Vote for a Citizen Ambassador to the Copenhagen Conference

The potentially monumental climate talks in Copenhagen are upcoming, and it's important to have a real person there to represent the interests of "regular" people who care about the environment.

My friend, author, green blogger, fellow Green Moms Carnival member, and environmental activist Diane MacEachern  is taking part in the Huffington Post's contest to send one citizen ambassador to Copenhagen, and I am happy to give her my personal endorsement. 

If the name seems familiar, it is because Diane is the best-selling author of "Big Green Purse," a manual all of us should have on our shelves to refer to while navigating the often confusing world of green issues and green business.  As a mother, she is particularly committed to the health of children, and she is a tireless activist and fantastic writer.  Her interest in climate change comes from a deep sense of compassion and commitment to social justice. It would be so great to have one of our own representing the interests of real people among the politicians and "experts" meeting together this month to determine the fate of the Earth.

For more information about Diane, take a look at the following links:
http://greenwoman.typepad.com/biggreenpurse/
http://www.biggreenpurse.com/
http://fakeplasticfish.com/2009/08/personal-changes-do-make-difference/

To vote for Diane:

1)  Please visit this link:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/19/hopenhagen-ambassador-con_n_363672.html?slidenumber=QCjRGmul2Ak%3D 
2)  You will need to login to the Huffington Post web site or register if you are not already a member.  You can also login using your Twitter or Facebook account.
3)  Please rate Diane's entry with 10 stars.

As you will see, Diane also needs blogger endorsers.  If you feel moved to write a post in support of Diane on your blog, please email the link to submissions+copenhagen@huffingtonpost.com, saying "Here is the link from xxxx blog endorsing Diane MacEachern for the citizen ambassador to Copenhagen", along with the link to your post.

FACEBOOK?  If you have a Facebook page or fan page, it would be great if you could mention the contest and provide the link so your friends and fans can vote as well.

TWITTER?  If you're on twitter, we'd appreciate it if you tweet about the contest using #votehope and @huffpostgreen.

Voting ends in just two short days, on December 4, so Diane needs as much support from you, your friends and your readers right now as possible. Please help us send this deserving green mom to Copenhagen (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/19/hopenhagen-ambassador-con_n_363672.html?slidenumber=QCjRGmul2Ak%3D) by voting now and spreading the word!

Bag it!

I'm starting a new Christmas tradition this year - making gift bags rather than buying new gift wrapping paper and tape. Americans use 8,000 tons of holiday paper (equal to 50,000 trees) per year.  It's colorful but wasteful and a burden on the environment.

Cotton cloth bags are so easy to make that a budding seamstress could easily make them.  What a great project for your creative teen!





I bought cotton fabric but you could use leftover remnants or tee shirts, too.  Wash and dry new fabric to remove sizing and to shrink the fabric.
Cut the fabric to the size you want and sew up the sides.  Press one side seam open.  For this project, you will use your iron as much or more than the sewing machine. 

November's Stupid Plastic Crap

This month marks Stupid Plastic Crap’s first birthday! Last November I wrote about the Lucky Break Wishbone that I first read about in Fake Plastic Fish. By the way, those faux wishbones are back in stores again this year. The first month I called the “award” Useless Plastic Crap but then I changed it to Stupid Plastic Crap and rightly so.  The point is to illustrate how our society wastes resources on useless items that could easily be eliminated.  I hope consumers will become more aware that every product has an impact on the environment.  Hopefully consumers will think before they buy and, therefore, become mindful consumers.

This month’s nominee is Colgate’s Wisp disposable toothbrush.  It is a tiny plastic toothbrush that has a brush on one end and a pick on the other end.  It is designed for on the go cleaning and freshening.  Colgate’s advertisement uses sex appeal to sell Wisp, showing beautiful people at a dance club who suddenly realize they need to brush their teeth.  The Wisp is advertised as portable and discrete.  Each costs about $.60.

The Wisp is disposable and plastic. Disposable plastic products  already saturate our lives.  It will be quite at home in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch with all the other toothbrushes, disposable lighters, water bottles and similar plastic debris. 

