Check Out the Austin EcoNetwork!

The Austin EcoNetwork has officially launched its new website and Greening Families is proud to be one of the featured bloggers!

The Austin EcoNetwork or AEN is “a network of people interested in information, events, and resources related to Austin and the environment.” For those of you in the Austin area, AEN has a great calendar that lists local happenings as well as updates on news affecting the Austin area. For those who live in other parts of the world, Austin has a vibrant eco-community so it can be heartening to read about all the people who are thinking and acting to protect the environment. (We live outside of Austin so I browse it myself when feeling blue about going green.)

Please come visit to check out Greening Families’ weekly posts and to see all the other great offerings!

Family Friday: How to Strengthen Your Family’s Immune Systems

All the media coverage of swine flu, or influenza A H1N1, is causing some people to panic. As I listened to the news on my way home from dropping my youngest at preschool, I could feel my own worries growing. So I started thinking about what action I could take. Action is a great antidote to panic!

Once I took a deep breath (OK, a couple of deep breaths), I realized one of the best things would be to make sure my kids, Rich, and I have strong immune systems. Our time at preschool, elementary school, and work gives us exposure to plenty of local germs. I wanted to make sure all our defenses were in tip-top fighting shape for whatever we encountered.

Here are some of the best ways to bolster immune systems. As I wrote this, I was struck by how many of these items have multiple benefits. If we did these things all the time, my family would be leaner, happier, and healthier. Read more

Of Milkweeds and Monarchs

Thanks to Lucas Miller’s previous post about milkweeds, we’ve had two young children very excited about spring in our house. My kids were fascinated with the idea of providing sustenance for monarch butterflies and sanctuary for their babies so, ever since we read the article, they have been asking when it would be warm enough to add milkweeds to our yard. We decided spring break would be the perfect time to do so and the countdown began.

Then, days before spring break began, the flu hit. Both girls got sick but with different strains, which allowed us to experience the full glory not once, but twice as germs were swapped. I am now ever more thankful that we own a washing machine.

By the tail end of spring break, everyone was finally feeling better. After a day of waiting to ensure no relapses would occur, we headed to the nursery. With their bright orange and yellow flowers and pointed leaves, the milkweeds were easy to identify among all the other plants. We had looked at some pictures online first, mostly because I wanted to spare the other gardeners a long search by two tired girls and their exhausted mom. Looking at the pictures definitely helped – the girls spotted the plants first. Read more

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

Biking in 2009

A recent USA Today article on biking to work included an interesting fact. Beginning in January of 2009, companies can earn a tax credit of up to $20 per month for each employee who commutes by bicycle under the Bicycle Commuter Act.

This tax credit has companies all over the country offering incentives to their employees to encourage cycling. From Discovery Communications in Maryland to New Resource Bank in California, companies are offering money to their employees to purchase, repair, or maintain a bicycle.

If more exercise or fewer carbon emissions are one of your New Year’s resolutions, ask your company about this and make sure they know about the tax credit. For more on the Bicycle Commuter Act, visit The League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Commuter Act FAQ.

Need for Alternative Fuels Larger than Today’s Gas Prices

Over the past several weeks, I’ve read several articles questioning whether the desire for alternative fuels will remain intense if the price of gasoline drops long-term. The latest is today’s Oil Shock column in the Washington Post. Read more

More Alternatives in Transportation Coming

Earlier this week USA Today reported that Honda is increasing its production of vehicles powered by compressed natural gas and that Toyota is considering returning to production of these vehicles.

Honda, which is currently the only manufacturer of these cars, plans to double the number of Honda Civics that utilize compressed natural gas or CNG available in the US.

Toyota is preparing to re-enter the CNG market if demand continues to rise. This November Toyota plans to reveal a concept version of a Camry that is a CNG/electric hybrid at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

Honda Reveals New Hybrid

Honda has released the name and photos of its newest hybrid vehicle. The new car is named the Honda Insight and is expected to be priced near $18,000. If the price estimates bear out, the Insight will be the least expensive hybrid on the market! You can read more about it in yesterday’s Scientific American.

Test Drives for Hydrogen Cars

Several automobile companies, including the BMW Group, General Motors and Honda Motor, are developing prototypes of hydrogen cars and have been recruiting individuals to test drive them the Mercury News reports. This allows the companies to test how the cars react to normal driving conditions as well as collect additional user input. Read more

New Hybrid on the Horizon

Honda has announced that it is coming out with a new hybrid vehicle. This not-yet-named five-passenger car will be priced less than their Civic hybrid, which starts at $22,600, to make it competitive with Toyota’s Prius.

Sales are expected to begin in the United States, Europe and Japan in early 2009 with production estimates currently cited at 200,000. Good news for everyone stuck on a hybrid wait list!

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