I make an effort to stay as far away from my computer as much as possible on the weekends, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to stop reading about green. I thought I’d try to pass along some valuable articles each Friday for you to click through. You can check out more links of favorite articles around the web each Sunday at 5 Minutes For Going Green!

FDA lifts salmonella warning for tomatoes, and admit they don’t even know if the tomatoes were the culprit. Farmers lose hundreds of millions of dollars from destroyed crops: CNN

Walking the walk: America’s 10 Most Walkable Cities: Daily Green

Happy Birthday Eco-Libris! Help them celebrate the more than 50,000 books balanced and over 65,000 newly planted trees all over the world!

High has prices have increased the use of public transportation to its highest rates in 50 years. Are you taking the bus or train yet?: Sustainablog

Need to replace the plastic turtle sandbox? The Green Guide’s guide to buying safe, sustainable backyard playground equipment is invaluable for upgrading your outdoor space.

I mentioned it in my last post, but I’m so excited to tell you all about Jill Buck’s new radio program/podcast as an extension of her Go Green Initiative! Go Green Radio debuts this Friday, June 27th, at Noon EST/9AM PST, on Voice America internet radio.

Jill has invited me as well as Scott McGinness who is an actor, father and founder of Global Broadcast for Kids, a website that discusses all things kids through the eyes of - kids! The “junior journalists” give book and movie reviews, talk about health concerns, and of course, there’s a great channel devoted to going green! Global Green for Kids gives tips and advice for make the world a greener place, for kids, by kids. Go check them out as well!

Go to Voice America, and click on the “Network” option at the top. The show will automatically feed through. You’ll also be able to hear the show after it’s over by downloading it, and sign up for the Go Green Radio podcast, so you’ll always be in the know about going green!

I hope you can all join us, as we discuss how we came to be so eco-conscious, why we do what we do, and what we think the future of green kids will be. Leave comments after the show - we’d love to hear feedback! Thanks again for supporting teensygreen, and for making better decisions for your family!

As the green movement has exploded, seemingly overnight, there’s an aspect of the green consumer universe I’ve noticed becoming more and more blatant to consumers these days. Known as “greenwashing,” it occurs when a company is claiming eco, but falling way, way, waaaaaay short, often for blatant marketing purposes. An SUV company plugging cleaner gas, with kids in the commercial? Yeah, right. I’ve been getting an amazing array of press releases lately, plugging products and services that may seem green, but to me, isn’t worth hitting the “write” button. But this one needed a mention.

Last week, Mattel announced a line of accessories for Barbie - plastic, twisty-tie-stuck-to-the-plastic-coated-box, Barbie - called the BCause Collection. This limited edition line “Reuses and Repurposes Excess Barbie™ Fabrics and Trimmings to Create Fashionable and Playful Handbags, Pillows, Diaries, Totes and Other Accessories”. Seriously? Was the release written on see-through paper?

Thankfully, other bloggers picked up on this as well, as did the New York Times, which ran a story about the release via Jennifer Lance’s post on Eco Child’s Play, as well as Mother’s Jones’ Blue Marble Blog. What’s the lesson here? While owning Barbie is not a crime (goodness knows my girls have a basketful of them), falling for corporate America’s ploys to make you (and your kids, this time around) feel better about buying more stuff should be. This, I think, is at the heart of why I started writing teensygreen - while I know certain toys or products will somehow find their way into my home, it’s finding that balance that takes the most work - and is the most rewarding payoff. It’s YOUR choice, not Mattel’s. Want eco-friendly Barbie clothes? Make them! Or, let them go naked. That’ll teach you, Mattel!

…plastic ones, that is. Whole Foods announced today that by Earth Day of this year (April 22), they will completely eliminate offering plastic bags as an option for shoppers. You’ll still be able to use Whole Foods paper bags, which are made from 100% recycled paper and are 100% recyclable. They’re also offering a new “Better Bag” - made from recycled plastic bottles, the Better Bag will cost you 99 cents to pack up and take home. This is an enormous step to cutting down on plastic bag use - on their site, Whole Foods explains it takes about a thousand years for a plastic bag to break down, as well as releases toxins when they decompose. They also estimate that from Earth Day to the end of 2008 alone, they’ll be keeping about 100 million plastic bags out of landfills! Check out the FAQs from Whole Foods for more information.

Not to defend the plastic bag, but as do many people, I really reuse the bags I accumulate from Whole Foods. They go in the smaller garbage cans around my house, in my car, stashed in travel bags, at the beach, anywhere a kiddie emergency is needed. And, if you’re like me, you can’t just run into to Whole Foods for a couple of things you can throw into a couple of canvas bags. I’d like to know your thoughts about this - would you buy Whole Foods’ “Better Bags” for 99 cents, bring your own bags, use the paper bags, or a combo of all of them? I carry a couple of small canvas bags in my car for the library, but I don’t think it’s enough for a Whole Foods run!

