I just stumbled (twittered, actually) onto the coolest website called Green Mom Finds. I had as much fun finding this as when I found Raise A Green Dog! Just like Raise a Green Dog, Green Mom Finds is a really grounded way to get info on healthy living, fun finds, eco-responsible shopping, and just in general living fun!
It is not just for families… being human is the only characteristic you need to dig this site. Actually, even Johann and the other pooches will love the push for pesticide free lawns!
Love it, definitely going on my blogroll… check it out!
Further, Living Green in a Red State is not as in-depth as Green Mom Finds, BUT this one is a one-woman show, chock full of great personal insight as to cleaning products, diapers… or even being “diaper free” (well worth the read for all moms and upcoming moms!). She’s another on my blogroll who can def tell you about greening the family…
So check out all three (Finds, Dog and State) and get a jump on the Rockstar easy ways to get healthier, for you, your fam and your environment!
From Durham to Raleigh to Pittsboro to Chapel Hill to Clayton to Wake Forest, the entire Triangle is getting down and getting dirty to celebrate Mother Earth this Saturday (April 19th). Here are some of the Rockstar events going on THIS weekend, as well as which ones you are apt to see me! Read the rest of this entry »
No $25k a day fines. No need to gripe. No issue for builders.
I’ll stick with my buddy, Doug, on the final sentiment I have:
My debate was cleared up once the Mayor touched on the fact that greasy meats and bones produce 20% of the city’s grease blockage. I was not aware of this and the argument does make more sense now that information has been divulged.
I do urge Raleigh residents to think twice before pouring grease down the drain and disposing of bones and greasy meats in their garbage disposals. It can cost us several thousand dollars in repairs and can cost us on the back-end, as taxpayers, when the city has to repair blockage in the lines.
I still think they’re crap. Wish I didn’t have my own… anyone want mine?
After having quite a debate in a recent post (see comments) about the importance of third-party testing of products, we can all conclude that companies must be accountable for their products and actions.
Green Daily (a while back) shared The Six Sins of Greenwashing… and in my opinion, it works two ways. The comments section is pretty alive with one poster on a more than self-righteous ground, feeling that if you don’t move into use only a bus, stop buying anything at all and make your own food, cleaner and clothing, then you can’t make a difference. She says some relevant stuff but then follows it by saying that only a select few actually care about the environment.
That, to me, is greenwashing ~ the type that SCARES off people from making any difference in altering things along the way in their everyday lives; the type that teaches people that no matter what they do, they are irrelevant in the big picture ~ unless they foresake everything they know, as they have known it.
I, inspired by those that lead in this movement of social and environmental responsibility, believe that positive encouragement leads to great change. On the flip, gloom and doom motivates very few.
Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great.
The sin she (the aforementioned commenter) commits is as bad as driving a 1985 Suburban and throwing your cigarette butts and Mickey D wrappers out of your window ~ she implies ‘You are not good enough and your difference Read the rest of this entry »
In light of Raleigh’s new ordinance, in effect this coming Monday (March 17th), if you are building a home, renovating your home or simply repairing your kitchen, don’t bother to look into a garbage disposal for your sink. Apparently, Raleigh’s making another effort to save our water supply.
I have no doubt that you’ve already heard about the ban, but have you heard the discussion ensuing?
My buddy Doug (Raleigh Native Review) is amidst his own home renewal project, and he’s not real thrilled about the ordinance. He’s dead on: Raleigh’s not joking with this ordinance:
The fine is absolutely ridiculous! It’s not $100… nor is it $500… even something as steep as $1000 would be excessive but Raleigh City Council has decided that a fine, in the amount of $25,000, is just the right number.
In case you’ve been hiding from media for the last few days (thanks to Toastie, then Johann and then Doug, all of whom keep me in the loop), Wholefoods has announced that by this April’s Earth Day, the grocery chain will no longer offer plastic bags for toting your goods.
What?! But I want my plastic! Paper emits so much more pollution into the atmosphere! And I can reuse the plastic bags for doggydoo and my bathroom q-tips and trash! Those PR-hungry jerks!
OK, so that’s not my stance, but that’s part of the conversation going on over at my buddy Doug’s blog. In fact, one commenter states:
I doubt this is done purely out of the goodness of the Whole Foods heart — it’s just marketing in tune to helping folks thing they’re doing something good for the world. And of course, expect any increased cost of those 100% recycled paper bags to be reflected somewhere on grocery receipts.
OK, so this commenter (Lee) has some points on the pollutions emitted from recycled paper bags. And I sincerely give Lee props for finding ways to give his plastic grocery bags another go.
My issues with the plastic, however, reach deep into the petroleum used in creating them. Nonrenewable, environmentally polluting (via drilling and export), nonbiodegradeable petroleum…
…Petroleum-based plastics, made with toxic chemicals that slowly leach into our ground…
…Plastic bags that end up all over, and I do mean all over… in parking lots, streams, Lake Jordan (and every other lake), roadsides and even up in trees. I see it ALL THE TIME.
