On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy issued a challenge to the American people: Land a man on the moon before decade's end. And Americans rose to the challenge with innovation, hard work, and self sacrifice unlike anything we've seen since.
Today, sadly, the American government doesn't inspire much today other than frustration and vitriol. We haven't solved the climate crisis. We are still chained to Big Oil. And what ever happened to reclaiming our position as the world's top educator?
So, into the inspiration void has stepped a not-so-unlikely predecessor to JFK: Google.
Today, one of America's most innovative, fast-moving companies issues a challenge for the world's entrepreneurs to send them the best of what they've got. Project 10 to the 100 is "a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible." Submissions are welcome in the categories of Community, Opportunity, Energy, Environment, Health, Education, and Shelter - and the winners (up to 5) split a $10 million top prize.
I don't know about you, but I'm inspired. Step back.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Portland Mamas
A dear friend of ours is moving with her two sons to Portland - still too far away from us, but at least we felt good about recommending an awesome resource for Pacific Northwest Moms: MomHub.
Founded by a business-school classmate with twin boys, MomHub is the perfect example of entrepreneurs succeeding by creating something that they themselves need. In this case, that something is a social network and robust community for parents in Portland. It's got book clubs, park recommendations, playdates by neighborhood, product reviews, and tons more (see our Babies 4 Peace product page). Just a truly cool resource all around.
The company has plans for expansion. Mystic, CT is a far way from Portland, but we're crossing our fingers and toes - what a great idea for bringing together like-minded Moms with energy, ideas, and support to share. We're so jealous of you lucky Portlandians.
Founded by a business-school classmate with twin boys, MomHub is the perfect example of entrepreneurs succeeding by creating something that they themselves need. In this case, that something is a social network and robust community for parents in Portland. It's got book clubs, park recommendations, playdates by neighborhood, product reviews, and tons more (see our Babies 4 Peace product page). Just a truly cool resource all around.
The company has plans for expansion. Mystic, CT is a far way from Portland, but we're crossing our fingers and toes - what a great idea for bringing together like-minded Moms with energy, ideas, and support to share. We're so jealous of you lucky Portlandians.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Babies 4 Obama
I hate to get political, but...
Babies 4 Peace was founded on the notion that world harmony is impossible without world health - or, more specifically, without a healthier planet. It's far too easy to imagine a world where countries, tribes, families begin fighting not over religion or nationality but over water and other natural resources. In fact, the warring has already begun in our own backyard with some Southern states fighting over access to reservoirs, dams and tributaries while others linger in darkness for weeks (even months) in the wake of 100-year storms that seem to come every 3 years these days.
What I'm saying is that we need a leader who understands the "trickle-down" impact of his environmental policy. It's not just about cleaner air, healthier animals, and smaller hurricanes. It's also about preventing wars 20 or 30 years from now between poor nations that peg their very survival to potable water that is growing more and more scarce each year.
One candidate promises to "develop a climate change adaption plan." (Huh? Who's got time for that Washington merry-go-round?) The other promises to invest $150 billion over the next 10 years, to make sure 10% of our energy comes from renewable sources within 4 years, to create 5 million green collar jobs...
I'll let you guess which candidate is which. All I'm saying is that "Babies 4 Obama" has a nice ring to it, dontcha think?!
Babies 4 Peace was founded on the notion that world harmony is impossible without world health - or, more specifically, without a healthier planet. It's far too easy to imagine a world where countries, tribes, families begin fighting not over religion or nationality but over water and other natural resources. In fact, the warring has already begun in our own backyard with some Southern states fighting over access to reservoirs, dams and tributaries while others linger in darkness for weeks (even months) in the wake of 100-year storms that seem to come every 3 years these days.
What I'm saying is that we need a leader who understands the "trickle-down" impact of his environmental policy. It's not just about cleaner air, healthier animals, and smaller hurricanes. It's also about preventing wars 20 or 30 years from now between poor nations that peg their very survival to potable water that is growing more and more scarce each year.
One candidate promises to "develop a climate change adaption plan." (Huh? Who's got time for that Washington merry-go-round?) The other promises to invest $150 billion over the next 10 years, to make sure 10% of our energy comes from renewable sources within 4 years, to create 5 million green collar jobs...
I'll let you guess which candidate is which. All I'm saying is that "Babies 4 Obama" has a nice ring to it, dontcha think?!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Shopping Around
Since writing my 'grocery bag redux' blog a few months back, I've been paying extra attention to what people cart in and out of the supermarket. More and more moms and kids are schlepping green Stop & Shop bags, and I've even seen a few canvas sailing bags taking on extra duties above deck.
