It’s “Money-Saving May” at The Green Parent and all month long we’re looking for ways to save money by going green. Today we’re talking water…conserving it not only protects the planet, it can also save you a fortune each month on your water, energy, and sewage bills. Here’s how:

1. Skip The Drips: Dripping faucets and leaky pipes waste thousands of gallons of water each year…sending your hard earned money straight down the drain. Most leaks can be fixed quickly with inexpensive plumbing repair tape. Not sure if your toilet is leaking? Drop a little food coloring in your toilet tank. If the color seeps into the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak.
2. Give A Dam:

   You only need about 2 gallons of water to successfully flush your toilet, yet some toilets use as much as 10! Save hundreds of gallons of water each month by creating a “toilet dam.” Fill a plastic bottle with pebbles or water and place it in your toilet tank to reduce the amount of water used with each flush.

3. Water Sparingly: Save water outdoors by watering plants only as necessary. Use a rain gauge or monitor the soil around plants to check for moisture. When you do need it, water plants early in the morning as cooler temperatures reduce evaporation.

4. Go Low-Flow: Showers make up a big chunk (roughly 22 percent) of the average family’s water bill. And showers hit the pocketbook three times…you pay to buy the water, to heat it, and to carry it away. Low-flow shower heads can help to reduce water use by as much as 500 to 800 gallons of water per month. Check with your local water authority to see if they offer a discounts or coupons for water saving gadgets.
5. Keep Your Cool: Thirsty? Keep a bottle or pitcher of water in the refrigerator so that you and your kids won’t have to run the tap to get a cool drink.

Lovely news, huh? The AP conceded that the concentrations found were tiny…measured in quantities of parts per billion or trillion, far below the levels of a medical dose. Still, their very presence is alarming. It also serves as a reminder that everything we do has an impact on the planet.

If you’re like me, you never really think about water contamination when you take medication. But everything we put on and in to our bodies eventually gets flushed into the water supply, and drugs are no exception.

What is the answer? Should we all stop taking medication? Absolutely not! Should we all start drinking evil bottled water in an attempt to avoid exposure? Again, absolutely not! According to the AP report, drinking bottled water will not protect you from exposure to these medications.

Treehugger.com recommends purchasing a point of consumption water filter that either mounts to your faucet or comes in a free-standing pitcher to filter out organic compounds. This is certainly a good remedy for the symptoms, and it will help to protect you and your family from exposure to prescription medications and other contaminants in your drinking water. But it won’t help to cure the overall problems surrounding water sanitation. It also won’t do much for the plants, fish, mammals, and aquatic ecosystems that are exposed to a daily onslaught of low-dose prescription medications.

The answer here lies in asking for answers from the one U.S. agency that is responsible for overseeing the protection of America’s water supply…the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. So if you’re concerned about living in a world where prescription drugs regularly taint your water supply, get a filter…and then pick up the phone:

EPA Region 1 (ME, NH, VT, MA, RI, CT): (888) 372-7341

EPA Region 2 (NY, NJ, PR, VI): (212) 637-3660

EPA Region 3 (PA, DE, DC, MD, VA, WV): (800) 438-2474

EPA Region 4 (KY, TN, NC, SC, MS, AL, GA, FL): (800) 241-1754

EPA Region 5 (MN, WI, IL, MI, IN, OH): (800) 621-8431

EPA Region 6 (NM, TX, OK, AR, LA): (800) 887-6063

EPA Region 7 (NE, KS, IA, MO): (800) 223-0425

EPA Region 8 (MT, ND, WY, SD, UT, CO): (303) 312-6149

EPA Region 9 (CA, NV, AZ, HI): (866) EPA-WEST

EPA Region 10 (WA, OR, ID, AK): (800) 424-4EPA

For more info about conserving water, check out these posts

Toilet Talk: Green Parenting for the Potty?
Up At Dawn?
Go Low-Flow
Don’t Be A Drip

Do you work hard to raise your family without trashing the planet (or do you know someone else who does)? Register now to win your town’s Green Parent Awards. Nominate a friend and you both can win!!

