The EcoChic

The Eco Chic has been absent for a few days.  We packed up the family and headed off to Chattanooga, TN for a wedding.  Once again I kept the cloth diapers at home and packed up those nasty sposies.  I really have to find a system that works for traveling.  My main problem is that we rarely stay with friends and family, instead we frequent hotels.  Location is not the only restriction for using cloth, I’m not going to take time out of our already busy schedule to go find a place to wash our cloth.  I might actually invest in some g-diapers just for traveling.  (In case you are new to cloth, g-diapers are hybrid diapers.  They have a flushable insert inside the reusable cover.)

Big B missed two days of school and I missed two days of cool Back To School giveaways!  Later tonight I will be posting another Waste-Free Lunch giveaway! 

Lil’ B is eating like a little pig.  At almost 8 months she is eating almost everything I try to give her.  I can’t recall the last time she turned her nose up to food.  I’m still making the majority of her food from fresh fruits and veggies.  Tonight she had mango-sweet potatoes….yummy!  Big B actually tried a bite and like it too.

Have you ever considered the environmental impact of weddings?  There is so much waste!  The reception was littered with disposable forks, napkins, and cups that were used for less than five minutes…and like most people I made more than one trip through the bar and appetizer lines.  We got married in Vegas so we didn’t have a traditional wedding or reception. 

OK, that’s the random thoughts going on in my mind right now!

Well our journey to cloth diapering has been a little more challenging than I expected.  First they were too large on Little B (we’re using Bum Genius 3.0), then when she was big enough she got a horrible rash from them, and now we are back at it again.  I know there are different brands but we have an investment in the BGs so we’re sticking with them.  So what are we doing now?

For the past 2 weeks we’ve been flip flopping back and forth.  Our new Nappy Cream is working wonderfully, Little B hasn’t had a rash since we started using it over a month ago.  Since we aren’t suppose to use creams with BGs we are using flushable liners between her and the diaper.  This process is working well and keeping the cream off the diapers. 

Washing hasn’t been too bad.  We have about 20 diapers so we’re washing every 3-4 days.  I’m a little discouraged (environmentally speaking) that the directions tell you to wash them twice each time…but they are coming clean.  I feel like I’m using a lot of water but I know that I’m saving more in other areas (oil, paper, trees, etc). 

We are still using disposable though.  She has HORRIBLE blowout poo’s about once a day and they are usually around the same time.  With that being said it’s easy to predict when they are coming and we put her back in disposables.  At her age (3 1/2 months) and on a diet of only breast milk her poo is still incredibly runny and difficult to clean up. 

I’m also hesitant to put her in the BGs when we are out and about.  I don’t know how people deal with that.  I personally don’t want to be carrying around those dirty diapers in my diaper bag all day.  I can’t begin to imagine how they do it when they travel!  We are going out of town in a few weeks and she will be in disposable while we are gone.  There is no way I’m going to pack 20 dirty diapers in my luggage.  We aren’t going to be anyplace where we have access to laundry services either so there is no way to clean them while we are gone. 

I know this sounds like a negative post but it’s not.  I honest like the BGs.  But as I suspected from the beginning it’s much easier to stick with them when we are at home.  It’s super easy.  Both the hubby and the babysitter are on board too which helps. 

I’m sure I’ll have more updates as we travel on this journey to become free from disposable diapers.  Keep reading!

I think I need an assistant writer over here since I can’t manage to stay home for long this summer!  LOL!  I know my last post said we were headed someplace out of the States but nobody guessed where.  We just got our passports and decided we’d hop on a plane and go someplace we’ve never gone.  We decided upon Amsterdam, Netherlands (Holland). 

While we were only there for a day (yes, just one day!!) we had plenty of time to take in the city.  What a fantastic city.  On the green side of things I have to say we were both impressed by the public transportation and the bikes.  Not only do they have buses; they also have a tram and train system running all through the town.  The most amazing thing to see were all the people riding bikes.  You literally had to watch out for the bike riders before you stepped off the curb.  Here is a cute picture that showed just how many bikes there are in this city; and this picture is only part of the lot.