But, really, the pickin's for sturdy, reusable grocery bags are slim. Which is why I want to introduce a new organic "Moms 4 Peace" bag - a logo similar to Babies 4 Peace with an eco-conscious design. Any ideas for artwork? Would you buy one?
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Diaper Dynamo
Carrots. Prunes. Sweet potatoes. Bananas.
No, this is not the ole family recipe for "Clear-Ya-Out Fruit Salad." It's what the little one is eating these days, with a dash of rice cereal thrown in for good measure.
A month ago, he'd never felt a spoon on his tongue. Now, he's a culinary powerhouse - gulping down anything and everything we put in front of him, including the organic Os we started sprinkling on his highchair last night.
All of this is not to brag, but rather as a precursor to the coming discussion of diapers... Much to our dismay, big-boy food = big-boy poop. And lots of it. We're all still working on a regular rhythm for these new developments, but in the meantime I've really grown to love Baby's Bottom Balm - a fantastic herbal diaper-rash guard that smells great and doesn't leave that sticky chalky white mess behind.
My sister-in-law bought me a 2 oz jar before Mack's arrival and it's still not empty - this stuff lasts forever. And the babe has never had diaper rash, so I've gotta endorse - now more than ever!
No, this is not the ole family recipe for "Clear-Ya-Out Fruit Salad." It's what the little one is eating these days, with a dash of rice cereal thrown in for good measure.
A month ago, he'd never felt a spoon on his tongue. Now, he's a culinary powerhouse - gulping down anything and everything we put in front of him, including the organic Os we started sprinkling on his highchair last night.
All of this is not to brag, but rather as a precursor to the coming discussion of diapers... Much to our dismay, big-boy food = big-boy poop. And lots of it. We're all still working on a regular rhythm for these new developments, but in the meantime I've really grown to love Baby's Bottom Balm - a fantastic herbal diaper-rash guard that smells great and doesn't leave that sticky chalky white mess behind.
My sister-in-law bought me a 2 oz jar before Mack's arrival and it's still not empty - this stuff lasts forever. And the babe has never had diaper rash, so I've gotta endorse - now more than ever!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
$10 Gasoline
I wince. Each time I fill up the tank, I wince. And then I sound really ancient and bitter when I say -- to no one in particular since the kid is too young and the dog is a dog -- "I remember when I could fill up for $20!" The year I got my license (none of your business), a gallon of gas cost $.95. I bought a 1966 Ford Mustang that got roughly 12 miles to the gallon because why the hell not... I still have that Mustang. I just can't afford to drive it anymore.
I'm not looking for sympathy. I actually feel pretty damn guilty about the whiny tone I'm adopting here because, though $4.19 gas really sucks right now, I know it may the best thing to happen to America in a long time.
OK, put down your hate mail and hear me out: Cheap gas wasn't doing us any favors. Sure, it let us fly from Boston to San Francisco for $250 round trip. And drive to Vermont every weekend from Thanksgiving to St. Patrick's Day. But don't those short-term pleasures seem gross and frivolous knowing that polar bears are literally drowning right this very minute? Doesn't an at-home Memorial Day weekend sound like a small price to pay for saving a species?
All great innovations in American history happened because of an economic catalyst or stimulus of some kind. That, or the fear of a Communist planetary take-over. So maybe $10 gasoline will be the thing that finally inspires a budding young scientist to unlock the door to oil-independent transportation in this country. Maybe, cooped up in his bedroom unable to fire up that glinting midnight blue '66 'Stang sitting under a tarp in the garage, my own son will find a way to make this country drive smart. If anything could do it, surely Mom's Mustang could.
I'm not looking for sympathy. I actually feel pretty damn guilty about the whiny tone I'm adopting here because, though $4.19 gas really sucks right now, I know it may the best thing to happen to America in a long time.
OK, put down your hate mail and hear me out: Cheap gas wasn't doing us any favors. Sure, it let us fly from Boston to San Francisco for $250 round trip. And drive to Vermont every weekend from Thanksgiving to St. Patrick's Day. But don't those short-term pleasures seem gross and frivolous knowing that polar bears are literally drowning right this very minute? Doesn't an at-home Memorial Day weekend sound like a small price to pay for saving a species?
All great innovations in American history happened because of an economic catalyst or stimulus of some kind. That, or the fear of a Communist planetary take-over. So maybe $10 gasoline will be the thing that finally inspires a budding young scientist to unlock the door to oil-independent transportation in this country. Maybe, cooped up in his bedroom unable to fire up that glinting midnight blue '66 'Stang sitting under a tarp in the garage, my own son will find a way to make this country drive smart. If anything could do it, surely Mom's Mustang could.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Grocery Bag Redux
I fought back an SUV for a parking spot, unloaded the stroller, locked the car seat into place, locked the car and headed toward the front door when -- damn! I forgot my reusable grocery bags in the backseat. For a moment I thought about just picking up five more never-degradable shopping bags at the checkout rather than turning around, but ultimately the guilt made me retreat and retrieve the eco-friendly shopping bags.
