could not wrap our collective eight arms all the way around them. Needless to say, trees that big can produce thousands of leaves! Those leaves created endless raking chores, but the good news was they also made leaf mountains for us to jump in and play hide-and-seek.

We're more evergreen than deciduous in our yard so we don't have giant piles of leaves, but we do still have giant leaves (see my biggest find above!). Here are some ideas for having fun and enjoying the season.

* Go on a scavenger hunt and send the kids in search of the different categories - biggest, funniest shape, best red color, best orange color, smallest...

* Press the leaves. We use a phonebook or stack of magazines, or you can save them permanently by pressing them with wax paper.

* Identify each leaf. Pick up a book from the library or try the Arbor Day Foundation's online Tree Identification Guide which will ask a series of questions and then give you the answer. Your kids might end up knowing better than you which trees are in your yard!

* Get crafty. Here are lots of ideas from Family Fun magazine. Maybe the kids' creations can spice up your Thanksgiving table!

Math Meets Nature

A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting where children's author Greg Pincus introduced me to

Image by Ethan Hein via Flickr

Fibs or poetry based on the Fibonacci sequence. I always think of Fibonacci as a math concept so the idea that he mixed it with poetry intrigued me. It also got me thinking about the curious way that Fibonacci numbers appear in nature. I had forgotten all about this until I got a dried sunflower from my mom this summer and remember hearing that they had some connection to the Fibonacci sequence. My kids and dog got to the sunflower seeds before I ever had a chance to count.

Just in case your math skills are a little rusty and your children haven't gotten to Fibonacci yet, this number sequence starts with 0 and 1. The rest of the numbers are the sum of the two previous numbers so the sequence goes 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144...

The interesting thing to me is that these numbers are repeated throughout nature from the number of petals on a flower to the number of spirals on a sunflower. I did find a technical explanation about why this works that I'm not going to even try to repeat. Next time you're outside with your kids, send them off in search of natural examples of Fibonacci. Pinecones are probably a good one to look for in the fall - count the number of spirals going each way and you should end up with a Fibonacci number.

In closing, here is my Fib for the day - a 20 syllable poem that follows the 1/1/2/3/5/8 pattern.

Big,
Blue
Planet.
Our Kids' Earth.
Beautiful. Fragile.
Protect it for their tomorrow.

Long Live the Halloween Candy

OK, the annual Trick-or-Treat tradition is scheduled to take place in a few hours in my house and I'm already thinking about what to do with all that candy. The first choice is obvious - EAT IT - and we definitely do a fair amount of that in our house. But what about when we all have stomachaches? What should you do with all that leftover candy?? Here are a few thoughts on other uses for the candy.

1) Save the candy for decorating gingerbread houses in December.

2) Cut the candy bars into small chunks and substitute for chocolate chips when you make cookies.

3) Stash some in the glove compartment for emergencies (like when you're trying to bribe your kids at some critical moment - maybe not ideal parenting strategy, but it does work!)

4) Find a dentist who participates in the Halloween Candy Buy Back Program. There aren't any near me, but these dentists buy your candy and then ship it to our overseas troops.

5) Send it to a college student in need of a care package.

6) Melt the chocolate and caramel pieces for ice cream toppings.

7) Make a sign by gluing the candy (in the wrappers) to a poster board. I remember a Thank you sign for a coach one year, that made use of all the good candybar names like Butterfinger, 100 Grand, etc. Get creative!

8) Craft project anyone? I'm thinking Lifesaver necklace, but I'm sure there are lots of other options for some of the less messy candy.

Any other ideas for reusing Halloween candy??? Please share in the Comments section. If you read this in email or in a Reader you'll need to click through to the blog. Feel free to choose the Anonymous option if you don't have a Google account to register your comment.

Cruising Alaska

With all the hustle and bustle of summer, I never managed to post about my family's cruise to Alaska. It is a trip I would highly recommend for families. There are lots of options to choose from - large ship with lots of activities for all-ages, small ships that can get you more up close and personal with nature, or the Alaska State Ferry which provides a more rustic, but lower budget option. You can rent a cabin on the ferry, but the truly adventurous pitch tents on deck. I know it sounds cold, but the weather was surprisingly warm while we were there. It actually hit

77 degrees while we were in Juneau which was definitely a surprise for the people from our northernmost capital. One side note about the city - it is only reachable by air or boat. Amazingly (unless you look at the geography), there are no roads that go to the city!

