Cooped Up in Chicken Coops

California chickens may get to spread their wings.

There is a new proposition in California that stipulates that animals caged for food consumption must have larger cages. People are rarely aware of the living conditions of the animals we eat. I strongly believe that eating a stressed out animal leads to poor human nutrition. We understand how stress ravages our own bodies, why would we think it would be different for animals?

We use the term "cooped up" and now I know why. The standard cage size per hen is the size of a 8x11 piece of paper. Can you imagine having your food and water dish in the front of a piece of paper and the rest of your living space in the back of a cage the size of a piece of paper? Proponents of this cage size say a chicken has "plenty of room" to turn around in their cage.

Proposition 2 will stipulate that a chicken must at least have enough space to spread its wings. This size change will impact large chicken raisers but can contribute to a higher quality egg. Companies are given up to six years to help companies transition to more humane accommodations.

This proposition will affect other animals as well.



*******
There is a new resource in town:
Denver Metro Living at its Finest:
Life in South West Douglas County
Lifestyle, Events, News and Gossip, and Real Estate for Castle Rock, Sedalia, Louviers, Larkspur, and Castle Pines and Castle Pines North in Colorado

Read more about Proposition 2 in California.

Watch YouTube videos on Prop 2 - against animal cruelty.

Mona's Restaurant Denver: Review

If you are a regular shopper of a natural grocery and if you've cut out trans fats and other preservatives out of your pantries at home then you may find that going out to eat often makes your stomach churn and leave you feeling sluggish. Even though I love going out to eat I've noticed that I have to be even more careful of the choices I make or else I will feel awful afterward, even if the food is delicious. Breakfasts are an even greater challenge as the oils restaurants use to make eggs are often incredibly greasy and rancid.

I am pleased to say that Mona's Restaurant in Denver offers a great, healthy, simple gourmet menu. I went to the new location on South Broadway a few Sundays ago. A friend of mine suggested the place. I took a look at their menu online but didn't find it too exciting at first glance. They have a seemingly basic menu and I braced my gut for the usual dinner fare.

I was in for a nice surprise. We didn't have to wait for a table at 11:30 on a Sunday morning.
I chose the Davinci's Crab Cake Florentine and was pleased that the muffin was replaced with a bed of steamed spinach. My breakfast was delicious. They also support local ranches by offering free range chicken, and meat without antibiotics and added hormones. It isn't easy to find restaurants that are making that commitment here in Denver. Their eggs are also free-range, antibiotic free. Even though I eat organic, grass fed meats at home, I've become vegetarian when I go out so that I can avoid corporate farmed meats so it was a refreshing change to be able to choose for any of the meat items on the menu.

Colorado Green Living - Green living for your health not just for our beautiful Colorado environment.

Green Babies, Sage Moms: Book Review

Green Babies, Safe Moms: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby (2008) by Lynda Fassa, Founder of GreenBabies.com, an organic baby and kid clothing store.

This book is for anyone who is interested in changing their life into a more non-toxic, organic, sustainable lifestyle. You do not have to be a mother or father expecting a new child to glean excellent advise from her easy to read book.

I am not a mother nor do I intend to be, but long ago I decided that I should behave as if I were pregnant. What I mean is, if doctors and manufacturers say that pregnant women shouldn't eat tuna, drink coffee, or take certain medications and nutraceuticals because they may harm the baby, then I decided that my health (without a baby growing inside) is just as valuable and therefore, I shouldn't consume those things. It was tough giving up tuna and other fish that tend to host high levels of mercury. It was even more difficult to give up coffee but I believe that I enjoy a greater level of health because of it. Similarly, readers of Green Babies, Sage Moms can benefit and make their bodies and environments less toxic, or at the very least, become more aware of the bombardment of pesticides, herbicides and other chemical onslaughts and the unsustainable, consumptive lifestyle many of us lead.

Fassa enlightens us on organic foods and the chemicals incompatible with human life in cosmetics, perfumes, and hair products. She also talks about the use of pesticides used in cotton production and she touches on the burdens of waste in our trash dumps and how to improve indoor air quality by using non-toxic cleaners.

The book is full of resources and commentary by other green industry leaders. It is a quick read and is hopeful and not a "doom and gloom, scare the pants off you" book.

