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If you’re a subscriber to Natural Life Magazine’s digital edition, your January/February 2011 issue is now ready. You can access it here. Just click on the appropriate link or the cover graphic, and insert your password when requested. You can read the PDF file online (or on some mobile devices), save it to your computer, and/or print out articles you’d like to read away from your computer. Subscribers who are iPad users tell us that apps like this one help them open, read and organize their digital copies of Natural Life Magazine.

If you’re not yet a digital subscriber, you can subscribe here. Or you can subscribe to the print edition here. Print edition subscribers will receive their copy of the January/February issue in the mail after Christmas.

Oh, and it’s not too late to give a gift subscription! What better time of the year than now to share Natural Life’s green living inspiration and information?

There has been controversy this past weekend on the social networking sites about a Facebook campaign to get people to replace their profile photos with those of favorite cartoon characters…in the name of showing support for child abuse. I wrote a blog post about the incongruity of linking those two things, since many cartoons are violent. They can also be sexist and many other “ists.” And the effect of that is the topic of an article in Natural Life Magazine’s current issue entitled The Little Princess Syndrome: When Our Daughters Act Out Fairytales. It was written by Matthew Johnson, Director of Education for the Media Awareness Network.

Most parents of young daughters face the question: “Has she hit the ‘princess phase’ yet?” Not all parents are upset by this. Many happily buy their girls princess costumes, toys, and accessories ranging from shoes to purses, all in pink, and often branded with fairytale characters that appear in cartoons. As Matthew points out, though, some despair of the powerful gender stereotyping this delivers to young girls and each new piece of princess gear can be a source of conflict.

The source of much of this princess culture is, of course, Disney cartoons and their associated marketing. So I was interested recently (and sent up a silent cheer) to read in the Los Angeles Times that Disney is ringing down the curtain on the genre after 73 years of charming princes saving desperate, pretty pink princesses.

Animation heads Ed Catmull (Pixar) and John Lasseter (Disney) were quoted as saying they believe that “films and genres do run a course. They may come back later because someone has a fresh take on it … but we don’t have any other musicals or fairy tales lined up.”

But in reaction to the report, the studio seemed to back away very quickly from this stance on its Facebook page. Did they get masses of email from disgruntled five-year-olds? Who knows. No matter what that was about, thanks to syndications, DVDs, and the Internet, it will take more than Disney’s decision on its future path to put the princess culture to sleep for good.

And that’s probably not necessary anyway. With the help of vigilant parents and some media literacy savvy, children should be able to enjoy the fairytales without buying into the gender bias and helplessness habits they promote. And if not, your daughters may enjoy my all-time favorite princess book The Paper Bag Princess. It turns the princess stereotype onto its head and, while it probably won’t counteract all that sparkly pinkness on its own, it used to get my young daughters cheering as the princess assertively tells her not-so-charming prince that she doesn’t need him to save her and he should get lost. Just to be sure, we’ve also published some tips for helping your kids – both boys and girls – to become media literate.

Christmas has traditionally been an important time in the life of many families. But it is also an environmental nightmare of commercial hype leading to consumer over-indulgence, throwaway gifts and decorations, and excess packaging. And that’s not to mention the unhealthy eating and drinking, and the stress of trying to live up to unrealistic expectations and unnecessary entertaining and socializing.

If your extended family and friends aren’t as environmentally or socially aware as you are, it can be tempting to forsake your green values and eco-ethics and go along with the crowd. But that’s not necessary; it is possible to create an enjoyable but green Christmas, and Natural Life Magazine can tell you how.

We have gathered together just a few of the articles featured over the years in Natural Life Magazine that will help you green your holiday celebrations. So sit back, relax, save money, and protect the planet while planning to spread some natural Christmas cheer.

When I was a child growing up during the Cold War, November 11 alternately confused and scared me. The ceremonies at school seemed distant and I had no direct contact with any family members who had experienced war. However, the fear of “the enemy” was palpable, and not just on November 11. Practice air raid sirens would go off from time to time, and we practiced what to do if we were attacked – although I really had no idea who might be doing that. Unfortunately, neither my parents nor my teachers could or would deal with my questions and my concerns, so I  learned to keep them to myself. Later, when I could read fluently, a friendly librarian helped me find some books that would at least explain things, if not settle my mind.

Years later, at a time when the Viet Nam war was winding down, I spoke with my own children about war. I had few tools to help me, but I wanted to be sure they wouldn’t have the confusion or fear that I’d experienced as a child. In addition to our chats, they accompanied me on peace marches, and (without my prompting) wrote and performed a play to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

One tool I could have used was an article that we published in Natural Life Magazine in 2003 called Talking to Children About War by Naomi Drew, the author of Hope and Healing: Peaceful Parenting in an Uncertain World (Citadel Press, 2002).

Here, also, is a much more recent article by author Laura Grace Weldon entitled Making Peace in Your Life and in the World. It puts violence in a personal context and provides food for thought about our individual responsibilities to work toward peace within our families and our communities.

In the 1970s and 80, my family led an educational revolution; our children learned at home, instead of at school, and without the trappings, expectations, competition, lack of respect and trust, and coercion that is part of school. I call this “life learning” but some people call it “homeschooling” or “unschooling” or variations on those words. (You can learn more about it here.) There is a similar term for the way I choose to make my living: “unjobbing.”

Unjobbing can be thought of either as the process of leaving a job you don’t like to work independently, or the actual state of living and working that results from leaving a job in order to have the freedom to look after children or pursue something different. (Or for many people these days, it is the reality they face after their job has disappeared.)