If you really want to get in on pedestal-standing soapbox-ranting, get a canvas totebag(s) like Babyrific to lug your groceries home. She says:
My immediate reaction was frustration for having to buy a resuable bag to lug our picture frames and shelves to the car. But now, I love my very handy bright blue reusable IKEA tote for carrying detergent to the laundromat and groceries up and down the stairs. It definitely beats having to use those annoying plastic bags that create more harm than convenience… So, the next time you hear paper or plastic, the greenest answer would be neither. Reuse, reuse, reuse.
According to the Wholefoods website, reusing your own bags is their ultimate goal anyhow:
When you come to shop, bring any bags you have on hand. Really, any bag will do – old, new, paper, plastic, fabric, even backpacks or woven baskets!
And, let’s not forget that Wholefoods has a long-standing policy of discounting your total grocery bill for supplying your own bags instead of using theirs… and their reimbursement price just went up! They reward you for the ultimate in reusing!
So. If you want to use plastic… feel good about not emitting the air pollution associated with paper bags while you can. Your time will soon be up, as all retailers will stop having them (tick tick matter of time), no matter how solid your argument for choosing plastic.
If you use paper, feel good about the lack of chemicals and petroleum used in your bag. Just remember that that bag likely won’t biodegrade (you’ll need to recycle it too essentially).
If you spend the $10 and invest in great reusable canvas bags (that you won’t have to reinvest in for years (if not decades)), cheers to you. Double kudos if it’s organic material.
And use some corn-starch plastic if you must have wastebasket liners and poobags.
Durham’s drought is out of control, but so is the rest of the state’s… let’s learn from the Bay Area (yep, from those crazy Californians) and be a Water Saving Hero!
For the coming year(s) of my life, I resolve to make action happen in my personal life in order to feel less… well, less of so many of the bluh things I have felt lately.
Consequently, I resolve to de-tv myself.
No, I will not throw my tv by the curb (I’d donate it to AnimalKind Retails anyhow). I will not unplug the cable (besides, I pay for cable with my rent involuntarily… wouldn’t that be throwing out money?).
I resolve to turn off the tv unless I am actively watching a show ~ choosing to sit and indulge in Young and the Restless (sick, I know, I am sick), yell at the Steelers (and here) for yet another sadly predictable week (still love you, TP/BBR/WP/SH/HW) or relax in awe of Planet Earth / Blue Planet (the best series EVER ~ thank you BBC). But NO more “hey, I’m bored, I’m home, let’s turn on the tube and let it putter another Friends rerun while I cook”, which is frankly where most of my tv viewing takes place.
Boo. I resolve to turn off the tv and hence experience my own thoughts. Or turn on music. And paint. Or, OMG, get so bored I go for a walk at the park. Or experience my community. Make a friend with the elderly chap next door. Or use my new cookware to try a scary new recipe.
By taking this resolution, I know I will damper the feelings of gloom, loneliness and guilt I take on as I watch yet another episode of Dharma & Greg. I know that I will inspire myself in ways I did not know I could in that time. I know that I will become more aware of humanity and the world around me by actively choosing what I do and where I am, as opposed to passively allowing my life to pass by as I watch other losers’ lives (sorry… exaggerated judgement for effect). I know that I will find a new class to take or make that leap out of a plane with Doug (and drag Marc with us). And by choosing to experience all these other things instead of the tv, I save the senseless energy consumption of constantly having it on.
Who knew that turning off the tv could do so much for 2008.
I’m surprised I turned the tv off long enough to think it all through.
Cheers to viewing more through my own eyes and less through a flat screen in 2008~
Don’t be fooled by B.S. cleaners in the area that refer to the earth as cleaner in their name, or worse even say they’ve gone green ~ their version of green doesn’t mean healthy or environmentally responsible. Again, I repeat, I hate economic adulteration.
They mean that they are cleaners, and perhaps are cleaners that don’t use the absolute worst of solvents… and that’s ALL they mean. Those dry cleaners use the SAME junk in their methods as just about every single dry cleaner in the area ~ tetrachloroethylene (aka perchloroethylene).
This substance is proven to destroy the material of your clothing, poison the air and water as it leaches into the surrounding environment, and lastly to cause cancer in various studies (skin and lung primarily). Here’s one of many articles on the danger. Yep, that’s what we’re sporting along with that nice work suit ~ cancer and pollution. Not the fashion statement you’d want to make, my guess.
We do have ONE cleaner in the Triangle that is green by using a water-based solvent instead of chemicals ~ H2Only Cleaners. That’s the newest green dry-cleaning method.
Most other eco-friendly dry cleaners use a great “new” CO2 method of cleaning as opposed to the previously mentioned toxins of that dry cleaner near your work (just assuming here).
But CO2? Isn’t that what leads to global warming? Here’s a great post by Steve over at the Practical Environmentalist to help you sort out that dilemma… or lack thereof.
I just can’t wait until NC also steps up and mandates the new CO2 process or wet-cleaning at all cleaners. So if you’re near Raleigh, Chapel Hill or Morrisville, get those suits and party clothes cleaned a new way and let us know how you like it.
I just stumbled (twittered, actually) onto the coolest website called Green Mom Finds. I had as much fun finding this as when I found Raise A Green Dog! Just like Raise a Green Dog, Green Mom Finds is a really grounded way to get info on healthy living, fun finds, eco-responsible shopping, and just in general living fun! 
