I used to console myself for forgetting my canvas grocery bags during impromptu market runs with the thought that I would soon be recycling the plastic bags anyway. In a sense, that is. They wouldn’t be melted down and re-manufactured into other useful plastic items. But, these new plastic bags would remain in their original form and become reassigned to the duties of useful doggy poop bags. (more…)

The eighties were not about conservation. This was evident even in the care packages college students received from home. I’m not referring to the gifts themselves, but the materials used to post a package. Unaware of the un-biodegradable faux pas, I envied these slick presentations.
My folks, you see, were green before their time. I’d grown up eating salads grown in a garden that dwarfed the Amazon jungle. This garden was fueled by my mother’s impressive 6×6 foot compost heap. A heap that, to my great horror, replaced the very sand of my sandbox when I was six! (more…)

When I count my blessings, I almost always include among them that I have given birth to at least one omnivore. Ryan is our “good eater” - a ham lover at the tender age of one, he’s continued to amaze us with his adventurous palate. Salty, spicy, protein, legumes - he’ll happily eat it all, quite a contrast to his older brother, who went through such a long period of eating only white food that we referred to him as “the bride.” But starting at age three, Ryan’s favorite of all food has been “Chinese noodles,” his term for Chicken Chow Mein. He always votes for Chinese when we have take-out night, and occasionally requests Chinese noodles for breakfast. (more…)

Ten years ago, with the best of intentions, I bought my first reusable bags: they rarely got used. I would forget them at home or leave them in my car (yes, I was too lazy to fetch them from the parking lot). When I finally managed to get them to the checkout counter, there were never enough of them, and I ended up having to answer the question, “Do you want plastic or paper for the rest?” (more…)