Thursday

and that means that it's my turn for a day-time shift at the store. Which I really enjoy, by the way. The only reason I work evenings rather than days is because Michal's mom watches her kids during the day time. And my babysitter's hours are more flexible.

Today's already been a bit busy. Not so many sales yet, but some interesting folks have come by. Two lovely women from Waterford who had never been in the store before and seemed to like it quite a bit and will hopefully be back. I told them to spread the word! Word-of-mouth advertising is really the best kind, in our experience. The women particularly enjoyed reading the "Pigs in a Poke" line of cards from Tree Free Greetings. I am such a fan of TFG. They are one of the companies I am most proud to represent. The cards, note card sets, and gift bag sets are absolutely gorgeous, high quality, very reasonably priced, and very "green." NO new trees are ever harvested for their products.

The production of Tree-Free paper uses less water, no chlorine or harmful chemicals, & requires less energy. Tree-Free uses paper from sustainably harvested sources like kenaf, sugar cane, and bamboo, as well as from post-consumer recycled paper.

That it's "post-consumer" recycled is key. As TFG's website states:

Unless it says post-consumer recycled or Tree-Free, "recycled" paper may legally contain a high content of wood fiber from virgin forests and/or unsold "pre-consumer" waste. Such paper is bad for the environment.

When you buy anything that says "recycled" on it -- look for the PCW%. That's the percentage that truly reflects how "earth-friendly" the product is.

Do I have to?

I’ve been on a certain parenting e-mail list for years. The list is organized around a particular parenting philosophy, and list members are fairly “hard-core” about adhering to it. Most list newbies undergo a fairly predictable process. There is often some defensiveness as she finds some of her parenting strategies and ideas challenged and critiqued. And then, after much back and forth with the articulate and fiercely opinionated women of the list, at some point the newbie dissolves into a pool of maternal guilt as she regrets past interactions with her children. And then a list veteran will console her – and encourage her to move on – by reminding her, “When we know better, we do better.” Meaning of course, “Don’t beat yourself up for the past. But, now that you see that something else is possible, put it into action.”

When it comes to the environmental impact of our modern life: Sometimes I wish I didn’t know better. New habits are hard to adopt, especially as we juggle too-full lives with too many responsibilities. I’m proud that my household recycles most of our waste – the volume of paper, plastic, glass, and aluminum that my husband hauls to the recycling center in town is triple the amount of garbage that the trash company picks up at our house. I’ve finally bought enough reusable grocery bags [and put them in both of our cars] that more often than not, I don’t use store given disposables. We’ve all gotten used to using towels and rags to clean instead of paper towels. What few paper products we do buy – we spend a little extra to buy recycled. And, while we can’t afford it yet, I know that our next car will be a hybrid.

But, oh my. Some of the changes I know I should make… well, they are more challenging. I must be a bit of a masochist. As I count down to Earth Day, I could be blogging about any of the changes we’ve already made. Instead I’m preoccupied with plastic. And now that I know better … well dang it all, I’m supposed to do better. Some of the changes I’ve already implemented. We’ve weaned ourselves off of plastic cling wrap for the most part, and we no longer put any plastic containers in the microwave. [That’s a health issue – as opposed to an environmental one.] But doing without the ubiquitous litre of bottled water? Especially as we move into warm weather? Committing to buying, and then regularly filling and cleaning reusable water bottles? Enough for a family of 6? While we rush pell-mell through boy scout meetings and baseball practice and shopping trips and playdates at the playground? Do I really have to? I really wish I didn’t know better. But the evidence against bottled water– as you’ll see in the next entry I post – is fairly damning. So, I think I’m going to have to give it a go…

Procrastination, Perfectionism and Plastics

It’s 10:30 on Friday night. My head is pounding after a long week. The kids are asleep and my husband is in the other room watching a comedy starring a young and handsome Paul Newman. I’m sure he would be delighted if I joined him given that he’s been traveling all week. [My husband, that is. I’m not privy to Paul’s schedule.] But, I decided that I would post once a day as a countdown to Earth Day and I am determined to do so.

Actually more of an obstacle than my being tired is my own familiar nemesis, the biggest reason I procrastinate or avoid doing anything--my perfectionism. I just spent the last hour reviewing some of the topics I’d like to post about here, and I realized that almost anything that needs to be said on almost any issue has already been said – several times. And it’s usually findable in just a matter of moments thanks to Google. So if I can’t do it first or best or most comprehensively – then why bother? At least that’s what the little devil on my left shoulder says – with quite a bit of a petty pout I might add. And then the little angel on my right shoulder takes a deep breath and reminds me, “The perfect is the enemy of the good.” And I remember that my deal with myself in all this is just to be authentically myself and that doing something is almost always better than doing nothing.

So. I want to tackle one of modern living’s most relied-upon conveniences and one of the environment’s most pernicious foes: plastic. I will not attempt to do so all in one post – especially as tired [and verbose] as I am feeling at the moment. Plastic bags have been much in the news in the last year: China recently banned free distribution of plastic bags at stores, San Francisco became the first city in the US to ban their use in grocery stores, and chic New Yorkers stood in long lines for the chance to buy $15 designer “I am not a plastic bag” totes. Then there was the spate of news about the possible danger posed by plastic baby bottles leaching the toxin bisphenol A. And, as oil continues to hover around $100/barrel, the fact that most plastic is made out of petroleum products should be of increasing concern to everyone.

