Monday, March 30, 2009

Seattle Green Festival

I spent a few hours this weekend with my kids at the Seattle Green Festival and we learned some interesting things...

* You can turn elephant dung into paper. My kids found the "Do you want some free poo?" question as we walked by both disgusting and intriguing!
* I live in a very green community based on how many people were there.
* My kids can each fit into a small covered greenhouse. (See right - new spot for timeouts?!?)
* Just about everything can be reused - tradeshow banners become wallets, bicycle tire valves become zipper pulls, yogurt containers become seed planters, garbage becomes art...

* My carbon footprint is higher than the Seattle average, but lower than the national average. Things it was recommended I work on... reducing my heat to 55 degrees at night (brrr!) and driving less. To calculate yours, visit the EPA Carbon Footprint Calculator . There is definitely controversy over the consistency of these calculators, but they certainly can point out areas to improve.

All in all, it was a good way to continue the conversation and find solutions to individual problems. I bought a shower cleaner because I've not been happy with some of the green bathroom cleaner products I've bought at the store. We'll see how this one works. My son was most impressed by the fact that the guy squirted the cleaner in his mouth as a way of proving it was non-toxic! Not sure I'll go that far, but it's nice to know I won't be adding more bleach and other chemicals to the water going down my drain!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Choosing to Leave the Car at Home

This morning, my kids woke up a few minutes early and I had an epiphany. Hey - it's not raining and we actually have time to walk to the bus stop! It is only a mile away, but getting 2 young kids to walk a mile in the rain before 8am is no small task so it doesn't happen nearly as often as I would like!

I thought 15 extra minutes would do it, but it turns out I hadn't counted on...

"Can I ride my bike?"
"Can I scooter?"
"My scooter isn't working very well, can I ride Ryan's scooter?"
"Where is my lock?"
"I can't find the combination to my lock"
"Oops, my chain fell off."

Needless to say, it was not a relaxing walk, but we stuck to the plan and walked(me), biked (Ryan), scootered (Stephen), and ran (Quinn the Pug) to the bus stop. Would it have been easier to just hop in the car? Absolutely, but I'm happy we stuck with the plan!

The bike and scooter are locked up at the park where there bus will drop them this afternoon so barring any freak spring snowstorms, we should have a relaxing ride/walk/run home this afternoon. Now, if only I could get the sun to come out too!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Earth Hour is Saturday 3/28 8:30 p.m.

VOTE EARTH

While one hour won't change the world, it can change the way we think. This Saturday at 8:30 pm local time, the World Wildlife Federation is urging the world to turn off their lights for one hour. Earth Hour was first held in Australia in 2007, but this year the WWF hopes to get one billion participants.

This Saturday, as you put your children to bed, try a new routine - read a story, play a game, or just sit and talk by candlelight. Give that hour back to the Earth.


VOTE EARTH




Friday, March 20, 2009

Short-Term Thinking

I was reading in the newspaper this week (yes, I do still get the dinosaur print version delivered to my house!) that sales of hybrid vehicles have plummeted in the past few months in response to the gas price drop. Of course, sales of everything have dropped, but hybrids are down significantly more. I wonder if this isn't a reflection of a natural tendency to see the world from a short-term view. Do we really think gas prices will never go up again? Weren't there other reasons to buy a hybrid in the first place?

I grew up in the days of the large American gas-guzzling stationwagon. When the gas prices spiked, everyone wanted smaller, gas-efficient foreign cars. Apparently, we tend to have short memories though because, in time, many families retreated back to the bigger cars. Eventually, the school pickup lines were filled once again with modern day gas-guzzlers - SUVs and minivans. Some were American, some were foreign, but very few of them had much to say in terms of efficiency. Then, along came the hybrids. Most families I know still have an SUV or minivan in the garage, but I was starting to see a shift - at least for the second car.


I have to admit that I still drive an SUV - and, no, it isn't a hybrid. I justify it two different ways - 1) I truly do use the three rows of seats and/or large trunk space on a regular basis for hauling children, dogs, sports equipment, etc. and 2) I use the 4 wheel drive capability for regular trips to the mountains. I've considered a hybrid, but given that I'm happy with my current car, buying another one seems like one of the less earth-friendly things I could do so I'm just staying where I am for now.

When the time does come for a new car, however, I'm hoping I'll be influenced by more than just the current price of gas. I'm also hoping that the car manufacturers, not exactly known for their flexibility, will still be stuck on the ever-so-slightly-greener path they've chosen for long enough to give consumers a chance to embrace it. With a little time and experience, they might even find a way to make hybrids more affordable. Let's give new alternatives a chance to succeed before we dismiss them.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Which is Better?

