What EVERYONE should know: Climate Change, the IPCC, & The Price ofCarbon Pollution

Since climate change was my main reason for starting this blog, let's talk about the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC operates under the umbrella of the United Nations and its purpose is "to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts."

Last week the IPCC released their 5th report on climate change. Here are the biggest conclusions:

•  Scientists say global warming is "unequivocal." They report with 95% certainty that human activities are responsible for the increase in global average temperatures since 1950. This is up from 90% certainty in the last IPCC report.
• Humanity can emit 1 trillion tons of CO2 in order to keep warming below 2 degrees celsius (3.6 degrees Farhenheit), which is what they say is needed to avoid the most catastophic effects of climate change. We have already emitted more than half of that through burning fossil fuels and destroying forests and other ecosystems.
• At this rate, we will reach 1 trillion tons of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by 2040.

But don't just take my word for it. You can read the IPCC report summary yourself to get more facts, figures, statistics and trends, or consider reading this Grist article. Also read this amusing, yet factual BuzzFeed post which responds to many of the lies that "deniers" cling to in order to confuse people into thinking that climate change is not real or dangerous. If you are totally new to climate science read my laymans summary.

Why should we worry about climate change? Professor Sir Brian Hoskins, from Imperial College London summed it up nicely for BBC News when he said, "We are performing a very dangerous experiment with our planet, and I don't want my grandchildren to suffer the consequences of that experiment." Well, I certainly don't want my children to suffer the consequences either, and I know this is a common sentiment among parents and grandparents around the country and the world. Let's not beat around the bush: runaway climate change threatens most life on earth. Maybe the cockroaches will be fine.

Americans are not worried enough about climate change. That needs to change. We should have more people marching in the streets demanding action from our politicians. We need more individuals to divest from fossil fuels, invest in renewables, and reduce their own carbon footprint. I have shared with you what my family has done so far, but we all need to become fossil fuel free, ASAP. 100%.

We can't do it alone as concerned individuals though. The most effective way to drastically reduce CO2 emissions at this time is to put a price on carbon. Make polliters pay. I will explore this more in future posts, but to get you started, watch this:




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The Day We Almost Got Sheep

Here on our little gentleman's farm we have chickens and goats. We have been talking about getting sheep since we moved here 3 years ago. We haven't yet done it because in all of those years we have either had an infant or I have been pregnant. But now, that our family is complete, perhaps the time for sheep is nearing. Their primary function would be to mow the lawn, but with sheep comes wool, so maybe I would finally learn to knit, or at least spin yarn and let others do the knitting.

Last week I got a message from a friend who saw a post that there were 4 Icelandic sheep in Connecticut who needed to find a home quickly or they would be shot. Knowing what suckers animal lovers we are, my friend asked us if perhaps we would take the sheep. After a couple quick texts between me and my husband and an email with a local friend who raises sheep, we decided sure, let's bring them to Vermont.

My thoughts that day quickly turned to ones of buying fencing and pounding in posts, trying to find a hay supplier, and building a shelter, or perhaps they could live in the unused half of our garage/barn. It already houses the chicken coop, so why not?

I read about Icelandic sheep, a historic breed from Iceland, the closest you can get to wild sheep. Their beautiful and rare brown wool. How big they are (160 lbs), daily care (which is minimal). Where would the pasture be? My son thought they should go in between the chickens and the goats, my husband thought the sheep yard would be in the front lawn by the maple trees and the dirt road.

But the hours ticked by and I didn't hear back from the woman who was trying to re-home them. I realized these Icelandic sheep would not be ours, and I was a little sad, but a little relieved. It would have been a weekend of nothing but digging fence posts if they were coming.

Maybe next spring we will finally get our sheep.

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The Hidden Garden and the Bees

Once upon a time, a master flower gardener owned the house that I now own, and the lawns were filled with exquisite flower gardens. There were so many flowers that the upkeep was a full time job. Sadly, she fell ill and was no longer able to care for them. The house went up for sale, and the gardens were entirely abandoned.

A few years later, my husband and I bought the house. We focused on updating its long neglected interior when we moved in that fall. In the spring, while my son napped in the car in the driveway, I began raking away the long, dried weeds and grasses that sprung up in the gardens by the front walkway. If nothing else, my raking made the walkway more visible so guests could find our front door.

Then something wonderful happened. Between all the weeds grew daffodils and tulips, and countless other perennials. But with an active 1 year old to chase, and another pregnancy that grew into a beautiful baby girl, the gardens were completely neglected once again. Today they look like this:

But then came a silver lining to our unkempt, hidden garden: Wild asters, which are magnets for honey bees. These asters are not only in our walkway garden, but in the chicken yard, and anywhere else the lawn mower can't reach. When you get near them they are literally buzzing with bees.

wild asters

wild asters

This discovery makes me happy because honey bees around the world have been in a steep decline since the 2000s, due to the use of Neonicotinoids, a popular pesticide used on many crops since the 1990s. Maddeningly, the use of neonicotinoids in the US continues to grow despite its effects on bees (and other insects). Therefore, any plant that supports healthy bees populations is fantastic in my book. Maybe I won't worry about my front walkway looking like a wild field anymore. And beekeeping (or at least hive-hosting) was definitely on my homesteading to-do list already. Mother Nature has created the bee garden I wanted all on her own.

Bees are critical because they pollinate so many food crops. Consider this image of what your grocery store produce section looks like now thanks to bees, and what it would look like if all the bees were gone.



