Greener Beings

Cosmetic Changes

2008-04-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

My newest green under-taking includes researching my own use of cosmetics to find out what if I’ll need to do an “about-face” (ha ha) with my daily routine. I’ve had this idea on the radar for some time now, and unfortunately I learned that when it comes to cosmetics, ignorance is indeed bliss.

I began my search at the Environmental Working Group’s cosmetics database site (www.cosmeticsdatabase.com) which is a resource providing hazard ratings for a variety of products. It also lists problems associated with each cosmetic product such as cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, etc. My own foundation (Prescriptives, manufactured by Estee Lauder, which by the way, is an absolutely perfect color match that took me years to find), ranked an alarming 7 out of 10 on the hazard scale… and I’ve been using it every day for the last 8 years.

I’ve also come across information on ingredients to avoid when purchasing shampoos, toothpastes, lotions, etc. There’s quite mixed literature on whether sodium lauryl sulfates (a common shampoo ingredient & foaming agent) is cancer-causing, but most of the information I came across indicated this was a common misperception. The “bad boys” of ingredients seem to be Parabens and everything in the general family of Ethanolamines which includes Nitrosamines/MEA/DEA/TEA.

I’m concerned I’ve only hit the tip of the iceberg, but have already started implementing some changes as a result of this information. First, I’ve been taking my own plastic bottles to the local natural foods store & buying bulk shampoo that is free from some of the harsher ingredients (and saving plastic at the same time). I also found a website offering an alternative mineral foundation (loose vs. liquid), that appears to be a much safer choice. The site is www.everydayminerals.com & I’ve ordered some free samples to try out the colors and a pleasant surprise was the pricing… I’ll actually save money by buying this if I like it. I’ll report back with how it all turns out… if anyone has come across any good & responsible products, please email me at jlindgrenkerr@hotmail.com and I’ll be sure the check them out. – Jenny

Green-Cleaning Update

2008-04-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

Our primary efforts this month are centered around green cleaning. A big challenge for us has been what to do with our conventional cleaners… we’ve started buying the environmentally friendly stuff, but it seems counterproductive just to toss out the toxic cleaners.

A friend of mine recently shared a suggestion about what she’d done with her conventional cleaners when she decided to make the same switch. She put an ad up on the Craigslist ‘free’ page, noting that she had a bag full of cleaners she no longer wanted. So, I tried it…. I walked around the house & picked out our conventional cleaners (bleach, 409, comet, Soft Scrub with bleach, dryer sheets, etc.). I set it out by the mailbox with the ad up and after a few hours it was gone. One problem solved.

I’ve realized a few things when it comes to green cleaners. #1) they’re not quite as good as the harsh stuff, but they’re not terrible either. #2) we’re getting by just fine with just a few key things… Bon Ami for scrubbing, borax & baking soda for quick general cleaners, essential oils for a clean scent (lemon, grapefruit & lavender are my favorites). The essential oil is also a great substitute for the scent of drier sheets... I just add a few drops with the detergent. #3) green cleaning is actually cheaper, as long as we don't fall into the trap of buying "designer" cleaners made for needlessly specific uses.

These are a few of our recent efforts. We’d love to hear from anyone else if you’ve had any green-cleaning success stories. - Jenny

What to do with e-waste?

2008-03-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

NPR Morning Edition is doing a series of stories on "stuff" and being green. Here is a link to some interesting stories, including the one today on big cities that have banned plastic grocery bags: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89072464

Yesterday's story was on reusing and recycling electronics (cell phones, laptops, batteries) that have some pretty nasty stuff in them (cadmium, mercury, lead). This was timely for us, because we're trying to decide what to do with our old laptop (continued to use, sell, donate). The story provided a website that I found useful:
www.mygreenelectronics.org

One can enter a zip code and find a list of nearby businesses and depots that will take these reusable or recyclable goods.

Recent reports show how important it is to look into what companies that take old electronics do with them. That is, do they use environmentally responsible methods for extracting reusable resources? There were two recent stories in the New York Times and National Geographic about how many of our recycled computers (50-80%) and televisions have ended up in developing countries where struggling people expose themselves and their families to harmful chemicals in an effort to make some money. One father who was profiled in the National Geographic article was shown using his family's cooking pot to smelt lead from circuit boards.
See articles at:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/01/high-tech-trash/essick-photography
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/24/technology/24junk.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=africa+computer+recycle&st=nyt&oref=slogin

-David

Greener Beings in Mexico

2008-03-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

We got a very nice series of emails from Tori and Oscar who live in Todos Santos, Mexico (Baja) describing some of their observations there. We hope you find these as interesting as we did:

On recycling, reusing, composting, and waste

“Good for you with your green beings blog – you are thinking the thoughts that need to be dealt with and living in Oregon can make most of them work. Here in Mexico you would spin out!! Baja has relatively no recycling program!! The answer of course for the dumps is just to burn – plastic – batteries – paint - everything goes up in clouds of smoke. We finally yesterday found a place in La Paz that would take the mountain of wine bottles we have been saving (our bodega suddenly has so much more space), but then the people told us we were the last glass they would take, so now we’re back at square one. A good friend of ours from Vancouver is a recycling analyst – like she travels to India and Thailand and looks at garbage dumps. We went to the local Todos Santos dump – she nodded her head and said yup – they need me here. They and we are actually investigating possibilities of recycling locally – so that would be a huge change.