The "which is better?" debates can be endless - Paper or plastic bags? Cloth or disposable diapers? Real or artificial Christmas trees?... The answers can sometimes be surprising once everything is taken into account. Frequently, the best choice is neither.

Take the diaper example. Sure, the disposable diapers are filling our landfills, but once someone calculated the environmental impact of washing all those cloth diapers and delivering them door-to-door, the answer became murky. Now, there are new diapers with flushable inserts that some eco-friendly parents are giving a try, so perhaps the debate has lead to some better solutions. (My own personal solution five years ago was just to get my kids out of diapers as soon as possible!)

There just might be an answer in the future to these endless debates with a new site called goodguide.com. While it is still in development, if it delivers on its promise, it could truly be a revolutionary idea. Their goal is to help consumers choose safe, healthy, and green products and they do this by calculating the impact an individual product makes on the environment, on society, and on your health.

While there probably isn't enough data on the site yet to make you change the way you shop, I love this idea and applaud their efforts to help consumers. The more information we have, the smarter choices we can make.

Friday, March 13, 2009

The Color of Money... Green

Don't despair - this is not another blog about the state of the economy. I claim no expertise in that area! Rather, it is simply a reminder that one way we can all focus our investments in the right direction is to ensure that they are in line with our personal views.

Many of us try not to support companies with activities we disagree with, but if you have money invested in any type of mutual fund, you may be doing it unknowingly. Dig a little deeper in your financial statments to see exactly where your money is invested.

When I first thought about this last year, a call to my financial advisor revealed that I could simply request that certain restrictions be placed on my account. For example, I can block my money from being invested in a particular company or an entire industry. I won't name names, but I did have one particular company and another entire industry in mind when I went through this exercise.

While there may be no magical wand to wave to ensure that our investments are profitable these days, we can at least sleep better knowing that our money is not supporting some of the more destructive companies of the world.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Birthday Fun

As we move into the second week of March, I am breathing a sigh of relief at having survived another birthday week. Despite absolutely no planning, my boys' birthdays are exactly two years and one day apart. Maybe it's because they come so close together, but in our house birthDAYs seem to turn into a marathon birthWEEK. There is the school party, the family party, the friend party...

As any parent in America can tell you, birthday parties can be one of the greatest examples of excess. I do my best to avoid it as much as possible. Here are a few tips I've learned through 9 years of kid birthdays...

1. Consider an "experience" instead of a party. This year Stephen is taking two friends to the Mariners game instead of hosting a large party.

2. Limit the invites. Of course, everyone wants to invite all 24 kids from their class, but remember that translates to 24 more toys that your child probably doesn't need (not to mention the noise that 24 kids can generate!) This year, Ryan hosted 8 friends at his martial arts studio and the size was perfect.

3. Consider no-gift parties. I am not the birthday ogre, but this really can work and we have done it successfully in past years. Encourage your child to focus on the fun and friends part of the party, not just the gifts. "No gifts, please." on the invite is sufficient. I have also seen kids collect for their favorite charities. One recent birthday party we were invited to requested cat food in lieu of gifts so the birthday girl could donate it to the local shelter.

4. Forgo the "goodie bag." All those little plastic toys are entertaining for about 2 minutes - and then its a dash to see if the parents can secretly sneak them in the garbage before the kid sends them to the four corners of the room. We usually try for one small gift instead - ZeeBeez pop-up toys from REI this year

5. Save the gift bags. I don't save wrapping paper, but I do save all those gift bags and I never have to buy them to wrap presents for other people. If I need gift wrap, I usually go with newspaper or recycled tissue paper.

6. Give practical gifts. My kids truly have all the toys they need and more. For my gift-giving, I try to focus on practical, but fun gifts. This year it was a camoflauge ski jacket for Ryan and a new floaty swimsuit for Stephen to be used on an upcoming vacation. The one gift they now always count on is my photobook summary of the last year of their life. This is definitely time-consuming (created on shutterfly.com), but is the one gift they go back to over and over during the year.

I absolutely believe birthdays should be fun occasions, but with a little thought it can be done in a way that minimizes the excess, while still providing tons of fun for the child.

Friday, March 6, 2009

ZooDoo Cancelled Due to Pesticide

Those of you not from Seattle may not be familiar with what Seattlites affectionately call ZooDoo. This twice-yearly event is a chance for local gardeners to get some of the best organic fertilizer available. Yes, that's right, it's the poop from the elephants, hippos, giraffes, and other animals.