Green Babies, Safe Moms: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby should be available in your local library (that is where I pick up my copy) or through Amazon.

Safe Green Living - Because not all sustainable living is healthy for humans.
Tips for non-toxic, organic, sustainable green living.

Colorado Needs "Water Day" Earth Day Reflections

The different domains of the globe can be separated by categories: earth, air, and water. Earth Day celebrates all three domains collectively in an attempt to encourage each of us to nurture and respect our own relationship with the environment. But in Colorado there seems to be a more pressing concern, our water, or better said, the lack of it.

Yesterday afternoon I watched a small dark grey plume of smoke over a ridge in Castle Rock. I later learned that two residential homes were burned but at the time I felt the sickening dread of "fire season". My family was intimately involved in the Hayman Fire in 2000. Dread, fueled by slippery winds and erratic fire paths, toyed with our emotions and our property for days. Would we be spared? Sadly we watched acres of gorgeous Colorado mountain terrain be swallowed up in a voracious fireball.

Our arid climate not only fuels fires but also the pine beetle devastation that has stripped our ski slopes, leaving the scrawny brown remains of the once evergreen, majestic trees. What can we do to preserve the purity of our Colorado water and conserve our water?

Ideas:

"Grass-roots" Green Technology
This idea is personally untried, but our new lawn care specialist is about to help us conserve water on our lawn. The soil beneath our Castle Rock lawn is claylike. The clay chokes plant roots and makes it very difficult for plants, trees, and grass to grow. Each year our new lawn has progressively gotten worse. We watered as much as we were allowed (per water restrictions) but the wind and arid climate seemed to siphon off the water we put on it. We watch our water glaze over our grass, onto our sidewalk and down into the city drain just like a watershed. This fast water path leaves behind our still yellow-green grass. Frustrated, we researched weather-based irrigation systems but then our new eco-friendly lawn management consultant recommended that we put top soil on the grass so that the nutrient rich soil can work its way down into our clay soil and help break up the death-gripe of our dirt. Several applications throughout the summer should not only feed our lawn but also help with water absorption so we can stop watching the run-off pool on our sidewalks.

Advanced "Green Technology"
For those of you attracted to gadgets, our low tech suggestion of adding topsoil may not be that exciting. Many new LEED certified green homes include a water irrigation system that uses a satellite connection to receive weather reports at your home. The irrigation system then self-regulates the amount of water needed to keep your landscaping alive and healthy. Use of the water-weather monitoring software system may mean that you do not need to follow water restriction calendars. Check with your town’s water department to see what the restrictions are.
Looking for more?
Harmony Lawns – Non-toxic lawn care – serving Castle Rock and ParkerThey offer low emission lawn care and their rates are affordable. Contact them now to get on their summer schedule.

WeatherTRAK ET plus system:
Read their article entitled: Is Your Irrigation System Killing Your Landscape?
WeatherTRAK Smart Irrigation - Save Water & Your Landscape
to find out more about their self-regulating water irrigation system.


Ten Steps to Non-toxic Lawn CareThis article is featured on the Breast Cancer Research and Education Fund website.

Colorado Green Living - Green living for your health not just for our beautiful Colorado environment.

Happy Earth and Water Day!

What is "Green"?

Everyone is going green...

"Green" is the now popular phrase that describes a lifestyle, commitment, and philosophy toward sustainable living. The idea is to minimize human impact on the environment by reducing the amount of waste and toxins each individual produces so that we pollute less, destroy less animal and plant habitat and leave a smaller garbage legacy.

Everyone is talking "green" including HGTV who is giving away a "green home", Wal-Mart, who is now carrying organic cotton bath towels, and yesterday my national chain grocery store gave me some documentation about how their company is "going green".

To me, the phrase green is synonymous with sustainable living, it is just easier to say. Sustainable living means that you take the resources from the earth that you need without leaving toxic sludge or minimized resources for future generations. The idea is that our grandchildren will not be forced to deal with polluted waters, burgeoning waste dumps and depleted soils just so that we could have all the consumer goods and lifestyle we want.

