Florida Keys Healthy Start Coalition

Ecoparenting Issues
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Eight Tips to Eco-Parenting

Lead by example. You are the greatest role model your child will have. She will look up to you, learn from you, and embrace your habits. If you teach when you talk, you avoid many of the "why" questions that inevitably come when she sees you separating food scraps from glass from cardboard or turning the lights off when you leave a room.

Instill fundamental human needs. In addition to love, he needs to know that clean air, clean water and clean soil are essential to human life. He can live without video games, but he cannot live without these precious commodities.

Share "green" experiences. Start a composting project or visit the aquarium to learn about the importance of the marine world to our lives. What happens when we take too many fish out of the sea or dump too much garbage into it? How does it affect the family?

Seriously consider breastfeeding. In a perfect world, no food is better (or greener) for an infant than mother's milk . It is the ultimate in nutritious, local food production. Don't take my word for it - check out the American Medical Association position on breastfeeding at www.ama-assn.org .

Healthy food is usually green food. Your child will benefit from local fruits and vegetables at home. Take him to the local market or if possible, a farm to learn about fresh food. Encourage him to start a garden in the backyard or grow some herbs in a pot at home. He is less likely to develop food allergies or sensitivities if he is not eating processed, packaged or fast foods.

Green food makes you smarter. Diet is critical for learning. Parents can pitch a green school lunch partnership plan that is both healthy and financially responsible. If schools and school boards know that healthy cafeteria options don't inflate the budget, it is hard to argue against them. For example, a school garden is a great education tool and a source of nutritious food for students.

Travel green. Don't let your child develop an automobile addiction. Seek out destinations that you can reach together safely on foot or by bicycle. It is a great way to share time together and get fit. When the car cannot be avoided, try to combine errands or carpool with other families. Carpooling is a great, green way for parents to share the travel load.

Seek out green products for your kids. When you buy her toys, clothes and bath products, take some time to find eco-friendly, safe options. Eco- parenting is simple parenting if you stick to the basics. Just add love.

This post appears courtesy of Intent.com. Curtis Cook is the Executive Director of the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, President of Ecotactix and Founder of the Executive Centre for the cology Economy. He is a two-time book author and has written over 100 published articles on the environment, clean technologies, innovation and sustainable business.

Buy Natural and Organic Toys- Choose toys made from all-natural, organic materials to keep kids safe from the harmful chemicals in plastics

Because childrens’ body masses are so small, and their skin is so absorptive, they are at the highest risk of toxic poisoning. One of the most dangerous sources of these toxins is also the most seemingly harmless: their toys, which often contain banned and harmful substances that can seriously threaten their health. Soft plastic toys, or any plastic containing PVC, are the worst ones for children, since they leach the most harmful chemicals, such as lead and pthalates. However, it is best to avoid plastic toys of any kind considering their environmental impact from start (plastic is made from nonrenewable petroleum products) to finish (when they end up in landfills and oceans).

The safest playthings are made of solid wood (not pressed, which contains formaldehyde) or organic fibers. Look for organic cotton, hemp and wool, made without the pesticides and chemical fertilizers that are dangerous for kids to chew on and major water pollutants. If you want to finish a wooden toy, use a natural oil such as nut oil or beeswax. Mineral oil, linseed oil, and any plant-based oil with a strong smell are not recommended on the toys of children under age three.

There are a number of websites that provide information on both, including www.toxinfreetoys.com and www.ecobabyproducts.com.

Danger in Plastic Baby Bottles?
The chemical is known as bisphenol A or BPA. Is a chemical used in plastic baby bottles — and many other food and beverage containers — causes genetic damage in mice, a new study suggests. It is found in all kinds of common products, mostly polycarbonate plastics. Nearly all plastic baby bottles in the United States are made of this type. As well, so are many common food containers, water storage bottles, aluminum can linings, and even some kinds of dental sealants. Animal studies, which are not always reliable for human effects, suggest that the dangers of BPA leaching into the milk of babies in a bottle could include: low sperm count, hyperactivity, early puberty, obesity, small testes size, and enlarged prostates.

BPA in infant formula
Laboratory tests of canned infant formula conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a certified commercial laboratory reveal that BPA also leaches from metal can linings into formula at levels which, according to new analyses, would expose some bottle-fed infants to BPA in excess of doses that caused serious adverse effects in animal tests. There are no government safety standards limiting the amount of BPA in infant
formula. For more information visit www.ewg.org/reports/bpaformula

What is the alternative to polycarbonate baby bottles?
Polypropylene bottles are becoming more popular, and can be found online and through many retailers. You will know a polypropylene bottle by the recycle symbol and the number 1 or 2 on the bottom!

The best alternative to baby bottle and formula concerns: Breastfeeding!

Breastmilk is a natural renewable resource and is all the baby needs for the first six months of life.

Requires no resources for advertising, packaging, shipping, or disposal.

