Creation Care

I was going to save this post for Earth Day in April, but I thought, why wait??  I found a great resource for everyday tips on how to take small simple steps towards saving the planet.  I thought I would share a few ideas with you that we've recently implemented in our lives.  I would also recommend that you pick up a copy of this great book.  I actually got mine at Kohl's.  They have them available right now for only $5 as part of their Kohl's Cares for Kids campaign.  100% of the profit from the purchase of this book is donated to support children's health and education nationwide.  If you don't have a Kohl's in your area you can order in online at Amazon.

So here are a few ideas...

1. Since coffee is a part of most of our morning routines, I thought this one would be a great place to start.  When you buy ground or whole-bean coffee, look for varieties with organic, Fair Trade, Bird Friendly, or Rainforest Alliance certification seals.   These labels represent coffee farms that practice sustainable agriculture to preserve or restore rain forest ecosystems.  Just one household switching to certified coffee for a year is enough to protect 9,200 square feet of rain forest.  If everyone in Seattle switched to certified coffees, a rain forest area the size of that city could be saved each year.

Green Mountain Coffee is actually very easy to find and is available at most grocery stores (and Target of course!).  This coffee tastes really good too, so that's always nice!

2.  Ok, this one might sound silly...but make sure the cotton balls you are buying are actually made of 100% cotton, as some cotton balls contain polyester.  The production of polyester uses 67% more energy than the production of cotton.  They also make organic cotton balls that don't contain bleach or chlorine - this is obviously a better choice for the health of your family and the environment.

You can get 100% cotton, cotton balls at almost all retailers, but if you want cotton balls made from organic cotton then you'll probably have to go to a health food store or order them online at somewhere like The Ethical Super Store - great site!  I'll be honest, we don't use organic cotton balls, but we certainly make sure to buy 100% cotton.

3.  This is a super easy one, and apparently becoming quite the trend because it seems like every store I go to they have reusable shopping bags for sale with their store's logo on it!    The Pampered Chef has even come out with our own version :)  So when you are asked, "paper or plastic?" at checkout, have your stack of reusable canvas or cloth shopping bags ready to sack your groceries in.  If you must use paper or plastic, choose paper...Grocery baggers usually fill paper bags with more items than they do plastic bags, and paper bags can be easily reused.  Moreover, paper bags have a better chance of being recycled.  Good idea is to always keep them in your car so when you go to the store you've got them handy.

These adorable pink and black reusable shopping bags will be available in May during Pampered Chef's Help Whip Cancer campaign.  A portion of the proceeds goes to the American Cancer Society for breast cancer reserach and early detection programs.  Be sure to contact me in May to get yours and stock up!!

The book has TONS of more ideas.  It's a starting point for anyone who wants to become more environmentally friendly.  It's in basic terms and answers a lot of questions like why we should turn off the lights in our house, why we should recycle, and are any of these efforts really making a difference.

This book gives the scientific and practical reasoning behind making simple, smart yet significant changes...But if you want the scriptural lessons of personal responsibility, simplicity, and stewardship then another book I would reccomend is Matthew Sleeth's Serve God, Save the Planet - great read!

 The Lord has given us dominion over the Earth and we have been entrusted to take care of His creation.  What better reason to care for the environment than that?