Is Green a Fad?I hope not. While our interest and commitment in environmental issues wanes and waxes over the years, developing a habit of contributions like recycling, buying energy saving appliances, recycling computers and cell phones, using rechargeable batteries, supporting local farmers and ranchers by purchasing their food directly at farmers markets, nourishing your family’s body and mind with organic foods, and reducing our use of water and electricity are habits we can integrate into our lives and they truly will make a positive difference in the world – especially if many of us do it.

Green Means RespectNative American's have a legacy of respect for Mother Nature. Their culture and stories warned that what we take from the earth, we must replenish. Going green means that we have respect for ourselves, our families, other humans, other life forms, and the earth.

Looking for more?

Tips for non-toxic, organic, sustainable green living.

Shades of "Green" - Deciding Who is Eco-Friendly

Shades of "Green"- Deciding Who is Eco-Friendly

Today I read a newspaper article criticizing Whole Foods shopping market. One criticism is that they shouldn't sell produce from other countries, presumably because of the fuel it takes to bring such a shipment to the United States and then distribute it to other stores. While this is a sound argument, it makes me think that we should keep in mind that going green is subject to interpretation. Each person and company decides to what degree they want to help save the environment.

Some people make seemingly drastic choices like giving up their automobile. We may think they are noble because of their choice (or crazy). They offset their carbon footprint but then someone else that is even more devoted to environmental responsibility will argue, "Yes, you gave up driving but you still use fossil fuels when you take the smog producing buses and trains. You should give that up entirely and ride a bicycle, like me." This more eco-friendly person smugly commends himself for how earth-sensitive he is.

Then, his woman friend decides he is too proud of himself and she condemns his choices because his bicycle is made by adorable, poverty stricken children in factories insensitive to fair-trade agreements. And what is worse; consider the amount of fuel it took to ship his bicycle to him. What a waste of natural resources. "What you should do is walk everywhere, like I do," she loftily proclaims. I can see the reasonableness of her argument too but what about the shoes she uses to walk around in? Where did they come from? How many parts and from which places did the materials come from? What environmental impact did the dye residues have that were used to make her trendy "earth-friendly" turquoise shoes?

There is an ideal, eco-friendly society, and then there is where we truly are. Our societies are so far removed from native earth living, that it is honestly unrealistic to expect that everyone must completely revert back to that lifestyle. If someone would like to join an earth commune then that is great but to judge others and dismiss their own efforts at environmentally sensitive living or criticize companies that are bringing organic foods to the masses is juvenile and egotistic.


We wrap up our criticism in a stifling environmental blanket that thinly disguises the American love-hate relationship with success. Most all of us want to be successful and often that success is measured in freedom and some degree of wealth and fame. But when someone becomes too successful, we act like a blood thirsty crowd in old black and white films, yelling and swing pitchforks and torches, claiming "Kill that profiting (successful) beast!"

I believe in living in harmony not only with the earth, but with each other and with our selves. If you personally believe it is wrong to eat produce from other countries because of the fossil fuel costs, then you can chose to only buy local foods rather than criticize the companies that provide both options. The beautiful thing about America is that the choice is entirely up to you. I hope we will always have that choice.

Safe Green Living, Examining the controversies and misleading information about going green and earth-friendly living.

Organic Baby Gifts: Clothes, Non-toxic Toys

Organic Baby Gifts: Bed Linens, Fun Outfits, and Safe, Non-toxic Toys

Give babies a true fresh start. Why expose them to man-made chemicals before their immune systems have a chance to adapt to life in our toxic world.

Does it seem a little excessive to buy organic clothing? Read about the chemicals incorporated into fabrics and clothing here. Flame retardants, pesticides, and formaldehyde are just a few examples of the chemicals in non-organic clothing. Decide if you would like to give your baby a non-toxic start. Organic clothing is still a new industry so the prices can be a little high. Because of the higher prices, organic baby clothing and bed linens make for excellent gifts.

Colorful Organic Onesies - Kimono style, Long sleeve, bodysuit style, short sleeve



Keep Baby's head warm, protected and comforted, organic cotton baby hats


Organic cotton baby pants, long


Organic Bunting Blankets

Organic baby clothing must be tightly worn in order to be considered safe by federal authorities. They are afraid loose baby clothing may be a fire hazard and that is why most baby clothes are treated with flame retardants. Keep your baby away from flames, cigarettes, and avoid the need for chemically doused clothing.



