Great Green Tips

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Kathleen Ridihalgh — Thu, 03 May 2007 05:28:00 GMT

My blog was picked up by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper - yeah! Please click here to view ongoing posts about green parenting and environmental issues.

Green Parenting: Planet-wise Child Rearing

Green Top Ten Lists

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 04:52:00 GMT

This Earth Day, Top Ten lists are the tops! From Oprah to Ed Begley Jr, from National Geographic to HGTV, find out the top 5, 10 or 100 ways to be green! If you only pick one or two, you are ahead of the game.

View links to lists at greatgreentips.net.

The planet thanks you!

Spring cleaning - a matter of life and death?

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 05:25:00 GMT

Forget the skull and crossbones -- there are safe and effective ways to make your house shine!

It's important to take extra care if you have young 'uns around. Toxic cleaners around the home can be dangerous for children who may accidentally get into a bottle of ammonia, bleach or other cleaners. According to the National Poison Control Center, in 2004, more than 120,000 kids get into toxic substances that had at least a minor effect on them (only a very small percentage of those were fatal, fortunately). Cleaning substances are the second leading cause of poisoning (personal care products top the list). And it's not just about doing shots of Drano -- toxic fumes can hurt little lungs, and the products poison during their production and disposal.

Common sense is a great tool here, you don't need to be a chemist. Just look for the Skull and Crossbones and WARNING labels – probably a good indication that you don't want it in your home!

All this is avoidable – here are some easy suggestions for your spring cleaning with things you can easily find in your kitchen:

• clean your windows with vinegar and water, use old newspaper pages instead of paper towels, they're extra-absorbent and prevent streaks
• vinegar is also excellent for cleaning your tub and shower tiles, removes soap scum and leaves a real shine
• sprinkle salt and lemon juice in your porcelain sink and rub gently to remove stains
• use a damp cloth or a microfiber towel to "dust" your furniture, instead of spraying furniture wax
• use a vacuum with a HEPA filter to ensure dust isn't simply being distributed around your house
• after vacuuming, throw your area rugs out on the clothesline in the sun and beat 'em a few times with a broom handle or stick. Leave them out for a few hours in the sun, which kills bacteria and airs out dust. Give them a few whacks before bringing them inside to release any pollen they may have picked up.

Be a conscious consumer and buy safe products. Some things labeled "all natural" or containing a fruity smell (which could be just another toxin!) are meaningless. Look for specifics: "low-VOC (volatile organic compounds)", "no phosphorus" == just simply avoid the chemicals. If it sounds nasty, it probably is.

To keep your home healthy, open windows often – particularly when you're cleaning – and clean the air filters in your heating system. Remember that ANY substance – even water – can be harmful to children in large quantities, so keep even your "safe" products in a locked cabinet or on a high shelf. If you do run into a problem, call the National Poison Control Center: 1-800-222-1222 (keep the number on the fridge.)

Finally, to maintain your sanity, remember that a happy, healthy home isn't necessarily a sterile one. Lighten up! A few dust bunnies never hurt anyone.

Whew! Now that all that cleaning's done, open up a bottle of organic, local wine and relax!

Recommendations:
The City of Seattle tested dozens of products for safety, quality and effectiveness. Custodians picked Naturally Yours Gentle Soap, 888/801-7347, for toilet bowls, glass and general cleaners (but they don't have a website, what's up with that?).

When I need something with some muscle to it, my personal favorite is Bon Ami.
You can always count on anything from Seventh Generation or Citra-Solv.

For a great complete list, check out Organic Consumers fact sheet.

Your food: closest to home is best!

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 15:02:00 GMT

Spring is springing in the Northwest (for folks in the Midwest and Northeast: it's coming, I swear!!) and thoughts are turning to the garden. This year, why not plant the fruits and veges you love to eat? I'm drooling over the thoughts of a fresh-picked sun-warmed tomato; the rewards of potatoes mulitplying overnight; of harvesting basil 10 minutes before I make pesto. Eating locally produced stuff is great (see Locavores) -- but from your own backyard is best!

The impacts go beyond the culinary enjoyment -- every piece of produce you grow in your yard is one less that gets shipped in from somewhere else - reducing greenhouse emissions (but don't worry if you're planting in a greenhouse!); it's less lawn you have to mow; and you support local bees, butterflies and other good bugs! Here's where you can also save a lot of money -- seeds and starts are very inexpensive, pennies per harvest. On some species, you can save the seeds for the next year's planting.

It's easy! Begin with organic supplies - seeds, starts, compost - and a sunny corner of your yard or windosill. Great online sources are Seeds of Change and Territorial Seed Company. Choose disease-resistant varieties when you can so you can avoid insecticides (and certainly no toxic weed killers!). I've found the most vital thing in growing good fruits and veges is keeping them well-watered throughout the season - collect rainwater buckets or barrels for the least impact on local resources. The seed companies will provide growing information for each type you grow, or you can check with your local Agricultural Extension or garden shop. (Don't know about Ag Extensions? They provide an amazing amount of (usually free) services for local gardeners about just about everything. Here's a list for Washington state.)

