FamilyFood4Thought

Announcing: Blog Redesign

2010-06-11T13:32:00.000-04:00

This blog is going through a redesign.

How do you like the new color scheme? Do you recommend any other changes?

Leave a comment with your feedback.

http://familyfood4thought.blogspot.com

Keeping Georgia Cleaner and Greener

2010-06-02T17:26:00.000-04:00

I was overjoyed to see this awesome news that a new dirty coal plant is not being given easy access to our great state of Georgia.

Subject: BREAKING NEWS: Court Dismisses Longleaf Permit
June 2, 2010

Further Delays for Longleaf Coal Fired Power Plant

Agency Implicitly Concedes Procedures Not Followed

Use the links at the bottom to access Greenlaw, Sierra Club, and Friends of the Chattahoochee, who've all been working together on this cause.
Thanks for reading!

--Donna

http://familyfood4thought.blogspot.com

___________________________________________________________

GreenLaw is dedicated to preventing air and water pollution that endangers human health and degrades Georgia’s natural resources. GreenLaw achieves these goals by providing free high quality legal and technical assistance to environmental organizations and community groups throughout Georgia.http://www.facebook.com/l/d0dd6;www.green-law.org Updates viahttp://www.facebook.com/l/d0dd6;www.Twitter.com/GrrrLaw.

Friends of the Chattahoochee (FOC) seeks to protect the Chattahoochee River and the environment. A multi-state, non-profit organization that opposes any new industry that will adversely impact the Chattahoochee River watershed, it monitors existing industry to ensure that all environmental regulations and safeguards are being adhered to. For more information please reach Bobby McLendon, President, 229-308-6782. http://www.facebook.com/l/d0dd6;www.friendsofthechattahoochee.org

Sierra Club, the oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization in the United States, has over 20,000 members and supporters in the state of Georgia. Erin Glynn, Regional Conservation Organizer, may be reached at (770) 598-6814.http://www.facebook.com/l/d0dd6;www.sierraclub.org

Send Letters to President Obama: No More Oil Drilling

2010-04-30T09:43:00.000-04:00

Here is a copy of my customized letter to President Obama asking for him to do more to protect our natural resources by ending off-shore oil drilling:

On April 16, 2010, I was overjoyed to watch the White House video of you, President Obama, commemorating presidential conservation efforts and signing the America's Great Outdoors Memorandum. So, I blogged about it on Family Food 4 Thought to my audience of parents, like me, who are striving to teach their families about the importance of conservation in the article "Green History: Past and Present Presidential Conservation".

Less than a week after this awesome ceremony, little did I, or anyone, know that our "greenest" day on Earth, Earth Day, would be forever tarred by the worst oil spill ever. Therefore, it would be totally remiss of me to neglect writing to you about my concerns, President Obama.

The BP Horizon oil rig disaster is a sad and stark reminder that oil is a dirty, dangerous and deadly energy source that has no place in a 21st century energy economy.

I urge you to engage every resource available to address the immediate cleanup and recovery needs of Gulf Coast residents, businesses, wildlife and marine life.

I've had enough--we need a commitment to end all new proposals for offshore oil drilling. Instead of risking our lives, our coasts, our clean air, and our security by perpetuating our addiction to oil, it's time to build a clean energy economy that means more jobs, less pollution, and real energy independence.

FYI Only, here is the link to my blog, which I will update with a copy of this letter, as well: http://familyfood4thought.blogspot.com/

Sincerely,
Donna J.

To send a similar letter, click here now.

Volunteer, Stay Informed, and/or Donate to organizations you trust who are working hard to make a difference for the future of our families and of our Earth, which are forever entertwined.

To give to the Sierra Club's efforts to conserve our great and precious natural resources, click here to donate now.

People Like This... Inspire the Green Me

2010-04-22T12:26:00.000-04:00

People like Lynn Henning, a Michigan farmer who deeply cares about the environment, inspire the green in me because it's not just about making money for her.

Take a look at this video to find out more about what she did that was so remarkable that it is being used by The Sierra Club's newsletter "The Insider" as an example of a green hero.

Video below is embedded from Youtube's Goldman Prize channel:

http://familyfood4thought.blogspot.com

Movie Review: No Impact Man [EXCERPT]

2010-04-19T21:58:00.000-04:00

[EXCERPT]

"How to Reduce Your Environmental Impact - Gradually but Permanently"

Seriously, this movie "No Impact Man" has been one of the most impactful I have ever seen in my life. If you prefer [READ FULL ARTICLE]

See the official trailer youtube video below:

Green History: Past and Present Presidential Conservation

2010-04-17T04:55:00.000-04:00

This awesome video from the White House commemorates the history of presidential conservation efforts, both past and present. As President Obama signs the America's Great Outdoors Memorandum, he tells us of President McKinley's efforts over a century ago, along with other past and current efforts to improve our great national natural treasures, by federal, state and other public and private efforts, both in rural and in urban areas.

See the video below:

Green Kitchen Tip: Save Water & Cooking Time

2010-04-09T22:24:00.000-04:00

Here is one "small" kitchen tip that can help save water and save you time.

