Wendy Gordon, General Manager, National Geographic's TheGreenGuide.com

It's back to school time, which brings the return of those nasty colds that travel from kid to kid through the entire class. Did you know the average American uses 50 pounds of tissue paper per year? That equals a lot of felled trees if every pound comes from virgin pulp.

That fact drove me to start buying recycled-content paper products. I've learned with time to look for the highest content of "post-consumer waste," or PCW:

Marcal products are entirely recycled, and although they contain a relatively low level of PCW content, that brand is the one most commonly found in conventional grocery and drug stores.

Natural food stores will provide you with a greater selection of products with a higher PCW content, offering brands like Seventh Generation, Earth First, and -- at Whole Foods only -- 365.

If you're really dedicated to the cause, online retailer Green Earth Office Supply sells a Finnish brand of toilet paper called Heron's, which is 100 percent PCW and even comes without the pesky, albeit recyclable, cardboard roll.

For a complete list of recycled-content (and chlorine-free) paper products, you can download thegreenguide.com's Paper Products Smart Shopper's Card.

Tiffany Washko, NatureMoms.com
The 3Rs of environmentalism are Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Recycle usually gets the most attention in the media but Reusing is my personal favorite. Why put all your energies into recycling your garbage when you can just create less garbage in the first place?

Reuse plastic bags from the grocery store or buy canvas bags to use instead of plastic ones. Use real plates, cups, and utensils instead of plastic. Reusables can be very fashionable and fun. Let me tell you about some of my favorite reusable items:

The Basura Bag: This grocery bag is a favorite. Basura bags are handmade using colorful recycled juice containers to form cool, one-of-a-kind styles. The totes are made in the Philippines by a women's cooperative, using used juice containers purchased through a network of local school children. Indestructible and non-biodegradable by nature, foil juice packs clog landfills, fields and streets throughout the Philippines. Using clever designs that combine the material's strength and brilliant colors, the co-op helps keep the environment clean via this very cool method of recycling.

The Laptop Lunch Box: The Laptop Lunch Bento Box is a lead-free tested lunch kit that enables parents to pack wholesome, low-waste meals for their kids. It uses a very cool bento box inspired setup that includes a snap shut tray housing 5 colorful FDA-approved microwave safe food containers and stainless steel utensils. It also includes an educational and comprehensive "User's Guide," with healthy lunch recipes and tips for reducing waste.

The Klean Kanteen Water Bottle: Klean Kanteen is a reusable, risk-free stainless steel container that does not leach toxins into its contents. Recent studies link toxins such as Bisphenol A (BPA) to breast cancers and reproductive mutations. Plastics leach carcinogens including BPA during regular use, exposure to heat and especially after cleaning. From manufacturing to use and disposal, plastics pollute our health and environment. If you want a stainless tell cup for your little one you might try a stainless steel sippy cup from Foogo.

The Wrap-N-Mat: Simply fold around sandwiches, veggie sticks, cookies and other goodies, fold the cotton wrapper closed, secure with the Velcro closure, and they're ready to go. To top it off, these smart reusable sandwich wrappers unfold into placemats! The FDA approved food grade PEVA lining easily wipes clean after every use and is certified by the manufacturer to be totally lead-free. They're durable and will give you hundreds and hundreds of reuses.

All products mentioned above can be purchased at Reusable Bags.

Reusing items and giving them another life is a great way to avoid landfill waste and the fact that so many stylish reusables are on the market today makes it even easier for the green mom to make a commitment to environmentally conscious living.

Charlotte Hudson
Recently, at Carter's nine month appointment, we got the "okay" to introduce him to fish -- not shellfish, which can be highly allergenic, but fish with fins. I am very excited about this because I have a background in marine biology and have worked on protecting the oceans for the better part of my career. But now that the door has been opened to eating seafood, I need to find out what fish is safe for my son to eat.

I grew up eating tuna fish sandwiches, but today, tuna is known to be high in mercury and the FDA has warnings indicating that pregnant women and small children should not eat too much of it. You can find out more information at this website, which is hosted by the FDA and EPA. I also found a more user-friendly site for information: KidSafeSeafood.org.

While I know I cannot protect Carter from everything, I feel that if I can reduce the things I know might be harmful during the years when he is rapidly growing and developing, at least he will be starting from a cleaner slate when he does choose to eat the things that are less good for him!

Michelle Bexelius, co-founder of GreenThisLife.com
This year we did things a little differently for my younger son’s birthday. I decided that I am no longer going to wrap all the presents and then throw all that paper away. It seemed like such a waste, and for what? Do they really care what the packaging looks like? I thought to myself, no, they usually just tear into the actual gift.