There are easy alternatives that are so obvious that I hesitate to mention them.  How about a wooden toothpick?  Your index finger is a adequate toothbrush in a pinch, especially if you have some toothpaste.  Breath mints work, too.  All of these are eco friendly, easy to carry (especially your finger), and cheap.  Be a green consumer and avoid disposable plastic products.

There is a green toothbrush called the Preserve toothbrush.  It is made of recycled plastic yogurt containers and the Preserve company with take it back (if you mail it to them).  They recycle these toothbrushes and all of their products into plastic wood products. The design of the toothbrush is really nice.  I recommend it.

A Review of Practically Green

Practically Green by Micaela Preston is a handy new guide to living green.  It’s not very big but is full of a lot of useful information.  Each page is beautifully designed so that there are lots of separated areas that capture your attention.  Micaela has divided the book into six chapters that cover most aspects of our everyday lives. She explains terms, labels, current issues in a very understandable manner.  Each chapter has helpful charts that summarize information.  Eco-Alerts and Health Alerts are examples of sections that separate and highlight current concerns such as the problems with non-stick cookware.  Eco-Spotlights bring our attention to new products and issues plus websites to find more information. Each chapter has a Do It Green section with instructions for recipes and projects that are ecofriendly.  I’m going to try making the bag from an old tie.

In the “Eating” chapter,   Micaela does a great job of explaining  sometimes confusing terms like local, organic, certified human, etc.  There are more terms than I imagined and she explains the differences and similarities between them.  I found the sustainable seafood guide especially helpful.

The “Living”  chapter has a discussion about products and materials that we live with everyday.  The plastics guide summarizes the seven categories of plastic, which to avoid and which are safer.  She includes instructions for eight green make-it-yourself projects like homemade play dough and cloth napkins.

 Micaela explains in “Cleaning” how to clean the home with green products.  She recommends some easy to find safe cleaning products and she tells which ingredients to avoid.  In the Do It Green section she tells how to make your own cleaning products the inexpensive simple way.

Just as the house needs safe cleaning and care products, so do you.  In the “Caring” chapter Micaela describes how to simplify and improve the hygiene products we use.  She explains which ingredients to avoid and recommends safe alternatives.  Moms will find the section on alternatives to disposable diapers helpful.

The “Wearing” section is about ecofashions and earthy friendly fabrics.  The Eco-Spotlights in this section suggest good websites to find sustainable fashions.

The  “Conserving”  chapter is about how to be a green consumer and how to get your recycling habits organized. The chart on “Where Can I Recycle That?” is especially valuable.

Micaela calls her book “Your Guide to Ecofriendly Decision-Making”.  If you are already into living green, it would be a great reference to have on hand.  If you have recently decided to begin living greener, this book tells you how to do it all.  Practically Green would be a great holiday gift.  I think it would fit nicely in a Christmas stocking!

SOOZOU Bags Link Fashion With Healthy Oceans

Help Sea of Change raise money to promote ocean research and education by buying a bag made from recycled sails.  CEO, Joel Paschal, has been on 2 voyages with Captain Charles Moore’s Alguita to sample the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.  He has worked in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands with NOAA removing fishing debris.  In the summer of 2008, he and Marcus Eriksen built and sailed (floated?) a raft that was kept afloat with 15,000 plastic beverage bottles.  They traveled on the Junk Raft from Long Beach, CA to Honolulu, HI in order to promote the environmental issue of plastic waste in our oceans.  Joel’s new project is an organization called Sea of Change that is dedicated to raising money for research and education on the health and welfare of our oceans.

SOOZOU,  makes bags that are environmentally trendy and friendly from old sails that have sailed in Hawaii waters.  The women living in the Kalihi Valley Housing Project make these clutches, shoulder bags, and shopping bags.  Each is unique and handmade. They are not available from the website yet but if you are interested, contact Joel Paschal at joel.paschal@gmail.com.

Help Joel fund plastic pollution sampling in Hawaii. You can even request a special bag made from the sails of the Junk Raft. This is a unique Christmas gift that also benefits our oceans.

Photo from news.hawaii.com.