Start with herbs - easy to grow, many are perennials (live year-to-year), they look and smell great in your garden, and they are tastey! Freshly harvested herbs make every dish special and yummy. Plus, they have a nutritional punch - a stockpile of phytochemicals and vitamins. Toss them in, on, and around everything you cook. The easiest to grow (in the Northwest) and most-versatile in the kitchen are: rosemary, oregano, thyme, chives, basil and dill.

Eating closest to home doesn't have to be limited to produce -- one of my cousins reports she just bought 20 chickens!

How does your garden grow?

Why a house addition?

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 19:30:00 GMT

Great question posted by "anonymous" (so, why anonymous??) about the "greeness" of adding onto our house. Concerned citizens constantly need to make decisions about how to live and what the impacts will be. Everyone's barometer of low-impact is different. Some people live without cars! children! toilet paper! (see 3/26 entry). But that's not for us.

While this is a little off the topic of parenting, the philosophy holds true - you can go about living your life, fulfilling your dreams, being comfortable, and doing mostly what you want to do -- just do it all more sustainably. So, if you want to drive a car, make sure it gets good gas mileage and take public transportation (or walk or bike!) whenever you are able. If you are raising children, reduce the impact with cloth diapers, organic food and used clothing, toys and furniture. If you want a large house, buy an older house within an urban center, then do remodeling and additions with sustainable materials and ensure it's energy and water efficient.

Instead of buying a "McMansion" on newly cleared forestland, our choice was to live within two miles of work, walking distance to grocery, buses, schools and entertainment, and to maintain and add on to the house as wanted with reused, recycled or certified-sustainable materials as much as possible.

The dense-ist folks? I bow down on my hands and knees and give gratitude to people who have arguably the smallest footprint of all Americans: my friends in my former "hometown" New York City. Families of 3, 4, 5 people living in two-bedroom apartments. Many don't have cars and use only public transportation or walk everywhere. They use communal clotheswashers and dryers. Imagine 200 families living within one city block! Now, that's density.

Goin' organic

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 04:12:00 GMT

The food you eat is your best defense against disease and the barrage of toxics in our culture. We are exposed to lots of pollutants - in our furniture, in our cars, cleaning products, etc. With so much out of our control, we can at least reduce the buildup of toxins in our bodies. Eating organic foods and drinks is a tasty way to keep the skull and crossbones out of our diet.

Pesticides, insecticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, genetically modified foods, transfats - sound yummy? You want fries with that? No, of course not. But, maybe you think, "Well, I've lived my whole life like this, I'm not going to change now." Well, like so many things, having a baby forces a rethink on that.

According to the Environmental Working Groups FoodNews website:
"The endocrine (hormone) system is perhaps even more sensitive to toxic exposure than the nervous system, and over the past decade, enormous effort has been put into the study of how pesticides and toxic chemicals interfere with normal endocrine signaling and function. A significant body of research in animals now shows that ultra-low doses of pesticides and toxic chemicals on critical days of development can cause changes in hormone function and effects on organ development and function that often only appear later in life."

You bet you need to think about it. Study after study shows that pesticides and insecticides build up in children's bodies. But there's good news - they also show that just after a short period of eating organic, the body can flush some of those poisons away.

But, you say, organics are expensive! hard to find! not available all year-round! don't store well! Well, all that's changing too. The major international food corporations have entered the scene (concerned about your welfare, for sure), so you don't need to wear Birks and shop at Granola Barn. Organic foods are available just about everywhere I've travelled, from Hawaii to New England.

So, where to begin? Produce, meat and dairy are good places to start. And the EWG's website also makes the produce part even easier. If cost and availability are issues, you can prioritize which fruits and vegetables you choose to buy organic. Because some are less exposed to chemicals in production, some are OK to eat (in terms of their impact on YOU -- organics are almost always better in terms of their impact on the environment.)

TOP VEGETABLES AND FRUITS TO BUY ORGANIC (contain the most toxics): strawberries, peppers, apples, celery, spinach, cucumbers, peaches, green beans
VEGETABLES AND FRUITS THAT ARE OK TO BUY REGULAR (contain the least toxics): avocado, corn, onions, cauliflower, U.S. grapes, bananas, watermelon, broccoli

For the complete list, go to foodnews.org.

If you *must* choose, follow this guide. Otherwise, sign onto the organic bandwagon and don't look back. For your infants, if you can find organic formula, it's worth it. And organic jarred baby food, like Earth's Best (our favorite), is worth it. If you think it's too expensive, read through the studies and decide for yourself. When you look back at what you spend on your children -- think of the closet full of stuffed animals, teethers, plastic thing-a-ma-jingy's -- is giving your baby the safest, cleanest, healthiest food really "too expensive"?

Gotta go eat some organic ice cream now...I said organic was healthy, I didn't say it wasn't fattening!