Organic Baby Wrapping Blankets



Organic cotton diapers, washable wool diapers



Bamboo Baby ProductsBamboo is becoming more and more popular. Thomas Edison planted hundreds of bamboo tree varieties on his summer property in Fort Meyers, Florida. He was trying to find an affordable natural rubber source. We are still finding new ways to use bamboo.



Organic Baby Gift Baskets
Wow them with these ready-made baskets.



Non-toxic teething toys -
some made from 100% organic Egyptian cotton, soft veggie toys, stuffed animals



Organic Baby Bedding and Linens Mattress protectors, organic wool mattresses that help regulate the baby's body temperature...

Choosing Alternative Energy from Your Electric Company

A lot of people research global warming online but far fewer research ways to actually try minimize our daily environmental impact. Confusion over the rapidly developing green technologies, prohibitive costs, or perhaps the perceived complexity of getting started may stop people from advanced earth-friendly living.

One simple way to help support alternative energy consumption is to sign up with your local energy provider to use alternative energy for your home. You may be paying slightly more for your energy in some cases but if enough of us do it, then hopefully the prices will come down. We’ve seen this phenomenon with organic food prices. We do live in a capitalist society where consumer prices are generally driven by consumer demand (gas prices seem to be an exception lately), so eventually consumer forces could drive down the costs of alternative energy. Also, by selecting alternative energy for your own home, you not only let the energy companies know of your priorities but you also help support research in alternative energy technologies.

Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) (serving Douglas County Colorado areas) allows customers to purchase renewable energy credits and once your home is set up with the program, you do not need to worry about it again. According to the IREA website, buying renewable energy credits is a more simple, more affordable way to support green energy consumption.

Frequently asked questions about Renewable Energy Credits (RECs)

Contact your local energy company to see if they offer a similar program.

Safe Green Living

Taking Your City Hide to a Country Life

Just as there are romantic notions of life in the West, some have romantic notions of life on a farm or ranch. I suspect that most ranchers and farmers were born into that lifestyle and from what I read; many are doing everything they can to get out of it. But how can you learn about country life if you were born in a concrete jungle or in a suburban sprawl?

My attraction to an exodus to acreage, open spaces, fresh air, small livestock, and organic gardening, may be cut short by my impatience with my internet connection speed, who knows. Still, it is tempting to think about living out among the elements instead of watching them on the Weather Channel.

Personally, I am interested in having pygmy goats and alpacas. They are adorable, great for children, have tax advantages, provide income through milk and hair harvesting and apparently, they are not very high maintenance.

There is a prominent alpaca raising community here in Douglas County and the free alpaca shows at the Douglas County Event Center have drawn me into their charm and income potential for their luxurious fleece which is harvested without harming the animal.
If you are thinking about leaving the city to get back to a more simple, natural life, and want to learn more about how to make the transition and learn about having, goats, chickens, alpacas, and even honey bees, then you may find the following sites fun and informative.

Looking for more?
Goodbye City Life
Easy to understand articles about raising and selecting goats, chickens, and honey bees

Pictures of Pygmy Goats – Warning: They are adorable, your children will love them

Free “Raising Alpacas” Newsletter

Loveland, Colorado Alpaca Ranch

Tax advantages of raising alpacas

Find Colorado Farmers' Markets

The Colorado gold rushes filled many with hopes of wealth and encouraged them to go to great lengths to pan for rare gold nuggets. Today, living in a state where most think vegetables and fruits come from a major grocery store, I feel like the dedicated gold seeker as I look for fresh, locally grown early spring produce.

The longer spring days are urging my body to find local produce that still has its water and nutrient content in abundance. Because our climate is not like California or Florida, most of us have to wait until June or July to shop our local markets. At least that is what I used to think but Santa Fe has a winter farmer's market. I haven't been yet, but I am curious to see what is available there. Maybe Coloradan's just aren’t that committed to local produce.

Thankful a few hearty souls open the farmer's markets early so I plan to show up right away to see what is available.