Other green things we noted about the city…

At the hotel you had to put your room key in a slot to make the light switches work.  So everytime you left the room the lights automatically went off. 

Everyone drove small compact cars; if they drove at all.  You just don’t see big SUVs around town.

When we took off from the airport my hubby saw something off the coast he’d never seen in person.  Wind Mills!  There was a field of about 60 wind turbines in the water off the coast.  It was really pretty from the plane and reassuring that they are actually getting used. 

I think we could really learn a lot from other countries and their way of lives.  Stay tuned for big news tomorrow. 

It appears the EcoChic has packed up once again and ran away.  June has been filled with back to back business trips and I haven’t had a chance to sit down and write anything fun.  This week is no different except I’ve actually been home for almost a week.  But in true EcoChic fashion; that is about to change today.  We’re packing up and heading out of town for the 4th of July.  I promise to tell you all about it when we get back…but not until then.  Anyone curious about where I’m going?  Check back next week and find out.

I made it safe and sound to my destination and I didn’t have nearly as much waste as normal today.  I did use my water bottle (refillable) all day.  Note to you travelers: don’t fill it until you get past security since you can’t take liquids through.  I filled it at the nearest water fountain which was tricky when only a trickle of water came out of the spout.  Maybe next time I will fill it at a restaurant instead.  The only waste I had was from the wrapper of my taco’s that I had for lunch.  I even borrowed a book from the library instead of buying one at the airport. 

Today’s book is “The World Without Us” by Alan Weisman.  I’m only about 50 pages into the book but I want to read more.  It’s exactly what the title suggests; what would the world be like without us.  The writer is very vivid and his use of imagery is wonderful.  He has an extensive Bibliography section and a web site so I imagine I will be doing some homework when I’m done.  The only warning is that the book is pretty depressing and at the same time beautiful.  I will follow up with my review as I get deeper into the book but right now I’m intrigued with the chapter on NYC.  I didn’t realize how much of the ecosystem was changed to build the city. 

Alright, I’m off to find some dinner.  Stay green!

Today is my day to talk about global warming.  Do you believe global warming exists?  Or do you think it’s just a myth a normal pattern in the planets history?  What do you think President Bush thinks about Global Warming?  There was an interesting video I saw on Yahoo today that answers that very question.  I had a friend of mine say something very similar as President Bush about the oil refineries in the U.S.  I had never really thought about it from his perspective.  The way my friend asked the questions was this; “Did you know that China and others have oil refineries very close off the coast of the United States?  Wouldn’t you rather have the U.S. manage the oil refineries with our environmental regulations instead of letting China do it without any regulations?  And if we had our own oil refineries we could reduce the cost of gasoline.”  Like I said, I had never considered that side of things.  I still think there are other alternatives that need to be investigated and persued; but I have to agree with having more control over our resources too. 

On another blog today, I read about the 20 places that would most be impacted and threatened by global warming.  I’m actually planning a family vacation right now to some place exotic.  Some of these places have been made famous by Survivor (Cook Islands and Palau, Micronesia).  Some I have actually dreamt about visiting (Galapagos Islands) since I started studying Darwin years ago.  Surprisingly some of the locations I have already visited (NYC, New Orleans, and Virgin Islands).  What cities or locations would you like to visit from the list and why? 

Whether or not you believe global warming is real I think it would be a loss to our planet to loose such wonderful places.  What would life be like without Japan, NYC, and London?  I personally don’t want to find out.   

I frequent many different hotel brands during the year on business and I always look for their green initiatives.  So how can you help the hotels go green? 

1.  If you are staying for more than a day you can reuse the towels and ask them not to change the sheets.  Just be sure to read the cards that tell you how to do this…for instance where I’m staying today (Embassy Suites) they ask you to keep the towel hanging if you want to use it again.  So don’t leave it on the floor. 

2.  Some hotels have switched from disposable cups to reusable cups.  This is a good thing…unless you make the news for having a horrible cleaning staff who doesn’t really clean those glasses!  EEEKS!  So just heed my warning and wash them before you use them. 

