New Posts on MightyNest: Eco-art supplies and BPA (hard to get rid of)

Here's a post from last week about the recent developments on BPA.  Seems that BPA is hard to get rid of-- especially in canned goods.  Oh, and those waxy recipts?  Coated with it.  Check out the post over at MightyNest, then wash your hands!

And to end on a positive note, MightyNest has some great new eco-art supplies to offer.  I love the sketch pad made from recycled paper and banana fibers, and the crayons for little hands.   The colored pencils are made from newspaper in the U.S.  Hoorah!  Take that, Crayola!

Book Review: Practically Green by Micaela Preston

Run out and buy this book.  Really, that is this review in a nutshell.

I've been friendly with Micaela Preston, author of the fantastic Mindful Momma blog, for awhile in the blogosphere.  And when I heard she had written a book about green living, I wanted to check it out.

I was completely blown away about what I received.  Practically Green is the book I wish I so desperately had when I became a parent (and before that, for that matter).  Like many parents to be, I became more motivated to live as green and chemical free when I became pregnant.  And this book shares information that I had to find in a million different sources before.  But the mountains of text I had to search through?  Micaela takes all that and sizes it down into easily digestible chunks and usable, clear guides.

Topics such as:

*How to shop green and local on a budget
*Safer produce, seafood guides
*Where to find sustainable home goods
*Safer and green food storage
*How to make and find safer toys
*Cleaning and body care product ingredients to avoid charts
*Guide to eco-fashion for the whole family
*Recycling and Conservation guides

And that is really the tip of the iceberg.  Honestly, what I love most about this book is the inspired do it yourself projects and recipes.  I really don't like eating breakfast-- but I do love energy bars at about 9am and feel guilty because of the unsustainable wrappers they come in.  Then-- in comes Micaela with a recipes for granola or energy bars, no wrapper required!  And crackers, god do I love them, but we buy and eat WAY too many.  She shares a recipe for how to make your own that I want to try.  If my cracker jones is so severe, I will actually have to cook them!  Micaela encourages us to make snacks and food for our families that is not packaged-- and she explains how to do it.

And I am no crafter, but I am inspired by all the ways she encourages us to create lovely items with very little.  This book holds recipes for lotions, lip balm, baby wipes, baby gifts, green cleaners, and how to make baby toys, hats, reusable napkins, and plastic bag holders.

Also, throughout the book there are multiple resources in each section.  You'll find websites for more information, and green products and companies that she recommends.  The resources section alone is hugely valuable in and of itself!

Truly, this is a great book to get started with, or to develop certain areas of greeness that you hadn't considered before. Thanks to Micaela for putting all of this information and goodness into one book in such a lovely readable format.  This book is made for tired, sleep deprived parents like myself who want to find good, usable  information in one place, and want to live a greener, safer life with their families.

Sun Chips: The First 100 Percent Compostable Bag!

Today at the grocery store I was trying not to buy crackers or packaged granola bars.  See, I've been inspired by Micaela Preston's fantastic book, Practically Green, which I will be reviewing on this site this week.  As a preview, Micaela encourages readers to not buy packaged snacks, but to make them ourselves.

But then I walked by the snack aisle, and saw it.  The Sun Chips bag!  I quickly shoved it in my cart.  Now, I know they aren't healthy.  I know they come in a crinkly bag (Michael Pollan says no to crinkly bags!). BUT---

The bag is 100 percent compostable! It will go away in my very own compost bin!  How incredibly cool is that?  Not one brand at our local co-op has a bag that does that.  Not one brand in the healthy food section of our grocery store does that.  This is truly revolutionary, and now that the technology exists, all our plastic bags should be made this way (if it is a sustainable practice-- which remains to be seen).

