CoolMom Quarterly News

Jan-March 2009

CoolMom at Seattle Green Fest, March 2009

CoolMom was part of the action at this years Seattle Green Fest in March.  There were over 350 eco-friendly businesses and 125 renowned authors, leaders & educators at the festival.  CoolMom had its booth on the red carpet this year!  The Kid Zone, where activities and story tellers and musicians showed their stuff for the youngsters, was situated on a red carpet right next to the CoolMom booth.  This location proved to be beneficial as the moms with their kids made their way to the Kid Zone and stumbled upon our friendly volunteers.  Over 65 signatures of interested moms were collected!   As people chatted with the CoolMom members, there was a general feeling of good will and excitement about what CoolMom represents and accomplishes.  Thank you to all the CoolMom volunteers that made the day possible.  A special thank you for Abby Suplizio Green Fest organizer and Alexandra  Thompson as ‘Assistant’ Green Fest organizer.

CoolMom Green Tips
Try these on and reduce your carbon footprint

Get a home energy audit, try a carbon fuel free weekend by riding your bike and walking, or build a worm bin

Educate Yourself
What the Heck is “Clean Coal”?

Next Generation
CoolMom inspires by Carrie Barnes

Being motivated and listening to other moms who have great ideas and energy was the focus of the Greenwood CM meeting. Sharing these ideas helps us stay focused on why we’re all in this together! – Says Greenwood Coordinator, Carrie Barns.  Here are some Earth Day Resolutions they came up with:
Getting their children engaged with taking action on Climate Change without scaring them
Using more alternative travel options such as public transportation and walking
Staying involved & committed to the Greenwood CM group to generate awareness and change
Making cloth diapering work by hanging laundry-at least 1 load outside
Sustaining action on Climate Change as families’ needs also change

A day in the Life
Reducing carbon footprint by Terri Glaberson

Recently my daughter was invited to go to a birthday party and instead of going out and buying a gift she and I created one of our own.  I bought a small single plant clay pot and we decorated it together by painting the friend's name, age and a picture of a flower.  We filled the pot with soil, inserted a reused popsicle stick for the name of the plant, planted the bulb, inserted planting instructions and a simple card made out of scrap paper and voila`! The birthday girl really loved her gift, too.  

It Takes a Community by Kristy Royce

The Washington Environmental Council asked CoolMom to participate in some phone banking this past March.  So I did!  I placed calls to citizens of Seattle telling them about the Cap and Invest legislation that the state legislator is trying to pass.  It felt good to take some action on supporting one of the four bills supporting the environment and Climate Change.  I learned that it is not just about calling the legislators who are voting on the bills, but also their constituents in the legislators districts.  The constituents are encouraged to call their legislators to support the bill.

 Letters to Michelle

Inspired by our new President Elect’s commitment to greening  America, CoolMom and friends wrote inspiring letters to our First Lady Michelle Obama.  The letters, art work and photos were compiled in a book designed by CM Terri Glaberson and placed in a one of a kind box created by CM Deborah Kapoor. The book and box were sent to the First Lady in February and we are still waiting to hear what she thinks!  The book of letters and video can be seen on the CoolMom site with a slightly longer version of the video on Youtube.

Lobby Day in Olympia

Kirsten McCaa and Terri Glaberson headed to Olympia on February 19 to join over 500 other concerned citizens to Lobby for the four environmental priorities for 2009.  The positive energy and enthusiasm was inspiring.  All attendees met as congressional districts and discussed the priorities, then moved on to either meet with their district legislators or learned more about what each priority encompassed through educational forums.  One of the top priorities is Cap and Invest, which would put a carbon limit on what big industries could produce and requires polluters to buy permits.  These monies would then be used to spur clean-tech innovation, put people to work increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy in Washington, and provide assistance to working families struggling with high energy costs.  Over time these caps would be lowered, in essence requiring businesses to clean up their acts or pay the high price of permits. 
Meeting with the legislators was an interesting and exciting part of the day and both Kirsten and Terri are excited to return next year.  To learn more about what is happening now with these Bills go to the Environmental Priorities Council Hot list

Upcoming Events

April 28, Live a Green Energy Lifestyle, lecture on living a green energy lifestyle by Aaron Campbell of Campbell Energy.  Aaron will show how changing a few daily habits can save hundreds of dollars a year while saving the planet.

May 2 & 3 Seattle Tilth Edible Plant Sale
May 2, Solar Works in Seattle, all about residential solar hot water systems. Other Solar workshops June 13, July 18, and September 12.
May 3, Sustainable West Seattle Fair, WSCM will be there with a booth and the now famous puppet show!

May 9, Worm-bin Worshop & Composting 101
May 23, WS Edible Garden Fair

May 23, Park in the Dark It’s nighttime at the Arboretum…but the park isn’t sleeping.  On this special family adventure you will learn about animal adaptations in the dark – and see the gardens in a whole new light!  For grades K-2 and 3-6, $6 per person; Must register by May 20.  For more information and registration, call 206.685.8033.

May 26, Strategies for Sustainability: Best Practices
class and May 27, Making Sustainability Stick: Tools for Change Agents class
June 20, Camp out and unplug with WSCM at Camp Long.  Contact Laura Elfline for more information.

May through September
Summer Streets -car free, art, food, bikes

Green Up Your Reading
Here are a few books that enlighten

Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman, a wonderful book that covers where we are now and where we need to go, excellent book!

And, for the kids...
Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel.  Michael is the superhero of recycling.  Read how he inspires a town to clean up its act.