Bees need our support. Will you help them too?

Sign a Petition:
Greenpeace's Campaign to Save Bees
A Change.org petition to ban chemicals harmful to bees

Learn how you can create healthy habitat for bees
http://www.buzzaboutbees.net/save-the-bees.html
http://www.savehoneybees.org/


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Start a Local Moms Blog in Your City

Have you noticed that I recently became a writer for BurlingtonVT Moms Blog? My next post for them will go live on Monday, September 30th! It has been such a great opportunity to develop my writing, play a part in connecting moms in our city, and to get to know the other women on our fabulous team.

BurlingtonVT Moms Blog is an amazing resource for moms in the Burlington area and we are passionate about what we do! I’m proud to be part of something that is making a positive influence on both our beautiful city here AND on a national level! Did you know BurlingtonVT Moms Blog has over 30 Sister Sites around the country?

These 30+ Sister Sites make up City Moms Blog Network. Each site is written and run by local moms, for local moms. They provide parenting information unique to their community, and to make things even more fun, they each throw fabulous events to get moms in their cities out on the town.

This network of locally focused moms blogs has empowered women all over the country to start their own businesses. When someone joins City Moms Blog Network as a Sister Site owner, they are joining a family that is eager to encourage and support one another. Sister Sites are provided with assistance in the startup phase, ongoing education and resources for continued support, and a community of fellow site owners eager to share best practices.

With the help of City Moms Blog Network, these Sister Site owners are able to become entrepreneurs (mompreneurs) and local influencers, all while doing something they love and are passionate about. I have loved watching the co-founders of BurlingtonVT Moms Blog grow it into what it is today, and I am thankful and proud of the part I am now playing in that!

Is there a City Moms Blog Network Sister Site in your area? City Moms Blog Network is currently looking for Sister Site owners in 25 specific cities in California, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington. If you or someone you know might be interested in impacting moms in your community like BurlingtonVT Moms Blog is, jump at this opportunity to join CMBN with your own Sister Site. These ladies are passionate about what they do and would love to partner with YOU to do the same! Visit http://citymomsblog.com/start-a-sister-site/

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Facebook 'Like' Etiquette

I 'like' a lot of things on Facebook (with my personal account). I 'like' things that are funny, or cute, or fascinating. I also follow a lot of environmental and climate change organizations. I 'like' a lot of petitions for action, and memes with meaningful statistics decrying environmental destruction, celebrating renewable energy growth, or calling out ridiculous policies and politicians. I 'like' the un-cute and not-funny things because I want to support those causes that I have chosen to follow. Isn't that the essence of why we post things on Facebook? Individuals post to get feedback and support for our own satisfaction and validation. Organizations post to get support, spread the word, and create buzz about their cause. Otherwise no one would ever post anything at all.

The trouble is, Facebook shows all my 'likes' to all my closest friends.

"Do I 'like' too much stuff on Facebook?" I asked my husband, "I mean, does it all show up in your feed?"

"Short answer, yes." he replied matter of factly, "but I visit your page a lot so I see everything."

Oh dear. I don't want to be that annoying Facebook friend who you end up hiding because every move I make is recorded and shared for all my friends to see. I've been told many times, "Oh, I saw that thing you posted." When really I didn't post it at all, it was just an innocent 'like' because I agreed with the organization who made the post and wanted them to know it.

Here's a novel idea Facebook, only share my activity with my friend list when I specifically 'share' them. That way if there is a petition or factoid that I simply cannot restrain myself from sharing, I can purposefully share it. To not click that 'like' button on posts that are important to me is hard to do. It feels like I have to censor myself so that I don't flood the newsfeed.

Do you 'like' a lot of posts on FB? What's your take?

And don't forget to 'like' Mama of Ma'at on FB...  :) hehe.

What I Love

A lot of people still think of climate change as something that will happen in the distant future. Many projections talk about dire consequences by 2100, which can still seem very far away to some. By 2100 my own little children will be ages 88 and 90.

But really, climate change is happening already. Think of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. There was Hurricane Irene in 2011 which devastated much of my home state of Vermont. The Midwest, our nation's breadbasket, has been hit hard by severe drought for several years in a row now. Right now there is the Biblical flooding in Colorado and major storms on both coasts of Mexico. Hong Kong was just narrowly missed by a huge typhoon (Usagi) this week, and in Japan last week 500,000 people were rendered homeless by flooding from typhoon Man-yi. This is just a small sampling of recent extreme weather events. These types of events are growing more frequent and more devastating, thanks to climate change.  

Many of us in the US, are still largely insulated from the impacts of superstorms, floods, droughts, rising sea-level, and ocean acidification. It is easy to be lulled into a reassuring state of thinking yes, climate change is bad, but it's still far away and doesn't personally affect me. 

So, I would like to share a poignant tool (below) that aims to help people understand that the things they love today are already under threat by climate change.

"The real threat of climate change isn’t what it means for polar bears. 

It’s what the crisis means for the things that make us who we are."

Visit WhatILove.org and choose the people, places, and things that define your life … then discover how climate change will directly impact each one.

I chose 8 things that matter to me: kids, cookies, water, wildlife, swimming, gardening, peace and humanity. Then you can click to get a brief summary of how climate change threatens each of those things.

It's a tool designed to inspire you to protect the things you love, and add your voice in the fight against climate change. It affects every aspect of our lives, and if you don't fight for what you love, what will be left?