While shopping in California last month, I was shocked by the number of people using reusable shopping bags at Trader Joe's and beyond. At home in Connecticut, I'm equally shocked by the fact that I'm the only one at the grocery store NOT using plastic.
Should the government step in and outlaw plastic? I would personally prefer that Stop & Shop and A & P and Big Y simply chose to encourage more ecological choices by selling reusable bags in the checkout line and even charging customers for each plastic bag they use -- a financial incentive for making a smart ecological decision.
So, what do you think about a line of Babies 4 Peace shopping bags? I would certainly never forget a B4P bag in the back seat!
While shopping in California last month, I was shocked by the number of people using reusable shopping bags at Trader Joe's and beyond. At home in Connecticut, I'm equally shocked by the fact that I'm the only one at the grocery store NOT using plastic.
Should the government step in and outlaw plastic? I would personally prefer that Stop & Shop and A & P and Big Y simply chose to encourage more ecological choices by selling reusable bags in the checkout line and even charging customers for each plastic bag they use -- a financial incentive for making a smart ecological decision.
So, what do you think about a line of Babies 4 Peace shopping bags? I would certainly never forget a B4P bag in the back seat!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Eco-Friendly Families Unite!
I was reading a very provocative and poignant New Yorker article today about big and small ways to reduce carbon footprints when my mind began wandering and wondering: Is it possible to raise a carbon-neutral baby?
I realize that this question sound ridiculously Western and spoiled. Giving birth to and raising a child are perhaps the second and third most natural human acts imaginable (I think we all know what Number One is). Women through time and all over the planet today are able to grow their babies into small people without adversely impacting the planet, I'm sure. But can we? Could I?
Carbon neutrality would mean no diapers, no pre-packaged baby food, probably no plastic bottles or rubber pacifiers or bleached cotton onesies or big, jangly, Made-in-China Jumperoos, either. Ironically, of course, none of these things really matter to our babies. Their 'must-haves' are all incredibly Earth-friendly: milk, love and the occasional burp.
It's the parents (myself included) who rely on so many of these non-biodegradable, shipped-from-overseas, sweatshop-promoting gadgets and gizmos. We say we couldn't live without them, but I wonder if that's actually true. Perhaps I should read The Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ways to Simplify Your Life and then get back to you...
I realize that this question sound ridiculously Western and spoiled. Giving birth to and raising a child are perhaps the second and third most natural human acts imaginable (I think we all know what Number One is). Women through time and all over the planet today are able to grow their babies into small people without adversely impacting the planet, I'm sure. But can we? Could I?
Carbon neutrality would mean no diapers, no pre-packaged baby food, probably no plastic bottles or rubber pacifiers or bleached cotton onesies or big, jangly, Made-in-China Jumperoos, either. Ironically, of course, none of these things really matter to our babies. Their 'must-haves' are all incredibly Earth-friendly: milk, love and the occasional burp.
It's the parents (myself included) who rely on so many of these non-biodegradable, shipped-from-overseas, sweatshop-promoting gadgets and gizmos. We say we couldn't live without them, but I wonder if that's actually true. Perhaps I should read The Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ways to Simplify Your Life and then get back to you...
Monday, March 3, 2008
Local Support for Organic Babies!
Last week, Babies 4 Peace was featured in our local, hometown newspaper: The Thames River Times, which applauded us for "a strong sense for responsible business and an eye toward the future." The article features some pretty darn adorable photos of B4P spokesbaby MacKinlay James, and helped to spread the word a bit in our community.
Also last week we got picked up for local distribution at the Puritan and Genesta store in Mystic. We are thrilled to be reaching more and more people with our edgy, unique organic baby clothes.
Also last week we got picked up for local distribution at the Puritan and Genesta store in Mystic. We are thrilled to be reaching more and more people with our edgy, unique organic baby clothes.
An Organic Baby Clothes Company
Hello, world!
Here at Babies 4 Peace, we are starting this blog to document our company growth and to highlight other companies and individuals who share our passion and mission for responsible, eco-friendly business that benefits more than our bottom line. If you have something to share, please email us at babies4peace@gmail.com
Here at Babies 4 Peace, we are starting this blog to document our company growth and to highlight other companies and individuals who share our passion and mission for responsible, eco-friendly business that benefits more than our bottom line. If you have something to share, please email us at babies4peace@gmail.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
