Green Daily

If you do any type of crafting at all, you are going to want to check out the new Mama to Mama blog. The idea is to bring together crafty people to do good for others.

The current project is making jersey newborn caps. You could make these from new, knitted material. Or, you could make them from old t-shirts (the softer the better). The caps will be sent to Haiti for safe birthing kits. There is also a pattern for receiving blankets that can be sent as well.

I think this is a great opportunity for giving back in the midst of your normal crafting plans. I come from a family of quilters and my Mom and my Aunt make many many quilts for babies in need and wounded soldiers. I can barely keep my attention focused for long enough to make a quilt, much less make many to give away. But a baby cap? I can do that. And I can probably make a whole lot of them from our drawer of t-shirts.

[Via Crafting a Green World]

GM wants to have the eagerly awaited Chevy Volt, a real-life electric car, buzzing around your neighborhood by 2012. The bad news? GM, along with Ford and Chrysler, are currently begging for a massive $25 billion company-saving bailout from the U.S. government.

With the future of GM looking shaky, there is some real concern that the Volt will be lower on GM's to-do list, especially when staying alive is the number one concern.

While some critics see the potential collapse of the American auto industry as a green-car killer, the optimistic crowd sees the bailout as a chance for the government to force U.S. automakers to speed up and increase green car development.

GM still plans to launch the Volt by 2010 and they've put a lot on the line for a greener shade of vehicle. While they have stated they will protect their investment in the rechargeable car, GM faces huge challenges. For starters, a 25 year low for U.S. auto sales while attempting to cut $15 billion in costs is not going to be easy. Then there's the slightly longer term woe of eager Indian and Chinese competitors eying the American market.

Even though the future of the Volt and other American-made green cars could be in peril, I'm trying hard to have a battery-is-half-full outlook.

As the bizarre story involving the Saudi-owner oil tanker and the Somali pirates continues to unfold, the plot grows thicker. The Sirius Star, holding about 2 million barrels of oil, is now parked only 3 miles off the coast of Harardhere, a notorious pirate city. The pirates -- well aware that no there are no refineries in Somalia -- are apparently holding the ship's crew and cargo hostage in order to exact some kind of ransom, and negotiations are underway.

The cargo is valued at $100M at today's prices, but no figures have been released as to how much the ransom could be. Unlike other recent pirate incidents like the recent capture of a Hong Kong cargo ship filled with wheat, captors in this scenario control a substance that is much more precious if refined, and extremely destructive if dumped -- so the pirates can pretty much name their price.

From what I've read, no mention has been made of the eco-terror aspects of this confrontation, but the potential for a ginormous oil spill -- intentional or otherwise -- gives the situations some very seious environmental, as well as human implications.

Are you dissatisfied with your current job? When one thinks of "green jobs," it almost seems synonymous with "non-profit" -- a rewarding venture that doesn't offer much in terms of salary. However, there are careers out there in the green market that can earn six figures for the right candidate

1. Demand for environmental engineers is expected to grow over 25% over the next eight years. This consulting gig can pay well over 100K.
2. If you are an environmental lawyer, your $145,000 salary means that you swim in the same league as those "other guys."
3. Industrial designers with an eye for reducing packaging and substituting sustainable materials are paid handsomely.
4. Like to watch the thermometer? Climatologist might be the right career for you. That and other science jobs can earn you over six figures.

PETA has decided to go after those of us still interested in cooking a Thanksgiving turkey with a rather disgusting version of the Cooking Mama video game.

In the original game, available for a variety of platforms, you do a variety of actions that cause you to "cook." In the PETA game, you cook, but in the most disgusting way possible I think. You have to do a variety of things to the turkey that those of us buying turkeys at the supermarket would never experience.

First you pull off the feathers, which results in much blood running down your arms and later you have to cut off the turkey's head and chop its neck into bits for the gravy. The blood may be animated but I still found it rather gross and off putting. This game is definitely not for children.

