A non-partisan issue

I find it interesting that people who are more conservative (or completely conservative) tend to shy away from environmental issues. Why is that? Is it for the same reason that many democrats hide their pro-life convictions from their friends? Why should either issue be a partisan issue?

While I find myself agreeing and disagreeing with all presidential candidates, I do tend to lean toward the conservative to moderate side of things. For example, I believe abortion is a bloodstain on our nation from which we may never recover from. I am not a Catholic, yet feel Pope John Paul II delivered one of the best quotes in opposition to abortion:

“A nation that kills its own children is a nation without hope.”

A few liberal democrats, like actress Kate Mulgrew, take stands against abortion, and I’m sure she faces opposition daily, as does Patricia Heaton, the Honorary Chair of Feminists for Life. These are just two brave ladies who choose to go against the flow.

I also believe that, in most cases, if you want a paycheck, you need to work. The Welfare program was set up to help people in transition, not to keep people dependent on the government. How did it get turned upside down the way it has?

And national health care…are you kidding me?

I believe in honoring life, working hard, giving humane treatment to animals and doing our best to care for the environment. I guess that means you can’t box me into a particular “wing.” I’m neither right wing nor left wing. What I am is an American with convictions. I don’t vote according to party…I vote according to issues. Of course, most politicians stick to their party’s stands on things, which makes voting particularly difficult since both parties support my causes on one side or another.

So, let’s get back to environmental issues. It’s my opinion that we live on a magnificent planet gifted to us from our Creator. How dare we disrespect it the way we have! I don’t believe in the radical means touted by the liberal political agenda, especially when I see such hypocrisy there. However, I also cringe at the apathy of the other side. C’mon folks, wake up! This is not a political issue. This is an issue for all of us. It’s time we all do our part to ensure a healthier environment for the next generations.

Keeping it honest and green,

Hana

Cloth vs Disposable: An environmental debate

“You use cloth diapers?? Why?”

This incredulous inquiry is directed at my daughter, Jessica, and me on a regular basis. People just don’t get it.

There are countless reasons why we choose to use cloth over disposable diapers. So I’ll be addressing the various explanations over the course of the next few blogs. Tonight, I want to focus on the environmental repercussions of using one-time-use diapers.

I’ve heard the argument over and over again that washing cloth diapers causes more harm to the environment than using disposable diapers. I find it to be more of a rationalization than an actual intelligent argument. Here are the objections to cloth diapers and my rebuttals.

O. The soaps you use to wash the diapers are harmful to the environment.

R. First of all, it depends on the type of laundry detergent one uses. There are many environmentally friendly soaps to choose from. In the meantime, the waste water produced during the manufacturing process of disposable diapers is full of chemicals, such as biocides, solvents, furans, unreacted polymers, and dioxins, as well as heavy metals. Keep in mind that the production of disposables involves wood pulp, paper and plastics.

O. Washing diapers uses too much water.

R. Actually, it takes approximately 37% more water to manufacture disposable diapers than it does to wash cloth over the course of a child’s diapered years. 37% MORE! It is estimated that between 500 – 900 lbs. of fluff pulp and close to 300 lbs. of plastic is used to keep one baby diapered in disposables for one year.

O. It’s more convenient to just throw out a disposable diaper.

R. There’s that word again – convenient. Perhaps it should be the buzz word for the last couple of decades or so. Yes, I will admit, it is much easier to simply wrap up a disposable diaper and toss it in the trash, poop and all. However, it is also illegal to do so! Legally, you are not permitted to put human feces in the trash. Therefore, it is essential you wash out the disposable diaper before disposing of it. Hmm. The convenience factor has just dropped a notch. In defense of cloth diapers, isn’t it more convenient to simply reach in a drawer and pull a clean one out than to, gasp, run to the store at 2 a.m. when you suddenly realize the box of disposables you just bought a couple of days ago is empty? Once again, we’re looking at waste here – waste of gasoline when those inevitable trips become necessary. After all, there’s no predicting how many diapers your child will grow through in any given day. There are always those times when an upset stomach dwindles the supply rather quickly!