I guess a local positive is that if something can be used, it doesn’t get thrown out (people’s yards piled with stuff attests to that). A bad is that other countries (like us) send their used things here. Second hand clothing that maybe doesn’t make it to goodwill, does make it here. Energy is very expensive – our electric bill for the month is about $100, but that’s only running a trailer with Christmas lights outside. Government inefficiency inspires each person to be creative and inventive, and truly, little gets thrown out or goes to waste. You know the ball of rubber bands everybody in the US has growing larger by the day in the kitchen drawer. Here I hoard rubber bands and curse when one breaks of old age.

Plastic bags are incredible here – everything comes in it’s own plastic bag – and for cleanliness I want them to put things in bags. Then we reuse them for our trash – and then it goes to the dump – more and more and more plastic bags, which, in Baja’s dry climate, never compost. We are starting our own compost pile, and being virgin composters are slow, but getting toward a usable dirt. It is interesting to be in such a dry climate where things literally don’t decompose. We pour a lot of water into our compost pile, otherwise the mango leaves just dehydrate – like mummies in Egypt.”

Comment: THANKS, TORI AND OSCAR. THE POINT ON INEFFICIENCY INSPIRING CREATIVITY REALLY RESONATED WITH ME. WE OFTEN HAVE SUCH AN ABUNDANCE OF STUFF THAT WE DON'T SEE THE POSSIBILITIES IN THE THINGS WE DISCARD. ALSO, WE HAVE OUR REFUSE CONVENIENTLY WHISKED AWAY AND DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AT IT. -David

Green Travels

2008-03-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Life is full of opportunities to consume paper, plastic, and things in disposable packaging. On a recent business trip to Chicago, I realized how much more true this is when traveling. I made the mistake of not thinking this through before I left, and found myself drinking multiple tiny bottles of water on the plane, receiving copies of USA Today every morning on my hotel doorstep, drinking many paper cups of coffee, and eating a number of lunches and snacks out of paper bags and plastic boxes. Given how much more careful we’ve been about this recently, I really felt like I was leaving heaps of trash in my wake. I think I will do better next time by bringing my own water bottle and coffee cup, and being better about planning meals.

The other issue I thought about while traveling was how horrendously polluting air travel is. I don’t feel like I can travel less without impacting my career. So what can I do? Well, one thing that anyone can do is pack less luggage. It sounds funny, but I read something somewhere (and if that doesn’t convince you, nothing will) that if everyone packed one pound less in their luggage, they would save umpteen hogsheads of diesel fuel. No really, just think about what it takes to carry hundreds of passengers’ extra Danielle Steele novels five miles into the sky and 2,000 miles across the country. Anyway, I’m going to D.C. in June. So don’t be surprised if I post a picture of me wearing just shorts and flip-flops at the Smithsonian (plus my coffee cup, of course).

The final issue I considered while traveling was what the hotel housekeeping staff was supposed to do on my behalf every day---namely, replace everything that looked used, throw everything away that looked dirty, and wash everything that was unfolded. So I did my best to consolidate my trash (since I knew that even one Kleenex in the trash bag meant the whole thing was getting tossed), take my recycling with me (yes, including my USA todays), and re-use bath linens, soaps, shampoos---next time I think I will leave a note (soy-based ink on a lettuce leaf, of course). The most obvious one was not having the staff change the bed linens. Jenny and I always laugh about the notes at hotels that say, “We care so much about the environment that we are willing to ask you to sleep in your own filth so that we can take credit for being a green hotel. If you place this card on the pillow, we will gladly change your linens at the expense of the next seven generations. Otherwise, we will spare Mother Earth the unnecessary water and bleach, and pocket the money.” Anyway, we shouldn’t be so cynical—who says the hotel has to suffer for being greener. -David

Green Dishwasher Detergent

2008-03-16T20:30:00.000-07:00

We were saving our theme of green cleaning for next month, but I do want to thank my friend Summer for sharing her "recipe" for an eco-friendly dishwashing detergent. I also took her advice and put a bag of our conventional cleaners out by the mailbox and then placed an ad on Craigslist for free cleaners... in an hour, the bag was gone.

Anyway, here's the recipe that Summer gave to me:

"Green" Dishwasher Detergent

1/2 borax
1/2 washing soda
a few drops of grapefuit essential oil

I combined equal parts borax and soda and dumped it into a big glass jar with a scoop. When we run the dishwasher, we use one scoop and add a few drops of the oil. Granted, this is not quite as good as the regular dishwashing detergent, but it's pretty darn close and considerably less toxic. Washing soda (also known as sodium carbonate) is sold in grocery stores in the laundry/cleaning section... mine is the Arm & Hammer variety. Also, the best part is that the grapefruit oil smells really good... I actually look forward to running the dishwasher because our house smells so clean. I've also started adding lavender essential oil to our wash in lieu of fabric softener or dryer sheets, and the laundry actually smells better this way. I just put a few drops in with our laundry detergent. More on our green-cleaning efforts to come! - Jenny

No Stuff Month ends; Community Involvement Month begins

2008-03-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

It’s been a bit too long since our last entry, but we’re proud to report there wasn’t much to write about since we weren’t buying anything. We did go out to eat a couple of times, grab a coffee here & there, and I did buy a couple books for the kids at one point when we had a young visitor staying with us. But that’s about it, and we’re glad No Stuff Month is over!

