We're overdue for a collective shift toward a more just, cooperative and ecologically sustainable culture. 

  If not now, when?

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           Naturally Peaceful Families

                         ( a work in progress)

 


"Play is a young child's primary occupation. Through play, children develop their imagination, their understanding of the world around them, and their critical thinking skills. Through play, children also have the opportunity to learn about their environment, and how important it is to protect it."  -  Green Guide Families


        


"When children are fed a diet of video games instead of real-life frogs and bugs they are deprived of crucial nutrients for their psychological and spiritual development. These kids grow up to be alienated adults who do not know how they fit into the big picture and who are less likely to care about ecological issues. Having unstructured childhood experiences in wild nature plays a central role in the making of environmental activists, whereas having only electronic information about the plight of the planet actually tends to turn people away from environmental activism." 

         Andy Fisher (Radical Ecopsychology)


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"One of the most important choices we can make is to reduce the distinction between the child in India and our own children as much as possible - to use a fair share of the planet's resources. But what a fair share actually is depends on how many people there are in the world sharing."

And right now, we have a lot of people sharing this precious planet.


     ___ World Population Statistics ___ 


     what goes up must come down     



       (in collaboration with Lyn Simon)

Let's face it though, "most of our environmental problems stem from large
numbers of people
 consuming too much, especially in rich places like North America.



 

"Obviously, women aren't the only ones who create babies - but study after study has shown that
 population policy is linked to policies on women, and that population and women's status are inevitably
 tied together. We cannot talk about population without talking about women's lives and women's bodies."

"Policymakers concerned about humanity's growing numbers would find their interests best served by    guaranteeing women everywhere the full spectrum of human rights.
 For example, fertility rates drop when women and girls are able to realize their right to education;
in fact, according to the World Bank,
it is estimated that one year of female schooling reduces fertility by 10 percent.
Women with formal education are much more likely to use reliable family planning methods, delay
marriage and childbearing, and have fewer and healthier babies than women with no formal education."
                                              Sharon Astyk (quoted from "Depletion and Abundance")
                                                   http://sharonastyk.com/
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  "Strong families and communities that build relationships of mutual trust and caring
and that support all people in realizing the potentials of their humanity are the best
 guarantee of human security."    
                                                                                             (David Korten)

                                               
                 check out:

    "The Hurried Child: Growing up Too Fast Too Soon" by David Elkind 

     "Living Simply With Children" by Marie Sherlock

     "Earth in Mind" by David Orr

     National Geographic's "Green Guide Families" (The Complete Reference for Eco-Friendly Parents)

     This book offers good advice and hard facts.
You've got to wonder though, who chose the book cover, with a photo of a baby wearing disposable diapers? Aside from the fact that disposable diapers contain a number of toxins, including dioxins, styrene and acrylic acid, they take about 500 years to break down in landfills.
* Can any single use item be considered "green"?
                                                                                                              

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