Check the calendar to see when The Green Parent will be headed to a town near you and then register (or nominate a friend) to win one of these great prizes:

The Green Parent Starter Kit: A ton of great green parenting stuff (a resuable water bottle, sandwich wraps, board games, recycled paper coloring book, as well as coupons for all of your favorite green parenting stuff) all bundled together in an über-green reusable tote. Retail Value: over $50

Recycline Family Personal Care

Packs (includes Preserve toothbrushes and razors made from 100% recycled plastic.)

Resuable Tote Bags from Chico Bags and Enviro-Tote

Planet Green Dishwashing Detergent


Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Water Bottles

Family Pastimes Board Games

And you don’t have to be a master recycler or organic farmer to win. In fact, I’ll be giving out tons of prizes to folks just for showing up.

Bottom line….if you’re a parent and you aspire to be green…we want to hear from you. The prizes and tour calendar will be updated frequently. …so be sure to register now!

In the typical American household, 35 to 45% of all of the drinkable (or potable) water is used to flush the toilet. Older model toilets are the worst offenders, using 7-10 gallons of water with each flush. Newer models are slightly more conservative, using between 3-5 gallons. Flushing gallons of water down the toilet is not only a waste of the water itself, but also of the energy and resources used to filter that water and transport it to and from your house. It also costs you money twice: once on your water bill and again on your sewer bill.

So save yourself some money and help keep the environment from going down the toilet with these easy green parenting tips:

• Use The Can:Don’t use your toilet as a trash can. Toss tissues, dead bugs, and cigarette butts (make sure they’re out…better yet, don’t smoke!) in the garbage to avoid unnecessary flushes.
• Gotta Leak? Not sure if the toilet at your house is leaking? Drop a little food coloring in the toilet tank. If the color seeps into the toilet bowl without flushing, there is a leak.
• Dam It! You only need about 2 gallons of water to successfully flush your toilet. If your toilet uses more than that, make a toilet dam by filling a plastic water bottle with pebbles or water and place it in your toilet tank. This will reduce the overall volume of the tank and cut down on the amount of water flushed down the drain.
  love and other drugs full dvd movie

  If you have an active toilet (and if you have kids it’s likely that you do), this can save you roughly 300 gallons of water each month.

Mornings in my house revolve around a frenzy of food. Between preparing breakfast for my girls (they are on a cinnamon toast kick) to packing their lunches (PB&J, carrots, and applesauce), and taking a stab at defrosting what we will have for dinner, it seems almost surreal to me that outside my home, throughout my town, my country, and certainly throughout the world, there are mothers who will not be able to feed their children today.

It is heartbreaking and it is humbling.

Lest you think that hunger is a social issue and not an environmental issue, remember, many environmental problems such as air pollution, water pollution, and genetically engineering livestock and crops are the direct result of our desire to feed people in need.

And it’s pointless to beg people to recycle or install a CFL lightbulb when their only thoughts are on feeding their children.

So parent to parent…let’s go green this year by making sure that other parents have the food they need for themselves and their children. Here’s how:

• Go Local: Contact your local food bank, soup kitchen, or church to find out what you can do to help. Donate non-perishable items, distribute flyers, organize pantry shelves, or volunteer to serve.

• Get Clicking: It’s easy to become jaded and think that the money you donate will simply get lost in an administrative slush pile. But there are charities out there that are really making a difference by getting food and funds into the hands of the people who need them. Here are a few worth checking out:

Meals on Wheels: Meals on Wheels organizations provide hot meals (either at local community centers or by delivery) to elderly, homebound, and disabled folks in need throughout the country. Check out their website to donate or find a program near you.

Target Hunger: Target Hunger aims to alleviate hunger in inner-city neighborhoods. They distribute about 3 million pounds of food each month to families in need in addition to offering courses in nutrition, self-esteem, English-As-A-Second Language, adult literacy, math and job search workshops.

Heifer International: Give a man a fish and he’ll have food for today. Teach him to fish and he’ll have food for life. That’s the idea behind the programs at Heifer, International. This organization provides farm animals to the world’s hungry so that they can have something to eat today, as well as hope for the future. Heifer’s recipients also become future donors, as they pledge to donate their animal’s offspring to another family in need.