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Growing Up as a Family

My husband and I have decided that our family is complete. No more babies for us. As a result, I have started looking at couples announcing first pregnancies or navigating the first year of their baby's life in the same way that I looked at college freshman when I was a recent graduate. They are excited, nervous, a bit naive, but in for a great, life-changing adventure.

We have completed the pregnancy and infant stage. It was absolutely wonderful, and it's sad to let it go, but I'm ready. We are ready as a family to move on to new things. I love the stage that we are at right now with a toddler and a preschooler. Now my kids can communicate their needs much of the time, they can walk and run, they laugh at jokes, they do funny and brilliant things. My husband and I can teach them things, do fancier projects and read increasingly interesting stories at bed time.

I'm starting to see the light at the end of the diaper tunnel, I looking forward to steadily reducing the baby gear needed for really little ones: carriers and special dishes and high chairs. I'm looking forward to (hopefully) more restful nights with fewer interruptions. I'm excited for the activities we will be able to do with our kids as they grow: family trips, movies, theater, school functions, etc.

Life will get easier in a way once we are really free of naps and diapers and gear. Our activities and interactions will become more sophisticated. But parenting will get more complex too as my children grow from cuddly, mommy/daddy-worshiping babies into real kids with their own sense of self: dealing with conflicting ideas on what is appropriate behavior, rebellion, sibling rivalry, and letting them out into the wider world where I can't protect them from every hurt. We are definitely in the Authority stage with my 3 year old, as described by Ellen Galinsky. Setting and enforcing rules can be really difficult, and this is only the beginning!

I'm sure parents in each stage of parenthood look back at the earlier stages in the same way I now look at those in the pregnancy and infant stage--with both a sense of nostalgia and relief that they made it through. The important thing, of course, is to enjoy each stage and live it to the fullest while you're in it.

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Why I Don't Cloth Diaper

I am a perfect candidate to cloth diaper my kids:

1. I care about the environment. I know that disposable diapers are made out of plastic, which is derived from petroleum. Petroleum = fossil fuel= climate change. 
2. I know these diapers end up in landfills where they contribute to the generation and release of methane (a greenhouse gas). 
3. I know we use up at least one big box of diapers every month, and that's a lot of trash. Especially during the one year that I had two kids in diapers.

Yet, I still don't use cloth diapers. Why?

Cloth diapers are cute, but sorry, they are not a good fit for this Mama.

By the time my son was a little over one year old, I knew a lot of moms who cloth diapered and loved it. They assured me it's not so bad. I could like it too. Ok, I thought. I felt like it was kind of late to start with my son, but I was pregnant with my daughter and thought maybe with her I would give it a try. I did a little research that suggested maybe waiting until my daughter went through the first few months of her life made sense, because by then she wouldn't soil diapers at such a rapid rate. Around the same time I found an awesome diaper service in Burlington. Maybe I could cloth diaper both kids afterall. I did a little research and got totally overwhelmed by the thought of having to order inserts, and then I would still have to get diaper covers. Then of course the diaper covers have to be replaced as the child grows. The diaper service would deliver clean inserts, pick up the dirty ones, and do all the washing for me. But the service was even more expensive than my monthly boxes of diapers. And then there was the fact that this business would be driving all over the county delivering diapers, generating extra CO2 emissions to come to me every week.

What if I bought some cloth diapers and did the washing myself? Well, cloth diapers are expensive. I don't know how the cost compares to disposable diaper use exactly, though I have heard that it doesn't offer much savings unless you use those same cloth diapers on more than one of your children. Regardless, the upfront cost of cloth diapers is daunting. For me, it's less painful to buy a month's supply of disposables than it is to spend hundreds of dollars all at once. Then, changing disposable diapers is bad enough, I didn't really want to get even closer in handling my child's feces. Then the thought of putting soiled diapers in my own washing machine wasn't very appealing either despite the special soaps. Plus, I would be doing a lot more loads of laundry in hot water, (we are a mostly cold water household), which would drive up our fuel oil bill.

Then, I saw some diapers for sale, second hand from some mom friends. Maybe this is what could finally get me to go cloth! But then the whole topic started again with type of insert, type of covers, sizes, how absorbent the diapers still were despite being used, etc. I ran for the hills. I'm sorry, but I like to spend 10 seconds picking a box of diapers off a grocery store shelf once a month and be done.

When it comes to having a lighter impact on the earth we all have different passions and priorities. Clearly, cloth diapering is a passion for lots of moms out there, but, despite being educated on the subject, it is not my passion and never will be. Maybe if I had met the right pro-cloth diapering people before my son was born I would have felt different and cloth diapering could have made more sense. At this point, I see the light at the end of the diaper tunnel. I just hope my daughter will potty train by age 2 like my niece and lots of other girls we know, and not hold out until age 3 like my son, nephew, and lots of little boys we know. Here's hoping!

Bad truck!

Even without climate deniers standing in the way of concrete, sweeping actions to mitigate the worst effects of climate change, switching away from a carbon-based (ie: gas, oil, coal based) economy will take major dedication, creativity, and mass mobilization.

It is doable, don't get me wrong. We already have the tools we need. But have you ever noticed just how tied we are to fossil fuels even on a cultural level?

