Joel Henriques of Made by Joel shows us how to make these little seafaring vessels out of walnut shells, toothpicks, a small piece of paper and a little candle wax.  These are perfect for the calm waters of the bathtub or even the raging rivers that form along the street and in the yard during a heavy rain (and you wont feel that bad if one ends up in a storm drain).

If you want to make your diminutive dinghies even more natural, try replacing the toothpick mast with a twig and the paper sail with a leaf!

Checkout the instructions over at Made by Joel.

Natural Home reports that "board game purchases were up 23 percent in 2000, and since then world events and tumultuous economic times have boosted their popularity." Families that are striving to return to a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle are drawn to the imaginative play that board games encourage, as well as the opportunity to engage each other in an activity that promotes eye contact instead of staring at a screen.

You might also be surprised to learn that several of the most beloved games are already being made in an eco-friendly fashion, no greenwashing required.

Many of the Chinese Checkers sets that you might find in a thrift store or discount store are still made from recycled paperboard with recycled glass marbles, just like they were in the 1930's. And did you know that U.S. Playing Cards, the world’s largest manufacturer of playing cards, uses certified sustainably harvested wood, Georgia clay, corn syrup, and cornstarch to make the classic Bicycle deck that has been a best-seller for 100 years? It's true.  And the company even recycles all of its scrap!

If you like the idea of trying out lesser known board games, there are plenty of exotic options available from fair-trade retailers like Ten Thousand Villages and Novica.com, which both sell beautiful wooden board games complete with stone, wood, and clay playing pieces that have been handcrafted. A portion of the sale of these games is reinvested in the artisans and their communities.

MindWare offers a four-person version of mancala, a well-loved African game, as well as several other board games, made from sustainably grown rubberwood with glass “pebbles.” Rose and Pentagram Design uses industry scrap and thrift shop finds to produce one-of-a-kind game sets and tables embellished with elaborate Celtic art (Natural Home).

For the very motivated (or creative!), there's no reason why you can't also make your own board games from materials found around the house. Cardboard boxes, paper squares, pebbles, golf tees, egg cartons and beans can all be used to craft custom versions of popular games like checkers and chess.

Happy Gaming!

(Image credit: Flickr Creative Commons - viZZZual.com)

As we know, kids put all sorts of stuff in their mouths.  While you can't always stop them from tasting their toys, you can choose eco-friendly and organic toys without nasty chemicals.  I was lucky enough to receive some wooden toys from a Korean company called Soopsori.  Soopsori's toys are handmade from sustainably harvested wood and finished with Osmo Clear Oil (made with natural vegetable oils and free from biocides and preservatives).

Beyond being sustainably produced, Soopsori makes everything from wooden blocks to wooden robots to tea sets.  They also recycle all sawdust from production and donate a percentage of their profits to environmental NGOs and for tree planting.  The toys are also 100% recyclable as they are made without bolts or paints - although these are the kind of toys that could be passed down for generations (or at least from child to child, neighbor to neighbor).

And of course, the best thing is that the toys are beautiful and fun (so fun in fact, that as soon as I got the play chef set, I had to have a 30 second imaginary tea party, complete with toast and eggs).   I also got a set of push cars, which are handy because you can have your child pretend your back is the road since the cars double nicely as massage rollers.  But as I don't have kids myself, I wanted to verify that I wasn't the only one who wanted to play tea party with the Soopsori toys so I field tested them at a Palo Alto preschool called Leaping Lizards.

They were an instant success with both the boys and the girls.  They even beat out the plastic dinosaurs. Unfortunately, Soopsori toys are not widely available in the US but keep an eye out at their website Ecowoodentoys.com and at their eBay store for updates.  It's definitely worthwhile.

While Earth Day turns 40 today, for me it's about 19 years old.  Here are some old Earth Day videos I remember from growing up:

Here's one I actually remember from my first Earth Day.  I don't know if it aired nationally but I remember it here on our local stations in NH:

This one with Downtown Julie Brown and Egon is great:

Sorry Auntie Litter but this one is a little embarrassing (as are any attempts by old white people to reach the youth by rapping):

Now these two are not specific "Earth Day" videos, but they are probably the most iconic Environmental Ads of all time.  Who can forget the crying Indian?

Happy Earth Day!

This toy recycling truck is made in the United States from recycled milk jugs.  How's that for an eco-friendly toy for all of our green kids out there?  The company making this toy, the aptly named Green Toys Inc., produces a whole line of toys from these used milk jugs that contain no BPA, lead paint or phthalates.  These toys conform to all safety standards and reduce the carbon footprint by not shipping them halfway around the world.

This cookware and  dishes set for up and coming chefs also meets all FDA regulations for food safety contact and are dishwasher safe.  Any parent can attest to the fact that most kids love to play kitchen.  These types of role playing toys are great for developing self esteem, kitchen skills and fostering independence in children.  The range of colours and green aspects also make the toys more appealing to both kids and their parents.

This indoor gardening set also by Green Toys Inc. comes with organic seeds of sunflower, basil and zinnia to foster a love of nature.  You simply plant the seeds in the soil pellets as per the instructions, water and watch them grow.  The fact that this toy set is also made from environmentally responsible materials packaged in a conscious and sustainable way will only make the kids more aware of the world around them and the impact that our lives can have on it.

This new product from Little Tikes shows that even big name, familiar toy companies are beginning to turn green.  This tile matching game uses bamboo instead of wood and is printed using soy based pigments.  They have a whole life of educational, green toys that are labelled "Rated G for Green".  These products use 100% recycled paper, soy based ink, bamboo or corn based resin instead of more traditional materials.  This line includes flash cards, card game, the bamboo tile game described above as well as a tanagram game.  Hopefully this line will continue to grow as toy manufacturer's realize that the demand for more environmentally responsible kids products requires their growth and change.  I bought this bamboo tile game for my daughter because even though it is made in China, they're off in the right direction.

We are already recycling all the time…

...so just take a couple links out of this chain.

Source: Hulu via Ecorazzi

“After eight long, tiresome years, President Al Gore won't be missed. Even if he did save the planet”

Check out this hilarious hypothetical look back at the last 8 years with President Gore.  via Guardian.co.uk