Going Back to School Green

If you are a parent who cautiously monitors the lifestyle habits of your family by implementing eco-friendly items and ideas into your household, you are setting the groundwork to instill positive green habits into your child’s life. Your child spends a great deal of their early life in school and it is difficult for them to make green lifestyle choices while they are away from home each day.

There are simple ways in which you can easily implement green living habits into your child’s school year and help the environment without making huge changes to your family’s lifestyle.

Pack a Green Lunch

Cold lunches help protect the environment because they cut down on plastic waste from the cafeteria that needs to be discarded and chemicals in soaps used to wash lunch trays. Purchase an eco-friendly lunch box or bag that holds containers for sandwiches and snacks. A lunch box can be re-used rather than buying paper or plastic bags that have to be disposed of in the environment.

Try to keep the lunch wrapper-free by adding fresh veggies and fruits or using containers made of cloth or metal. The standard juicebox is coated with plastic and has a plastic straw; however, it can be easily eliminated by using a small metal bottle or other container. It may be hard to get your child to eat a cold lunch every day, so try setting an initial goal of two or three times a week.

Eco-friendly School Supplies

Another small way to help the environment is to outfit your child with green school supplies. Binders, pens, pencils, pencil boxes, and notebooks that are made from recycled materials are a great way to help your child do their best while helping Mother Nature at the same time. There is no need for embarrassment with eco-friendly school supplies as they come in a variety of hip and fashionable designs.

Toss the vinyl backpack for a more eco-friendly hemp backpack or 100% post-consumer recycled rubber pack. When dressing your child, make sure you buy from a company that makes PVC-free shoes and select clothing produced from untreated, uncolored, and pesticide-free organic cotton.

Carpool After-School Activities

 After-school sports and activities are in full force the day the first school bell rings. Running around for football practice, band, or other activities is not only time consuming but is also hard on the environment. Transportation and gas costs typically double in the fall for most parents when school starts up for their kids. Setting up a car pool system with other parents limits the amount of gas you use and the emissions you put in the air.

Organize Gatherings With Other Parents

Organize a green-living group with other parents to share eco-friendly tips and ideas. A green-living group is a great time to ask others about car pooling and alternating pick-up days from school. Host a clothes swap so that items children no longer use can be traded with others; this is a great way to get to know other parents and help cut back on environmental waste in landfills. Get together a group of parents and kids to pick-up litter, help with recycling, or plant some trees.

By implementing small ways to go green in your life, you are one step closer to leading an eco-friendly lifestyle. You are a role-model and reflection of your child, so when you show you care about Mother Nature, your child will too.

Going Green Painlessly

Are you perplexed by the new green movement? Perhaps you genuinely care about the earth, but you fail to see how using biodegradable laundry detergent will change the world in any meaningful way. If someone told you how important your small changes were, and why you should care, you would be all in. Read on, because below are simple ideas that will vastly improve our earth and make your personal shade of green a little, well, greener.

While most people that care about the environment want to take action, they simply do not know where to begin. These simple steps take little effort and can make a measurable impact on our environment.

Conserve Water

Here is an easy one. Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth. Most of us turn the water on, run our brush under the water for a moment, then brush away for a minute or two, all the while water is running down the drain. By turning off the water you will save an average of 8 gallons of water per day!

Go Old School

Maybe our parents had it right. Use cloth napkins and real plates instead of paper. This saves a tree, and it may even encourage your family to linger around the table a bit longer.

Our grandparents hung laundry out to dry in the fresh air and sunshine. While this is a nice idea, it isn’t very practical in terms of simplifying our daily life. We can, however, look at how we use the clothes dryer. This appliance uses more energy than any other appliance in the house except the refrigerator. Use the moisture sensor feature if you have it, which only dries clothes until they are just dry.

Go for the Light

This is a fun one because for little effort, you can feel pretty darned good about yourself in terms of saving energy. As your light bulbs burn out, replace them with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL). Energy saving bulbs use 75% less energy than regular bulbs and can last up to ten times longer.

Ban the Bag

I find it distracting, and mildly annoying really, to be asked every time I am in the store, “paper or plastic?” Pausing while I weigh my options, I ponder over what is more useful to me versus what is politically correct. “Plastic” I say with feigned confidence. I keep my gaze straight ahead to deflect any judgmental eyebrow raising that may be done by my peers in line. Actually, the answer should always be paper, or even better, bring your own bag (BYOB).

It is estimated that one trillion plastic bags are used every year worldwide. These bags don’t completely breakdown when discarded. Rather, they become tiny particles that remain in our soil and eventually make it into the food chain.

Be a Turn Off

There used to be a school of thought that it was actually more energy efficient to leave a computer on 24/7. This is clearly not the case as 75% of the power consumed by home electronics takes place while they are turned off but still in standby mode. An easy solution to this is using a power strip for your electronics. When you are done in your office for instance, one flick of the switch turns off everything.

A lot of people resist going green because they feel it is too much work, or will take too much time out of their already packed schedules. However, little changes here and there actually do add up to measurable energy savings. These simple tips can get you started in moving in a decidedly green direction.

Green Burials: Economical and Eco-Friendly

The process of funerals and burials is something that everyone has to face at some point in their lives. The loss of a loved one is a traumatic experience and making funeral arrangements can be very stressful during a time when people are overcome with grief. Funeral and burial arrangements can cost thousands of dollars. When an individual passes on without any arrangements made, and little or no insurance, the added stress can send a family reeling with tough decisions to make. Green burials are an option many people are starting to consider.

In a traditional burial, the body is embalmed with toxic chemicals that eventually make their way into the water system. Cremation is another option many people have turned to over the years, and although most crematoriums have made considerable advancements to reduce toxic emissions, the risk of environmental damage still exists.

What is a green burial? A green burial, also referred to as a natural or woodland burial, strives to provide an economical means of burial by allowing the body to return to the earth in a natural manner without doing additional damage to the environment. Because it is not necessary to embalm the body, toxins are not released into the air or water. The body is buried is a simple container made of biodegradable material such as bamboo, wicker, or cardboard which allows the body to return to the earth gradually and naturally. In some cases the body may only be buried in a simple shroud.

Green burials take place in forests, woodlands, and other natural settings. Natural markers such as a stone or the planting of a tree can be used to mark the gravesite. GPS markers are sometimes used by cemeteries to keep track of where each individual is buried. Cremated remains may also be interred in a woodland cemetery if the family chooses.

The option of a green burial is a sound economical and environmental alternative. A typical woodland burial costs an average of $2,000 compared to the costly price of traditional arrangements, which may average $10,000 or more. A natural burial is a good choice for environmentalists and those who enjoy natural surroundings because they can help the environment long after they’re gone as well as during life.

People may be concerned that they won’t be able to have a traditional memorial service if they choose a green burial; however, this is not true, and a typical memorial service may be conducted prior to burial or at the gravesite. Although green burials are considered a new option for laying the deceased to rest, they are actually a return to the ways of bygone years. It is reminiscent of a time when the deceased were buried naturally, often on their own land or that of a family member. This type of burial is still allowed in some rural areas. A green burial embodies the true nature of allowing the body to return to the earth.

To find natural cemetaries in your area, or to learn more about green burials, please visit the following websites:

http://www.naturalburial.coop
http://www.greenburials.org
http://www.gravematters.us

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