Even toddler/preschooler culture is rife with fossil fuels. My son loves trucks, what little kid doesn't? They are fascinating. But they also represent fossil fuels. In one episode of Dora, Dora takes her friend Firetruck to the gas station. I have watched "Mighty Machines" with my son where we saw trucks building a new gas pipeline. We have seen episodes where they blast away mountain tops to cart away rock for gravel. We have a book where trucks carry coal from a coal mine. 

Bad coal truck!

We always add "Bad truck!" when we read that page. My son does too. 

To counterbalance, my son also has this awesome windmill t-shirt that his Grandma found. He knows all about solar panels too. Well, as much as a 3 year old can know about them.

Whimsical windmill tee

And how awesome would it be if Dora's Firetruck friend was a rapid charge, plug-in electric truck? Don't tell me that's too unrealistic, have you ever seen that show?

Be the change you want to see in the world.


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Can going green pay off (in board games)?

My husband and I enjoy playing board games. We don't play that often now with kids around, but one of our newest favorites is "Power Grid." It's a game where you buy power plants and expand your grid network around the country to power more cities than your opponent(s). The power plants are run with a variety of fuel sources including: coal, oil, combination coal/oil, trash, nuclear, wind, and fusion. The power plants also vary in 1) cost to buy them, and 2) the number of cities they can power. Each player can have a maximum of 3 (or 4 in 2 player) power plants in their portfolio. Once you have your maximum, you upgrade old plants as better plants become available. You also have to buy the appropriate fuel for each of your plants every turn to power your cities. The prices of fuel go up and down during the game. If lots of people are all relying on one fuel source the price goes up, just as it does in real life. High demand = high prices.

When I first started playing power grid, I thought it was a really clever game because it seemed to mirror the energy markets of the world. This game was not only a fun strategy game, but informative as well. However, being the eco-minded person that I am, I was always drawn to the wind plants because they were clean, renewable energy and I didn't have to buy any fuel for them. The future! But I quickly noticed that when I picked the wind plants I started losing. I mentioned this to my husband and he replied that he thought he had read "ignore green plants" if you want to win Power Grid on the message boards.

I set out to test my suspicion by playing a game with my husband. I bought fossil fuel plants to start because those are the only plants available in the beginning. As soon as the first wind plant turned up I bought it and vowed to only buy wind plants. It didn't last long. After a few turns I had adjust my rule and buy a trash powered plant. My justification was that even though trash is dirty and produces a lot of toxic byproducts when burned, at least it is not a fossil fuel. Eliminating fossil fuels is, of course, key to fighting climate change. I bought the trash plant because it could power 6 cities and I needed to up the number of cities that I could power FAST if I wanted to stay competitive. The wind plants weren't showing up often enough, and they didn't power nearly as many cities as many of the trash, nuclear, or fossil fuel plants. On one turn in the first half of the game I had to pass on buying a new power plant altogether because there were no wind (or trash) options.

For much of the game, despite my limitations in only buying wind (with the exception of my one trash plant), I stayed somewhat competitive. My husband was always a bit ahead of me in terms of the number of cities he could power. This gave him more money, and more power to buy more cities, which kept him closer to winning the entire game. Unlike me, he relied heavily on fossil fuel plants (the prices of the fossil fuels were unusually cheap due to no competition from me too) and nuclear plants.

Towards the end of the game I was once again running out of options, until, due to a lucky draw, I was able to buy a fusion plant, the most expensive power plant in the game. Fusion plants do not exist, but if they did they would be clean and incredibly powerful. Yet, in this same turn I could have bought a coal plant for a significantly cheaper price that would power more cities than a fusion plant. Really? Going fossil fuel in this instance would have allowed me to surpass my husband in the number of cities powered, and freed up cash to buy enough cities to surpass my husband and very possibly win the whole game.

My husbands winning energy portfolio (oil, coal and nukes)

My losing portfolio of wind, trash and fusion

Bottom line is, the game "Power Grid" is stacked against wind (renewable) energy and heavily favors the old ways of thinking on energy: fossil fuels and nuclear. It is  impossible to win the game by relying on renewables. The renewable wind energy plants it does offer are expensive, often weak, and few and far between. The nuclear plants are powerful, but artificially cheap compared to today's real energy market realities where nuclear plants are shutting down because the economics simply don't work. The coal and oil plants in the game are abundant, powerful, and cheap. The game does not reflect today's rapid growth in the renewable energy sector, or current projections of renewable energy sources reaching grid parity with fossil fuel sources in the near future.

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Raising Feminists

Ever since the Miley Cyrus/VMA debacle there has been a flood of articles and blogs (some progressive, some backwards) about how girls (and boys) should behave, and what to expect of the opposite sex.

I want to raise both my son and my daughter as feminists.

I was raised in a feminist household. When I was little my dad would read my sisters and I fairy tales but reverse the roles so that the girls were the ones rescuing the boys. He died when I was ten years old, so then feminism really became the default. In a household of four women we had to figure out how to get anything and everything done ourselves. There were no gender roles or limits. I love what my dad did in his storytelling for the sake of his three little girls, but it's not entirely the brand of feminism I need to teach my children. Since I have both a son and a daughter I need an all-inclusive brand of feminism...the kind that looks at gender equality including men's liberation, not just women's liberation. I want to raise them as equals, untainted by notions of what boys should do vs. what girls should do. To me, it seems like a no-brainer in this day and age.

