Questions for Sarasota Greenmarketplace
Responses were provided by Mary Anne Bowie, FAICP, Urban Planner and Owner of Sarasota Green Marketplace, Sarasota’s all green home and building store, located at Gold Tree Plaza, at the corner of Ringling Blvd. and Tuttle Ave. Their motto is: When You’re ready to GO GREEN, We’re ready to help You, Right Now! www.sarasotagreenmarketplace.com For local businesses that are committed to providing environmentally preferable products and services, visit www.sarasotagreenconnection.com
1) What are the top three things a busy, budget conscious mom could do right now to start saving the environment?
First, all moms need to be conscious that they are part of the environment and that everything they do for their families and themselves they do to the environment. So, saving the environment starts with being conscious of what we are putting into our bodies, onto our skin, into the air we breathe, into the houses we live in and onto the lawns we walk on, for a start.
Second, all moms should schedule nature visits with their children. Without nature, children are less creative and without trips to nature, we become disconnected from the earth and we are less likely to care if it is preserved. Without nature, we are all goners so it is a mom’s responsibility to provide connection for her children with nature through trips to the beach, to the forest and even to the local parks.
Third, all moms should be continuously aware that we have been raised in a chemically agricultural world and that every new baby has 130 toxins in his or her umbilical cord. Everything thing that a mom buys has chemicals in it or doesn’t. Moms should become conscious consumers and spend their dollars in alignment with their values.
2) My family goes through a truly hideous amount of white paper towels every week. I feel terrible about how many we use. We could start using cloth kitchen towels for everything instead, but then I’d have to use the washer and dryer much more, wasting valuable resources like water and electricity. Which choice will actually cause the least amount of damage to the environment?
At Sarasota Green Marketplace we sell a silver ionized cloth that is anti-microbial; the silver actually kills any bacteria that is on it and it can be washed up to 80 times. This cloth can subsitute for paper towels and it is a healthy alternative. The health food stores sell paper towels that have not been bleached with chlorine, so that is what I would have on hand along with old fashioned rags, torn from old towels.
3) I know disposable containers like plastic water bottles and juice boxes are bad, bad, bad. So we now drink from re-usable plastic sippie cups and sports bottles for our on-the-go beverages. However, I’ve heard that when you put plastic in the dishwasher, the heat affects the plastic compounds and causes them to gradually disintegrate. Thus, when I fill a spanking clean, fresh-from-the-dishwasher sippie cup with drinking water, the chemicals from the plastic can actually leach into the water and turn my child into a mutant. True? If so, what’s the alternative? Am I hand-washing cups the rest of my life, even the sippie cup full of milk that was left in the car for three days?
Glass is fine and stainless steel (lead-free) is a great alternative. Both of them can make it through the dishwasher.
4) I’d love to have all my cleaning products be an environmentally sound brand like Seventh Generation. But the prices can be two to three times as high, and I simply can’t afford it. Are there other, less expensive alternatives? I’ve heard about using vinegar and baking soda, but quite frankly, I never know how to mix the two and I’m worried I might inadvertently create an organic chemical cloud and asphyxiate as I clean the tub. Or else my house will smell like an Easter egg factory. Help!
The reason that some of the environmentally sound products like Earth Well Tech, available at our store, are more expensive is that the ingredients, like coconut oil, are much more expensive. However, they aren’t that more; just the price of a cup of Starbucks more. These products are surfactants, not solvents; so the bond between the dirt and the surface is released, not dissolved. So, cleaning is about removing the dirt, not creating a chemical reaction. Also these products are concentrated, so you can use less. And if you want to create your own cleaning solutions, there are many resources available on the Internet or in some of the magazines like Natural Home and Green Guide, now published by National Geographic.
5) Speaking of cleaning compounds, what’s the worst environmental offender in most households? Chlorine-bleach? Oven cleaner? The drain cleaner I pour down my fifty year old sink pipes? If you could urge people to replace just one conventional cleaning product with an environmentally safe one, what would it be?
