Strollerderby : environmental issues

Teeny Tiny, Itty Bitty Tatas

Madeline Holler — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:04:00 GMT

A car company at the New Dehli Auto Expo in India lifted its shirt earlier today to expose one perky, proportioned, pert little Tata. The unveiling got the attention of high-level executives. Cheapskates around the world are certainly aroused. Today, everybody is talking about Tatas.

They are teeny tiny, itty bitty, suuuuuuuuper cheap five-person cars. Retailing at around $2,500, it's meant to get India's growing middle class off scooters and into cars. Tata's Nano runs on something like a souped up lawn mower engine, topping out at about 50 miles per hour and gets 50 miles to the gallon. But here's why I, an admitted trunk woman, am getting excited about Tatas.

The Wall Street Journal: [Tata's] Nano is part of a global race to lower the prices of entry-level cars for millions of new developing world consumers.

That's good news! Because (1) we just don't need 2 billion people driving around in massive Chrysler Escalades and (2) maybe this means we'll get some super-tiny, cheap, cheap, cheap cars for sale here in the U.S.

I want one.

For almost seven years, we have been a one-car family, which is about one car too many for the hardcore urbanite, but since we live in Southern California, I think we're doing pretty well. However! There are times when I wish we were more like a one-and-a-half car family. As my kids get older, the schedules don't always coincide. But I hesitate to spend even $10,000 on something that will sit in front of the house most days of the week. Car-sharing isn't available here.

Anyway, how about you? Are you ready to wave good-bye to the era of enormously bloated and expensive cars and usher in spare and cute wheels? What do you think of these Tatas? Think even a single carseat would fit in the back? Yeah, me either.

Selfish Breeders Doom the Planet

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 16:25:00 GMT

If you're a parent, you're selfish. And you're dooming the planet. So says Toni "I'm better than you" Vernelli, a British woman who aborted her pregnancy and later had herself sterilized all for the love of Mother Gaia.

"Having children is selfish. It's all about maintaining your genetic line at the expense of the planet," says Toni, 35. "Every person who is born uses more food, more water, more land, more fossil fuels, more trees and produces more rubbish, more pollution, more greenhouse gases, and adds to the problem of over-population."

Also, "I think dolphins will inherit the world and form a master colony in the land of chimpanzees."

OK, fine, I made the last part up. Because really, what else can you say? Other than I think this particular person made a very sound decision.

[Photo from Daily Mail]

If You Want to Save the Environment, Start With the Kids

Karen Murphy — Sat, 26 May 2007 17:04:00 GMT

Apparently, we adults are beyond saving. That's right, our wasteful ways are so ingrained by now, there's little chance we'll change. We like our heat in the winter and our A/C in the summer, preferably blasting at 72 degrees, thank you very much. And we like our cars, preferably in a jumbo Hummer-Navigator blend. And we like our electricity. And running water, letting it run while we're brushing our teeth. The environment? Who cares!

(Let me be specific here: by "we" I of course don't mean you. Or me. "We" actually refers more to "them", the nameless Them that's ruining the environment. It's not You. Or Me. Just so we're clear on that.)

But the children, the children aren't so formed in their wasteful ways, the children can be trained, shaped, molded into Environmental Stewards of the Future. At least, that's what this Canadian ecologist says.

I speak with tongue in cheek here, but I'm also serious. I agree. I know that my children's perspective on the environment could be radically different from mine. They're growing up in a different world, a different time, when gas costs over $3 a gallon and the effects of man's footprint upon the earth have become more pronounced. Sure, a lot of us for instance eat organic food, thus reducing chemical output to the environment (not to mention to ourselves as we eat it) but if we purchase organic food from across the world, we're still supporting the greenhouse gases produced by the transport.

There are lots of changes that, if taken together and by enough people, can have a huge cumulative effect upon the way we as humans live in this world and the footprint we leave, but those changes aren't easy. Most of us reading this post live a pretty comfortable life, and change isn't easy. But our children, while they're young, are more open to change. It'll be interesting to see what they do with their opportunity (now that we, or the Nameless They anyway, have squandered our own).

Tiny Revolutionary: Kid's Shirts With Something To Say

Patti — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 21:18:00 GMT

If there's one thing we've learned, it's that we love to dress our kids up in ironic teeshirts. Hell, entire books and Time Magazine articles have been devoted to the modern parents' pursuit of clever children's clothing.

But rather than let The Man bring us down, I'm thinking we should just indulge. And what oh-my-gosh-how-cute-is-that way to do it than with a shirt or onesie from Tiny Revolutionary? These aren't so much overtly political (for the most part) as they are subtle, pointing out that yes, we as parents are thinking about the future we're providing our kids, and yes, not all of us are traditional families. And graphically, they're really stunning. I'm particularly drawn to the adoption-themed shirt and to this anti-war design, and if Honda or Toyota would hurry up and launch a hybrid minivan for me to buy I'd snap up two of these in a hot second.

