Bringing Up Baby: E/The Environmental Magazine, May-June
by Jeff McIntire-Strasburg, St. Louis, MO on 05. 9.07
Bringing up a baby can be tough for treehugging parents in our mass-produced, disposable world, so the latest issue of E/The Environmental Magazine features a cover story on "Raising a Healthy Child in a TOXIC World." Writer Brita Belli's approach goes beyond buying greener baby furniture and washable diapers: rather, she notes that "It’s ... possible that raising a natural baby and minimizing one’s impact on the Earth has less to do with buying products than choosing not to engage quite so enthusiastically in the consumer culture." Among the ways to do this: "attachment parenting" (which Belli herself practices with her own child), diaper freedom, and homemade organic baby food. Products aren't completely out of the picture, though -- Belli gives (mostly) thumbs up to gDiapers, for instance.
It's not all baby talk in this issue, though. Jim Montevalli takes a look at the energy and climate change initiatives wending through the new US Congress. William I. Lengman III covers a seeming contradiction in terms: organic fast food. Other departments focus on turtle egg poaching, utility grade solar power, and investing in exchange traded funds. The May-June issue of E is available at your favorite bookstore or newsstand; subscriptions (which give you access to all content online) are $14.95 for digital only, or $19.95 for the print version. ::E/The Environmental Magazine, May-June, 2007
Photo credits: E magazine and (from left) Britta Belli, Greg Nickson and Elizabeth Parise
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- Renew Magazine: Solar Lawn Mowers and Community Wind Farms
The absolute best way to disengage from the frenzy is to share, borrow, give away, Freecycle, inherit, garage sale, ebay, or reuse all of that baby stuff out there. SO MUCH stuff sits in closets, attics, and basements waiting for that "if/when we have the next one," but these are durable goods that could be used and returned before "the next one." Most parents know enough other parents whose kids are 12 months older or more, and that is a great resource for things like strollers, car seats, swings, bathtubs, and clothes. Our four-month-old even got "pre-softened" cotton diapers and diaper covers from friends whose two-year-old had worn them.