Green Moms

You may have noticed I haven't posted in a while, I have taking a brief hiatus from blogging with the pregnancy and birth of my first son but I am back now with a little less sleep but a little more inspiration. Being a mom has made me see the world and sustainability with new eyes.

Back when I was growing up, I did a lot of babysitting. While watching different kids I noticed a trend in the way mid-upper class families were raising their kids. There was a new focus on organic food, natural cleaning products, high efficiency products and sustainability in general. I jokingly referred to the parents of these children as "Soy moms," because their refrigerators always seemed to be stocked with a plethora of soy products: tofu "ice cream" sandwiches, tempeh, soy milk, etc. This almost became a joke between me and my sister who would try to raid the refrigerators after the kids had gone to sleep but were too turned off by the sound of "tofu cookies" to even take a bite.

Now that I am a mom, I get it. We want to do anything that will give our children a better chance at life. That includes offering them the nutrition of organic soy as well as protecting the environment that they will one day grow up into.

The new reality is that by the time our kids grow up we may have used up our oil sources, Global warming may create huge natural disasters and that's a scary thought. We don't just want our kids to grow up like we did, with clean air and water and gas prices that don't break the bank every time you fuel up. We want them to have better. Our lifestyle of using cars to go somewhere 2 blocks away, turning on the air conditioning as soon as the weather goes above 70 degrees F, and eating unsustainable produce and meat has contributed to the declining health and obesity epidemic of our nation. For the first time in years, kids may have shorter life expectancies than their parents.

As moms we want to step in to protect our kids and protect their future. As spring approaches, and people are looking to do more projects on their house and yard, I would encourage you to try to make sustainable decisions as you move forward with these projects. Try to water your grass less, use organic fertilizer or install a drainage system that helps prevent run off and erosion. Choose FSC wood for construction projects and look into permeable pavers and concrete for hardscaping. The more we all try to change, the better future we leave for the next generation.