*************warning: to those who are uneasy hearing about feminine hygiene products, the following article is not for you :)*******************************************************

Growing up, I remember reading "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret"-a pivotal book(at least it used to be) for adolescent girls. I remember her concerns over training bras and belted sanitary napkins. By the time I was 12 and reading this book, "belted pads" were not even sold. I had to ask my mother what they were. Imagine my horror when she explained. Well, this past week, I was privy to a series of emails regarding an ecologically, economically sensitve alternative to the nasty and archaic choices I naively thought were all that was available.

Being of an ecological mindset, I looked into alternatives briefly, maybe 10 years ago. Tampons and pads are, afterall, made from unbleached cotton and filled with nasty chemicals. Don't even get me started about the excess packaging. I would venture to say that they are almost equal to toys in the excess packaging department. The only alternative I was made aware of in my earlier search was of the 'wash and wear' fabric variety. And, for a child of the 80's, this seemed completely unacceptable. I mean, my kid's diapers are one thing, but this was entirely another thing altogether. I promptly chose the brand with the least packaging and became a loyal customer. That is--until this series of emails hit my desk.

This was about the 'Diva Cup'--a silicone cup that you insert and wear for up to 12 hours. Here is a quote from my friend (the doctor)Kim's email singing of the cup's praises:

I have used the menstrual cup for 8 years now. I love it, I think it is the best thing since sliced bread, and I would never, ever, ever go back. I haven't used pads or tampons since, and I actually think of them as sort of archaic to be quite honest. It is revolutionary, and I'm really quite shocked that I haven't told those of you I know about it long before this. I guess our conversations just never made it there. It is so comfortable, you do not even know it is there once you've learned to do it properly. It does not leak, again, if you are using it properly. You can go all day without changing it, just empty it in the morning and again in the evening and it goes through the night. It's great for long flights, car rides, meetings, etc. It does not chafe like tampons do, and it does not have any odor like pads. I've used it for all kinds of activities - swimming, hiking, etc. with no problem. From my humble medical perspective, it is also useful for women who have heavy periods, because they can actually quantify how much blood they lose each month to help their doctors understand if they really have true menorrhagia or not. Not to mention that it likely reduces the risk of toxic shock syndrome. There are still tampons on the market that are every bit as bad at harboring bacteria as the ones that were pulled off the market in the 80's. The more absorbent they are, and the longer you leave a tampon in, the higher the chance of this occurring. Of course the lack of impact on the environment is a huge bonus. If you ask someone who works in waste/water treatment if tampons should be flushed, the answer is a resounding NO, even though the brands advertise them as 'flushable'. Irresponsible marketing, imagine that. There is actually a guy in New York that has made huge art exhibits out of all the 'flushable' applicators that wash up on the beach after making it into the Hudson River. The tampons and the applicators are both equally bad for wildlife. Furthermore, the cotton used to make tampons is actually bleached with harsh chemicals. It is one of the most un-environmentally friendly crops there is, unless you buy organic. Not to mention if there is any residual chemical left over, it is not good at all for your vaginal mucosa. The original cup I used was called The Keeper and it was brown, made from rubber trees that were tapped, not cut down. The newer ones are clear silicone, but I cannot speak to that process environmentally.

So, I checked out there website www.divacup.com and ran to London Drugs to buy one. I went there on purpose to make sure that these things are easily available to people who don't always go to Community Foods or Planet Organic. Well, there they were with all the other products. I bought one for $40 and went home to try it...fate--this email arrived on the first day of my period. Well, I totally LOVE it...love it! I cannot say enough about how comfortable it is and how clean I think it is. The only thing I am kicking myself over is not having found this product sooner. It is fabulous. I urge all of you women out there to run out and get one. Now I'm all for banning the bulb and the tampon!!

So, my coffee maker died. I don't think it suffered(at least, not nearly as much as I did upon discovering it in that vile state). It was, after all, I think my own fault. You see, the last time I cleaned it, I got water where water is not meant to go. I'd like to say that I took its death well, but, unfortunately, I did not. I shrieked, I cried, I blamed other people and, finally, I thought of the movie "The Secret". I put it out there--to the coffee gods--a wish that it would return to its original glory and provide me with the sweet nectar I so desired(OK...so I needed it). I walked away and left it up to the universe to provide me with what I wanted. And, it did. That damn movie worked! At first, I smelled the sweet aroma and then I heard the percolation. Alas, it was short lived. Miracles cannot overcome pure science(I can hear Bob chuckling now). The next day it was dead again.

