If your kids are anything like mine, they like TV. Me? Not so much. I have a couple things I watch each season and that’s about it (my sick semi-addiction to CNN notwithstanding). Since I tend to be critical of most television programming, particularly for kids, I generally only let mine watch certain things; things with some kind of educational value mostly. So yes, I’m a bit of a control freak when it comes to my kids’ media consumption. Whatever. Well, in case you didn’t know, that doesn’t leave much, but I’m always keeping my eyes open for new and interesting things that I can DVR and save for them to watch when they’re in the mood for some boob tubing. I recently became aware of Kid Guides, a show where two kids travel around to museums, zoos, aquariums and the like and share their adventures in nature and science with viewers. I let my kids watch some clips and they really liked it (they totally dug the “kid” hosts) and I liked it, too, because it was remarkably devoid of spastic, screaming, anthropomorphic cartoon animals (or sponges) and it’s not dumbed down to the point of tedium. And? Kid Guides has received the Parents Television Council Seal of Approval and scored an Emmy Award, to boot. You can check the Kid Guides site (under ‘Show Times’) to see if it airs in your area OR you can get Kid Guides on DVD from Amazon.com

Find It Here: Kid Guides

Win It: We’re giving away 2 Kid Guides DVD’s. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter KG7 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Name three of the four available Kid Guide DVD’s. Enter by 7/13/09. $30 value. Open to US residents. Winner will be notified by email.

A Greener Apple (NYC) is the project of  New York City mom and producer/director Pamela French. She takes her camera to a variety of locales in New York City area for man/woman-on-the-street interviews asking people what they would do to make New York greener (A Greener Apple!) It’s actually very interesting to see where people’s heads are at in terms of greener living and what sorts of things they feel would make a difference. The responses range from highly aware and educated to flip and somewhat ignorant. Fortunately, Read the rest of this entry »

Got little ones? Trying to raise them green? Then you might consider adding Sesame Street’s new DVD, Being Green to your eco-teaching arsenal. Being Green stars ultra-cute actor Paul Rudd as Mr. Earth, who teaches Elmo and Abby Cadabby how to be environmentally conscious by recycling, re-using, and conserving water and energy.  In her desire to help Elmo to be more “green,” Abby accidentally turns Elmo the color GREEN and can’t remember how to change him back!  Fun and hilarity ensue and Abby eventually turns Elmo red again and Cookie Monster, Rosita, and Telly Monster pitch in, pledging to be eco-friendly because they LOVE the earth! As a special bonus feature, Being Green also contains 16 pages of downloadable activities and story sheets to extend the learning at home. In addition, Being Green is printed on 100% post-consumer recycled cardstock and is printed with soy-based ink and uses reduced-plastic as compared to other DVD cases. Once your kids have watched it eleventeen thousand times and have the being green thing down pat, pass it on to some other kids and keep the message going. We’re going to help five lucky readers get started by giving away five copies of Sesame Street’s Going Green. See details below!

Find It Here: Being Green

Win It: We’re giving away five copies of Going Green. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter GG6 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: As Mr. Earth, what does Paul Rudd wear in Being Green? Enter by 6/6/09. $16 value. Open to residents of US. Winner will be notified by email. Contest closed. Congrats to our five winners!

It is an unfortunate fact of modern life that we, humans, have highly polluted bodies. This pollution in people is the direct result of a statute that does not require chemicals to be proven safe to get on the market, or stay on the market. Under federal law EPA does not have the authority to demand the information it needs to evaluate a chemical’s risk, and neither manufacturers nor the EPA are required to prove a chemical’s safety as a condition of use.

What’s even more shocking than the above is the sad fact that babies bodies are polluted with dangerous toxic, cancer-causing and hormone-altering chemicals before they’re even born. How does this happen? Watch the video below. What can we do? Sign this declaration and tell your elected officials that this is morally wrong and it needs to stop NOW.

I let my kids watch TV. I admit it. But I’m also very picky about what I let them watch, opting predominantly for science and nature shows. One series that we’ve enjoyed immensely is Planet Earth on the Discovery Channel. The cinematography is so groundbreaking that we’ve been able to see things we would never ever witness otherwise and so indescribably amazing that it regularly gave me chills. It’s because of our love of nature that I’m especially excited about a movie from Disneynature films called Earth. It tells the story of three animal families and their journeys across the planet over the course of a year. It was directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, the Emmy Award-winning creative team behind the Planet Earth series which pretty much guarantees it will be both epic and visually astounding. What’s really cool is that Disney is going to plant a tree for every person who sees the film during it’s opening week, starting on Earth Day, April 22, 2009. That’s some serious green potential and I’m really excited about it! To help kick off this awesome new film, we’ve teamed up with Disneynature films to give away an Earth reusable grocery bag, a biodegradable tumbler, and a tree seedling so you can plant your own tree! (details below)

Find It Here: Disneynature Films

Win It: We’re giving away an Earth reusable grocery bag, a biodegradable tumbler, and a tree seedling. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter DE3 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What, specifically, are the three kinds of animals featured in Earth? Enter by 4/07/09. $60 value. Contest Closed. Congrats  Sherry!

