A new eco-friendly book series for children was launched in September. The goal of the creators of the Little Green Books series is to educate kids and their parents about the environment and how they can protect it.

Each book in the series focuses on improving the environment and preserving habitats. The books themselves are eco-friendly and are made from recycled materials. They are also printed with soy ink.

Currently, four titles are available in the series:

• Can Save the Earth: One Little Monster Learns to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. This story is about a monster named Max, and how he changes from a wasteful monster to an environmentally responsible monster.
• The Polar Bears? Home: A Story about Global Warming. A parent and child learn about polar bears and how they can reduce the effects of global warming.
• Little Panda & Little Monkey. These two books in the series were created for young children and their caregivers to read together. They tell the story of Panda, his best friend Monkey, and their adventures. The books are super soft and perfect for cuddling! Both books are machine washable and are made from cotton and recycled fleece. I love baby products that are machine washable!

If your family enjoys living an eco-friendly life, or if you just want to teach your children about the environment, you may want to check out this new series. More books will be added in January 2009.

Why you should care about Global Warming and Dirty Snow

Do you remember the good old days when you could grab your sled in the winter and head down the nearest hill with all your friends from the neighborhood? You probably made a game out of catching snowflakes on your tongue. Would you really want your child to try that these days with all the pollution in the atmosphere? Now thanks to dirty snow your new baby may not have that same delightful childhood experience. However, with your help you can turn the planet around and help the world stay a safe place to play. Currently, there are many ‘green’ factors, such as dirty snow and global warming, to think about in order to keep both your new baby and the planet he lives in a healthy, happy place.

Vehicle emissions are one major preventable cause of dirty snow. To help prevent those filthy flakes, consider walking, riding a bicycle, or carpooling as much as possible to keep the emissions to a minimum. Walking and cycling will also help you shed those unwanted extra pregnancy pounds so there are definite benefits to being planet-conscious! When you absolutely must drive, use cleaner-burning fuels.

Another unnecessary cause of dirty snow is soot particles produced by smokestacks from factories. The US has fallen behind most other countries in requiring factories to comply with reasonable emissions which could not only harm the environment, but also make it harder for you and your baby to breathe easy.

Forrest fires are a third factor that affects dirty snow. When camping be sure that you completely put out all fires before leaving camp. Keep fires far away from brush. Also, use common sense and don’t start fires on windy days, or throw cigarettes out of windows while driving.

How does dirty snow effect global warming anyway? Well, believe it or not, researchers have found that dirty snow can have as much detrimental effect on global warming as greenhouse gasses. You may find the idea of snow heating anything a bit absurd; however, consider this. Although bright clean snow reflects light, dirty snow is darker and absorbs heat which warms the atmosphere. Thus, at least one-third of global warming problems can be blamed on dirty snow, or at least on the people who produce the noxious emissions that cause the filthy flakes. Keep in mind that most of these emissions are preventable, and you can do your part to keep your family and planet healthy. Remember, use clean energy sources whenever possible.