So, I got the largest basket in my house, a wide laundry basket I bought at Cost Plus and filled it with his unwrapped presents. I placed a very colorful blanket on top (one with vibrant squares that a friend made for him when he was a baby) and presented it to him as his birthday basket surprise. He was thrilled, and so was I not to waste all the paper and time wrapping it.

I am going to do the same thing for the holidays later this year. Everyone will have their own basket with a colorful blanket on top. I suppose if you don’t have a blanket that suits this purpose, you could have your kids decorate an old sheet with tie-dye and paint.

As for going to birthday parties, our family traditionally has always brought books. They are treasured for years and years and can be passed on. We also request them at our boys’ parties, rather than plastic toys that usually contain harmful chemicals, like PVC. You could also opt for toys made from sustainable wood, art supplies, or gift certificates for museums, movies and music. As they get older there are many things we can do to help our planet, like donate to causes close to their hearts such as animal conservation and restoring the rainforest.

But for now, they still like to open something.

Wendy Gordon, General Manager, National Geographic's TheGreenGuide.com

With severe to extreme drought conditions affecting parts of the U.S. and Australia, as well as elsewhere, I for one am eager to find ways to reduce my water footprint, not just my carbon footprint.

There are numerous ways to save water, but here's one simple that hadn't occurred to me until I read it in the Green Guide: Switch from liquid detergents to powders. Laundry liquids are mostly water (up to 80 percent). While the double and triple compact concentrates reduce that amount, it still costs energy and packaging to bring this water to the consumer.

So we can all save three ways by using powder detergents to wash clothes. The same holds for dishwashing detergents, when there's a choice, choose dry powders. For other water saving tips, check out thegreenguide.com.

Mary Isakson
Kitchen worms may sound like the latest urban plague; perhaps even the basis for a horror movie. Actually, it's just that the composting movement has come indoors.

These days it's easy to find inexpensive home composting kits with a plastic bin, a supply of worms, and simple instructions for providing a friendly home for those worms. In exchange for your effort, you are rewarded with composting service, provided by reliable workers (the worms!). The process is exciting for young children to participate in; it provides a tangible education in the natural world and a practical benefit in the form of compost for your houseplants, window boxes, or garden. (In New York City, the Lower East Side Ecology center offers workshops to get you started.)

Perhaps you are not quite open (yet?) to welcoming a pound of red wigglers into your home. There are other ways to benefit from composting:

Some community gardens and recycling centers accept contributions of household scraps; some organizations sell local compost -- find out if such organizations exist in your area. In New York City where I live, for example, there's a map of local composting services, available at GreenApplemap.org. To see if similar resources exist in your area, check out GreenMap.org, the website of Green Map System. Green Map is an international organization promoting development of local maps illustrating environmentally sustainable services; they provide an exciting opportunity for individuals or groups (families or schools included!) to promote a green theme of their choice in their local community.

Elizabeth Rogers, co-writer of The Green Book, The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet, One Simple Step at a Time
Last week, to celebrate my 42nd birthday, I did the "green mom, back-to-basics, connect-with-nature, be-at-peace-with-my-laugh-lines" trek to beautiful Joshua Tree, with three of my girlfriends and their kids.

The thing about Joshua Tree on the cusp of summer is that it is close to 100 degrees. But I was prepared for the heat -- and prepared to keep my birthday group prepared (and hydrated) -- with reusable water bottles for each one. No piles of sparkletts minis were going to fill our rooms -- there was just no way I was going to make needless waste on the day of my birth.

The first day was a scorcher -- climbing at 7:30 am, the mercury moved past 82. We were well armed: hats, sunscreen and of course our trusty water bottles. But then my son started complaining that his bottle was leaking -- which in fact it was -- leaving him atop a rock panting from thirst.

Here was the problem: we had two days left and we were down a water bottle. To most people, this would be an easily solved dilemma: go buy a few packaged water bottles from the canteen and call it a day. But for me, well aware that we Americans throw away 60 million plastic water bottles per day, I had a hard time doing this. A really hard time. But I had to get over it -- and for that weekend, I shamelessly contributed to this shocking number, knowing full well that you can't stop drinking water in the desert.

The next plastic challenge during my birthday weekend came when one of my girlfriends presented the kids with gleaming new, PLASTIC, battery-operated water guns...

Wendy Gordon, General Manager, National Geographic's TheGreenGuide.com

A new friend (whose wife just had a baby) was recently telling me about all the things they were doing to keep environmental contaminants out of their home. He asked me if I knew which houseplants were most effective at reducing indoor air pollutants. I didn't know the answer off-hand but was curious to find out.