Boulder's Farmers Market opens April 5, 2008

Fort Collins' Farmers Market opens April 19, 2008

Highlands Ranch Farmers Market opens early May

Durango's Farmers Market opens May 10, 2008

Find a local Colorado farmers market near you

Find a local farmers market anywhere in the United States

Shopping at farmers markets is a fun experience that not only gets you outside, exposes you to different kinds of produce that you may not find in the main stores, helps you learn more about sustainable agriculture when you talk to the local farmers, gives you a burst of flavor and moisture because the produce is fresh, supports local economies, and it is an affordable way to eat organic food.

Safe Green Living - Because not all sustainable living is healthy for humans. Tips for non-toxic, organic, sustainable green living.

Why Buy a Hobby Farm

guest article:

Buying a small farm is generally an emotive experience. Every purchaser has a unique set of reasons for taking such a step, however, general themes can be identified and several broad categories of hobby farmers can usually be observed in most regions.

For Investment Interest
Astute investors will often purchase a parcel of land close to the urban fringe with the expectation that the urban sprawl will inevitably produce handsome profits from subdivisions or redevelopment. Such farmers will often carry out a minimum of work and may graze some animals in order to keep the property tidy. It is unlikely that long-term activities such as re-vegetation will take place.

For Lifestyle Or Privacy
More commonly hobby farmers have a desire to live away from the prying eyes of neighbours, but be near enough to the city in order to commute to work. Some owners may have little interest in working the property as a place for agricultural production, and as a result, carry out a minimum of work maintaining the site.A pleasant environment for the children is often cited as the reason for moving to a rural property. Others may combine the benefits of a rural lifestyle with the personal aim of land regeneration. The land may not be used for agricultural purposes, but there is a desire to see the site nurtured for the sake of fauna and flora. These are certainly noble ambitions.

For Retirement And Memories
I have met quite a few older migrants who want to relive past rural experiences, similar to their native homeland. Many such people migrated to the city, spending a lifetime working at menial tasks within a factory setting. An element of nostalgia is apparent, yet they take lavish pride in their farm and usually develop highly productive farms. Often these farmers choose to live in the city near their families and commute to the farm. Unfortunately, time is often against such people, and due to an inability to maintain the property with age, there is no choice but to sell.

For The Enterprising Spirit
There is also a brave and adventurous group of hobby farmers who want to try their hand at something new or novel. The range of enterprises is only limited by one’s imagination and in general a few years are needed before the enterprise is deemed a success or failure. In the meantime the owner may work full time, operating the enterprise on weekends. The majority of such enterprises are doomed to failure, but this is often a learning experience leading to success in the future.A very wide range of enterprises such as emu growing, native bush foods, snail production and garlic cultivation may be attempted. From hundreds of new projects, some will be a success, but the majority will be a learning experience at best and a financial disaster at worst. In many cases insufficient planning and research is carried out, or the owner soon comes to the conclusion that far too much work is involved for the potential returns.

For Passion And Challenges
In my case I have no great illusion or grand plan, but I look forward to the physical challenges involved in maintaining 5 acres with limited capital. I hope one day to look upon my farm with pride and to grow and share some of the fruits of this labour.

About the Author
This article is taken from Alf's Hobby farm site at My Hobby Farm. Alf also writes in details on farm machiney and implements covering Tillers and cultivators as well as Farm Tractors.

City-dwellers Return to the Farm and Gardening

I am currently reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver (2007). Barbara Kingsolver is a popular novelist who wrote the lovely stories "Animal Dreams" and "The Bean Trees." Kingsolver is one of the few successful, creative women I've encountered who use motherhood and domesticity to cultivate their creativity, making it richer than before. She seems to balance the two with ease and good nature.

The book is also authored by her husband, Steven L. Hopp and her daughter, Camille Kingsolver. The authorship is just one example of the commitment her family took to bring awareness to the degradation of the food we eat.

Her family decided to change their lifestyle, move to a small farm and commit themselves to growing their own food and only eating locally for year's time. The book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is an account of their year. It is more than a memoir. They include resources, statistics about pesticide use, petroleum costs for food delivery, food diversity and variety changes, and factory farming. They also help city-dwellers understand why small farms are still critical to our society and not merely for nostalgia.

