eco-friendly – Peaceful Reader

My search for trash bags…

What does everyone else use for garbage bags? You probably make the easy decision to just pick them up at Target or the grocery store where you shop. Here is what you need to know; it takes 1,000 years for that trash bag to decompose. That’s a helluva long time. I’m on the search for a better alternative.

After learning how much plastic (Ocean Conservancy) is in the ocean and making a mess of our precious and beautiful land as well I decided to look for a more eco-friendly choice. We ran out of the box of Glad ForceFlex 50-count bags the other day and as I broke the box down for recycling I started thinking about a safer bag. We recycle a lot and think about what goes into our garbage but what if what was surrounding our trash was also a problem. I’ve purchased other eco-friendly choices before but either they were cost-prohibitive or not easily attainable. So I turned to the internet to see if I could find an answer.

I found this great article posted on a website selling compostable trash bags. Of course they want you to buy their compostable bags yet the definitions make sense to me based on what I know already. What I learned is not to buy biodegradable bags because regular landfills do not usually have the key ingredients to biodegrade. Unfortunately the notes didn’t help me find what I need as I’m looking for a trash bag for my NON- compostable materials; the stuff that ends up in landfills. We compost a lot at our house and we just throw that stuff right outside into a rolling bin and in the springtime we used to spread it out on the garden. This is our first spring without a backyard garden so we’ll still find a new place to spread the compost love back into the earth. I don’t know why more people don’t compost; its so easy and it’s literally like giving the earth a gift back.

In my continued search I found this article from the SFGate from the city that’s already banned grocery bags! I like some of Ms. Lovering’s ideas of lining trash containers with paper bags or newspaper. According to my husband our trash pick-up is required to be in tied bags so right now I’m using the few grocery bags my husband carries home because he forgets to bring reusable bags. I have to move forward, knowing I’m working on this issue in my own time, and hopefully along this journey I will find a solution. It’s going to make a difference, maybe not in my life time but for my children and the next generation.

Anyone have a green alternative?

Weekend Cooking; Green Grad Party!

(Two young party-goers)

We had a spur-of-the-moment party two weekends ago now to celebrate Teenage Boy’s graduation. For the last few years he’s attended a laboratory school attached to University of Northern Iowa and the president of UNI decided to close this wonderful school for budget reasons or because they didn’t believe in it anymore.It wasn’t feasible for the school to stay open. It’s all the same end to an awful equation but the outcome is that given a choice to enter the only other local high school or graduate early he chose the later. His school was funky and small and the other high school is big.

These decisions did not come down the hill until February. Teenage Boy started one of two online courses he would need to take to graduate early. I find that fact alone amazing-his school gives them a full load every year so much so that he only needed 2 classes to fulfill state level graduation requirements! Wow. After a very rocky start, he adjusted to this on-line Language Arts class and as he got closer to finishing we decided we needed to plan a party. He only needed to finish one of the two courses to participate in the ceremony. The physics course he will have to finish by June 18th to get his diploma.

After attending many grad parties in the past we had some ideas of what we wanted from ours. We also had a limited budget to work from but didn’t want to skimp. You only get one chance at a true high school graduation. We wanted to offer Teenage Boy’s favorite easy foods in an eco-friendly fashion.

(the food spread-inside away from the bugs)

We celebrated with turkey hot dogs purchased from a local butcher shop (96 dogs total), popcorn freshly popped that morning with chocolate treats sprinkled throughout-very festive-, Bugles (blechh-but he LOVES them),homemade brownies, freshly chopped coleslaw, freshly baked buns and the best part…Root Beet Floats made with a keg of 1919 root beer. We are not big soda drinkers here but we love an occasional glass of good root beer and this is some of the best!

(me enjoying my own float with my friend, Lynne)

The menu was easy and we didn’t need many tools to eat but we wanted them to be green. I searched a few local stores for paper plate and cup options either made out of recycled materials or compost-ready. I couldn’t find anything in town so I turned to my global market-AMAZON-and found just what I wanted and for reasonable prices. I hate not buying things locally and if I’d had more time I might have spent time convincing a local market to order these items for me but I was in a time crunch.