I have to admit that I’m quite excited to see our next credit card bill… it should be the lowest it’s been in years! The thing I’m most pleased about though is that rather than buying junky Valentines presents for the boys, Dave & I made our own cookies & decorated them. When they woke up on Valentines Day, they each had a plate of cookies waiting for them… too much sugar to be sure, but we don’t want to deprive them of everything. It was great to see how excited they were, too, and it was a good lesson that they still appreciate the little things and don’t need big presents for every holiday.

Now, about March….

Our theme this month is giving back & making a positive contribution to our community. We believe our efforts at home are worthwhile, but we also want to make sure that we’re participating in larger scale efforts (the line between environmentalism & politics starts to blur here for me). For our first week, we took the boys to a new church that’s in line with our environmental values… we really liked it & will be signing them up for Sunday school there on a regular basis. My 5 year-old and I also went to a rally here for Barack Obama the other day. We made a big sign that says “Kids for Barack Obama” and stood at a nearby intersection and waved to traffic. It was great chatting with another girl who was there with her mom because she believed Obama was best suited to address global warming (she was nine!). It rained & hailed on us, and passers by honked, cheered, booed, sneered, and waved. All in all… a different, but rewarding experience, and hopefully the both of us got something out of it, besides a couple of free Obama bumperstickers.

Thanks to those of you who've reminded us we're due for a new blog post! This is an easy thing to let slip, and we appreciate the motivation to keep going. - Jenny

A "No Stuff Month" wish list

2008-02-06T19:46:00.000-08:00

A new breadmaker
Dental flosser-things
A new toothbrush (damn! why didn't I buy that in January)
the April Cornell linens that I saw shopping with my mom, that were 50% off, which never ever happens
Different shampoo & conditioner
More makeup... my foundation is running low and I'm hoping to make it stretch till March

More to come, I'm sure! - Jenny

No stuff month continues

2008-02-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

Some more purposes of "no stuff month": to reduce overall consumption, resist the temptation to shop and consume as a form of entertainment, and to question the real "need" behind everyday household consumption needs (as in, "I'm going to the store. What do we need?"). We also find that whenever we set out to buy one thing that we need, we end up with all these other tag-along purchases that we didn't intend. I can't say that this month's goal has been much fun.

In other news, I'm continuing with my new habits and finding no trouble doing so. I figure that I have now saved 60-70 coffee cups, lids, and sleeves in this short period, which actually feels fairly substantial. In fact, I am quite certain that if you stacked 70 coffee cups, it would circle the earth multiple times. I have the "The Power Shower"ing down to a science now. It is not a decision or a sacrifice anymore (though now I am more particular about my kids coming into the bathroom and letting all the heat out!). Rather, it is just a habit. I really think that forming new habits is the way to go. Deciding to change your behavior can require effort, sacrifice, and discomfort. Carrying out your usual, ho-hum habits requires no effort or sacrifice, and is plenty comfy.

Speaking of comfy, though---we also have cranked our heat down about four degrees this month (in an effort to consume less energy), and that is decidedly NOT comfy!! As a result, I have been especially enjoying my collection of late 1990s vintage sweaters and my warm slippers (thanks Sharyn). -David

No stuff month continues.

2008-02-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

We decided that we unconsciously chose the shortest month of the year to be "no stuff month." In general, the point of this exercise is to reduce consumption, resist the tendency to shop and consume as a form of entertainment, and to question how real the "needs" are for various items (as in "I'm going to Target. What do we NEED?"). For some reason, this also has morphed into no going out for lunch, dinner, or coffee month, too. Not sure of the rationale on that, other than it is another form of often unnecessary consumption (e.g., "I need a break. I'll go out and get a coffee--not because I particularly want a coffee, but because it is something to do"). Anyway, it has not been easy so far.

Lest you doubt my resolve, I have other updates: I have continued taking "The Power Showers" daily, except for a few days when I felt feverish. Most notable, is that this is just a routine now. It is not something I have to decide each morning, nor does it feel like any daily sacrifice. Ditto for my coffee cup habit. I am now quite attached to my travel cup---it keeps the coffee warmer for longer and I get a discount. And I figure I have saved about 60-70 paper cups in the short while since I rehabitted.

I think habits are the key to sustaining trivial behavior changes that become non-trivial when multiplied over time and across individuals. Deciding to behave differently can require effort and sacrifice. Mindlessly carrying out a new habit requires no effort and no sacrifice. -David

"No Stuff Month" begins!

2008-02-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

Today is February 1st and we’re announcing the beginning of our official “no stuff month”. For the entire month (which thankfully just happens to be the shortest one of the year), we’re committing not to buy any “stuff” other than our basic trips to the grocery store.