The game did not convince me to take the Pledge to go Veg as PETA hoped. Instead, it made me more annoyed with them for feeling the need to make the message so very unpalatable. I prefer facts to gore when making my decisions.

[Via Planet Save]

Contrary to everything that many parents around the world have been told for years, it has been found that consuming peanuts in infancy appears to lessen, not increase, a child's risk of developing a peanut allergy. This research comes from Gideon Lack at King's College London.

This finding goes against pediatric practices of the past decade, in which parents have been told to avoid feeding peanut products to their infants. For example, since 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommended withholding peanut products until a child is three years old. Recently, the AAP changed that recommendation back to four to six months of age.

The team analyzed nearly 9,000 food allergy surveys sent to thousands of Jewish families in London and Tel Aviv. Peanut allegies showed up in 0.17 percent of the Israeli children and 1.85 percent of the British children, making the British children six times as likely to have a peanut allergy. The surveys revealed that early peanut consumption was more common in Israel; at 9 months of age 69 percent of Israeli babies had started eating some form of peanuts.

However, before you start feeding your baby any peanut products, be sure to ask your pediatrician first!

Sure, we knew that the economic downturn would make life a little less comfortable for the next couple of years, but who could have expected this? Only a few months ago, Mayor Bloomberg was talking about putting wind turbines on the Empire State Building. This month, NYC transit authorities are announcing drastic cutbacks on one of the city's most iconic and seemingly healthiest public services -- the subway.

I'm having a little trouble believing it myself. Earlier this year, we'd seen reports that subway ridership was up to record levels. Now, it's being reported that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority may cut 1,500 jobs, including 600 station agents, as well as completely do away with the "W" train (running from Queens to Manhattan) and "Z" line (which runs through Brooklyn, Queens, and Manhattan).

James E. McWilliams addresses the still-present danger posed by melamine in a NY Times Op-Ed this week. Besides the baby formula tragedy, China's food supply has been found to have problems with melamine swimming in milk, eggs, chicken feed and wheat gluten.

However, China is not the only source of the problem, according to McWilliams. McWilliams addresses the other ways melamine seeps into our lives; it is a common ingredient in cleaning products, some plywoods, some plastics, cements and some paints. Since melamine is all around us, trace amounts do end up in our food, even with the Chinese issues aside. While the melamine limit for food is set cautiously low here in the U.S, McWilliams talks about the danger that even these low limits could pose to toddlers, due to their smaller body size. While these higher relative amounts still probably won't land a child in the hospital, they could contribute to long-term kidney and liver problems.

Other products of concern include fertilizer for food crops and animal feed, especially since most wheat gluten added to feed is imported to the U.S. How to protect yourself? Organic foods are generally grown with fertilizer without melamine, so that can help. While we are quick to look to China, McWilliams recommends that the U.S. should take this as a warning and pass fertilizer standards regarding melamine. Scary, scary stuff.

I was having a serious struggle earlier this month while trying to determine what to get my 6-year-old nephew for Christmas. Toys that I rather painstakingly picked out last year still sit mostly unplayed with this year. I was rather determined to not have the same result this year.

Here are some strategies for successful kid gift shopping that makes them happy and doesn't rely on a bunch of plastic stuff from China. First stop, the Toy Hall of Fame list of toys. Classics like alphabet blocks, crayons, a bike, a yo-yo an many more are sure to bring smiles. And due to the sturdiness of things like blocks and bikes, you can probably find good quality used items if you start looking.

Monopoly, Candy Land and checkers all make the list. If you teach your kids how to handle games nicely, they will last for years. I still have some board games I received as a child. The games are fun, teach skills like sharing, taking turns and being a good sport and make for great family time. If you don't have many games, check the thrift store and give your kids a whole box of games. Or ask empty-nesters if they have any games in the closet they aren't using that your kids could love.

Play-Doh and Silly Putty can both be made at home with simple, environmentally friendly ingredients. Why not give kids a DIY kit and let them participate in the making and the playing process?