If it is dangerous, replace it. Stay away from Chlorine – Oxyclean works great.
For ovens: use 2 tablespoons for liquid soap and 2 teaspoons borax and warm water.
I’ve heard that you can mix baking soda and vinegar for your drains, but you can start with boiling water first.
6) Rumor has it that most conventional candles are made of petroleum, and the wicks contain lead. Do you know if that’s true? For those families who have older children and can actually have candles in the house again, should they buy soy candles? Is that a good use of soy? Should they search out pure beeswax candles, assuming no bees were harmed in the making of the candles? For those happy couples who still want to use candles for a special evening, versus the rest of us who now use them for doorstops and paperweights, what kind candles should they select to feel both romantic and environmentally righteous?
With soy, make sure the scents are not harmful chemicals. How can we be sure that the bees are gently treated? Electricity is a wonderful invention that my great grandparents didn’t have. My great grandmother died carrying a candle when her nightgown caught on fire, so I like alternative pretend candles the best.
7) Let’s talk cars. Many people would choose to drive a Hybrid, especially if the price came down. But with kids in the back, is a small Prius really as safe as a hulking, albeit gas-guzzling, mini-van? Also, I’ve read that some of the newer hybrids, like the SUV hybrids or, say, the Camry hybrid, really don’t get great gas mileage, and in fact you’d be doing the environment a better turn by buying a conventional, small Corolla versus a SUV hybrid. Your thoughts?
Help! What can we do? I recommend the strategy of ART, the Alliance for Responsbile Transportation: try to stay away from vehicles if you can. My advice: First, walk whenever possible. Second, ask your politicians for safe, off-road bicycle paths and for mixed use zoning. Third, pray that gas prices continue to go up and force all consumers to demand carbon fiber cars that are solar powered faster from Detroit. The technology exists to transport us safely and cheaply; we just need to want it and demand it. What we desire is what we get. So let’s get busy wanting a future that works for all that will be affordable, healthy and environmentally safe.
Responses were provided by Mary Anne Bowie, FAICP, Urban Planner and Owner of Sarasota Green Marketplace, Sarasota’s all green home and building store, located at Gold Tree Plaza, at the corner of Ringling Blvd. and Tuttle Ave. Their motto is: When You’re ready to GO GREEN, We’re ready to help You, Right Now! www.sarasotagreenmarketplace.com For local businesses that are committed to providing environmentally preferable products and services, visit www.sarasotagreenconnection.com
1) What are the top three things a busy, budget conscious mom could do right now to start saving the environment?
First, all moms need to be conscious that they are part of the environment and that everything they do for their families and themselves they do to the environment. So, saving the environment starts with being conscious of what we are putting into our bodies, onto our skin, into the air we breathe, into the houses we live in and onto the lawns we walk on, for a start.
Second, all moms should schedule nature visits with their children. Without nature, children are less creative and without trips to nature, we become disconnected from the earth and we are less likely to care if it is preserved. Without nature, we are all goners so it is a mom’s responsibility to provide connection for her children with nature through trips to the beach, to the forest and even to the local parks.
Third, all moms should be continuously aware that we have been raised in a chemically agricultural world and that every new baby has 130 toxins in his or her umbilical cord. Everything thing that a mom buys has chemicals in it or doesn’t. Moms should become conscious consumers and spend their dollars in alignment with their values.
2) My family goes through a truly hideous amount of white paper towels every week. I feel terrible about how many we use. We could start using cloth kitchen towels for everything instead, but then I’d have to use the washer and dryer much more, wasting valuable resources like water and electricity. Which choice will actually cause the least amount of damage to the environment?
At Sarasota Green Marketplace we sell a silver ionized cloth that is anti-microbial; the silver actually kills any bacteria that is on it and it can be washed up to 80 times. This cloth can subsitute for paper towels and it is a healthy alternative. The health food stores sell paper towels that have not been bleached with chlorine, so that is what I would have on hand along with old fashioned rags, torn from old towels.
