Like the Peanut Butter and Jelly Campaign I heard about last week. Did you know that having a PB&J sandwich can help to shrink your carbon footprint and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution? Find out how this works by visiting the campaign’s website. And if you don’t know what your family’s carbon footprint is, you can calculate it here. I did this with my kids (it only took a few minutes) and it was a fun way to learn and talk about our impact on the environment. Believe me, I’m no expert, and I admit I’m still guilty of taking too-long showers every once in a while or forgetting to turn off the lights when I leave the room, but I am trying.

And back on the topic of PB&J’s, now that I know this, I think I’ll be packing more of them in my kids’ lunches. It’s even better if the sandwich is organic, and I have to say I’ve been really happy with Safeway’s organic products. The prices are reasonable, the variety seems to be constantly growing, and the items are easily distinguishable with bright labels. Plus, I’m all for convenience and being able to pick up organic foods at my local grocery store.

I also just read in the coupon book I got at Safeway that Kettle Foods (the maker of Kettle potato chips) is doing green things like recycling their used cooking oil and using rooftop panels. Good news for me, given the fact that these are my absolute favorite chips in the world and you can usually find a bag or two in our pantry. Especially the Sea Salt and Vinegar flavor. And just a heads up, if you got this coupon book too, there’s an offer in there to get a reusable shopping bag with a $50.00 purchase (not hard to spend if you have any kids in the house).

On a last note, my daughter went to an Earth Day festival with her friend over the weekend and said that her favorite part was, “playing on the grass and finding ladybugs in the bushes.” According to her, she and her friend each collected seven. Then she told me, “We let them go because they wouldn’t stay in our hands very long and they tickled too much. And because they eat aphids and help the enviroment.” Which I think pretty much sums it up.