I did an appearance on London’s A Channel this morning to talk about toy shopping for the upcoming holiday season. After last year’s staggering 25 million toys recalled for various hazards — lead in the paint or vinyl, the “date-rape drug”, batteries that were small enough to cause choking — the U.S. Congress passed a law on July 30, 2008 that promised to clean up the toy aisles of America…and Canada since most companies sell toys on both sides of the border. The catch?? The law doesn’t go into effect until February 10, 2009, leaving a potentially dangerous window of opportunity for any unscrupulous toy companies to unload their toxic toys. My advice? Make sure you’re on top of recalls so that you don’t fall prey to any auction sites or “second-hand” sites passing off dangerous toys (visit Health Canada’s site at hc-sc.g.ca/cps-spc/advisories-avis/child-enfant/index_e.html or go to www.notinmycart.org). Look for toys that are simple: unpainted wooden blocks, LEGO (which has a long history of being safe), puzzles and so on. If you’re unsure about a toy’s safety, check it out with www.healthytoys.org. Just key in the brand name and get a report card. If the site doesn’t have one on the brand you’re curious about, let them know.
With due diligence on the part of all of us parents, we can ensure that our kids’ toys are not only fun, but safe.

I’ve always been very clear that I’m no expert on the environment. I pretty much glazed over during high school chemistry class, was mildly entertained by the notion of genetics in biology and remain convinced that much of my life defies the laws of physics. That, however, was then. I was recently quoted by The Sierra Club in its “The Green Life” daily tip that arrives in my in-box so that I may learn from them. Instead, they offered up my advice on buying less. It seems I have “arrived”…on a green horse.
So…from now on, just do as I say and we’ll all be fine.
To read my words of wisdom, visit this link: http://sierraclub.typepad.com/greenlife/2008/09/green-your-sh-2.html

We might not be famous. Or rich. Or even particularly interesting. But that doesn’t mean we don’t want to be in rehab, just like so many of those Hollywood (sorta) stars. Our rehab, however, involves a consumer detox. As in, no spending money on useless crap. As in, no buying anything that isn’t vital to our survival. If necessary, we can barter, beg or borrow for anything we need (which I already did – thank-you to those who answered my SOS for glue sticks for my children’s back-to-school arsenal). So far, I’ve gone 9 days without aspartame (I haven’t bought any Diet Pepsi) and ju jubes (nary a one has passed my lips) – both of which I rely on to get me through the lonely, nap-inducing days of a freelance writer. My husband has used up all the remaining money on his Starbucks gift card and has resorted to brewing his own. My five-year-old is taking matters into her own hands and has requested her own credit card. And I, noting that our wine cellar in suspiciously devoid of red, am seriously considering stomping my own grapes.
Why are we doing this? It’s one of those “seemed like a good idea at the time” notions that I frequently enthuse about. I get so disgusted with the mindless consumerism and despairing for the toll it’s taking on the planet. I pitched the idea to editors at Canadian Living magazine, who succumbed to my enthusiasm and have asked me to write about it for an upcoming issue.
So far, I’ve learned that even I, who take great pride in NOT buying whole heaps of Made in China stuff that I don’t need, purchase more than I realize. I’ve learned that there’s a HUGE difference between needing something and wanting something. But, with 20 days left in our detox, I’ve learned mostly that I don’t like white wine…even with nothing else in the house.

It’s the latest buzz word in the green world. With gas prices soaring along with our stress levels regarding climate change, more of us are assessing our impact — with vacations high up on the list.
While I’m a firm believer in the need to take time away from work and just play — and a stay-at-home holiday can sometimes mean more work than your paying job — becoming a tourist in your hometown (or a nearby community) can be the best of both worlds. You remove yourself from evidence of all the nagging jobs that need doing at home…and you extricate yourself from your desk.
Unplug the cell phone, disable the work e-mail and truly relax. Take in a local museum or art gallery, bike to a farmer’s market and pick up the ingredients for a picnic. Take the kids to an organic farm in the country or a pick-your-own strawberry patch.
Whatever you do, tread lightly…and leave the gas guzzler at home.

If you’ve ever wondered where your trash winds up (and even if you haven’t), give this a look. You’ll never toss with abandon again…at least I hope not.
http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1485308505

Consider these words:
“Consumption without need is the hallmark of addiction, and “consumerism” is defined as “the equating of personal happiness with the purchasing of material possessions and consumption.” The pattern of out-of-control consumption in the United States, which per capita consumes 70 times more than India, with three times the U.S. population, is not qualitatively different from the well-known patterns of behavior of substance abusers. In fact, it looks as if the United States just finished with the worst binge of its life and is now cresting the peak of a wicked crash.”
Wow! Rarely do I read/hear something that puts our consumer culture into such clear focus. Perhaps when we start looking at our trips to the mall for things we don’t need as what they often (not always, but certainly often) are – an attempt to assuage some indefinable hunger – we’ll take a detour toward a park or woods and feed our souls instead.
For the whole article, click here:
http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/82013/

Bottled water is 500 to 1,000 times more expensive than tap water. Now how convenient is that plastic bottle it comes in?

