Green Options

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As part of the ‘International Earth Day’ week being celebrated here at EcoWorldly, there were a lot of E-Day events and happenings from Delhi, India that I wanted to share with the readers. I wanted to talk about the screening of the documentary ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ at the American Center here in Delhi followed by a dicussion that shifted from Clean Development Mechanism (and the lack thereof) to the pollution in the city and/or the various tree plantation drives that took place in large number of schools here. More than that, I wanted to vividly illustrate the real time ‘eco’tourism being carried out at the Mandakini Magpie Bird Watcher’s Camp in the Himalayas as an excellent tool for biodiversity conservation. But then, there was something that caught my eye this afternoon.

Today is Earth Day, and it’s a great day to remind ourselves why we’re interested in things like renewable fuels and green car technology. It’s also a day to think about the role each of us plays in local and international environmental issues, from air pollution to the increasing cost of food.

Instead of bombarding you with tips on how to save gas or have a car-free day, I think everyone should take a few minutes to contemplate the local context in which these issues are playing out.

Practically speaking, the issues we’re facing can seem to overwhelm individual or even collective action. Oil is moving merrily toward economic depletion, public transportation is often nightmarish, and finding a realistic green car is almost oxymoronic.

Welcome to Earth Day, crafters! Today, in honor of our one and only home, I’m taking a break from the Fabulous Fabrics series to address a serious dilemma.

If you’re like me, you have a decent sized fabric stash sitting around. In my case, it’s quilting cotton. Yards and yards and yards of it. If you’re like me, you also spend a lot of time thinking about how you can help avert ecological crisis. When the two collide, it can produce guilt about consumption of that much cotton - which uses a ton of water to produce - as well as dyes to make it pretty.

Don’t fret! While cotton is a thirsty crop, your stash can start to make up for its ecological footprint while it awaits that perfect project. Scientists here at Crafting A Green World Laboratories have been working diligently to evaluate all the possibilities and develop this list of the Top 5 ways your fabric stash can help save the earth. (We believe these tips are also applicable to other stash materials, such as yarn and possibly ribbon, but our research is still ongoing into these supplies.)

The other day, my daughter asked me what time it was. I gazed up at the sun and told her it was 3:30 pm.  She checked her watch, and then in astonishment asked me how I knew the time.  She had no idea that you could tell time from the sun, even after we had just visited the Sundial Bridge and read the time from its cast shadows.  I was reminded of a project I used to do as part of a unit on solar energy when I was teaching K-8:  Human sundials.

To help children learn how the sun moves across the sky and how shadows are formed, the human sundial project takes a whole day.  First thing in the morning when the sun is up, go outside with your child and trace their shadow with some chalk.  Mark an X where your child is standing so they can return to the same spot.  Switch roles and have your child trace your shadow in a different spot. Then, return every hour and repeat tracing your shadows and recording the time on each shadow. By the end of the day, your child will see how their shadow moves in accordance with the sun’s path, as well as changes shape.

Happy Earth Day to all!

This Earth Day let’s break it all down and see things for what they are.

Our world is in a state of climate chaos as a result of our conveniences. This CleanTechnica blog is an opportunity to see what is being done worldwide in the realm of clean technology (ie. renewable energy, alternative fuels, sustainable products and services etc…) so that we can keep these conveniences.

That’s terrific–I’m glad it is being done, but this Earth Day I’d like to say–F your conveniences!

Here are 22 (since it’s April 22nd) things you can do daily that are inconvenient but we would all benefit greatly if everyone did them. And, to be honest–they’re not that inconvenient. They may in fact be just inconvenient enough that when you do them you get the rewarding feeling that you are doing something to benefit the greater good (i.e. earth, and its many earthlings) besides simply donating to a charity once a year during the holiday season.

I know we live in a country full of citizens more excited that Starbucks has a drive-thru than Toyota has a Prius, and will not be truly satisfied until Starbucks has a video camera mounted a mile from its store so it can read your license plate to anticipate your arrival and have your drink ready for you by the time you get there. Then all you’d have to do is slow down enough for the “barista” to throw your “coffee” into your car as you rolled by with your window down. After all, complete stops are for suckers! I digress…

Those people are out there in large numbers–and they are probably not reading this blog, so it’s up to you to send it to them because these 22 inconveniences can change the world.

An introduction to how Earth Day 1970 got its start, and the framework of environmental policy it left in its wake [courtesy of Project Butterfly - running time is 4:41].

Earth Day is tomorrow and it is bound to be the most celebrated yet! It’s time to celebrate all of the accomplishments the green movement has made and to think about all that is left to do. This year, why not make some new Earth Day traditions to insure that the day will be fun and educational for our crafty kidlets, family and friends?

There are a lot of resources on the web to help you plan your events. Kaboose is a family centered website with a whole section dedicated to celebrating Earth Day with the family. My favorite part, of course, are the crafts. This site has detailed instructions for creative recycled material crafts you can do on Earthday or any day! Some of my favorites projects include the coffee ground fossils, recycled crayon earth ornaments, and toothbrush bracelets.

One of the ways Impressionism revolutionized the art world was by taking the creation of art from the studio to the outdoors. In fact, Impressionists have been called “open air” painters, because they took advantage of the mobility offered by the invention of tubes of paint and went outside for inspiration.  Following this art movement’s love of the outdoors, I was inspired to paint with my children outside in honor of Earth Day. Since Earth Day falls on a school day, we began our project over the weekend.

Due to the fact that it snowed here this weekend, my six-year-old daughter, three-year-old son, and I picked some flowers to inspire our painting rather than draw them in their natural location.  We did set up our paints on the covered deck and worked quickly due to the cold temperatures.  Using chalk to sketch out our ideas, we then covered the canvas in “crazy” colors for the under painting. 

Tomorrow is Earth Day, and here at Eco Child’s Play, we have a full week of posts to celebrate every day being Earth Day. This week, we will be featuring mostly posts about outdoor fun with your child. Children need to experience time outside to appreciate our Earth and witness its beauty firsthand. Look for posts about gardening with your child, [...]

All of us here at EcoLocalizer will be working to keep you apprised of what’s happening across the U.S. on Tuesday, April 22 … Earth Day. But we know we can’t cover it all, which is why we’re asking you to let us know what’s going on in your community.

So if you haven’t seen an event in your area posted yet here on EcoLocalizer, now’s your chance to let your neighborhood, city, county, state and nation know: please use the comments section below to provide the particulars of what you’ll be doing on Earth Day, or what special activities or programs will be taking place in your neck of the woods.

If you think of any major holiday, nearly the first thing that pops into your head is food. Okay, well, maybe right after “Christmas is in a week?! I haven’t gotten anything done yet!” Then, it’s all about food. Or, at least it is for me.

So, in the tradition of your Thanksgiving table, holiday feast and Easter eggs … why not an Earth Dinner? It’s simple, just make your meal on Earth Day a table [...]