3) I know disposable containers like plastic water bottles and juice boxes are bad, bad, bad. So we now drink from re-usable plastic sippie cups and sports bottles for our on-the-go beverages. However, I’ve heard that when you put plastic in the dishwasher, the heat affects the plastic compounds and causes them to gradually disintegrate. Thus, when I fill a spanking clean, fresh-from-the-dishwasher sippie cup with drinking water, the chemicals from the plastic can actually leach into the water and turn my child into a mutant. True? If so, what’s the alternative? Am I hand-washing cups the rest of my life, even the sippie cup full of milk that was left in the car for three days?
Glass is fine and stainless steel (lead-free) is a great alternative. Both of them can make it through the dishwasher.
4) I’d love to have all my cleaning products be an environmentally sound brand like Seventh Generation. But the prices can be two to three times as high, and I simply can’t afford it. Are there other, less expensive alternatives? I’ve heard about using vinegar and baking soda, but quite frankly, I never know how to mix the two and I’m worried I might inadvertently create an organic chemical cloud and asphyxiate as I clean the tub. Or else my house will smell like an Easter egg factory. Help!
The reason that some of the environmentally sound products like Earth Well Tech, available at our store, are more expensive is that the ingredients, like coconut oil, are much more expensive. However, they aren’t that more; just the price of a cup of Starbucks more. These products are surfactants, not solvents; so the bond between the dirt and the surface is released, not dissolved. So, cleaning is about removing the dirt, not creating a chemical reaction. Also these products are concentrated, so you can use less. And if you want to create your own cleaning solutions, there are many resources available on the Internet or in some of the magazines like Natural Home and Green Guide, now published by National Geographic.
5) Speaking of cleaning compounds, what’s the worst environmental offender in most households? Chlorine-bleach? Oven cleaner? The drain cleaner I pour down my fifty year old sink pipes? If you could urge people to replace just one conventional cleaning product with an environmentally safe one, what would it be?
If it is dangerous, replace it. Stay away from Chlorine – Oxyclean works great.
For ovens: use 2 tablespoons for liquid soap and 2 teaspoons borax and warm water.
I’ve heard that you can mix baking soda and vinegar for your drains, but you can start with boiling water first.
6) Rumor has it that most conventional candles are made of petroleum, and the wicks contain lead. Do you know if that’s true? For those families who have older children and can actually have candles in the house again, should they buy soy candles? Is that a good use of soy? Should they search out pure beeswax candles, assuming no bees were harmed in the making of the candles? For those happy couples who still want to use candles for a special evening, versus the rest of us who now use them for doorstops and paperweights, what kind candles should they select to feel both romantic and environmentally righteous?
With soy, make sure the scents are not harmful chemicals. How can we be sure that the bees are gently treated? Electricity is a wonderful invention that my great grandparents didn’t have. My great grandmother died carrying a candle when her nightgown caught on fire, so I like alternative pretend candles the best.
7) Let’s talk cars. Many people would choose to drive a Hybrid, especially if the price came down. But with kids in the back, is a small Prius really as safe as a hulking, albeit gas-guzzling, mini-van? Also, I’ve read that some of the newer hybrids, like the SUV hybrids or, say, the Camry hybrid, really don’t get great gas mileage, and in fact you’d be doing the environment a better turn by buying a conventional, small Corolla versus a SUV hybrid. Your thoughts?
Help! What can we do? I recommend the strategy of ART, the Alliance for Responsbile Transportation: try to stay away from vehicles if you can. My advice: First, walk whenever possible. Second, ask your politicians for safe, off-road bicycle paths and for mixed use zoning. Third, pray that gas prices continue to go up and force all consumers to demand carbon fiber cars that are solar powered faster from Detroit. The technology exists to transport us safely and cheaply; we just need to want it and demand it. What we desire is what we get. So let’s get busy wanting a future that works for all that will be affordable, healthy and environmentally safe.
