Climate Community – Rewarding Students, Teachers & Others for Eco Citizenship
August 10, 2009 by DanM
Filed under Greener Living, Worth Sharing
The Climate Community – is a website/blog designed to do two things.
First – it is designed to provide parents, teachers and students a place to discuss Climate Change. Blog posts are written by the site founders, teachers, students, and others experts. The goal of Climate Community is to look at the big picture – without the noise that we see/hear so often in much of the press/media.
Secondly, the site is intended to provide a very grass roots level of recognition to people – again students, teachers, and others – who are trying to help. These awards – The Climate Community Citizen of the Week Award – is a $25 cash award that is given every Thursday. We look for interesting young people who have a passion for this topic and are trying in their local community to do the right thing. The awards are easy – there is no paperwork – we simply learn about an individual – chat with them – learn about what they have done or are doing – and within a few weeks they can be one of our winners.
As the school year gets started we are looking to reach out to schools, teachers and parents – if you are interested in what we are doing, may have a person in mind who could be one of our winners – please let us know. Simply send an email to dan@theclimatecommunity.com – be sure to let us know that you saw this on Pure Natural Diva – and make your suggestion or comment.
A special thanks to Tania for giving us this opportunity so “speak” with her friends and followers.
Cloth diapering 101: What you need to know – Part One
August 10, 2009 by Tania Reuben
Filed under Infant & Childcare, Natural Childbirth, Parenting
You’ve seen them before. Probably even wore them. But in the case of what’s on the market today, it’s not your mother’s cloth diaper. Gone are the flat white prefolds, pins and plastic pants of the baby boomer generation. In are creations that are easy to use, come in a variety of styles, colors and prints, which appeal on a whole new level. Who knew you could dress your baby’s bottom in pink and purple leopard print diaper?
I grew up around cloth diapers. I have a distinct memory from when I was about 11 years old, of dunking my baby sisters soiled diaper in the toilet and chanting “I will never cloth diaper my baby!” Over ten years later, I rediscovered cloth diapers when I was pregnant with my daughter and was so impressed with the new direction they had taken that I decided it was something I should at least consider for my baby. When I found out that I could buy diapers in fun animals prints and funky colors, I was sold on the idea.
The benefits of using cloth far outnumber the perceived inconvenience. If the visual appeal isn’t enough to have you switching from disposables to cloth, here are some more serious things to consider:
Health: Disposable diapers contain numerous dangerous chemicals. The three main offenders are Dioxin, Tributyl-tin and sodium polyacrylate. Dioxin, one of the more dangerous chemicals, is a toxin that has been labeled by the EPA as the most toxic of all the cancer-linked chemicals. In fact, it’s so dangerous, it’s been banned in most other countries – but not in the U.S. Tribuyl-tin is a chemical that is also present in disposable diapers. It can be absorbed through the skin and has been linked to hormonal problems in humans and animals. Sodium polyacrylate is the chemical that is added to the diapers inner layer to make them absorbent. Ever notice little crystal-like beads sticking to your baby’s bottom? That’s sodium polyacrylate. It’s now illegal for use in tampons because it can cause toxic shock syndrome, a deadly condition, but it’s still legal to use in diapers. There is also research that links disposable diapers with the sharp rise in male infertility over the last 25 years. For more information on the health risks associated with disposable diapers, please visit The Real Diaper Association.
Cost: Unless you plan on creating a stash of hundreds of premium cloth diapers, using cloth will certainly be cheaper than using disposables. The initial investment is a little painful to your purse, but the long term savings are significant, especially if you plan to cloth diaper future children. You could easily diaper your child through the age of two for less than $500. For detailed cost comparisons of cloth vs. disposables, check out Diaper Pin and Diaper Decisions.
Environment: More than 27.4 billion disposable diapers end up in a landfill every year in the U.S. alone. As if that’s not bad enough, consider that disposables take an estimated 250-500 years to decompose. We’re talking about 6,000 diapers you will personally be responsible for dumping in a landfill by the time your child is two. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that the sheer volume of the waste disposable diapers create is reason enough to use cloth. For more information on the environmental concerns created by disposable diapers, please visit The Real Diaper Association.
Many people consider using cloth to be an inconvenient, unnecessary option. Quite to the contrary, using cloth is simply as easy as fastening the diaper on your baby, storing the soiled diapers in a pail and then doing and extra load of laundry every few days. After reviewing the facts, I think that anyone would be forced to agree that it’s not only a healthier choice for our children, but a kinder choice for our planet and our pocketbook. A win-win for everyone!
And really, what baby doesn’t need a leopard print diaper in their wardrobe?
Stay Tuned – Part Two is coming soon!
Molly is a wife, mother and natural living enthusiast who enjoys writing about her adventures in parenting an active toddler. You can follow these adventures and find other tips and ideas for raising healthier, happier families over on her blog, Momma Molly.
Cloth diapering 101: What you need to know – Part One
