Live chat with Sheherazade Goldsmith Wednesday June 18th 1-2pm

[carriemumsnet]

You magazine eco columnist and editor of a Slice of Organic Life, Sheherazade Goldsmith, will be joining us for an online chat to share her green tips on Wednesday June 18th from 1-2pm. Sheharazade is an eco mum with three children under ten. She's launching the Peter Rabbit Naturally Better initiative which sees the well-loved Beatrix Potter creation become the first ever licensed character to go green.

Created in 1893, the naughty little rabbit is the oldest licensed children's character in the world and this new initiative reflects the importance that Beatrix Potter placed on the natural world and the environment.

If you can't make it on Weds, you can post your questions in advance here. Otherwise, we'll see you with your organic salads (home grown of course ) on weds lunchtime.

[zippitippitoes]

i am looking forward to thi s very much...

i am thinking of questions

[zippitippitoes]

is organic life about saving the planet or about feeling good and living the dream?

there seems to be rather more lifestyle and selling in a lot of the promotion in magazines of green and organic then there is real substance?

fashion and waste is just as common in the organic lifestyle as in the non organic...is it time to start playing down some of the style aspects and look harder at real issues?

[Anna8888]

Has ecology replaced Christianity as the aspirational middle-class religion?

[zippitippitoes]

pretentious and pointless seems to sum up a lot of green and organic business, prettifying luxurious homes rather than a back to basics green and economical how to tackle practical everyday requirements..how do you justify expensive lifestyle promotion as seen in the media?

[Anna8888]

How can you encourage people to stop tarmac-ing over their front gardens and putting decking over their back gardens? Decreasing square metres of green space in urban areas is an ecological disaster.

[motherinferior]

Where, pray, do you suggest I keep a goose - recommended in your book - in my small city garden? Especially as you recommend a pair of geese?

[lulumama]

the cost of living is rising, families are struggling more and more to buy food, any food, nevermind fairtrade, organic produce and many do not have the time to go to local shops, to support local suppliers ,as they are short of time, so going to a big supermarket is a lot more attractive.

what can you suggest for families struggling to maintain a decent diet anyway, who are probably less concerned with going green and more concerned with keeping their families fed, housed and clothed?

cutesifying greeness with beatrix potter characters does not make it more attainable to many people

thank you

[Anchovy]

What recommendations do you have for people who don't have an organic farm? Or indeed any farm at all?

Because surely the challenge and the real point of need is for these people - people who live in urban areas and work 10-12 hour days? How does "going to local farmers markets/shopping sequentially at small local shops" fit is with that modus vivendi?

[motherinferior]

When it says you edited your book, did you actually write any of it?

[Enid]

omg

is this because of the Bunty Cupcake thread?

[Enid]

How do you become an Eco Mum without a million pound trustfund behind you?

[katierocket]

I'm a bit disappointed about this TBH.

[forevercleaning]

anyway, how do you pronounce sheherazade ?!

[katierocket]

to clarify: I'm disappointed about the choice of chat person, not the responses herein!

[zippitippitoes]

in your view what would be the most eco way to spend a week on holiday?

[DarthVader]

Isn't Scheherezade Goldsmith the heiress to untold wealth, riches and fortune? Is she really in touch with normal life? Is a 4 hour commute to your second home in the country each weekend really in keeping with green credentials? Does she really consume less than the average Jo?

[DarthVader]

Isn't Scheherezade Goldsmith the heiress to untold wealth, riches and fortune? Is she really in touch with normal life? Is a 4 hour commute to your second home in the country each weekend really in keeping with green credentials? Does she really consume less than the average Jo?

[katierocket]

LOL at the goose (or indeed geese).

[buntinglicious]

I am a part time working mum to a 1 year old. I live in a 1st floor flat with no garden (and no window sills). We are short on money, are desperately trying to budget our food shop, don't go on holiday, mostly buy second hand stuff (clothes, baby toys etc.), recycle where possible (plastic bottles, paper, card, glass, tins) don't have anywhere to put compost, living in rented accommodation in an old building(so fundamental house changes are impossible).

What realistic changes could I make in my life to become more eco friendly?

[DarthVader]

buntinglicious you could persuade scheherazade & co to adopt your lifestyle which would consume substantially less resource I expect

[zippitippitoes]

Are you surprised that people see you as a Marie Antoinette character?

[DarthVader]

hilarious zippi

[zippitippitoes]

Is it honestly practical to keep animals like your cow Bunty or really a luxury that is only possible for a few..how much does each pint of milk really cost when you take into account land, feed,vets,labour etc?

[Anchovy]

Have you calculated your carbon footprint? How does it compare to, say, a similar-sized family living in an urban area? (Would be genuinely interested in that - I have a sneaky suspicion that living responsibly in an urban area is probably a more "eco" approach, where a lot of journeys can be done on foot or by public transport, etc).

Do you think that greenifying Beatrix Potter characters is a serious and worthwhile response to current ecological trends and issues? (Genuinely perplexed - my very middle class children have always found BP far too twee, outdated and irrelevant for them and it inhabits a very teeny age span (say, 3-5) when children are completely under the control of their parent's decisions - so I'm struggling to see the point).

[brimfull]

what a name!!