(here we are at howard amon this week...beautiful, but COLD!)
i am finally posting some interesting information, that can be found on many websites -- but one of my favorites is gaiamliving.com! gaiam has also teamed up with the mayo clinic to provide information about healthy living and creating a healthy lifestyle. the site covers a variety of topics, including sleep, exercise, food preparation, purchase of green products, and conservation for REAL people. because most of us live and give and depend on the economy, it's nice to do it in a way that leaves as little impact as possible. i know that conservation feels like a good fit for me, socially, spiritually, and economically.
"when you buy a product made from recovered content, you also create a demand for recycled-content goods. this helps ensure that similar products will continue to be created and won't end up in a landfill. you help "close the loop." for example, if every household in the u.s. replaced just one 175-sheet box of virgin-fiber facial tissues with 100% recycled tissues, we would save 163,000 trees; one roll of toilet paper = 423,900 trees; and one roll of paper towels = 544,000 trees!"
isn't that incredible! i know that we use a lot of paper towels in our household and there are definite steps that can be taken to use recycled paper for the same purposes. by buying less unnecessary "stuff" and focusing on what is most important (like purchasing recycled products that may cost a little more than the run-of-the-mill product), we can feel good about the chemicals and products that we bring in our homes and expose our families to.
so what about reduce, reuse, recycle? jack johnson sings a great tune about this very topic. curious george likes to discuss the importance of recycling in his books and cartoons. kermit the frog and miss piggy give great tips in "ready, set, recycle!" let's review a few lines from this most precious book:
one sunny spring day kermit went over to piggy's house. as he walked up the driveway, he saw something that looked like a huge pile of clothes come out he door.
"piggy, is that you?" kermit called. "what are you doing?"
"it's spring cleaning time, silly," piggy answered. "i'm throwing out all this old stuff i don't need anymore."
"but you wore that dress just last week, " said kermit. "what's wrong with it?"
"this old thing?" replied piggy. "it's out of style."
"what will happen to all these things?" kermit asked.
"why, kermit," piggy replied, "the sanitation workers will take them away." "and then what?" asked kermit.
piggy thought a moment. "i don't know," she finally replied.
"piggy," said kermit, "you and i had better take a trip."
"wonderful!" said piggy excitedly, "to paris perhaps?"
"no," kermit replied. "to the garbage dump. there's something you need to see."
so the two of them climbed into kermit's car and headed off. soon kermit found himself behind a garbage truck.
"see?" said kermit. "you're not the only one who's doing spring cleaning."
"hmmm, " said piggy. "people certainly do put out a lot of trash."
kermit followed the garbage truck all the way to the dump.
"oh, no!" cried piggy, looking at the mountains of garbage. "where did they come from?"
"from you, me, and all the other people who throw out garbage every day," kermit replied sadly.
"this is terrible," piggy groaned. "what can we do?"
"we can learn to reuse things instead of throwing them out," kermit answered.
"you mean i have to keep my old dresses?" piggy asked.
"no," kermit said with a smile. "but maybe you can find a way to reuse them. and what you can't reuse, you can recycle. that's when you make new things out of old ones."
"reuse and recylce? piggy repeated. "sounds like work."
"not once you get used to it," said kermit. "you'll see."
this book holds a special place in my heart because we actually found it on the $.25 table at goodwill! what a find. ms. ellie loves reading this book and it has helped in the teaching process.
on the last page of the book there are four tips for children:
kermit says: be green like me!
1. give your old toys to a younger brother, sister, cousin, or friend.
2. trade toys with your friends.
3. donate your toys and clothes to a favorite charity.
4. take good care of your belongings! it's easier to recycle items that are in good condition.
we are amazed at how much "stuff" we recycle on a weekly basis. our large garbage container is usually 1/4 full when garbage day comes around. we have six containers in our garbage for each material (paper, newspaper, aluminum, plastic, glass, cardboard/plastic bags), which needs to be emptied about every two weeks. holidays present unique challenges: lots of boxes, wrapping paper, etc.! recycling the big cardboard boxes is a good start for every household - instead of placing boxes at the curb on garbage day. we are constantly trying to find ways to do better and it is most amazing to watch children absorb the idea of recycling. our hope is that our children will never know anything different and continue to contribute in their own little ways.
("giggling and trying to catch my breath!")