• Get Your Kids Involved: After all, we teach our children from an early age that it’s important to share. What better way to walk the walk than to show them how sharing benefits kids in their community and in their world.

Photo of child eating corn courtesy of Radharadhya d
Photo of child and goat courtesy of Heifer International

Why Go Green?

The standard solvent used in 85% of the dry cleaners in the U.S. is is perchloroethylene (or Perc), a central nervous system depressant known to cause headaches, nausea, and dizziness. It has been linked to reproductive problems, including miscarriage and male infertility and it hasbeen listed as a hazardous air pollutant and a probable human carcinogen under the federal standards. Perc is also rough on the planet, contributing to both air and water pollution.

How To Green Your Dry Cleaning

1. Skip It: It goes without saying (but I’m going to say it anyhow), the most eco-friendly thing you can do is to avoid clothes that require dry cleaning.

2. Get Wet: If you do have clothes that need to be dry cleaned, look for a “wet cleaner” that uses computer-controlled washers and dryers in combination with water and non-toxic, biodegradable detergents to clean delicate fabrics such as wool, silk, linen or rayon. Wet cleaning does not contribute to air or water pollution and it’s safe for the people cleaning your clothes. (Here’s a directory of wet cleaners.)

3. Give It Some Gas: Dry cleaning that uses liquid carbon dioxide is another green alternative. This technology uses CO2 that is captured from existing industrial and agricultural emissions (so it doesn’t contribute to global warming) . Several years ago, Consumer Reports compared eco-friendly dry cleaning methods and gave the edge to liquid CO2 for producing the best results in tests for shrinkage, discoloration, and preservation of texture. However, this method is “less green” than wet-cleaning as it does use detergents that contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

4. Green Earth: GreenEarth dry cleaning utilizes a silicone-based solvent, siloxane, to clean clothes in a process similar to traditional cleaning. It is often billed as “green” because the chemicals it uses are less toxic than Perc. However, there is still concern about the safety of siloxane for both human and environmental health. Siloxane is highly flammable, it is manufactured using chlorine, and its use may release dioxin emissions. And the verdict is still out on whether or not siloxane is a carcinogen.

Isn’t there are greener way for kids to help raise money for their school without trashing the planet? Here are some great ideas for greening your child’s next school fundraiser:

Sell Green Stuff: A number of upcoming organizations, such as Greenraising (www.greenraising.com) and Lets Go Green (www.letsgogreen.biz) now offer eco-friendly fundraising opportunities. Both offer a range of products to choose from such as SIGG water bottles, eco-friendly cleaning products, and recycled office supplies that can support and protect the eco-friendly cause while also raising some much needed green for your child’s school. Another great green option is to sell reusable grocery bags through companies such as Chico Bag (www.chicobag.com) or ReuseThisBag.com (www.reusethisbag.com). Imprint your school or club’s logo on these eco-friendly bags to show-off your school spirit.

Host A Green Event: You can raise a pot of cash for your school with a green, waste-free event such as a spaghetti dinner or pancake breakfast. Hold the event in your school’s cafeteria or your local fire hall and hit up local businesses to donate food, reusable napkins, and compostable dishes.

Pledge To Be Green: Kids can raise money and get a little exercise with a green fundraiser such as a walk-a-thon or obstacle course. Pledgers can donate cash for every lap walked or obstacle achieved. The only resource your kids will use is their own boundless energy!

Photo credit: André Menegatti

1. Park It: Make every effort to walk, bike, or take public transit instead of driving you car. For inspiration, check out Alan Durning’s Year of Living Car-Lessly to read about his family of five’s car-free adventures.

1. Eat Local Foods: According to a recent report by the Natural Resource Defense Council, the average American meal contains ingredients from at least five countries outside the U.S. These ingredients are shipped by boat, train, and plane to our dinner plates, leaving a path of pollution and resource depletion in their wake. Make an effort this year to eat foods that are grown closer to home. Check out Sustainable Table for a state-by-state list of the seasonal foods that are found near you.