• I want both my kids to climb trees, play in the sand, and get dirty.
• I want both my kids to make music and art and dance.
• I want both of my kids to play sports and be athletic.
• I want both of my kids to enjoy math and science.
• I want both my kids to love animals and plants and know how to care for them.
• I want both of my kids to invent and build things.
• I want both of my kids to know how to do laundry and basic sewing.
• I want both of my kids to learn to cook and clean.
• I want both of my kids to feel like babysitting is a decent way to earn pocket money as a young teen.
• I want both of my kids to mow the lawn, muck out the chicken coop, or remove a spider from the house.
• I want both of my kids to love themselves and their bodies.
• I want both of my kids to give respect to the opposite sex, and be respected by the opposite sex.
• I want both of my kids to feel confident enough to ask someone out on a date.
• I want both of my kids to feel safe when they are out at night with their friends.
• I want both of my kids to know it is OK to be the primary breadwinner, or not.
• I want both of my kids to know that raising children is a sacred and honorable job.
• I want both of my kids to know they can do and be anything they choose.

Thank Goodness for Good Teachers

Our transition to preschool went so smoothly. I was so proud (and relieved) that it wasn't a big deal. But last week, on his 5th real day of school it changed a bit. When I went to pick him up his teacher said he had a "sad day." About 10 or 15 minutes after getting dropped off by his dad, he got teary during free play. Thankfully, his teacher, who is also a friend who has known him since he was a baby, noticed. She talked with him and cheered him up, but she also couldn't leave his side or he would tear up again. She stayed with him the whole morning. How happy I am that he has such a wonderful teacher who gave him such gentle care when he was feeling sad and missing his parents!

Back at home, he recovered quickly with me, his sister, the dog, and his toys. I was grateful that he had a day off before having to go back to school. The next school morning he slept later than usual. We had a nice leisurely conversation while still in our pjs before realizing we had to get going or he would be late for school. His dad took him to school as usual, then called me to say he was quiet when he arrived at school. We both worried that he was going to have another sad day.

When I went to pick him up he seemed much happier than the previous day. I ask his 2nd teacher how he had done. She said he had gotten sad and teary again, but they had sat together and read a book called, The Kissing Hand.

The book is about a little raccoon who was sad to go to school and be away from his mom. So she gave him a kiss on the hand, and whenever he needed it, he could press his hand to his face and feel his mother's love wherever he was.

"Chester loved his Kissing Hand. Now he knew his mother's love would go with him wherever he went. Even to school."

Reading The Kissing Hand with his teacher allowed him to move past his sadness more quickly, and enjoy the school day with friends. When we got home and his sister went down for her nap, he and I settled into our big bean bag chair in front of the tv to snuggle and watch Super Why! He sat on my lap and twirled his hair like he has since he was a toddler. He needed extra cuddles after another big day at school.

 

Preschool is a big step for him out into a bigger, wider world. I'm glad he still takes so much comfort in being with me and I treasure these moments. But I am also grateful for good teachers that will help guide him when I'm not there.

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What is Stuck to the Dog?

The kids were finally in bed when Pepper woofed to go outside. I opened the door for her and she skirted out into the cool night air. Suddenly I noticed a large light colored mass on her otherwise black tail. What the heck was it?

What is stuck to Pepper's tail?

The kids hadn't seen Pepper for a while, could they have done something? I looked from the window a little longer and realized it was a toy monster keychain.

the monster keychain

But how on earth was it attached to her tail? I joined her on the deck to investigate. She wagged her tail at me which made the toy monster fall off and reveal the culprit: a burdock or burr for short.

Burdocks in bloom

I hate burrs. They are rampant on our property despite our efforts to keep them at bay. They are large leafy weeds that sprout reasonably pretty purple flowers in the late summer/early fall. Bees and butterflies like them, and I like bees and butterflies so why not the burdock? Because they are sharp, sticky, and spiny. Before long those pretty purple flowers turn into brown, ugly balls of spikes that stick to clothes and best of all--the fur of my dog Pepper who loves exploring in the weeds hunting mice, frogs and snakes.

How burdocks usually appear

This happens to me all too often

 

Not my dog, but this frequently happens to her too.

As much as I hate burrs and their spiny, spiky flowers, did you know that they provided the inspiration for velcro? I love velcro because it allows preschoolers to put on their own sneakers and that is a wonderful thing. Thanks, burdock.

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My Daughter's First Baby Music Class

When my son was 1 year old we had fun going to baby classes together. Now that my he is in preschool, it is my daughter's turn. We signed up for Music Together at the Flynn Space. The timing of the class worked out perfectly and was one the only baby class I found that didn't interfere with preschool pickup. Flynn Space staff were especially accommodating and let us in the early class even though it was already full since I told them it was the only section that fit our schedule.

My 17 month old daughter wasn't so sure when we first walked in the room, but as soon as she saw the box of musical instruments in the middle of the rug on the floor she changed her mind. She grabbed a stick and an egg shaker and didn't let go. We had arrived early and all the other kids and moms (plus a dad) trickled in. The kids ranged in age from 1 to 3 years old. The teacher, Alison, was very warm and friendly. Half of the class was children she had already taught in a previous class, and half of us were newbies. Alison was very understanding of each child and their stage of development. She didn't mind if kids were wandering around the room, or refusing to give up a musical stick even when everyone else had already turned theirs in (that was my daughter on more than one occasion). She understands that kids learn in different ways and participate at different levels, but they are all still learning.