Those are some of the environmental objections I confront on a semi-regular basis. If you’re already using cloth diapers, you’re most likely confronting them as well. There is one more environmental issue worth mentioning:

Renewable resources – disposables use 90 times the amount versus cloth diapers
Non-regenerable resources – disposables use 8 times the amount versus cloth diapers

For instance, it takes approximately one full cup of crude oil to make a single one-time-use diaper.

Are you one of the people out there who consider yourself an environmentalist, yet you still are putting disposable diapers on your little ones? Or worse yet, the disposable pull-up pants? Do you support political candidates based on their stand on green issues? Consider the landfills. Nearly 1/3 of the landfills are packed with disposable diapers…none of which have decomposed as of now, which means the first disposable ever used is still resting somewhere in the bottom of a pile of waste, human and otherwise. That’s absurd when you really think about it.

Not only are the diapers not decomposing, but they’re also releasing harmful chemicals into the air, ground and water.
A matter of convenience? How about a matter of national (and international) concern? Not only is the environment paying the price of our laziness, but we’re paying with our health and the health of generations to come. Tomorrow, I’ll discuss the health benefits and risks of cloth versus disposable diapers. I hope you’ll care enough to come back.

Keeping it green,

Hana

Tears in a bottle

Today is the 20th anniversary of my husband’s death. While I am committed to writing about things related to being green and raising kids in a healthy environment, please indulge me on this one day to write about a man who died way too young and about the company who was responsible.

There is a chemical plant on Neville Island in Pittsburgh that is constantly in trouble with local environmentalists. They don’t care. As a matter of fact, they don’t care about much at all, except the bottom line.

On September 9, 1989, my husband, Jim, and his co-worker and best friend, Doug, were working at their unit at the above mentioned plant. For some reason, which is suspect, the chemical tank they were operating shut down. As a result, there was a spill that released volatile fumes into the air. As Jim was cleaning up the spill, Doug went into the unit to call his supervisor. At that moment, a spark ignited the fumes and a fire ball crossed the surface and surrounded my 6’4” husband in its fiery embrace. Doug was unable to reach him as he heard his cries for help. A hero on the ground responded by getting a fire extinguisher, climbing up to the top of the unit where Jim was, hitting him with the extinguisher’s discharge and carrying him down to safety. This co-worker, who never wanted to be recognized for his heroism, suffered burns as well.

Jim was Life Flighted to West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh where he survived for 23 hours with third degree burns on 98% of his body. I will never forget the sight of him, nor the smell of burnt blood as it saturated sheets and dripped onto the floor.

The horror of it was only compounded by my having to tell my seven-year-old and five-year-old daughters that their daddy was never coming home.

A horrific accident like this…you would think the company would care. They pretended to. But when OSHA handed down a report three inches thick, their lawyers went to work. It was proven that the incident was 100% their fault. But since we live in Pennsylvania, I had no recourse. While people around me thought I’d at least be fairly compensated for the loss of my husband, I had to face the reality that would not be the case.

Had the investigations revealed a third-party was at fault, I’d probably be a millionaire. As it turns out, the Workers' Comp law in PA protects companies from being sued by injured workers or their families…even in the case of a fatal injury. The plus side of this law is that I did not have to go to work to support my children. Until the time I remarried, I was provided for with two-thirds of my husband’s salary and SSI. To me, that was nothing more than a slap on the wrist for the company who was responsible for my husband’s death. The OSHA report revealed that an electric box was located too close to the unit, which is suspected to have caused the spark that lit the fire.

The electric box has now been moved. The unit now has an alarm system. The workers now have regulations that require them to evacuate as soon as there is a spill. Hmm. Why weren’t these common sense factors in place prior to my husband’s death?