This will be a real challenge for us as we accumulate easily and I often shop as something fun to do. Stay tuned… we’re sure to be struggling with the commitment by next week! - Jenny

Goodwill hunting

2008-01-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

I’ve got a confession to make, one that will make eyes roll and noses wrinkle. Goodwill is my new favorite store. Goodwill is the ultimate socially responsible organization... it reduces junk going into our landfills, it encourages the reusing vs. consumption of new goods, it provides services to those at a disadvantage career-wise, and it’s inexpensive. That’s a win-win-win-win.

Last night, in a moment of boredom, I went to Goodwill to take a look around. I know several perfectly respectable people who shop there and I, myself, have seen plenty a young mother pursuing the racks of clothing. Why not, I thought. I started browsing and realized how much better it is than shopping in a larger department store. I walked down the “medium” aisle and just grabbed a few things that didn’t look too worn out. I ended up spending $35 and walked out with 2 Anne Taylor Loft sweaters (1 silk, 1 merino wool), 1 pair of brand new suede shoes, 2 hooded sweatshirts, 2 casual knit shirts, and a black coat that I’ve actually been looking for. Wow! Of course I had to come home and wash it all, but none of it smelled funny, nothing was stained, and its stuff I would have bought new, just for a lot more.

So, I’m fessing up... I LOVE this store! In a world where "green" and "eco" are synonymous with chic and upscale, Goodwill is refreshingly real. It's simply cheap, reusable stuff. - Jenny

Enmeshed

2008-01-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

In my opinion, one of our most notable accomplishments so far has been drastically reducing the amount of plastic we consume. We no longer buy baggies, saran wrap, etc. yet still have plenty of plastic around that we can use if we’re thrify about it (e.g., the plastic bags our bread comes in are great to reuse after we shake out the crumbs).

On the recommendation from a friend (thank you Gabrielle!), I just purchased reusable produce bags & used them for the first time today. I found them at http://www.reusablebags.com/ for a couple dollars a piece and bought five of them. It feels like a worthwhile purchase and one more step in the right direction…even if it’s a small one. - Jenny

Geographic prejudice

2008-01-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

We went to an earth-friendly home and garden show today, which to our surprise, was a hit with all four of us (half of us enjoyed sampling local beer & wine, and the other half enjoyed the Smoky the Bear freebies). We also picked up fliers for a variety of farms offering year-round deliveries of produce, often referred to as CSA (community-supported agriculture). Anyway, it occurred to me recently that depending on the geographic marketing of a product, I have very different reactions to it. In an effort to be honest about my geographic stereotypes, here’s a quick glossary to illustrate my point:

Made locally: What we should be buying; more healthful & soulful than what’s found in a grocery store; quality without arrogance.
Made in Oregon: What you buy at the airport; myrtlewood knick-knacks; jam for the elderly set.
Made in the Northwest: Hip; casual; eco-friendly; contemporary.
Made in the West: Probably having something to do with cowboys and/or ghost-towns; tacky.
Made in Amercia: Red, white & blue; red states; homeland; right wing; cotton sheets; blueberry pie and Fourth of July; Fords & Chevys.

I don’t know how relevant this all is to the theme of our blog, but it struck me as interesting, and I admit to being a total sucker for good marketing. - Jenny

Follow-up on Gift Wrap Challenge

2008-01-23T20:22:00.000-08:00

Sorry to be so delinquent on my follow-up to the holiday gift wrap challenge. We had two winners who deserve environmentally sensitive applause (i.e., not so loud as to disturb nesting terns). Katie Ruthford of Bellingham, Washington wrapped Christmas presents using felt. They looked very nice and she can re-use them next year. Bravo. The second winner was Cynthia Wells, of Seattle, Washington who cleverly used a paper Eileen Fisher shopping bag to wrap a present, using the black ribbon handle as the ribbon. Very creative! Honorable mention goes to the honorable David Kerr of Eugene, Oregon, who made a donation to a charitable organization in the name of his co-workers, rather than giving them vacuum-packed smoked salmon like last year. He then sent out a nice email that read: "Happy Holidays! P.S. Don't try to claim this as a tax-deduction."

There were other entries that did not win (remember, there are no losers; only non-winning triers who failed miserably). First, while "re-gifting" technically falls within the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle trinity, it is frowned upon. Second, we do not endorse the idea of having relatives send one $500 check every ten years (starting now) rather than $50 each year for ten years, even though it does save paper and postal service fuel. Third, I tried wrapping presents in newspaper, but it just ripped all over and looked like... trash. Thanks to all who participated!! -David

10 pounds & what do you get? One week older, and a lot more paper

2008-01-06T20:14:00.000-08:00

A while back, we kept a laundry basket in our kitchen where we dumped all of our papers, junk mail, subscriptions, etc. for a whole week as a little experiment. At the end of the week, we had 10 pounds of paper in the basket (i.e., trending at 520 pounds of incoming mail per year!). We can definitely do better than that.

