Strollerderby : eco-friendly

Saggy Mom Boobs Get a Lift! Carry It Off with the Cleavage Caddy

JeanneSager — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:29:00 GMT

Do your nipples hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? Have heart Mom, the baby bra size drop means you're just a better candidate to tote stuff in your tatas! Thanks to the folks at Lemondrop, I have found the seasons hot new tote - and those eco-friendly grocery bags have got nothing on this mama.

Having handed the girls over to our kids during the breastfeeding days, who knows better than Mom that we've got to put the fun in functional? The Cleavage Caddy offers extra space to stow your valuables, and maybe make Mom look boobylicious once again?

At the very least, the lace on the top of the bra insert is 100 percent sexier than the diaper bag where you're used to storing your credit card these days. At the worst? When you're reaching down to snatch some cash to pay for your coffee, you know the clerk won't be staring at the puke stain on your shoulder.

Image: Mazantri Creations

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Is Soy Milk or Cow’s Milk More Eco-Conscious?

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:24:00 GMT

Knowing that soybeans are genetically modified and often have to travel vast distances before ending up in milk cartons in my supermarket, I sometimes wonder whether it would be better for the environment to buy local organic cow’s milk.

It’s always a relief when an environmental question such as this has a definite answer. And in this case, Slate’s Green Lantern clearly comes down on the side of soy milk over cow’s milk as the more eco-friendly option.

The Lantern points out the it takes 14 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce one calorie of milk protein on a conventional farm, with that ratio being about 10 to 1 on an organic farm. One calorie of soybeans, on the other hand, only requires .26 calories of fossil fuels, and their production emits significantly less greenhouse gasses than producing cow’s milk.

Since I find cow's milk mildly nauseating, as far as I'm concerned this is one convenient truth.

Photo: Food Blogga

An Inconvenient Kiddie Pool Truth

Jen Chaney — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 13:02:00 GMT

Go ahead, let your kids splash around in that kiddie pool. Just remember that you're killing the Earth while they're doing it.

Okay, maybe I'm being a little harsh. But based on this item from the environmental Web site Grist.com, there really is no green version of the backyard pool. Both the hard, plastic kind and the inflatable ones are made from PVC/vinyl, which is not good for the environment and potentially hazardous to our health. And then there is that whole business of using all that excess water, which isn't environmentally sound either.

Grist recommends taking the boys and girls to a public wading pool. Or, if you have to go the kiddie pool route, buy a used one at a yard sale so as not to add more PVC material to the global mix. It seems weird to me that there isn't some eco-friendly alternative here. Maybe some savvy manufacturer can come up with one before next summer.

All I know is that I'm afraid to even ask what's wrong with the Slip and Slide.

Photo: Grist.com

Stay in a Loveless Marriage, Save the Planet

Kelly Mills — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 23:35:00 GMT

Ah, remember the good old days when people just stayed married for the kids? Now it seems you have to consider the planet in your decision to stick around or split, because a recent study says divorce is bad for the environment. I'm starting to think I'm going to get a little fatigued with the "bad for mother earth" stories, just like I did with the whole "everything makes you/your kids fat" news barf. For god's sake, I do recycle and all...

Now, why oh why is ending your marriage going to send the planet into certain ruin? Well, divorced families have a bigger carbon footprint, what with the two homes, and while the households have less people, the data suggests that they use the same amount of energy as a full house (homes must be bigger for when the kids are around even though the kids are only there half of the time). The US Census says in 2000, we got six million more households due to divorce. But since I highly doubt most divorces are entered into lightly, I'm not seeing much of a solution here unless we all try and conserve more and waste less. Or as some nut-noodles will tell you much too zealously, we should all stop getting married and having kids in the first place.

Should You Only Have One Baby to Save the Planet?

Kelly Mills — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 16:57:00 GMT

How green is your uterus? There's a thoughtful argument on Slate in favor of Americans limiting their families to one child in order to do right by the planet. The author says that in practical terms, having only one child cuts your carbon footprint in the most effective way. Of course, environmentalists have been leery of making the population control case for a number of reasons: the results of mandatory family control policies in places like China, and the fact that the birth control argument could alienate moderates or right-leaning folks who could see it as anti-life. I would guess that even the fact that some of our most eco-popular folks have big families (hi, Gores) might discourage this. But I actually think that in setting up argument and counter-argument, those who advocate for this kind of environmentalism might be missing an important factor.