I think I may have to place an order on Reusable Bags to celebrate!

I was practically jumping on my keyboard to write about this. I just found out about Wee Generation, a collaboration of eco-powerhouses Seventh Generation, babystyle (ok, they’re new to the green scene, but still a powerhouse), Healthy Child Healthy World, environmental design expert William McDonough, and fast-forward design firm IDEO. This green dream team is gearing up to design an ultimate diaper bag - one that is functional, hip, and above all, Cradle-to-Cradle certified. Meaning, from the moment the bag is in development to the moment it’s in your hands, and as they put it, when it’s ready for “the great recycling bin in the sky,” the bag will be eco-friendly for all.

This is where YOU come in. Help design the bag by sharing your best and worst diaper bag stories, and voting for others’ cheers and jeers. Don’t hesitate to write about poop, leaking, tears, smells, dad/mom designs, anything your diaper bag put you through. They want to hear it all! You can get on the waiting list to receive news about it (around the end of the year), and win some AMAZING goodies - these guys don’t mess around! So, go write, enter, and dream about that diaper bag!

Dare we say, ‘Back to School’?  An article from National Geographic’s ‘Green Guide’ wants to make you aware that the places your children spend a lot of time may be making them sick.  With asthma and food allergies still on the rise, it’s important to know schools and day care centers can adjust to keep your children healthy.

The Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) has a voluntary ‘Eco-Healthy Childcare’ program for daycare centers to use as an eco-guide.  Centers must meet at least 20 out of 25 criteria, two of which are required: “no smoking anywhere in the vicinity of children and least-toxic pest control methods both inside and out”.   Other criteria include having PVC-free toys, wood furniture, least-toxic cleaners, low-VOC paints and mercury-free thermometers.  Find your state’s requirements at the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Early Childhood Edcation.

Building green schools and making eco-friendly changes to existing schools has become a top priority in the development industry.  Schools have made great strides in improving not only structurally - using low VOC-paint, building more windows for energy efficiency as well as promoting happiness - but with school’s inner workings, as well.  Schools have gotten rid of junk food in their vending machines; begun rigorous recycling programs; and in some cases, buy local produce for the cafeteria.  Check out the ten Greenest Schools for 2006, and be inspired!  What changes can your schools make to improve their green-ness?  Or, what have they already done?

While you’re out celebrating Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with your kids tonight, feel better knowing that the 12 million copies printed in the US will be the most eco-conscious books to date.  After a major campaign by Raincoast Books, Potter’s Canadian publisher, and eventually J.K. Rowling herself, the novel with the magic to keep kids reading will contain 65% paper produced in an environmentally and socially sustainable manner; and, at least 35% will be made from post-consumer waste paper.  That’s huge, considering the last book, which Scholastic printed about 10 million copies of, had no recycled paper whatsoever.  It will save about 130,000 trees, and, combined with the 15 other Harry Potter publishers around the world, will save about 200,000 trees - the equivalent of 2.5 Central Parks!  And if you enjoy reading it IN Central Park, well, the trees thank you…

via lime.com

The thrid and final slideshow/article in the MSN green ‘city guide’ series features five cities that are greener than you think.  Guess any right?  I bet at least one of them - see left - was totally off your radar!  These cities are making great strides with alternative energy use, public transportaton, development of public parks, and other aspects of an eco-friendly lifestyle.  They do struggle a bit, but then, they wouldn’t be cities, would they? 

So, how does your city rank among these 20?  It was pointed out to me today that living in large, metropolitan areas is, in theory, environmentally more sound than spreading out to the ‘burbs.  I’ve done both, with kids and without - no car vs. SUV, more noise and pollution vs. quiet and cleaner air - the pros and cons for both lifestyles are endless…leave a comment and let me know what you love (ok, and hate) about where you live!

 Yesterday I sent you to the 10 “Greenest Cities” in America.  Now, here are five American cities that need a little green push.  These urban areas suffer from heavy pollution, lack of green public space, low percentages of people using public transportation, even water contamination.  The article is quick to point out that these places are making steps to be a healthier environment to live; they do, however, have a long way to go.  Are you on the list? 

Have you seen this yet?  It’s a list of the 10 Greenest American Cities for 2007.  You may think that people often leave cities to live more sustainable lives, but statistics show cities are still growing by leaps and bounds.  Fortunately, developers, planners, grass-roots groups, and citizens are all working out ways to make it easier to live urban and be green.  The cities chosen were based on factors such as ease of public transportation; park space; energy efficiency strategies; water and waste management; recycling; and future building code revamps, among many, many others.

Some of the cities are obvious, but some may surprise you!  There are a couple of other articles I’ll highlight in this series this week, but take a look and feel proud if you’re on the list!