Library Filled With Creative Reuse, Charm and Children

library-before

The Old Market Library in Thailand was built by TYIN a non-profit organization that does humanitarian work through architecture. TYIN is run by five architect students from Norway. This project was financed by more than 60 Norwegian companies, as well as private contributions.

The library, built in a 100 year-old building was once an abandoned and dilapidated space. The roof and walls were in poor condition. Redesigned to encourage community interaction, TYIN used local and reclaimed materials.

Old Market Library By TYIN Tegnestue, Min Buri, Bangkok, Thailan

"For TYIN it is not only the building of a library that is important, but also that the efforts made will affect the bigger scale. Through the use of local, inexpensive materials we have tried to show that this is something the inhabitants of the community can do by their own initiative, using their own resources. The aim of the library project is to strengthen the passion in the neighborhood that eventually can contribute to a positive development in the area."

With many libraries slated to close in the US, maybe we can think outside the box and create similar community libraries. The Old Market Library is now a functional space filled with charm, creative reuse of materials, and children. LOVE...IT!

Photos: TYIN tegnestue via ArchDaily

A Bicycle Built For School

For the first time in 23 years, I have no child attending school. My sadness about this caught me off guard. Believe me, I do not miss those monthly tuition payments, but I do miss how the back-to-school time marks the end of summer and sweet new beginnings. It's the rhythm of parental life.

Melancholy melted away when I saw this school bus over at Inhabitat:

“Attending school everyday has never more eco-friendly and fun! Dutch company De Café Racer developed a pedal-powered school bus that turns going to school into a happy, healthy and cooperative experience. This friendly and bright vehicle can accommodate up to ten kids and an adult driver, and even features a music player to blast all those sweet school bus tunes. The bus also comes equipped with an auxiliary electric motor just in case kids get tired. And if it starts raining, a sailcloth roof can easily be mounted to ensure the kids arrive at school nice and dry.”

Can I just say, I LOVE THIS!

I first uploaded the post onto Econesting’s Facebook page (you all “Like” Econesting’s FB page, right?) and received a comment from FB “Friend” Katja:

“Actually here in the Netherlands there are loads of those things - mostly for adults, there are groupbikes equipped with a bar and fridge, biketrains that you can use in offroad routes trough the woods and more. After all, the distances here are a good deal less then in the USA.”

Hey, do you think we could do this here in the States? I’m game. How cool would it be to grab a few friends and head off-road with that bar and fridge! OK, we could leave the bar and fridge out for the school kids and add helmets. But really, what a fun and ecological idea for areas where climates could accommodate an open-air school bus. Plus, it might wake up a few high schoolers when they hit the pedals at 6 AM.

Credit: Inhabitat via De Cafe Racer

3 DIY Eco-Friendly Hand Soaps

I could not let my recent rant about what kids are being asked to bring to school whiz by without offering up a few alternatives. Don't you just hate people who complain about the state of things without giving any suggestions? In my book, that just makes them part of the problem. For someone who cares about our environment like I do, if I didn't provide a suitable option to make things better - it's just…well, ranting.

So, I’m going after the biggest defender of evil on that back-to-school list which included: zip-lock bags, toilet paper, garbage bags, cotton balls, anti-bacterial soap, detergent, paper plates, paper towels and tissues.

ANTI-BACTERIAL SOAP tops the list for eco-unfriendliness.

Why? Because it is unhealthy.

Check out my recent post about how nasty the main ingredient in anti-bacterial soap is. Studies show triclosan alters hormone regulation in laboratory animals, and can cause antibiotic resistance, along with an increase of allergies. The F.D.A. says soap with triclosan is not any more effective than ordinary soap. So, why the hell are we asking kids to bring it to school???

Consider these 3 DIY Eco-Friendly Hand Soap alternatives:

1. Here’s a tutorial for ditching the Dial Complete (bad, bad soap with triclosan) and making your own eco-friendly Liquid Hand Soap.

2. Each year I buy handmade felted soaps at the Wool and Sheep Festival. They are a true luxury. Here are directions to make Felted Soap. I’m going to try!

3. What could be better than shea butter soap? Not much. Here’s the how to’s for making your own Shea Butter Soap.

I believe we can change our future, teach our children well, and protect our precious planet if we continue to think and act creatively…and collectively. Let’s not muck it up.