We opted for the large ship because it coincided with a business trip for my husband. My one hesitancy was the environmental factor. Was it really responsible to take a huge gas-guzzling ship into the pristine beauty of Alaska? While I won't go so far as to say that large cruise ships are good for the environment, I was pleasantly surprised to learn how hard the cruise industry works to mitigate their effect. Our ship had an Environmental Officer on-board and strict policies to minimize waste. Cans and bottles were recycled; used cooking oil was converted into biodiesel fuel; food waste was processed, dried, and incinerated. The oily bilge water that the boat produces is separated and cleaned with a 3 step process on the ship. All in all, I was impressed with how far they went to lower their impact. Of course, if they don't protect the environment, there won't be any reason for people to take their cruise ships up there to admire it.

The cruise through Glacier Bay was definitely a highlight of the trip The glacier pictured above and left is over a mile high! Many of the shore excursions were interesting as well- gold-panning (we all found some!) in Skagway, seeing the totem pole carvers at work in Saxman Village, the train trip through the Yukon, and river-rafting under the Mendenhall Glacier. One of the things that did surprise me along the way was hearing about all the different ways people have stressed the ecosystem of Alaska along the way - gold-mining, logging, fishing, and oil drilling. It is a rich and beautiful place, but its natural resources have also been exploited in countless different ways.

The only downside to the trip was the lack of visibility and poor air quality caused by some massive fires that were raging in British Columbia at the time. Hence, the gray haze to all the pictures. We also didn't see much wildlife from the ship. A few whales and an otter, but the only animal I could get to pose was this seagull! Here are a few more pictures:

Mendenhall Glacier
The barren landscape of the Yukon and a green glacier-fed lake

A melting glacier

Rock Hounding Kids

Smooth. Shiny. Rough. Jagged. Big. Small.

Rocks come in all different shapes and sizes and never fail to entertain kids. How many of you have rock collections in your house, garage, car, or kids' backpack? For that matter, have you ever found rocks in your washer or dryer? I have.

This summer we found a new way to enjoy rocks at a place called The Scratch Patch in Seattle. This small 2-room home-style environment invites kids (and their grown-ups) to come sit amongst their polished gems. I think I had just as much fun as the 3 boys I took searching through the rocks looking for those special ones that spoke to me. Seated on my lily-pad cushion, I sifted through quartz, amethyst, and moonstones while the boys worked to identify each of their special stones with the laminated guides.

Admission is $2, but I challenge you to spend the time picking amongst the stones and not walk out of there with a bagful ($8 for a medium bag, including the cost of admission).

Don't have a Scratch Patch in your area? Don't worry, there are still lots of ways to enjoy rocks. Go for a walk on the beach or in the woods. Get a rock tumbler and polish your own (I have heard that can be noisy, so maybe it can be a garage toy). Pick up a few special rocks and a rock guide at your local children's or science museum. Try one of those geode kits that lets you crack your own geodes. My kids are still hoping to find their own geodes one day, but apparently these rocks are most likely to be found in the volcanic ash beds and we have yet to plan a geode-searching expedition. Happy Rock Hounding!

Where to Find Green Businesses

I get this question quite often so I wanted to share a resource I've discovered - the National Green Pages. Whether you are looking for an Internet source for a more environmentally-friendly version of a product you currently use or curious to learn about new local businesses, you may find something on this site. I like the fact that vendors must go through a screening process before they can join.

You can search by state or by business category. I found 125 businesses in my state offering everything from chocolate to construction services. Here's a quick link to toy vendors in case you're already thinking of the holidays.

Halloween Goes Green

When I look back on my childhood, I can remember several of my costumes - giraffe, robot,

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clown, gypsy, and Smurf. I also remember what they were made of--cardboard boxes and tubes (giraffe and robot), an old bedspread (clown), my mom's old jewelry and scarves (gypsy) and my own clothes (Smurf). The one thing I don't ever remember having is a store-bought costume.

I will confess that I have bought many costumes from the store for my own children, but this year we're going a little more environmentally friendly and using mostly items we already have to assemble the costumes. My older son is going as a rock star complements of his Dad's old rock T-shirt collection and leftover talents for making very cool ripped jeans. My younger son is going as Harry Potter which happens to be a costume his older brother wore a few years ago. Don't get me wrong - they still gaze longingly at the costume catalogs delivered to our house. That reminds me - I need to go to Green Dimes and add those to my list of "Don't deliver to me anymore" catalogs.

In the end, though, we've made some compromises and they're happy. Stephen wants a stuffed Hedwig to sit on his shoulder which I'm going to order and Ryan wants spiked hair to go with his costume - easy enough! I've saved the $59.99 that the favored costumes seem to cost and we haven't wasted many resources in getting the costumes together.

That's my contribution to the greening of the traditional orange-and-black Halloween, but costumes is just one area where you can go green. What about you??

Some other areas to consider - treats, decorations, and parties. For some great tips on celebrating green, check out Green Halloween. You can also plan ahead for next year by growing your own pumpkins and squash for decorations.

