Eco-Labels

Did you know that the 98% natural label on your baby shampoo means virtually nothing? Cruelty-free? Meaningless. Biodegradable?... questionable. When choosing a product, consumers often have little go by except for the packaging and the labels and certifications it includes. However, a great deal of these "eco" labels are virtually meaningless. Many "certifications" have no regulations whatsoever, meaning that any manufacturer can put them on their product and no one will have oversight to make them remove the label if it is incorrect. Other labels, like "free-range" mean only that the animal has to have access to the outdoors for a portion of their lives. Sadly, many of these "free-range" animals are actually too big and broken to walk outside, or may be terrified of the outdoors because they spent their first few weeks locked in a dark pen.
On the other hand, some labels and certification do have rigorous standards and verification processes, and therfeore tell us a lot about a product. If you are curious as to which labels are meaningful and which are meaningless, check out the Greener Choices website on eco-labels. You can search labels for food, personal hygiene, cleaning products and paper products. Pretty sweet. Now someone just needs to make an app for this, so shoppers can check at the store when deciding between products! Pin It Now!

The Age of Stupid: A Review

I just watched a film entitled The Age of Stupid. The name itself actually turned me off from watching the film, and it was only after a second thought that I decided to give it a whirl. The whole format of the movie, is, like the title, pretty stupid. It is some guy in the not-so-far-off future, who lives in a world where humans have killed themselves off to the brink of extinction. The entire film is him sitting at a high-tech futuristic computer (that apparently survived the extinction of the planet) showing clips pertaining to global warming and how we should have seen the signs coming.
So, although I thought the set up for this film was incredibly cheesy, I did find the actual clips both informative and entertaining. And scary actually. Really, really scary. The film is discussing how humans let global warming run out of control by the choices we made, and predicts the sort of future we might foresee. The clips are actually things that have happened.... clips from Hurricane Katrina, recent heat waves, the tremendous retreating of glaciers in recent years.... and "looking back" upon these events, the humans realized that they completely ignored the prominent signs of global warming that predicted the doom of their race. For us, now, it is hard to really feel the true threat of global warming when we have not yet felt the full effects. Not to mention that the oil companies have been paying marketing firms to make it seem like global warming is a hoax. That way, they are sure to continue to make big profits.
Some of the interesting topics covered in this film include the fact that flying on an airplane is the single worst thing an individual can do to contribute to global climate change (that one hit home for me as I flew already in June and will be flying again in October...oops). Other big factors include consumerism and shipping our food around the world before it is eaten. Silly, silly, system. Fossil fuels have become so intertwined in our lifestyles that it is hard to see a future without them. But at current rates, we will have used it all up within the next 40 years. Sadly, once average global temperature rise 2 degrees Celsius, we will start runaway climate change, in which it will sort of spiral out of control, no matter what we do to stop it. So, in essence, we are running out of oil and will have to change our sources of energy within the next 40 years anyways. But instead of just changing now, and preventing a global climate crisis, we will likely sit back and watch the show until it is too late and we kill ourselves off. The movie calls it the suicide of the human race. Yikes.
So, although this movie was set up as this futuristic doomsday thing, I felt like it actually did have some great information. But, if you are looking for some lighthearted information to relax to on a Thursday evening, this is not the thing. I have already learned about global warming and was aware of the information the movie presented to me, but viewing it in this light was enough to make me want to sell our car and never buy anything again. Pin It Now!

This Moment...

{this moment} - A Friday ritual.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama 

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Homemade Paper: A Tutorial

One of my summer goals was to make homemade paper. This was something I had done, many years ago, but had forgotten how to do it. It was easier than I had remembered, Finn had a super time, and the paper came out great... although I suspect there is still a bit of room for improvement.

