I recently discovered a great resource that is both solution and action oriented to solving the climate crisis.  It is called the We Campaign and it a project of   The Alliance for Climate Protection.  Their “ultimate aim is to halt global warming” by “educating people in the US and around the world that the climate crisis is both urgent and solvable.”   The site gives you many different ways to participate in the protection of our planet, offers great video clips and motivation success stories as well as helpful educational resource. Check out: http://www.wecansolveit.org/

Biofuel has been in the news a lot lately, including this week when a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Amsterdam was powered by 80% jet fuel and 20% biodiesel, which was made from renewable resources from babassu and coconut oils. While it seems like a small amount was actually biodiesel, I think its a great start in testing out flying commercial flights with renewable resources.

What is biofuel? Biofuel is a gas or liquid that is derived from plant material. Ethanol (made from grains) and biodiesel (made from things like vegetable oils) are the two most common types. There are some good and bad points to using biodiesel. The good: Less polluting, carbon neutral (meaning the carbon in the fuel comes from the plants already living on earth, it doesn’t add more carbon like regular fuel), and they come from renewable resources (unlike fossil fuels, which can’t be made again). Biofuel also reduces our need for foreign oil and helps increase the need to support agriculture from the US. The bad: Lower mileage and more costly. (I think the good out weighs the bad, if you ask me!)

I see a lot of cars in San Francisco that are powered by biodiesel, especially Volkswagens. As a VW owner myself, I’m interested in learning more about it and how you can turn your car into a biodiesel car.

There are a lot of websites out there to help inform you and tell you about the kits needed to convert your car. Here are a few

National Biodiesel Board

Biodiesel Now

Auto Blog Green

This stuff is pretty cool and I think people really are interested in finding alternative energy sources, the car makers and the airlines will have to respond to that! And since its getting more popular, I think we’ll need a biodiesel shirt soon too, not just a hybrid one!

We love Al Gore here at Little Green Star and my admiration for him goes way back to Earth in Balance days, when I first learned about climate change and how it will effect future generations.

In case you haven’t heard, former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for their work to raise awareness about global warming. Thank you for bringing this information to us all and keep up the good work! If we made our Penguin shirt in your size Al, we’d send it to you!!!!!

Some great links:

Al Gore’s Official Website
An Inconvenient Truth
The Alliance For Climate Protection

The use of pesticides has shown to contribute to food production (especially soybean and corn), other agricultural products (cotton), and disease eradication.  However, there are numerous undesirable impacts associated with pesticide use.  More specifically, pesticides impact public health, loss of natural enemies, and reduces pollination. We need food and fiber to live; however obtaining these items can be done sustainably by using best management practices in our farming.   These practices include crop rotation, organic farming, use of natural predators, and most importantly an Integrated Pest Management Plans.   

Here is a short summary that  The O’Mama Report  lists ”A true organic farmer will follow natural growing practices as closely as possible. Organic foods are grown without the aid of unsafe and polluting chemicals. Instead of spraying crops with synthetic pesticides, the organic farmer can choose to plant varieties that are naturally more resistant to insects and disease, rely on beneficial insects, and use tillage practices that discourage pests. As a choice for fertilizer, the true organic farmer will use unrefined minerals obtained from natural deposits and organic sources of nitrogen found in animal manure or plant products. Organic farmers recycle waste matter into fertilizer, in keeping with another definition of the word “organic” - a whole cyclical, sustainable system.”

Check out the Organic Trade Association for great information on why to choose organic food and cotton. 

Little Green Star specializes in unique organic cotton baby clothes that inspire & educate your little star!

As the weather gets hot, hot, hot!! Try and keep your household water use down!! Here are a few tips on how to reduce your water usage during the end of summer days!

• Don’t let the water run while brushing your teeth, shaving, or  washing your face:  save 3 to 5 gallons of water each minute your faucet is turned off.
• Don’t let the kitchen faucet run when you scrub vegetables or prepare other foods.  Try using a stopper in the sink instead.
• Water your lawn and garden early in the morning, when temperatures are mild and winds are calm, so less water will be lost through evaporation.
• Use full loads of laundry: each load of laundry uses between 27 and 54 gallons of water.

These tips are from the Town of Cary Department of Public Works and Utilities, please check out there site for more tips on how to save water.

Little Green Star specializes in unique organic cotton baby clothes that inspire & educate your little star!

Curious about earthquakes and how often they really happen? Well, go to the United States Geologic Survey Earthquake Hazard Program website to see just how many earthquakes have happened just today! Its amazing (and a little alarming) at the amount of quakes, especially where I am in the California! For a while I was obsessed with this website because I kept thinking I felt earthquakes after we moved to California. Most of the time it was just a truck shaking the windows, but sometimes I was right!