They aren't the only ones plucking themselves away from the convenience of grocery stores and urban living. Many people are choosing to return to small farm living as a way to live a sustainable, healthy life.

Looking for more?Farm Challenges: a hobby farmer shares his experience

Learn how changes in the Farm Bill could lead to fewer choices for consumers.

Organic fruit growing grants

Want to grow your own food without moving onto a small farm? Try organic container growing.

Non-toxic green product information

Desperately Seeking Organic Food in Castle Rock

My husband and I moved from Littleton to Castle Rock, Colorado three years ago. We absolutely love the town but during the winter and early spring we find ourselves back in Littleton twice a week to buy fresh organic produce. I am deeply envious of the large Vitamin Cottage that recently opened in Parker and we often go there to stock up on their non-limp produce.

But the more I learn about developing a sustainable life the more I become convinced at how ridiculous it is that we drive 15-20 miles each way to buy organic produce and antibiotic free meats. However, I am not willing to give up organic food to eat from my local grocery store just to save on my petroleum use.

One may argue that large local chains offer more organic foods than ever before. I agree, they offer more foods with the organic label; however, the strict guidelines for organic labeling are continuously being lowered thanks to the powerful influence of conventional food lobbies. This dilution of the organic label allows more companies to affordably get into the game but it means the consumers are left with less healthy foods. Organic labels are quickly becoming meaningless.

To try and avoid this dilution, I try to only buy from companies who have been in the business a long time and who have higher standards for their organic food quality than the government imposes. I tend to think that companies who only offer organic products and who have been in the industry for a long time have higher quality standards. I will share information about these companies as I research them further. So while large grocery stores do have more "organic" food, I rate those products as better than conventional but by what margin? I do not yet know. Whole food nutritionists urge us to eat locally grown organic foods for optimal nutrient content and minimal adverse earth impact.

Eating locally grown organic foods is challenging to do when you live in states with long winters. Our short growing season in Colorado and seasonal farmer's markets also makes it challenging to eat locally. So the winter and early spring months find me making my bi-weekly trek to larger suburbs to forage for the healthiest food available. Meanwhile I hope for and lobby for a small natural foods grocery like Vitamin Cottage or Wild Oats to take root in fast-growing town of Castle Rock.

Eating Local in Colorado

The Colorado growing season is starting to take root and I can't wait. Last summer my husband and I visited a local farm using "zero impact" agriculture methods to grow the most delicious, satisfying local produce I've ever tasted. When I eat fresh organic vegetables and fruits I need to keep a napkin handy because they burst with water and flavor. Organic vegetables and fruits make conventional fruits and vegetables taste like Styrofoam blocks in comparison to organic live foods. I didn’t think eating vegetables could taste any better until I tried the produce from Willow Grove Farms in Castle Rock, Colorado. Located just off Highway 85, Willow Grove Farms is oddly sandwiched between Castle Pines and a large new-home development in Castle Rock called The Meadows.

Willow Grove is a sustainable farm whose compact rows of vegetables and herbs takes up little space and minimal water but provides ample supply and abundant flavor. I created the most interesting, nutrient rich salads using their spring greens.

If you are interested in eating local, whether it is to reduce your carbon footprint, support local farms, or to eat fresher foods to get the most nutrient benefits possible but you do not want to maintain your own garden then I strongly encourage you to visit the Willow Grove Farms website to find out about their delivery schedule. Their season hasn't started yet but soon they will offer succulent greens followed by other vegetables and herbs. Sign up them now to find out which vegetables are in season and are available.

Just how helpful is eating local for the environment and our dependence on petroleum?"If every U.S. citizen ate just one meal a week (any meal) composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country’s oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week. That’s not gallons, but barrels."
- Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver (2007) p. 5

Safe Green Living

Earth Hour: Lights Out – Time to Get Romantic

Earth Hour is a global energy conservation movement where people voluntarily turn off their lights between 8 PM and 9 PM in their local time zone on Saturday, March 29th, 2008.

Other nations in the world have experienced blackouts but in the United States, that seems like a foreign concept. We might even panic – What will we do without lights or TV in the evening? Pulitzer Prize winning Indian novelist, Jhumpa Lahiri gives us an example in her short story "A Temporary Matter." She tells us a story of a husband and wife who were strained in their relationship when they were notified by the city that they would experience blackouts for several hours for several evenings in a row. Shukumar and Shoba (the characters in the story) are at a loss as to what they will do. Left with nothing else but to face each other, they begin to face the problems in their marriage by spending hours over a candlelit dinners and getting honest with themselves and each other again.