For the first time in recent memory, we are not receiving the Sunday New York Times. David’s dad and stepmom have historically ordered this subscription for us & just this last month, David asked that they not, given these efforts. I really, really loved our Sunday Times. I loved the fact that it took me a couple days to get through all of the sections I wanted to read. I especially loved the fact that I felt smarter when it was fanned across our coffee table. That said, the vast majority of the paper (namely Sports, Business, and the Men’s Style section… only vain men read that section anyway) ended up in our recycling bin. But this morning, when I got up at 6am with our son, and stumbled into the kitchen to grab some coffee, I was cursing our crazy commitment.

I have, however, made a discovery of sorts that has been particularly helpful. I customized my homepage at iGoogle.com and have easily visible headlines from the New York Times, Google News, and yes… People Magazine, too. With this & NPR at my disposal, I still feel relatively informed. I did some searching around for news aggregator sites that pull in various headlines, but alas iGoogle seems to me to be the simplest and nicest looking of any of these, and also allows me to keep tabs on other important issues of the day, such as my Netflix queue.

Lastly, I just called Pottery Barn to request that our address be removed from the mailing list that is responsible for us receiving copious amounts of junk mail. When I told the woman on the other end of the line that we were trying to reduce our incoming paper, I was so pleased to hear her cheerfully exclaim, “Yeah, lots of people are doing that. I prefer to shop online anyway.” So there is some hope that we as a planet will not be doomed to be suffocated under a heaping landfill full of Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids catalogs that showcase pages of furniture that never seems to change (isn’t that the same Nantucket toddler sleigh bed with trundle that was featured last year?).

Progress feels good, but lest we seem too over-the-top with our changes, I feel it’s also important to admit total failure on another entirely different effort. I just have not been able to adapt to “The Power Shower” to which David is now accustomed. When he showers first in the morning and I hear him turn off the water after a minute or two to lather up, I selfishly think, “Oh good, more hot water for me”! - Jenny

Pros and Cons of "Re-habitting"

2007-12-30T20:54:00.000-08:00

For the past few weeks I've been "re-habitting," or, observing potentially wasteful habits and trying out new, less wasteful ones. I thought I would do a quick check-in to see how miserable these changes have made me... and... the answer is… nope, life is good. My life is no more difficult or less joyful for drinking coffee out of a metal cup, re-using plastic baggies, or for taking another "The Power Shower" (-ower, -ower) this morning. Granted, these are not huge life-changing, earth-changing choices, but I do think these and other re-habits, multiplied over more and more people could make a difference. So I challenge everyone who reads this to observe and question one or two of their small, potentially wasteful habits this week, and then to try re-habitting as an experiment to find out which changes are sustainable. Why not start by giving up routines we won’t miss?

By all means, please share your successes or “learning experiences” (i.e., failures) with us!
-David

The Power Shower

2007-12-29T20:41:00.000-08:00

This morning I tried a little experiment in challenging one of those little habits I've developed for who knows what reason. I took "The Power Shower," which consisted of rinse, shut off water, lather, rinse (shut off water, dry, geez, you know the rest). I used much less water and the whole thing was much faster. Naming it "The Power Shower" makes it seem cooler: like something Superman would do. "The Power Shower!!" also sounds cool as your voice reverborates off the tile in the bathroom. In the end, I decided that I saved water, saved energy heating the water, and used less soap (you've read about the soap shortage in Eugene, right? Oh wait, that's deodorant). So next time you (or an advisor) decide you need a rinse-off, call out, "this looks like a job for The Power Shower!" And if it doesn't echo, then you haven't said it loud enough. -David

Green Gift Wrap Challenge

2007-12-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

I recently had a birthday, and, in support of our efforts, my parents-in-law wrapped my present using recycled goods---paper bags, coffee sleeves, aluminum foil, and orange peels. Though tongue-in-cheek, it got us thinking about what a great idea that is. So we would like to challenge you all to be as artistic and creative as you can be in wrapping a gift this season with something other than gift wrap. Take a picture and send it to us (davidcrkerr@hotmail.com) and we will post "the winner" after the holidays. If you're not up to being that creative, but have some good ideas to share, then by all means, respond to this posting. For example, I just wrapped some books for our son's birthday with a National Geographic map. As another example, I'm going to just bury all of my wife's gifts in the yard and leave clues around the house. -David

Can your cans!

2007-12-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

We often buy canned beans and tomatoes and add them to supposedly-wholesome dishes we feel good about serving our family. We even have a great Enchilada Soup recipe that is almost entirely made up of canned food! We recently heard about how one should avoid canned foods, however, due to the toxins that leach into the food. In an effort to be both green and informed, I’ve been doing a little amateur research on the subject. A quick Google search provided a multitude of websites describing a compound called Bisphenol A (BPA), which disrupts hormones and can lead to increased risk of cancers and other serious health issues. This is found in canned foods, soda & possibly bottled water, regardless of whether the food is organic to begin with. Here’s a link to an interesting article on BPA: http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/114/bpa.