How Do I Recycle Batteries?

I never used to worry about this before I had kids, but I've noticed that babies seem to come

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into the world with batteries. First comes the bouncy seats, then the annoyingly loud push toys. Before you know it you're into remote control cars. But what do you do with all those used up batteries?

I have been throwing mine in the garbage, but was sure that wasn't the best answer. It turns out it is the only answer for dry-cell batteries (9-volt, D, C, AA, and AAA). Recycling these isn't an option unless you live in California, but that doesn't mean there aren't other choices you can make as a consumer. This might be a good thing to consider since Americans purchase 3 billion dry-cell batteries each year!

Rechargeable batteries are the best option. My family does have a few sets of these, but we tend not to use them - probably because they're buried in the back of a cupboard behind the AA batteries that we're usually looking for. Now I'm going to dig them out and start using them again. Rechargeable batteries last a long time (and will save you money and energy), but they do eventually wear out. The good news is that they can be recycled.

For more info, check out the Battery Recycling and Disposable Guide for Households from Environmental Health and Safety Online.

But Where Will Santa Live?

More news today on the global climate change front and this time it gets right to the heart of

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many children's dreams- Santa's home. New research released today by the Catlin Arctic Survey and World Wildlife Foundation shows the arctic sea ice is melting faster than predicted and that it The North Pole is expected to be ice-free during the summers within 10 years.


While I'm confident that Santa can float his workshop further south to one of the eight countries that meet up in the Arctic region (Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States), the implications definitely go beyond there.

The melting of the ice can trigger all kinds of changes to the Earth including flooding that could effect one-fourth of the planet's population and the release of large quantities of greenhouse gases. There is twice as much carbon stored in the Arctic ice as there is in the atmosphere today. Atmospheric levels of methane, a very potent greenhouse gas, have been rising faster over the last two years and some believe this is caused by the Arctic ice melt.


This last one is particularly interesting to me because I wrote about it a year ago in my fictional children's novel, Earth Rescue. In my book, the Arctic ice melts and the millions of dead plants buried under the ice release such high levels of methane gas that eventually no one is allowed outside. I always intended to keep my book as fiction, but it looks like we're going to need some big changes to reverse this process.

So, what can we do? As always, educate yourself. The web has phenomenal resources. Also, you should be aware of the global climate conference coming up in Copenhagen in December where 191 countries will be trying to hammer out the final details on a global agreement for climate change. Call your Senators to ask them to vote YES on climate legislation.

In regards to Santa, though, I'm not too worried. My kids have it on good authority that he lives in Finland (they have a letter from him to prove it) so they're confident he can just move a little farther south into Finland until his ice freezes up again. Let's hope it would only be a temporary move.

World Rainforest Week

The rain beating down outside must be designed to make me remember that it is

Image by pfly via Flickr

World Rainforest Week. I knew rainforests were important to Earth and that they're disappearing, but I didn't know many details so I did a little research on the Rainforest Action Network website. Here's are some fun facts - and some disturbing ones.

First, the fun facts. Tropical rainforests:

• Cover 6% of the Earth's surface, but have 50% of our planets' plant and animal species.
• Get 160 - 400 inches of rain a year!
• Have 4 layers: emergent trees, canopy, understory, and the forest floor. The canopy can be so dense that it can take 10 minutes for a drop of rain to hit the forest floor.
• Provide a home to all kinds of animals - jaguars, monkeys, snakes, poison arrow frogs, and millions of different species of insects
• Produce oxygen, regulate our planet's climate, and clean the atmosphere.

Now, for the issue:

• Rainforests contain many of our Earth's resources including timber, oil, and gold. To get these resources, they are being destroyed at a rate equivalent to the size of one football field each second. That's 2000 trees each minute.
• They can never grow back once they are destroyed because they are complex ecosystems that take millions of years to evolve.

What can you do? Here are a few ideas:

1. Educate yourself and your kids. I found some great resources at Caltech and The Rainforest Action Network that could either be used at home or in schools.
2. Reduce, reuse, recycle. The paper we use, the coffee we drink, the plastics we consume all come from the trees and oil of the forests. Remember, we are the consumers that are driving the rainforest destruction.
3. Read a book with your kids. Two to try: Rain, Rain, Rain Forest by Brenda Z. Guiberson or Tigers at Twilight (Magic Treehouse #19) by Mary Pope Osborne.
4. Don't buy pets that are imported from the rainforest. This may include parrots, iguanas, or other animals. Just be sure you know where they are coming from before you add a new pet to your family.

A Look Back To 1989 Part II

Sorry if this is a repeat for email subscribers, but I just realized this post was hidden in last month's section so I'm reposting for today.

