Green Options

Let’s talk climate further. That will provide insight for add-ons necessary to achieve year-round comfort.

Yurts appear logical for my tropical climate where elements of nature aren’t so severe. Well, surprise, but no worry. Just know that maintaining yurt warmth can be an easier task than keeping cool.

April showers may bring May flowers, but they also bring some very anxious, antsy gardeners! Before you pick up a shovel or plant a single seed, there’s much to be done while you wait for the spring planting season.

Planning your garden during the winter and early spring can help you get a jump start and give you an idea of what you’ll need for the season so you can be prepared.

If you’re starting a garden for the first time, you’ll first want to take stock of the area you have available to garden. Will you have a container garden on your porch or a big veggie patch in your back yard where the lawn used to be? Determining where you’ll garden well in advance will allow you to be ready to dig in as soon as the weather warms up. If you’ll be converting a lawn into garden space, you may need to rent or borrow a tiller and start preparing the soil a few months before the last spring frost. If you’ll be starting seeds indoors, you might want to clear a sunny windowsill or a closet for seedlings until they’re big enough to plant out. So it helps to think ahead and have a plan in mind.

You are invited to attend the Love Wins gala with author and visionary Van Jones, yogi Seane Corn, and activist Julia Butterfly Hill. The event is thrown by the Engage Network, which is a social networking non-profit start-up that helps folks make change by empowering community leaders. To date Engage has launched 35 social change circles in 7 regions training well over 200 leaders.

The gala will be featuring cocktail receptions, organic dinner, music, dancing, and performances.

Event details after the jump:

If you liked Husqvarna’s robotic solar hybrid lawnmower, then you’ll love its winter companion: the I-Shovel. This patent-pending device automatically detects snow accumulation and can clear a 4,000 square foot driveway on a single battery charge.

The idea of a hooded scarf this winter is appealing, and here are a couple designs by Elwood offered by Nimli. For you knitters out there this looks like an adorable pattern project. If you are chilly this winter, warm up with this hooded scarf idea.

There is help at hand for the environmentally-conscious and skin-aware section of society that still can’t quite break free from the belief that a tan is a fashion accessory and a human right …

Temperatures in Jackson, Wyoming, ranged from -6 to 30 during my visit over the weekend. And yet folks were much more likely to be found outside than in. Perhaps that is because the “outside” of Jackson, Wyoming, is so beautiful and offers so much in the way of wonderful outdoor activities, from skiing (alpine, nordic and telemark) to snowboarding to snowshoeing through the magnificent Grand Teton National Park, to name the most obvious. I think the beauty of the scenery and the thrill of the activity keeps us warmer than the temps suggest. This notion occurred to me when I overheard a seemingly non-sensical statement during my trip. As we waitied for a shuttle on one particularly chilly morning, it was -4 at the time, a woman waiting beside me told her friend,

You know, with these temperatures back home, it’d be freezing!

Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”

Winter is long where I live. Long. Snow and cold weather lingers from as early as October to possibly March. A long winter can translate into long days inside which leads to restlessness, more television, boredom, eating and more pounds…for the entire family.  To help make the winter more active and healthy I have begun to employ some new tactics that help everyone watch less television, eat better and get some activity.

Winter sports and activities can be the cure. I don’t like winter and I don’t like cold or snow but it’s where I live and the other months are gorgeous.

I’m trying to embrace the season with a more positive attitude. With a snowy winter there are many healthy active sports that the children and I can enjoy. They get us out of the house and mean physical activity.

A recent survey of drivers found that 2,150 tons of CO2 are generated by UK motorists warming up their cars in the morning, creating the equivalent CO2 emissions of three 747 flights from London to New York each day.

“Everyone is now familiar with simple energy saving tips like switching off a tap, turning off lights and recycling but it seems many people’s green intentions go out the window when they are faced with a cold start in the morning. Our research has shown that an estimated 2,150 tonnes of CO2 and 21,450MW  of electricity will be wasted each cold morning across the UK.” - Lucy Bailey, ibuyeco spokesperson

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Green Moms Carnival, which is hosted on our very own MC Milker’s blog The Not Quite Crunchy Parent. This month’s topic is global warming.

I recently assisted in a historical slide show of our small mountain community, and when this slide came up of the US Forest Service ranger station in 1931, a senior citizen who had lived in our valley since she was a  young girl said, “We used to have winter.”  This statement sent butterflies to my stomach, and it made me reflect on what my own grandparents used to tell me about winter. Their stories of trudging to school in several feet of snow always felt like old exaggerated tall tales, but were they?  What will we tell our grandchildren about winter?

When talking to children about what is happening to our seasons, I feel it is important to use correct terminology.

We really aren’t experiencing just global warming, but we are experiencing climate change.  The term “climate change” includes changes in weather systems as part of its definition, rather than simple “global warming”, which refers to the overall warming of average temperatures.

Lush are famous for their fresh cosmetics, and for producing vegan, organic products for the most sensitive skins. So I was delighted to be reminded that at this time of year, when many of us are feeling pale and fragile, they have a product that gives the deep-cleansing goodness of a spa visit, without the cost, fuss or doubt about what’s being applied to your body.
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