I came upon a wonderful book by Dr. B.C. Wolverton, How to Grow Fresh Air. What I learned is, while plants can't cure major indoor pollution problems on their own, as noted in a recent Tip of the Week, they are an ideal antidote to the minor contamination introduced into our indoor environments through everyday household products and building materials.

Plants produce oxygen, add precious moisture and remove toxins from the air through the tiny openings in their leaves. In fact, as few as 15 houseplants in an average-size home can offer a significant reduction in the number of indoor contaminants.

This is not just folklore. In the 70s, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, faced with the task of creating a life-support system for planned moon bases, began extensive studies on a fundamental question -- just how does the earth produce and sustain clean air? The answer of course is through the living processes of plants. Now, 30-plus years later, we know a great deal about the cleansing power of house plants. And powerful they are. Just consider the indoor air quality problems many commonly available and beautiful houseplants can help to remedy:

Formaldehyde: The Boston fern (Nephrolepi exalta "Bostoniensis"), Florist's mums (Chrysanthemum morifolium), the Gerbera daisy (Gerbera jamesonii) and the Dwarf date palm (Phoenix roebelenii) are all highly effective at reducing indoor levels of formaldehyde, a contaminant present in many household items (including particleboard, carpet backings, some grocery bags, facial tissues, paper towels and permanent-press clothing) and released by gas stoves.

Toluene/Xylene: Add an Areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus lutescens), the Moth orchid (Phalenopsis) and the Dwarf date palm to your indoor greenery, all of which are effective at removing xylene and toluene, harmful volatile organic chemicals which can be emitted from gasoline, adhesives, ceiling tiles, computer screens, paints, inks used in photocopiers, stains and varnishes, and upholstery among other common household products and materials.

And it's not just our material things. Our breath contains bioeffluents -- such as ethyl alcohol, acetone, methyl alcohol and ethyl acetate -- that also contribute to poor indoor air quality, particularly in a crowded classroom. The beautiful peace lily is remarkably effective at addressing these problems.

Other hardworking and beautiful indoor plants include bamboo palm (Chamaedorea), Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema), English Ivy (Hedera helix), the indoor dracaenas (Dracaena "Janet Craig," D. marginata, D. massangeana and D. warnekii), and the snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata laurentii).

When choosing houseplants, remember that many (including some of those above) can be toxic if ingested, so be extra careful if you have young children or pets in your home. Staff at the local garden center should be able to advise you on nontoxic choices; contact your local poison-control center for guidance (the phone number is listed in the front of your telephone book).

For a beautiful and authoritative reference to the cleansing power of particular houseplants, order How to Grow Fresh Air (Penguin Books, 1996, $18) from our online book store. And get more tips and advice on how to reduce or eliminate indoor air pollutants in your home at thegreen.guide.com.

Kimberly Danek Pinkson, Founder of the EcoMom Alliance

While you're enjoying the last days of summer, the new school year looms ahead and the pressure to purchase adds to what is often an already a stressful time for many kids and parents. It can also be an opportunity to start fresh. So while you and your littles head off to shop, keep in mind the life cycle of your purchases: their manufacturing may have dumped toxic pesticides and other chemicals into the environment and into the bodies of exploited workers and their families.

Good news is that there are lots of eco-friendly options that can make back to school all the way cool (well, other than the fact that you still have to get everyone up and out every morning!).

Lunchbox options: PVC, or polyvinyl chloride (a.k.a vinyl), can be found in most shoes, boots, lunch boxes and backpacks. It is known to lodge in the fatty tissue of animals and humans and can cause health problems such as cancer, organ damage and immune suppression. It is one of the most persistent and toxic of all man made chemicals. So opt for old-fashioned stainless steel lunch boxes instead. I just found a great Curious George one for my nephew. I also like Mimi the Sardine Lunch Bags, and the faux-plastic Laptop Lunches bento style boxes -- which are actually made of corn starch.

Choose brown, wax-paper bags instead of plastic baggies to avoid adding to our landfills and leaching phthalates into your child's food. Earthpak.com has great recycled rubber back packs. Sigg.com and KleanKanteen.com offer healthy water bottle alternatives to the over 3 million plastic bottles that end up in landfills every day in the United States.

Buy organic cotton clothing. Cotton production accounts for a large percentage of the pesticide contamination of our waterways and food chain. Target has started carrying some organic options, and Patagonia and Garden Kids Clothing are other great options.

Buy recycled paper, biodegradable pens and binders at Green Earth Office Supply or EcoProducts.com.

You've now saved fossil fuels, your child's health and your own guilt. How to teach Johnny that enough is enough... well, that's another story.

