Green Options

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One year, my father got my daughter a subscription to Your Big Backyard, published by the National Wildlife Federation. Unfortunately, this was at the height of her girly princess stage, and she barely gave the magazine any notice. The other day she found an old copy in the car, and she was very interested in it. Perhaps this newfound interest is from her ability to read or perhaps it is simply maturity, but she was excited to find a recipe in Your Big Backyard. She read me the entire recipe in the car, and Eco Dad made it on the weekend. It was very good corn chowder and easy to make. As always, we used organically grown ingredients.
Organic, Vegetarian Corn Chowder
Melt in a medium saucepan:

2 Tablespoons butter (use oil for a vegan version)

Add and cook until softened (about five minutes)

1 chopped large onion
1 chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

Add and cook for another five minutes:

4 cups fresh or frozen corn
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

Streets are for People sponsored this anti-car petition on an actual car in Ontario.

We the undersigned do hereby demand that not one more dollar go to promote, support, or perpetuate car culture. We want bike lanes, public transit and a train system. We want our public space back. We want local food, clean air, sustainable industry, a liveable future for our children, and an end to oil

[…]

Green, Eco-Toys
I’ve just discovered a toy company I adore: HaPe Toys. This company features eco-friendly safe toys that “support children throughout every stage of development, starting at a very young age to help nurture and develop their natural abilities.” HaPe carries brands such as Quadrilla, Anamalz, and Woody Click, as well as Bamboo Collection. My family recently acquired Bamboo Collection’s Contina.
Bamboo Blocks
Contina blocks are similar to Kapla blocks, in that they are more like planks than standard unit blocks; however, Contina blocks are made from sustainable bamboo. These planks come in eight different natural colored finishes and can be combined to build many structures, given that you get 100 blocks in a set. You can stack them or line them up, and I am not sure if Eco Dad or my children had more fun when we first opened our Contina blocks.

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/x1W2LkU9tmk” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]

Mother’s Day began when social activist and poet Julia Ward Howe wrote the original Mother’s Day Proclamation after the Civil War in 1870.

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

This day began as a call to action, and it is only fitting this Sunday on Mother’s Day families take action on climate change and let their voices be heard.  1Sky is asking mothers and their children to create images to send to Congress urging them to remember the implications of climate change on the next generation.  The images will be compiled and be taken to DC to be displayed and given to Congress.

The US Government’s Drug War has spurred many social and environmental consequences throughout the world. Widespread aerial herbicide spraying aimed at eradication has caused environmental damage from Central America to Central Asia. Recently, I learned you can add the sale of child brides in Afghanistan to the list of social ills caused by the Drug War.

A bumper crop of Afghan opium was produced in 2007, which is expected to be repeated in 2008. Despite these record poppy crops, farmers are deeply in debt. The average Afghan poppy grower’s per capita income is about $300, and farmers have to borrow money for seeds, fertilizer, food, and basic necessities from traffickers. The farmers are unable to pay their debts when their crops are eradicated, or they are pressured by local governments and westerners to stop growing. Westerners don’t keep promises to provide free seeds for substitute crops, and creditors demand child wives in payment for debts. The growers’ daughters are called “opium flowers“, and moneylenders seek them out in case of crop failure or family emergency.

My daughter has contracted pink eye (conjuctivitis) three times this school year! This highly contagious infection is common amongst children, and it can be caused by bacteria, viruses, allergies, or substances such as pet dander. Whatever the cause, children are not allowed at school with a bright pink eye.

The first time my daughter contracted pink eye, it was clear she had gotten the infection from her best friend. I read extensively online about the infection, and I decided it would go away on its own, despite cautious warnings on websites to take your child to the doctor. I did not want her receiving antibiotics, and I vaguely remember using homeopathy when I contracted pink eye in college. After several days of pink eye misery, I discovered homeopathic Similasan Pink Eye Relief Drops.

The four dams on the Klamath River in far Northern California are under relicensing, something that only occurs every 50 years. The dams are owned by billionaire Warren Buffett, who purchased Pacificorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, three years ago. Many Californians were hopeful this purchase would mean the end to the dams, but their concerns for the salmon fell on deaf ears. Once again, Warren Buffett rebuffed salmon advocates.

On Saturday, May 3, 2008, American Indian tribes and salmon fisherman failed to gain a private audience with Buffett and were ignored at the Berkshire Hathaway Inc. meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. Protesters shouted, “Un-dam the Klamath! Bring the salmon home!“, while shareholders enjoyed complimentary cocktails Friday night. For two years, an unprecedented alliance of tribes, businesses, conservation groups and commercial/recreational fishermen has tried to reach an agreement with Buffett for dam removal. Buffett said that his company would not decide the fate of the Klamath dams, but Berkshire will defer to regulators in California and Oregon. Ironically, dam removal is cheaper than building the fish ladders regulators are recommending.

Aussie Klara Marosszek has developed a commercially viable hemp building material. Fire and pest resistant hemp concrete is made by mixing hemp hurds (the pithy core of the stem), lime-based binder, water and a little sand. This is not a new technique, as century old bridges in France were made from hemp concrete.

Via: Treehugger
Related posts on hemp and marijuana:[…]

US Statistics on Breastfeeding
Astonishingly, 77 percent of mothers in the US breastfeed their newborn babies. I would have suspected the number was far lower, due to the intolerance of public breastfeeding that still exists in some parts of the country, and I am partially correct. 77 percent of mothers breastfed their babies in the first month of life, according to a survey results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC). This is up from 60 percent in 1994. “The report shows that the initiation of breast-feeding is at an all-time high,” said Karen Hunter of the CDC.

Breastfeeding rates remain unchanged for children six months of age. According to the New York Times:

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommend that mothers breast-feed exclusively for the first six months of their child’s life and continue breast-feeding with baby food as a supplement until at least the child’s first birthday.

The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Family Physicians also recommend six months of exclusive breast-feeding but suggest supplemented breast-feeding until the child is at least 2.

Everything is going green these days, even Barbie (NOT!).  Hasbro is introducing the first world edition of its classic board game Monopoly featuring renewable energy.  Wind energy and solar energy will replace the utilities of water works and the electric company. Phil Jackson, Group Executive, Hasbro Games stated,  “In a nod to the efforts of countries worldwide to increase the effectiveness and availability of renewable energy sources, we decided to feature Solar […]