Teens Gone Green?
Apr 16, 2009 Eco Friendly Parenting, Green Gift Ideas
My kids are quite a bit too young for this one, but there’s a book about to come out that might be a welcome gift to any green teen you know. It’s called The Green Teen: The Eco-Friendly Teen’s Guide to Saving the Planet
Obviously, I can’t review the book; it’s not out yet. But it looks promising. The description says it will give tips on making eco-friendly decisions on a tight budget and schedule and how to get concerns recognized by decision makers.
Given that kids these days are very aware of the need to help the environment, I’m glad to see a book like this coming out.
Parents, what other titles do you recommend for teens? What about younger children?
Tags: books, environmentalism, parenting, shopping, teens
Environmentalism the Lazy Way
Jan 13, 2009 Going Green
Is there such a thing?
That depends on how you define environmentalism. There are so many levels to being green, and some really don’t go well with being lazy about it.
Especially if you really want to make a difference.
But if you don’t have the time to really focus on making a difference, but want to change your own consumption levels, there are things you can do. You can buy a book or get it at the library. Books such as The Lazy Environmentalist
If nothing else, they’re probably great gifts for friends and family who don’t know how to get started.
Of course, the best thing you can do for the environment is to consume less. That may be one of the most challenging things too. It’s hard to break habits when you grew up in a time where most people thought nothing of buying anything they needed or wanted, ignoring both the environment and financial common sense in a lot of cases.
Next best is to buy used when possible. That’s really not so hard, and some thrift and resale shops have amazing finds in them.
Using handmedowns counts the same as buying used, of course, except you don’t get to shop around.
We do this a lot in my family, and are working on being more deliberate about it. We’re talking toy and movie swaps between families, because, let’s face it, between Christmas and birthdays, friends and relatives, kids these days get way too much stuff. We can decrease the amount of stuff we as parents buy with appropriate trading and handing down.
Steps keep getting bigger as you go, but for many that’s the way to start. You do the lazy things first and then realize that some of what you thought was too hard is starting to make sense.
Tags: books, environmentalism, lazy
Ethical Shopping Help
Dec 18, 2008 Going Green, Green Gift Ideas
Christmas isn’t the only time we need to be thinking about ethical shopping. It’s something to work on for the entire year.
This is a topic I’ve been thinking about a lot, mostly due to the sheer consumerism of this time of year. This year is probably better than most, since so many people are cutting back and even looking at used gift items and thrift stores. It’s a nice change, but so much more can be done.
Going through the books at Amazon, I found The Better World Handbook: Small Changes That Make A Big Difference
The book gets into choosing the right bank, buying the right groceries, alternative transportation and more. Sounds to me like the kind of guide a lot of us need to cut back on the guesswork.
I have no doubt that bits of information in it are already out of date, of course. More and more stores have been adding organic selections, for example. The current economy has put many companies out of business, and others are looking for ways to cut costs, which often comes at the sacrifice of environmental efforts. But even with that I think the information is going to be good.
One reviewer didn’t like all the small changes, but as others have noted, small changes are often what lead to big changes. This looks like a nice way to get moving on more small changes.
It’s going on my wish list. Not quite in the budget yet.