And, not on the toy list, but think about experience presents. We decided on a sleeping bag for my nephew which will come with a coupon good for some camping trips with us. We also got a game, some art supplies, and after checking with Mom found out he really needed pajamas and long sleeved shirts. For his spring birthday we are thinking about paying the fees for him to belong to the soccer team at his church.

What are you doing to green the kid gifts this year? How do you find that balance between what they want and what you want to give?

If you're having, gulp, vegetarians over for Thanksgiving dinner, don't assume they will be happy with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Make an effort on a few extra vegetarian friendly dishes to show your holiday spirit. Vegetable broth based soups, pumpkin pasta or stuffed squash would all be good options.

The prefab house is no longer just for adults seeking a simpler, greener life. Now tots can also enjoy the benefits of prefab creations in the Modern Play Shed designed by Ryan Grey Smith. Kiddos can play house in this fantastic construction featuring dutch doors, sloped shed roof, and twelve windows with optional additions to suit your little people's dreams. I love the eco-statement it makes while keeping with a child's view of play -- plus developing the early understanding that prefab is a great way to live. ($2,600)

Sure, James Bond has saved the world's bacon many times over the franchise's 22 films, but does that give him leeway to turn around and smack mother earth in the face by having his favorite pork product flown across the entire European Union? Rumor has it that, during the filming Quantum of Solace in Italy, Daniel Craig was unable find a decent strip of bacon in the whole boot-shaped nation. That's when he decided to order out -- to the good ol' UK.

Ordering bacon from 1,000 miles away is certainly one of the quickest and most effective ways to boost your breakfast's carbon footprint. The irony of it is that the villain in the latest Bond flick is a kind of greenwashing eco-terrorist and Bond plays the unlikely champion of the South American watershed. The whole affair has shades of Woody Harrelson demanding his vegan belt be flown to Cannes earlier this year.

Of course, the report of Craig's supposed eco-treachery comes from PETA. Considering the source, 007's eco-foul could have been something as innoculous as sending someone a gift basket from the UK with a packet of dried bacon bits in it. Who really knows?

[via Ecorazzi]

Josh warned us that it was coming .. the first LEED certified Gold Dunkin' Donuts opened in St. Petersburg, Florida last month. Thankfully Dunkin' Donuts has removed the environmental guilt out of visiting one of their stores, leaving only calories to obsess over.

So what exactly does it take to become a LEED certified fast food establishment? This new Dunkin' Donuts has a following perks:

Most living or working spaces could benefit from similar improvements: space saving items, clean fresh air, and bringing a little bit of nature indoors. Miraculously, I just found something that covers all three of these changes in one item -- the Sky Planter! Its innovative, upside-down design means it isn't competing for floor space with furniture which may allow for more plants to enter the space providing air exchange and more natural ambiance. The best thing about the planters are that they not only conserve water but they only require watering once a month -- foolproof for anyone. Plus, I really appreciate its unexpected placement and the refreshing view it offers.
(Prices range from $75 to $195)

[via Inhabitat]

Gift cards are considered a sort-of green gift, in my opinion; at least the recipient can use them for something that they really need or want. Well, this year, you might want to be a little pickier about which gift cards you buy due to the slow economy. The question is, will the retailer be there when your recipient goes to cash in the card? According to Sandra Block at USA Today, gift card holders have few rights when a retailer files for bankruptcy. And since retail bankruptcies are expected to rise this year, that could be a real concern this holiday season.

Some people have already been burned by a gift-card-gone-bankrupt, such as when Sharper Image went bankrupt earlier this year. The company later asked the bankruptcy court to allow it to accept gift cards if the holders spent twice the value of the card on a single purchase. Unused Sharper Image gift cards are estimated to total 20 million dollars. Ouch. When the Bombay Company went bankrupt, the retailer paid 25 cents on the dollar for unused gift cards.

Consumers Union recommends just giving the cold, hard cash this year and skipping the gift cards, since you never know who is going to go under next.