Green Chores

Today when we left my youngest daughter’s preschool, we discovered some styrofoam peanuts in the front plantings. My kids were very upset since they have heard that plastic is not good for animals. After some discussion, we picked them up to make sure no birds or rabbits, the animals we see most frequently there, would be harmed.

As we walked to the car, my oldest asked if she could have some green chores. She went on to explain that she wanted to do work that was good for the earth but wanted her dad and me to treat them like her other chores and pay her for them. I said I thought this was a great idea and that I would talk it over with her dad. Read more

Organic, Fair Trade Clothing that is – Inexpensive?

Fair Indigo, a company I mentioned once before, is having a big sale. If you are looking for inexpensive clothing options that don’t compromise your ideals, I suggest taking a look.

Fair Indigo has clothes for children, men, and women as well as gift and personal care items. All their products are fair trade and a growing number of the clothing items use organic cotton or bamboo fibers. They utilize third party audits of the wages and working conditions of their suppliers, so you don’t have to take their word for it on the fair trade front.

I have a pair of their jeans, some tshirts, and a couple of more dressy shirts. I consistently get complements when wearing their clothing, especially this shirt so it is cute as well!

Check them out online or, if you are in Madison, at their store in the Hilldale Mall.

(Teaching) Charity Begins at Home

I’ve written previously about the effect the book Beatrice’s Goat has had on our life but this month’s APLS Carnival topic of favorite charities got me thinking about the book’s impact from a different angle.

Beatrice’s Goat tells the true story of how a goat from Heifer International changed the life of Beatrice Biira and her family. This little Ugandan girl dearly wanted to go to school but her family was unable to afford the cost. Thanks to the gift of the goat, they were able to save up enough money for Beatrice to attend school, where she excelled. She came to the United States to continue her schooling and has now begun graduate studies in international development. Her plan is to return to Uganda upon graduation so she can expand opportunities for others.

This book led us to donate to Heifer International, a nonprofit that works with communities to end hunger and poverty and to care for the earth, and also sparked multiple conversations with our children. We’ve talked about supporting charities before but this experience was different. Since they have been old enough to choose, one of their birthday presents has been the ability to select the recipient of a charitable donation. They usually pick the local PBS station, in part because they are big fans of The Biscuit Brothers.

But those donations were very tangible for them. The Biscuit Brothers perform regularly in our area. (They even sang “Happy Birthday” to one of our girls at a local concert when they saw her wearing an “I’m the Birthday Girl” button. Biscuit Brothers, if you read this, she is still talking about it more than two years later. Thank you!) And we often watch shows on PBS so that organization is a part of our life.The majority of our other donations have been local as well so they have met the people our donations have gone to or seen their programs.

Heifer International was different. The story of Beatrice and the subsequent donation we made to Heifer International helped them understand that there are people all over the world who need help. Even when things are fine here, somewhere somebody needs help. This experience also showed them that what we do here, in our home, can make a difference.

There are many who can use a helping hand right now. How will you make a difference today?

This is my entry to the Affluent Persons Living Sustainably or APLS Carnival. March’s topic is charity. The selected entries will be hosted by Green Resolutions on March 20 so be sure to visit and learn about some worthy charities. You can learn more about this and future carnivals at APLS.

Family Friday: Accentuate the Positive

This month Lucas Miller addresses a common issue – how to keep a positive focus for your children, and yourself, when discussing environmental issues. I love his idea of looking for small changes everywhere – it is a great game to play with children. (Lately we’ve been noticing how many people are bringing reusable bags to stores but I am now expanding our search.)

I’ve been an environmental educator since 1992. I had the good fortune to have some wonderful role models and guidance throughout my career, particularly in those first few years.

One thing that made a big impact on me was a conversation I had with a fellow who hosted an environmental, call-in radio show for kids. He told me that kids would often ask if there would still be squirrels and birds when they grew up; many kids were obviously terrified of the frequent and heavy environmental stories they were hearing. He said he made a big effort to focus on the positive things that people were doing to solve the problems and I made that one of my goals as well.

One thing that I’ve been trying to do with my own kids is point out some of the small things that people are doing to help in our own community. I try not to be heavy-handed about it; I just mention something I notice and see if it sparks a comment from anyone. If so, I try to keep that conversation on the optimistic side and I hope that it reassures my kids that we are beginning to find new ways to live more lightly (even though I know we have a long way to go).

So, as you take your family walk, bike ride, or even drive to the market, here are some things you might want to look for:

1) If it happens to be time to put the recycling bin out, take note of how many are out and maybe see if you can find one that’s particularly full.

2) Have you noticed any of your neighbors trading out to a more eco-vehicle? Our next door neighbor just traded in his pickup for a mini-Cooper–it’s a little victory!

3) Take note of where the rainwater goes on your street. Can you follow the route to the creek it goes to? Do you see anything being done to keep the stream clean like a holding pond, greenbelt or annual cleanup? Cities are making some big changes like this to keep waters clean and it has big benefits for wildlife, too.

4) Do you see any neighbors who are doing something different with their yards and gardens? Is anyone growing some food? Is anyone opting for native landscaping and/or plants that support wildlife? Do you see any bird houses or feeders? Maybe there’s a yard marked with a wildlife habitat certification?

5) Do you have any neighbors with solar panels? A lot more of our energy use is in the form of electricity, you know….

6) What about cisterns to collect rainwater?

7) Are people picking up after their dogs? It’s not just a courtesy to the neighbors, you know, it keeps our water cleaner, too.

8) Do you see bumper stickers or yard signs about protecting the environment in some way? These days, more and more people are “green and proud!”

9) Maybe you can even talk with some of these forward-thinking acquaintances and neighbors so you recognize and thank them for their efforts and start a discussion about other things you’re doing to keep things green.

When you start looking for them, these little things become symbols of hope and may help you and your kids feel like your individual efforts are making a difference. So get out there and feel the growing love for Mother Earth!

Lucas is a professional children’s author and songwriter from Austin, Texas. Check him out at www.lucasmiller.net.

Is Your City Energy Efficient?

Today an article in USA Today caught my eye. The article includes a top ten list of U.S. cities ranked by their annual energy cost savings in commercial buildings.

The list looks like this:

1. Los Angeles

2. San Francisco

3. Houston

4. Washington, D.C.

5. Dallas/Forth Worth

6. Chicago

7. Denver

8. Minneapolis/St.Paul

9. Atlanta

10. Seattle

The energy efficient buildings in these 10 cities alone are saving a total of $420 million in annual energy costs!

I have to admit that commercial buildings are not the first nor the tenth thing I think of when considering green issues. Clearly many people do, thus the impressive savings, which just goes to show that there are many ways to make a real difference.

To find ways to save yourself some money by making your home more energy efficient, check out the Home Energy Saver or Make Your Home Energy Efficient.

9. Atlanta	$16.4
10. Seattle	$16.3