Green Resolutions

It is mid January?  How have those new years resolutions been going? This year my family made Green New Years Resolutions in addition to the standard kind.  Daniel declared that he would give mostly "LOVE" gifts instead of "stuff" gifts.  This went over so great during the holiday season, especially with our 5-year-old daughter Ayla.  Each gift she received was written on one link of a long paper chain that had an experiential "date with daddy" on it.  She racked it in with a day of ice skating and sledding, a lunch date, and an art project; go out and take pictures, built a snowman and many other great experiences that will go down in her memory and not in the land fill. In return, she started giving "Love" gifts to us: she put us to bed by singing a song, made our bed one day, and gave a back rub.  We all found that these presents were not only green, but satisfied us much more than a material product.

Ayla's green resolution was to not eat any food that was wrapped in plastic or packaging. We thought that was a great idea she came up with on her own, but quickly realized that, for our picky eater, this was not going to fly, as most everything you buy comes in plastic in some form: even our brown rice, cereal, healthy bars, bags of nuts etc. It was a little daunting when you started looking at all of the food that way.  So, in order to not limit her food intake even more we settled on: no plastic bags at the store. I have had this Green Resolution before and made it through the whole year w accepting only 3 new plastic bags into my life during the whole year.   My daughter experienced this with me as there would be many times we would want to pop into the store to get a few things for dinner, and if I didn't have a reusable bag with me, we would just skip the shopping and make do. A great tip for no-bag shopping is to go to the produce and ask for an empty box.  They have great sturdy big boxes there.  Pack all your food in the box instead of 8 bags.  It is easy to carry up to your house in one load, and then you can reuse or recycled the box. 

And for me, I am perfecting our winter compost practices and tending our food scraps through the frozen winter in order for them to make the most potent soil amendment for our garden in the summer. And I am also living by the saying, "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" meaning, I am staying away from getting a new "one" until the existing one that I have is no longer functional instead of just replacing something when I think it is time or I want it.

Remember, habits form if you do something 21 times in a row. Then, your resolution will not be something you have to practice; it just becomes a part of life.

Warning, This Facility Causes Cancer

Recently, I stayed at a hotel with my family in Southern California.  The grounds were nice and the rooms were spacious.  Though, posted all around, inside and out, were WARNING SIGNS stating: This facility Contains chemicals known to the state of California to Cause Cancer and/or birth defects or other Reproductive Harm. All the happy vacationers excitedly swung open and close the doors and gates to which the signs were affixed: desensitized to the information. Most of us guests were lying over at this particular hotel before our big convergence on the "Happiest Place on Earth…. Disneyland," just blocks away.

Of course I needed more information, so I went to the desk and smiled, "I am inquiring about the known carcinogens that are being used here at this hotel."  The concierge affably delivered me the information with the same enthusiasm he uses when imparting facts about the recently completed "Small World" renovation.    He pleasantly handed a photocopy that outlined all the carcinogens that, he and I, all the expecting mothers, and all the anxious little kids awaiting Disneyland were presently inhaling and ingesting.

 The list began with Furnishings, Hardware and Electrical Components including building material that contains formaldehyde such as:  carpeting, carpet padding, wall coverings, wood surfaces, and vinyl.  I read on, flabbergasted.  Why would they go to such measures to warn of the harmful materials instead of just using the good stuff? I know they exist, and not for that much more cost.  I read on.

"Construction and Maintenance Materials used in walls, floors, ceilings and outside cladding contain chemicals, such as formaldehyde resin, asbestos, arsenic, cadmium, and creosote, …certain painted surfaces contains chemicals such as lead and crystalline silica…"Yikes!  At that moment, I felt like gathering up my toddler and 5 year old, whose birthday we were about to celebrate at Disney, and head back up to the mountains and our good clean air. 

The list went on, but I will spare you: The subtitles being: Cleaning Products, Swimming Pools, Paints, Fuel and Engine Exhaust. Pest Control and Landscaping, and Foods and Beverages.  We opted to skip the free continental breakfast now knowing that the milk for the cereal definitely came from cows injected with dangerous hormones, those bananas were certainly sprayed to the max with pesticides and suddenly, the coffee didn't smell so appealing.

I learned that it was part of California's Proposition 65 (Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement act of 1986) that now requires businesses to provide warnings prior to exposing individuals to chemicals know to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm.  I guess it was courteous that they went to such measures to make me aware, but I wondered, why they did not elect to use the healthy alternative in order to avoid posting the sign. Wouldn't advertising a healthy green hotel where building materials were selected with the health of their clients in mind help sell the place as well?

Working in the world of green building, sometimes I feel that I know too much…and I try not to get anxious over the pesticides in my food, the fumes that I am breathing, the heavy metals in my drinking water and the formaldehyde in the walls that surround me.  But really, we all know someone who has suffered from cancer.   We all know that the toxic chemicals in our environment do us no good.  Isn't it time to start making some changes and moving towards a cleaner future? 

We left our contaminated hotel and proceeded onto Disneyland.  It was especially decorated for the holiday season, and the concierge at the front desk of the hotel bragged,  "What's magical about our snow at Disneyland is that it is not cold."

--
Be Well,

Daniel Kanow
EcoSpaces  "Green Building Solutions"
Telluride, CO  USA
(O) 970-728-1973   (F) 970-728-8007

Green Building Materials
Green Building Design Consulting

"Be involved in a Movement"