Photo by Tiffany Coggins

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, step-moms, grandmas, great-grandmas, moms-to-be and all those special women who fill a mom-like role in someone’s life! Enjoy your day! And don’t forget to do something nice for everyone’s mom, Mother Earth.

Farmers market bouquets

You care about the environment and your mom. How do you show both? For many moms it’s not about the gift so much as it is about what is behind the gift; your love. But, if you feel a kiss on the cheek and time spent with her is not enough, then let me offer some suggestions that can fulfill both your requirements.

1. Your gift of labor. This year I’m asking my kids to weed my garden for me. I have not had the time and this will mean so much to me. Think about some task like that for your mom.  She might not have a garden, but maybe she’d love to have her house cleaned.

2. A charitable donation made in her name. Does your mom have a favorite charity that she gives to? Does she wish she could give more? Giving in her name tells her you care about her passions and interests.

3. Plant an organic garden or potted garden for her or with her.

4. Give her the gift of fresh, organic food. Sign her up for and pay for a Community Supported Agriculture club, also known as a CSA. You pay a certain amount at the beginning of the season and then each week you get a bounty of local, and most often organic or close to organic, fruits and vegetables. We have belonged to one for years and we look forward to it each summer.

4. Reusable basics, especially if she does not have it or only has a few. I’m speaking of water bottles and shopping bags. Both are everywhere now and come in beautiful colors and patterns.

5. Organic flowers are a beautiful way to say I love you. If your local farmers market is up and running, you can probably get a wonderful bouquet there, but otherwise there are organic options online.

6. Cook her a special, organic meal. To really make it extra sustainable, try to find all or mostly local ingredients.

7. A gift certificate for a massage is a pretty low impact gift that will make your mom feel special. Not only will she feel relaxed, but there are therapeutic benefits to massage.

8. An organic facial or body treatment is another way for mom to feel loved and relaxed. You could do it together, or maybe you could pamper her yourself at home.

9. Is you mom interested in saving gas and getting healthier? What about a new road bike all tricked out with baskets and such? Saddle bags can be added to the back so she can do small errands on her new bike.

10. The traditional breakfast in bed. Make it yourself from local, organic food. Cut flowers from your own garden and give mom the ultimate indulgence of lounging in bed as long as she can stand it. Don’t forget her favorite newspaper, book or magazine.

I do think I let my hand slip there; I’m not a good sitting in bed in the morning person, but many people dream about being able to stay in bed all day. You know your mom. If you don’t see an idea that would appeal to her in my list, then do some online digging. An even better idea is to check out your local businesses that are unique to your town. Most importantly, tell her you love her and that you appreciate everything she has done for you. That’s what we want most.

Image courtesy of Doug Wilson and USDA ARS

The first episode of PBS’ new series, America Revealed, explains America’s “Food Machine,” and how it feeds the country. It’s an interesting look at the complex system. You will never look at your Friday night pizza the same again.

Image courtesy of NASA

Happy Earth Day! How are you celebrating today? Showing your support of Earth Day could be as simple as replacing an inefficient incandescent bulb with a new LED bulb, buying a reusable bag made from recycled material, planting a tree, shrub or other native plant in your yard, eating like a vegetarian for the day, or eating like a locavore. You can get an app for your smartphone from Locavore to help you find locally grown ingredients.

You can also find bigger ways to celebrate Earth Day by getting involved with sustainable organizations. The Earth Day Network has a site where you can find more information about Earth Day. Maybe this Earth Day is when you commit to make big changes in your life. Maybe today you decide to start biking to work or taking public transportation. Maybe today is the day you put in a compost or garden.

If you have the basics of reduce, reuse and recycle down, make bigger changes. If you don’t have the basics down, start incorporating them into your life.

1. Stop buying bottled water, bring your own reusable bottle

2. Stop accepting plastic and paper bags, bring your own reusable bags

3. Stop buying individually wrapped convenience items

4. Buy in bulk

5. Use rags instead of paper towels

6. Switch to glass food storage containers from plastic containers or disposable bags

7. Switch to recycled paper products like recycled-content toilet paper or recycled-content printer paper

8. Use cloth napkins instead of paper napkins

9. Stop eating processed foods. Eat real, whole food and then don’t waste it

10. Stop putting chemicals on your lawn, heck, get rid of your lawn

11. Unplug stuff around your house or use power strips to turn things off

12. Support fair trade

13. Shop at farmers markets

14. Install low-flow faucets, aerators, toilets and shower heads

15. Take five minute showers

16. Shop in secondhand stores

17. Switch to non-toxic cleaners

18. Lower the temperature on your thermostat in the winter and increase the temperature on it in the summer

19. Weatherproof your home

20. Talk about sustainability

This list could go on and on, but this should get you started. Do you have some more ideas? Post them in the comment section. We can all learn from each other. Make every day Earth Day.

Image courtesy of Reuseit

Not long ago, June of 2010, a study came out that terrified a lot of consumers. The study said that reusable bags were riddled with bacteria. What was an eco-conscious consumer to do? At a minimum, wash those bags. Some people thought that another answer would be to stop pesky legislation to ban the plastic bag; after all, plastic bags couldn’t sicken us with E. Coli. Some folks flat out wrote to stop using reusable bags.

Well, it turns out that study was maybe not the best example of the scientific method. It was also not a great example of passing along results of a study. Picking and choosing facts and then misrepresenting those facts is, well, not a very honest thing to do. The American Chemistry Council funded and then reported the study. The ACC is desperately trying to block legislation to ban plastic bags.

This re-post on Bag Monster is brilliant! I wish I had been the one to research and write this piece. I have to confess; I was one of the lazy bloggers out there that posted a blog about the study without calling up a biologist first. Bad Green Girl, very bad. I hang my head in blogger shame.

