By Debbie Levin
Ed Begley, Jr. and Blythe Danner are truly legends in not only the entertainment industry, but the environmental world as well. For over 30 years, Blythe and Ed have been engaged leaders in fighting for and role modeling environmental lifestyle behaviors.
What do organic peanut butter and jam, household cleaning solution so pure you can drink, moisturizer without chemical additives, soy products, hybrid vehicles, organic spirits and sustainable fish have in common? Well that's what you want in your homes in order to raise a healthy family. Yeah, yeah, common sense, huh? Well, yes and no. We all do know this, but somehow it takes a panel of “experts” to hit it home. Since 2005 is the fifteenth anniversary of the EMA Awards, we began to reminisce about how EMA was founded. We were founded to help educate the public, via the media, about the environmental issues that would affect the world we leave for our children. Children. So, on June 26th, EMA partnered with the Children's Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC) to host the Green Power Baby Shower. This was a “Briefing disguised as a Brunch” to educate future and current parents (even several grandparents) on how to keep their families as healthy as possible in their homes.
The Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and InStyle Magazine sponsored this wonderful and so very informative event. Held at the fabulous Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica, 240 adults, 50 kids and 22 babies(!) gathered to dine on organic food, browse the product stations for their organic goodies and mingle with other caring families.
We were fortunate to have an inspiring and distinguished panel discussing the issues vitally important to these young families. Ed Begley, Jr. and Blythe Danner, much loved passionate environmental pioneers; Nancy Chuda, founder of CHEC; Dr. Alan Greene, Stanford University School of Medicine and author of From First Kicks to First Steps; Dr. Harvey Karp, UCLA School of Medicine and author of The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block; Bob Scowcroft, Executive Director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation and Jeff Senior, Sr. Vice President, Marketing and Sales, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
A brief welcome by EMA encouraged everyone to “shop” their way to a greener future. What we mean is, that by supporting the companies that produce sustainable, non-toxic products, we can hopefully encourage other companies to follow suit. Nancy Chuda then took the floor. Nancy, along with her husband Jim, founded the Colette Chuda Environmental Fund (CCEF) in 1991. CCEF launched CHEC and Nancy serves as CHEC's President. Nancy shared with the audience the story of her late daughter, Colette and how after the little girl lost her battle with cancer, Nancy and Jim decided that they would work tirelessly to educate other families about the potential dangers of environmental toxins found in our homes.
Dr. Alan Greene is a medical expert and pediatrician at the Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University and the creator of the popular website, DrGreene.com. He's been honored by Intel as “The Children's Health Hero of the Internet.” As the author of From First Kicks to First Steps: Nurturing Your Baby's Development from Pregnancy Through The First Year of Life and several other books, Dr. Greene was the perfect speaker to discuss just how much your baby is exposed to in the womb. As the guests munched on their organic cod, Dr. Greene spoke about the fascinating new research that's been done confirming how much babies really hear, feel and eat before birth. How aware new mommies are during pregnancy has been discovered to be much more important than previously believed.
DR. GREENE'S PRACTICAL TIPS FOR PREGNANT MOMS
Dr. Harvey Karp continued discussing the child's development, talking about toddlers and young children. Dr. Karp stressed the dangers of toxins in household cleaners, carpets, pesticides, etc. Because toddlers and young children are so curious, they don't hesitate to put “anything” in their mouths. The home environment should be safe for children to explore.
Dr. Karp has been a renowned pediatrician and child development specialist in the Los Angeles community for more than 25 years. With his best selling books and award winning videos and dvds, The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block, he has become one of the most read pediatricians in America. To quote the New York Times, “Roll over Dr. Spock!” In The Happiest Baby, Dr. Karp reveals his discovery of the "calming reflex" (the virtual 'off switch' for crying that ALL babies are born with) that allows parents (and grandparents) to soothe their baby's fussies in seconds...and help them sleep longer too. And, if that weren't enough, in The Happiest Toddler, Dr. Karp teaches the revolutionary new concept that toddlers are not so much little children as little...cavemen! (No wonder they named the toddler in The Flintstones, BamBam!). Using this idea as his guide to toddler communication, Dr. Karp teaches parents how to eliminate 50-90% of tantrums...in just days...and how to dramatically improve toddler cooperation, as well. Dr. Karp's work is being taught in medical schools and hospitals across the country and around the world. (The Happiest Baby has been translated into 13 languages.) Dr. Karp is an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCLA, although sadly he has just retired from private practice to dedicate himself to writing, teaching and child advocacy work.
