Sunday, April 18, 2010

It's Not Easy Being Green

I know a lot of mother's who are passionate about raising their children "green." I am not one of them. Now take a deep breath. You know if you have ever been here, that I consider raising my kids with an awareness of and respect for the world to be one of my most important responsibilities. So, when I say I am not passionate about it, I don't mean I don't care. I just mean I have to work at it.
Moms I know who are passionately green seem to have an inherent knowledge of the best foods to eat, products to use, stores to shop in, places to recycle etc. I on the other hand have to research and question and study and STILL I can't remember whether I am supposed to get organic bananas or apples or if parabens are really going to kill us or if that's an Internet conspiracy theory. Separating fact from fiction is hard enough, remembering it in my grocery aisles or the makeup counter is near impossible. It is as if my brain has a green-black hole. I just can't retain all the information I need to make sure I'm always doing it right. And I don't have the time to continually research the same information. I subscribe to blogs and websites of other green mommies. But, they are sometimes SO green they are way to far ahead of me on the curve and the information they give is not useful to me yet.
I was thrilled when I got to preview the National Geographic Green Guide Families*. Why you ask? Certainly not because the title sounds exciting right? I was thrilled because this book is chock full of everything love. Not only does it tell you fact from fiction-actually giving you the research right there next to the information, but it lays things out in a way you can quickly reference what you need. There are chapters are eating safe, keeping a safe home and even how to raise eco-minded kids. The information not only includes what you "should" do, but it gives tips and tricks for how to do it. The authors know the information is important, but they also recognize the time and energy constraints of moms and make it an easy read with easy tips for implementing the information.
My copy is marked up and dog-eared and well loved. Because I STILL can't remember everything, at least now I can quickly flip to one place to find it.

*I was given a free copy of The Green Guide Families as a member of the SV Moms Book Club.
Posted by Cristie Ritz King, M. Ed at 10:16 AM
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3 comments:

  1. I'm with you... Trying to be green can be really overwhelming. And I can never remember half of the things I read. I would love for someone to come into my house to set us straight and then tell me what products to use. Sometimes figuring out where to begin is the hardest part.
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  2. people still use disposable diapers. a better alternative is disposable diapers with replaceable pad. this way only the pad is disposed of when peed on by baby instead of the whole diaper the landfill will be thankful. also this cuts the material footprint on the earth since a pad is less material than the whole diaper. think about it.
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  3. It's very simple to go green, especially with all of the neat tax credits/incentives. What we need is for the government to make it mandatory as a standard minimum to help more people go green at a steadier pace. Which will finally then make a positive impact on our world. It needs to change. People need to care more about "what green truely is".

    <a href="http://www.ecomech.net>I own a green company in Atlanta, Georgia. EcoMech Geothermal and Mechanical </a> We are growing as more and more people are using geothermal, solar, wind, rainwater collection, or just wanting maybe a filter to help the air quality in their homes. We also show homeowners how to go green by giving them quick tips. I will admit that there is alot of information.. and yes, it can get confusing with all of the overwhelming info out there, but all of us need to at least "try to make an effort" or else, I fear the worse for this world.
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