With that in mind, we’re doing a bit more with dried beans vs. the canned variety! Please let us know if you know more on the subject and/or have good references to share. - Jenny

bEARTHday presents

2007-12-09T20:30:00.000-08:00

Our goal for this month is to have a “greener” holiday season. You may have read our recent entry about our living Christmas tree… we decorated it tonight. I’m just hoping the lights don’t kill it! In addition to this being Christmas season, it’s also birthday season around our house. Three out of the four of us have birthdays this time of year, and many family members do too. Well, today it’s Dave’s birthday. He suggested that I not use any wrapping paper. We were laughing about whether to use old newspaper or just shove them into paper bags. How festive! Anyway, I’ve become really fond of gift bags because unlike wrapping paper we can use them over & over again. Of course, our selection of gift bags are mostly left over from baby showers (5 years ago!) so there is an odd assortment of crinkled Noah’s Ark & Winnie the Pooh themed bags. And, I’m not stuffing them with loads of tissue paper either, so when I set out Dave’s presents… it was sort of a sad looking pile! He didn’t mind though & it’s nice not to have to throw out a plastic bag full of wrapping!

On another note, we were shopping today & came across an assortment of cast iron! A local store here had a great selection & the sales person described in detail how to treat it periodically with grape seed oil to keep it unsticky. Anyway, we bought a cute little skillet for our son Charlie’s morning eggs… and it was $7.95! I can’t believe it. We’ve been buying these really high-end, brand-name, non-stick pans for years that cost ten times that much, and when we try to “upgrade” to something better it costs $7.95? Needless to say, we were way too enthusiastic about our cast iron purchase, but it was validating to have several people in the store stop & comment on how much they love the stuff!

One last note…. On the advice of a lovely woman with whom I’ve been corresponding, I bought a Chico bag today. It’s a nice little collapsible bag that fits in my handbag. So, when I’m out & about and buy something, I can whip out my little bag & keep reusing it. I LOVE it! She’d also recommend SIGG water bottles because they’re not plastic like the ubiquitous Nalgene bottles most often seen hanging off college students’ backpacks. Anyway, Dave got a SIGG bottle as one of his birthday presents.

Thanks again to all of you who have read, commented & emailed about our blog. We appreciate the support! - Jenny

Inner Conflicts

2007-12-02T17:12:00.000-08:00

Fortunately for anyone who is reading our blog, part of this experience isn’t just to share what progress we’re making, but also share honestly some of the real struggles & failures! Here’s a confession of sorts…

I’m conflicted because I want our boys to have a normal childhood, without having to carry the weight of social responsibility on their shoulders before they’re barely out of toddlerhood (I also have a smidgen of fear that they’ll be deemed “weird” if we keep this up). On the other hand, we’re trying to change the game a bit here, by teaching our kids that we need to take care of the planet.

I’m finding myself torn this month between wanting to buy them Christmas presents but at the same time try to resist the excessive consumerism, as well. I’m traveling for work right now, and when I left this morning, I had the brilliant idea that instead of buying the boys a cheap trinket of a toy (which is what I usually do to assuage my guilt when I leave), I could bring them back something they really need. I announced with enthusiasm at breakfast that perhaps I could bring them back both pairs of fuzzy, wool socks. Needless to say, they weren’t equally enthusiastic and I can’t blame them. So, today, I picked up a couple Christmas ornaments for them today without checking whether they were real wood and/or painted in lead factory. I’m consoling myself by imagining them hanging on our living Christmas tree.

Lastly, I’m conflicted about how much money this just might cost us to live “greener”. Natural food stores are expensive! Wood toys are expensive! We’re a young family that really watches what we spend, and I have a hard time spending $.99/lb on organic bananas. I don’t know how to be green & cheap, and hope that next year we don’t have to start a blog called Cheaperbeings to compensate for Greenerbeings.

I suppose that there aren’t perfect answers to these dilemmas. Of course, if anyone reading this has one, we’re all ears! Lastly, thank you to Sharyn & Ruah for your great comments… we will indeed be on the lookout for Chicobags & cast iron at thrift stores! Thanks for helping keep the momentum going! - Jenny

A Difficult Break-Up

2007-11-29T11:40:00.000-08:00

When David & I were brainstorming ideas of how we'd get greener, one of the things I'd mentioned was that perhaps I should now officially kick my Diet Coke habit. Nothing good comes out of drinking it... it's not good for me, there's no nutritive value and I don't want the kids to have it. That said, I LOVE it & this is going to be a sacrifice. I always want one right around lunch time... salty food & Diet Coke is just the best, and I swear it relaxes me to have a can in hand. I love it on an airplane, at the movie theater, when I go out to lunch, in the evening with popcorn, when I'm having a hectic day, etc... I love it when I leave a can on the top shelf of the fridge and it gets just a little frozen which reminds me of those Coke-flavored slushies I used to get at 7-11 when I was a kid. I just wanted to put it out there that I just had my last Diet Coke for a year (and beyond?). It was a little flat, nothing great, but perhaps it's better that way. Diet Coke, I'll miss you but think I'm better off not seeing you for a little while. - Jenny