3.  Skip the newspaper if you aren’t going to read it.  I get my news online these days and never open a newspaper unless I’m clipping coupons (which is rare).  So ask them NOT to deliver a paper to your room.

4.  Skip the mini-toiletries and bring your own from home.  This is one that I actually don’t follow because I have a huge bag of these at home.  I’m planning on donating them to an organization that can use them (like a homeless shelter or VA hospital). 

5.  Turn off the lights and TV when you leave the room.  It’s no different than being at home.  Who do you think is paying their electric bill?  We are!  So turn off the lights and help keep the prices of the rooms at a minimum. 

What steps do you take when traveling to stay green?

I know some of you may be wondering why I’ve been so quiet this week.  I’ve been working my little bones to death.  Work has been busy planning a big Earth Day event on top of my regular work.  It’s fun and stressful not having all the control but in the end I’m sure everyone will be impressed with the outcome.  Yesterday I had to travel to one of my facilities to conduct their annual audit and convince them to embrace some of our green initiatives.  I am challenged with coming up with a program to promote the usage of a biobased cleaner over a cleaner that the employees normally use.  The actual challenge is that they are comfortable with the results of the normal cleaner and are afraid to make the change.  Their main concern is over drying time.  In their operation they have to have a product that dries quickly so it doesn’t slow their actual work.  You can start to see my challenges. 

On top of all of my work stuff my car is giving me fits.  It’s not that old of a car but it’s not that healthy of a car.  I’ve already had to have the transmission overhauled and now there is something else.  I’ve been dreaming of the day when I can actually ditch it all together and get something brand new and maybe even a hybrid.  So when the problems started again yesterday I have decided to really look into the possibility of a new car.  I have it narrowed down to the Toyota Camry hybrid or the Honda Accord hybrid.  If I do the Accord it will have to be a 2007 since they stopped manufacturing them last year.  That’s actually my first choice so now I have to find one left in inventory nearby.  Luckily my husband has become addicted to Ebay again and has found one not too far away.  It’s never been titled and has about 1,300 miles on it; we’re guessing it was a demo.  All of the vehicles that I’m looking at have ranked in the Top 100 Green Cars with at least a 70+ rating.  They may not be the greenest of the green but they are rated very good.  So I’ll let you know over the weekend if my dreams come true and I become the proud owner of my first ever hybrid car.

Well I didn’t get back from my trip until late last night so I didn’t get to update you on my waste for the day.  I’m not sure this was the most representative day for me but I promised to follow-up.  So here is the rest of my waste from yesterday:

• Straw wrapper and straw (lunch)
• Less than 1/4 cup of uneaten food (lunch)
• 3-4 receipts
• One more boarding pass
• taco bell small bag, taco wrapper, 1 napkin, straw and wrapper (dinner)

Now, like I said this is not a typical day.  I did however make a few changes to reduce my waste for the day.  1) I took an empty plastic water bottle home with me from the airport to recycle since the airport doesn’t recycle, and  2) I didn’t print a receipt at the gas station, who needs those anyways?  I would have to estimate that my trash combined for the whole day was less than 2 lbs, far below the daily average of 4lbs per person/per day.  I’m going to try this again tomorrow and compare it to my waste at home since it will be more representative of a real day. 

I did two things yesterday that I have written about lately, and they were not good.  I purchased a bottle of water at the airport AND I sat in a drive-thru last night for dinner.  However, like I said earlier, this is not a typical day for me.  When I’m traveling I don’t like to carry anything with me (i.e., refillable water bottle) since I’m already carrying my laptop and work stuff.  Also, when I’ve been up for 19 hours I could care less about my 30 seconds I spent at the drive thru!  On a regular day at home and work (without traveling) I would not have done either one.  However, it is good to note how traveling creates extra waste.  I have a few more trips planned for this month so maybe I’ll think about ways to reduce my waste on my next trip.  Stay tuned!

I’d like to hear about your daily waste.  What did you find when you began looking at the trash you generate in a day?  Did it make you reconsider your options?  I know for me, I probably would have trashed that water bottle at the airport instead of bringing it home to recycle.  But I really am trying to make a difference.