National Geographic's Green Guide for Families: A SV Moms Group Book Club
Special thanks to Nancy Friedman from New York City Moms Blog, who sourced this book club for us!
- Michele from ReadOutLoud thinks every day should be Earth Day
- Bonggamom from Finding Bonggamom is greening her family's lifestyle
- Cristie from The Traveling Circus says it's not easy being green
- Leticia from Tech Savvy Mama lists ways to be more green with your technology this year
- Sophia Leto from Moody Mommy thinks about how to live a healthy life
- Julie from Just Precious's visits to the farmer's market helps her children to make healthy green choices
- April from It's All About Balance is eating green and healthy
- Maxine from The french Mommy born in California is raising an enviro-radical...or just little Margo
- Linsey from Me
Too You has a green
birthday party coming right up
- Caitlin from A Hen and Two (Now Three) Chicks is loving this reference guide
- Eunice from Random Walk Down Mommy Street has ants that go marching one-by-one
- Kristie from Real Mommy Reviews is taking an active role in being kind to our earth
- Lisa H. from Hannemaniacs wishes it was easier being green
- Paige from Canning with Kids likes "green on a shoestring" tips
- Stacy from Laptop Television Mom was reminded that being green is more than common sense
- Stacy from Fabulous Miss S. watched Food, Inc. and read this book all in the same weekend, so is feeling like living a bit healthier
- Roxane from Rox and Roll refuses to leave her kids with an Earth dirtier than the ones her parents left her
- Heidi from Coast to Coast Mom thinks about her grandmothers and shades of green
- Nicole from Not Just a
Working Mom is going
on a greener vacation
Silicon Valley Moms Blog is hosting the book club discussion this month. Please go here to leave a comment below to join in the discussion.
Author Catherine Zandonella also answered a couple of questions
for SV Moms Group bloggers. If you have a question, please leave it in
the comments below.
Question: It’s easy to recycle (or even forgo) the plastic
bags from the market. How do you handle the endless sandwich, snack,
veggie and bread bags? Can these be recycled even if used and peppered
with crumbs or peanut
butter? (I’ve already reduced the plastic bag use by choosing reusable
containers for earth911.com or www.plasticbagrecycling.org.
(California state law requires that stores collect plastic carryout
bags for lunches, but we still use too many
baggies.)
Answer: Many types of plastic bags can be recycled. These include newspaper bags, produce bags, bread bags, and "zip lock" bags (remove zipper first) can be recycled. You can find locations that will accept plastic bags at recycling, but you'll have to check with the retailer to see if they also accept other types of bags.) www.plasticbagrecycling.org site has a list of the types of plastic bags and plastic wrappers that can be recycled. In addition to the plastic bags listed above, you can also recycle plastic dry cleaning bags and plastic wrap on furniture and other purchased goods such as paper towels, napkins, and diapers. See the web site for a full list.
Plastics that CANNOT be recycled, according to www.plasticbagrecycling.org, are:
- food or cling wrap
- prepackaged food bags including frozen food bags (e.g., prewashed salad bags)
- film that has been painted or has excessive glue
- other bags or films
- bio-based or compostable plastic bags
Make sure all bags are clean and dry before you recycle them!
Question: Our family swing set sits atop a blanket of recycled
tire
rubber. Until reading the Green Guide, we thought it was the best choice
(environmentally
& economically). Should we immediately swap out the rubber mulch for a natural wood product? If so, how should we
dispose it? Can the rubber mulch be placed in the recycling container?
Answer: Tire disposal is regulated on a state by state basis,
and you will have to contact your state's department of environmental
protection or waste management board to find out what to do with the
rubber mulch. In California, you might start with CalRecycle: www.calrecycle.ca.gov.
Past SV Moms Group Book Clubs have included:
- Top 100 Finger Foods and Top 100 Baby Purees by Annabel Karmel
- The Possibility of Everything by Hope Edelman
- The Mominatrix's Guide to Sex by Kristen Chase
- Coco Chanel & Igr Stravinsky by Chris Greenhalgh
- See Mom Run by Beth Feldman
- Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind by Phillip Done
- This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Topper
- Do One Nice Thing by Debbie Tenzer
- Birth Day by Mark Sloan, M.D.
- What Happened to the Girl I Married? by Michael Miller
- Testimony
by Anita Shreve
- Comfort
Food by Kate Jacobs
- Much
to Your Chagrin by Suzanne Guilette
- It
Started with Pop-Tarts by Lori Hanson
- Who By Fire by Diana Spechler
- The White Trash Moms Handbook by Michelle Lamar
- Writing Motherhood by Lisa Garrigues
- The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert W. Sears
- The Other Mother by Gwendolen Gross