My youngest was considering what he wanted to do the summer between his junior and senior years in high school. He’d thought he’d stay home, get a job and play lacrosse, in the hopes that this might put him in a position to be recruited for a college team. It seemed he was all set, but then he and a couple of friends started thinking about something altogether different: traveling far from home and volunteering.

Their imaginations took them to the farthest points on the planet, and involved some fairly outlandish job ideas, so with a bit of gentle steering from mom, they began to explore what their real options might be. My husband and I were ok with their traveling to a far away country as long as it was a relatively stable one (they were only 17), and as long as the organization they worked for was legitimate.

My son and his friends studied volunteer programs in Asia, Africa and the Americas, primarily through internet searches and word of mouth. At the same time, we asked a lot of friends with older kids and also a number of teachers about programs they’d researched and what they knew about them. The kids then contacted the ones they were most interested in. They settled on an agency that ran an orphanage in Llasa, Tibet and were in need of teachers.

The program they chose was geared for college kids and adults, so it did little to coddle the volunteers -- or his anxious parents. There were no pretty brochures or thick packets of forms sent to us to prepare them for the trip, just what the organization provided on their web site.

Mary Isakson
Environmentally speaking: What should you do? What is most important, most efficient, and most effective?

Good questions, but in a way, insufficient. To develop a real commitment to environmental issues, you also need to ask: What do you enjoy?

I believe a mom’s attitude toward her own participation in environmental community service impacts her children. I encourage my daughters to participate in community service, and explain to them that it can be an opportunity to pursue something you enjoy. While we all have an obligation to contribute to society, it ought not be a burden and should not be a gift given grudgingly. Helping my daughters find what is right for them is a work in progress. In the meanwhile, I hope that setting an example may speak louder than lectures.

One of the opportunities for service that I have been lucky enough to find is at TheLotusGarden.org. For almost ten years I have had the privilege of tending a plot at the garden and helping to host community events, including field trips by my younger daughter’s preschool (this daughter will soon be entering sixth grade, but my trips with the preschool continue to be an annual event). This allows me to share my joy in gardening with an enthusiastic audience, and to impart increased knowledge of and appreciation for nature in the process.

The children love to see our lush "secret garden," delight in discovering the paths, the goldfish, the variety of plants and flowers. They enjoy participating in some gardening or a garden related craft project.

The entire visit takes under two hours, and the preparation for it is also fairly minimal. For me the morning is exhausting and satisfying; filled with the contagious enthusiasm of young children and a reminder of the focused attention they require. I love the time with them, and the peace when they depart, their piping voices quietly fading in the distance after the garden gate swings shut. It is always a pleasure for me to recognize one of these youngsters leading his or her family back for a visit on a subsequent Sunday.

Michelle Bexelius, co-founder of GreenThisLife.com

Going to school is the most exciting thing to do as the new kid on the block. There are so many new things to discover and learn, but I’ve noticed that so many things can be improved to strengthen their experience.

The first thing I noticed as a parent of a kindergartener touring schools is the lack of fresh air and circulation in the classrooms. There are enough germs going on between buddies. Wouldn't it be nice to open the windows or better yet, use an air filter to also rid the place from bacteria and dust? Who wants to bring that home anyway?

Ventilation is especially important in the presence of art materials such as glues and paints as the little guys create their masterpieces. Air filters don't cost much these days and the filters really only need to be replaced every 3-5 years.

Each year school supplies get replenished after hours of use, spilling, knocking over, etc., but one thing I would like to see is schools starting to use more non-toxic ingredients for the little hands that touch them. Glues and crayons can be made without animal by-products and lead. Soy wax crayons and safe glues are a phenomenal alternative.

Here's a list of some things you can do to make your school green and healthy:

• Ask the grounds crew to use natural herbicides and pesticides.


• Create paper, plastic, and aluminum recycling centers near waste bins.


• Request that the school copy center and administrative offices use 100% recycled paper.


• Work with the administration and food services departments to eliminate Styrofoam cups and plastic utensils, and to use non toxic cleaning products.


• Place air filters in the classrooms


• Suggest that your school compost leftovers for a school or community garden. If your child's school doesn't have a garden, organize an effort to create one.


• Encourage the school to stock up on recycled paper goods: toilet paper, napkins, and paper towels


• Pack your child's school supplies box with soy wax crayons (a host of regular crayons have lead in them)


• Make sure your child's school is aware of environmentally safe paints for buildings


• Suggest wax paper bags for home lunches brought to school

For more green back-to-school ideas, check out GreenThisLife.com.

Charlotte Hudson
When I found out that I was pregnant, I knew that I was going to have to make a large investment in all the gear you need for bringing a small bundle home from the hospital. What I didn't expect, however, was how much of it was made of plastic.

