Leave It At The Store!

Want to save money and the planet while reducing the clutter in your home? Try this old money saving trick the next time you are at the store...if you see an item you want, leave it at the store and promise yourself that if you really, really need it, you will pick it up the next time you shop. Do it for yourself and encourage your kids to do the same. When my eldest daughter sees a new toy at the store, she thinks her life will end if she doesn't have it. But she knows that nothing new is coming her way until the next birthday or holiday. In most cases, she will have forgotten about her "favorite" toy by the time we turn the corner!

Eco Treats For Eco Pets

Even the youngest children can help with this project...

Make a nutritious treat for the feathered friends in your neighborhood by coating a pinecone with peanut butter and then rolling it in oatmeal or sunflower seeds. Tie a 3 to 4 foot long string around the stem of the pinecone and hang it from a nearby branch. Place the feeder in easy view from one of your windows so your child can keep an eye on it.

Eco Paw Prints

Got pets? According to the Humane Society, there are currently 73 million dogs and 90 million cats in homes across the U.S. That's not to mention the birds, bunnies, ferrets, turtles, hamsters, and lizards that are also popular pets in families with children. Just like children, pets create a significant impact on the environment in the food, toys, and pet supplies used to keep them healthy and happy. Fortunately, you can reduce your pet’s ecological paw print with these quick tips:

1. Adopt: There are literally millions of animals out there in need of adoption. Save time, save money, and save the planet by adopting your next pet. (Check out Petfinder (www.petfinder.com) to search for a pet in your area.)
2. Snip Snip: Nobody wants to think about it, but having your pet spayed or neutered will prevent overpopulation and protect Fido's overall health.
3. Go Organic: Conventional pet food is made from disgusting selections of diseased and/or poor quality meat that is laden with chemicals. How long could you live on such a diet? Treat your pet to healthy natural or organic pet food.
4. Don't Buy Toys: Like children, pets are often amused with the simplest pleasures. Opt out of the consumer culture by lavishing your pet with toys that you already have around the house (I'm thinking a ball of yarn or pinecones from the back yard...NOT your bedroom slippers!)

Don't Be A Tosser

I know as well as any other parent that paper towels and other disposable cleaning wipes are darned handy when it comes to cleaning up fast. But it’s actually just as fast to reach for a reusable cloth to do the job. Target has a great line of organic cotton cloths and towels as do Ecover and Seventh Generation. For sponges, look for natural sponges that are biodegradable and can even be composted when they have outlived their dishwashing usefulness. (Just be sure they come from a sponge farm and not a natural ecosystem.)

No Idling!

A recent Yale University study found that children who ride a school bus are exposed to up to 15 times more particulate pollution than average. That’s bad news for the 24 million American children who ride a school bus each day. Researchers estimate that this increased exposure is due to the idling and queuing of school buses. In other words, as school buses line up and wait in front of our kids’ schools, they are filling up harmful particulate pollution that will stay with our children throughout their ride.

What can you do abou it? Talk to your school administrators about the health and environmental implications of bus idling and propose a measure to ban it. Seventh grader Adam Martin from Jericho, VT , appeared earlier this year before Vermont’s House Natural Resources Committee to urge lawmakers to ban bus idling. If he can do it, so can you!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sponsors the "Clean School Bus" program in an effort to inform parents and school board officials about the need to ban bus idling. Check out http://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/ for more info.

Got Mushrooms?

Eben Bayer grew up around mushrooms, helping his father harvest fungi on their farm in Vermont. But he probably never realized he might be inspired by mushrooms to patent an invention that would take the green building movement by storm. Bayer, and his classmate Gavin McIntyre, graduates of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., recently launched "Greensulate" a organic product they developed together that uses mushrooms as insulation. The fire-retardant board is made of water, flour, oyster mushroom spores and perlite, a mineral blend found in potting soil. While studying at Rensselear, the two grew the mushrooms under their beds. But now they are hoping to take their product wide-scale. The two inventors are hoping the invention will soon be part of the growing market for eco-friendly products.

Celebs Give Green Some Glam

Can green and glam go together? Celebrities and hot-shot clothing designers recently got together to prove that they could. Twelve fashion icons, namely, Diane von Furstenberg, Missoni, Kate Moss, Jade Jagger, Gwyneth Paltrow, Helena Christensen, Christy Turlington, and Sophie Albou (of Paul & Joe) recently got together to launch a fashionable environmental initiative to raise awareness about the environment. Under the brand name, L.E.N.Y (Limited Edition New York), each celebrity designed an eco-themed T-shirt interpreting an environmental theme based on their personal style. The proceeds from the sales of the shirts will benefit Al Gore's The Climate Project.