Was there follow up from the company? Did they care to check up on the kids as they were growing up? Of course not. The only follow up we had came from the Workers' Comp investigator who stopped by for his annual visit.

Forgive me if I’m coming across as bitter. Quite honestly, I rarely think about this, other than simply missing my husband. It just must be this anniversary. I wonder if anyone else remembers. Are Jim’s co-workers remembering him this day? Did one or two of them offer up a prayer for my girls and me?

Life is precious…and too often too short. Insidious diseases sometimes rob us of life. Drunk drivers veer into the wrong lane. Children ride their bicycles into the path of cars. Misled women choose not to give birth to their babies. People in despair end their own lives. Criminals, or jealous lovers, find ways to destroy others. The list goes on and on.

Death…it’s a part of life. But when it’s the result of someone else’s negligence and irresponsibility, it makes it just a tad harder to accept; especially when they cannot be held accountable.

That's why it's important that you take some time today to let the people you love know how you feel. Hug them extra tight. Say the words. Tomorrow it may be too late.

David writes in Psalm 56:8: You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle; are they not in Your book? God’s bottle must be awfully big, and there better be plenty of room for more. Tears are a given in life. Today, I’m going to let them fall.

Why Green Grandma?

You may be wondering why I chose the title "Green Grandma." After all, I'm not really old enough to be a grandma, am I? Alas, the calendar doesn't lie and the grandma part of the title is actually overdue.

My husband and I have a slew of daughters, with the oldest about to turn 33 next week. But it was our baby who gave us our first and she was 24 at the time! After Laura was born, I predicted a domino effect and imagined Christmases to come with a houseful of young 'uns. Ten months have gone by since the lovely little Lady Laura made her debut and there have been no more baby showers to plan...yet. Perhaps next year at this time it will be a whole different story. We can only hope.

So, although I was not eager to be called Grandma, the title now suits me well and I wear it with honor. That takes us to the "Green" end of things.

Aren't you absolutely sick and tired of hearing the word 'green?' I mean, seriously. It was under the guise of 'green' that brought about the Cash for Clunkers debacle. Yeah, baby, let's fill up the landfills with perfectly good vehicles so we can save a few miles per gallon....don't even get me started.

Maybe if the tag word for the environmental movement was blue or yellow, I wouldn't even be blogging about it. After all, it would be difficult to come up with a catchy name. Maybe "Yellow YaYa," but what would that say? No, green fits. I like the alliteration. I like how it works with the song by Kermit the Frog (one of my favorites in Jr. High). Besides, there's a certain 'coolness' to being called "Green Grandma." I feel socially relevant, unlike how I felt when my own children were young and I was a SAHM -- see even stay-at-home-moms now have identifiable initials to set them apart. Not so a couple of decades ago. Back then I was "just a housewife."

There was a certain stigma attached to staying home and raising kids.

"Maybe she's uneducated," I could hear the female business managers I met saying as I told them I didn't work. It was like I was confessing a hidden world of pornography or something. They'd gasp and back away....afraid perhaps of catching whatever it was that was ailing me. Now I realize I may be exaggerating a bit...but just a bit. Staying home and raising kids is just not as prestigious as furthering our careers. But, oh, it is just as important, if not more so.

Unfortunately for my daughter, she has to work. Not for a fancy car or a $400,000 house. She has to work for benefits. My precious grandbaby has VSD (ventricular septal defect), which may or may not mean some hefty doctor bills down the road. Fortunately, I'm available to help out and have been blessed to watch Laura through the many changes in infancy. The rewards come when this precious child reaches for me in delight when she sees me. She doesn't understand that I'm 'green.' But she will someday.

Because, the bottom line is, I'm doing it for her. Every time I choose a greener way of life, I invest in a future I won't be a part of. There's really little benefit for me. But a world of difference for her.

Choose green. Do it for Laura and all the other little ones out there who are counting on you.

Keeping it green,

Hana