Here is what you need:

• A screen the size of the paper you want to make. You can buy these, or can make your own using wood scraps, old window screen, and a staple gun. You need one side to have the screen flush with the wood.
• A tub or container that will fit your screen when held horizontally
• old paper
• a blender
• piece of old fabric/sheets cut slightly larger than the size of your paper

Here is what we did

• First prepare the drying area. Lay out a towel and get your fabric scraps nearby. 
• Tear up old paper into little scraps. The color of your hand made paper will depend on what colors you are putting in.... pen ink will give the paper a gray shade, colored pieces will add color.

• Put scraps of paper into blender with luke warm water and blend into a slurry. 

• Fill your tub with enough water to dunk your screen into. Dump slurry mixture into tub with water.

• Grab your screen and turn the end that is flush with the edges upwards. This is the side you will make your paper on. Now dunk your screen into your slurry mixture and lift up. As the water drains through the screen, you will have a very wet version of your paper. Decide if this is the thickness you want. If it is too thick, it will be more like cardboard, if it is really thin, you may get bare spots or holes. Add more water or more slurry depending on how thick you want your paper to be (I think this is one of those areas where Finn and I need some more practice!).

• Once the water mostly drains, carefully flip the wet paper onto one of your piece of fabric, and place onto towel.
• Once these are slightly dry, you can stack them up on top of one another so they take up less space. Or, if you have the room, keep spread out so they will dry faster. We kept them stacked, and the next day I hung them on a clothesline inside to finish drying.

• Once dry, leave stack under a heavy book to help flatten it out.
• Now write someone a lovely message!

• You can also add bit of glitter, dried flowers, or whatever else you can imagine into your mixture. Get creative! Finn and I plan on making some more creative versions of this paper in upcoming weeks.

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Yarn Along

Joining in over at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along. This week I am still reading Freedom by Jonathon Franzen. I am about halfway through, and am just not getting sucked into this one like I had hoped I would. To lessen my reading motivation, this was a book that I am reading for my book club, and I recently found out that I will be out of town for the discussion portion. So,..... I am still straggling along. The class that I teach ends next Monday however, so I am hoping less grading and class prep will allow me more reading time. I am also hoping that this book gets better. Hmmm. Maybe wishful thinking. I just hate starting a book and not (eventually) finishing it.  Even if I am not really enjoying it, I always feel like I "should" finish it, just in case it suddenly turns into the best book I have ever read or something. But, what usually happens is that I start reading other books, and I will eventually finish Freedom, but it may take me a really, really, long time.
And, I am still knitting some baby shorts for Miss Phoebe from Debbie Bliss' Essential Baby. . I had better hurry, and summer is halfway done and she will outgrow them soon! I have been a bit sidetracked making P her second pair of saartje's booties (free pattern can be found here). The first pair I made for Phoebe were so sweet, but fit her for about a week. I decided I would make her a larger pair and oops... they sure are large. The problem is they basically fit her length wise, but you could pile up about 3 baby feet in there. My husband called them muffin-top booties if that gives you any idea. If I were to ever make these again (which is doubtful since I have made 2 pairs that haven't really fit), I would keep the bigger length while decreasing the height. They sure are cute though.... and at least Phoebe thinks they taste good.....I have also been busy making some felted birthday crowns. For some reason about half of Finn's friends have birthdays in July and August... keeps me busy crafting!
Anyways, hoping to finish these baby shorts in the next week or so so that I can start Phoebe's sweater... there is just never enough time though, is there?

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Learn an Herb: Lemongrass

Lemongrass is an herb that is not too showy, but has a delicious fragrance and is found in many herbal shampoos and soaps. It can easily be grown in the home garden, although it is not able to overwinter.
Lemongrass  can be made into a tea and used to aid congestion, cough, bladder problems, headaches, fever, digestive problems, diarrhea, gas, vomiting, and flu symptoms. It is a pain reliever and acts as a mild setative. It has also been shown to reduce cholesterol in some people.
Externally, lemongrass can be used as an oil or packed onto the skin. It has proved helpful in treating athlete's foot, cuts, scrapes, back pain, sciatica, sprains, tendonitis, neuralsia, circulatory problems, rheumatism, and acne. The crushed leaves can also be rubbed onto the skin for an on-the-spot insect repellent!
This herb should be avoided in young children and while pregnant, as it is thought to help start menstrual flow. There have been no contradictions for its use during breastfeeding. Pin It Now!