Meditations on Plastic Baggies

2007-11-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

We have not purchased any plastic bags or baggies for a while, and have been consistently using canvas shopping bags, and resisting the unnecessary plastic-bagging reflex that is part of modern shopping (e.g. when you buy a pack of post-its, and the checker puts them in a bag that is twenty times larger). Although it has only been a few weeks, the ubiquitous plastic bag is becoming more and more of a scarcity in our home. Plastic bags are super handy for so many things, like for getting rid of yucky stuff (I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that we have kids and cats) and for packing lunches. Now that we are not actively cultivating our plastic bag collection, I am finding that I appreciate them even more and am treating them as a resource to be used only when necessary and to be reused when possible. Several times, I have now received mail in perfectly functional plastic sleeves, and have used them later to encase my sandwiches. We've also begun washing and re-using our zip-locks. Anyway, this has been interesting to me as the ridiculously abundant has become scarce and valuable. -David

Our Living Tree

2007-11-28T20:42:00.000-08:00

This year we decided to get a living Christmas tree, instead of the more festive, slowly dying variety. I don't know that chopping down Christmas trees is a huge problem, since they are planted for that reason in the first place... but it felt like it was consistent with our theme of reducing waste and moving toward more sustainable practices. Our tree is a Nordmann pine. It is in a large pot in our backyard and stands about four feet tall. It is supposed to grow to about 30 or 40 feet. It can live indoors for only two weeks, so we will enjoy it around Christmas and then take it to our parents' house in the Oregon woods where it can live with its kind. It was interesting that when we bought it, I could not cram it in the car as I could have with any other four foot disposable tree. Rather, I had to pick it up later in our bigger car, and carefully stand it upright in the back---in short, I had to treat it like a living thing. -David

Bringing Up a Sticky Subject

2007-11-20T21:42:00.000-08:00

As part of our new environmental push, I just checked out a stack of magazines & books from the library looking for more inspiration. I came upon an article in Natural Home Magazine about a chemical compound called perfluorooctanic acid (PFOA) that’s found in non-stick cookware (the article is by Mindy Pennybacker & appears in the Sept/Oct ’06 issue). When the cookware is heated up, it releases toxic gases. Apparently DuPont (who owns the Teflon patent) is phasing out PFOA materials by 2015. Needless to say, when I cook my son’s scrambled egg in the morning, I’ll use our non-non-stick pan. I have some kind of general vague recollection of hearing something about Teflon at one point, but was pretty surprised to read this. Do people know about this??? What’s also baffling is how I’m going to cook a scrambled egg in a non-non-stick pan. I hear cast iron may be a good alternative, but that seems like a purchase best made at the Deadwood General Store. Anyway, maybe I’ll tell my husband that the little lady wants a cast iron skillet for Christmas. Until then, maybe we’ll just stick with hard-boiled. - Jenny

Putting a Lid on My Paper Cup Habit

2007-11-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

I am addicted to coffee, there is no doubt. I have to have it every morning first thing. I set it up the night before, and I like to wake up just a few minutes after it has brewed in the morning. After I drop the kids off at school, I head right to the coffee shop and have another cup. I get it in a paper cup, with a paper insulation sleeve, with a plastic lid, with milk, and one paper pouch of sugar in the raw, and I stir it with a plastic stick. I usually recycle the sleeve, but that’s it. I’ve been doing this routine for at least five or six years in a number of places. The caffeine fix plays a big part in keeping the whole routine going, of course. But it is amazing how unsatisfying it is if part of the chain is disrupted. For instance, I would not consider it a favor for someone else to bring a coffee back to the office for me. No one pours the milk in at the right angle, or gets the color right, or stirs it right, or something. Last time I waited in the car while Jenny ran in to Starbucks for us, I swear the half and half tasted like skim.

Anyway, I give you these excruciating details so that you know what it was like for me two weeks ago when I gave up on paper cups, sleeves, and plastic lids, not to mention the satisfying plunk the empty coffee apparatus made as it hit the trash can. Yes, I switched to a travel mug two weeks ago and have had only a few slips since. I know that many people have been doing this for ever and are not patting themselves on the back about it daily. But the point in all of this is that I haven’t, and now I am. Not to exaggerate, but for the first two days, I really felt some withdrawal—not from the caffeine, but from the whole experience of it. To keep myself motivated I tried to imagine that in a landfill there sits a tower of my used cups so high that the international space station has to swerve every time it orbits by. But guilt only gets me so far. What’s done is done. What got me more motivated was getting pissed off that I have been so taken by the whole paper cup phenomenon. By missing my sacred routine, I was able to see how ridiculous it is to think that a paper cup is a treat, that it is somehow more convenient, or that it is anything other than a ploy to get me to carry around a 12 ounce bill board. I now carry my plastic cup to Full City coffee in Eugene, they warm it up for me with hot water, comment on its odd shape, and fill it with my morning brew, to which I add milk and sugar in the raw (from a jar). New routine. New treat. -David

We Want Wood

2007-11-18T20:06:00.001-08:00

I forgot my canvas bags (again) when I went to the grocery store this week. It doesn’t seem like it should be that hard to remember, but I guess it’s undoing many years of habit. Anyway… I stuffed my few groceries into my large purse & yet again felt like I was shop lifting. Remember the canvas. Remember the canvas.