Kathleen

Step It Up! Global Warming March and Fair

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:28:00 GMT

National Day of Climate Action Saturday April 14, 2007

Thousands of people across the country are marching on Saturday April 14 to urge solutions for global warming. In Seattle, there will be a march, rally and fair!

Kids, parents and friends! Let's march together to kick off the Earth Day season!! Under banners saying "Cool Kids for a Cool Planet" and "Our Future is in Your Hands," join with hundreds of tots, toddlers and other precious cargo as part of the parade.

On Sunday April 14, meet us at Occidental Park in Pioneer Square for the 2 pm march. Look for us under the Big Blue Globe! Bring costumes, instruments (especially drums!) and placards that express your concern and optimism that we can meet this challenge! Banana will be a Cool Kid! If you want to help make signs there are a couple of opportunities, please contact me through my website.

As parents, we need to be thinking of what the world will be like in 20, 30 or 40 years for our kids and theirs. Scientists agree that we need to reduce greenhouse gases by 80% by 2050, when our children are adults. Their future is literally in our hands. For more information about the science of global warming and solutions, check out the Sierra Club's website.

The parade will go to Myrtle Edwards Park - there will be a rally featuring King County Executive Ron Sims, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, KC Golden from Climate Solutions, Rev. Lisa Domke and others. After the speakers, there will be a solutions fair featuring all kinds of ways to save energy, reduce waste and otherwise help reduce global warming.

Get more information and sign up for the Seattle event!

See you there!

Kathleen, Hubby and Banana

Great Green Resources!

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 04:56:00 GMT

It's nice to live in Seattle, where Green-ness is next to universal-power-ness. At the pediatrician's office this morning, I came across two great resources. One is the City of Seattle's green building department (Hubby and I are adding onto our 100-year-old farmhouse to make room for #2, and we're trying to make it as sustainable as possible.)

The other thing that caught my eye is the magazine Parent Map, that titled its April issue "Think Green." So, seems like lots of parents are trying to make their home and kids healthy and wise! The article reviews nontoxic choices, cloth diapers (for a practical how-to, see my website), and age-appropriate activities for kids birth through teenagerdom.

How are you green?

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 04:45:00 GMT

I'd love to hear your feedback and hints, tips and whines about greeniness. Be added to my list to receive blog entries directly!
Email me at: greatgreentips@yahoo.com.

A Whole Lotta Poo

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 04:16:00 GMT

Have you heard about the Year Without Toilet Paper (New York Times article)? The Beavin-Collins are commited to one year of No Impact living. Wow! I'm impressed and a little scared. It's so great to see people going All the Way!

So, it's possible. But, it's also nice to realize that you don't have to go to extremes to help the planet (just to get a book deal.) Remember that big pile of diapers I wrote about in the last entry? All those doody dumps that our public dumps have to deal with? Not a pretty picture. So, how do you incorporate cloth diapers into your routine? Check out my website for an indepth "how to." Just think about it: by using cloth alternatives, each month you can prevent about 170 toxin-filled nappies from melting into our groundwater over the next 500 years.

Check out my Cloth Diapers Fact Sheet.

My hats off (and a big toilet-paper banner) to the adventurous family in Apt 9F!

A Mountain of Diapers - Not!

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 04:10:00 GMT

Next week is Banana's first birthday - I freak when I think about what I was doing 357 days ago! But, I know what I started 358 days ago -- we began changing diapers. Hubby and I were cautiously optimistic about our ability to stick with our diapering choice: cloth diapers that we wash at home. They were too cute! Little fuzzy diapers, hanging out on the line. But what were we in for?

I will get into the *dirty* details in future posts, but now I want to flaunt the results. One year later and we're still washing diapers at home. I've got it down to a science and don't even think about it anymore. Based on all kinds of averages, I have calculated that we prevented 2530 diapers from being thrown into a landfill!

Imagine that mountain of diapers!

Cheers, Kathleen

Great Green Tips Launch

Kathleen Ridihalgh — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 05:22:00 GMT

Welcome! Parents, friends, family, supporters, teachers -- you all play a role in bringing up someone's child. No small task in This World! My blog is for all those who want to raise happy kids and leave the planet better than we found it (and old Girl Scout goal.) I'll share what I've learned so far in my 12 months of parenting. Yes, a baby is a bundle of joy -- but, let's face it, she's also a consumer, and as an American consumer she has the potential for a huge "footprint." You can raise a joyous family and live simply, gently on the planet.

Here's a homework assignment -- let me know how you measured up!
Find out how you're impacting the earth with a Footprint survey!
At EarthDay.com's site, my family's footprint was 18 acres (the American average is 24). Take the quiz: http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp
At Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth site, my carbon load was 4.25 tons per year (American average is 7.5). Figure yours out: http://www.climatecrisis.net/takeaction/carboncalculator/

With this blog and website, www.greatgreentips.net, I hope to give your resources, advice and a forum to share so we can continue to reduce our footprint, our anxiety, and raise happy and healthy families!