Susan
ModernFamily

Even though today is only April 19th I’m posting this data today due to the fact that many localities and organizations hold their Earth Day celebrations on the Saturday closest to Earth Day – so you’re area may be celebrating today!

The first Earth Day (as we know it) was held in 1970, and was founded by Gaylord Nelson, a U.S. Senator.  There is another Earth Day observance, that is organized by the United Nations, and occurs in March at the spring equinox.  Earth Day was founded to provide citizens with a grassroots way to speak out against pollution, abuse of our ecology, and other environmental issues.

The Earth Day Network organizes and coordinates events and current environmentalism movements in recognition of Earth Day.

For more on Earth Day, it’s history, it’s goals, and current Earth Day celebrations, check out the following websites:

• The EPA has an Earth Day specific site, here.  This site is much better, and more informative than the general US government Earth Day site.
• If you live near NY, LA, Chicago, Miami, Denver, DC, Dallas or San Francisco, the Earth Day network and Green Apple festival are putting on simultaneous music concerts in those locations at landmark parks.  Check out www.greenapplemusicfestival.com.
• My favorite is the Nature Conservancy’s Earth Day page!  Click on “Green Tips” and check out their Everyday Environmentalist suggestions.  They also have a Carbon footprint calculator, click on Offset Your CO2 to use this fun (or scary?) tool.  My family runs well below average for our neck of the woods, thanks in large part to having one car and rarely, if ever, flying.  The only time either my husband or I flew in the past 3 years was for a funeral.  We try to take vacations by driving, and exploring our local areas.  The Nature Conservancy is an excellent site to visit anytime, not just for Earth Day!
• Another good site to visit anytime you’re feeling the need to shore up your “green” mindset is Keep America Beautiful, their goals are to beautify communities, prevent litter, and reduce waste.  Excellent goals, how can you not support that??

Check your city and county websites for information on Earth Day celebrations in your area – and if you find that your local government isn’t on the green bandwagon YET – then that’s a good sign that you need to takes action and get involved as quickly as possible!! It starts with one person, really it does.

Susan
ModernFamily

Bamboo is currently being harvested for flooring, fencing, blinds, rugs, clothing, linens, even sewing needles and a variety of other uses.  Unlike some “green” products, bamboo doesn’t seem to be inordinately priced as compared to it’s counterparts in similar categories.  Here are some items that I found that seem stylish, practical, affordable and worth looking into:

For Bamboo “rugs”, which look more like thinly sliced wood, check out CaliBamboo’s rugs.  At 6′ X 8′ and $125 (at the time of this writing), they’re well priced for the size and selection.  Home Depot carries a line of bamboo rugs as well.  Their Anji Mountain rug in a 6′ X 8′ size is $99.  This brand from Home Depot is only available on on-line, but is currently being offered with free shipping.

As a woven/linen material, bamboo is blended at varying levels with cotton to make towels, t-shirts, bedding, etc.  Contrary to what one would assume (or at least I would have), bamboo as a fabric is very soft and is reported to have antibacterial properties.

Organic Bamboo T-Shirts are currently the rage.  My disclaimer on organic clothing, as with organic food is the price.  Organic growers/producers/manufacturers are going to have to work on creating more effective pricing structures, sustainability is only as good as it’s availability to the masses – and if they can’t afford it, they won’t buy it (seems like common sense, eh?).  The best on-line prices I can find are at elemental four.  Elemental four carries a 100% organic cotton t-shirt for $20 (it’s a 70/30 blend).  The drawback is the company’s advertising logo printed on the back of the shirt.  I’ve found many organic companies with the same practices, and that’s alright, brand name companies try to do the same thing.  I’m just not much of a “branded” type of person, so I don’t want elementalfour.com on the back of my t-shirt anymore than I want Gap or Old Navy on my outerwear.  That’s just me.  If you’re like me, for a few bucks more you can obtain plain bamboo t-shirts at ShirtsofBamboo.com (they run from $21 to $24 and are also a 70/30 blend).  In all fairness to each company, elemental four does offer plain tee’s (you just have to purchase them in bulk) and ShirtsofBamboo does carry printed tee’s, but you don’t have to buy the plain ones in bulk.  Word to the wise – bamboo fabric is washable (best on cold/low settings) but you should not use fabric softeners or bleach (of course, YOU’VE already thrown out your bleach since chlorine is bad for the environment, right?…).

Moving on, my current fav is bamboo towels – they’re extremely absorbent and soft!   Cuddledown.com makes a towel that was voted best of the range of available bamboo towels currently on the market.  Their towels are 57% cotton, 43% bamboo and made in Turkey.  A bath towel (standard size, not sheet) runs $25 plus shipping.  If, like me you’re interested in buying locally, try your local Linens ‘n Things.  They carry a line of bamboo towels that is extremely cost-effective (only $12.99 for a full size towel).  Their towels are 65/35 cotton/bamboo blend and are made in India.

Got any suggestions on good products and/or suppliers of bamboo??  Please leave a note and let me know!  Thanks.

Susan
ModernFamily

reducing our impact on the environment one household at a time ™

I really couldn’t do it justice in this humble blog space so please visit their site today for more details.  Be sure to come back to my site and give me your feedback on what you think after you’ve read through their ideas!