They found that they looked forward to these lights-out hours because they were not distracted by their modern lives. If you and your family and friends prepare, Earth Hour could be a fun, intimate and unusual way to spend an evening. It may even show us all that our modern lifestyle isn’t as critical as we think.

Looking for more?Video featuring the history of the Earth Hour movement which began in 2007.

Writer - Jhumpa Lahiri, "A Temporary Matter" in the collection of short stories called "Interpreter of Maladies" (1999)

Sign up for Earth Hour

Share Green Living Ideas

Safe Green Living

HGTV is Giving Away a "Green" House

HGTV's Dream Home giveaways always generate excitement because of how beautifully decorated and designed they are. Well, they are doing it again. This time they are going green and offering an eco-friendly house and hybrid Yukon.

The house is in Hilton Head, South Carolina so whether you would be willing to move there or use it as a vacation home, it is a fun, great place to be. The house features energy-efficient appliances and other green products.

You can enter to win HGTV’s Green Home contest here.

Tour the green home on HGTV's youtube video.

Non-toxic green product information

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Energy-efficient Dishwashers and Washers Make a Big Difference

Are you in the market for a new dishwasher, washer, or refrigerator? If so, you may be looking for the best price and durability but why not consider purchasing an appliance that conserves energy, saves water, and has low carbon dioxide emissions?

One simple step to save money on your utilities and to start your green home remodeling project is to buy an Energy-star rated appliance.

Many LEED certified builders (LEED is a green building certification) chose Bosch home appliances for their eco-friendly buildings. Bosch has a great informational video on their website that shows the environmental impact of home dishwashers, washing machines, and refrigerators. I encourage you to watch this short presentation. I was amazed at what a difference something as small as buying and using energy and water efficient dishwashers could make on the environment.

Energy-star rated appliance presentation

Looking for more?

What does "Energy star rating" mean?

Information on LEED certified home building

Non-toxic, green product information

Safe Green Living

Home Remodel Project: Green Home Ideas

Green home construction utilizes construction designs, energy saving technologies, and sustainable building materials that can be overwhelming to a new green consumer.

Even if you are not ready to buy a house that is off the grid, or buy a green constructed home, you can still take steps to lower your carbon footprint by slowly replacing materials and appliances in your home with green home products and energy-saving appliances and technology.

You do not have to spend a fortune to help protect the environment and create a healthy, indoor environment for yourself and family.

Some ideas to get you started is to use energy-saving light bulbs and replace synthetic and chemically treated linens with organic bedding made of natural fibers, organic cotton, and natural dyes. Through the Safe Green Living blog, we will continue to explore affordable ways to go green. We will offer product reviews, articles, eco-philosophy and resources to get more information. Together we can go green with one choice at a time.

Safe Green Living - Just because it is earth-friendly doesn't mean it is safe for humans...

Author Donates Royalties, Protesting Dam Building

India has undergone many dam projects as have many other developing countries. Foreign investment, flood control, irrigation canals, and energy production are the cited reasons for dam construction but critics claim that the devastation to the human population living in the flood zones and the ecological damage, as well as statistics stating historical dam projects provide significantly less energy output as expected, encourage extreme resistance to dam construction.

In India, massive protests in the form of hunger strikes, and donations of book royalties from famous Indian writer Arundhati Roy* keep this debate in the news. Book Review: "Power Politics", 2001, author Arundhati Roy, Indian female writer This book is a series of essays exploring water dam building and energy production in India, political response to September 11, 2001 in expectation of a U.S. war with Afghanistan, and free speech.

One essay from the book is called "The Reincarnation of Rumpelstiltskin." Roy provides statistics and arguments against the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Indian citizens who lived and farmed on lands where the Indian government wanted to flood in the construction of dams. Resistance against dams, the overall ecological damage being the primary grounds of argument, is a common one in the United States; however, in most cases, a dam displaces few people.

