Nip Bud Nip

Believe me, you DO NOT want something called, Bud Nip or Chlorophopham sprayed on your food. Not only is it a plant growth inhibitor that puts the kibosh on potato sprouting, it probably sends kids into outer space too...or was that Sputnik? As Congress continues to debate ways to regulate pesticides and restrict the EPA’s ability to protect our food, water and air, I couldn’t help but think that the little girl in the video below might just be the best advertisement for eating organic fruits and vegetables.

Bud Nip, Sputnik...whatever. It's not good to send our kids the message that spraying pesticides on their food is ok. Plus, as you'll see in this video, kids are too smart for that nonsense - they want pesticides like Bud Nip nipped in the bud.

Renewable Energy: Table Talk With T and Me

Dinnertime is always a savory affair in my nest. My husband, Ted is truly an outstanding cook. His food is seasoned to perfection, served in an appealing manner, and absolutely scrumptious. Savory in all the best ways. Ted's meals set the tone for family dinnertime dynamics that follow suit. After reading Laurie David’s inspiring, informative, and thoroughly enjoyable book, The Family Dinner, I felt validated that we have embraced a ritual that helped raise our amazing kids. That’s why I’m dishing up some insight into my family’s eco-driven conversations.

As Laurie says in her book…“Dinner Spreads Love”

From the time my kids were old enough to cease throwing Fruitios from highchairs, we engaged them in all types of dinnertime banter. The topics were age appropriate, but like other couples that work in similar professions, we get caught up in what our kids affectionately call our “stuff.” Ted is an environmental planner, and I’m an environmental writer. We’re almost always on the same page – it’s the approach that sometimes gets us in trouble.

Ted passionately looks at the big picture and long-term consequences. I passionately focus on day-to-day green actions. He puts together documents that are big enough to sit on. I write snippets for blogs that you could tuck into your pocket.

What’s eating us?

Before I invite you to join us around the table, let me disclose some marital insight: I think Ted is a tad long-winded (I’m being nice here). If you asked him, he would probably say I oversimplify the issues. I must also mention again, that my nest is mostly empty, which leaves Ted and I sharing our dinner (and wine) without kid meditation to reign us in.

(My kids are eye-rolling and nodding their heads in agreement.)

Table Talk

It was excessively hot in the Northeast last week, and Ted announced Sunday that he was not cooking…

Ted: We’ll eat whatever you picked up at the farmer’s market.

Ronnie: OK, I’m cool with – fiddleheads, ramps, shitakes, arugula, sugar snaps, garlic scapes, and whatever else the kids wouldn’t have eaten. (See, empty nests are not as bad as they are cracked up to be.)

The mere mention of not lighting up the gas stove brings out the eco-geekiness in me and I drop an energy issue bomb…

R: What happened to renewable energy? I thought solar, wind, and geothermal were going to make a clean sweep over the power companies and offer homeowners real energy solutions for the future. Was that just a fantasy?

T: If we don’t kick our fossil fuel habit, our children will pay the price of our excess. Diminishing oil reserves and worldwide demand will price us out of the market, and climate change will force some out of their homes. There may be 30 to 50 years of oil left, and loads of coal, but burning 100,000 years of “buried sunshine” each year has created an imbalance in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - the main cause of global warming. Lest not forget, natural gas that needs to be extracted by fracking - that is known to contaminate wells and pollute the air. The sun is estimated to continue to shine for at least 5 billion more years. This is the time to harness the sun and capture the wind. It’s even getting more affordable. We should behave responsibly to our kids and keep exploring alternatives.

R: Doesn’t the world already employ renewable energy practices?

T: Right now only about 13% of the world's energy is renewable.

How does he always have those statistics right at his fingertips? Here comes my best shot...

R: I read in Treehugger (beloved blog) that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says the world can get 80% of its power from renewable sources by 2050. The report claims that if a "full range of renewable technologies were deployed," we could attain this truly clean power goal in under 40 years. Wow, this sounds responsible, right?

T: Yeah, I read that too. The Rocky Mountain Institute goes even further. They say that it would be profitable to displace oil completely over the next few decades. By 2025, the annual economic benefit of that displacement would be $130 billion. Investing now in renewable energy can also help poor countries develop, particularly where large numbers of people lack access to an electricity grid.

R: Just think of what an awesome deal clean energy production would be in terms of health benefits and economic savings. Power the world…Save the poor...Clean air for all!

