The Mom's Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home (Stonesong Press Books) [Paperback]

Terra Wellington (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stonesong Press Books | Publication Date: March 17, 2009

With the multitude of green choices available, how can moms determine what will be best for their families—and the environment? Terra Wellington has the answers.

 

This user-friendly and invaluable resource is packed with hundreds of easy green how-tos including:

• Shopping: Get the most bang for your buck by purchasing organic foods that would otherwise have high pesticide residue, like apples, grapes, green peppers, peaches, and pears.

• Kitchen: Save money and water by scraping—not rinsing— dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. Today’s models are so efficient that rinsing is not necessary.

• Home office: Screensavers don’t save energy. Instead have the computer switch to sleep mode when idle.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A very useable guide, with practical ideas and smart information.  Perfect if you’re getting overwhelmed by all the green-speak out there." – Gabrielle Blair, Founder DesignMom.com

"The Mom’s Guide is compelling without using scare tactics or manipulation. Every page is full of great information." – Jessica Gottlieb, Eco Child’s Play

"A dedicated eco-mom delivers practical guidelines for greening your world.  Wellington will teach you how to raise a green family and provide tools to become an environmentally conscious citizen.  Written with the busy mom in mind, advice ranges from simple suggestions for reducing waste to full-blown eco-overhauls for the home, such as getting your house LEED-certified." –  Ann Wycoff, VIV Magazine

"Author Terra Wellington helps moms navigate the clutter of green choices and determine what's best for their families and the environment. Moms can explore ways to live consciously, shop wisely and embrace the green life." – Justin Williams, The News Journal and Gannett News Service

"It’s not meant for hardcore environmentalists, but for people like us who just want to do our part to protect the planet and its limited resources." – Top-Ten Examiner for Family and Parenting Channel Jackie Kass, Examiner.com

"This is an easy to apply guide filled with hundreds of green tips. There’s something for everyone to start doing their part in saving the earth!" – Kimberly Coleman for MomintheCity.com and contributor at New York Metro Parenting Guide

"This practical guide is jam-packed with hundreds of "green" suggestions that can help us save our environment. For example, Wellington suggests that we contact the manager of our neighborhood grocery store to make certain that it carries locally grown produce, we buy coffee that is USDA organic and fair trade certified, and we keep our family diets free of food tainted with pesticides, hormones, antibiotics or genetic engineering." – Larry Cox, Tucson Citizen

 

About the Author

Terra Wellington has been a popular television guest on such programs as The Montel Williams Show, WGN Chicago, and WCBS This Morning in New York due to her expertise in wellness and lifestyle topics.  A Second City-trained actress and improv artist, Terra is the former wellness editor of Fit Body and Real magazines.  Terra is a supporter of homeopathy and ocean conservation, and she writes at the blog www.MomsandthePlanet.com covering healthy living and the environment.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (March 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312384734
• ISBN-13: 978-0312384739
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,233,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Terra Wellington is an actress and author and has been a popular television guest due to her advocacy of healthy living and environmental topics.

She is an active supporter of ocean conservation and the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program. And her book The Mom's Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home (St. Martin's Press) is a comprehensive real-person's guide on how to help the planet and protect your family. Her eco-blog covers information about healthy living and the environment -- www.momsandtheplanet.com.

The former wellness editor of Fit Body and Real national women magazines, Terra previously contributed at ClubMom.com and Aisle7 (formerly Healthnotes), and wrote the syndicated column Terra Wellington's Balanced Living.

Terra currently resides in the Los Angeles area with her husband and three children.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Information at Your Fingertips!, April 29, 2009

By 

N. Call (Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mom's Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home (Stonesong Press Books) (Paperback)

Living in a newly incorporated city, this book has spurred my interest into finding out what programs my community offers and what, if any, master energy plan is set for my city's future. I love the benefit of the plentiful pages of resources that may help jump-start a green energy plan/program for individuals, organizations, cities, and so forth.

Being that my city has mostly new homes that are Energy Star construction compliant, it would seem that we were doing all we can do. However, I learned through this guide about multiple other ways my family can come close to a zero-waste family and ways I can teach my children how to better treat the earth on which we live.

I'm also excited to start a green-type fundraising effort for my kids' schools and I think the parents, faculty, and students will be able to get just as excited!

I love the informative charts that explain how to dispose of differing types of waste appropriately. I also love the easy-to-understand descriptions of those little recycle symbols and numbers. They are really great references for my family's recycling program.

What is most helpful is that the author, Terra Wellington, obviously has experiences with her own family with the things she has written about. That makes my family's "green goals" seem attainable and makes me excited to see the results of our efforts. -- by Natasha Call, Utah

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Terra did her research!, April 16, 2009

By 

Brenda Boyd "mother of 10" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Mom's Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home (Stonesong Press Books) (Paperback)

This book is so jam-packed with current, useful information! I don't subscribe to the notion that humans are causing all of the earth's climate and atmospheric changes, however I have nothing against changing some of my habits to help reduce the need for unnessary energy and wastefulness in general. Some of the information in this book was mind-boggling - Terra has written a very informative guide on how to trade-in old habits that have a negative impact on the earth for techniques that will reduce wasted time, energy and resources. This book is seriously in my purse at all times now! I use it while shopping, as she has done all the research for me!

Terra's charts and explainations about rating systems (found on product labels) are priceless! I now feel confident that I can make informed choices while shopping for things I took for granted in the past, really, because I didn't know any better. Now I do! I am now armed with the knowledge of how to save money AND help preserve the earth's resources and I can feel confident that I am teaching my children to care about this beautiful earth we are all blessed to live on. Thank you Terra! I will be giving copies to my close friends for their birthdays this year. Really, I feel much better prepared and much less overwhelmed with the "how-to's" and I know my friends will feel the same way.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for everyone, August 29, 2009

By 

Cathi Lambson (Chandler, AZ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Mom's Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home (Stonesong Press Books) (Paperback)

"The Mom's Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home (Stonesong Press Books)" has a wealth of information in it. The book was written in a way that holds the reader's attention and makes one want to continue reading long into the night. I enjoyed the "humor" throughout the book. It kept the subject matter from becoming "too dry". Our Earth is delicate and by incorporating the ideas in the book into my everyday life, I feel that I am doing my part to help keep our planet green. There were a number of things in the book that I have not ever considered would make a difference. I also was elated to find many websites listed that have proven very useful to me and to my family. I plan to include this book in my children's Christmas stockings this year...may even add to some other's gifts.