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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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...

Yes, this information I have in my head is at times overwhelming -- but more often it stops me in my tracks and makes me look at everything in my life a little differently.

So what's a mother to do with 4 kids and 4 plastic water guns in the sweltering heat? For this weekend, I let them play with the godforsaken guns. This isn't the first time -- and it certainly won't be the last -- that I am straddling the worlds of evangelical environmentalist and mom... that I'm walking the fine line between trying to show people the power of a small shift of habit, and becoming a reclusive on a stationary bike pedaling to generate the power needed to run my house.

I shake it off and try to enjoy my weekend.

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.

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.

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.

All the parents became close, which made the whole experience that much more exciting. I also happened to have a friend who's involved with a group dedicated to preserving mountain cultures. The group had a base in Llasa, so we made contact in advance with the group's local director, and made sure the kids stopped in to introduce themselves when they got there. As it turned out, the group director also helped them plan a couple weekend trips outside of the city, so it was good to have made that introduction.

School ended and they were heading off just days after their last exam. We all went to the airport to send them off. They flew first to Beijing. It took them about 10 days to get to Llasa, the capital of Tibet, as they explored three other cities in China en route. The program coordinator met them at the Llasa airport. She showed them the orphanage where all three of them would work in one classroom, teaching two groups of about 25 kids per classroom basic Math and English skills, and also the hostel where they would live. There were a number of other young people there, all of whom worked at the orphanage, which actually had a wide variety of programs not just for kids but for adults. Their expenses were quite modest, the hostel and food costing little more than a few dollars a day. We did have to get them there and back – they took three planes to get to Llasa, two on the return – but compared to some work/travel programs, this one was quite reasonable.

In their free time, they explored the area, traveling by bus and on foot. He was thrilled with the experience, taken by the culture, interested in the China/Tibet tensions, and mesmerized by the beauty. He and his friends also loved their students, who spanned a wide range of ages and abilities. Their cell phones worked in Tibet, which was wonderful, as we could connect with him every few days. We knew he was safe, happy and learning a lot.

He’s got friends who this summer are WOOFing (working on an organic farm) in Mallorca, working in an AIDS clinic in Russia and building houses in Central America. These are such amazing opportunities for young people, and older ones for that matter, to combine the adventure of travel with learning and helping others. All it takes is a little imagination, interest and dedication to put a truly unforgettable experience together.

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.

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

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!

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.

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...

All of which, of course, is great news for those of us who are conscious of the environment. Bamboo diapers are velvety soft too, and BumGenius offers a bamboo fitted diaper that is getting rave reviews from parents.

Diaper Duty
Buying cloth diapers is the easy part though. Caring for cloth diapers is the part that makes many moms and dads squeamish. But even that part is easier now. New fabric options allow you to skip the soaking and rinsing that were common in the past and use a dry pail method. You just store the soiled diapers in a diaper pail or bucket and then throw them in the wash a couple times a week. If you absolutely must rinse the diapers before washing then you may want to try a diaper sprayer called a mini shower that connects to your commode. To control odors, just sprinkle a bit of baking soda over the diapers or use Pail Pals. You can find all of these items at clothdiaper.com.

If you need general cloth diaper care information, like laundering tips and troubleshooting, you can turn to The Diaper Jungle: A Cloth Diaper Mega Information Source. This site has a nifty detergent chart that is “loads of fun”.

Alternatives to Cloth
So what if cloth diapers just aren’t for you? Well, another option is the flushable diaper by gDiapers. As their web site says, “Imagine taking your baby’s soiled diaper and simply flushing it down the toilet. No more smell. No more diaper. No more diaper pail. You’re putting waste right where it belongs, in the toilet. Not in a landfill.”

The 'little g' pants are made of water resistant, machine-washable, breathable material to keep wetness away and prevent diaper rash. Each pair of 'little g' pants comes with a spare snap-in liner. You also get a handy swishstick for breaking apart the flushable stuffing, and a H.U.G. - Handy User Guide. After you have a sufficient amount of the reusable pants then all you have to do is purchase the refills.

It can take as long as 500 years for disposable diapers to biodegrade in a landfill. It is comforting to know that we have options that will ensure our baby’s diapers will not be around to pollute the earth for generations to come.