This is the third in a string of appliance deaths in our household as of late. First, was our microwave. Then came our frying pan(it was a slow death, but it was time to admit that it was gone). And, now, the unimaginable--the coffee maker. For most people, there probably isn't a moments hesitation. Just run out to Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire or The Bay and replace those things. But, for us, it gave us pause to think about our ecological footprint. What do you do with these things? Send them off to the landfill? Not a place we like to send things. So, in our thinking, came some lessons for those of you who would so quickly replace them.

First, the microwave...how to survive without one? That was the first question we asked ourselves. You know, it wasn't that long ago people actually didn't even have these things. Now, they seem so essential. We tried for a couple of weeks. That's how long it took Bob, the mechanical whiz kid, to take a look at it. He took it down off it's shelf, removed the back of it(that's where we noted that it was purchased in 1991--not bad, we've had some good years with it), and quickly realized that a fuse had been blown. Off to Radio Shack(oops, I mean The Source) and in a flash, our old microwave was back up on its shelf--good as new. Well, not new, but as good as a 16 year old microwave can be. We saved ourselves some cash(we'll spend it in Spain) and saved the landfill that giant piece of junk for awhile.

Next, the frying pan. Well, I hate to admit it, but it's Teflon. And, the whole Teflon being banned thing was starting to get to me...and the Teflon had mostly disappeared. I realized--it had to go to the landfill. But, I did some research to avoid sending another frying pan there this quickly(that pan is 5 or 6 years old). I am not a fan of cast iron. I know that many of you probably are, but I don't like my pancakes to taste like last night's fish or curry and the thought of having multiple pans doesn't thrill me...you know, one for savory, one for sweet...A neighbour of ours recently bought a ceramic pan at Costco and was raving about its nonstickability. So, I started a search. Costco, working the way it does, was all sold out, but a couple of weeks ago, Williams-Sonoma got their first run of these new fangled pans in and I was one of the first to buy one. It was $70, but it is heavy duty construction--restaurant grade and I think it should last a long time. It is so nonstick that even I am shocked. It has a removable silicon handle so I can put it in the oven for my almost famous frittatas(well, famous to Bob). The lesson here was I tried to find a solution that would outlast the previous one. Cross your fingers and hope that I've got it.

And, finally, the coffee maker. Well, it is still sitting in its place of honor awaiting Bob's attempt at fixing it before I run out and upgrade her. Don't say this too loud, but I have my eye on a beautiful, stainless steel one by Kitchenaid. Poor old girl. Part of me really hopes it's her time, but part of me doesn't want to send her to the landfill...so torn. I'm not sure which side I'm cheering for more. I'll keep you all updated.

This is Len. We love Len. Len is our recycling guy. We used to do all of our own recycling(there is no curbside pickup provided by the local government here), but...to be honest...it got a little out of hand. Being hard core recyclers, as we are, we couldn't keep up and found the piles of recycling more than we could handle...especially when we heard the incredibly low price for pickup. So, we called Len. He picks up our large bins every week for about $45 every three months. So totally worth it! But, the side effect of doing this is now every week, I get to witness the huge amount of recycling we have. It got me thinking...what happens to all of this recycling.

In his job, Bob(my husband) was working on a project where there were large amounts of plastic left over. This plastic was ending up in the landfills because there was no easy way to recycle it. So, Bob, on a trip to the Okotoks recycling facility, asked the guy there what they did with all of their plastics. Okotoks is great for recycling plastics. We are allowed to bring in plastics #1-7. This caused a large increase in the amount we recycled and it also caused Bob to stop and think--where does Okotoks send their plastics and will they take what he has at work? Well, they ship it to China. That's right folks...all of the things we buy from China that are made from plastic and wrapped in plastic then shipped here in large containers eventually end up being put back into the same containers and shipped back!!! This shocked me to no end. Why don't we have the facilities here? In fact, recently, I met a guy from China who was here researching how he could get into doing such a service for us Canadians...what are we thinking? Obviously, there is an untapped market here and someone with way more money than me should be jumping on this bandwagon. It also got me thinking about how I could curb my plastics consumption. Thus the whole reusable bag thing from a previous post. Well, now I am going to talk a bit about my recent attempts at precycling.