1. Trim Your Trash: Why put yourself on a diet when you can make a resolution to put your trash on one instead? The average American produces roughly 4.5 pounds of trash each day (that’s 17 pounds of trash thrown away each day for a family of four!) Trim that waste-line by practicing the three R’s (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Check out these posts for great ways to reduce waste:

1. Turn Off A Light: There’s nothing worse than heading out the door with your arms full of kids, diaper bags, sippy cups, and snacks, only to realize that every light in the house is still burning. Make it your New Year’s resolution to turn off lights as you leave a room…better yet, put your kids in charge of “light patrol.” You’ll save a bundle in energy bills and light bulbs!

1. Vote Green: 2008 promises to be a big year at the ballot box, both at the national and local level.

   So before you cast your vote, check out the League of Conservation Voters to see where you favorite (and not so favorite) candidates stand on the environment.

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Members of a family get used to sharing. Older kids share toys and clothes with their younger siblings, parents share snacks, drinks, and occasionally the clothes from their own backs with their children, and even the family dog might be required to share a place on his cozy bed from time to time. And when one member of the family brings home an illness, whether it’s a scratchy throat, a runny nose, or a full-blown flu, it’s likely they will share their germs with the rest of the clan as well. Chances are at least one (if not every) member in your family will get sick this winter. Here’s how to stay green when you’re feeling…well…green.

For Your Nose

Sure, if you live by yourself, you could skip the paper and use a cloth hanky to wipe up a drippy nose. But in a house with kids, where germs spread like wildfire, it’s best to toss those germs as soon as they hit the tissue. Here are a few great eco-friendly options:

Seventh Generation: Seventh Generation facial tissues are made from 100% recycled paper, (with a minimum of 80% post-consumer recycled paper) and they’re whitened without chlorine bleach. According to their website (www.seventhgeneration.com) if every person in the U.S. purchased just one box of recycled paper tissues instead of a box made from virgin paper, we would save 299,000 trees, 772,000 cubic feet of landfill space, equal to 1,100 full garbage trucks, 108 million gallons of water, a year’s supply for 850 families of four, and avoid 18,000 pounds of chlorinated pollution.

Green Forest: Another great green buy, Green Forest facial tissues are also made from 100% recycled paper (40% post-consumer minimum) and processed chlorine free.

Cooling, Soothing Cough Drops

Organix Organic Cough Drops:

Soothes the throat and nose with all organic herbal ingredients including peppermint oil, sage, thyme, marshmallow root, hyssop, and slippery elm and no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors.

Hebron Naturals Organic Cough Drops: Relieves coughs and sore throats with organic and natural ingredients. Flavors include Adventurous Tingle (Echinacea) Wild Cherry, Glacial Mint, and Lemon Honey.

Savory Soups

Amy’s Soups: Amy’s offers a number of yummy, wholesome soups that will take the chill out of your bones and . Some favorite vegan options include No Chicken Noodle (as it’s name implies…there’s no bird in this cure-all), Organic Alphabet, and Organic Black Bean.

ShariAnn’s Organic: ShariAnn’s Organic is another great source for full-flavored soups that will help you feel better fast. Vegan selections include Tomato with Roasted Garlic, Vegetarian French Onion, and Great Plains Split Pea or try the Vegetarian Vegetable Barley.

Ahh…There’s Nothing Like A Cup of Tea

Newman’s Own Organics: Look to Newman’s Own Organics for organic black or green teas that will soothe achy muscles, sore throats, and a pounding headache.

Choice: Choice offers an amazing selection of Fair Trade Certified organic teas in white, green and black to tackle your wellness woes. Favorites include White Jasmine, Himalayan Green, Chamomile Herb, and Darjeeling.

Herbal Medicine DIY

If you like you medicine to come from a plant rather than a factory, you might be interested in the Herbal Medicine Kit, This kit includes all of the ingredients and instructions you need to make an echinacaea tincture, and herbal healing salve, and herbal infusions.

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