So what happened this year? The good news is the Woodland Park Zoo tests the ZooDoo before they sell it. The bad news is they found unacceptably high levels of a pesticide called clopyralid, which is a weed killer used on some of the hay the animals consumed. While zoo officials say it wasn't harmful to the animals (I would argue that the long-term effects aren't exactly known), it is known to kill plants like tomatoes and sunflowers.

The interesting thing is that the Woodland Park Zoo is one of the greenest organizations I know. They have since switched to an organic source of feed to avoid the problem in the future. By recycling their "doo" they save $60,000 per year and make money while finding an excellent use for a million pounds of waste. Their list of green activities is endless and includes geothermal heating of the new penguin display, solar energy production, organic horticulture programs, hybrid or battery powered vechicles, and a comprehensive plan for recycling and composting at concerts and events. Perhaps most impressive, a whopping 38% of their employees get to work through some means other than a single-occupancy vehicle.

Kudos to the zoo for all their green efforts. It does show how hard it truly can be - even when you're trying to do everything right.

For those of you still needing ZooDoo, some of last year's supply is still available in small quantities in the gift shop. Maybe I'll pick up a 2 gallon container for the garden I'm hoping to start this spring. More to come on that later...

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Why do We Recycle?

Yesterday, while walking home from the bus stop with my two boys, I told them about my new blog. They were confused by my concept that Earth is a "gift" that all of us leave to our kids, but perhaps that’s because they both have birthdays this week and they’re really hoping for a different type of "gift!"

When I mentioned recycling as a potential topic, my six-year-old commented, "I don’t think most kids get why we’re supposed to recycle." That made me stop and think. Recycling has always been part of his life. I assumed that this made kids natural recyclers, but maybe recycling has just become another requirement on the list of things adults make them do. "Did you put that bottle in the right bin?" might be the modern day version of the dreaded "did you take out the trash?"

So, why do we recycle? What would happen if we didn’t? To find some answers, I visited the EPA website and found some interesting statistics.

In 2007, Americans generated 254 million tons of trash. This is equivalent to 4.6 pounds of trash per person per day. That’s a lot of garbage. Of course, its worth noting that is more than any other country in the world, but that shouldn’t really be a surprise to any of us.

On a positive note, we recycled and/or composted 85 million tons or one-third of that trash. The first two Rs of the waste management cycle - Reduce and Reuse - are critical, but my son’s question was about recycling so we’ll stay on that path for today.

By recycling 85 million tons of trash, we get cleaner land (less trash in landfills), air, and water. The significant air and water benefits come from the reduced energy needed to create new products from recyclables, rather than raw materials. In 2007, recycling efforts reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 193 million metric tons. In terms a six-year-old can understand, that is the equivalent of removing 35 million cars from our roads!

But what about those other 169 million tons of trash from last year that we didn’t recycle? From a household perspective, Americans are actually doing fairly well with recycling, but other places – schools, businesses, hotels, restaurants, parks - frequently miss the mark. I was so surprised to find a compartmentalized recycling bin at my hotel in Sweden last year, I had to snap a picture.

Based on what I’ve seen in my kids’ school, I don’t believe they’re recycling in the classrooms so I’m going to make that my challenge for next week – to find out why and see what I can do to change it. What about you – are there any places you visit frequently that don't recycle? What impact can you have on that extra 169 million tons of trash?

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Our Kids' Earth Launches!

They say every writer needs to have a blog. For months, I've wondered... Why do I need a blog? Who would read my blog? What would I say on my blog? Now that I've finally settled on a topic that I am passionate about, I've decided to join the blogosphere!

I've named this blog Our Kids' Earth because it is a topic that is of great importance to me and one that could really benefit from the shared ideas of a blog community. We only get one planet and one chance at the way we treat this planet. As I look around and see climate change and the increasing numbers of endangered species, I can't help but wonder if we aren't missing the signals that Earth is sending to us. This planet has existed for billions of years, but surviving humanity may be its greatest challenge to date.

As many of you know, I've recently finished my first book - Earth Rescue. This book is a look into the future to see what happens if we don't honor the Earth and listen to its not-so-subtle warning signs. My hope is that this blog is just one tiny voice in helping to avoid that path.

Today, I launch my blog - albeit very quietly - as I figure out exactly how all this works. In the coming days, weeks, and months, I hope you'll come back to visit and share your ideas about leaving this Earth a better place for our children.

I have a list of ideas that I know I want to cover on this blog - recycling (beyond the basics), simple living, alternative fuels, energy saving appliances, greener packed lunches, Earth Day activities, Earth-friendly disposal of pet waste (truly, it's a problem!), ...

What would you like to talk about? Feel free to just ask a question that's been on your mind. I don't claim to be the expert, but I'll go do the research to find some answers!