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UPCOMING ISSUES |
GREEN LIVINGEasy ways to green up your family
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------ Easy ways to green up your family Having just celebrated my two sons’ birthdays, I wish I could say that both birthday parties were as green as they could be. We served mostly organic, local food at my youngest son’s party and most gifts he received were environmentally friendly. Nothing was ‘single use.’ For my older son, we had paper plates with Disney movie characters on them, and although the food and cake were organic, the party was less green than I was hoping for. Was my hope realistic though? A green lifestyle is certainly desirable, but where does one start? If you wanted to green your family’s lifestyle but are not so sure where to begin, read on. It is a sure thing that people with young children don’t have a lot of time to plan their green plans, and most times they don’t have the time to carry through with them either. Here are some suggestions to get you started. Remember that every little bit counts, so don’t get discouraged if you slip up. Everybody does. Air-dry your clothes and bed linens. Throwing your laundry in the dryer is easy compared to putting each item on a clothesline or a drying rack. But the rewards of sticking with the clothesline are numerous. Air, wind and sun come together to dry and freshen your clothes. The sun acts like natural bleach and disinfectant, and the fresh smell of your clothes can’t be matched by a dryer. As for the hydro bill, it may not seem much at first, but if you have a newborn baby and a toddler, chances are that the washer/dryer combo is working overtime, especially if the baby is using cloth diapers, which is the topic of yet another discussion on greening a young family’s life. In the age of rapid global warming and ever-rising utility prices, the money you save by air-drying your clothes can be used to buy organic, local food. Buy local, organic foods. By now most people have accepted that organic food is not a whim. In a recent scientific paper published in Environmental Health Perspecitve (2008), authors concluded that dietary intake of organophosphorus (OP) pesticides represents the major source of exposure in young children. This conclusion supports the earlier evidence presented in a scientific paper published in the same journal in 2003, which demonstrated that organophosphorus pesticide metabolites were lower in children who ate organic produce. Don’t feel guilty if your cart contains less organic produce that you want. Certain fruits, such as kiwi, melons and blueberries, and vegetables, such as onion, cabbage, and broccoli, come rather clean and can still leave you feeling virtuous as long as you buy local and in season. The road to green heaven should be, after all, paved with good intentions rather than money. Use your money wisely. Money is one hot topic for most young families. Many object to living green saying it costs too much money. That is true, nothing comes cheap, but the bright side of living green is that you become an advocate for long-time use of many things, rather than rely on the single-use items. Buy a good quality set of glass containers to store food in the fridge and use fewer of the plastic ones. Invest in stainless-steel water containers they will keep your water cool and clean. Although bisphenol-A (BPA) containing plastics are now banned in Canada, it is still safer, not to mention greener, to use containers made of sturdy, inert materials such as glass, ceramic, porcelain and stainless steel. If money stands between you and your green containers, get creative with the glass jars you are left with after you are done with your honey, jams and pasta sauce. They come in many shapes and sizes, and they can hold everything, from veggie dips to crackers and fruit pieces. For the funky granola spirit living inside of each and every one of us, do save some jars to make a nice collection of water glasses. The money you save can be wisely used on local, seasonal, and if possible, organic produce. Your children need to know what pollution means and how it happens. Why excessive plastic manufacturing harms the planet, and how recycling is better for the planet. About all this and more. Please read the next issue’s green living column. |
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