When you boil pasta, save that hot water and use it to make vegetable broth that you can use to create sauces, soups and other dishes.

Use a large spoon to dish your pasta into a strainer that's already inside of a bowl. Leave the pasta water boiling in the pot and throw in a bag of frozen onions and peppers plus some minced garlic. Then liberally sprinkle in your favorite seasonings, my fav is Mrs Dash Chipotle blend.

Boil for about 30 minutes. If you don't need to use it that day, then remove pot from the heat to cool before refrigerating.

The next day, you can use the cooled broth as a great starter for many kinds of dishes, from chilli to soup to stir-fry.

Adding small bits of meat, fresh herbs, and more can also enhance the flavor.

CAUTION! with salt, bouillon, and canned/boxed broths -- most health experts recommend a little sea salt instead of table salt or non-msg low-salt bouillon/broth.

How to Keep Your Family Healthy: Diligent and Purposeful Self-Motivated Learning

2010-04-07T09:22:00.000-04:00

First of all, I am a concerned, involved parent, seeking to engage with other concerned and involved parents about what we need to do so our families will stay healthier, both now and over generations.

First, please note that the following video is one of the most important you'll ever see. It will help you to learn more about how food is produced in America (and globally). It will also help you understand that we have more power than we know to shape the health of our families through our food choices.

Most important: it will help you see why we must diligently and purposefully stay informed. There are powerful forces trying to keep us in the dark. If we're ignorant, we'll simply go with the flow of whatever we happen to see or hear in the media, in the coupon ads, and in the carefully constructed store and dining marketing. If we don't educate ourselves, we don't stand a chance against these very powerful and insidious food marketing forces.

The following video is the trailer for the academy award nominated movie "Food Inc.":

Here are some other resources that I am using to learn more so I can possibly help start a real food movement in our local school or community. We may be able to start a garden club or recycling club. I know that I am not the only parent who is concerned about our food and environment and wanting to help students and their families learn and do better.

Here are some organizations I've found that may be good resources for those who care to learn more:

humanbe - facebook group for conservation from a human perspective -
http://www.humanbe.com/

Sierra Club - take an Earth Day pledge -
http://www.sierraclub.org/earthday/sweepstakes/default.aspx?s_src=110DUZED01

Main site: sierraclub.org - find your local chapter and plug-in (newsletters and calendars are viewable even by non-members, so that you can find out how to get involved)

Georgia Chapter (in Atlanta) of Sierra Club - they have a dear place in my heart because they are remembering and including the urban and multi-cultural communities that also want to be involved in conservation

Soil Association - research shows direct link between healthy soil and the health of the people and animals that live there;
http://www.soilassociation.org/

Food Inc, the academy award nominated movie phenom -
http://www.foodincmovie.com

PBS NOW has a video on "Food Inc" at
http://video.pbs.org/video/1143263943/

Real Food Challenge - a college student movement, but also a good resource to learn more
http://realfoodchallenge.org/

First Lady Michelle Obama has started an awesome movement, too:
http://obamafoodorama.blogspot.com/2009/06/making-america-safe-for-eaters-first.html

There are other resources, as well, that are dynamically listed in the side bar of this blog (this list grows every week). Please check them out.

We may be starting a new FB group just for families who want to share and learn more and teach their kids more about the environment, healthier food, conservation, etc. I would prefer to join a group that's already for this, but don't know of any, yet. If you do, please share in the comment section.

Thanks!

New Blog! FamilyFood4Thought.blogspot.com

2010-04-07T06:29:00.000-04:00

Introducing FamilyFood4Thought.blogspot.com

The purpose of this blog is simply to be a resource for families, like ours, who are learning more about how to make the best choices for their families, homes, and communities.

In addition to posting our own original blog articles, we will provide links to websites, videos, blogs and more that our blog's readers can use as resources in their learning journey. Topics will include: environment, conservation, food, recipes, sustainability, community safety, emergency preparedness, and more.

We believe that there is a very rich online global community of families, like ours, who care enough about others to share their thoughts, experiences, feedback and wisdom so that we can all flow in this learning journey together. So, please comment on the blog posts and share your feedback and resources that your family has found helpful, as well.

Our goal is for this blog to contribute to the global community as a guidepost pointing the way to helpful, useful information and resources. We hope that you will be empowered to make more choices that you are confident will work well for your family.

Our Background:

We are a family living in a suburban-near-urban community where we are seeking to help children learn more about the importance of the environment and become excited influencers passing on their learning to others.

Current Challenges:

Though we don't hang out by our front door, we constantly find trash at our doorstep from food that we've never seen nor eaten. Though we love nature, flowers, etc., the rental community we live in has very poor landscaping, including bad erosion. Though we care about the safety of all of the kids in our community, we frequently see children who are left to their own devices, playing idly in the parking lot, with nothing constructive to do and no playground available to them.

Future Plans:

Create an outdoors club within our rental community to mentor the kids on how we can take better care of our community. Our hope is to: reduce litter, increase environmental awareness, beautify our complex, and, hopefully, create a safe outdoors space for the kids to have scheduled, monitored activities.