Credit: Craft

Back-To-School: BYO Surprise

Surprise! It’s back-to-school time. Well, that’s no surprise. What totally surprises me are the lists of school supplies kids are being asked to stuff into their backpacks on the first day of school. According to a Today show segment, some schools are asking their students to bring zip-lock bags, toilet paper, garbage bags, cotton balls, antibacterial soap (!!!), detergent, paper plates, paper towels and tissues.

Along with the obligatory backpack, pencils and paper, parents are also asked to check their eco-consciousness on the school steps, and wave good-bye to their babes while their child wades through a landfill of required stuff.

I met lots of mommy bloggers when I represented the Moms Clean Air Force at BlogHer. I spoke to green moms who were sending their kids back to school with stainless steel water bottles and packing their lunches with DIY lunch bags and reusable napkins. But, most parents take their cues from these school lists that require them to consume rather than conserve.

Don’t get me going on plastic bags…why would a parent who is trying to cut down on using a substance made from a nonrenewable resource (petroleum), continue to perpetuate the problem?

Can you imagine sending your child to school with toilet paper? No joke.

This New York Times article sets the case, “Schools across the country are beginning the new school year with shrinking budgets and outsize demands for basic supplies. And while many parents are wincing at picking up the bill, retailers are rushing to cash in by expanding the back-to-school category like never before.”

Not only is it unfair to ask financially strapped parents to provide such items, it downright stomps all over our environment. Maybe even worse than laying the burden on parents is the message we are sending our kids. One minute we’re telling them disposable products are destructively evil for the environment, and in the next breath, we’re literally buying into school requirements.

As a former teacher, I can see how some of these items may be helpful, but are they really necessary? I think not. And if we are ever going to create a culture of conservation, we better get started with our littlest learners

Now's The Time...

If you follow Econesting, you know I love children and I am passionate about the attacks on the Clean Air Act. I fear our kids will suffer if it is gutted. Not only do I write for the Environmental Defense Fund's Moms Clean Air Force, but as a parent of two children, a former teacher, and a Board of Trustee member of The Randolph School, I care deeply about the future of our children. I am passing on some important and timely information from one of my favorite writers, Dominique Browning, who is the author of the blog, Slow Love Life and lead blogger of our amazing MCAF team. I hope you will join us in the fight for clean air. Thank you!

Countdown for Writing to the EPA by Dominique Browning

I don't want to nag, though we all know moms are great at that. But I'm going to remind everyone that as of Monday, August 1, we have only FOUR MORE DAYS to write to the EPA  in support of their NEW Mercury and Air Toxics Standards. This regulation will cut down the poisonous emissions from coal-fired electric plants. Fetuses, infants and toddlers are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of toxic coal pollution.

Pro-polluters have been working overtime to cut funding for the EPA and block anti-pollution regulations. They’re spending millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions–to protect their right to pollute!

Motherhood is powerful too. We have to make our voices heard.

This is only the beginning of our fight. Please join the Moms Clean Air Force now and make a difference for your kids.

Someday your children will thank you. Right now, you have to fight for them. Every day for four days, I'm going to nag–and include a great reason to write to the EPA now. But my A Number One Reason will always be the same: my two beloved sons, for whom I will always fight like a mama bear, Alex and Theo. I'll bet you feel the same way about yours.

Here are GREAT REASONS to write to the EPA now.

1. YOUR VOICE MATTERS. No politician wants to make a mom mad. The EPA needs to hear that you want it to protect your right to clean air. Sometimes being a great mom means being an active citizen.

2. WE’VE MADE IT EASY–AND YOU CAN FIND THE TIME. It is faster to write to the EPA than it is to change a diaper. Sometimes being a great mom means being an active citizen. Make your voice heard!

3. POLLUTION CONTROL MEANS MORE JOBS. Green jobs are rising dramatically. Retrofitting coal stacks with scrubbers means more jobs for people in the industry–and a stronger industry overall.

4. HOW DARE THEY HARM OUR BABIES! Fetuses, infants and toddlers are especially vulnerable to the harmful effects of toxic pollution. Childhood cancers are on the rise. So are asthma attacks.  Pregnant women are warned against eating tuna fish because it is full of mercury. And polluters keep on fighting for their right to pollute.

Credit: Lainey Fink