This past week, NPR’s Science Friday host Ira Flatow interviewed Cy Tymony, the author of “Sneaky Green Uses for Everyday Things.” The book, as the title indicates, is a how-to on ways to turn everyday items, waste especially, into cool gadgets. Among the projects listed in the table of contents are “sneaky mini-boomerang” and “solar cooker project.”

Many of them sound like they could be fun for kids but not having seen the book, I can’t vouch for it. What I would love more than anything is to hear creative ways to use all those yogurt/cottage cheese/sour cream tubs we go through, especially since the city doesn’t accept them for recycling. I’ve tried using them for leftovers, but because they’re not transparent, (and I’m not good about labeling them) they usually end up shoved to the back of the frig, where they slowly turn into toxic sledge. Now we’re actually in need of them to transplant our tomato starts. But the rest of the year, most of them end up getting tossed. I guess I’m especially sensitive to plastic usage these days having read more recently about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a Texas-size gyre or giant eddy of accumulated plastic in the Pacific Ocean. This guy is building a boat of recycled plastic, called Plastiki, to sail to the garbage patch to bring awareness of the problem of waste in our oceans. Meanwhile, Durango is waging its own battle against plastic through the Reusable Bag Challenge, in which ski towns around the West compete to show who can eliminate the most throw-away bag usage. The contest ends September 1.

Any way we can cut down on waste, especially through fun, “sneaky” reuses, sounds like a good idea to me. Any more suggestions?

MORE: In a letter to the editor in Monday’s paper, Janet Reichl, shares some interesting additional information about plastic and the garbage patch.

It’s spring and Durango is waking up. A lot is going on Saturday — the Kids Fair at the mall, Skyfest at Schneider Park — but one thing worth special note is the book sale being held 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday at the Durango Public Library. According to the Friends of the Library, thousands of books and audio-visual materials from three packed storage sheds will be available for sale. The group is calling it their biggest book sale ever. Sounds like something not to be missed to me. They are also looking for volunteers. Call Sheryl Ayers at 385-4557.

On this Earth Day I can’t help but think about my first encounter as a young child with the concept of environmentalism. Of course I didn’t know that’s what it was when I watched the animated film version of Dr. Seuss’ “The Lorax” on TV back in the ’70s. (I recently re-watched it online with my son and was chagrined to observe that it was, in my estimation, overly influenced by the aesthetic of the era and had not aged nearly as well as the original Grinch movie). The tale remains the finest I know for instilling in children the concept that our planet’s resources are precious and finite. The obligation to be a good steward of the environment never weighed so heavily on me as it did after having children. It can be overwhelming and disheartening to contemplate the enormity of the task of trying to not only stop the degradation of our planet, but to improve its condition. But for my children’s sake, I know resignation is not an option. Because, as The Lorax teaches us, “unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

One fun and delicious way to make a difference is to involve your children in growing their own food. I recently wrote about the proliferation of community gardens in the Durango area.  Food activist Michael Pollan, author of “In Defese of Food,” wrote in an article today that, thanks to the World War II victory gardens, “by the time the war ended, home gardeners were producing 40 percent of the United States’ produce.” Imagine what a difference it would make if we could replicate that today. Besides, what is more fun to young children than digging in the dirt?

To learn more about community gardens in the area, contact the The Garden Project of Southwest Colorado. And the La Plata County Extension Office is great resource for backyard gardeners.

Rachel Turiel, whose “Adventures in Motherhood” column appears in the Sunday “Family & Relationships” section, suggested a book review/sharing section for “those of us book-obsessed moms.”

“I don’t read much how-to books anymore, but lots of ‘Mommy Lit,’ which sometimes feels like settling in with a glass of wine and a good Mama friend.”

Sounds like a great idea to me. I’ll consult with my site designer (a.k.a. my husband) about setting it up. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what people are reading/have read that they would recommend?