I still agree that we should eat less processed foods of course.  And I will keep trying.  But most Americans won't make crackers from scratch, or stop eating food from crinkly bags.  So they all need to be compostable.  Hats off to Frito-Lay for making this bold move.  Now please do it with all of your snacks.  And you natural food brands?  Organic brands? Step it up.  Frito Lay has now set the bar for compostable bag packaging-- and everyone else needs to meet it as well.  Excessive, irresponsible plastic use in packaging should be a thing of the past.

I'll step off my soap box now.  And I've really eaten enough SunChips for one day.  Thank god they are almost gone, and I promise, it will be stovetop popcorn or homemade something or other tomorrow.

PS- I'll put the bag in the compost and let you know how it turns out.

Neuman: Why Republicans Should Support Student Loan Reform

(I was asked by The First Five Years Fund to repost this op-ed piece by Dr. Susan B. Neuman in support of student loan reform. Particularly, I was moved to post it by the part of the bill that supports early learning programs for at risk youth. We've seen the data-- students who fall behind in learning early spend much of their academic careers catching up. I've seen this directly as a teacher as well. By investing in early learning programs for at risk youth, we will reap high rewards in the productive lives of the students who benefit. Of course, we all benefit from this. 

And after paying off my student loans for years, I'm not interested in college students sending millions of dollars into huge bank companies and their lobbyists through their loans. That is what happens now, and this bill would change that. Now I'll stop and let you read the repost!)

As a lifelong Republican, I’ve watched with bewilderment as my party has missed some real opportunities. Yes, an opposition party must oppose. But quality legislation deserves our support, even if it comes from the other side, as long as it meets our long-standing principles. That’s why I fully endorse student loan reform and hope the Senate passes it. I join the six Republicans who voted for it in September with a majority of the Democrats in the House.


I’ve reviewed the comments and critiques of my fellow Republicans about this issue. Frankly, the opposition from some Republicans does not square with the reality of the benefits of this bill.


The legislation deserves GOP backing first and foremost because it eliminates government waste and saves billions — this is the bedrock of everything the party stands for. This bill will have the Education Department originate all new federal student loans instead of going through banks. The choice is simple — do we help Citibank make millions of dollars in profit from zero-risk student loans or find other ways to use the up to $87 billion in savings? That savings number comes from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.


The bill plows that $87 billion into things that Republicans typically say they support — like deficit reduction. Ten billion dollars of the savings would go to paying off the debt.


Next, $12 billion would go to reform and strengthen community colleges. We know community colleges are the lifeblood for training workers and matching them to local employers. Ask any Republican governor and he will tell you. But, as they say on TV, there’s more! The bulk of the overall savings would help student loans keep up with inflation. Again, this helps us win in a worldwide economy.


The key part of the bill, in my opinion, is the $10 billion for the Early Learning Challenge Fund. This fund will promote improvements in early learning standards and ensure students in the next generation have the skills that they need for kindergarten and the rest of their education.


The fund is targeted to at-risk children because the science is very clear that the first five years are where we can make a difference with this group. While serving in the Bush administration, my belief in the benefits of early education became even stronger. Economists, business leaders and child development experts agree that smart investments in early education are essential to closing the achievement gap.


By 4 years old, children from low-income families are already 18 months behind most other 4-year-olds. Education reform must include high-quality early learning opportunities from birth through age 5 to help give children what they will need to succeed. We know if they don’t succeed the outcomes can include dropping out of high school, lower wages, fewer life skills and trouble with the law.


The fund’s investment of $1 billion each year for 10 years will occur through competitive grants to challenge states to build comprehensive, high-quality early learning systems. When it comes to doling out taxpayers’ money, I’m all in favor of competition. Let the best ideas and states rise to the top.


When I served in government, I was tasked with implementing No Child Left Behind. I know the enormous difficulties and risks involved with any change in government. It’s easier to keep the status quo. But our current education system isn’t working. Republicans need to be part of the solution, and this bill aligns with their core beliefs. I urge them to join me.


Dr. Susan B. Neuman, former assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education, is a professor in educational studies at the University of Michigan. She served in the Bush administration from 2002 to 2004.