Green Daily

Time that shower, or cut it off!

Food prices are rising, rising, rising, all around the world, causing much hardship and even political unrest. The hardship extends to the U.S., and as always, it's the poor that are the first and most affected in hard times. And they probably weren't buying organics to begin with.

According to a recent Reuters article, nearly one in 10 Americans, around 28 million people, are expected to use food stamps this year, the highest number ever, excluding a spike after the hurricanes of 2005. Food stamps are hardly an answer these days though, as the average benefit per person is about $100 per month, which is $1 per person per meal.

Program officials say that food stamps were never intended to make up a family's entire food budget ,and are counseling people on how to make their stamps last as long as possible. Lawmakers also plan to add over $10 billion to the food stamp program over the next decade, as part of a massive agricultural bill.

This might just be the perfect little add-on to a baby shower gift or new baby gift: The Burt's Bees Baby Bee Getting Started Kit.

The Baby Bee Getting Started Kit comes with a sample of baby oil, lotion, bath wash, soap, diaper ointment, powder and shampoo bar. All products feature buttermilk as an ingredient and all of the products are paraben- and phthalate-free.

The cutest part might be the teeny baby comb that also comes with the package. It's always nice to get small sample sizes to try them out and they're not just good for babies, many new moms will enjoy them too.

Sells for around $13 on Burt's Bees or other retailers.

More for parents

Luigi Bormioli, world-renowned glass manufacturer, offers a great set of 100% recycled glassware, Luigi Bormioli Green.

The glassware in Luigi Bormioli Green is made from recycled materials. It has a slight green color and a small recycled logo can be found on the bottom of each piece. Luigi Bormioli Green offers barware, goblets, a pitcher, serving tray and a chip-n-dip. All the Green products come in 100% recycled packaging and the glassware is lead-free and dishwasher-safe.

The pricing is very reasonable too, with most items coming in around $20, either for a set of four glasses, or the other pieces. If you're looking for replacement glasses, or a new set of glassware if you're just starting out, these could be just the thing you're looking for. They are quite simple in style, yet I love the green tint, adding just a bit of interest.

Mother's Day can sometimes feel like a made-up holiday, designed to make us buy more stuff, but Mother's Day actually has quite a weighty history. Mother's Day was started in the U.S. by Julia Ward Howe after the Civil War and was intended as a call to unite women against war. Howe was unable to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace and Howe's daughter, Ann Jarvis, took up the cause to found a memorial day for women. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, intended as a day for Americans to fly in the flag in honor of the mothers whose sons had died in war.

It only took nine years for the commercialization of Mother's Day to become so rampant that even Anna Jarvis became an major opponent of the holiday. And of course, as we all know, Mother's Day continues to be a highly commercialized day. While we can't deny what Mother's Day has become now, we can take a moment to remember its history.

Of course, it is always nice to honor our own mothers, whether it be through a simple visit, phone call or letter, because those are the best gifts. If you do feel inclined to buy mom a gift, keep it simple and check out Ellen's Top 10 Green Gift Ideas for Mom.

Buying or acquiring things secondhand is a great way to reduce, reuse, recycle, but if they are for your baby or child, you want to be extra careful.

Here is a neat tool to assist you as you try to make safe choices for your baby or child. The BabyCenter Product Recall finder allows you to search for past and present recalls related to all sorts of children's items, including highchairs, car seats, strollers, toys and more. The database contains safety alerts from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The database does not contain food and medication recalls from the FDA.

You can sign up for CPSC recalls directly also, for the future. Also, something that you may not want to acquire used at all: your baby's car seat.

Ecopsychologists work with people on many issues related to the environment, including "eco-anxiety," which is worrying about the state of the environment to the point that it is causing distress. Treatments can include shopping and media fasts, as well as increasing the time spent outside, whether meditating, exercising, gardening or simply relaxing.

According to a NY Times article, some traditional therapists are highly skeptical of this approach, cautioning that worrying about the environment to the point of emotional distress may be part of a larger anxiety disorder. Scott O. Lilienfeld at Emory cautions that "there is a fine line between therapy and advocacy."

So how's your eco-anxiety level? Here is a quick quiz from the Green Guide, "What's Your Eco-Anxiety Level?" It's a bit tongue-in-cheek, but worth a quick spin.

To learn more about ecopsychology, see the International Community for Ecopsychology Web site (ecopsychology.org). And of course, if you are really suffering distress from worrying about the environment, see your doctor.

Australia will need several years of above-average rainfall to end a drought that has devastated crops in three of the last six years, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. According the the Bureau, the combination of heat and drought during the past five to 10 years is "without historical precedent and is, at least partly, a result of climate change." This year, wheat growers in the West have received enough rain to plant the next crop, but farmers in the East are still waiting.

According to Lisa Ainsworth of the USDA, these global challenges to farming, including temperature and drought, won't be going away any time soon. Demand for grains is on the rise globally, and rising temperatures can cut yields, especially in tropical zones. Ozone pollution is another threat, as ozone can cut plant productivity, and is a growing problem in the Northern Hemisphere.