Since it’s currently -27 degrees Celsius, the idea of line-drying my clothes is impractical if not impossible at the moment. However, it’s only 70 days until National Hanging Out Day (April 19), a campaign from Project Laundry List encouraging us to line-dry our clothes.
I confess a somewhat bizarre attachment to my own clothesline, which my husband thoughtfully (really!!) gave me for Mother’s Day a few years ago. There’s something very Zen about hanging up my wet laundry. I get lost in the task, frequently notice birds (in part because I’m leery of them pooping on my laundry – though it’s never happened) and generally take in the fresh air and sunshine. I also revel in the feeling of virtue – knowing that my simple choice means fewer greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere. And the smell of line-dried clothes is better than any “spring meadow scent” that comes in a bottle.
Besides, a clothesline for me conjures up memories of my childhood backyard. Our clothesline served far more than a place to hang wet clothes. It was Home Free during tag, first base for baseball and a “tent” (when covered with a large blanket) to hide in with my dolls.
If, like me, you are enamored with your clothesline, please join me in signing a petition put forth by Project Laundry List. Click here: http://www.laundrylist.org/advocacy/solardryers.htm

I’m a sucker for a new beginning. I love anything that reeks of the possibility for change – better change. Whether that’s a new continuing ed class, a new lipstick, or a new year, I’m all for the hope that – this time – things will really be different. So it’s not surprising that I embrace new year’s for all its worth, calling forth promises to self that I’ll eat less cheesecake, join a health club, read Dostoyevsky (or at least learn to spell his name). However, since so many of those annual resolutions inevitably come to naught, I thought I’d declare resolutions this year that I actually have hope of achieving. Call them my green revolution resolutions. And here they are:
•I refuse to adopt a bottled water habit. I’ve always been too cheap to pay for bottled water – and even with Jennifer Aniston hawking bottled water that promises to boost my IQ, I won’t relent. I’m already smart enough to not pay for something packaged in a petroleum product that comes out of my tap for free.
•I will continue – despite my husband’s thinly veiled threats to “erase” my favourite books – to turn off all power bars in the house, even if it means the television programming is wiped out each time. Phantom load is a menace and I refuse to cower in the face of this formidable energy-sucking (some say as much as 75% of the energy used by these appliances is when they’re turned OFF!) foe.
•I will not back down in my efforts to turn my children into environmentalist freaks who shriek when the fridge door is kept open too long, who blanche at the Golden Arches, and who understand that “phantom load” does NOT mean that someone forgot to the flush the toilet.
•I will aspire to live a year without “Made in China”.
•I will play more and work less.
•I will read more and watch TV less.
•I will walk (and bike) more, and drive less.
•I will be kind more and judge less.
I think I’ve got these resolutions nailed down. Well…except for that last one.

What a month! From CBC Morning to CBC Sunday to CFRB to the A Channel to CTV’s Provincewide to The Good Life with Jesse Dylan (and a few I’m sure I’m forgetting), my thoughts on virtuous consumption during the holidays have been the belle of the Christmas ball. I confess it’s gratifying to have my views brought into the mainstream media. As I said on CBC, for some time I’ve felt like the lone voice in the wilderness. Or, as someone has suggested, a left-wing wacko who prays to the moon. I’ve also been called, in the kindest possible way (!!), a “dirty hippy” and an “eco-Nazi.” So forgive me for indulging in a wee bit of smugness that my views are being treated as the opinion of a thoughtful, intelligent, informed global citizen, instead of the ramblings of a lunatic.
Still, while I’m feeling decidedly less lonely these days, I’ll admit a healthy skepticism about whether all this talk will translate into action. I think we all WANT to do better. What remains to be seen is whether we will DO better.
It’s hard, I know. For many, many years now I’ve tried to put the brakes on the holiday consumption orgy. And I usually hold strong…up until the very last few days. Then the doubt sets in. Will my kids be disappointed? Will my in-laws be disappointed? Will I look cheap? Thoughtless? Am I cheap and thoughtless under the guise of being “green”?
This year, however, I feel differently. I feel more comfortable about my choices. Yes, I’m cheap (always have been — comes from growing up in a family that met every request I made for something frivolous with “if you want us to sell the cottage, we can afford those shoes/jeans/trip/Barbie doll…”). But thoughtless? No. Indeed, I no longer need to remind myself that caring for the future of the planet – and therefore the future of my children – is thoughtful. I’m all too aware that I’m not doing my kids any favors by mortgaging their future to alow them a whole heap of stuff today. And I know how many people out there feel the same way, but still get caught up in the holiday frenzy of creating a storybook Christmas.
Still, I’m heartened by what I see as a highly increased awareness. Issues that were fringe only a few years ago (voluntary simplicity, renewable energy, slow food…) have moved firmly into the collective conscious. Increasingly, we all know that our lifestyles don’t support our values. And that those values matter…
I was asked recently whether my kids feel shortchanged at Christmas. I hesitated to answer…because I don’t really know. I do know that their Christmas lists are still pages long. And that they won’t get anywhere close to everything they’re asking for. I also know that my eldest at nine years of age has more compassion than almost anyone I know. That the things she truly values in life is her family, her animals, her friends and her home.
Finally, I responded that we talk a lot in our family about “wants” vs. “needs”. That we talk a lot about gratitude and what bounty we enjoy, compared to so many in the world. About our impact on the planet and how we can make it as positive as possible.
Sure my kids want every toy on the shelves. They’d also happily give every toy on the shelves to every other kid on the planet. But, so far anyway, they, like I, have learned that life’s simple pleasures are the most enduring.