Alison, Music Together

The class started with a welcome song where each child's name was sung. Each child was given a nametag to wear, or for the parent to wear if the child was unwilling (once again this was my daughter). The class was nonstop action with songs with hand and finger movements. Then we would get up and walk, run, and tiptoe in a circle while singing. It was a combination of Alison singing a capella, and singing with recordings. She brought out percussion instruments for the kids to bang and shake, and scarves to dance and wiggle with.

My daughter loved it. She laughed and danced and participated to the best of her ability shaking percussion instruments in a rudimentary rhythm. Alison even noticed one of her actions during a song and incorporated it for the whole group to copy. By the time we got to the scarves dancing, she was getting hungry though. She picked up some scarves at first and waved them around. Then suddenly she dropped them and both signed and verbalized "all done."  "You're all done? Ok." I said, and picked her up to try and keep her scarf dancing a little longer. She was not impressed and ripped her nametag off my shirt, tossed it on the floor, and repeated her sign for "all done" followed by her sign for "hungry, eat!"

We muddled through the last few minutes of class, which ended with lights out and some quiet time while Alison sang a lullaby while accompanying herself with guitar, then a goodbye song. "Eat! Eat!" my daughter signed while making loud smacking noises with her mouth. "Ok, we're really all done now." I conceded.

Alison provided us all with books and a cd of the songs she teaches during class to bring home and learn. I think it's going to be a great class. Next time I will just be sure to make sure my daughter has a bigger snack beforehand.

Music materials provided by Music Together

Transition to Preschool

Last spring when my 3 year old was getting particularly challenging I couldn't wait until fall and the start of preschool. As it got closer my feelings changed a bit. I alternated between being excited for him to start school so I could have a little time to bond with just my daughter, and thinking maybe he should stay home and not start school until he is 4. Afterall, once he starts school he will be in it for the next 15-22 years. What's the rush? I should keep my baby boy at home as long as I can.

He was ready for school though, and in truth, I was too. There comes a time when children need a bit more than they can get at home from their parents. Preschool will teach him to be apart from me, listen to other adults, play and share with other kids.

His preschool orientation was on August 30th and went well. He settled happily into playing while his father and I filled out a plethora of paperwork. His first real day of school on the Wednesday after Labor Day was a bit surreal. We all went to drop him off, say hello to his teachers, and see his brand new cubby. Then we left and it was no big deal. No tears, no "Don't go Mommy/Daddy!" He just played with the other boys at the sandtable.

at his cubby

It was a gorgeous day so when I returned home I took my daughter for a long walk in the stroller with our dog. We walked down to the beach, then all the way to the local winery. She slept almost the whole time. It felt amazing to be out, just me, sleeping baby girl, and our dog. It's the same thing I used to do all the time when my son was a baby.

on our long walk

When we returned home baby girl wanted to play on our playset and ride her bike. It felt strange but wonderful to focus solely on her. I could help her climb and experience things instead of just supervise and keep her brother from knocking her over or stealing whatever she had acquired. By the time we went inside we still had 90 minutes before pick up time (we had been out for 2 hours already). 3.5 hours can really feel like a long time when developing a new routine.

bike riding/walking

At 11:15 I asked my daughter if she was ready to go get her brother at school. She did not give the excited response I was expecting. I think she enjoyed the solo time too! To be fair though, she was hungry and wanting lunch, not a car ride. Back at the preschool, my son didn't even notice when we arrived to pick him up. He was too busy playing in the sandbox.

"Did you have fun at school today?" I asked when I finally got his attention.

"Yes." he replied.

"Are you ready to come home?"

"No."

"Ok, how about a few more minutes and then we go home for lunch?"

"Ok."

He got an excellent report from his teachers on how well he settled into the routine and participated during "meeting time." Once we were in the car I got happy stories from him about what he did and what toys he played with, and then we called Daddy to give him the report too.

I think we are all going to enjoy this transition to preschool.

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Happy (belated) Grandparents Day

Yesterday (Sunday 9/8) was Grandparents Day, did you know? I should have known because I saw an advertisement for it on PBS Sprout. Still, I managed to forget. Other than that one mention on PBS, I haven't seen other commercials or signs for Grandparents day. I don't know that it's reached the same level of hype as Mother's Day or Father's Day, or maybe I just don't get out shopping much.

Nevertheless, grandparents are so important. My kids are lucky that they have all 3 of their living grandparents located on the same 5 acres of land. They are also amazingly fortunate to have 3 living great-grandparents. Although we didn't celebrate Grandparents' Day in the traditional sense of saying "Happy Grandparent's Day!" while handing each grandparent a card or other present, we did celebrate this weekend in a way--just spontaneously. It was a grandparent and great-grandparent filled weekend.

On Saturday my mom came over and we made tomato sauce. We purchased a half bushel of tomatoes from a local farm and had to process them fast. We spent the day, me, my son, and my mom, peeling and chopping, boiling and sauteing and ended up with some delicious tomato sauce to freeze. It was a recipe that my mom learned many years ago before she had kids herself, now passed down to the next generation. Though my son is still too little to help that much, it was still a fun, multi-generation project.

3 generations making tomato sauce

On Sunday my mother-in-law invited us over to her 95 year old father's house for brunch. Her father is known as Papa Bear, and of course, he is my son's great-grandfather. There we were, Grandma, Grandpa, Papa Bear and us, 4 generations, having a delicious meal of muffins, eggs, bacon and fruit on a gorgeous early fall day in a house on the lake.

