Comments texasjenny has made

We as a culture are quickly losing the ability to care for ourselves. I strongly feel that schools should require classes in homemaking (cooking, sewing, etc.), gardening, shop/car repair, first aid, basic childcare, and basic plumbing/home repair.

I know kids' days are already full, but it appears that their parents aren't teaching them these basic life skills. Only about a third of Americans have college degrees (and therefore need college-prep classes). But we all have to eat.

Slamming the entire South for one man's inability to use the English language properly? You should be ashamed of yourself.

White House rooftop garden

The White House has had a rooftop garden since the Clinton administration. Let's celebrate successes before criticizing - the Obamas have only been there a month!On First Lady promotes 'fresh and local and delicious' veggies at state dinner posted 9 months, 1 week ago 8 Responses

Departmental responsibilities

When are we going to get a Department of the Environment, like other countries have? "Cabinet-level" administrator doesn't have the same clout as Secretary of the Environment. There could then be some serious reorganization to make the departments' responsibilities correspond to today's realities. If it weren't considered just a regulatory agency, the Department of the Environment (former EPA + NOAA, NRCS, etc.) could more easily weigh in on things like energy generation, sustainable agriculture, and GMOs.On Green groups divided over choice of Salazar to head Interior posted 11 months, 2 weeks ago 15 Responses

Packaging

It would have been great to know about the packaging. Some frozen dinners have paper dishes (compostable and less weird to microwave in) and some have plastic (usually #5 - not easily recyclable). This isn't included as an "eco-claim," as it's not noted on the outer package itself. On A taste test of seven 'natural' frozen dinners posted 12 months ago 9 Responses

Green vinyl?

Gotta love the opposition of these two statements without an explanation of the word "nevertheless":
"It will feature custom-printed opaque vinyl sheeting bearing the red-and-white Ricoh logo. The sign will be green, nevertheless..."On Times Square billboard will be powered by renewables posted 1 year ago 2 Responses

NatraCare vs. 7th Gen.

I totally agree with HelloKitty. Chlorine-free pads that are still made from and encased in two layers of plastic (wrappers and product package) have NOTHING on organic, 90% biodegradable pads wrapped in paper and delivered in a recycled paper box. I agree that Natracare pads aren't perfect - leakage is not none-to-moderate, no matter what they say here - but there was no comment on the fact that they are organic. This is a product that is next to your skin for hours at a time, 3-6 days a month, for about 40 years! Organic cotton vs. plastic...? No contest. They are also much more sustainable in terms of packaging, which the reviewer seemed to ignore.
I personally use a combination of Natracare pads/tampons/panty liners, with Glad Rags at the end of my period. You don't even have to do the pre-rinse at that point, since the volume is really low. On A review of eco-minded feminine products posted 1 year ago 46 Responses

History

Wolverine:

Long-distance relationships have existed since the age of the conquistadors. We just see each other more now that we have planes. On Slate encourages local dating for green's sake posted 1 year, 1 month ago 13 Responses

Template for comments to BLM

Here's what I wrote in my comments:

Please reconsider the proposed rule which rejects the House Natural Resources Emergency Resolution enacted in June that bans uranium mining and exploration near the Grand Canyon National Park.

The negative impacts are dire:

• Contamination of the drinking water of more than 25 million people served by the Colorado River
  
• Negative impacts on wildlife as detailed by Arizona Game and Fish
  
• Elimination of provisions that allow Congress to make such withdrawals in the future, should they be desired

Water & plastic bags - the secret!

I learned this from my boyfriend's mom: To keep leafy herbs (basil, cilantro) fresh, put them in water (as if they were flowers), then cover them with a (reused!) plastic bag and a rubberband. They will stay fresh for a week or more in the fridge.
Do the same with leaf lettuce, but you don't need to cover it with plastic. If you cut the bottom part of the plant off and add water every once in a while, you can keep lettuce fresh for weeks. No, I'm not exaggerating - try it!On Umbra on storing produce posted 1 year, 4 months ago 15 Responses

Effect of cloth diapers on toilet training

I would be interested to know if this study took into account the fact that (from what I understand) children who use cloth diapers are generally toilet-trained at an earlier age... and therefore use fewer diapers over their lifetimes.
If there is no significant difference in the impacts of the different types of diapers themselves, then clearly the fact that cloth-diapered babies use fewer diapers would make the cloth diapers superior.
Also, disposable/reusable hybrids such as gdiapers were not included. On Umbra on the never-ending diaper ado posted 1 year, 5 months ago 25 Responses

Location, location, location

I lived in the DC area (Takoma Park/Silver Spring) for over a year, and I commuted by bus to the Metro, and then to work. I lived about halfway between the two Metro stations, and it was right on the border of a lower-income residential neighborhood. I didn't have a car the entire time I lived there.

I think the issue here, mat, is that we all choose where we are going to live based on a variety of factors. You have chosen yours based on both not being too expensive (Bethesda) and on not being a "crummy little apartment." Just because you made YOUR choices, you can't deny the fact that the DC area has some of the most accessible, comprehensive public transportation in the country. I loved the Metro and Metro bus. Yes, sometimes it took a longer time to get somewhere, but if you consider what your daily route will be when you are CHOOSING where to live, you really can avoid it for common trips such as commutes (as opposed to one-offs).

For example, I moved to Austin, TX, about a year ago, and for my first apartment, I chose to get a 6-month lease at a place that was clearly safe and was affordable, based on my need for personal security and a lack of time to do a lot of research. The location also happened to be not that useful bus-wise (despite the city's having a green rep, bus service here is not stellar). So - once my lease was up (and once I knew the city better and had more time to look for apartments), I made the CHOICE to actively seek out a decent, safe, fairly affordable place near the bus line. WHICH, with time and effort, I found.

It's all about making location part of the decision-making process, not just something that "can't be avoided."On Metro is succeeding, but like all public transit systems, it needs our support posted 2 years ago 11 Responses

List of EPA-recognized products

The EPA has a list of recognized NPE-free products.On Umbra on green laundry detergents posted 2 years, 2 months ago 16 Responses