Almost Eco Mom Speaks Out!

This is a post I had sent to me by a mother of two who wishes to remain anonymous....

Any parent knows that living a green or eco friendly lifestyle can be tricky at first, especially as you get started and change family practices. Pre-packaged water, juice boxes, and fast packaged snacks can be a huge time saver with kids getting home late and needing a quick fix to get through homework, music lessons or sports practice. My advice, start slow, baby steps and you’ll soon find that healthier choices for our planet make healthier children.

Ok put up or shut up. Here are my quick tips:

Purchase reusable water containers like these. I bought a couple extra for the tag along school friends and if one is in the wash we always have a replacement. Not only are these great for the environment, it really helps cut down on purchasing plastic bottled water and with sport tops my kids don’t spill drink everywhere. Cheaper and less messy. One down.

This next one is a little type A, but has created some extra jobs the kids can help me with. Tired from work with the kids begging to watch TV, I sit them down at the kitchen table to make snack packs. Healthy dry cereal, nuts, raisins and small crackers all packaged nicely in little reusable containers. The kids sort and create their own snack packs. This gives me about 20 minutes to throw dinner together and if they eat a few along the way it takes the pre-dinner crabbiness away. Also after grocery shopping the kids can wash the produce and make grape or carrot snack packs. Also great for the lunch packing craziness on school day mornings.

Final quick tip everyone says clean your house with natural items like vinegar. I’m not a big fan of cleaning with a product that leaves the house smelling like a salad or an Easter egg coloring fiasco. There are many green, earth friendly products out there that are safe for use and don’t have this unpleasant after smell. I don’t know how you all feel about shopping at Trader Joe’s but they have many earth friendly cleaning products or try this site.

I don’t profess to being the most environmentally savvy mom on the planet, but I’m making smarter and safer choices and my kids are learning about keeping our planet healthy.

green+living green+living+tips ecology environmental green fresh mynt green+marble carbon+footprint carbon+offset junkmail+elimination global+warming global+climate+change

Explosion in Green Content

I've been spending a lot of time lately (probably too much time!) checking out all of the great green content online and I have to say I am impressed. I mean, if all of this content translates into some tangible action, things are really looking up!

Here are a few of the great sites I've found:
The Digital Composter
The story of stuff
8 Ways to Green Your Recycling
Top 10 simple actions you can take...Earth Day is Everyday!

There are many more out there, but these are the ones that caught my eye in the last few days.

Also, as a word of warning, there are many, many "green" sites being put up by people who want to green their image instead of greening the planet. Companies like GE and Clorox are cynically trying to use the power of green marketing to fool consumers into thinking that their companies are not major polluters and makers of brown products. Be wary when a company that makes parts for nuclear power plants or bleach starts touting things like "eco-magination"...

green+living green+living+tips ecology environmental green fresh mynt green+marble carbon+footprint carbon+offset junkmail+elimination global+warming global+climate+change

"Green" Products from "Brown" Companies

I just came across a post from a major consumer products company touting it's new line of products (sorry, but I won't link to it...) It made me think. Is it good that a major company is launching a "green" product line and their marketing muscle may get more people to buy good products instead of bad ones? Or, is it bad because it's just a cynical attempt to clean up a "brown" image among consumers? Is this grass or Astroturf?

This line of questioning can be extended to other things as well. For example the power company that discounts compact florescent bulbs but, at the same time burns coal and runs nuclear power plants--are they good, bad, or both? Another example is the major retailer that is "going green" but still remains an unscrupulous company when it comes to labor issues and purchasing practices.

How should we feel about this? What's a conscientious consumer to do? What is your opinion?

green+living green+living+tips ecology environmental green fresh mynt green+marble carbon+footprint carbon+offset junkmail+elimination global+warming global+climate+change

What do you want to see?

In the coming months we are planning to take GreenMarble.com to new and exciting places with new video content, new posts, new links and even Green Commerce. This is an exciting change, but not without challenges. As we make this transition, we want to make sure the site reflects your values and desires. So, we ask you the following questions:

1) What type of content would you like to see more of?
2) What should the tone of the content be?
3) What type of shopping and products would you like to see?
4) What would you definitely not like in terms of content?
5) What would you not like in terms of shopping and products?

Thanks in advance for your comments--with your input, we hope to make GreenMarble.com the best Green Portal on the web.

green+living green+living+tips ecology environmental green fresh mynt green+marble carbon+footprint carbon+offset junkmail+elimination global+warming global+climate+change