(TB with his Grandma Janice-she and Gpa Dean flew in from Colorado to surprise him)

The Eco-Section…

All the materials we used were either reusable like the spoons, which were local purchases, and the plates, cups, and napkins (made from sugarcane/corn/wheat). After attending other grad parties we just knew we couldn’t have this large trash can overflowing so we found a way around it. We had a small plastic tub under the outdoor table where the root beer floats were served and had explanation cards on the bins; one was for the compost items and a small one was for the spoons. I have all the compostable stuff in the same bin now with water in it to help it break down before I add it to our own compost ball. A few plates and cups made it into our regular garbage bin and that’s okay as I know eventually they will break down as well. The spoons we have set aside for camping and next year’s home-to-school lunches.

I’m so glad our party is done-it was exhilarating and exhausting! Score one for green grad! Now if we could just find a physics professor for free tutoring we’d be in great shape!!

(Future Graduate or two down one to go..no hurry though!.)

This post is loosely linked to Beth Fish Reads weekend cooking meme.

Click on the link to see many other real food-related posts.

Friday Feature; Top Ten Earth Day Books! (and a Fantastic Green Giveaway)

Image licenced by Carol Eldridge Designs

This first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970 and was the idea of Senator Gaylord Nelson. He brought the concept up to President Kennedy in 1962, who agreed to tour the country to raise awareness. I find it ironic that the idea for Earth Day-a way to draw attention to the ecology of our very own planet Earth-has been around since before I was born!
Earth Day facts

Wow…and we need it now more than ever BUT just think if we had really paid attention to President Kennedy’s call for change we might have made more sweeping changes, especially in the car industry! [stepping daintily down from soap box]

I digress when we have books to talk about…

Peaceful Reader’s Top Ten Books about Earth Day/Ecology w/ mini-synopsis:

10. It’s Earth Day! by Mercer Mayer (2008): Little Critter learns about the ice cap melting and polar bears losing their habitat, which gets him motivated to change his habits and invent a climate control machine!

9. Biscuit’s Earth Day Celebration by Alyssa Satin Capucilli. (2010) Biscuit and his owner attend a local Earth Day event and learn about many ways to celebrate and clean up our planet.

8. Dinosaurs Go Green!; A Guide to Protecting Our Planet by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown (1992, 2009). A lively romp through what every good dino or human should know about reducing, reusing, and recycling so we don’t become extinct…Told through easy-to-read panels and speech bubbles.

7. Fancy Nancy; Every Day is Earth Day! by Jane O’Connor (2010). After learning about Earth Day at school, Fancy Nancy brings the message home, but creates a bit of a mess when she goes over the top to teach them.

6. We are Extremely Very Good Recyclers by Lauren Child (2009). Lola discovers how much fun recycling can be with the idea that she can earn a free tree to plant and of course, she gets all her classmates to help!

5. What Planet are You From, Clarice Bean by Lauren Child (2002). When she finds out a neighborhood tree is going to be destroyed, Clarice Bean resolves to become an eco-warrior for Planet Earth.

4. The Earth Book by Todd Parr (2010). Everyday eco-advice told with his amazing artwork will teach kids to turn off the water while they brush and so much more!

3. Just a Dream by Chris Van Allsburg (1990). One young boy, Walter, doesn’t think one hoot about littering and generally messing up the environment until he takes a mysterious journey in his bed.

2. The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (1971). Classic tale of creating a need for thneeds (a useless item for sure) and using up all kinds of valuable resources to create and distribute until our landscape is beyond polluted and drab. A must read for everyone!

1. Arthur Turns Green by Marc Brown (2011). A class project has Arthur turning green and D.W. in a panic when she thinks she might be next!

Which brings me to my Giveaway, Giveaway, Giveaway…
and since I’m very new to creating a google form-please leave me your totals and your email with your green comment. Ooops! Thank you Diva for clueing me in…

Reducing Your Foodprint; Farming, Cooking, and Eating for a Healthy Planet

by Ellen Rodger
(2010)
Energy Revolution Series from Crabtree Publishing

My husband loves bananas and I love pineapple! Both fruits require a lot of shipping miles and too many chemicals to grow. As this book explains, our foodprint is calculated by how farming practices and how far food has to travel to get to our table. Knowing this I choose pineapple as a delelicate treat to be savored and not purchased often. My husband, as a runner, eats bananas everyday. We do purchase organic when we can but even those have to travel miles and miles to arrive in our fruit bowl in Iowa. It’s tough to consider how we can decrease our foodprint and become more earth-minded with our grocery money. This book helps to raise awareness.