T: Not so fast. There's a minor glitch: our elected public officials have to enact policies that promote green power…and people need to be given the tools to adopt it. The US is the world's biggest energy consumer, and our politicians are not on the same page. Go tell your Moms Clean Air Force that while they are asking their congressmen to clean up the air, to also tell their local elected officials they can do more. I work with non-partisan planning boards. New development should be subject to smart growth principles. Even while that’s happening, conservation pays. Energy-efficiency is still the cheapest form of energy available today. It is a prerequisite to investing in renewables. Before we can even envision a world powered by wind and sun, we’ve got to remember that conservation and reducing consumption across the board should be our first priority.

R: So glad I share these savory dinner conversations with you. Happy Father’s Day, Ted…and thanks for joining the Moms Clean Air Force.

DIY Wedding Delights

Weddings enchant and inspire! It's wedding season, and during the research for an article about creating ethical weddings, I found the most delightfully creative wedding-related DIY projects – in white, of course.

The cake was a tree.

So the bride wore bamboo…

…and carried antique buttons too.

Descending the stairs of no-frills…

...she danced all night in her handmade espadrilles.

Credits and DIY tutorials: Abstraction White Rose Georgia O'Keefe, Wedding Shawl via Purl BeeCake Tree - Pretty Chic Blog via CraftVicente Wolf for Elle DécorButton Bouquet - Letters4LillyEspadrilles - Between The Lines

Eco-Win: DIY Reusable Bags

My local farmer’s market just celebrated its annual Mother's Day opening. So many folks now carry reusable shopping bags. It must be one of the most remarkable eco-wins of our time. The impact of using plastic bags has been relegated to the equivalent of sleeping with the green-devil. Would you be caught dead without your reusable bags - especially at the farmer’s market?

Plastic vs. reusable bags is one topic that I am asked to write about again and again. I do believe that educating people about issues that affect the sustainability of the planet is paramount. But, if I'm going to ask people to go greener, I like to provide viable options. That’s why one of my favorite writing niches is DIY. For me, making things by hand is just so environmentally-friendly. Plus, I love writing directions and patterns for making things. It's like creating a kick-ass lesson plan!

I've been on a bit of an anti-plastic rant…again. Please revisit with me why this symbol of our throwaway culture is still prevalent…

Why have we not banned disposable plastic bags?

The petroleum and plastics industries oppose the ban of plastic bags and they lobby hard to keep plastic bags in supermarkets. Also, people don’t want to change their habits.

Here's my latest favorite DIY reusable shopping bag:

The crocheted bag above is made from durable natural linen. It scrunches up into a tiny ball small enough to fit in a pocket. I love linen because it is antibacterial and antimycotic (suppresses the growth of fungi). Here is the pattern from Purl Bee for this Crocheted Shopping Bag.

To get us even closer to solving the plastics problem, do you believe we should fine people for not using reusable bags, or charge a fee for using a plastic one?

More DIY bags: Check out the Linen Fabric Bag, Felted Bag and Knitted Bag.

Credit: Purl Bee

Not A Scientist…

I am not a scientist. I am not a politician. I am a mom. I am a teacher. I am a writer. I am an environmentalist. I want to protect my family. I care about the planet. When I became increasingly concerned about the food my family eats, the oceans we swim in, the cars we drive and the air we breathe, it became a personal choice to share and engage my readers in a dialogue about creating a lifestyle that supports our environment.

Joining the Moms Clean Air Force has opened up my eyes wider to the issue of clean air. But, just because I consider something vastly important, doesn’t mean I expect you to jump on the bandwagon. I wish you would, but I know creating clean air is not like selling a basket of locally-grown organic vegetables. People get that. They know those fresh goodies will nourish their bodies. They understand how being a locavore will nourish their souls. The message of saving the Clean Air Act is a complex and seemingly abstract problem with scientific theories, historical data, cost analysis and politics.

Just like we need to nourish our bodies and souls with good, clean food and create vibrant communities by shopping local, we need clean air to secure our health.

So let me repeat: I am not a scientist. I knew the Clean Air Act, administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the States, has saved thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of cases of respiratory and cardiovascular disease. But, I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to reading about babies dying and cancer rates. My biggest fear about joining the Moms Clean Air Force was that I would have to sort through stacks and stacks of reports, regulations, cost anaylsis and really nasty health studies that would leave me glazed over and paralyzed with fear. Although I am a teacher, I am a visual learner like my right-sided brain kids. Scientific technical reading rarely engages my interest for too long.

The exact opposite happened. I do believe informed decisions come from knowledge. I found a nifty tool from the Union of Concerned Scientists that helps embrace the stats. This "ticker" "shows the increase in cumulative net benefits as a result of the Clean Air Act since 1970. The source data for this calculation comes from two EPA reports."

It is scary to imagine that the Clean Air Act is under constant threat. Whether you are a scientist or not, there is one thing we all need to understand - clean air is something we have controlled and lessened...and we all have the power to be part of the solution to continue to preserve clean air.