While Americans might be attached to their cars and convenience, these bonds are really about pragmatism and willingness to make sacrifices. But the decision to have children is almost wholly and utterly emotional. I mean, in practical terms, it probably makes sense to have none or one--most of us generally don't worry about having enough farm laborers or progeny to run a family business. We have children because we want them (or because we get pregnant with them and don't want to take steps to terminate the pregnancy.) It's an emotional desire, and a desire like almost no other, and while many are truly passionate about protecting the environment, I would venture to guess that denying the longing for two or three kids would be more than some could bear. And I just understand that.

I only have one child, and while I'd love to say it's about environmentalism or practicality, the truth is since my kid was born, I haven't felt the longing for another. If I ever do, I'll see what happens, but honestly, I would not tell someone else to make with the one-kid family because it just doesn't feel right to me. And as I've offered before, if you've got two rugrats, you can totally have my one-kid carbon credit.

Update: Just to add a li'l more non-emission-causing fuel to the subject, here's an online discussion with the author of the Slate article.

Strollerderby Playdate: Crunchy kids and eco-fams

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:02:00 GMT

There's a lot of talk about carbon footprints and bicycling on the internets these days, friends, and if you're not busy changing your lightbulbs and cranking up the hybrid car (that's how they work, right?), well...then you should at least be reading blog posts about people who are loving up the Earth from inside their homes (that's your cue to turn down the AC, lovies). This week, these bloggers make me feel like natural living:

Sewing with Cafemama at UrbanMamas.Take that, foamy craft projects!

Airing clean (suuuuuure) laundry with Who's the Boss.

Book recycling with Magpie Musing (honor system, y'all...it doesn't get more friendly than that!).

Looking smokin' hawt in hemp shoes with Mom Go Green.

Planetary partying at Eco-street.

The Prius: Eco-Friendly and Ego-Friendly

ChagHolland — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:37:00 GMT

In a recent article on Slate, Emily Bazelon wondered if owning a Prius has turned her family into eco-snobs because her children count every Prius when they pull into a parking lot. I think you're safe, Ms. Bazelon. My daughter notices every obnoxious SUV like ours when we're on the road. But while I don't believe all Prius owners are eco-snobs, a majority of them are snobs in general.

While I commend Prius owners for driving vehicles that use less natural resources and emit less carbon monoxide than most cars, I don't care much for the sermons. Hearing a Prius owner expound upon the greatness of his hybrid reminds me of the wide-eyed Saturn aficionados of the 1990s. Lay off the Kool-Aid, dude. It's just a car.

Our next vehicle will probably be a hybrid SUV or station wagon if we can afford the added expense. But unlike fifty-seven percent of Prius owners, I won't be purchasing one "because it makes a statement about me." I'll be doing it for the reasons I outlined above.

In closing, Prius owners are not necessarily eco-snobs. But fifty-seven percent of them are definitely assholes.

Save the Earth One Eco-Friendly Toy at a Time

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 20:04:00 GMT

In celebration of Earth Day and the (sigh) Vanity Fair Green Issue, let's go shopping for some globally-correct kid's stuff, shall we? First stop, ModernTots, where the lines are clean, the colors are bright and happy, and the wares are eco-friendly.

For those of us who have to budget in filling up the gas tank these days, you can talk rainforest with the kids while playing the adorable Pandobo game, strategically piling bamboo on a rounded back bear (also preparing them quite well for Jenga drinking games at the frat house in future years...handy!). The stunning Colora really is made up of bamboo magnetic "color pillows" that will introduce hues and patterns to the young ones (and would make a perfect conference call distraction for mommy). I'm loving the organic onesie and the bamboo dominos as nice little green twists on classic kid stuff.

For those of you who are really, truly, completely committed to the world, ModernTot offers the wannabe-celeb level of eco-love complete with a fifty dollar hooded baby towel (and wash cloth), hundred dollar step-stool, thousand dollar crib, and a trundle bed ringing in at (gulp) $1350. Not only will you big purchasers be putting your plastic where your politics are, think of all the baby polar bears you'll be saving.