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June 2008 archive
Greening your Pets
Several visitors have asked about greening pets, more specifically about, inside pets or out, green litters, and organic foods?
First, it's best to keep the alley cats inside. The American Bird Conservancy has launched a national campaign to educate and help cat owners keep their feline friends inside. Outdoor cats typically have a life expectancy of fewer than 5 years; indoor cats can live for up to 17 years.
Clay kitty litter is made from Bentonite clay, which is strip-mined. And on potty training, it is entirely possible and some people have had great success. If you dare try, there is a world of resources on the Internet to help you get started or you could check your local library for a book called, How to Toilet-Train Your Cat: 21 Days to a Litter-Free Home by Paul Kunkel.
Some people have great success with the wheat and corn based litters, like Swheat Scoop. Although, Swheat Scoop says it’s flushable, the rule of thumb is still do not flush. Waste water treatment is incredibly expensive, nor was it developed to handle this sort of waste. And it’s really not reasonable to flush 1.6 or 6 gallons of water for such a small amount of poo. Your best green bet might be if you can find a product that uses a post-consumer recycled product that’s biodegradable, like newspaper, and compost it.
Kitty litter can be composted, but it is a delicate process. Again, there are great resources online, like this detailed debate here that exemplifies the trial and error of composting pet waste. If you’re not going to compost it, choosing a biodegradable product is still better in the landfill as it will still eventually decompose.
Or try these resources:
Info about composting cat poop
Dog Poop Composter
Natural and organic pet foods are made using animals raised humanely and without added drugs or hormones. This means that there’s less potential for hormone-injected animal waste reaching the aquifer. Here’s a quick overview of natural and organic pet foods. Preservatives and wheat or corn meal found in regular dog foods can cause hair loss, itching, and other allergy symptoms in sensitive dogs.
If you choose to make your own you should find a good resource that explains the nutrient needs of your animal(s). Balancing their diet is essential to their health as is portion control; both of which are already established with premade foods. The benefit of making your own pet food is that you know exactly what is in it and you have the choice to buy local, organic, or both!
Here are some links to recipes and more information about alternative pet food choices. Remember it’s important to consult your veterinarian and fully research alternatives before implementing them.
Homemade Dog Food Recipes
Owners Making Own Pet Food, Switching to Organic/Natural
Home Made Raw food Diet for Animals
How to Green Your Pet
Posted on June 28, 2008 at 8:28 a.m. by Stephenie. Discuss (0 comments)
Green Cleaning, worth it or not?
We’ve been getting a lot of questions about green cleaning options and whether or not it makes sense to, for example, make your own cleaning products.
In general, store bought cleaning products can be dangerous both to you and the environment. Just look at their labels -- Danger, Caution, Keep Out of Reach of Children! Do you really want that sort of stuff on your kitchen counter-tops or in your bathroom near your unmentionables? Making your own cleaners is a pretty good option -- The Nature Museum actually offers a few public programs on this topic, complete with some simple recipes you can use at home. As for buying green cleaning products, be sure you’re not falling victim to green washing before you purchase. Or just use what we use here at the Nature Museum and try a “Green Seal Certified” product called H2Orange2 which works great.
Posted on June 27, 2008 at 9:50 a.m. by Stephenie. Discuss (1 comment)
Why Would an Eco-Chick Not Recycle?
Because she can't.
By the end of this summer, Chicago's only city-wide recycling program will be finished. No more blue bag recycling. You can sort your recyclables all you like into any color of bag you choose, but they're headed for quiet death in the landfill, never to be seen or used again.
My ward is not slated to get the new cart system in place in 2008. No date is promised. The blue carts won't be rolled out across the whole city for THREE MORE YEARS.
In the meantime, that's a lot of aluminum I'm going be sending to be buried in the landfill. Thirty-six months' worth of Diet Coke cans.
Posted on June 24, 2008 at noon by Jill. Discuss (9 comments)
Baby-wearing is baby-loving
Wearing your baby is something that today’s hip mamas have in common with yesterdays mamas from all over the world. And besides being good for the environment to wear your baby (saving resources by avoiding those big, fancy strollers and making it easier to use public transit, walk, and be outside), baby-wearing is also good for the baby. Dr. Sears, the physician behind Attachment Parenting, considers it one of the primary principles behind having a healthy parent-child attachment.
