This Forecast is for Green

Terri Bennett is a meteorologist, earth scientist, mom and all-round eco-guru! Folks from the Charlotte, NC area may recognize her from her weather reporting days, but Terri's Do Your Part initiative should earn her recognition across the state and beyond! Check out the Do Your Part Web site to find out what you can do at home, at work, at play, with your kids and on the road to reduce your ecological footprint. Learn water consrvation tips for the bathroom, greener grilling techniques for the backyard an ways to make the office break room more eco-friendly. I'd say the forecast looks bright from here.

It's All Good...

I am a frequent user of the Environmental Worling Group's Cosmetic Safety Database, so I was extremely excited to see another product database called GoodGuide. GoodGuide ranks products not only on environmental performance and health performance, but also on social performance. Rankings go from 0 (the worst) to 10 (the best). This "higher number is better" scale is the opposite of the Cosmetic Safety Database, so be careful. GoodGuide also goes beyond personal care products to include toys and household chemicals. I, for one, am excited to dive deeper into this new resource!

rent A toy!

Our kids do it now just as we did it to our parents a generation before...beg for a toy and then tire of it in a month or two. A friend of mine asks her son to choose several of his toys to donate to less fortunate kids every year before the holidays and his birthday - a great idea for extending the life of an item and making somebody else's life happier. Another idea is to check out rent A toy. It's kind of like Netflix, but with toys instead of movies. Pick out the toys you and your little ones want, have them delivered to your house, and send them back when you're done! What if one of the toys becomes a cherished favorite? You can purchase the item for a below-retail price. The Web site gives all of the details. My favorite part of the rent A toy site? The description of the staff members includes their favorite childhood toys...that tells you much more about a person than most employee descriptions I've seen!

Word to Your Mother...

If you're a mom, a dad, or know any moms or dads, then you should check out the NatureMomsBlog - A Guide to Natural Family Life. It is written by Tiffany - Midwestern freelance writer and newspaper journalist, mother of three, cancer survivor and all-round guru of things that are green and natural. From book reviews to product reviews, parenting tips to project ideas - the NatureMomsBlog provides it all in a short, easy-to-read, interesting and organized format. Still not sure it's worth checking out? Well, are you interested in having less of an environmental impact while saving money, finding out about the latest BPA-free bottles for kids and adults, or how to detangle your child's hair without unknown frangrances? The NatureMomsBlog has covered all of that...in the last three days! You've got to check it out...mom said so.

Eco-Smart Parent Guide

Check out the new Eco-Smart Parent Guide from the NC Office of Environmental Education! It's a helpful brochure meant to highlight some of the environmental and health issues surrounding your choices as a parent. It provides a top-ten list of helpful resources to get you started learning about the issues and how we can make choices that we feel good about for ourselves and our families. Feel free to print the guide and distribute it wherever you think it may be helpful. As with any of our publications, we're open to feedback on the guide. Enjoy!