Roy opens our eyes to the plight of thousands and thousands of people living in India, most of them already poor and with little political influence who are forced to leave their homes and try to find a new way to support themselves. I am not in a position to assure you of the accuracy of her statistics and statistics can always be manipulated, but her image of the conditions of the displaced is well worth being aware of. The Sardar Sarovar dam in India was fiercely debated.

One website described one of the resettlement villages for the people who were displaced by this dam. "The sites, severely lacking basic infrastructure such as sewage and irrigation facilities, can themselves hardly be called villages. Yet since the mid-1990s, these sites have been home to 80 families who once lived in the now-submerged village of Makhekheda. Nearly 12,000 other families live in sites that pass as villages off similar unnavigable roads across Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. These families, who had their land and livelihoods submerged as a result of the 360-foot high Sardar Sarovar dam, dot the unseen landscape of the Sardar Sarovar project."**

Statistics of the people affected vacillate wildly between 50,000 to 1 million*** however, to the families involved, the gravity of their situation is barely affected by a massive number of neighbors. For these families, they are forced to promptly create a new way of earning a living and rewrite traditions that may be generations old. The hunger strikes and protests against these dam projects may reside more with people rehabilitation and perhaps less on the ecological damage or even the economic necessity. Critics also claim that many of the dam projects end up providing only a fraction of the amount of energy intended.****

Arundhati Roy I sought out her work because an essay I was reading said that Roy believes that individuals should take responsibility for themselves and stop claiming to be a victim. Few people feel this way today as many of us are tempted to blame the government, parents, spouses, or society for our own shortcomings. "Power Politics" is her only book I’ve read so far. Further research into her work leaves me impressed at her forthrightness, clarity of purpose, and commitment to others.

She has been widely criticized for her actions and has also been taken to court. In response to criticism, she said: "I am hysterical. I'm screaming from the bloody rooftops. And he and his smug little club are going 'Shhhh... you'll wake the neighbours!' I want to wake the neighbours, that's my whole point. I want everybody to open their eyes".*****

Looking for more?
The International Day of Action Against Dams For Rivers, Water, and Life Narmada River project – problems and solutions – evaluates Indian dam project calling for 3,000 dams on the Narmada River.
Cited sources *Arundhati Roy donates book royalties **”Dam-Affected Resettlement in India: A Photo Essay” by Chhandasi Pandya, April 29, 2006 ***”Dam-Affected Resettlement in India: A Photo Essay” by Chhandasi Pandya, April 29, 2006 http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=10177 ****Dams do not provide expected energy output *****Arundhati Roy quote : SCIMITARS IN THE SUN, Frontline, Volume 18 - Issue 01, Jan. 06 - 19, 2001

Earth-friendly Products Hazardous to Your Health?

The Green Movement is gaining momentum and that is worth celebrating but before we rush headlong into trendy, eco-sensitive products, we need to ask ourselves if these products are safe for humans.

For decades scientists and ecologists have warned us about using plastic because post-consumer plastic takes up considerable space in our landfills and takes too long to degrade (if it is biodegradable at all).

To answer this growing ecological threat, plastic recycling technology is growing more consumer-friendly and more affordable but do recycled plastic products pose a risk for human health?

EcologyCenter.org lists the adverse health effects of plastic. People are now warning us to never heat up food cooked in plastics because the heat allows the chemicals in plastic to transfer to our food. The little plastic microwavable trays may be convenient to use but in the long run they can contribute to serious health problems and disease. Plastic toxicity can disrupt our body’s hormone balance which can lead to “cancers, birth defects, immune system suppression, and developmental problems in children.”*

Using post-consumer plastic products in our home or even wearing clothing made out of recycled plastic bottles increase your exposure to the toxic chemicals found in plastics. Outdoor adventure companies are known for the earth-friendly, eco-conscious philosophy so maybe that is why they introduced plastic fiber lines of clothing made of recycled plastic bottles but before you buy clothes made out of recycled plastic, I strongly encourage you to research plastic’s effect on our health.

Looking for more?Chart – Lists specific chemicals in plastic and their known ill-effects on the human body.

Safe Green Living - Earth-friendly, family safe

*http://www.ecologycenter.org/factsheets/plastichealtheffects.html March 25, 2008