In a previous post this week, why don’t people live green?, I asked if anyone had a clue about why so many people don’t live green, or greener. What’s stopping people from going green? After putting that question out as a general ponder and as a question to readers I also asked my best friend, my sister, my guy Dave, Cedar my son, and put it out as a question on Facebook as well.

Tomorrow we’ll look at what everyone else had to say (I got some excellent answers) but first we’re going to take a look back at what I’ve …read more

Last night I watched an advanced screening of No Impact Man, which I really liked for the most part (review soon) however, my boyfriend felt it lacked any sort of compelling content. He felt it was a movie mainly for people who are already living green not the general public. He noted that while No Impact Man was dull and not worth seeing (note: I didn’t agree) some documentaries like Super Size Me DO offer shocking facts and compelling content and therefore make people sit up and take notice and are very much worth viewing.

Obviously this conversation spun out of …read more

Each year on October 15th, bloggers all over the world join together to discuss one agreed upon and important topic facing the world. In 2007 we blogged about the environment. In 2008 we discussed poverty. This year, Blog Action Day is asking bloggers to tackle climate change.

Blog Action Day is the brainchild of Collis Ta’eed, and the first year he managed to recruit 20,000 bloggers to all write on the same topic on the same day. It was an amazing event. This year it should be even bigger and better, and it’s always fun to see what various bloggers have …read more

It’s Wednesday, a typical day. As you go about your daily routines however, it might be good to stop and consider some important eco-numbers.

365 – Number of days we all have to make a difference each year, and yet…
137 – The amount of plants, animals and insects species we lose each day to rainforest deforestation.
147,000,000 – The gallons of gas per year that vaporize into the earth’s atmosphere due to shoddy or lost gas caps.
7 – How many trees the average American uses up in one year. Also, the number of greenwashing sins BTW.
4.6 – How many pounds of …read more

Best kid quote of the week…
“For the president to talk out but not just say what we should do but what will happen if we don’t stop littering…We should have one day a month that should be green day. Start putting a lot more commercials about the environment. Start putting posters up and I know it may sound extreme but maybe even paint the White House green…We should star putting a program about “green” on national TV also, so we can inspire other states, communities, families and countries.”

That’s what one child said when asked about how the public should be …read more

Over at another place I blog, blogger Desmond wrote this today: GREEN RANT: Having a Baby is NOT Bad for the Environment. It’s a good post, but this issue always gets me thinking on overtime. I’ve run into A LOT of people who are for population control in a major way and they sort of piss me off.

For example, the post above was linked at the Inhabitat Facebook site and while some comments are smart and balanced, others were more extreme, i.e. akin to, “Having kids is selfish…” or “The crazy thing is that many of the humans that are …read more

Rainforest Heroes is a site / program created by the Rainforest Action Network for kids, parents, and teachers. The goal of the this interactive site is to teach everyone about rainforest conservation.

What’s noteworthy at the site:
Rainforest Heros is packed with tools for adults that make teaching kids about rainforests easier. For example at the Teacher’s Lounge, you can download an awesome Kids Action Toolkit that’s designed to answer your students’/kids questions about rainforests, climate change, Indigenous land rights, animal and plant species, and the latest causes of deforestation. There’s also a neat FREE movie you can watch with your kids, …read more

Why even bother volunteering? Back in January we talked about volunteering in general being that it was National Mentoring Month. However, besides the feel good reasons to volunteer, there are some other perks as well.

You could score a job. In this job market that’s a very big perk. People like to hire on people they’ve already worked with on other projects and even in unrelated volunteer opportunities, employers like to see some volunteer experience on your resume.
You can gain experiences that might lead you to a green career choice. If you aren’t sure about a green career choice volunteering can …read more

If you’re still considering what might be fun for Earth Day, or any old day you want to do some eco-good, try out these easy ideas for the whole family…

1. Plant a tree! You knew I’d say this, but really, tree planting is fun, good exercise, and healthy for people and the planet. To learn more about tree planting in your neck of the woods read the following:

Tree Planting Where You Live
Volunteer with a local tree-planting organization

2. Learn your personal footprint… You can and should take the time to learn how big your environmental footprint is. There are many carbon …read more

Why bother researching green communities? Especially for something as seemingly small as decent walkability?

There are plenty of reasons. First of all a walkable town or community means that most likely the area is greener than others. This is a major perk for the planet and your family’s health. Recent news about this includes…

Green Spaces Beneficial for Kids Health
Less asthma among kids – just one more reason to hug trees
One small step: spend one mile on nature today – yup green spaces help you stay fit.
Of course the more green there is, the more likely you are to ditch that car …read more