I don't have anything against plastic, but the sheer volume of it was overwhelming -- from the pack n' play to the stroller, from the high chair to the baby plates and spoons... not to mention the toys. While I didn't find alternatives for some of the bigger items, I did try to change some small things. (And if any of you out there found other alternatives, I would love to hear about them!)

At least until my son is old enough to start feeding himself, I have avoided using plastic bowls and plates to warm his food and starting using glass instead. Especially if you are using the microwave (yes, I admit it!), I found great little glass dishes with lids at Kmart. Although there is still some debate about what concentrations of chemicals leach into food from plastics at high temperatures, for me, it was worth $20 in glass bowls to not have to think about it.

The other small change has been introducing toys that aren't plastic. There is something about the old wooden toys that I used to play with that I miss. My son loves the remote control and our cell phones, so yes, he does have his share of shiny plastic with songs and lights, but I recently found a good source of wooden toys at FatBrainToys.com. They carry brands like Melissa & Doug and Haba that are all wood.

I don't think plastic toys are unsafe or that there is really anything wrong with them, but I chalk up this need for more natural toys as a way to introduce my son to different textures and let his brain do a little more creative thinking.

Although, plastic or not, I do admit that the best toy out there is an empty water bottle filled with some dried beans or rice -- and, at least the beans are natural!

Wendy Gordon, General Manager, National Geographic's TheGreenGuide.com

There's no place I'd rather be in July than our garden.

I feel pretty lucky to have this garden, all 40 x 30 square feet of it, which is just a couple dozen yards from a 100+ year-old farmhouse we have in the western Catskills. It produces an abundance of vegetables from early June through late September. There's no evidence proving that locally grown is better for you, or "more nutritionally complete," but no group of scientists are needed to inform me that my fresh-from-the-garden vegetables taste a whole lot better than those that have shipped thousands of miles from farm to fork.

I also like that I haul my dinner greens to the kitchen myself -- no car, not even a bag. According to Joan Gussow, Columbia University nutritionist, shipping a strawberry from California to New York requires 435 calories of fossil fuel but provides the eater with only 5 calories of nutrition.

Gardening is something my husband and I enjoy. The kids seem to always disappear when it's time to plant, mulch, or weed. But they are always at the ready when harvest time comes around, which starts early in our garden --when perennials, including rhubarb and asparagus, come bursting through the cool soil at the same time we're planting the first early season peas, beans and lettuce seeds -- and runs pretty much straight through October.

Our approach to gardening is a bit haphazard, but we have gotten better at picking seeds that are right for our region. Most catalogs offer a zone chart and other keys; Seeds of Change has the best charts among the catalogs we get, showing how much sun and water certain plants need and in which zone they are best suited.

Then there is the matter of which seeds to choose. We're not purists about it, but we do try to buy organic seeds whenever there is an option. Conventional seeds might have been harvested from chemically grown plants, and they also may have been treated with insecticides or fungicides prior to sale. We also try heirloom varieties that are from our region whenever we come across them. Even the major seed catalogs, such as Burbee, offer a number of organic and heirloom varieties.

You don't need a big yard or even a yard to plant a garden. A small potted garden on a terrace or sunny apartment window sill can provide a year round bounty. As part of my work on The Green Guide, we've come up with lots of tips on starting a vegetable garden, including a list of companies offering organic and heirloom seeds.

Tiffany Washko, NatureMoms.com
For many green moms and dads the decision about how to diaper their baby does not come so easy. We all know disposable diapers are bad with a capital "B," but the other options just seem so archaic and inconvenient.

But it's not as bad as you may think. There are some pretty appealing diapering alternatives nowadays. If you want to lighten your environmental footprint by avoiding those landfill-filling, disposable diapers, then two options you might consider are cloth diapers or gDiapers.

Cloth Diapers
When many parents think of cloth diapers they still think of those thick, towel like diapers (the ones we now use as burp rags), diaper pins, and the plastic vinyl pants that go on top. Well, the cloth diapers you find today are far cry from that these days.

Bum Genius cloth diapers by Cotton Babies are designed to make cloth diapering easy for every-day people -- like your babysitter, grandparents and even dad. Using a BumGenius cloth diaper is just like using a disposable, but you don’t throw it away! Just wash it and they’re ready to go again. They come in a variety of beautiful colors like Blossom Pink and Grasshopper Green.

They are pocket diapers, which allows you to use the type of insert that meets your absorbency needs (although the included microfiber insert should be sufficient). Bum Genius also offers an all-in-one diaper, which is a one-piece diaper that most closely resembles a disposable. Plus, Bum Genius diapers have neat stretchy tabs that make diapering even the most wiggly babies a breeze.