I didn’t get crazed and panicked in my blog. I suggested ways to sanitize reusable bags. I also suggested color coding your bags as an extra precaution. This does not let me off the hook, but it is better than screaming “Stop using reusable bags or you will die!”

So, this is all old news now. The post is over four months old. Why am I writing this? Because the misinformation from that study by the ACC is still making the rounds.

Should you wash your reusable bags? Yes, I do think that is a good idea. Should you stop using reusable bags out of concern for safety? No, a big fat no to that question. Should you switch to reusable bags from plastic bags? Yes! What are you waiting for? Do it already! Sorry, I sometimes can’t help myself. Ahem, yes please, do switch to reusable bags.

One word of advice. Don’t buy cheap bags. Make a small investment in some quality bags that you can reuse and reuse and reuse and then wash and wash and wash. I see good reusable bags everywhere, including my favorite local stores. The online selection is astounding and in a dizzying array of colors and patterns. You can use these bags to make a statement about yourself, not just a statement that you care about reducing plastic use.

Here is a short list of a few online retailers that carry reusable bags: Reuseit, Reusable Bag Depot, Eco Plum, Nature Bag, Life Without Plastic and Big Green Purse.

I would like to thank Stiv Wilson for the great post he wrote for the Ban The Bag! website. He gave permission to Bag Monster to re-print it.

If you are still hanging on to those Edison bulbs, it is time to let go my friend. I understand; you just couldn’t embrace those compact fluorescent bulbs. The CFLs lacked the warmth and fire you desired, I get it. You were concerned about mercury in your home, disposal and radiation.

Now you have a new way to do good for the environment, have the warm glow of the sun, be free of mercury spilling in your home and have no guilt of tossing a bulb in the trash. The new LEDs are here and better than ever.

Now, brace yourself, they are not cheap. Think of replacing those old incandescent bulbs with an LED like you think of replacing your drafty, old, inefficient windows; not cheap, but worth the investment. LEDs can last up to 20 years, yes, years. LEDs cost pennies to run compared to dollars to run the old-time bulbs. The new LEDs can be dimmed almost as well as an incandescent and there is no buzzing like you get from even a dimmable CFL. We even had some LEDs that were labeled dimmable, but flickered terribly.

Philips AmbientLED lit.

My favorite new bulb is the Philips AmbientLED. I have replaced many bulbs, including CFL bulbs, in our house with this new bulb. I know, it does look a little funny, but most of the time you don’t see the bulb or notice it. It is very bright. It seems brighter than what is stated on the package. I love the warm glow from it. I love that it does not flicker or buzz when dimmed. Although these bulbs are no where as cheap as an incandescent at the register, they cost far less than LEDs from just a year or two ago. Not only that, but an incandescent is about 90 percent inefficient. Literally, it makes a better heater than a light.

There is a very good reason that governments decided to phase incandescents out, it is technology from over a hundred years ago. Do you get in touch with friends with telegraphs? No, you call them on your phone, probably your cellular phone. Do you beat your clothes on a rock next to a river? No, you throw them into a washing machine, maybe even a super efficient front loader. Do you go and turn the crank on your automobile engine? No, at this point you may not even turn a key, but instead push a button to start your car.

Come on, join the 21st century. Let go of your incandescents and embrace LEDs; your wallet, energy bill and planet will thank you.

Photo by Jeff Henry of Wildfire in Yellowstone National Park courtesy of National Park Service

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources put Wisconsin under a Red Flag Warning yesterday. A Red Flag Warning means the fire danger is very high due to conditions such as wind, dew point and very dry conditions, according to the local NBC affiliate WEAU. It was a dry winter and spring here in Wisconsin and the chance for wild fires is dangerously high

Everyday, I see people throwing lit cigarette butts out of car windows. I hate this because it is littering, but with conditions like this, it is a fire waiting to happen. Look at the roadsides, it is dry out there and that is fuel waiting to burn. You may not think a red cigarette butt could do much damage, but it is just the spark that can start a wildfire.

Please, keep those butts in your car. If you don’t have an ashtray, then bring some sort of fireproof container into your car, even a soda can with a little water in the bottom. No one wants to be responsible for something as damaging as a wildfire. Just imagine if that wildfire got so out of control and burned down a house. That potential is real.

So, please keep your butts where they belong and don’t throw them out your car window.

Entertaining by candlelight

Well, I should say that Earth Hour is almost here. It actually begins tonight at 8:30. For some people it has already begun. Earth Hour is a world-wide movement to bring attention to global environmental issues. For one hour individuals, businesses and governments turn off the lights. The movement’s message is to highlight global climate change. More recently those involved have committed to going beyond that one hour to make lasting changes. Earth Hour began is 2007 in Australia, but has grown each year with more and more cities and indeed countries getting involved, according to the Earth Hour website.

Join this world-wide movement tonight at 8:30 your local time for one hour. Make a party out of it. Have friends over and light candles. You may decide you like entertaining by candlelight and keep the lights off all night.

Bailey Kramer shows me the worms in a vermicompost

I just wrote this story for the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s newspaper The Spectator. I’m excited that UWEC is working towards a more sustainable future. Vermicompost is composting with worms. Vermicompost is something almost anyone can do, even if you don’t have a backyard.  A worm bin can fit into a small closet.

I wrote a small blog about composting years ago. I touched on vermicompost, but my story for The Spectator has a lot more information.

Do you vermicompost? Share your experiences in the comment section.

Thank-you, Green Girl Readers. I appreciate your patience and understanding while I deviated from my usual topic. I will post a green-related blog in the next few days.

Do any of you have a specific green topic you would like to learn more about? Please post any suggestions in the comments section.

I am so grateful for everyone that takes time to read my blog. Thank-you!