The last few weeks have been filled with EcoMom Parties and it is just so
cool to watch you all become EcoMoms! One step at a time we are making a huge difference. I am so proud of all you
have done, all you are doing, and all you are preparing to do! Speaking of which, while you’re
enjoying the last days of summer, the new school year looms ahead and the
pressure to purchase adds to what is often an already a stressful time for
coordinating fall schedules etc.
It can also be an opportunity to start fresh
though, so while you and your little monkey (or monkeys) head off to shop, keep in mind the life
cycle of your purchases: their manufacturing may have dumped toxic pesticides
and other chemicals into the environment and into the bodies of exploited
workers and their families. Back to school is cool but not if Johnny’s new
first day of kindergarten shirt was made by an indentured five-year old in
China breathing in toxic chemicals that your five year old will now be exposed
to, too. The whole concepts of connection and enough are good teachers for us
and our kids and though my son Corbin is already asking for another backpack,
more folders, more erasers, more toys – yes, I know toys are not part of back
to school but for some reason he seems to think it is imperative that Toys R Us
be on our list – I am trying to be a cool, hip and fun mom that is also making
sustainable choices. The good news is that there are lots of eco-friendly
options that can make back to school all the way cool (other than the fact that
you still have to get everyone up and out every morning!)
- Keep it healthy. PVC – polyvinyl chloride – a.k.a
vinyl, can be found in most shoes, boots, lunch boxes and backpacks. It is
known to lodge in the fatty tissue of animals and humans and can cause health
problems such as cancer, organ damage and immune suppression. It is one of the
most persistent and toxic of all man made chemicals. So opt for old-fashioned
stainless steel lunch boxes (I just found a great Curious George one for my
nephew), Mimi the Sardine or Laptop Lunches bento style packs . - Choose brown, wax-paper bags instead of plastic baggies to avoid adding
to our landfills and leaching phthalates into your child’s food. - Earth Pak has great recycled rubber
back packs. Sigg and Klean Kanteen are healthy water bottle
alternatives to the over 3 million plastic bottles that end up in landfills
every day in the United States. - Buy organic clothing. Cotton production accounts for a
large percentage of the pesticide contamination of our waterways and food
chain. Target has started carrying some organic options. Patagonia and Garden Kids Clothing are
other great options. Ask your local merchants to start carrying sustainably
produced clothing. - Buy recycled paper, biodegradable pens and binders at Green Earth Office Supplies or Eco Products
- As EcoMom Harmony Scott encourages, start a Walking
School Bus. Organize parents so you take turns being the “driver,” and “picking
up” kids on the way to school as you go through the neighborhood so that by the
time you arrive it is a virtual walking or bike riding parade led by one or two
parents. To keep it safe, check out Safe Routes to School - Get your kids inspired to help Cancel A Car. Check out
EcoMom Carleen Cullen’s program Cool the Earth They are already scheduled to go into 28 schools this Fall so jump in to get your school on board! - Also look to swap back to school items with other
families. A great kid-focused recycling resource is Zwaggle, founded by innovative
EcoDad Adam Levy. Or organize a first week product swap at your school. Corbin
got a great back pack last year and used it oh, maybe, once. I am hoping his
cousin will want it this year! - Pack organic food in your kid’s lunch box and encourage
your school to start serving organic food in the cafeteria. Recent research
indicates that a healthy diet low in toxins and hormones can not only boost
your child’s immunity in the present but also promote higher resilience against
diseases later in life. Lots of colorful fruits and veggies – if you add a dipping
sauce your kids will love it - and high quality snacks with calories that count.
Ok so after the last update, you’ve called your school principle to discuss going green, you’ll be saving fossil fuels, carbon emissions, your child’s health and your own guilt as you go back to school really cool. How to teach Johnny (and Corbin) that enough is enough, well, that’s another day. If nothing else, just start with organic lunches! Do what you can, one step at a time and imagine all the other EcoMoms doing their one step. It adds up.
and the EcoMom logo are registered trademarks 2007
3 Comments
Zwaggle for the environment
One of the many benefits of Zwaggle is the positive impact parents can have on the environment by sharing their kids stuff with other parents. We believe very strongly in this message and its great to see others working towards this end,…
How to kill pests without killing yourself or the earth……
There are about 50 to 60 million insect species on earth - we have named only about 1 million and there are only about 1 thousand pest species - already over 50% of these thousand pests are already resistant to our volatile, dangerous, synthetic pesticide POISONS. We accidentally lose about 25,000 to 100,000 species of insects, plants and animals every year due to “man’s footprint”. But, after poisoning the entire world and contaminating every living thing for over 60 years with these dangerous and ineffective pesticide POISONS we have not even controlled much less eliminated even one pest species and every year we use/misuse more and more pesticide POISONS to try to “keep up”! Even with all of this expensive pollution - we lose more and more crops and lives to these thousand pests every year.
We are losing the war against these thousand pests mainly because we insist on using only synthetic pesticide POISONS and fertilizers There has been a severe “knowledge drought” - a worldwide decline in agricultural R&D, especially in production research and safe, more effective pest control since the advent of synthetic pesticide POISONS and fertilizers. Today we are like lemmings running to the sea insisting that is the “right way”. The greatest challenge facing humanity this century is the necessity for us to double our global food production with less land, less water, less nutrients, less science, frequent droughts, more and more contamination and ever-increasing pest damage.
National Poison Prevention Week, March 18-24,2007 was created to highlight the dangers of poisoning and how to prevent it. One study shows that about 70,000 children in the USA were involved in common household pesticide-related (acute) poisonings or exposures in 2004. It is estimated that 300,000 farm workers suffer acute pesticide poisoning each year in the United States - No one is checking chronic contamination.
In order to try to help “stem the tide”, I have just finished re-writing my IPM encyclopedia entitled: THE BEST CONTROL II, that contains over 2,800 safe and far more effective alternatives to pesticide POISONS. This latest copyrighted work is about 1,800 pages in length and is now being updated at my new website at http://www.stephentvedten.com/ .
This new website at http://www.stephentvedten.com/ has been basically updated; all we have left to update is Chapter 39 and to renumber the pages. All of these copyrighted items are free for you to read and/or download. There is simply no need to POISON yourself or your family or to have any pest problems.
Stephen L. Tvedten
2530 Hayes Street
Marne, Michigan 49435
1-616-677-1261
“An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.” –Victor Hugo
My daughter is entering kindergarten this year. Thankfully she sees nothing wrong with using all her old stuff from preschool, but this year I have to start dealing with packing her a lunch because her kindergarten goes to 1 in the afternoon. I’ve been looking at those Laptop Lunches online, but I’m going to try to get it locally if I can.
I’m both looking forward to and dreading packing her lunch every day. Planning lots of healthy foods, but she’s a picky eater and we’ll just have to see what works.
We do walk to school. Less than 10 minutes, even for my daughter, so why drive? Due to all the traffic from parents dropping kids off, I can walk there almost as fast as my next door neighbor drives there.