The best thing about these diapers by far is that they are one-size-fits-most. They will fit babies between 6 and 35 pounds, so there's no need to buy a bunch of diapers in different sizes. Ingenious!

If you want to go a step further you can try a cloth diaper made from sustainable materials, such as organic cotton or even bamboo...

Michelle Bexelius, co-founder of GreenThisLife.com
Having a baby can be exciting and overwhelming at the same time. There is so much to learn about bringing a newborn into the world, not to mention such questions as what crib to buy, what mattress, what bottles, clothes, toys, etc. We all want to make their environment safe, welcoming and healthy.

Today I went to a home where a woman was preparing for her son’s arrival and had some questions about setting up his nursery. She had lots of questions and was concerned with creating a healthy yet stylish environment for her little guy. Babies spend 60% of their lives sleeping their first year, so it’s important to make sure their space is set up so they have a chance to grow up without toxins. Here are a few practical yet important things I told her about that can ensure the safety of baby’s space. It’s a place to start.

• To start, there are several mattresses on the market that are non-toxic, don’t contain harmful fire retardants, are breathable, and resist dust mites, mold and mildew, so her baby can have a truly healthy night’s rest.
• Once you have the right mattress, you need a crib that is made from solid wood with a non-toxic finish. Furniture finishes are often laden with toxic glues and stains, not to mention lead in some of the older models. Babies often teeth on the railings of the cribs when they are older, and the glues off-gas while they are sleeping.
• The next important thing: Make sure that almost everything that touches his skin is free from dyes and chemicals. This includes sleepwear and clothing, sheets and blankets. There are many types of sleepwear that contain fire retardants. Fire retardants are known carcinogens that are harmful to your baby’s health.
• To truly make your baby’s space as healthy as it can be, I suggest getting an air filter. Believe it or not, the air we breathe in our homes is often far more polluted than it is outside in a congested city. Bacteria, mold, dust mites and pollen are prevalent in most homes and a good quality air filter can remove them, so your immune system can function properly.

Looking to set up an environmentally healthy nursery. Whether you choose dark green or light green, you can protect the environment and your baby’s health with practical solutions that accommodate your needs and your style. To find out more about eco-nurseries go to www.greenthislife.com or email us at info@greenthislife.com.

Mary Isakson
A garden is one of life’s dirty miracles. I have fond memories of my father’s small-scale composting of coffee grounds and vegetable peelings in our back yard. I picture the climbing green bean vines, and recall with fondness the tiny carrots I grew in my own small plot. I pulled them up early and was disappointed with the scrawny little orange carrots covered with hair-like roots; carrots that would scrape down to the size of splinters when cleaned. But I wonder: Would I ever have recalled full-grown carrots so clearly or so fondly? The enthusiasm that led me to yank them up early infuses my memory of those tiny carrots with warmth that no full-grown vegetables have ever invoked in me.

It was with hope of giving my urban daughters a taste of that enthusiasm, a tangible connection to the earth, that I joined a community garden. To be honest, their level of participation in gardening has been less than I expected when I joined. But in the end, it has been a great experience for them and for me. They have picked cherries, strawberries, peaches, and currants that grow in the garden and are lucky enough to take for granted this access to truly fresh fruit. They have spent many summer evenings at the garden, sometimes offering help in my plot, more often mucking about with friends in the dirt, chopping compost, catching fireflies, and hiding mysterious objects in my plot.

My tiny carrots were disappointing; at the time it felt as if my experiment with gardening was a failure. With their memory, though, has grown recognition of a connection forged. This connection informed my decision to garden as an adult, and to share the joy of a garden with my daughters. If nothing else, I believe that this will foster their understanding that in fact the earth came first, and is underneath (and the foundation of) those concrete sidewalks they tread every day.

Laurie Benenson
I've slowly come to the realization that I've accumulated enough old cables, wires, plugs, and various digital gadgets to start a Radio Shack.

The only problem is, they're all obsolete. Take this charger, for example -- from a two-generations-ago cell phone. And what about this dear old Palm Pilot? We sure had some good times together. But now it's time to throw you away, old pal. You've been usurped by my Blackberry. Which will no doubt go on to be replaced by whatever is the next big thing in all-things-to-all-people technology. So the question is: how do I get rid of all this stuff?

Ideally, there should be a special trash container dedicated to recycling electronic waste, which would be emptied along with the other three categories of cans that we have: "regular" garbage, organic waste like grass and leaves, and recyclables like paper, plastic, glass and tin. Those three categories were devised long before the incredible glut of electronic gadgetry that we now have to contend with. So what about adding a fourth category?