Precycling is basically recycling before you buy. So...first things first, you ask yourself do you really need what you are about to buy or can you borrow it or rent it. If the answer is you must purchase it, you should then seek out the highest quality of said item so that you will not need to replace it prematurely and you should choose the item with the least amount of packaging or packaged using recycled materials. Like I always say...consumers have a lot of power and if we choose items with less packaging or refuse those that are over packaged then we are sending a strong message to the manufacturers. Toy manufacturers are the absolute worst for this. All the parents out there know what I am talking about. That is why I love the toy library. We can get 'new'(as in new to my child)toys without having to deal with all the garbage that comes in the form of packaging and eventually the discarding of the actual toy. So, now I am challenging you all to think about precycling. Stop and take a look at your recycling the way you once stopped and looked at your garbage...and make the decision to cut back. Figure out how you can lessen your recycling(without, of course, increasing your garbage). Too much carbon is being used to ship our 'recycling' to facilities to deal with it. I'm not going to worry about Len...he has more recycling than he knows what to do with :)

Have you heard the one about how Tim Horton's decides where they are going to put their next franchise? They drive along the highway and, when they no longer see a Tim Horton's cup in the ditch, they know they've found the right place.

Comedy or tragedy? It's a fine line...mostly, because it's so true! Even Timmy's knows it and they have started to put up no littering signs. Their cups are everywhere! We here in Canada have an addiction. The drive thru coffee. You know you're guilty...we're all guilty. I remember when Starbucks only had one in town. What a novelty. Now they are everywhere...and I, for one, couldn't be happier. I love getting a cup a joe on the go...but the paper cups are driving me over the edge. So...a new challenge!!!

Stop getting paper cups at the drive thru. I know that most of you have received a nice travel mug for some sort of gift or another...it's time to use it. I know that it is easier said than done...so keep a clean one in your car. We started trying to do this a while ago. It definitely takes transition time. At first, I just wanted to cut back on my daily Starbucks so we got an espresso machine. And, now, I always use a mug. In fact, I started making my own coffee at home 90% of the time. The other day when we did go through a Timmy's, I noticed that they poured my coffee into a paper cup before pouring it into my travel mug...so I think that you will have to skip the drive thru to save the mug...just to let you know. Same goes for water bottles people...reuse ones you have purchased or go out and buy yourself a pretty pink one the next time you skip the Starbucks drive thru(I noticed them there today).

Just to update you on my previous challenges. I am doing awesome with resusable bags. My mom being fabulous at spotting a bargain called me to say that I was insane to purchase expensive bags when you could just run down to the dollar store and get them for...get this $1!!! So, I did just that and the dollar store in Okotoks had a big bin of them. I'm set. Went grocery shopping today and no bags followed us home! And, Safeway gave me a $0.24 credit on my bill for bringing my own bags. My mom also likes those bins from Superstore although I have heard that in Calgary, some Superstores don't like you using them...I've not tried though so I can't verify this. I still plan on buying some reusable produce bags and a funky carryall that holds my coffee travel mug among other things.

My Cleaning products have been fully 'greened'. Love the Melaleuca dishwasher detergent. Pretty happy with most of their products, but I did find that the 'Nature Clean' brand of glass cleaner worked better, as did, the Nature Clean Tub and Tile Cream Cleanser over the Melaleuca brand(less scrubbing). I plan on definitely continuing on with Melaleuca for my laundry needs and dishwasher detergent. I think when I run out of other stuff, I might try the Method brand(available at Shopper's and Safeway).

It warms my heart to hear stories from people of changing lightbulbs and composting. Today, I got an email from one of Bob's engineering school pals whom I have never met. He told me all about how lovely it is to be riding his bike to work now. He started doing this aproximately three times a week three weeks ago because of the carbon output from his larger vehicle. Of course, he lives in California where you can do such a thing with little effort in February(Bob has been known to do this in Calgary, but not often and certainly, not lately). Our friend has seen condors, ducks, heron, and fish jumping...not to mention he has the opportunity to see the sun rise and set during his ride. All things being connected, he loves the way it is making him feel emotionally, physically, and ecologically ;) Man, I just smile when I get emails like that.

