Update: Reusable Bags
February 11th, 2008
I got a couple of comments on last week’s post on Reusable Bags, and more specifically the Wrap-N-Mat, so I thought I’d just post a quick update.
First, Jan over at Unique Baby Gear Ideas wondered if the bags were machine washable, and indeed, the website says that the bags are machine washable, with a food safe liner that also wipes clean.
Jan also wanted to know if the bag would hold the food snugly, and I thought perhaps a different photo might show off the closed version a bit better.
With the fold and the velcro closure, it looks to me like the sandwich inside is going to stay put!
Anyone out there with any personal experience with these bags, feel free to chime in!
Thanks for the comments, girls!
gDiapers: Happy Baby, Happy Planet
February 11th, 2008
As a soon-to-be new mom, I admit to being a little concerned about the whole diaper issue.
I know that disposable diapers can sit in landfills for over 500 years, but I just can’t bring myself to do cloth diapers. Even if I could, the chemical detergents used to wash the diapers can be almost as harmful, right?
Apparently there’s now a third option — has anyone besides Julia Roberts checked out gDiapers?
According to their website,
gDiapers are truly the Third Option – the first new diaper to come along in 40 years.
The Flushable can be flushed, home-composted, or tossed. Because gDiaper Flushables are made from natural cellulose and wood pulp, they readily break down when flushed and will not harm sewage treatment facilities.
Not only do they seem good for the planet, I love these great colors!
gDiapers promises no chlorine, no perfumes, no inks or dyes, no plastic layer, no latex and no garbage!
I may need to talk my husband into trying something new this time around…
China’s Genocide Olympics
February 1st, 2008
My husband and I just returned home from a lecture given by Mia Farrow.
Admittedly, I went in expecting to be more than a little annoyed by a teary, Sally Struthers-esque presentation on Darfur. Instead I came out moved and grieved by the relentless violence that continues to plague the lives of the people in that region, and impressed by the efforts of Ms. Farrow to lend her own voice to a people that the rest of the world seems to have forgotten.
All photos courtesy of MiaFarrow.org
Mia Farrow’s website dedicated to the genocide in Darfur, MiaFarrow.org, recently reprinted an article written by Nicholas Kristof at the NY Times which I think is worth reading in its entirety, but here is just a bit:
The Beijing Olympics this summer were supposed to be China’s coming-out party, celebrating the end of nearly two centuries of weakness, poverty and humiliation.
Instead, China’s leaders are tarnishing their own Olympiad by abetting genocide in Darfur and in effect undermining the U.N. military deployment there. The result is a growing international campaign to brand these “The Genocide Olympics.”
This is not a boycott of the Olympics. But expect Darfur-related protests at Chinese Embassies, as well as banners and armbands among both athletes and spectators. There’s a growing recognition that perhaps the best way of averting hundreds of thousands more deaths in Sudan is to use the leverage of the Olympics to shame China into more responsible behavior.
The central problem is that in exchange for access to Sudanese oil, Beijing is financing, diplomatically protecting and supplying the arms for the first genocide of the 21st century. China is the largest arms supplier to Sudan, officially selling $83 million in weapons, aircraft and spare parts to Sudan in 2005, according to Amnesty International USA. That is the latest year for which figures are available.
Sudan feels confident enough with Chinese backing that on Jan. 7, the Sudanese military ambushed a clearly marked U.N. convoy of peacekeepers in Darfur. Sudan claimed the attack was a mistake, but diplomats and U.N. professionals are confident that this was a deliberate attack ordered by the Sudanese leaders to put the U.N. in its place.
Another possible sign of Sudan’s confidence: an American diplomat, John Granville, was ambushed and murdered in Khartoum early this month. Many in the diplomatic and intelligence community believe that such an assassination could not happen in Khartoum unless elements of the government were involved.
Other countries also must do much more, but China is crucial. If Beijing were to suspend all transfers of arms and spare parts to Sudan until a peace deal is reached in Darfur, then that would change the dynamic. President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan would be terrified — especially since he is now preparing to resume war with South Sudan — and would realize that China is no longer willing to let its Olympics be stained by Darfuri blood.
DreamforDarfur.org has several easy steps for you to take action to help pressure China into using its leverage to stop the genocide in Darfur. Click here to petition the UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Mr. Adolf Ogi, to ask him to make the issue of Darfur central in these upcoming Olympic games.
Better yet, click here to send a message to the corporate sponsors of the Olympic Games — Coca Cola, Johnson and Johnson, Adidas and GE, among others — reminding them that your patronage comes at the cost of their social responsiblity.
And if you want to give financially to reputable organizations who are working in the Darfur region, check out Charity Navigator’s list of 3- and 4-star rated charities to ensure that your money is getting to the people of Darfur.
Don’t let the overwhelming statistics or the overwhelming distance be a reason for failing to act. Tonight I go to bed humbled and reminded that with knowledge comes responsibility.
Know better. Do better.
Reusable Bags: Be Part of the Solution!
January 29th, 2008
Remember your brown bag school lunch? My mother always packed mine with a sandwich and an apple that ended up in the garbage. (Sorry, Mom!)
Brown bag lunches may be a great way to give your kids healthier food choices at school, but the brown bag part, especially with the plastic sandwich baggies, isn’t especially green.
The folks at I’m Organic have some really cute options for your eco-conscious student — how cute is this bag made out of 100% certified organic cotton?!
It also come in brown for boys.
And as far as the plastic ziplock bag problem is concerned, check out this clever solution from ReusableBags.com.
According to the website,
Simply fold around sandwiches, veggie sticks, cookies and other goodies, fold the cotton wrapper closed, secure with the Velcro closure, and they’re ready to go. To top it off, these smart reusable sandwich wrappers unfold into placemats! The FDA-approved, food-grade PEVA lining easily wipes clean after every use and is certified by the manufacturer to be totally lead-free.
Time to bring your brown bag lunch into the 21st century!
Alarming Levels of Mercury in Tuna Sushi
January 22nd, 2008
Holy crap! This story in today’s NY Times is making me want to cancel my dinner reservations.
It turns out that a recent test conducted by the Times of some of New York’s swankiest sushi restaurants showed levels of mercury so high that the FDA could take legal action to have the fish removed from the market.
A mere six pieces a week could exceed the levels recommended by the EPA.
According to the NY Times,
“No one should eat a meal of tuna with mercury levels like those found in the restaurant samples more than about once every three weeks,” said Dr. Michael Gochfeld, professor of environmental and occupational medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in Piscataway, N.J.Six pieces of sushi from most of the restaurants and stores would contain more than 49 micrograms of mercury. That is the amount the Environmental Protection Agency deems acceptable for weekly consumption over a period of several months by an adult of average weight, which the agency defines as 154 pounds. People weighing less are advised to consume even less mercury.
Here’s the kicker - it turns out that the more expensive the sushi, the more likely it is to contain higher levels of mercury because of the size of the fish it comes from. The bigger the bluefin, the longer it has been swimming and eating other mercury-contaminated fish, the more ends up finding a home in your tissues.
Pregnant women, breast-feeding mothers and children are obviously at higher risk, and are recommended by the City of New York not to eat any kind of mercury-rich fish sources, including the sushi grade bluefin tuna.
Yes, Mom, you were right and I was wrong.