Now, normally I'm a little bit of a teeshirt hacker and the prices on these are why. But next time a baby gets born in my social circle, I think I know where I'm going to shop for gifts. And a dollar from each item goes to a worthy charity, plus you can submit your own ideas for future charitable giving.

Happy Feet: Who Knew it Was About the Environment?

Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:01:00 GMT

My daughter has been Happy Feet-crazy ever since she watched it in my mom's hotel room a couple of weeks ago when she was visiting. For two weeks it's been Happy Feet this, penguins that... "Look how I can dance like a Macaroni Penguin..." We've been in a Cars-induced fog for the past six months so I had no clue what Happy Feet was about.

The movie was released on DVD this week and I pre-ordered a copy which arrived yesterday. We sat down to watch it and I was all prepared for it to be some lame cartoon about dancing and singing animals and...okay it was, but it also has a very overt environmental message. So much so that it's been called an animated version of An Inconvenient Truth.

My first clue was the Seafood Watch pocket card that fell out of the DVD case, a masterful piece of co-marketing if I do say so myself. Then as you watch the film the singing and tap-dancing take a backseat to the real message of the movie which is ~~that by being true to yourself you can make all the difference in the world~~ stop stuffing your pie hole with Chilean Sea Bass. (Or, as my daughter puts it, "If we stopped fishing then the penguins would have something to eat.")

P.S. You really haven't lived until you hear Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman's rendition of Prince's "Kiss" in the opening montage.

Soiled Diapers as Fuel? Poo Power Isn't What It's Cracked Up To Be

Patti — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 13:28:00 GMT

Peed-upon disposable diapers may be able to pay it forward in the form of garden fertilizer, but it doesn't look so promising for a Japanese company's experiment in repurposing poopy diapers and turning them into a fuel source.

Daddytypes did a little digging and has the full scoop: if you see a story about the revolutionary discovery of poopy-nappy fuel cross your feed reader, don't get too excited. Japanese diapers are paper, not the plastic/fabric/noxious gel bead type found in the US. And they don't seem to produce a heck of a lot of energy anyway.

Damn. One of the most sustainable and renewable resources we've got, and it isn't worth shit.

"Organicize Me": Michael Stusser Goes Organic For One Month

JasonAvant — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:15:00 GMT

Some of you may know Michael Stusser from his work over at ParentMap; he authored "The Accidental Parent", a column detailing his experience marrying the love of his life - who,as it turned out, had twin 10-year-old girls. His Sebastian Junger-esque courage firmly established, Stusser recently took up a challenge that many of us would shirk from. He spent the month of January eating and drinking only certified organic foods and beverages. Hilarity ensues, along with a thoughtful assessment of the benefits and challenges of eating au natural.

For those new to the world of organic foods, Stusser provides a primer on what makes a product "organic". He then points out that the definition is a bit nebulous - there's a big difference between "organic" and "natural", and to meet USDA standards, 95% of the ingredients need to be organic (the other 5% can, for instance, be De-Con RoachProof). Of course, there's a political aspect to organics, but Stusser points out that organic farms are not the Trotskyist Paradise that one might think - and, indeed, organic food may be a bit bourgeois, as Stusser sees a 58% increase in the cost of his family's monthly groceries.

Along with the serious stuff, Stusser points out the lighter side of his conversion ("Luckily, I discovered an organic vodka called Square One"). And even if you decide that those Jeno's Pizza Rolls are too goddamn tasty to give up, Stusser thinks that one can actually eat in a healthier and more environmentally responsible way. Now, speaking of organic vodka...

Saving the Earth One Reindeer-Fart at a Time

Patti — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 23:00:00 GMT

The spouse and I have talked very seriously about giving ourselves Terrapasses this Christmas to relieve some of the guilt of owning an ancient truck and a sports coupe old enough not to require smog tests. But we've never stopped to think about the damage we're doing to the planet by letting our kids believe in Santa.

Did you know that a reindeer produces 19.9 kg of methane per year? Now, multiply that by nine. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph, flying around farting up the atmosphere, spending their off-duty months just standing around passing gas.

Finally, finally someone has found a way to save us from the environmental dangers of reindeer toot. Easy Being Green allows you to purchase carbon credits to offset the methane emissions of Santa's steeds (or, choose from a number of ways to offset your Christmas or Chanukah indulgences).

Will your children be impressed with a stocking full of carbon credits? Probably not. Will they appreciate not having to wear a UV-protection space suit when they're your age? Definitely.