Canada Moms Blog

SV Moms Group celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day

Image by Barbara.Doduk via Flickr

Inspired by our Los Angeles Moms Blog writer, Elizabeth Peterson from Traded My BMW for a Minivan, we at SV Moms Group are celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Collectively, we CAN make a difference. We DO make a difference every day. Today, we are sharing insights into new initiatives, advances and ideas for how to make our earth a better place. Read what the SV Moms Group bloggers are doing, thinking, sharing and feeling today for Earth Day.

• Elizabeth Peterson from Traded My BMW for a Minivan is keeping herself open to new ideas today, when Earth Day is 40
• SV Moms Group contributors discuss National Geographic's Green Guide Families for our Earth Day book club
• Kimberly from Tippy Toes and Tantrums shares ideas for how to green up your kid's lunch
• Shannon from ecochick has tons and tons of green shopping ideas for Earth Day
• Stacy from DC Metro Moms Blog engages in confessions of a counterfeit recycler
• April from It's All About Balance recommends starting with one thing that is easy for your family
• Melanie from tales from the crib is going green
• Laura from L.A. Story shares Earth Day celebrations in Los Angeles
• Justice Fergie from Mamalaw admits it's not that easy being green
• Jennifer from Connect with your Teens through Pop Culture and Technology wants you to share Earth Day with your teens
• Sue from Motherhood and Me extended an Earth Day invitation to her mom's group and has all kinds of activities planned for the kiddos
• Jessica from A Parent in Silver Spring has an article in the Washington Post today about free activities for families to celebrate Earth Day week in Washington DC
• Jenny K. from jen0r dot com was alarmed when reading about Garbage Patches in the oceans
• Elizabeth A from a moon, worn as if it had been a shell shares a corner view for Earth Day
• Steph from Problem Solvin Mom asks if you know where your food comes from
• Bonggamom from Finding Bonggamom is greening her lifestyle
• Caryn from Rockin' Mama suggests simple changes: namely, recycling, being mindful of plastics, conserving energy, and opting for safe-er cosmetics
• Robin from The Not-Ever-Still Life posts in honor of Earth Day
• Kristen from Rage Against the Minivan has a public service announcement
• Kristren from Mama Manifesto thinks that every day is Earth Day
• Gina von Esmarch from Bowl Licker celebrates Earth Day with en vougue produce and Earth Day hullabaloo
• Amy M from Teach Mama sneaks in some learning for Earth Day
• Amy Turn Sharp from doobleh-vay shares ideas for raising eco consciousness in your family
• Garima from It's a Start looks to Wikipedia for the answers
• Nancy Loo says goodbye to hairspray for Earth Day
• Alma from Marketing Mommy from determines that Earth Day is getting greener every year

Happy Earth Day to all!

National Geographic's Green Guide for Families: A SV Moms Group Book Club

Earth Day IS every day, especially when you have a family - as families, our impact can be felt more, we tend to consumer more, and there is the very real fact that we are raising the next generation that will have to live in this world. The practical questions: What kind of diapers to use? What kind of products to clean and feed your kids and home? How can your family can "Go Green" together? Join us today as we discuss the book National Geographic Green Guide Families by Catherine Zandonella. 

Special thanks to Nancy Friedman from New York City Moms Blog, who sourced this book club for us!

• Michele from ReadOutLoud thinks every day should be Earth Day
• Bonggamom from Finding Bonggamom is greening her family's lifestyle
• Cristie from The Traveling Circus says it's not easy being green
• Leticia from Tech Savvy Mama lists ways to be more green with your technology this year
• Sophia Leto from Moody Mommy thinks about how to live a healthy life
• Julie from Just Precious's visits to the farmer's market helps her children to make healthy green choices
• April from It's All About Balance is eating green and healthy
• Maxine from The french Mommy born in California is raising an enviro-radical...or just little Margo
• Linsey from Me Too You has a green birthday party coming right up
  
• Caitlin from A Hen and Two (Now Three) Chicks is loving this reference guide
• Eunice from Random Walk Down Mommy Street has ants that go marching one-by-one
• Kristie from Real Mommy Reviews is taking an active role in being kind to our earth
• Lisa H. from Hannemaniacs wishes it was easier being green
• Paige from Canning with Kids likes "green on a shoestring" tips
• Stacy from Laptop Television Mom was reminded that being green is more than common sense
• Stacy from Fabulous Miss S. watched Food, Inc. and read this book all in the same weekend, so is feeling like living a bit healthier
• Roxane from Rox and Roll refuses to leave her kids with an Earth dirtier than the ones her parents left her
• Heidi from Coast to Coast Mom thinks about her grandmothers and shades of green
• Nicole from Not Just a Working Mom is going on a greener vacation
  

Silicon Valley Moms Blog is hosting the book club discussion this month. Please go here to leave a comment below to join in the discussion.