I started wearing my baby because of something I read by a pediatric anthropologist, Meredith Small, in her book Our Babies, Ourselves. She referred to a study where one group of parents were asked to carry their babies (from birth) three hours more than usual and the other group carried their babies the normal amount. After 12 weeks, the two groups had only 1.7 hours a day of carrying difference, but the group of babies that were carried more cried 43% less in duration than the other group.
Dr. Sears routinely recommends that parents wear their babies both as a prophylactic against a fussy baby and as a way of calming a fussy baby. Although, in the book I mentioned above, they cite a study that showed that if you start wearing your baby later once they are already labeled as “colicky” it didn’t have the same effect on reducing crying time as when the babies were worn more from birth.
As a green mama I think baby wearing is an obvious. If you are wearing your baby it is easier to take public transit, to walk, to be outside and to attend to your baby. Wearing my baby also feels natural, it is something mother’s across cultures, economics (and even species) do.
To learn more about baby wearing you can attend the 2nd International Baby Wearing Conference, “Carrying the Future,” which is conveniently in Chicago this year from June 25th to 28th.
If you can’t make the conference though, there are other ways to learn about baby wearing. Be By Baby has an extensive selection and regular classes on how to use different types of baby carriers. As well, just about any baby store worth its salt will have at least a Baby Bjorn or other similar carrier to try out. But, if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on a new baby carrier or sling, don’t worry, you can make one yourself and it can be as simple as having a piece of cloth that is three yards long (no sewing required).
If you decide to splurge and buy a couple of baby carriers, my recommendations are for the following three carrier types:
1) A wrap. This is basically a long, long piece of fabric that you tie around you that holds the baby close. A wrap allows a small baby to stay safe and cuddly against you while you do other things, like type this blog on the computer. Many people use their wraps for toddler’s and older children too. Pros: They allow you maximum flexibility and can hold a baby on the front, back or side. Cons: The wrap can take a few tries to learn how to use and many are happy to give them up for a soft structured carrier once the baby gets heavy.
2.) A soft structured carrier. Once the baby starts to get heavier, a soft-structured carrier is really quite nice. Popular choices include the Baby Bjorn, the Snuggli, and the Ergo. I’ve tried all of these and more. Hands-down, my favorite is the Ergo. It is the only one that is still comfortable for me now that baby is close to 30 pounds. The Ergo allows the baby to be worn on your front, back, or side and can even be used for a newborn with a special insert. Pros: These give you more support, are easy to use, and a good carrier, like the Ergo, can be used in all positions and for every phase of the child’s young life. Cons: These tend to be more expensive and slightly more weight than either a wrap or a sling.
3) A sling. Slings are one of the easiest carriers and are usually composed of a tubular piece of fabric. You can put a little baby in this in more of a lying position or hold your toddler on your hip hands-free with a sling. Pros: The sling can easily fit into your purse, you can make them yourself, and you can use it in some way for all your baby’s life. Cons: The sling isn’t as comfortable as a structured carrier as all of the weight is on one shoulder.
Give baby-wearing a try! Grandmas, Dads, Uncles, Aunts, babysitters, everyone can wear a baby. Tell us your favorite baby-wearing story or about your favorite carrier.
Posted on June 20, 2008 at 2:39 p.m. by Green Mama. Discuss (3 comments)
Just say “No” to strollers? Maybe.
A few other moms and I were walking in the park the other day and the subject of our strollers came up. “Ugh, I hate this stroller,” my friend complained as she kicked at its sleek, $800 dollar frame while trying to maneuver the tire out of the sand trap. The other moms sighed in agreement and cast disparaging looks at their own expensive strollers. I started to jump into my usual enthusiastic cheer for my Phil and Teds e3 (which converts to a double stroller and a jogger without taking up any additional footprint), but then I stopped. My fancy stroller had a flat tire and I was pushing Zella Rose in the cheap umbrella-style stroller our neighbors gave us. ZR, being a typical low-brow toddler, much preferred the simple, light, inexpensive stroller to the fancy alternative.