But plastic is everywhere. And we use it for everything. It’s cheap and convenient. For time- and money-crunched families I imagine plastic products show up – in one form or another – many, many times during our daily routines. To change those routines and create new habits takes effort and we need to feel that such effort is justified. After all, not everyone self-identifies as a “treehugger.” However, after much reading and review, I believe that there are a handful of changes each and every one of us needs to make in terms of how we use plastics. Despite their convenience, there are some plastic products whose environmental cost is severe enough that no one can really justify their continued use.

So this Earth Day I challenge myself – and my community – to wean ourselves completely off plastic shopping bags and plastic water bottles. Additionally, I strongly recommend that people limit their use of plastic wrap and plastic containers to store foods. I also urge folks to consider paying a little more to buy trash bags that are made from recycled plastics. I will blog more in the coming days about why I recommend these changes, and how you might implement them. Finally, I will share what I’ve learned about the development of new, more earth-friendly, plastics. But now -- goodness it’s already midnight -- it’s time for bed.  

13 days and counting ...

Well, Earth Day is April 22. And it is also the one year anniversary of the opening of Greater Goods. If I had more time and more money, I would have loved to really "do it up" -- host some special events, invest in advertising, hire some musicians. Alas resources are still thin. So, we will do the best we can in our own impromptu, bootstrapping way...

What I hope to do here on the blog is a series of posts to help everyone commemorate Earth Day in their own way. The best they can.

I will launch it by pointing folks to a fairly comprehensive site courtesy of the Sierra Club [of which I am a member.] In honor of Earth Day they have launched a clever website "We Can Do It" filled with practical ways to conserve resources. I say it's clever, because they've crafted it to appeal to a wider range of folks than the stereotypical "treehugger." The emphasis is on strengthening the US economy -- and you can't argue with the relevance of that right now.

From the site:

We Can Create a Clean Energy Economy with Good Jobs Now — and Save Money!

Investing in renewables and efficiency will transform our economy and free America from our dependence on foreign oil and big oil companies. It will also creates job here at home, save families and businesses money, and combat
global warming.

We can do it. We have the necessary technical skills and ingenuity. Now we need to commit -- to fix our economy and our planet.

Give it a look-see. And if in your quest to tread more lightly and use fewer resources you'd like to pick up some green cleaning products, recycled paper products, or convenient and colorful reusable shopping bags -- drop by Greater Goods. We can hook you up.

Reduce, Idea #1

Okay, so how about a series of posts on simple ideas we can implement to reduce our impact on the planet? For the moment, I will assume that we all think that is a good idea. [The "reducing the impact" part of the program -- not the "series of posts" part of the program.]

I am sorry, Evian and San Pellegrino and Dasani and all the other bottled waters out there—Aqua Velva, Wells Fargo, Muddy Waters, Joan Rivers, Jerry Springer, whatever—but the current campaign against paying good money for bottled water when tap water is perfectly good (and very likely purer) is so sensible on the face of it that I am now done with you.

Fini. Kaput. Ausgeschlossen. No more designer water. Water is water If you want lemon flavoring, add a slice of lemon. You want bubbles, stick a straw in it and blow.

—Garrison Keillor in a Sept. 29, 2007 in the Salt Lake Tribune

Photo credit: Dan DeLuca via Creative Commons

Over the last 6 months I have read more and more about how the manufacture and consumption of bottled water has a huge negative environmental impact. It just makes sense the moment you start to think about it. Plastic is generally a petroleum product -- a non-renewable resource that is getting more and more expensive [Gas at $3.29/gallon!]. The manufacture of the bottles and then the shipping of them consumes even more fossil fuels. And then the waste product. Although the plastic bottles are recyclable -- only a small percentage of them actually are. The vast majority end up sitting in landfills -- and sitting and sitting and sitting -- because plastic does not decompose. [At least not for thousands of years...]

So the alternative? Water filters and reusable water bottles. Both in plentiful supply and available in many, many varieties from many retail locations -- in person and on-line. But not yet at Greater Goods.

Why not? That's a perfectly reasonble question. Because beautiful beaded earrings from Nepal and colorful market baskets from Ghana are paying the rent right now. Rest assured, friends, it is my intention to carry more mundane but very important utilitarian goods like water filters and reuseable water bottles and rechargeable batteries ... But until then, I think it's important -- and well within our mission -- to spread the word about what we can all do today to make a difference.

Want to read more about the issues around bottled water?

"Bottle Water, No Longer Cool?" Fortune Magazine, 04/07

"Take Back the Tap" A Report by Food and Water Watch

And, because there are legitimate concerns in some US cities about the quality and safety of tap water in some US cities, we should educate ourselves about that as well:

Tap Water Quality and Safety from the National Resource Defense Council

I will try to do more research about water safety and what we can do in Loudoun County to ensure we are making the smartest drinking water choices -- for people and planet.