It's time to recognize the realities: electronic disposal is a regular part of daily life. Until our municipalities get around to offering a house-to-house service, though, there is an excellent website you can consult to find out the nearest e-waste recycling center...

Kimberly Danek Pinkson, Founder of the EcoMom Alliance

The very first thing I ever bought my son was a cradle. I was rather superstitious and not planning to baby shop until I was at least six months pregnant, but as I left Whole Foods and drove by a second hand store with baby furniture in the window, I found myself pulling over and going in. I think it was the hormones driving because before that moment, I had never shopped in a thrift store, unless you count some of L.A.’s vintage boutiques as "thrift stores," but that’s a whole other snobby, semantic story.

Anyway, the first thing I saw was this cradle. Still in its box. Never opened. FSC certified, all natural wood. I felt a little guilty about the impulse buy, but it came home with me. And fittingly, thus began my shopping adventures as a green mom.

Turns out I had nothing to feel guilty about because six years later, I still have that cradle and just thinking about it makes me feel happy again. Plus, two of my nephews, as well as the babies of three dear friends, have all come to use it. With every “recycle” I put on new bedding and tie on new ribbons. It feels good to pass on the memories of my newborn son swaddled within, and it feels good to know that my purchase is being reused over and over. My point here is that going green is easier than you may think -- and in fact, you may already be making some green choices...

Janet Freisen Rienstra

As a busy and active mom, it is very important for me to make sure that my family and I live a healthy and well balanced life, not only for us but also for the environment. Around my house, we try to stick to a few simple guidelines that not only help save the environment, but energy and money too.

First and foremost, my son and I are vegans. We do not consume any animal products, and we eat foods that are as low as possible on the food chain. We don’t eat meat, fish, poultry, eggs and dairy products -- rather, we eat soy cheese, soy yogurt, vegan burgers, etc. Many people have asked me why I chose to become a vegan, and the three main reasons are: to prevent animal cruelty, to sustain the environment, and to protect my personal health.

My family and I also recycle. In my house, it can be difficult at times trying to get everyone to do this... But to help, I placed recycling bins in various locations (not just the kitchen), which makes it easy and convenient for anyone to throw away things like plastic, glass bottles, metal, and paper and cardboard. I even posted signs on the recycle bins to show what is recyclable and what isn’t. This has really helped my family and me, and by simply recycling, we can save a lot!

Another way I conserve energy is by driving economical and affordable cars. Nowadays, we see people driving vehicles that are gas guzzlers and are extremely wasteful. By simply switching to an economical and affordable hybrid, we can save on gas money and help the environment. Personally, I have a two year-old and two dogs, and I drive a Ford Focus Hybrid.

Another simple way we conserve is by using ultra-violet light bulbs, which saves a lot of energy and money. We place these light bulbs in rooms such as the storage room and our workroom, which is often used for cleaning, ironing, and other projects. It isn’t the best lighting, but using these light bulbs means we are saving in areas that use a lot of energy but which people, like our guests or friends, normally don’t even see.

I also use newspaper bags to throw away my son's diapers. Instead of purchasing wasteful plastic bags, I simply reuse the bag that comes with our daily paper. Doing little simple things around the house can benefit everyone in the long run, and it is important to keep in mind that there are alternatives that can help save you money and make your home much more energy efficient.

Elizabeth Rogers, co-writer of The Green Book, The Everyday Guide to Saving the Planet, One Simple Step at a Time

One of the biggest challenges I face as a mother comes in a strange shape and size. It is something that often keeps me up at night, and I have on many occasions tortured my seven-year-old son for not following my very specific directions about how to handle it. It is the dreaded PLASTIC BAGGIE.

Baggies in my house are a red flagged item. As a mother who is concerned about the environment, getting a shade greener every day (and raising a son who is obsessed with the environment), baggies take up a lot of airtime in our house. Why? Why do Baggies get this much attention? Well, it's simple.

I have almost perfected packing him a waste-free lunch. Every morning we wake up and pack a healthy organic lunch in his reusable, insulated lunch bag made from recycled plastic soda bottles, with the green frog print on it (now that is a product all moms must have). But every so often, my perfectly balanced (well, not really -- what mom has anything perfectly balanced?) waste-free lunch goes awry... when my son cries out for chips in his lunch.

If he wants chips, what do I put them in? I have everything else down to a science, and in my calculations I have figured out that in a year's time the average school lunch creates as much weight in waste as a nine-year-old child! So with this in mind, when the call for chips comes, I cringe, grab a baggie, and recite the following rules to my seven year old...

Tiffany Washko, NatureMoms.com
So what is “green” cleaning exactly? Green cleaning means using cleaning products that don’t endanger you, children, or the environment.