If I had it to do over, I would have waited to get a stroller at all. Sure, I made use of the click ‘n go stroller that my friend gave me with the infant car seat, and I love my carseat-stroller combination, and I’ve enjoyed jogging with my Phil and Teds, and having a compact double has been great when watching other kids, but when it comes down to it my child has always been happier to be worn in a sling. And now that she is getting so heavy wearing her is hard, she loves nothing more than the cheapie, umbrella stroller (except, of course, being free to run!).
My advice to other moms would be to wait on the stroller. It’s a big ticket item that someone always wants to get you, but it ends up being between $300 and $1000 of stuff to try and park in your building’s entranceway. From an environmental perspective the world doesn’t need an additional 30 pounds of plastic. And, guaranteed, some neighbor (or a kind person on Craigslist) will be happy to unload their favorite cheapie stroller on you for next to nothing.
So, when your in-laws offer to buy you that Bugaboo or that Quinny say you will take the cash. (And if you need ideas with what to do with the money, see my blog on baby wearing or simply save it and buy that perfect stroller when you really need it.)
Posted on June 19, 2008 at 2:18 p.m. by Green Mama. Discuss (4 comments)
Cloth diapering 101 (these aren’t your mama’s cloth diapers)
Cloth diapers. It might be the thing that the parents in my Green Parenting 101 class are most curious about and have the most MIS-information about. As one student asked looking at my display table, "That cute thing is a CLOTH diaper?" Indeed, cloth diapers aren't the ugly, bulky things held together by safety pins that many of us grew up with.
Your baby is likely to use over 7,000 diapers before he or she is (cross your fingers) potty trained. Diapering (though in part about fashion) does also have a major impact on the health of the planet and on the health of your child.
Most of the friends I know that are using cloth diapers did not, actually, choose to use them to be green. Of course, they liked this aspect of it, but they chose to use them in most cases because they wanted to 1) save money or 2) protect the health of their baby.
Indeed, over the course of a few years, cloth diapering will save you about $2,000 versus using disposables. (And, if you use your cloth diapers again for another child you will be saving an additional $2,000 to $3,000 with each child). Babies who wear cloth diapers versus disposables also get fewer diaper rashes without having to use barrier creams, thus you can save even more than that by not buying diaper creams and using reusable, cloth diaper wipes.
CLOTH IS BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
I will summarize the research this way: cloth is better for the environment. This doesn't mean that cloth diapering doesn't have an impact on the environment. There are ways, however, to make the impact FAR less for cloth that just don’t exist for disposable.
Disposable diapers are dumped in landfills where they virtually never break down and where the fecal matter (which is supposed to be dumped in the toilet before disposable but almost never is) can release bacteria and live viruses into the surrounding environment. Also, trees, plastic, chlorine bleach, and absorbent gels— usually sodium polyarcylate (SAP)—are used when making disposable diapers and there is a major environmental impact associated with each of these elements, from old- growth forest depletion to the production of dioxin, a pervasive toxin, which ends up in the environment and next to your baby's sensitive skin.
CLOTH IS BETTER FOR BABY
Cloth is also better for baby. They get fewer rashes when not exposed to the dyes and perfumes of disposable diapers, you don’t have to use barrier creams, and they tend to potty train earlier. There have been studies that suggest disposable diapers release VOCs including toluene, ethylbenzen, xylene and dipentene, all of which have been linked to toxic health effects with long-term or high level exposure. As well, SAP used in disposable diapers absorbs all of the natural oils and moisture in a baby’s developing skin (and has been linked to Toxic Shock Syndrome) and studies have found dioxin, a toxic byproduct of bleaching, in trace amounts in disposable diapers.
CLOTH DIAPERING AND BEYOND
The green parent will primarily use cloth diapers instead of disposable diapers, but it doesn’t have to be like the cloth diapering of old. Today’s cloth diapers are cute, soft, easy to use, and absorbent.
For those parents that traditional cloth diapering just won't work for (like one woman I met who was having triplets and didn't have a washer or dryer!) there are also systems like the flushable-cloth combo, the gDiaper. And for occasional use there are disposable diapers that don’t use chlorine bleach, plastic, or virgin wood. (These disposable diapers still won't break down in a landfill and they still have a larger environmental footprint in most cases than cloth, but they don't have as many ill health effects and don't, for instance, use old-growth trees, so they are definitely better than mainstream disposable diapers.)
