Thanks to Seattle’s The Green Parent for alerting us to the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act (aka H.R. 3021).  It’s a school construction program with a green building requirement.  Makes good sense to require green building if you’re gonna fund building, but what I want to know is this: if Congress can drum up huge sums of money for this, why so few teachers?  Old text books?  Don’t states fund schools? Read the rest of this entry »

If I stop and think about it, it really alarms me that I am a mere seven years older than the toxics law in this country, a clunker that has so few teeth it doesn’t control many substances at all, despite being named the Toxic Substances Control Act. I’ve dreamed of overhauling the clunker and ranted about bisphenol-A.

But rather than resorting to trashing more dangerous products from our pantry, we can get on board with the Kid Safe Chemicals Act, an excellent piece of federal legislation recently introduced by three U.S. Representatives (NY and CA, all Dems, natch). This bill could really and truly help with the explosion of toxic products everywhere. we. turn. And all we have to do, mamas, is help pass the thing.

Nothing to it! ‘Cause all you need to do for now is know about this excellent bill. Read about this excellent bill. Talk about this excellent bill. And, when it moves (and with us behind it, it will), when a floor vote is on the horizon, let’s be at the ready to pick up the phone, send that e-mail, make that in-person meeting to tell your Congressional delegation - loud and clear - how very much this matters to you. To us. To all parents everywhere. Read the rest of this entry »

 I am a walker and sometimes runner.   Growing up in Wisconsin, my father and I would take long walks through neighborhoods.  My father and I love architecture, and we would pick out our favorite houses and describe why it was our favorite.  I suppose these walks were on par with green walking.  What is green walking? 

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I personally believe that Mom activists have a much better chance of having their voices heard because of their motherhood status. Given that we would like decision makers to take us seriously when we ask for or speak out against something, chances are we could make them take notice if we speak as mothers rather as activists.

A few days ago, a group of young people presented murals painted by mothers and children to members of Congress, calling for stronger climate leadership. The murals serve as a sharp reminder to Congress that the American public is ahead of their elected representatives on the issue of climate, and are demanding that Congress step up with strong, science-based policy.

One Sky

“We’ve only got one sky, and we’ve got to make sure it stays clean for our children,” said Gillian Caldwell, mother of two and campaign director for 1Sky, a new collaborative national campaign of more than 60 diverse organizations.

But what led moms and children to make these murals? Read the rest of this entry »

Mummy I’m Bored

Sound familiar? Many mothers I know pack their kids’ days with activities from the time that they wake up to the time that they fall asleep. And while there is certainly some logic to keeping kids busy, like adults, they too need a break. Downtime is critical not only to help kids recharge their batteries, but also to teach them survival skills. As a child I remember telling my mother that I was bored only to receive the standard reply “Only boring people can be bored.” At some point it occurred to me that I should probably figure out ways to keep myself busy rather than bugging my mother to do it for me. How can parents nurture creativity in a child who’s imagination is not given the opportunity to create his or her own pastime? How will that translate to creativity skills in adulthood? Read the rest of this entry »

Over at Living Health I just found a good overview article about the most toxic areas in our homes (and what to do about them).  The author of the article wrote The Complete Organic Pregnancy, and she shares some helpful tips for clearing out particular problem areas. 

One thing I learned from the article was that conventional cat litter has inhalable silica in it, which is a carcinogen.  I knew it was bad for the environment, but I didn’t know that those chalky dust clouds were cancer causing (I grew up with three cats, and in the 80s nobody knew or cared about any of this stuff).  I just wrote about the problem of silica and asbestos showing up in play sand for children over at Non-Toxic Kids. 

Many of her suggestions are actually doable, not counting the “buy an organic mattress” tip.  I do dream of the day when I can pass along my old mattress and dive into miles of springy, organic and non-toxic bedding goodness. 

Just today I was thinking about phthalates. Why? Because I attended a brown bag discussion called Toxic Tuesdays at our local library where staff from the Oregon Center for Environmental Health and a co-founder of Rachel’s Friends (think breast cancer prevention advocacy) discussed personal care products - mainly their (scary) ingredients and effects on human health.

