Monthly Archives: April 2007

The Pope and the Environment

It’s just wonderful seeing religion starting to realize that the environment is worth protecting. It makes sense to me. If our world is indeed a gift from God (any God), do we think he means for us to exploit it to its ruin? Or should we make the most of it more respectfully?

Pope Benedict XVI is the most recent religious leader to call for the protection of the environment. This truly is encouraging, even though some others groups take it as a matter of faith that global warming is a part of God’s plan. For the Christian groups that say so, I don’t quite see how they get that.

The Holy Father invited everyone to adopt “a way of living, models of production and consumption marked by respect for creation and the need for sustainable development of peoples, keeping in mind the universal distribution of goods, as is so often mentioned in the Church’s social doctrine.”

Continue reading →

Kohl’s Going Solar in California

This is a really interesting idea for businesses with large rooftops. Just perfect for them.

Kohl’s is converting 24 of their 80 stores in California immediately, and trying to get permits to convert 40 more. They have contracted with Sun Edison to help them with the conversion.

I wonder if other companies will follow suit, especially as Kohl’s reports their results. It’s an investment that should save them a nice amount of money over time, not to mention the great PR among those who consider a company’s treatment of the environment.

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Downshifting Week

Well, we’ve just gotten past Earth Day, and now it is Downshifting Week. It’s a time to take a look at how you can simplify your life and enjoy it more.

As a parent, being with my children is important to me. That’s why I work at home, but that same business can take me away from my children and limit the time I can spend with them. So for someone like me, Downshifting Week can be a reminder to take things a little easier, especially during those hours that the children are awake.

In deciding to live a greener lifestyle, my family has done a lot of downshifting already. Some things were more financial necessities than anything, such as the decision to go to just one car for our family. But deciding to shop less (a great way to downshift) was both so that we could appreciate more what we have and to save money. Continue reading →

Helping Kids Be Green in the Kitchen

My children are at that age where they love to help me in the kitchen, especially my son. He’s 2 and is acting the part of the natural born chef. So it’s the perfect time to teach them about being green in the kitchen.

Of course, a 2 year old can’t do much cooking. He just watches very intently for anything I can allow him to do.

One of the easiest things to allow a young child to work on is disposing of trash. Both my son and my daughter already understand the difference between the trash and the recycle bin, and when in doubt ask where to put things. My son gets it wrong sometimes, of course, but my daughter is nearly 5 and pretty good at figuring it out.

They also know that food scraps when possible go for compost. They still sometimes throw apple cores or banana peels out, but other times remember to leave them out so we can dispose of them more appropriately. Continue reading →