A few weeks ago, I posted the first 28 suggestions from a 1989 book titled 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth just to see how far we've come in 20 years. Many of them were slam-dunks (e.g. don't use leaded gas), but a few made me think. Now we're on to the section of the list titled "It Takes Some Effort." Thankfully, many of them really don't take much effort in 2009. I guess that counts as progress.

29. Reuse Old News - This is much easier today than 20 years ago with 8,550 curbside recycling programs in our country and over 50% of all paper products being recycled. Next step: when you need paper goods, look for the recycled content on the label.

30. Recycle Glass - Again, curbside recycling makes this easy, but as the costs of recycling glass increases and the need decreases, this may get more challenging in the future. See my earlier blog, The Future of Glass Recycling.

31. Don't Can Your Aluminum - Same as above.

32. Precycle - I was impressed this was even a word in 1989. I know I hadn't heard of it till more recently. The key here is to reduce waste before you buy. This is a work-in-progress for me. What about you?

33. Use Cloth Diapers - Thankfully, I'm past this stage, but the great diaper debate rages on. I confess I used disposables. The last I heard, neither disposable or cloth was a good choice (because of all the chemicals required to clean the cloth diapers and fuel used to deliver them to homes). I don't have any babies to try them on, but I've heard gDiapers is a newer alternative available today that aims for an Earth-friendly and convenient diaper.

34. Put It To Work...At Work - The recommendation here is to be green not just at home, but at work as well. Since I'm blogging about it, I think I'm covered here. This one is much harder for people who work in other industries - the medical industry comes to mind. I remember the days when medical equipment was reused. Now, spend a day in the hospital and you'll be amazed at all the disposable pieces of equipment that get used once and tossed. Seems there should be a middle ground somewhere.

35. Recycle the Rest - plastic, tin, etc. Again, all this is easier now. Ever need to know how to recycle something in particular? Send me an email and I'll see if I can find some answers.

36. Build a Backyard Wildlife Refuge - Well, let's see... I have a 2-year old pug that barks at anything that flies, crawls, or creeps in our backyard so our yard is more of a terror zone than a refuge. My son's second grade class is planning to do something like this in the spring so I'll try to live vicariously through them instead. Just in case you have a backyard that isn't patrolled by a crazy pug, check out the National Wildlife Federation for tips on attracting wildlife to your yard. You can even become a Certified Wildlife Habitat.

37. Help Protect the Rainforests - I worry about this, but have never done anything to help. I just learned that next week is World Rainforest Week, so you can count on more information to come.

38. The Great Escape - The recommendation here is that you not let the heat (or air-conditioning) inside your house escape through leaks and cracks. I've never had an energy audit, but it would be interesting to see what they find.

39. Plant a Tree - I've already blogged about chopping down a bunch of trees in my yard, so I probably fail on this one in my own yard, but lately I've been thinking more about urban trees and their impact on the rates of inner-city asthma rates. Another future blog post...

40. Prevent Pests Naturally - I rarely use pesticides in my yard, but I think the bigger issue here is the products I buy that come from farmers who do use pesticides. The local farmer's markets, homegrown vegetables, and organic foods from the store all are a step in the right direction.

41. What a Waste! The recommendation here relates to Hazardous Waste. We all know we shouldn't just dump things like paint and oil, but do we go the extra step to find out how to properly dispose of them? A good first step is to check with your local garbage company or transfer station. Nationally, you can always check with the EPA. As for me? Looking at my garage, I think I have a tendency to just let the paint cans lie around in the garage. Future project...

42. Carpool to Work - Today's vanpools, transit systems, and carpool lanes definitely encourage this, but I'm afraid Americans still cling to their favorite single-occupant transport system - their car. For me, I get off easy on this one. I work from home so there is no carbon output!

What has this list left you thinking about? I want to learn more about the rainforests, keep working on precycling, and contemplate getting an energy audit in my home. Up next, the last 8 recommendations from 1989.

Is There Water on the Moon?

I think one the best way to teach kids to protect our Earth is to help them appreciate it. The

Image via Wikipedia

Moon is a pretty cool feature of our planet so I thought we'd take a moment to learn something new about it along with NASA.

Tomorrow, NASA is going to send three objects (apparently 3 stages of a rocket) crashing into a crater on the moon to look for signs of water. Current projections are for an impact of 4:30 a.m. PDT. To see what they are aiming for, take a look at this picture from the Astronomy Photo of the Day. Thanks to my Dad for the tip - he keeps me up-to-date on all the cool photos posted on the APOD website!

Just in case you happen to be up at that hour, you can check it out on NASA TV (or I'm sure see replays later).

Any guesses as to whether or not it has water? My (totally unscientific) guess is that they will find water.