Many people use cleaning products throughout their homes without a thought or concern. They figure that if the product is widely available that it must be relatively safe for use. But these products contain all kinds of chemicals that can potentially be toxic, corrosive, flammable, or reactive. They can also cause serious health issues and environmental damage. Here are some examples of common chemicals found in conventional cleaning supplies:

• Formaldehyde
• Sodium Hypochlorite
• Hydrochloric Acid
• Petroleum Solvents
• Sodium Acid Sulfate

Some of the problems associated with these chemicals are skin irritations, nausea, headaches, nose bleeds, shortness of breath, burns, vomiting, kidney and liver damage, and exposure to carcinogens. Do you want to clean your home with chemicals that have the potential for that kind of damage? Certainly not...don’t take that chance.

These same chemicals also have the potential to harm the planet as well. When chemical cleaners go down the drain, most ingredients break down into harmless substances during treatment or soon afterward. Others, however, do not, and they threaten water quality or fish and other wildlife. Purchasing these mainstream cleaners can end up costing us quite a bit in the long run.

The best option for the health and safety of your family and the health of our planet is to use green cleaning items such as:

• Baking Soda
• White Vinegar
• Pure Castile Soap
• Lemons
• Vegetable Oil
• Essential Oils

Using the above ingredients you can make your own cleaners...

Michelle Bexelius, co-founder of GreenThisLife.com
Most older homes that are remodeled still have old, faulty wiring and need a professional electrician to re-wire them. Often times when we think of faulty wiring, we think the real danger is fires, but that's not so in every case.

I spoke to a mom at my son’s preschool and she told me this story:

In 1995 my son, Tyler, had an outlet next to his bed that had a power reading of 10.0. 'Normal,' or safe, readings should be 0.1-0.3. My husband and I did not even know what electrical magnetics were.

The same year our five year-old son became very ill. Doctors did not know what it was. Later, through many medical tests, it was discovered he had a tumor behind his neck, which was making him paralyzed from the neck down. Tyler also had a high temperature which would not go away (105 degrees). He was hospitalized for two weeks and he almost died. He was sick at home for three months with a visiting nurse giving him antibiotics through a catheter in his chest. Finally he pulled through and was well.

Later, through a friend, we found out about electrical magnetics in old wiring in homes and what it can do to the nervous system, especially in children. We had our house tested. Our outlets all measured very high. We had the whole house re-wired and now the house is safe. We talked to many doctors and came to the conclusion that too much electrical magnetics had gotten into our son’s body, which was the cause of his illness. Thanks, Patti.

Not only can electromagnetic fields be a health hazard, but eliminating them can help your home be more energy efficient. For more information such as how to test for EMFs (electro-magnetic fields), visit www.greenthislife.com.

Mary Isakson
I love the pithy eloquence of Farmer Hoggett’s famous line from the 1995 movie, Babe. It's an amusing theme that runs in the back of my mind, reminding me of the importance of avoiding wastefulness.

Every day while cooking, eating, shopping, commuting, and even relaxing, moms make hundreds of choices that involve balancing our families’ resources with consideration of our environment. It would be paralyzing to spend hours consciously deliberating each decision, of course -- so it makes sense to pick out key issues and train yourself to focus on them.

Non-biodegradable plastic bags are an easy and obvious target. Their use has proliferated wildly over the past twenty years. See, for example, this September 2, 2003 National Geographic News article regarding their impact on the environment, and efforts to promote reusable bags in their stead. A more current piece in the Christian Science Monitor also addresses efforts to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags. Even though I reuse my bags as garbage can liners, my family, left unchecked, can accumulate a phenomenal number of bags. I have lately been training myself to reduce the number of bags I bring home.

Certain retailers are helpful in this effort, most notably vendors in the farmers’ market who routinely ask, "Do you want a bag?" rather than automatically providing one. "No, Thanks," is my default answer. I try to only accept a bag when I truly need it, pressing my purse, a tote, or even my gym bag into service instead.

I have carried this lesson over to other stores, where retailers otherwise automatically bag every little item. "I don’t need a bag, thanks." I blurt out while paying, trying to say it quickly, before the clerk has grabbed a fresh bag from the rack.

A word of caution: Unload all totes promptly, lest you forget an item. I can tell you from experience that it is unpleasant to discover a banana in one’s jacket pocket a few days after a shopping trip. Never mind the time the juice container fermented.

Free access to non-biodegradable bags has helped to make them ubiquitous, promoting mindless consumption. It is easy to envision retail shopping without them; many of us can still remember the days before their use was common. Reusable alternatives are readily available. Developing the habit of carrying a tot