It was our son Charlie’s 3rd birthday this weekend, and when asked for ideas from family, we’d suggested wooden vs. plastic toys… I have to say, it’s really nice to have such high quality toys, and they seem to require a bit more in the imagination department than their plastic counterparts. Anyway, his room looks cute with all his wooden stuff! - Jenny

Glassy-Eyed

2007-11-12T11:49:00.000-08:00

A few observations from this last week…

- We’ve been trying to buy glass jars to store food instead of plastic. I never expected it to be so hard to find good jars!
- In my quest for glass, we ended up at Shopko last night. It was interesting to walk around the store with “eco eyes”…. Everything was wrapped in plastic & elaborate packaging. There was an aisle of holiday gifts that I can't imagine anyone ever needing. All in all, it was a depressing experience and I didn’t buy anything.
- I’ve been spending so much money on good vegetables & meat, that I’m finding I’m not buying much snack/dessert food simply because I don’t want our grocery bill to be astronomical. This is good …. I feel like we’re spending money in the right places!
- I forgot my canvas bags a couple times when shopping and at one point stuffed groceries into by purse, which just looked like I’d shoplifted some 10-grain cereal. I need to remember to bring the bags!!

Also, it was a proud moment when our son Reid asked why he'd been given a paper napkin at his grandparents' house. He commented that paper napkins weren't a good idea because you just use them once & throw them away!

- Jenny

Bagging the Plastic

2007-10-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

As part of our year-long environmental crusade, we’ve decided to completely forgo buying plastic bags and stop using them to haul our groceries. Granted, we have a stash of plastic that could easily wrap our house, so we should be able to coast by for a while without feeling the pain. I’d estimate that we bring home at least 15 plastic grocery bags every week. That’s 780 plastic grocery bags that we will not use this year, and that doesn’t include the various sizes of Ziplocs that I feel compelled to have on hand (snack/sandwich/quart/gallon/freezer quart/freezer gallon/etc!) To be honest, the prospect of one day running out of Ziplocs does have me hoarding every piece of plastic I come across. Today, a shrink-wrapped book arrived in the mail. I carefully opened the packaging, folded it, and gently tucked it in a kitchen drawer. Tonight when we were trick-or-treating, two generous neighbors handed over entire goodie bags to the boys not knowing that they provided us with 4 more plastic bags to help get us through the year. - Jenny

Eating Locally: Our First Farm Delivery

2007-10-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

One of our goals for the next few weeks is going to be finding local foods to support our community and minimize the distances our food has to travel to reach our mouths. We also hope that this has the added benefit of improving our lives. After all, one of our ideas is that changing our habits and impact on the world does not have to involve eating bark and wearing hair shirts. If we can form new habits and discover local products that we actually prefer, then so much the better: we’ll be more likely to be able to make the change permanent, and to convince others to do the same.

So, this week we signed up for a local produce box from Sweet Water Farms (http://www.goodfoodeasy.com/) in Creswell. The box is $33/week—this might seem expensive, but we decided that if we actually consume all of the produce, instead of other things (like, I don’t know, fresh lobster and foie gras), it will not really add to our grocery bill. We also hope that it will inspire us to be creative with the unusual items we’ve never tried, get out of the cooking rut we’ve been in since having kids, and challenge our boys to try a few new things—and eating all those veggies should be healthier too. Anyway, we were oddly excited about getting our first delivery. We had to laugh about our timing. That is, “local produce” in November does not conjure up images of luscious heirloom tomatoes, succulent sweet corn, and fragrant basil—more like wilting kale and hearty turnips. I picked up a paper grocery bag brimming with food: rosemary, squash, potatoes, apples, garlic, peppers, arugla, turnips (yes, hearty turnips), and also something that I think I once saw in E.T.’s spaceship. Given our emphasis on local foods that reduce our “carbon footprint,” I was surprised to see bananas—I’m going to check to make sure they were walked here from Costa Rica. In all, our excitement about the possibilities continues. My next target: local beer. Local beer in Oregon? Impossible, you say? Hey, we never said this would be easy—but if I have to save the world one bottle at a time, so be it. - David

Local Wine and Local Whine

2007-10-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

This week I’ve started picking up the boys with the bike/bike trailer instead of our minivan (yes, a minivan, and we love it). The point of this is to see how we can cut down on our driving. I’ve also been looking forward to this as a way to get a workout and get the boys some fresh air (ironically, I heard that there’s an air quality advisory today in the Willamette Valley where we live). It feels great…it’s good exercise and I have to admit feeling a little proud of myself when I peddle up to the boys’ schools, bike trailer in tow. Here’s the hard part though: the boys don’t like sitting so close together without a spacious middle seat acting as a buffer. Today I could actually feel the wobbling of the trailer as they fought in the back. Earlier in the ride, I’d also heard one of the boys shout “STOP!”. When I screeched to a halt and jumped off my bike in a panic, I found that the emergency was that one of their crackers had fallen onto the bottom of the trailer. By the time we got home though, the sun was shining, it felt like fall, and we were all in good moods.

Also, in a concerted effort to eat locally (& better), I checked out the local wine options in the grocery store tonight. Why is it that local wine that hasn’t traveled hundreds of miles up I-5 from California is so much more expensive? I’ll admit that we buy cheap wine (the under $7-a-bottle kind of cheap). I left with a $10 bottle from a winery in Eugene and am looking forward to trying it. - Jenny