The Earth and the Environment

I'm considering starting up a mom-owned business where I go into peoples houses and advise on things that they could do or change to 'green up' - it would also provide non-bias options for things like cleaning products, recycling etc etc. Sort of like a professional organizer but a little different.

Would anyone use this sort of thing? I'm still in the research phase. Any thoughts or ideas gratefully received - ____@____.com

its something I feel strongly about and I'd love to help others, esp busy moms, do their bit wherever they can. Every little helps.

Absolutely!!! I don't have a huge understanding of global warming nor do I know if I believe it's really happening. But why the heck not do what you can to help! My family lives by the phrase: reduce, reuse, recycle. My four year old recites it often! We keep lights off during the day and conserve at night, we recycle everything possible, reduce the amount of waste that goes into the garbage and reuse what we can for art projects, etc. I think about what the earth will be like when we leave and our grandchildren and great-grandchildren are living on it. I want it to be a great place to be!

You should make daily changes and a conscience effort to do what you can! REally!

Doesn't everyong these days? I hope that you get thousands of responses M.. I have been an environmental "nut" for 30+ years and am grateful that the world around me is finally waking up. The pollution in my neighborhood is so palpable that on some days you can taste it.

Even if you don't believe in Global Warming, at least we can all agree that pollution is killing off thousands of the Earth's species and making living here a nightmare for humans. I have a little friend who is 13 and dying of brain cancer. My daughter is going to fall apart if and when we attend his funeral ~ she has known him since they were 3 years old.

If anyone else has read this far, please recycle, walk or bike, stay home instead of drive around and pollute the planet just to go shopping, stop shopping so much, take care of your neighbors and, above all, teach your kids about not polluting by not polluting yourself.

Sorry, but you invited me onto this soap box :)

YES! YES! YES! It is your responsibility to your children to teach them how to recylce, save energy and our precious resources! We should pass on the earth to future generations better than it was given to us.

Recycling is free (you never get a bill for it anyway, it's included in your garbage & tax bills). Your city should provide you with a bin and if they don't, then call your city council representative to get one, or just leave your recycling out in paper bags. You can teach them sort the recycling and make it a weekly game. The younger the better.

Teach your kids to brush their teeth without the water running. Have them turn out lights when they leave a room (or ask a parent). Turn off the car when you're waiting at the bank teller (if it's not 20 below). Also, bring canvas bags when you go grocery shopping. They are stronger than paper or plastic. Keep a couple in the trunk and you're always ready to shop. You can buy them real cheap (under $1.00) at second hand shops. For your next car, buy a hybrid. They are a great way to save money and they work just fine in the winter weather (I own a Honda Civic Hybrid).

Anyway, I can go on and on... please, start today. Your children are our future and I want them to know how important protecting the earth really is.

Be well!
W.

I try to what I can- light bulbs, turning lights off, unplugging appliances, etc... I also cloth diaper during the day but do an eco-friendly diaper during nap and bedtime. I figure that I should do what I can so that my kids can have a good place to live as they grow up.
Since, I also do daycare, I try to reuse cups so that Im not constantly washing. I try to not waste paper products. I do what I have to for licensing but try to do it in an eco-friendly way.

Thank you for this post. Everyone has great advice. I'm sure there are a ton of websites to go to on what you can do to save energy,recycle and so on....Is there one you go to that you like? If so, please post. I would like to check it ou. Thank you.

I love your question! I have been trying my best to recycle for the last 15 yrs, but until just about a year ago, when we watched the documentary "An inconvenient truth" by Al Gore, I wasn't that much into the whole going green thing. Now using cloth over paper or plastic, teaching the kids about recycling, replacing the light bulbs, buy used clothes from consignments (or even Good Will) for myself and kids.My husband bikes to work (25 miles one way) spring thru fall. This summer, I will be taking the kids on a tour of the sanitation site so they can see why we need to recycle. I have so many questions when we get there to ask about recycling right now and the list keeps getting bigger. Now if I could just get my parents to watch that movie. Also anyone else that is skeptical of the whole global warming. Great question. Hope you get many responses too.

I do believe global warming is a problem and I don't think we are going to turn things around in time, but regardless I see no harm (and plenty of benefits) in living as green as I can.

*cloth diapers and wipes
*family cloth and mama cloth
*almost no paper towels
*use only green cleaning products (baking soda, borax, vinegar, etc.)
*compact fluorescent bulbs throughout the house (and experimenting with LED task lighting)
*Time of Day program for our electricity from Xcel
*drive a Prius and limit driving whenever possible (this summer I am *going to aim for 2 or more car free days a week)
*no AC, we have ceiling fans instead
*oh yeah, our second car is an all electric truck that my DH built from an old Mazda pickup that had a bad engine, it is his daily commuting car
*buy local grown food and organic food whenever feasible
*we will be building a house soon on an lot in a first ring suburb only 2 miles from our work place, it will be a LEED certified house with tons of green features and as energy independent as we can afford
*buy 90% of our clothes, bedding, and other items used
There are lots of other little things we do as well. The areas we need improvement...still drive too much, still too much pckaging on food items, and countless other things that I'm too tired to think of right now.

Fun thread...thanks

M.,

Our family does everything reasonable we can to limit our impact on the environment - recycle, buy used, don't waste, buy high efficiency and green products, etc.

I don't believe there is need to panic, however, about the worst scenario of global warming. I am hoping this is yet another scientific overreaction like there have been so many others. My father in law is wonderful, but an extremist about the environment, and it really affects his quality of life, in my opinion. He only showers 1-2 times per week, doesn't wash clothes until they are filthy, watches / reads lots of "doomsday" environmental information, and I don't think in the end it will make much of a difference on the whole.

S.