Our Supper Table: Organic vs. Local
******just a warning...I am no expert and the material below is just documenting my own search for answers in a sea of confusion on this topic. I am always open to hearing your opinions as well******

Food is never an easy topic of conversation in our household. There is a lot of 'that can't touch that', 'I don't like that', and 'not on your life' kind of talk coming from our kids mouths a lot of the time. And, then there's the adults. I haven't talked very often about how my ecological concerns grew, but it started out over food...well, meat to be exact. Many people who have written to me have had lightbulb moments where everything seems to click all at once, but for me it was more of a gradual process. I really started thinking about it back when I was 20 or so and I read an article about the amount of water it takes to produce one hamburger. It was an absurd amount...measured by a number of showers. Red meat, never a favorite of mine, was the first to go. Then chicken, then fish...with fish working its way back into my diet thanks to my sushi fetish of the late 90's. And, let's face it, in Alberta not eating meat is way more foreign to most people than our strange recycling obsession...it was up there with the whole driving a small car thing. It's like Albertans see themselves as SUV driving, meat loving, cowboys. Well, I never really fit into that stereotype very well.

Then I met Bob. His dad had a long career with Ducks Unlimited in Northern Alberta which was a catalyst for Bob's concerns, but also meant that his dad was a hunter. Duck's Unlimited is a conservation organization largely funded by hunters concerned about conserving their ability to hunt. I'm not saying this is a bad thing(I'm not an animal loving kind of vegetarian or I'd have to go vegan and that ain't happening anytime soon) as I see it, we are on the same side. But, the first time I went for dinner with them and I ordered the chicken quesidilla with no chicken...they did a second take. No chicken! What the?? Well, as time has gone on, Bob's much deeper understanding and concern for the environment was passed on to me. We composted...we got CFL bulbs 7 or 8 years ago...we recycled...we drove a diesel golf(and it took us everywhere)...we were definitely on the fringe of Albertan society. But, lately something has changed. That 'fringe' has become more mainstream. And, for me, if there ever was a lightbulb moment it came while reading "An Inconvenient Truth" shortly after moving here to the commune(as we like to refer to it). Everything came together and I felt the need to share our knowledge and encourage change in others. So, now I'm blogging...and blogging about food is a big one for me as I have been questioned about it for years. And, lately, Bob and I have been trying to come up with a 'family' plan where we do what is right for the environment and what is right for our family...basically meaning not two or three different meals at once.

This fresh take on food started with yet another documentary "Big Sugar: Sweet, White and Deadly" which aired on the CBC last July back when we had free basic cable for a couple of months. It got us thinking again about eating in a more socially conscious way. Like I've always said, consumers have a lot of power by how they choose to spend their money and we spend a lot of money on food. If you start to do the reading, this is a particularly complex issue. Just look at all the labels: fair trade, organic, hormone free...the list goes on and changes regularly. We have often purchased organic by default. For starters, most of these companies are ecologically minded thanks to the pressures on them by the consumers who purchase their products. So, packaging is easily recyclable and often made from recycled materials. And, organic farming, by default is more ecologically sound. That said there has been a huge change in the organic movement. Mainstream supermarkets have started making their own brands and now things seem to be really complicated. That, coupled with the fact that, oftentimes my organic lettuce has travelled all the way from Central or South America had me questioning the actual carbon output as carbon reduction is always our goal.

Yes, I know that there are other benefits to eating organic...not the least of which being certain health benefits. I recently read in "Mother Earth News" that organic ketchup has up to 50% more lycopene in it than its non organic counterpart. And, every good parent knows, there is no escaping ketchup. Another benefit being that organic growers are also concerned with worker's rights and often times offer health benefits, etc to workers in areas of the world where this is unheard of. In the documentary "Big Sugar", they really point to organic sugar producers as starting to turn things around as far as worker's conditions. And, the use of pesticides, herbicides, etc have their own carbon producing effects to add to the equation. All of this does not make an answer easily forthcoming.

I am concerned though at the distance that my food has travelled to be a part of our dinner. Living in Calgary means that we do not have the fortune of readily available locally grown produce for a good part of the year. That said, we have always been big supporters of local farmer's markets(particularly loving the one in Millarville) in the summer time and enjoy the wide variety of locally grown produce available then. So, if I switch to solely serving local food, how will I make it through the winter? Does this mean I am going to have to go back to the ways of our elders--canning in the heat of the summer so we have fruit and vegetables in the dead of the winter? Although, I see no harm in learning this technique...truth is, I can't imagine not eating cantaloupes again or pineapple. If my future only holds saskatoon berries and crabapples in it, I think I'll either move down south or keep wishing that this global warming thing brings a wider variety to my area.