You’ve heard of Youtube, right? You know, the video repository of the masses that has brought us such gems as the hugging video and the dancing around the world guy? Good stuff, indeed. But when you’re looking for actual information or inspiration on green living, Youtube doesn’t exactly make it easy. You type “green” in the search field and you get to wade through videos about Kermit the Frog, marijuana and Green Day. Not exactly what you had in mind? No worries, mon, because now there’s Go Green Tube and every video is related in some way to earth, eco and environmental topics that encompass everything from the purely informational to the very entertaining and everything in between. Seriously, if you have any interest whatsoever in green living, news, activism or anything else under the green umbrella, Go Green Tube is the place to go.

Find It Here: Go Green Tube

On June 4th at 6pm eastern, Discovery debuts the Planet Green channel. While Planet Green is new to cable, it will be replacing Discovery Home so just go to whatever channel that is on your system and you will find yourself watching what I believe will be the most awesometastically amazing thing to happen to cable TV in a really REALLY! long time because hello? Green television! Planet Green, which is aligned with the ultra-fab Treehugger.com in this endeavor, will feature 100% original programming that will include environmental news, humor, lifestyle and much more. And? I have it on good authority, straight from the head honchette of Planet Green, Eileen O’Neill, that there will be some programming relevant to parents and families, too. If this is a dream? Don’t wake me.

Have you been to Unscrew America yet? It’s this amazingly interactive web site for a national campaign run by Lesley Chilcott, producer of An Inconvenient Truth, to encourage the switch from incandescent light bulbs to more energy-efficient ones like CFLs and LEDs. I know, I know. Light bulbs are kind of um, not real exciting, so how could this site be soooo amazing? Just take my word for it — this web site is way super cool and it has this happy, peppy little soundtrack that totally embeds itself in your brain. In a good way. You have to see it. (Hint: Pull the lever!)

Find It Here: Unscrew America

If I had limitless free time, I think I would spend at least a third of it in my favorite natural foods store - Whole Foods. I could easily spend hours perusing their aisles. So when I heard that Whole Foods has started a free podcast series that’s all about natural body care, I thought “Cool! Sign me up!” The Be Good to Your Whole Body podcast features experts who discuss topics like healing herbs, natural personal care, and homeopathic remedies for colds and flus. Their latest podcast focuses on natural approaches to dealing with allergies, a very timely topic now that Spring has sprung. Each podcast is under 10 minutes long, which is the perfect amount of information for busy parents looking for some quick and helpful tips from experts in natural health. So do your body a favor and check it out!

Find It Here: Be Good To Your Whole Body Podcast

You know that old saying, “You are what you eat”? Well, you might be surprised to find out that if we are what we eat, then many of us are made out of corn! Not so surprising when you consider how many food items contain high fructose corn syrup or that most cattle are fed corn rather than grass. In fact, according to the Corn Growers Association, it’s hard to find anything in the grocery store that doesn’t contain corn. Just check out their loooong list of corn-containing grocery items to see what I mean. Maybe it’s just me, but this factoid kinda freaks me out. If you want to know how corn became so ubiquitous or how its widespread cultivation is negatively affecting rainforests, biodiversity, family farming, and your health, then check out the new documentary, King Corn, which premieres on PBS beginning April 15, 2008. Grab yourself a bag of popcorn (or not), sit back, and watch this entertaining film featuring recent Yale graduates Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis as they trek to Iowa, purchase a plot of land, grow their own corn, and uncover the ugly truth about how this seemingly innocuous crop is profoundly affecting our health and our environment.

Find It Here: King Corn

Congratulations to Erika, Louise, Melonie, Tara and Stephanie, who have each won a copy of the King Corn DVD!

In a recent Scholastic News online poll, kids ranked the environment as one of their top issues in the upcoming presidential elections. Wow! In response to this, Scholastic has launched ACT GREEN, a fun and educational website designed to motivate and empower kids to take action at home, in school and in their communities to help care for the environment. ACT GREEN provides kids, parents and teachers with customized green plans, expert tips, downloadable tools, inspiring green short films provided by Live Earth, and a “Greenroom” to share ideas with other kids. What’s really cool is that as kids meet the goals of their “green plans” they can track and add their points to the “Greenerator” and see immediately how their efforts have impacted the environment. I can hardly think of a better cause than getting kids engaged in caring about the environment. After all, it is their world. — we’re merely borrowing it from them.

Find it Here: Scholastic ACT GREEN

Win it: If you’ll take a gander at our left sidebar, you’ll see that by subscribing to our very cool and totally not spammy or annoying newsletter, you will be entered to win some really awesome goodies including TWO great books by Scholastic ACT GREEN — You Can Save the Planet: 50 Ways You Can Make a Difference and The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming. Plus? Subscribers are privy to giveaways and other perks not available on this site. It’s like a VIP club that everyone can join!

Are you interested in alternative health and natural living? Do you breastfeed, co-sleep or home-school? Do you strive to live green and eat organic? Do you wish you knew more moms with some of these interests? If so, then you might like to check out the Holistic Moms Network (HMN). With more than 115 chapters in the U.S., HMN offers great articles and resources on a ton of topics - from finding a holistic doctor to how to deal with newborn sleep issues. Members enjoy additional benefits, such as the HMN discussion board and e-mail loop. If you want to meet some of the HMN moms near you, find your local chapter here or start one of your own!

Find it Here: Holistic Moms Network

Congrats to winner Julie S. of New York, our 2007 Holistic Moms Network Conference DVD winner!