Susan
ModernFamily

Wondering what you can do to start saving energy and the environment today?  Visit the World Wildlife Fund [WWF] and their list Climate Change – 12 things You Can Do (to help conserve energy).  It’s surprisingly simple to get started with you look at the list and think about it.  The one item that is a drawback for communities such as mine is the driving less, other than staying home more, this is a tricky one (and many old and traditional American communities are like mine).  Most subdivisions in my city have limited sidewalks and walking space, most subdivisions in my city are miles from the nearest place to buy necessities, and to live and work in the same city here in the Kansas City area is a luxury, not readily accessible or affordable for the average family.  But it’s not an impossible goal, just something for long-term planning… Think community development in our old downtown area/local business revitalization…  More on that later.

Anyhow, baby steps lead to bigger steps which leads to giant steps for mankind!  So I’ll keep on truckin’ (or not if they don’t come up with an affordable hybrid truck!).

Susan
ModernFamily

It is my intent to seek out, review, and log my quest for the good life for myself and my family. My definition of the good life is anything that encompasses at least three of the following four items:

1. Life enhancing and/or enriching. (Is there a difference? Perhaps.).
2. Affordability. I focus on high quality but low cost (think Design within Reach and Mizrahi at Target).
3. Eco-friendly. Is it sustainable or otherwise designed to have a minimal impact on the environment? This item often conflicts with item #2, more on that later.
4. Kid-friendly. Did I mention I’m a mother of four? Besides we should all be concerned about a kid-friendly environment and society, what legacy do we want to leave behind – the careless generation? I think not.

These are my personal goals for creating and sustaining a happy life, and all information provided herein is designed to fit into my personal journey and quest for the good life. I hope you’ll enjoy my travails and comment as appropriate.

NOTE – negative thinking shortens your life by 6 years or more (see Change Your Brain, Change Your Life by Daniel Amen) therefore I will only respond to positive feedback and/or constructive criticism.

Now, on to the good stuff!

Susan
ModernFamily

Fortunately my family lives in a budget friendly community (gas is currently $2.99 a gallon, and milk has gone down to $3.97 a gallon, all prices that would have made me gag two years ago, but that’s how they get you… they raise the prices drastically and then drop them slightly so your brain is duped into thinking “oh wow, gas is less then $3, better fill up!”). But even so, the prices of organic foods and eco-friendly clothing are, in general, quite outrageous. So I’m on a mission to “go green” and stay on budget. Fingers crossed.

Get Rid of a Car
For starters, we’re a family of six and have one car in a community that is NOT conducive to walking. We don’t have a hybrid car, when we bought our car they were still too pricey for our budget and family size, but it is gas friendly – about 26 mpg on the highway.

Change those Bulbs
We’re gradually replacing dying traditional light bulbs with the newer environmentally friendly Compact Flourescent Light Bulbs (CFLs). Things to watch out for with CFLs – they’re pricey upfront, but they make up for it in their longevity and reduction to cost on your electric bill; the light they provide is harsh, and extremely bright; to work with a dimmer, you must buy one designed specifically for dimmers (and the prices go up for this specialty); and most importantly they are HAZARDOUS to the environment if not disposed of properly!

This last item is KEY. To truly live the good life, we must be concerned with all aspects of our migration to alternative energy and sustainable living options. CFLs are made with mercury, that’s right mercury and we all know how much of a toxic hazard that can be! According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), each CFL bulb contains about 5 milligrams of mercury only a fraction of the amount contained in a mercury thermometer. But once converted completely to CFLs, one household would have at least a dozen or more bulbs compared with only one thermometer.

DO NOT throw your CFL bulbs into the trash when you are done with them (depending on where you live it might actually be illegal to throw them in the trash!). Hopefully, you are lucky enough to live in one of the few communities with a CFL specific recycling program. If you do not, you’ll have to look for an alternative. The Environmental Protection Agency is working on this issue, but to my knowledge to date no universal/national solution exists (see www.energystar.gov for more on CFL disposal) . Lobby your local officials for a solution if they’re not already working on one.

Affordable Sustainability?
Price of going green got you down?? Yeah, me too. Take heart. All is not lost. As the “go green” initiative takes root more demand while force manufacturers to create affordable options for the average middle-class family, like you and me!

On my list of things to do, to make our green transition more affordable:

1. Rid our house of all toxic cleaners- this will be a challenge to say the least! I’m a cleaning supplies junkie, which is not to say that I’m a neat freak, because I’m too much of a book and paper hog to effectively implement clutter control. While the paper has reduced somewhat in the past year, as I’ve begun to use old, unnecessary printouts as recycled printing paper for new stuff, the old books and magazines are definitely multiplying exponentially! Hoping to find a counselor that specializes in this type of information-hording disorder… Will keep you posted.
2. Find resources for eco-friendly clothing that doesn’t require me to take out a second mortgage!
3. Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm in my community. The beauty of living in the Midwest is farmers are here by the dozens! More on the Locavore movement tomorrow.
4. Encourage my city and local school district to implement a Green Awareness program. More on that next month.

The list goes on and on, but it’s a start!

Susan
ModernFamily