Monthly Archives: November 2007

Figuring Out Green Travel for Families

With the holiday season upon us, many families will be traveling a lot, even if only to visit relatives. It’s hard sometimes to balance environmental sensibilities with the chance to see rarely-seen relatives.

green holiday travel

Visiting family is one of the delights of the holiday season. In fact, I recently returned from a pre-holiday dinner with relatives that live 500 miles away from me. We drove, as that was the most sensible for our budget. Fortunately that also appears to be the method of travel that produces the least carbon.

I found a carbon trip calculator that showed that driving that distance in a small car like ours creates about 600 pounds of carbon. The round trip flight would create 431 lbs of carbon per passenger. That may sound better, but remember that’s per passenger, and there are 4 of us. I had to estimate with the car, since the site only calculates based on annual usage, going as low as 2000 miles. I cut that number in half since the round trip is approximately 1000 miles.

Trains are also a greener way to go, but rather more leisurely than many people have time for when traveling for the holidays. On the plus side, the kids aren’t so strapped in and can wander about. No bathroom stops either. But the only train service I saw for our trip involved two stints on a bus… not my idea of a good trip. But it’s fairly efficient and doesn’t produce as much carbon as other alternatives.

But kids can get just as bored and annoying to other passengers on the train as they do on a plane. Bring toys if that’s your choice.

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The Benefits of Kids Playing Outside More

I just love sending my kids outside to play. Not only is the backyard a better ‘babysitter’ than the television, it’s much better for the kids to play outside. I can send them outside to play and often get 2 hours of quiet, while I’d be lucky to get a half hour using the ‘electronic babysitter’.

playing outside

That’s one of the simple ways to get kids to interact with at least a little nature. It’s not much, but it’s something, especially since we garden with our kids. It helps to keep them aware of nature.

I’m feeling pretty lucky in where I live right now. Even though the weather is cooling off most days (still having some hot ones), it’s beautiful for being outside too. No rain yet, no snow likely ever.

I don’t worry too much about perfect weather, though. I don’t mind my kids jumping in rain puddles if that’s what they feel like doing. If it’s cold outside I just encourage them to dress appropriately.

Even just backyard play encourages a sense of exploration. I see my kids digging for worms, finding bugs and generally having a good time. For some reason they find scrubbing down the outdoor table and chairs my inlaws gave us utterly fascinating. It happens regularly.

There is such a difference in behavior if kids don’t get to play outside enough. Some call it ‘Nature Deficit Disorder‘. My kids are much better behaved if they spend time playing ouside creatively rather than staring at the television. Whether or not it’s a common thing I will leave to individual parents.

The benefits I see from having my kids play outside a lot include the aforementioned better behavior as well as more creativity. If you like, you can think of outside play as one big, open ended toy. Even on playground equipment kids can use their imaginations, but you can often see far more if they’re just playing in the dirt.

The recent fires have put something of a damper on hiking. Some of the places we like best burned, and I think are still closed. It’s a pity, since I do think that getting out in nature beyond the backyard and playground has a benefit too. Unless, of course the backyard is like the one at my grandparents’ place in Oregon, as seen in the photo. The chance to see wildlife is really special and just doesn’t happen in most yards.

Playing outside also gives kids a chance to take chances. I love that. It can be hard to let my kids run about, and I do keep them in site, but being allowed to be independent helps them to develop. I try to watch enough to keep injuries minor, but getting hurt is another part of growing up.

I know in a lot of places winter means it’s harder for kids to play outside for more than a short time, but I think it’s important to allow it when possible. Just think about what you did when you were a kid.

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Costco Will Recycle Electronics

Yesterday I talked about whether or not you should repair or replace broken electronics. I briefly mentioned that you could recycle, but I forgot to mention one more resource for disposing of them.

Costco has partnered with Green Sight to recycle old electronics. They buy back those that still have some value, but if they don’t want to buy it, they will still take it for free. Much nicer than having to pay to recycle them. They’ll even give you an estimated value online.

Once you’ve filled in your information, they ask for your address and send you a prepaid shipping label. You get your payment in a Costco Cash Card. Seems like a pretty nice deal for getting rid of unwanted electronics

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Smarter Not to Repair?

Having successfully fixed my leaking dishwasher recently got me thinking about how easily many people throw broken gadgets and appliances out. Not even trying to recycle them in many cases; just throwing them out.

broken tv

There’s a list in AOL’s Money & Finance section that drives me nuts. It’s a list of 5 things you should never repair.

I know many gadgets are hard to have repaired, but to say you shouldn’t even bother checking it out really makes me mad. Especially since the list includes computers. The quick version of the list is:

  1. Computers
  2. Digital Cameras
  3. MP3 Players
  4. Microwave Ovens
  5. Cell Phones

I was smart when I got my computer and got the extended warranty. That’s not a smart move with a lot of electronics, but I’ve found it to be a must with computers, and every time I’ve bought one on a computer I’ve gotten my money’s worth. My computer I’m using right now has already had its power supply replaced once. Shouldn’t have needed it as it is not that old (coming up on two years, I think), but it did, and that would have been an expense if I hadn’t had the warranty. It’s had more minor work done too.

The other items mentioned I do understand are much harder to decide to repair. After all, they’re cheaper than a good computer, and repairs are expensive. It has long been an annoyance that disposal makes more sense than repair for so many things now.

I do agree that one of the smartest things you can do is to properly protect your electronics. They recommend that you have a sleeve for MP3 players, so that they are not so easily damaged. That’s just good sense.

Then again, the best thing you can do in terms of the environment and your electronics is think about which ones you really need at all, and how often you really need to upgrade. I buy computers when the old one gets beyond repair, my cell phone has survived a thorough soaking courtesy of my son, my digital camera is 5 years old and still going strong. I like it that way.

Once your electronics do reach that point, use resources such as Earth 911’s electronics recycling guide to figure out how to properly dispose of your electronics.

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