Yikes is my general reaction. Turns out phthalates aren’t just limited to toys. Of course, they’re hard to avoid because they’re not labeled as phthalates. Why not? Because that would be far too clear, mamas, and in this country, the idea of a clearly written product label is about as likely as reasonably priced gas. But beyond the doom and gloom, I am glad to report that there’s actually some good news in all this! Read the rest of this entry »

I grew up on the east coast but married a gentle man and now live in the friendliest city ever (Portland, Oregon). So while I can thank the bus driver as well as the next person and hold the elevator door open for people miles away, I still have the potential to get REALLY ANGRY. Ever since I opened the newspaper on Saturday and saw the short article (in the Living section, already!) on Bisphenol A and - in a mini rage - tossed every Nalgene bottle I could find, I’ve been pissed. Why? So glad you asked.

1. Pissed that I unwittingly fed my babies breast milk in toxic bottles that may well cause cancer. In them.
2. Pissed that we’ve been drinking (oh so healthy) water out of toxic Nalgene bottles.
3. Pissed that every. single. can. of. food. in our pantry has an epoxy resin coating that is leaching crap into our food: beans, soups, mandarin oranges, and mini corns (god love ‘em). Who needs organic when you’re already dosing up on Epoxy, mamas? I mean, go ahead, toss in a little pesticide residue, what’s the diff?
4. Pissed that going to the store to buy a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g requires an advanced degree in toxicology or at the very least a few hours of extra time to research that I just. don’t. have. Is it too much to ask that I could, say, mosey up to the grocery store and leave with a bagful of items that won’t slowly kill me?
5. And SUPER PISSED that no-one seems to be doing much. And no, I don’t think the government should do all the heavy lifting for me, but in this case, I’m thinkin’ they need to be there, on the front lines, helping me avoid poisoning myself and my far more susceptible children.

OK, Phase I is over - anger. Time for Phase 2 - action. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, conservative religious leaders launched the “We Get It” campaign to promote global warming skepticism and derail support for the Lieberman-Warner Senate bill, which is intended to establish a cap and trade program for greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the We Get It campaign web site:

“Millions of people are threatened by extreme environmental policies (like the ones that protect the air, the water and the ozone?) Your signature will tell our leaders we don’t have to choose between caring for people and nature”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the point of caring for nature because it’s beneficial to every species on earth, including homosapiens? Is it not plainly obvious that if we destroy our habitat there will BE NO PEOPLE TO CARE FOR???

They claim that global warming policies are not based on “sound science.” You know, kind of like that evolution nonsense.

The insanity continues (also from the web site):

Efforts to cut greenhouse gases hurt the poor. By making energy less affordable and accessible, mandatory emissions reductions would drive up the costs of consumer products, stifle economic growth, cost jobs, and impose especially harmful effects on the Earth’s poorest people. Each of the series of increasingly expensive treaties being proposed to fight global warming would cost hundreds of billions of dollars each year, with the multiple treaties gobbling up many times more every year than the estimated one-time price of providing sanitation and clean drinking water to the nearly 2 billion poor people in the world who lack them now.

I’m not opposed to clean drinking water for anyone and certainly, it should be a priority for global aid entities to see that those who need it get it. BUT…without these so-called “extreme” environmental policies, there won’t BE any clean drinking water or, thanks to changes in weather patterns due the global warming that they refuse to see as problematic, droughts will ensure that even if systems are in place to provide clean water, there won’t BE any water to clean. Durrr.

In short, none of the things they’re worried about are going to matter one bit if we don’t preserve the conditions under which life on earth evolved. When those conditions become altered, life as we know it will NOT BE ABLE TO EXIST.

Short-sighted much?

Watch the video to see the crazy for yourself.

What kills me is that these people are using the Bible as an excuse to NOT be good stewards to the earth, despite their complete and total insistence otherwise.

Why are these “leaders” really so opposed to acknowledging global warming?

What is the true agenda behind this “campaign”?

One of the reasons I enjoy writing for Moms Speak Up is the opportunity to research topics that are fairly new to me.  Recently, I learned the difference between an aquifer and aquitard.  More importanly, I learned how these two water-related words affect our every day life. 

Read the rest of this entry »