green genius contest

I am so pleased with some of the tips people have sent to me that I want to share the love with my first contest.

For instance, remember how I was having troubles with my crunchy line-dried clothes? A few people told me to try eco-friendly fabric softener in the wash (or some vinegar). Genius! Our clothes on the line are soft and lovely.

And remember the suggestions about how to possible reuse my cracked ceramic baking dish?
This weekend it did become bits and pieces for the bottom of the pots of new plants. Thank you!

Here's the deal: email me your favorite green tip or product that has been a lifesaver for you. I'll post them in the blog with full credit to you. In addition, the first 5 submissions will receive your very own awesome bottle of Earthworm Family-Safe Drain Cleaner.

Send the email entries to hello [at] momgogreen [dot] com.

gore's challenge

In keeping with inspirational speeches and videos, I thought I'd mention the big speech by Al Gore last week. You know, the one where he challenges America to produce 100% of our electricity from clean, carbon-free resources within 10 years.

I like how he tied together many of the big issues facing our country and says how clean energy can also help our economy and get us out of the war. I think by proposing this challenge he will keep the issue in front of the candidates and politicians. Of course, there are many things we can do ourselves, too.

Sometimes I need these inspirational, big thinking, big picture perspectives to help me stay on track and stick with my efforts everyday. If you agree, be sure to join the We Campaign (if you haven't already) and support the challenge.

good then, good now

Severn Suzuki gave this speech at the UN Earth Summit in 1992 when she was 15.

kill a watt

A few people have suggested that I try using a "Kill A Watt" to investigate my home's high energy usage.

The Kill A Watt is a small plug in device which measures the efficiency of electrical appliances throughout your home. You can calculate your electrical expenses by the day, week, month, even an entire year. The device can also check the quality of your power by monitoring voltage, line frequency, and power factor.

I think it will be a great help in determining what is using all that extra electricity in our home. I'll start with the gadgets in the home office, I think.

green updates

I seem to have several green issues on my mind as well as some updates to share. I figured it might be good to put them all together in one big, newsy post.
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This weekend we will be camping for the second time this year. We love camping here in Northern California. Except this trip will be a little different, as campfires are not permitted at the state park we're going to due to the high risk of wildfires. California has had its share of terrible fires lately and the risk is too high. Some wonder about the connection to Global Warming.
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I want to be honest and admit that while I am trying to use the clothesline, I am not using it as much as I should. Now that we're back in our routines after our trip the laundry is piling up. Sometimes it isn't the best time to hang clothes outside (uh, nighttime). I have lots of room for improvement here. One of my kids also complained that his clothes that were dried outside weren't soft enough (he is very sensitive to textures and how things feel). I was hoping he wouldn't notice. Drat.
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While I am very good at sorting our waste (tons of recycling and compost) I notice we still have a fair amount going into the trash. We have a 32 gallon trash can and it is about 3/4 full each week. That seems like a lot to me. I am very mindful about throwing things away, but I really need to take a better look at how we can reduce overall.
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I am frantically trying to figure out how we can use less electricity as I am analyzing our usage. One tip that hasn't worked for us is keeping the water heater at a low temperature. Our heater is pretty new (about 6 years old) but we have to keep it on the highest setting to get hot water. Awful, I know. It's something about the way our house plumbing is. The water heater is down in the garage, 2 levels below the kitchen and also at least 20 feet farther west than the kitchen sink. Fact is, if I turn down the water heater even one notch we don't get hot water. This is something I need to look into for sure.
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This week I had a green cleaning service come help clean my house. It was a big treat (expensive). They brought their own "safe" cleaners and did a good job. I felt that while they marketed their services as being green, it didn't really go beyond their product selection. For instance, they put all the trash and recycling and compost together in one bag. It was a one time thing, but eye opening. Green is a big word.
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I do have some really great news (though it is probably old news). The moth spray I was so upset and concerned about was canceled last month. Looks like a political fiasco to me, but I am so glad that the cities around us won't be sprayed with pesticide. The effort to stop the spray is a wonderful example of how grassroots efforts and speaking up can really make a difference.
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I finally finished Omnivore's Dilemma and am now almost done with the follow-up, In Defense of Food. The books are enlightening and substantiate my inclinations away from processed foods. Pollan also gives a good perspective on how what we eat effects the planet, etc. Next up will be Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, as recommended by Pauline.

Finally, here's something I plan to look into soon. I loved this post about dangers of playground sand on Enviromom, but almost wish I had never read it. Of course I'm glad to be informed, but in some ways I wish I could go on naively enjoying the sand. Sometimes it is overwhelming focusing on all the environmental problems and dangers. But I do believe it is better to know the facts and then decide if you are concerned or not rather than to blindly believe all is perfect.

That is the point of my blog, after all.

happy hands

I know summer may not be the season where your hands need the most help, but I just had to post about a hand creme that seems to work miracles for me. My hands get really dry and cracked, even in summer, thanks to lots of washing up after kids.

I didn't expect much when I bought the Burt's Bee's Shea Butter Hand Repair Creme at my local Target store. In reality, it worked so amazingly well that I thought there surely must be something bad in it. Burt's Bee's says the product is 98% natural. I checked on Skin Deep and they rated the creme an impressive 2.

I love it and am so happy to have found it. It is $12 for 3 ounces, which is a handy size (pun intended) to keep in your car or purse. I keep it in my night table and use it right before bed.

greener printer

I am so excited about finding this new (to me) resource. You see, in my other life I am a designer and often buy printing for projects. I found this resource in the best possible way—when I wasn't even looking for it.

Another parent at my son's school had prepared a fund raiser this spring. She took artwork from the children, scanned it and had them printed as note cards. I thought the quality of the cards was really nice so I flipped it over to see where it was made, and voila! I had found GreenerPrinter.com. I have also produced note cards from many of the online print shops and these are my favorite so far.

So what makes the greener printer green? Here is some information from their website:

At GreenerPrinter, we realize it's about much more than just the paper. That's why in addition to featuring recycled papers exclusively, we also:

• Adhere to the strict environmental standards of being a Bay Area Certified Green Business.
• Operate on 100% Wind Power through investments in Renewable Energy Credits (REC's).
• Print using only water-based coatings and soy & vegetable based inks.
• Offset the carbon emissions of our shipments through the purchase of carbon offset credits.
• Adhere to the practices outlined in our FSC Chain-of-Custody Certification.
• Eliminate dangerous chemicals and compounds from our production facility.
• Invest in printing technologies that reduce makeready and ink wash-ups, and eliminate plate processing.

We are an environmentally friendly printing and graphic communications company dedicated to helping individuals and organizations promote themselves in more sustainable ways. Through GreenerPrinter.com, you can obtain * high-quality, affordable printing services... * featuring real-time print quotes and online ordering... * using state-of-the-art recycled papers... * printing by a certified environmentally responsible company... * and shipped directly to you with zero climate impact!

GreenerPrinter.com makes environmentally responsible printing services convenient and affordable, no matter where you are based. It was complete coincidence that I found them and they happen to be right near me in Berkeley.

Check out GreenerPrinter.com next time you need to print brochures, postcards, business cards, labels, folders, catalogs, note cards, posters, newsletters, stationery, etc. They say they look forward to helping you align your printing needs with your environmental goals.