For most budding imaginations, gardens are a magical place. Curious George expanded my childhood imagination by bringing experiences in new ways through play and research of the world. Now, he is jump starting your children's curiosity and creativity through your garden.

George, The Man with the Yellow Hat, and all their friends will investigate the planet through a variety of escapades with the concepts of recycling, composting, solar power and the weather patterns. Children will learn about the planet, its elements, and the environment. I am back into watching Curious George and telling everyone because children get to see how the earth nurtures them, and in turn it inspires them to nurture the earth. Children have to really love something before they can protect it and serve it so begin cultivating that tiny gardener's curiosity and green thumb now!

Obligatory Back to School Post Warning! But I assure you, this is not the same as all the rest. While you can find tons of info on green school supplies and clothing that you can buy, this one is for the kids and it doesn't cost you anything. You just have to point and click (and offer your positive encouragement, of course!) and the rest is up to them.

The Green Squad - a project of the National Resources Defense Council and the Healthy Schools Network - sets out to educate children about the impact that their schools have on the environment and their health.

Makes sense, right?  We adults spend the majority of our time in our office building, but for most of the year kids will predominantly be at their school.  The site offers a slew of tools like this poster of 3 things to do today, a tour of the Green Squad's virtual school highlighting some key hot spots to check for at their own school along with a progress report for keeping track of their findings along with tools for teachers to involve more of their classmates.

Dear Mr. Green,

I'm wondering... how old is old when it comes to clothing and shoes?  At what point is it appropriate to give hand-me-downs or donate clothes and shoes, etc. and when do you just throw them away?

Thanks!
Skeletons in the Closet

You know what I hate even more than global warming?  Clutter.  I wouldn't classify it as OCD, exactly, but I'm pretty sure a correctly placed pillow with the words "A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place" cross-stitched along its front would make me feel just right amount of warm and fuzzy.

So, it's no surprise that in my efforts to "go green" I've become increasingly frustrated with the amount of items I've collected to salvage from the dump.  Scores of canvas bags and then the plastic ones waiting to be recycled, plastic containers I reuse for my lunches, even rotting food (I am trying my hand at composting!)

But now Carbonrally has given me an easy alternative to cleaning up my messy life - diversion.  That's right.  I'm not about to start installing extra shelves in my cupboards so that I can organize my reusable plastic containers by size, but I can simply clean out the coils on my fridge! Did you know that by doing so, you can reduce your CO2 emissions by 150 lbs over the next 6 months? Now that is some clutter worth clearing!

Dear Mr. Green,

My question is regarding watering the lawn, something we have refrained from doing for years. I know that during a dry spell if your lawn is healthy the roots will survive and go deeper underground, it seems that each spring the grass reappears looking green and healthy. But what is best for Mother Earth? Is it wise to allow the grass to become brown or is it better to water during dry spells?

Greening grandparents in Southern New Jersey

By Nicole Ohebshalom, Radiant Living Wellness

It's a question many fathers and mothers are looking for answers. Health officials in Canada and United States are putting more attention on chemicals being used to make baby bottles, water bottles, and food containers. The focused chemical is bisphenol-a, or better known as BPA.

Research has shown that trace amounts of BPA migrate to our food and liquid through polycarbonate (PC) plastic bottles. There is still debate on how much of a health worry BPA is, but retailers like Wal-Mart are withdrawing baby products manufactured with it. Canada has declared BPA to be so toxic that it's not allowing anything containing it on their shelves!

By Mary Beth Gonzalez, iVillage.com

Sustainability...

We hear this word more frequently as environmental efforts grow and yet many people are not sure what sustainability actually means. I believe it is some sort of an ideal state for a Green lifestyle. I hear about buying sustainable products like bamboo and living in sustainable housing. I also often hear this word when in discussions involving transportation, energy and food.

Looking for the true definition, I started with the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Sustainable: of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or permanently damaged <sustainable techniques> <sustainable agriculture>

Then during a quick trip to Wikipedia, I found a quote that helped me better understand sustainability in the context of a Green lifestyle:

Lester R. Brown, an environmental analyst, summarizes the situation as "sustaining progress depends on shifting from a fossil fuel-based, automobile-centered, economy to a renewable energy-based, diversified transport, reuse/recycle economy".

Dear Mr. Green,

I really want a hydrogen car when they are readily available to the public, but what do you think will happen to the atmosphere if the entire population of automobile drivers switched to the water-emitting alternative? Water vapor, while not considered a pollutant is still a naturally occurring green house gas.

Best,
Substitution Restitution

By Nicole Ohebshalom, Radiant Living Wellness

Have you felt it? The city has become: quiet, still, frozen. Some of my friends say, did everyone vacation in China to watch our boys and girls in the Olympics? Other New Yorkers (including myself) all of a sudden realize there are only a few more weekends left till school begins so lets cram in all the fun. Everyone is out canoeing, golfing, playing tennis, swimming, jet skiing, playing soccer, and ravishing themselves in all their favorite summer sports. As the Olympians are getting ready to feel more energized and to play harder in their challenges, how can we, the Olympians of our lives apply the right fuel for optimal performance?

You've been waiting all summer and in a few short days the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing Opening Ceremony will unite the world in competitive spirit!  While many of my NBCU colleagues are winging their way to the East to get a first hand look at the games and make it possible for us to view them from the comfort of our homes, I'll be participating in my own form of competition.  The green kind.

If you'd like a way to show your competitive spirit while reducing the size of your carbon footprint, I challenge you to join our team at CarbonRally.com.  Compete alongside some of the greenest competitors in the... ok, so it's not the world, but think of this as the national circuit and hopefully by Winter 2010 the site will be open to the rest of the world.

By Mary Beth Gonzalez, iVillage.com

 Eco-Staycation

Ah August...the perfect time to get away and escape the stress of the eleven other months of the year. Typically, my husband and I take a week to ten days off in August and travel locally to Shelter Island, Nantucket or the Catskills. This year a variety of reasons kept us in NYC including the high price of gasoline and airfare. (What a shame that our politicians couldn't manage to vote on the new energy bill before their massive FIVE week vacation.)

So to make the best of it, I planned my five day "staycation" to escape my day-to-day routine and pretend I was visiting a fabulous eco-spa.