Safer For Your Home And Self

As the coals heat up your BBQ this summer, are they heating up the planet too?by:The Bite
First, we encouraged all you grill jockeys to add soy dogs to this summer’s BBQ menu. Then we told all you red-meat-eaters to go for bison. Now it’s time to talk about the barbie itself: both you and the planet stand to benefit from gas barbecues, not charcoal or electric.
The Benefits
Although gas won’t add much flavor to your veggie or beer brats, it also won’t add as much CO2 to the air. Gas barbecues produce about half as much CO2 as charcoal grills, and about 1/3 as much as electric grills.
Purists: if you’re gonna go with charcoal, support good resource management by looking for sustainably-farmed coals or chips certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Charcoal grills emit volatile organic compounds through smoke, and so does lighter fluid. Using a gas grill, you’ll avoid the liver, kidney and nervous system risks associated with VOCs.

Many poeple feel their home is a healthy one when they use the “popular products” available out in the market place. One should do their research to find that just because a product is offered to the public does NOT mean it is safe for us. Harmful is what many of the products are! Visit www.SaferForYourHomeAndSelf.com will open your eyes.

When you stop by take a home tour and see how healthy YOUR home really is.
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I think this is an awesome giveaway. Go for it!
Be a “Green Parent” Giveaway!
Filed Under (eco-giveaway, eco-reads) by admin on 11-05-2008I hope everyone had an amazing Mother’s Day! We were lucky enough to spend most of the day outside, enjoying the beach and family. As my older daughter told me when I kissed her goodnight, “Every day should be Mother’s Day” (no really, she did!), I remind myself how my healthy, curious, enlightening children have become the best reason to help the planet, even through this little blog.

As many of my days wind down, I end up thinking about parenting, which eventually leads to thinking about writing and being green and on and on and on (insert smiley face here). I guess since I advocate for nature above all else, I talk to my kids a lot about planting trees, which leads me every time back to Eco-Libris, the green business that works with publishers, bookstores, even readers, to help the book industry balance out its paper use.

In April, Eco-Libris teamed up with Kedzie Press, an independent, “green” publisher that prints all books on post-consumer, chlorine-free paper, for Kedzie’s Million Tree-A-Thon! Kedzie Press is aiming to plant one million trees by December 2009. All you do is purchase any Kedzie Press title from their website, and Eco-Libris will match each purchase with a tree, and a pre-printed sticker on each title. Use the code “milliontrees” for 10% off any book!

This week, I’m thrilled that Kedzie Press is so generously giving away 10 copies of their latest release, The Green Parent. The Green Parent is a comprehensive guide to help ease your family into being cleaner and greener. It tackles topics such as money-saving, practical efforts for eco-ing your home; educating your kids and how to teach them to spread the eco-word; and green products you can use (and afford!) For each copy of The Green Parent sponsored for the giveaway, Eco-Libris will double the trees planted. This means a total of 20 new trees from this giveaway alone are going into the ground! So, get those thinking caps on, and enter - this contest will be open until midnight, PST on Friday, May 16th. Please leave a comment with an answer to this question - what do you think is the most important eco-tip to share with your children (or grandchildren, nieces and nephews, etc.)? Good luck, and I hope the winners enjoy the book!

EcoMomsCare

Gardening Keeps Kids Healthy
Tending a Garden Benefits the Body, Mind and Spirit of Children
© Claudia M. Lenart

May 9, 2007

Backyard gardening is a healing activity for children and adults and it helps them reconnect with nature.
Amid the rambling roses and intoxicating lilies of “The Secret Garden,” a young, troubled girl finds hope, her wheelchair-bound cousin learns to walk, and the cousin’s father finds relief from the grief of losing his wife. The popular children’s tale shows how restoring a garden, and spending time among the beauty of nature, can have a healing effect on lives.

Numerous studies show that the outdoors remains the healthiest environment for children and adults. Gardening with children is one of the easiest ways to reap the benefits nature offers. Children with access to green outdoor spaces play more creatively and score higher on tests of self-discipline, according to a University of Illinois study. Studies show that nature and gardening are the best stress relievers. Recent studies by the American Dietetic Association found that children who garden eat more fruits and vegetables.

Gardens Nourish the Spirit
However, there haven’t been many studies (if any) on how nourishing the garden is for the soul. Caring for a garden is usually a silent activity, pierced only by the sounds of chirping birds and buzzing insects. The quiet garden allows one to connect with the inner self. Gardening can be meditative and renewing for the spirit.

For children, the quiet time in the garden can be an antidote to all the noise and busyness of today’s culture. They can learn to be quiet.

Gardens Cultivate a Sense of Wonder
The garden also cultivates a sense of wonder in children Wonder is a distinct way of knowing that, if nurtured, can serve as a lifelong source of joy and provide motivation for further learning.

Rachel Carson described this best in her book, The Sense of Wonder:

“A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement,” wrote Carson. She further describes the benefit of a sense of wonder: “ . . . it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantment of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength.”

Tips for Gardening With Kids
Gardening can be more wonderful for children if parents plan some surprises. Here are some tips for gardening with kids:

Plant some quick growers, like radishes and lettuce, bachelor buttons and sunflowers to keep the child’s interest.

Set aside a children’s garden and let the children choose their own vegetables and flowers. Teach the children responsibility, by encouraging them to weed and water the garden throughout the growing season.

Do a theme garden. A circular pizza garden can contain segments with oregano, basil, tomatoes, onions and peppers. A taco garden can be similar, but contain cilantro tomatoes and jalapenos.

Have fun with vegetables. When the pumpkin is small, scratch the child’s name on it and then watch it grow with the pumpkin. Or, gently take a small cucumber or zucchini growing on the vine and place it in a bottle. Children can amaze their friends with the novel vegetable grown in a bottle.

Grow fragrant and medicinal herbs and flowers. The fragrance of roses has been used to cope with grieving. Perhaps that is why the grieving uncle found peace in the rose-filled Secret Garden. Lavender is a wonderful herb to grow in a children’s garden. It is known as a stress reliever and helps children to calm down. Growing some near a child’s bedroom window would be pleasant and may even help the child get to sleep at night.

The gifts of the garden can be used to encourage a child’s imagination and can make natural toys that will be treasured.

The garden offers a way for children and adults to recreate a connection with nature, which is essential to health. That connection to nature seems to be the magic potion which gardening offers.

For more SAFE ideas for the family visit
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