From the publishers website:
Reducing Your Foodprint teaches children that what they eat and how they eat is important to the environment. Most of the food served in restaurants and stocked on grocery store shelves travels many thousands of miles by airplane and truck. The further food travels, the more harm to the environment. This enlightening new book explains how to eat locally and responsibly. Special case study sections highlight how others have reduced both their carbon foodprints and footprints just by making changes in their diets.

Topics covered include Eco-Awareness, History of Cultivation, Food from Afar, Being an Ecovore, Eating Local, Green Cooking, and Fair Trade Food. Ecovore, a new term to me, is described as” someone who shops , cooks, and eats with the environment in mind. It is a term first used by cookbook author Kate Heyhoe to describe someone who makes sustainable food choices that are as environmentally friendly as possible.” (14) I’m going to add it to my vocabulary and find out more about Kate Keyhoe.

This book could be a great teaching tool but more likely will be used by eco-minded parents to open more awareness. It would make a great Earth Day gift for a child. I checked this one out from the library and will look for the other books in the series, Energy Revolution, for my school library. Crabtree has lesson plans for the series.

To purchase a copy of this perfect book for Earth Day, click on the the title…

Reducing Your Foodprint; Farming, Cooking, and Eating for a Healthy Planet

earthgirl

by Jennifer Cowan

(2009)

232 pages

Earth Girl, while interesting, left me unsure. When I first picked it up the inside liner intrigued me in that the main character, Sabine is on a going green personal journey but also because there was a statement about getting plastered with plum sauce from a McDonald’s to go bag. Hmmm. In the U.S. we don’t get plum sauce with Mickey D’s. Because it takes place in Toronto-perhaps they do or maybe that’s what they call Ketchup. This odd little fact stuck in my brain and for some reason this made me check the book out.

It’s written in very short snippets-good for teens but felt a little like texting, to me. Sabine shares her thoughts by blogging and we read her rants and the comments, which is an interesting twist. And unlike Hippie Chick this one gets a little preachy-even though I’m in her corner. I think it is because she is so new to the whole eco-movement, everything is so like, “OMG, did you know people who make all that cheap stuff earn next to nothing a day…” I’m not in this age-bracket but I think the book and the character, Sabine serve a very big purpose…to alert teens of these little known facts that many should pay attention to-facts that paint a bigger picture of the world. That fact alone makes this book a should-read. Maybe if it turned one teen toward a more eco-friendly existence it would be worth it.

Synopsis: Sabine, after getting pelted by before-mentioned plum sauce, has an aha-moment of what’s important in the real world. As she researches and discovers more about the environment, third-world markets, and green living she bores her two best friends, who are way more into purchasing cheap junk froom street vendors. She does gain a hunky earthy boyfriend who appears to have all the right answers. Vray, the boyfriend, is an interesting character but seemed less than real. The one character I adored was Ruby-Sabine’s co-op coworker, who has all kinds of good karma advice. If I had to play a character in this made-for-tv-movie, I’d want to be Ruby.

Favorite Quote:

“I’m pretty sure Vray is for me,” I sighed. “I think that’s what’s freaking me out.”
“That’s awesome. I love that feeling.” Ruby said, doing a little twirl in the aisle. “Better than drugs. Love’s the elixir of life. Wish we could bottle it and give it away to everyone in the world.”
“So then I’m not overreacting?”
“I hate that expression,” she answered emphatically. “You’re not overreacting. You’re feeling what you’re feeling and it’s totally fine.” (135)

I love the twirl in the aisle as much as the good advice! Go Ruby!

Read EarthGirl by Jennifer Cowan if you are remotely interested in making the earth a better place-or if you have a teenager who needs a push in that direction. The plum sauce thing still bugs me though…so if you know anything about plum sauce and McDonald’s, enlighten me.

Happy Reading, earthlings.
p.s. Library Reading Challenge
More info:

Shameless Mags interview with Jennifer Cowan-who previously wrote for the tele.
SKPL Teens review
Sabine/Earthgirl’s own blog

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