And, for the adventurous green parent, there is elimination communication—a.k.a. baby potty training—that will drastically reduce, or eliminate, your need for diapers.
HOW CAN YOU REDUCE THE IMPACT OF YOUR CLOTH DIAPERS EVEN MORE?
Conservation washing! The key elements are: only do full loads of laundry (either getting the diapers clean enough to wash with other clothes or doing full loads of just diapers), avoiding harsh cleaners (e.g. no chlorine bleach and no phosphates), and minimizing energy by using cold water and line drying as often as possible. (Most home washing-machines do not get hot enough to kill off infectious bacterial and viral illnesses—160 degrees. If you need to sterilize your diapers try drying them on high heat for at least 10 minutes, washing them with 10 to 12 drops of tea tree oil, or boiling the diapers.)
If you have a front-loading washer that will greatly reduce water and energy use also.
CREATE A SYSTEM THAT WILL WORK FOR YOU!
Here are a few tips:
1. Buy a sprayer that attaches to your toilet. This allows you to spray the cloth diaper over the toilet and flush down anything icky. (You can get these at many hardware stores or at Be By Baby!).
2. Get a couple of pails for putting the cloth diapers into. You can do a dry pail (just pile the diapers in, maybe with a little baking soda to help keep down odors) or use a wet pail which is full of water (and, once again, maybe some baking soda).
3. Have a supply of cotton or felt wipes that are reusable. Use an insulated coffee carafe or some other device to keep warm water in (you can put a couple of drops of Dr. Bronners, gentle cleanser, or essential oil in with the water). Then you can clean your baby right at the changing table and never have to use disposable wipes. Just wash the wipes along with your diapers.
4. Buy enough cloth diapers for YOUR lifestyle. If you do laundry all the time anyway, you will only need about 12 diapers (two days worth). If you only do laundry once a week, you will need more.
5. Try out a variety of cloth diaper styles. Some are bulky but really easy to use. Some are contoured but involve an extra step when putting on. Some are more absorbent, but harder to maintain. Some have organic cotton, some use polyester blends. Some wick almost as well as disposables, some breath well but don't wick. There is one out there that will work for your baby and your lifestyle.
6. When you find a diaper you like, make your biggest investment in size medium. Many diapers are just newborn or one-size fits all. Others have small, medium, or large sizes. For most babies, mediums will fit for almost their entire diaper-wearing life.
7. Find a non-soap detergent. that works. Buy lots. (For most cloth diapers, you are better-off using a laundry detergent that isn't soap-based and thus doesn't leave residue).
8. Find cloth diapering friends. Ask them questions! Share stories! Learn tricks!
Like most parenting choices, cloth diapering doesn’t have to be an all or nothing scenario. Even using cloth part-time will help ease the burden on the health of your child and on the health of the planet.
Let's start by sharing stories and asking questions. Tell me what you do at your house and which are your favorite cloth diapers. Let’s here your issues, your successes, and your questions.
Posted on June 17, 2008 at 4:07 p.m. by Green Mama. Discuss (7 comments)
Prius Mileage - How Good Is It?
The kids are out of school, cherries are in season and my hybrid Toyota is getting better mileage. It must be summer
It's rare that I fill the tank of the Prius without someone coming up to me and asking what kind of mileage I get. Often they're contemplating the purchase of one themselves.
The truth is, the Prius is good but not world changing. In the winter, it gets between 38 to 42 miles per gallon. In the summer, its between 48 and 52 miles per gallon.
This is excellent for a full-sized car. (It easily fits our family of four plus a friend.) But I did once read an estimate of all the gasoline that's been saved by all the Prius drivers taken together since the car was launched and compared that with the amount of fuel the U.S. uses in a day, and let's just say, that equation was comparison was rather deflating.
Posted on June 16, 2008 at 10:04 a.m. by Jill. Discuss (1 comment)
Is It Worth It To Use the Green Alternative to Dry Cleaning?