"Papa Bear," said my son over breakfast, "do you know I flew an airplane at the Fair?" 

"You did?" Papa Bear asked. "Just like I used to fly planes."

How great that my son can have an actual conversation with his great-grandfather? Though he may not remember it when he's older, it is such a priceless thing.

Grandma and the kids at Papa Bear's beach

The only one of my grandparents that I ever met was already suffering from dementia by the time I was old enough to remember her. I am grateful that my kids get to enjoy their grandparents and grow up with a large, loving family. Happy (belated) Grandparents' Day!

Similarities in Parenting & Env. Policy Making

Parenting and environmental policy making have some striking similarities. Trying to mold and guide your children can be much like trying to mold and guide a state, country, or even the international community to protect the environment. Here's why:


COMMAND & CONTROL

Policy making: Command and Control is when the government tells an industry what objective they must meet, and can penalize an industry for its failure to comply. For example, the 1989 Montreal Protocol established specific targets to reduce the use gases that depleted the ozone layer. This forced the refrigerant industry to come up with new, safer gases for refrigeration. It is considered by many to be the most successful international treaty because it was ratified by 197 countries and has been continually revised and made more stringent. 


Parenting: I use command and control with my kids when I tell my son that his post-bath bedtime routine starts at 7:00 pm. The objective is to get him in his bed, tucked in with lights out by 7:30. If he is stalling too much I can penalize him by threatening to reduce the number of books we read before lights out. He only rarely has ever lost a storybook.

Ronald Reagan & Margaret Thatcher - 2 champions of the Montreal Protocol

CAP & TRADE
 
Policy making: Cap and Trade is a policy tool that sets an upper limit on a type of pollutant but gives sources of that pollutant some flexibility on how they comply. One of the most successful examples is the Acid Rain Program which set a time-decreasing cap on how much sulfur dioxide coal powered plants could emit. Plants could buy and sell available permits based on their needs. This created an incentive to find ways to reduce their emissions, and allows plants that could easily reduce their emissions to sell excess permits to plants that were slower to innovate.

Parenting: I cooked some noodles for dinner because it seems that is all my kids ever want to eat. Well, that and fruit. But one night my daughter was so hungry that she ate all her noodles and asked for more. Sadly, the pot was empty and the only noodles left were in her brother's bowl. She asked him for some of his noodles, and thankfully, he was happy to share, at least that night. I had a finite number of noodles and they had to work it out between themselves how to divvy them up. But unlike sulfur dioxide emission permits, I won't be decreasing the noodle supply at dinner.


VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS

Policy making: Governments institute voluntary programs when their regulatory capacity is weak Governments therefore make it optional for affected parties to comply and provide incentives for them to do so. One example here in Vermont is the Home Performance with Energy Star program. It's a voluntary program for homeowners to better insulate their homes, thus improving their efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions. The program offers grants to homeowners to reduce the overall cost of insulating their homes. My family participated in this program and it significantly reduced the cost of the project.

Parenting:  Voluntary programs, when it comes to parenting, are helpful when you enthusiastically suggest to your 3 year old, "Let's pick up the playroom!" then he screams "No!"  You spend a moment asking with him  again as he repeatedly says, "No! I wouldn't!" So you wrack your brain on how to get him to listen to you, then with a bit of desperation say, "If you help me clean up I will give you some chocolate chips!" Suddenly he is willing to pick up at least a little.

 

My son trying to recreate his standard retort "No, I wouldn't!"

He's smiling too much though.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS (EIS)

Policy making: An EIS is a document required by the National Environmental Policy Act for development projects that "significantly affect the quality of the human environment." EIS reports are supposed to identify plausible alternatives for proposed projects and determine which alternative would have the least negative impact. A rather notorious EIS in today's media is for the Keystone XL pipeline, which is supposed to carry tar sands from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico where it will then be shipped to Asian markets. The pipeline is controversial for many reasons, but two reasons are 1) because of how dirty and destructive tar sands are, and 2) the impact it will have on climate change. The latest investigation of the Keystone XL pipeline EIS is whether the consultant who performed the study had a conflict of interest because they have consulted for oil companies in the past. Ideally, the EIS should be objective, and truly informative about whether a project should be pursued or not, and how. It also provides a sounding board for the public and other interest groups to weigh in.

Parenting: In this case, your child is the equivalent of "the environment" and we as parents are constantly taking stock of our choices and alternatives and considering whether we are creating the best possible outcomes for our child. Am I too strict? Too lenient? Should I sign her up for x,y,z? How can I get him to eat more vegetables? What do I do about tantrums? When should she start potty training? We contemplate the various strategies we have seen in practice or read about and pick the best option for us. All the while we get advice and input from friends, our own parents, and even strangers when we are in public--whether welcome or not.

So there you have it. Policy is not that unlike parenting.

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What I Wish My 3 Year Old Could Understand

To my 3 year old son,

One of the most important lessons that you will learn over the course of your life is simple: Be Yourself.

It can be a hard lesson to learn. Peer pressure during your school years can be harsh. Culture will tell you to be this way or that way to fit in with your classmates and want you to follow the latest trends or risky behaviors. Luckily we aren't talking about that level of peer pressure--yet.

The reason I wish you could understand how important it is to "Be Yourself" is because lately, you are forgetting. You have forgotten how pleased you were to learn new words, and speak in sentences, and how proud Daddy and I were of you that we can talk and tell stories together. You worked so hard to learn every new skill you could in your 3 short years. You have become such a funny and charming boy. You are so smart, athletic, artistic, strong, and can do so many cool things.You are becoming more independent too. Remember just this week you went outside all by yourself, for the first time ever, to collect fallen leaves for an art project!