Geologists say that the small earthquakes are actually a good thing, because the stress along the faults doesn’t build up too big. Here in California, the San Andreas fault “creeps” along and has adjusted to the two tectonic plates (the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate) constantly moving, which is why you see so many quakes along the coast line of California. So I guess these small quakes are good, but they still can be a little scary!

One of our new designs is a “Future Geologist” shirt, to help inspire your little ones to dream about volcanoes, rocks, minerals, and the tallest mountains. I studied geology in college, but I still want this shirt for me too! For more information about geology visit the USGS website. You can even send an email to a geologist and they really do get back to you (yes, I’ve done it)!

Little Green Star specializes in unique organic cotton baby clothes that inspire & educate your little star!

I was taking a walk through the Presidio yesterday afternoon when I noticed two spiffy hybrids with sfgreenclean signs on them! I was curious to know what they did so I sent them an email when I got home!!

Sfgreenclean is an environmental dry cleaner!! Sfgreenclean is a full service green cleaner that will service any of your traditionally dry cleaned garments. All of the products that they use in their cleaning processes are 100% biodegradable. In addition, they are using reusable nylon garment bags instead of plastic in thier packaging. Thank you Ted at sfgreenclean.com for sharing this information with us! This is a fabulous example of sustainability.

I don’t want to even think of how many long hours Victoria and I have spent reviewing reports on non-environmental drycleaner facilities and contamination due to the toxic chemical perchloroethylene (perc), which is the primary cleaning solvent. PERC is environmentally unfriendly and when used improperly can create health and environmental risks in the atmosphere, soil, groundwater, drinking water, and waterways threatening humans, and plant and animal species.

So if you are in San Francisco, stop by sfgreenclean or find a green drycleaner in your city today!

Little Green Star specializes in unique organic cotton baby clothes that inspire & educate your little star!

“We have the choice to use the gift of our lives to make the world a better place” Jane Goodall. I love this quote and I truly believe in it. I am currently reading “In the Shadow of Man” by Jane Goodall and as a scientist and woman I find this book fascinating.

The book takes place in 1960 on Lake Tanganyika in East Africa where at the age of 26 Jane Goodall studied the area’s chimpanzee population. At the time, it was thought that humans were the only species who used tools until Jane Goodall’s discovery that chimpanzees did too!! Her mentor, Louis Leakey, responded by saying “Now we must redefine tool, redefine man, or accept chimpanzees as humans.” What a landmark study! This book clearly points out the importance of scientific research, conservation, and awareness. Her life with the chimpanzees is simply incredible.

Little Green Star is excited for science and the more children know about science the more likely they will keep this world health!! She has also published many children’s books including Grub: the Bush Baby, Chimpanzees I Love: Saving Their World and Ours and My Life with the Chimpanzees. Have you read any of these children’s books ? If so please post a review in the comment box below! Thanks~

If you are looking for a fun activity to try at home with your kids during the warm summer days how about planting flowers in the garden!!!!

Why: The green leaves of trees and plants help give us the oxygen we breathe and reduces greenhouse gases. The more plants there are, the cleaner our air.

How: Take a field trip to your neighborhood garden shop to pick out native plant seeds, like native wildflowers, a terra cotta pot, organic potting soil, and non-toxic paint. Decorate the pot, plant some seeds, water as needed, watch them grow, and see who comes to visit! Butterflies and bees will pollinate your colorful flowers, which ensures that plants will continue to grow and keep the air clean.

For more fun, creative, and rewarding projects to help you introduce green concepts to kids check out an article Little Green Star wrote, it is posted on Organic Picks. If you have other great ideas for outdoor activites that introduce green concepts please post them in the comment box below, we would love to share this information with others!!! Thanks!!

Needlepoint design by Judi & Co.

Little Green Star specializes in unique organic cotton baby clothes that inspire & educate your little star!

For all of you surfers, swimmers, beach goers, boogie boarders, snorkelers, river rafters, kayakers, and scuba divers, check out our new design water pollution makes me crabby. We hope to remind people that we need to help keep our Earth’s water clean!!

People seem to ask me what at hydrologist is fairly often, so I thought I would post a quick description of what hydrologists address. The short answer is…water! Hydrology is the study of the Earth’s water system: oceans, lakes, rivers, and the interaction between the oceans and atmosphere. We study the occurrence, distribution, circulation and behavior of water in environment. We measure and analyze water phenomena on and below Earth’s surface and in the atmosphere, seeking to solve problems that affect sustainability of water quantity & water quality.

Pretty cool, don’t you think?!! For a list of organizations that are helping to care for our water please check out Surfrider Foundation. Also, check out one of my favorite sites for great information on the earth’s water!! It also has a funky-cool placemat for kids to learn about the water cycle while they are eating; sorry, sometimes I can get can get carried away with talking about water…hee hee!!

If you know of some great resources about water, please use the comment box below to post a link and comment!  Thank you!!

Water Cycle image from the United State Geologic Survey

Little Green Star specializes in unique organic cotton baby clothes that inspire & educate your little star!