Today we celebrate Earth Day by launching http://www.we4earth.org/ !
We4Earth is a non-profit group dedicated to educating and empowering YOU to nurture a healthier planet. We4Earth was founded by us, Kelley and Michelle…..two busy moms who realize we are never going to be “gifted” more hours in the day, we just have to “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have!” (Teddy Roosevelt). After hearing from other individuals and families around us, "We want to 'make a difference' but just don’t have time and, where do we even start??”, we saw a need to provide simple, easy to follow steps that would provide a huge impact for our planet. Each month we will give new tips, website listings, green products, books, DVDs/movies and a “kids corner”, to help inspire and encourage you to take the time and help heal our planet….for today’s generation and for generations to come!
If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter that will inform you when the site has been updated, please email as at weforearth@gmail.com
Thanks for your support, we welcome your comments and ideas on how YOUR family is helping take care of our planet!
Peace,
Kelley & Michelle
Celebrate Earth Day!
5 Simple Steps That Will Make a Difference –
1) Buy alternative tissue & toilet paper made from recycled fiber:
Recyled tissue products help protect ancient forests, clean water & wildlife habitat. It’s easier on the Earth to make tissues from paper instead of trees. There is a terrific downloadable pocket guide for buying tissue and toilet paper products at
http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/campaigns/forests/tissueguide
When buying tissue & toilet paper products, make sure that it states it is:
-100% recycled content
-50% post-consumer recycled product
-Bleached without toxic chorine compounds
Stores that carry these products are:
-Wholefoods
-Trader Joes
-Pavilions
-Ralphs (toilet paper only, but check your local store)
-Albertsons (tissue and napkins only, but check your local store)
Want to take further Action?
Did you know that it takes 90 years to grow a box of Kleenex brand tissue? That's right, every time you use a Kleenex tissue, you are blowing away ancient forests. And every time you use Scott or Cottonelle toilet paper, you’re flushing old growth trees down the toilet. That's because Kimberly Clark, maker of these products, all but refuses to use recycled paper in its products. Visit http://www.greenpeace.org/ and sign a letter that will go to manufacturer Kimberly Clark, insisting they make changes.
2) Buy produce locally produced, visit your local Farmers Market!
-Next time you buy produce at grocery stores, take a look at where it has been brought in from…chances are it is from out of country. Also chances are that unless it is labeled Organic, it was grown using pesticides as well! Buying your produce weekly at your local Farmers Market does a number of things:
-Provides you with the freshest possible produce, at a price usually better than the grocery stores and, generally it is grown organically and without pesticides (ask each vender as you shop though…..”grown without use of pesticides” does not mean “organic”.
-Helps to nurture a healthier Earth by cutting down on fuels used to ship produce into the country or into our state.
-Supports and nurtures local Farms which is good for our State economy.
-Encourages you to shop and cook with seasonal vegetables and fruits. A wonderful guide to Seasonal Cooking (with a TON of great recipes) can be found at http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/seasonalcooking
-Is a super way to spend time with your kids since nearly all Farmers Markets are on the weekend. It is also a terrific way to involve them in the selection of the foods for the week, menu planning, cooking and exposing them to new foods before they hit the table and can say “yuck!”. Have a picky eater?? Trust us, it works!!
-Visit http://guide.buylocalca.org/caff.html and put in your zip code to find your local Farmers Market.
3) Plant a Garden, of any size.
-Planting a garden provides you a terrific way to save money while giving you super fresh produce! Don’t have a dedicated patch of soil in your yard that you can plant in? Or maybe you live in an apartment or condo? Don’t let that stop you….plant in pots! There are a variety of helpful websites that will guide you, on container gardening and general seasonal gardening, including:
http://www.gardenguides.com/ (see “container gardening”)
http://www.sunset.com/
http://www.containergardeningtips.com/
http://www.smartpots.com/
-planting and nurturing a garden is great for our environment, wonderful for individuals and families. Kids love it! As with shopping together at your local Farmer’s Market, it gets them involved and provides a super learning environment.
-start a compost.
Yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute 24 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. That's a lot of waste to send to landfills when it could become useful and environmentally beneficial compost instead! Composting offers the obvious benefits of resource efficiency and creating a useful product from organic waste that would otherwise have been landfilled. Visit this government website to learn more about what you can compost and how to do it!
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/rrr/composting/index.htm
Most cities provide a compost unit to you for a very reasonable fee. We live in Northridge, CA and it costs $25.
http://www.howtocompost.org/
4) Yes, buy and use recyclable batteries, BUT, also properly dispose of dead ones.
Did you know that you can take dead batteries and cell phone batteries to your local Jiffy Lube to be recycled? See http://www.ewastecenter.com/ for a list of Electronic Waste Recyclers.
You can also take used up ink cartridges to most Staples stores to participate in their rebate program. Receive up to $1 store credit per cartridge!
Need we say more? Get your friends, family, neighbors and some garbage bags and go pick up at your local park! Don’t forget to separate recyclable items! Teach each other and our kids to “leave our parks better than we find them!”. Make the time to do this each month or at least several times a year.
Make the time, make a difference!