In my reading, another issue has really come to the forefront of my concern. That of the amount of emissions involved in the production of processed food. It's huge--travel being a big one, but also the creation of the packaging, the actual processing, as well as, the normal emissions that result from harvesting. Like I said, a straightforward answer seems to be eluding me.

What we have decided is to eat locally when you can, eat fresh, less packaged food(slow food), and choose organic by default. This is where we, as a family, are headed. And, as far as the whole meat thing goes...well, Bob has decided to give up more meat on his end, providing, we have meat once a week as a family. Our goal here being to reduce our meat consumption as a family. Fish becoming a more and more complex environmental issue and not so much a locally available food here in the middle of the prairies, we will opt away from that. We are going with locally produced, organic chicken, pork and beef...hormone free, antibiotic free, grain fed. Readily available here in southern Alberta. Once a week...hmm...Bob is having a difficult time with the switch, but he admits to ordering falafels a lot now. In the end, he brings leftovers for lunch more often which saves emissions and money ;)

Ok, so I received my 'eco-conversion' kit from Melaleuca(which by the way means tea-tree oil which most of their products contain). I was impressed with the little packaging used. Instead of Styrofoam(the devil's bedfellow), they used inflated plastic bags which are easily recycled here. That said, there were a number of repeats on the promotional material and they could have been more aware on that end. I will have to recycle them...So, I think I went overboard. I received so many cleaners I am not sure when I will get through them all. That said...it will be a while before I test any other brands. I've had several people suggest the natural line from Shopper's Drug Mart called 'Method'. Apparently, there are lots of yummy scents in that line. A neighbour also suggested Seventh Generation's fabric softener in a yummy scent(lavender I think). I've also had the suggestion of Claudia's choice for everything laundry related. I've added the link for that one as many people have suggested the dryer balls and I plan on giving those a try as well.

So, as far as Melaleuca...I did laundry yesterday(and continue on today). The laundry detergent comes in a 2.8L jug with an insertable pump. The pump measures out enough for one load. It is apparently quite concentrated as this jug is supposed to do 96 loads. It cost $21.99(when not in the conversion kit) which makes it a 22.9 cents/load. It has a nice, mild, fresh scent for those like me, but it also comes unscented. And, it cleaned well. I'm happy with it. I never had any extremely soiled items, but on regular everyday clothes it did the trick. I added the Mela Brite which is the equivalent of Javex II to my whites and the fabric softener(Mela Soft) to everything. No static clean and bright whites. To be sure, I was never a fan of bleach(I was just joking about the bleach before) as usually I ended up ruining something rather than cleaning it so I am not sure if I would purchase the Mela Brite again. I'm not sure if I would actually use it. And, like I said, I plan on trying the dryer balls so the fabric softener might be moot. I'm opening up about all my nasties when I say that I am a fan of stain removers...find me a mom who isn't. They are a must at my house. I am thrilled with the 'PreSpot' as I find it works as well as any of the others(I admit to trying them all). Some of the more long standing stains proved difficult, but newer stains became nonexistant.

Here comes the part where everyone says to themselves...it figures. So, we don't have reception on our television...we just use it for videos, but no I'm not one of those crazy non materialistic type treehuggers(okay, well I am a bit, but I believe in balance...more on that later). Anyways, I had no idea that 'wrinkle relaxers' existed. That said, I am not a big fan of products created in the hopes of creating a need...but, I have to admit to liking this one for all of our t-shirts that don't always come out of the dryer wrinkle free. Will I buy it again...hmmm...the jury is still out on that one.

I'm hoping to get through my usual cleaning today and try out all the other products. Just to reiterate Melaleuca is only available through a consultant, but there seems to be lots around who have purchased the membership just to get the cheaper price on the products. I've not looked into membership, but have been told that it is not expensive. So, the switch has been made. Now, apparently, I have to properly dispose of the hazardous waste that sits in my cupboard that I used to clean with. Anyone?

Lastly, just wanted to note that Al Gore was nominated for a Nobel Prize today. Yay!! He is speaking in Calgary the day after Earth Day. For Bob and I to go would be over $300(with babysitting), so I think we'll have to hear all about it from our neighbour, Lyle. I have been talking with Bob alot about the awareness that has been generated by the movie(and perhaps other major events). It feels like it is the tipping point in swaying public opinion and now more than ever people are actually interested in how they can help. For a couple who have been interested for years, it is nice to see this sway in public opinion. Go Al Go!! You've got my vote all the way! I've got to run and take out my compost and organize my recycling...