Episode 22. How Can we Make our Holidays more Earth Friendly?

Christine and Rose chat about their favourite eco-friendly holiday traditions and gift ideas, and share their most-requested Christmas baking recipes. First up, though, is the Eaarth Feels’ perspective on the latest news from the UN climate summit in Madrid.

Recurring segments include:

  • Good news Stories
  • One action tip to for you to create change
  • A weekly sanity tip to keep you calm(er) in the face of climate overwhelm

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Definitions

The Paris Agreement is a landmark environmental pact designed to improve upon the Kyoto Protocol, It was adopted by 197 nations in 2015 to address negative impacts of climate change. Includes commitments from all major emitting countries to cut greenhouse emissions with the promise to strengthen those commitments over time. It entered into force on November 4, 2016.

COP25- The 25th session of conference of the parties happened Dec 2-14 in Madrid, Spain.

COP26-The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the UNFCCC is expected to take place from 9-19 November 2020, in Glasgow, UK.  2020 will be the year in which governments are due to review their promises to cut carbon emissions in line with the latest science.

Blog: Heated.world  Written by Emily Atkin, climate journalist, a Monday to Thursday newsletter dedicated to original accountability reporting and analysis on climate crisis.

Some ideas for Eco Friendly Holidays:

~Keep Decorations Simple

  • Use what you have on hand
  • Get Creative with Nature

 

 

Rose’s tree with

30 years of Santa ornaments.

IMG_3990

 

Christine’s front porch, with gnome figure from greens, wreath from Value Village Village, and tree trimmings from the yard.

-Give Consumables. Here are some of our favorite homemade treats:

Rose’s pizzelle recipe (made with an electric pizzelle iron)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup butter melted and cooled
  • 1 tablespoon anise or vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 4 eggs
pizzelles
~While iron is preheating combine all dry ingredients into large mixing bowl.~Combine wet ingredients together in smaller bowl.~Mix wet and dry together thoroughly. The dough will be quite sticky

~Spray preheated iron with non stick cooking spray~Drop slightly rounded tablespoons of batter on to pizzelle iron and close the lid.~Bake  until golden brown (30 seconds to 1 minute)~

Beware: Pizzelles are addictive! I make several batches just to get us through to Christmas Day!

Melt 1 lb of good quality white chocolate in the top of the double boiler. Once the chocolate is melted, mix in 1 cup shelled and roasted pistachios and 1 cup dried cranberries. Spread evenly over parchment-lined baking pan, let cool. Store in airtight container in fridge or freezer (be sure to hide from your family or it will be gone before December 25th!)

Head over to the fantastic MennoniteGirlsCanCook.com website for the White Chocolate Apricot Biscotti recipe that Christine uses for her Christmast baking.

~Offer Services as gifts:

  • prepare dinner
  • housekeeping
  • babysitting
  • snow shoveling/ lawn mowing
  • garden cleanup

~Spend TIME together creating traditions:

  • Share Christmas Eve meal
  • Serve a Community Meal
  • Sing Carols at home or with neighbors
  • Read Holiday Stories
  • Watch Holiday Movies
  • Play Favorite Games
  • Attend a Service at your House of Worship

Good News:

Unfreeze Yourself Action Step: Can you buy one less thing? Can you bake? Or offer a service?

Sanity Tip: Carve out a couple of hours to unplug from the busy-ness. Allow yourself to enjoy the reason for the season. Connect friends and family in a meaningful way.