Revelation

I just discovered today that here in Seattle we can put all kinds of food waste in our yard waste bin!

Here's a list of the stuff that can go:
> wrappers
> plastic-free cartons
> fruits & vegetables
> bread
> pasta
> grains
> eggshells and nutshells
> coffee grounds, filters and tea bags

I'm sure this has been going on for a while around here, but I just wasn't tuned in. Partially because I've been scared of composting - I've seen some serious funk and flies in those co-op kitchens back in college.

But I also think I've been tuning this stuff out because I just didn't want to deal with it. Touching and smelling rotting food isn't fun, and it's so nice and tidy to just toss that jar of nasty moldy pasta sauce in the trash. As I start to push into this and challenge myself to take that extra (possibly yucky or inconvenient) step to do it a little greener, I realize it's really not that bad. Although I must admit some rotting cilantro flew up and hit me in the eye. But I recovered.

We've set up a new garbage can in the kitchen for the food waste. Somehow this system overrides the "composting = gross" circuit in my brain. So now we can teach the kids to put their food waste in there too and see how it goes.

I'm also starting to see that those habits of convenience (like the Starbucks drive-thru) I've got aren't worth the cost to our family budget or the planet. The hard part for me is even seeing these habits. They're so ingrained in my daily life that they're just part of what I do. So, therein lies the challenge, I guess.

Calculate Your Impact

It was kind of sobering to realize that my little family generates 7.2 tons of CO2 emissions each year. Here's the calculator if you want to check out what's going on at your house. The good news is there are some easy ways to make big changes.

But, I'm still confused/skeptical about the idea of CO2 offsetting programs. Basically, you pay a fee (ours was $7.00/month) to buy renewable energy credits to compensate for the pollution you generate each month. Your money goes into supporting and building renewable energy products. Sounds good. But does this money actually make a difference, or does it just make me feel better about driving my car around town? Anyone out there have experience with CO2 offsetting?

Your Green Tips

What are your favorite quick and easy green ideas for:
> home
> transportation
> kid stuff
> other ideas

i'll consolidate the list and put it all in one place . . .

Green Parenting Group

I recently watched "An Inconvenient Truth" and it's slowly sinking in that we need to make some big changes in our family. I haven't been a big environmentalist, but I am getting motivated to take responsibility for my family's impact. I also want to look at what I'm teaching my kids about consumption and their interconnection with everyone (and everything) else. Since I'm so new to this whole thing, I'd love to meet up and talk with other families working through these projects too.

If you live in Seattle, our first meeting is on Wednesday, December 12th at Ravenna Third Place Books at 7:00pm. Just in time for the holidays! We're also talking about a toyswap/playdate for little guys so keep an eye open for that too. I get overwhelmed by the info flying around out there, so I'll start organizing all the good ideas from our meetings and conversations here.

For daily conversation about going green, join our listserve by sending an empty email here: goinggreenfamily-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. (Note to my shy friends: there's no pressure to actively participate and we'd love to have you join!)

Please send your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, concerns, questions, comments, ideas about going green!