Your sister is just shy of 17 months old and this summer she learned to walk and now she is learning to talk. She has become more opinionated and is developing a personality of her own. You see these developments in her, and you see how proud Daddy and I are of her to be growing into herself and her own personality and acquiring new skills--the same way that you did at that age (and continue to do)! So the green-eyed monster rears its ugly head a lot lately. You know the green-eyed monster....it appeared on a recent episode of The Berenstain Bears where Sister Bear was jealous of Brother Bear's new bike.

From: The Berentain Bears and the Green Eyed Monster

You copy your sister, her grunts and gestures, her way of baby talk. You want to be carried, and dressed, and treated like her. What you don't understand is that she wants to be a big kid like you. She wants to run and jump and be silly just like you. She wants to talk like you and play whatever you play. At your soccer lessons this summer Daddy and I had to constantly pull her away from trying to kick soccer balls so she wouldn't get run over by 3 and 4 year olds. She is still just 1 and rather wobbly. She can't yet do all the wonderful things you can do, but boy does she wish she could!

You don't have to be like your sister to get our love and affection. You just have to Be Yourself. Your wonderful 3 year old self! I'm sorry if I'm not making that obvious. I'll try harder, and I will be patient, and someday you will understand.

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Poem for an Old Dishwasher

Today we got a replacement dishwasher, brand new!

Sorry, but I have to say:  it wasn't me, it was you.

I will not feel sorry, I will not feel sad.

Yes, your washing technique was really that bad.

Running empty washes with bleach to keep you moderately clean 

just didn't feel right, know what I mean?

I've waited and wished for this day to come.

Does that mean I've gotten boring? That I'm no longer young?

But with two kids to feed and lots of dishes to wash--

You just couldn't cut it, so you got the kibosh.

Your sleek replacement is here. It's quieter too.

It does its job wonderfully, making dishes look new.

Old

New

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What's All the Fuss About Solar Net-Metering?

In Vermont, and nationwide, a controversy is stirring over rooftop solar net-metering. Net-metering is a program offered by utilities that allows homeowners with solar panel systems to sell excess power they generate back to the utility ($0.20/kwh). Net-metered customers who use the same amount of electricity that they generate can zero out their bill, or even carry credits (to be used within 1 year).

The problem with net-metering, according to utilities, is that traditional customers end up subsidizing net-metered customers. Net-metered customers can zero out their annual bills by generating the same amount the power they use, and therefore don't end up paying fees to support line maintenance and efficiency programs by Efficiency Vermont--a nonprofit that helps increase energy efficiency in homes and businesses. Just recently Vermont Electric Co-op's CEO said that traditional customers are cross-subsidizing net-metered customers by paying 40% of the costs incurred by net-metered customers to the transmission system (source).

Both Vermont Electric Co-op and Hardwick Electric Department have halted new solar net-meter installations. Both utilities are already getting 4% of their capacity from net-metered customers, as is the benchmark determined in 30 V.S.A. § 219a. Green Mountain Power and Burlington Electric Department are two larger utilities in the state that have not yet reached the 4% target and are not yet feeling the pinch. Washington Electric Co-op based in East Montpelier reached 6% in July, and though they have not halted new net-metering, they are slowing the impact of solar by limiting new solar PV systems to 5 kilowatt hours (source).

The real "problem" is that solar initiatives have worked and made it a real player in the energy market, so the entire utility industry is experiencing growing pains. So how about solutions? As much as I think there should be solar panels on every rooftop, it is true that someone still has to pay for the lines the electricity travels on. Even solar customers rely on the transmission lines to make their service work. The issue is that regardless of where the power is generated it still has to travel the grid so it can flow to wherever the need is. Maybe it would be reasonable to impose a "transmission lines maintenance fee" as a line item on everyone's power bills that can not be zeroed out through net-metering. Net-metered solar customers still rely on the transmission lines as much as other customers. I am a net-metered customer at VEC and don't think this would be an unreasonable proposal if done wisely.

The basic business model on which utility companies thrived for decades is being threatened by renewable energy and that's why distributors such as Vermont Electric Co-op are getting nervous. Consider Germany as the standard for localized renewable energy (solar and other sources). Individuals there own half of the country's 53,000 megawatts of renewable energy (source). They have made it work, but it has forced the downsizing of traditional utilities and the closure of fossil fuel plants (source and source). This is scary for utilities I'm sure, but business is business, they either have to embrace renewables, or die off.

In the age of man-made climate change from CO2 emissions, localized renewable energy sources are the future. If Germany can do it, Vermont and the rest of the United States can make it work too. Vermont is known for having progressive energy policies which have allowed us to be 9th in the nation for solar power per capita, (source). Truly, 4% net-metered solar power is not a huge amount of total capacity. The Vermont utilities that have forced this issue at least seem like they are willing to come to the table and work for a positive solution--they are not "anti-solar" per se. I hope Vermont Legislators will tackle this problem honestly during their next session and expand the role of solar energy in this Green Mountain State.

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Are you passionate about solar power? Ask Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin to push for an expansion of the popular "net metering" law that's driving Vermont's solar revolution: http://www.vpirg.org/news/fight-for-your-right-to-go-renewable/