Ammonia (NH₃) is one of the most common chemicals in the United States, used in both industry and households, and is an ingredient in many common cleaning products. About 80% of ammonia used by industry is used in agriculture as fertilizer, according to the New York State Department of Health. Common household cleaning products are made by adding ammonia gas to water and can be between 5 to 10% ammonia. The danger from ammonia comes from breathing in the ammonia gas as you are cleaning, which interacts immediately with your skin, eyes, mouth and respiratory tract. While the amount you have to breathe in to do serious damage might be very high, why not just avoid it entirely if you can?

And what's an eco-friendly alternative? You guessed it! Vinegar! White vinegar is 5% acetic acid, which is a weak acid, and is a natural bi-product of the fermentation of starches, in this case corn.

In place of ammonia-based cleaners, try vinegar with newspapers to clean your windows, specifically 2 tbs of white vinegar in a gallon of water. You can also use vinegar straight, in a spray bottle, to disinfect your countertops or other places around the house that need it. Here are tons of tips from Heinz for using vinegar around your home, including the kitchen, bathroom and laundry room.

Here's another great tip about avoiding ammonia-based cleaning sprays. You definitely want to avoid ammonia-based spray when cleaning up pet accidents. Urine has an ammonia-like odor, and cleaning the scene of the crime with an ammonia-based cleaner will only attract the pet back, to do more business there.

Interesting post by Pamela Paul about how we should "Raise the price of toys."

As an example, Paul remembers about how special it was, when she was growing up, to buy a new sticker. How she would buy one off of the big roll at a stationary store, and she had to get someone from the store to help you make the big purchase. Paul laments how inexpensive stickers have become now, that we can buy literally hundreds of them for under ten bucks, how they have lost their zing, and how "in our abundance, something has been lost."

According to Paul's article, the average American child receives 70 new toys a year. The U.S has only 4 percent of the world's children, yet we consume 40 percent of the world's toys. Paul suggests only offering toys that are "10% toy, 90% child," meaning they require some imagination. She also suggests that perhaps we need to raise the price of toys, so that we learn to value them again. Or we could just buy less of them.

No matter what, I can't think of a kid that needs 70 toys a year. Yikes. And putting this all in perspective, be sure to read this New York Times article on labor in China, child labor that is.

On this past Thursday, the U.S. government closed almost all of the ocean off the West Coast to salmon fishing, clearing the way for governors to seek federal relief for losses due to declining catches. West Coast salmon populations have declined in the past few years, due to all sorts of reasons according to experts, including hungry sea lions and climate change.

Get ready for higher salmon prices as a result of the closure, especially for wild salmon. Oregon governor Senator Gordon Smith said that this closure is, "a matter of survival," and will allow leaders to get aid to the fishing communities quickly.

With that dire news about wild salmon, how about farmed salmon? Read more about that in Deanna's Eating Green Series here.

These reduced snowpack stories, like "Melting mountains are a timebomb," just keep on coming.

The snow pack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains fell sharply in the past four weeks, according to California officials. Parched soil from last year's dry weather has absorbed large amounts of the state's water supply from the snow pack. In April, snow depth and water content is only at 67 percent of normal levels.

Gov. Schwarzenegger said that these recent survey findings, "underscore the need for action now," urging lawmakers to adopt his proposal to address the crisis through conservation, increased groundwater storage and investment in infrastructure.

For water conservation ideas, no matter where you live, see these tips from the Mono Lake Committee.

Looking for inexpensive, yet safe, reusable bottles for you and your kids and you don't want to spend a ton?

Take a look at Rubbermaid. For example, here is their "Litterless Juice Box," shown to the right. It's made of #5 Polypropylene plastic, a plastic recommended as safe. #5 Polypropylene is also recyclable in many communities, not that you'll be throwing this out any time soon. It carries 8.5 oz of juice or water and costs around $3. Not bad.

Here's one for you, same idea. This sip bottle, carries 20 oz, and goes for about $4 on Amazon.

Double check that whatever you buy has a #5 Polypropylene on the bottom, and the bottles should be slightly squeezable.

It's well-known that taking a shower is a better option than a bath, at least if you limit the shower to five minutes. Joel Bittle, on Green Building Elements, comments on the size of the bathtubs on display this year at a kitchen and bath show. Bittle noticed lots of "green" talk along with lots of humongous tubs, up to 200 gallon capacity. What's up with that?

According to Bittle, a person uses between 50 and 70 gallons of water for a bath, compared to 25 gallons for a five minute shower. Keep in mind though, many people take much longer showers. And of course, there is a difference between showering and taking a bath for some people, on the relaxation front. Bittle advises you to choose your tub carefully, based on your needs.

It seems like many newer houses have those huge soaking tubs, sitting alongside a standing shower. As wasteful as those tubs may seem, I personally wonder how often they even get used.

Spring has sprung, and with it, it's finally time to put away those wool sweaters. How can you protect them from moths, naturally? Without having to resort to those nasty moth balls, which can literally be deadly, especially to both children and pets.

Here are some tips from Anne Colvey, of Green Living Online.

• Wash your wool before putting it away. Moths love the smell of sweat. Make sure you air dry the woollens well before putting them away.
• Airtight containers are best. Try a cedar chest if you're trying to cut down on the plastics in your home.
• Make your own natural moth balls with a few drops of an oil like lavender, rosemary, clove or mint on a cotton ball.

For more tips, see Anne's article here.

I love these tips, but I must admit, I've never had a problem with moths. Have you?