I vote a resounding, unambivalent YES on this one. The green cleaning process doesn’t leave a chemical smell in your clothes; it produces no air pollution, and doesn’t contaminate water or soil.
Dry cleaners use a solvent called "perchlorethylene" which is a known toxin and probable carcinogen. The release of fumes into the air is a problem for people living near dry cleaners and even more for the folks who work in them.
“Wet cleaners” use a water-based method of cleaning that works for almost any “dry clean only” garment. In Chicago, we’re lucky because there are several branches of the Greener Cleaner around town, and it does pickups and delivery for a very wide area of the city and suburbs. Center for Neighborhood Technology gets a lot of the credit for getting wet cleaning going in Chicago.
The one thing that you might still need dry cleaners for is if you drop salad dressing on your silk blouse or tie. The water technology of wet cleaners isn’t as effective as the solvent-based technology on grease-based stains. If a traditional dry cleaner can get the stain out for you, it can keep you from having to give an old favorite the heave-ho.
And don't forget, many garments that claim to be dry clean only also do fine when handwashed at home.
Posted on June 9, 2008 at 9:59 a.m. by Jill. Discuss (3 comments)
Chicken Eyes
The chickens in our backyard are growing. I'm fond of their intensely alien eyes. People say chickens are stupid, but I'm not convinced. Their eyes appear sharp and crisp, like the eyes of a raptor, and they show no emotion.
I sometimes have a clear idea of what the mammal in our house is thinking. (AKA the Dog.) Her sheepishness at doing something wrong shows all over her face and in the way she carries herself. Her eyes dance when she's excited and shrink when she's scared.
Not the chickens. I have no idea what is in their minds.
Yet despite my unsuccessful attempts at empathy, I find myself captivated and genuinely fond of them. I enjoy their otherness, and the fact I get to touch their soft feathers.
Posted on June 7, 2008 at 9:46 p.m. by Jill. Discuss (3 comments)
Killer hand cleaner
I almost fell for the Purell hand sanitizer craze.
My baby was three months old at the time and I was taking her a lot on the bus and train and people always wanted to touch her. "Oh, isn't she cute. Oh, she likes me!" says the man with the stench and the open bottle in the brown paper bag. She grabs for his bottle and settles for holding his stubby pointer-finger instead. As soon as she drops his finger, she shoves her whole fist in her mouth. I nearly swoon as I fight the urge to pull the emergency stop on the train car and run my precious little bundle to the nearest public restroom for a good hand washing.
Now that my precious bundle is a mobile terror, public restrooms fill me with the same dread. I can actually see the germs climbing onto her little hands as she grabs the underside of the sink, pounds on the door, and insists on pulling the toilet handle herself. And then, just like when she was little, she examines her own hand and sticks it into her mouth.
Soap and water, it works miracles for germ removal, but what about when it just isn't possible to get to it fast enough? Well, why not use just a little Purell (or some other handy little alcohol-based cleanser)?
Then I got one of those scary emails from a friend who swears that her friend's four-year old just got home from the hospital where she had alcohol poisoining from, you guessed it, Purell! A little research suggests this story is plausible. Hand sanitizer gels, lotions, and wipes must contain 60 to 95% Ethyl Alcohol to be effective. As little as one to two ounces of one of these products is enough to be fatal to a child. It's not just ingesting these cleaners that we need to be concerned about because our children's skins are not only sensitive but permeable. Alcohol and other chemicals are also absorbed through the skin.
What's a concerned parent to do?
The cosmetics database helped give some insight to this question. Purell hand sanitizer received a high hazard rating, meaning that the product contains chemicals that are known or suspected to be hazardous to human health. Hand sanitizers in the safe zone include the EO hand sanitizer products, from sprays to wipes, and Healing-Scents Germs Goodbye hand sanitizer. I especially like the Clean Well products which are alcohol-free and safer for kids. You can also try experimenting with making your own cleaner using essential oils or other ingredients. Does anyone have any good recipes or research on the effectiveness of these?
Good hand washing (not with anti-bacterial soap though!) is still the most important practice in keeping your kids clean and safe.
Posted on June 5, 2008 at 2:18 p.m. by Green Mama. Discuss (3 comments)