Reducing My Impact: A Year-Long Adventure. Month 4- Reducing My Driving

Happy August!?! Wow. I can't believe this is already month 4 of my year-long adventure challenge. For those of you who haven't been following along, I have been choosing one thing each month to focus on and have been trying to make changes that will reduce my impact on our Earth. In May I focused on reducing my meat and dairy intake. Since, my meat and dairy consumption has stayed pretty low. I have still been eating a small amount of meat on occasion, and have started to eat some cheese again, but I am consuming far fewer animal products than I was 4 months ago. During June, I worked on reducing the amount of waste my family produces. Our trash (usually) is considerably less than it was before June, and I still need to change to a biodegradable cat litter and work on a way of composting our cat waste. Last month was focused on reducing our water use. We made some simple changes that have lowered our water consumption, however, I still need to disconnect our backyard downspout and turn it into a duck water trough.
This month, I am going to be focusing on reducing the amount I drive. Car emissions are a major contributor to global warming, and I would really rather not be contributing to dooming our planet. Alas, I live in America, a car centered country, and have been raised in a society that relies on cars. I don't drive as much as an average American; my husband and I share one car, are mindful of where we are taking it, and try to walk when possible. However,  I use the car to get to work, run errands, and go on adventures on a regular basis. I am not willing to give that all up quite yet, but I am willing to reduce the amount that I drive. The funny thing is, as I write this, we are getting ready to go on a family road trip, so any driving reduction I do this month will be completely outweighed by the thousand or so miles we will be adding to the odometer. However, I hope that my reductions in driving will be a permanent change, and can help to "justify" using the car for occasional family road trips.
Anyways, this month I am going to be focusing on reducing needless driving. I am often in a hurry (trying to get 2 kids ready) and so I drive out of convenience. I also can't ride a bike with Finn and Phoebe (she is still too young for our Burley), so I drive when walking seems too far. We do take the bus a good deal, but for things like a big grocery shopping outing, it doesn't work to take the bus with 2 kids and try and carry a bunch of bags. So sometimes not driving is not really an option. OK, it could be an option, but my lifestyle would have to change. A LOT. So, I will still drive, but only when I have to. Here's what I am planning on doing:

• I will take the bus to work whenever possible. Sometimes, this is not an option as taking the bus takes up to 1.5 hours each way (I live about a 15 minute drive from my work, but there is no good/reliable bus route to take during high traffic times), and sometimes these long commutes don't work with the childcare I have scheduled. But, when possible, I will bus it. I am also going to consider riding my bike to work more often. I sometimes bike to my field trips, depending on where they are, but I would like to look into biking to campus as well. I have very little time alone, and biking sounds more fun than driving for sure.
• I will be diligent about not taking the car for shorter trips that could easily be walked. This may sometimes require more advance planning on my part (and will require motivation during those lazy times and during rainy weather), but it will also help me lose those lingering pregnancy pounds.....
• When I do use the car to run errands, I will try and run a bunch of errands at once to pack all of my trips into one outing. That will mean less miles driven overall.
• If I can't walk, I will always try and take the bus before I consider driving. Again, this will take more advance planning on my part, but I honestly hate driving anyways. It will be better for the earth and better for me.
• That said, I know that I will still drive. We will be driving on our road trip, we will drive to take the dogs hiking, we will drive when there is no other easy way to get somewhere. I walk to get most of our groceries, but I will still drive to do big stock-up trips and to run other errands that aren't walkable. So, I know I won't be perfect, but I also know that I can do better. Let's see how much better I can do!

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