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What a green year it’s been! I kicked off last year with 3 words that helped define my goals and experiences [2] for the coming year: honesty, present and learn. Looking back at the year progress was made, but my three words will continue to play a role in the new year. I have plenty more to do and learn.
Highlights from my Groovy Green Livin Year
Tide Petition
It turned out that Tide Free & Gentle® isn’t so gentle. A report released by Women’s Voices for Earth [3], Dirty Secrets: What’s Hiding in Your Cleaning Products? found high levels of the cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane in the detergent. 1,4-dioxane doesn’t appear on the product label or on the product website, so consumers have no way of knowing it’s even there.
I put together a petition [4] asking Procter & Gamble (makers of Tide) to strip this harmful cancer-causing chemical out of Tide Free & Gentle®! Thanks to many of you the petition [5]has over 78,000 signatures.
Appearance on ABC World News talking about BPA
A seemingly normal day turned into a crazy day. I was quoted in a wonderful article by Jack Kaskey in Bloomberg News about bisphenol A (BPA) and how mothers are impacting change even when regulators fail to act. I was then asked to appear on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer [6] to talk about BPA. A camera crew showed up at my door [7] smack in the middle of a radio interview with Mrs. Greens World [8]. The ABC News clip [9] was incredibly fun and hopefully sent a strong message.
National Stroller Brigade in DC
I traveled to Washington DC [10] on a trip organized by Safe Chemicals Healthy Families. We gathered on Capitol Hill for a National Stroller Brigade [11]to let Congress know that we demand the passage of Senator Frank Lautenberg’s Safe Chemicals Act. I also had a chance to catch up with some of my favorite green advocates, Shane from Environmental Booty, Diane from Big Green Purse, me, Micaela from Mindful Momma [12] and Anne from Flour Sack Mama [13].
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Go Green Get Fit Challenge
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you probably know that exercise is a big part of my life [15]. I mix it up with a little yoga [16], running, cycling and going to the gym [17]. I ramped it up a few years ago and trained for my first sprint triathlon [18] in honor of a little boy in our town who lost his life to cancer. It’s been four years and the triathlon has become an annual event. [19] This year I joined forces with a group of 25+ remarkable green bloggers in the Eco Mom Alliance’s Go Green Get Fit Challenge presented by Healthy Home Magazine. We completed a 12 week health and wellness series where we all shared our ups and downs throughout the challenge. I even ventured into the world of video with my 3 Tips to Keep Fit [20].
How young is too young for Facebook?
I was quoted in the Los Angeles Times [21], sharing my opinion about Facebook allowing children under the age of 13 years old [22] to use the social-networking site with parental supervision.
BlogHer in New York City with Stonyfield
This year I headed into one of my favorite places, New York City [23], to attend BlogHer. BlogHer is the largest blogging conference [24] and this year was a big crowd with over 5,000 bloggers, speakers, brands and others. After a few days filled with laughter, sweat (incredibly hot and humid), reconnecting with old friends [25] and making new BlogHer 2012 [23] came to a close. The friendships formed at events like this are truly some of the greatest rewards of blogging.
Disney Petition and CBS Boston
As many of you know, television cameras came to my house yet [26]again [7]! This time they were from CBS Boston [27]. I was very happy to see how the piece turned out [28]. This time I was talking about another petition [28] I started asking Disney [29] to remove the toxic chemicals that were found in children’s vinyl back-to-school supplies including Disney lunch boxes. Thanks to many of you this petition [29] has almost 60,000 signatures!
Phew! There you have my 2012 in a nutshell.
Now to you my loyal readers I can’t say thank you enough. You make writing, advocating and continuing on worthwhile. Thank you.
Now let’s make 2013 even better!
photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography via photopin [30] cc [31]