No energy is wasted sterilizing bottles and refrigerating them.

No water or detergent is needed for washing and mixing bottles.

It does not create pollution from the manufacturing and disposal of bottles, teats, and cans.

It helps space babies by suppressing fertility in the mother.

What is in those cans of baby formula?

3,506,870 lbs. of steel from formula cans

364,463 lbs. of paper

359,608 lbs. of HDPE from plastic milk containers

3,790,007 gallons of milk, requiring 65,271,668 lbs. of dairy feed to produce

861,192 gallons of oil (equivalent) for cow milk, formula production transportation and refrigeration,
which produces …

19,373,385 lbs. of carbon dioxide

4,892 acres of forest are required to absorb this amount of carbon dioxie

Breastmilk is one of the few foodstuffs produced and delivered to the consumer without any pollution, unnecessary packaging or waste. Formula and bottles require large amounts of water, fuel, glass, plastic and rubber--and produces significant amounts of garbage.

Most people know that breastfeeding is best for babies. Some people know that breastfeeding offers health benefits to the mother. But very few people realize the importance of breastfeeding for the environment.

Dairy production destroys land and pollutes air and water
Substituting cow's milk infant formula for breastmilk destroys the water, land and air. It would take 135 million lactating cows just to substitute the breastmilk of the women of India; that many cows would require 43% of the surface of India be devoted to pasture.

Artificial feeding causes waste and uses valuable resources
If every child in America were bottle-fed, almost 86,000 tons of tin would be needed to produce 550 million cans for one year's worth of formula. Bottles and nipples require plastic, glass, rubber, and silicon; production.

Artificial feeding means more tampons
Women who practice total, unrestricted breastfeeding average over 14 months without menstruating. Multiply this by the four million US births each year to see that over one billion sanitary products annually could be kept out of our nation's landfills and sewers.

Breastfeeding - a valuable natural resource
Two years ago, President Clinton, joining an unprecedented worldwide consensus, voted to impose restrictions on the advertising and promotion of infant formula. His vote demonstrates a new American commitment to breastfeeding. Story, Dia L. Michels, photos as noted or Nursing Mother 1998.

Environmental Issues with Diapers!

Every child adds about 6500 disposable diapers to our landfills.

Disposable diapers have little to no recycling potential and the long term effects of them on the environment remain unknown.

Disposable diapers can take up to 500 years to decompose.

One baby can produce up to two tons of landfill waste using disposable diapers.

Harsh bleaches and cleaning agents used at diaper services can cause damage to the environment.

Serious threat of contamination from disposable diapers because of human sewage going into landfills.

Disposal of human waste in residential garbage is technically prohibited and instructions on disposable diaper packaging recommend that you shake out any fecal matter into the toilet before disposing of it.

Viruses found in feces can pose a threat to our water supplies and wildlife.

Each baby in disposable diapers consumes 4.5 trees (Based on only two years in diapers.)

Alternatives!

Hybrid diapers ( cloth cover, flushable inside liner) from gDiapers.com

Cloth diapers, easy to use, velcro and snaps and very comfy for baby

“greener” disposables, diapers not made with plastics and gels, but rather non-bleached wood pulp! Tushies and Seventh Generation make such diapers.

For more on alternatives, visit www.keysglee.com/html/reuse_recycle.html

Mercury Alert!
The FDA wants pregnant women to know that some fish contain high levels of a form of mercury called methylmercury that can harm an unborn child's developing nervous system if eaten regularly. By being informed about methylmercury and knowing the kinds of fish that are safe to eat, you can prevent any harm to your unborn child and still enjoy the health benefits of eating seafood.

HIGHEST MERCURY
AVOID Eating

LOWER MERCURY
Eat no more than six
6-oz servings per month

LOWEST MERCURY
No more than two
6-oz servings per week

Grouper
Marlin
Orange roughy
Tilefish
Swordfish
Shark
Mackerel (king)

HIGH MERCURY
Eat no more than three 6-oz servings per month
Bass saltwater
Croaker
Halibut
Tuna (canned, white albacore) See tuna below
Tuna (fresh bluefin, ahi)
Sea trout
Bluefish
Lobster (American/Maine)

Carp
Mahi Mahi
Crab (dungeness)
Snapper
Crab (blue)
Herring
Crab (snow)
Monkfish
Perch (freshwater)
Skate
Cod
Tuna (canned, chunk light)
Tuna (fresh Pacific albacore)

Anchovies
Butterfish
Calamari (squid)
Caviar (farmed)
Crab (king)
Pollock
Catfish
Whitefish
Perch (ocean)
Scallops
Flounder
Haddock
Hake
Herring
Lobster (spiny/rock)
Shad
Sole
Crawfish/crayfish
Salmon
Shrimp
Clams
Tilapia
Oysters
Sardines
Sturgeon (farmed)
Trout (freshwater)

Chart obtained from the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC); data obtained by the FDA and the EPA.