Here are some quick facts from Dr. Karp:
Which brings us to food. This is a tricky one. Anyone over the age of 30 was probably raised with little concern about the products our parents purchased at the supermarket. And for those of us… over 40… well, convenience was the name of the game in the 60's. Frozen dinners, concentrated fruit juices, canned vegetables. AHHHHHHHH! What we didn't know! And it's funny because our grandparents were raised properly. They were organic and pesticide free before those were even in the vernacular. But the “chemical age” gave us a multitude of things we're now working to rid our homes of. Bob Scowcroft, Executive Director of the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) and EMA Advisory Board member has been a great friend of EMA's for years. The first Executive Director of California Certified Organic Farmers and the national organizer for Friends of the Earth, Bob co-founded OFRF in 1989. Their mission is to foster the improvement and widespread adoption of organic farming practices. They give financial support for organic research and education as well as disseminate information on all sectors of the organic product industry to the public. Basically, Bob's the guy with all the answers. It seems so logical that we'd all want to serve our families fresh, locally grown food without toxins or pesticides.
Traveling is a very real part of raising a family. But is that a time that you throw away your environmental values as well as daily responsibilities? Of course not. With the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, vacations and business travel can be done without sacrificing your sustainable lifestyle or luxury. Jeff Senior, Sr. Vice President Marketing and Sales, explained the ways that his company is making travel with a conscience possible. The “greenest” hotel company on the globe, the Fairmont Group and their diligent environmental department are determined to work with each location individually to ensure the maximum eco-sensitive experience.
Legend is a big word. But Ed Begley, Jr. and Blythe Danner are truly legends in not only the entertainment industry, but the environmental world as well. For over 30 years, Blythe and Ed have been engaged leaders in fighting for and role modeling environmental lifestyle behaviors. Everyone knows that Blythe is one of our most talented and well respected actresses in all mediums. Blythe traces her own environmentalism to her childhood in rural Pennsylvania. After marrying Bruce Paltrow in 1969 and having her children, she grew more aware of the abuses to the environment while living in both New York and Los Angeles. At that time, there was no curbside recycling in Santa Monica so Blythe immediately became involved in an effort to implement a system. Santa Monica's program is now a model for the country! She was also one of the first drivers of the all electric EV1 and then the Toyota RAV4, powered by energy form her solar home. Ed is the poster child for Green Hollywood. Ed is the “10” when we encourage everyone to live as sustainably as they can on a scale from “1 to 10.” He was living solar, growing his own organic fruits and veggies and driving electric cars before they were even invented! As far as lobbying for change, Ed has been the most outspoken and reliable tool the environmental community has had. And now, we can add product entrepreneur to his list of accomplishments. With his new cleaning product, Begley's Best, he is on the road to revolutionize the cleaning industry. It's totally non-toxic and biodegradable. (And by the way, it works fantastically!) As the model of green grandparenting (and parenting), Blythe and Ed were so inspiring to our guests.
While their parents were learning “everything” they needed to know to keep them safe, the kids were busy doing what they do best… playing. Local favorite for families, Bright Child set up an adjoining room with their signature games and activities. The kids had their own special organic menu including mac and cheese, peanut butter & jam, freshly popped popcorn and of course cookies. (Although the main room was open for kids to come back and regularly get their hugs from mom and dad.) It was the most wonderful atmosphere of attentiveness mixed with hushed children's voices. Overall, the warmth in the room was contagious. We hope everyone took some logical and possibly overlooked tips home with them.
Copyright © 2005 Environmental Media Association
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