Author Catherine Zandonella also answered a couple of questions for SV Moms Group bloggers. If you have a question, please leave it in the comments below. 

Question: It’s easy to recycle (or even forgo) the plastic bags from the market.  How do you handle the endless sandwich, snack, veggie and bread bags?  Can these be recycled even if used and peppered with crumbs or peanut butter?  (I’ve already reduced the plastic bag use by choosing reusable containers for earth911.com or www.plasticbagrecycling.org. (California state law requires that stores collect plastic carryout bags for lunches, but we still use too many baggies.)

Answer: Many types of plastic bags can be recycled. These include newspaper bags, produce bags, bread bags, and "zip lock" bags (remove zipper first) can be recycled. You can find locations that will accept plastic bags at recycling, but you'll have to check with the retailer to see if they also accept other types of bags.) www.plasticbagrecycling.org site has a list of the types of plastic bags and plastic wrappers that can be recycled. In addition to the plastic bags listed above, you can also recycle plastic dry cleaning bags and plastic wrap on furniture and other purchased goods such as paper towels, napkins, and diapers. See the web site for a full list.

Plastics that CANNOT be recycled, according to www.plasticbagrecycling.org, are:

• food or cling wrap
• prepackaged food bags including frozen food bags (e.g., prewashed salad bags)
• film that has been painted or has excessive glue
• other bags or films
• bio-based or compostable plastic bags

Make sure all bags are clean and dry before you recycle them!

Question: Our family swing set sits atop a blanket of recycled tire rubber.  Until reading the Green Guide, we thought it was the best choice (environmentally & economically).  Should we immediately swap out the rubber mulch for a natural wood product?  If so, how should we dispose it?  Can the rubber mulch be placed in the recycling container?

Answer: Tire disposal is regulated on a state by state basis, and you will have to contact your state's department of environmental protection or waste management board to find out what to do with the rubber mulch. In California, you might start with CalRecycle: www.calrecycle.ca.gov.

Past SV Moms Group Book Clubs have included:

• Top 100 Finger Foods and Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel
• The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman
• The Mominatrix's Guide to Sex by Kristen Chase
• Coco Chanel & Igr Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh
• See Mom Run by Beth Feldman
• Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind by Phillip Done
• This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Topper
• Do One Nice Thing by Debbie Tenzer
• Birth Day by Mark Sloan, M.D.
• What Happened to the Girl I Married? by Michael Miller
• Testimony by Anita Shreve
  
• Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs
  
• Much to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
  
• It Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
  
• Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
• The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
• Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
• The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
• The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross

Click here to read all about the SV Moms Group Book Club.

Beyond Gift-Giving: Hanukkah the Green

I'm finding dealing with things quite the parenting challenge lately. It's Hanukkah, and earlier this month I promised myself I wouldn't buy my kids anything at all until Hanukkah because I knew that if I did the whole beauty of getting and, indeed, of giving gifts would be lost. The Hanukkah gifts would be just more little trinkets for my kids to hoard, more random objects to attach themselves to in profound and confusing ways that only Freud could really understand.

And Hanukkah is such a beautiful holiday, so rich with meaning and hope. When we light the menorah, we are celebrating the victory of the Maccabees (a Jewish rebel army) over the Syrians in 156 BCE, and the rededication of the holy Temple in Jerusalem that followed. When the Maccabees rededicated the temple, they had only a small flask of olive oil with which to light the Temple's eternal flame -- enough to keep it lit for one day. But, miraculously, this small flask of oil lasted eight days, giving them enough time to press new olive oil, and keep the eternal flame alive, well, eternally.

As a "friend" reminded me the other day, there's a great modern message in this miracle: a green message. To think, one flask of oil could go such a long way! It's a reminder to us all that a little energy, a little water, any precious resource we use too much of, can go a long way.