But it is more than that. In the same way that life learning is about more than education, this so-called “unjobbing” is about more than work. It is about aligning all aspects of your life – including work – with your personal values. It means living without the competition, outwardly-imposed structure, lack of respect, expectations, greed, pollution, waste, and so on that characterize many conventional workplaces. For many people, one of the biggest unjobbing transitions involves removing the credentials from behind their names and disentangling their identity from their jobs. Because unjobbing includes the philosophy of living simply and consciously, it usually means working less than full-time, and devoting the rest of the time to family and home, community service and volunteering, travel, or leisure. (Working less is another challenge for many…you don’t need to jump from one treadmill to another!) This is about is following your passion and using your talents to make enough money for your and your family’s needs without having a job, rather than trying to be a millionaire entrepreneur.

Aside from being good for your soul, your health, and your family, unjobbing can be a greener way to live, since you’re usually home-based. That means less carbon-creating commuting, fewer fancy clothes, and the ability to control the materials that decorate and furnish your office.

As part of my own unjobbing experience (which included publishing Natural Life Magazine), for many years, I coached people – especially moms – who were starting micro-businesses. I also spoke often on the subject at conferences and to the media, and wrote newspaper columns and magazine articles. Some of the how-to articles can be found here. And more about unjobbing can be found here.

Awhile back in Natural Life Magazine, we published a letter from someone who wrote in to say that she couldn’t afford to be green anymore (meaning, in her case, buying organic food and green cleaning products) because she’d lost her job. I hope I was able to dispel that myth for her! While organic food and so-called “green” cleaning products can be more expensive than their conventional counterparts, and installing solar panels on your roof costs a lot of money upfront, there are frugal alternatives and small projects that you can undertake that don’t cost as much. Recycling and re-using cost nothing; mending, swapping, and shopping second-hand are more frugal than buying new clothing; baking soda and vinegar can replace almost any high-priced commercial cleaner; making your home draft-proof can save a lot of energy and money; gardening, canning,  preserving, and baking take time, but they are economical and satisfying. Making your own and doing it yourself are becoming trendy for good reasons!

The little things you do can add up – both in terms of helping the environment and saving money – as some of our readers have told us. (Our readers have been sending us their green and frugal living tips since we started publishing in 1976!) In fact, Natural Life Magazine is full of helpful tips for going green easily and economically and you’ll find some of those articles online. You can navigate the site by using the article indexes that appear near the top of every page; you could begin with the frugal living index and the green living index.

One thing you won’t see in Natural Life Magazine is recommendations about buying green products. We have a strict policy of not endorsing any particular brands or products. (Usually when magazines and websites write about products, they’re doing so in order to attract advertisers, and we don’t believe that’s ethical.) So we explain the issues in a well-researched manner that is not influenced by any particular company, then let you decide how to make decisions to make your home greener and healthier and where to spend your money – or, in many cases, not to spend it at all.

I have written many articles of that sort for the magazine over the years. And now, we’ve updated them in an exciting new book called Natural Life Magazine’s Green & Healthy Homes. This is a unique guide to making your home both green and healthy…while saving money at the same time. It’s available now, directly from us, in both print and the less expensive e-book format.

As far as food goes, one solution to the problem of expensive organic grocery bills (aside from growing your own and buying directly from farmers) is to choose organic when you are purchasing those foods that carry the heaviest burden of pesticides, chemicals, additives and hormones when grown conventionally. Here is just one article that will help stretch your organic spending power, while reducing your family’s exposure to harmful chemicals. There are lots more in back issues of Natural Life Magazine, with some archived on the website.

So if you’re wondering how to get started with green living – or just need to move beyond the expensive, green products trap – spend some time with us!

In North America, Halloween is traditionally an important time in the life of many families, not to mention one of our kids’ favorite occasions. Celebrations like Halloween are great opportunities for having some fun as a family and for sharing the principles behind our green lifestyles and principles with young children.

But if your extended families and friends aren’t as environmentally or socially aware as you are, the commercial hype can be troublesome. For many, Halloween is just another commercial opportunity, benefiting greeting card and candy manufacturers, and often becomes an orgy of excess packaging (all those little candies in separate wrappers); expensive, plastic single-use costumes; and unhealthy eating. It’s enough to spook a green thinker into ignoring the occasion altogether.

But there are ways to enjoy Halloween with our children without forsaking our eco-ethics. And we’ve put some ideas together in this article. We hope your little green ghosts and ghoulies have a healthy, green, and safe Halloween.

The digital edition of Natural Life Magazine’s November/December issue has just been made available for download by paid subscribers. Just go to the index page, click on the cover graphic, and insert your password when asked.

Not yet a digital subscriber? Here’s where to sign up.

Newsstand buyers of the print edition should look for this issue in a week or so, and subscriber copies to the print edition will begin to be mailed this week.

Effective today, Bisphenol A (BPA) is on the Canadian government’s Toxic Substances List, in spite of industry objections registered with the government but rejected earlier this year. BPA is a widely-used chemical found in the coating of metal food and beverage cans, some polycarbonate products like food containers, water bottles, baby bottles, eyeglass lenses, nail polish, dental sealants, water pipes, and toys. You can read more about its use in plastics in a 2008 article in Natural Life Magazine.

BPA has been shown to mimic the hormone estrogen and cause reproductive damage that may lead to prostate and breast cancer. It has also been linked to immune system dysfunction, early puberty in females, heart disease, diabetes, and higher rates of miscarriage. In August, Statistics Canada reported that measurable levels of BPA were found in the urine of ninety-one percent of Canadians aged six to seventy-nine.

Canada was the first country in the world to propose taking action against BPA, having concluded in 2008 that it was “toxic.” But it took until March of this year for it to ban BPA in baby bottles in Canada, and it can still legally be used in other products.

Other countries, including the U.S., France, Denmark, Belgium and the U.K. have taken action on its use – or are in the process of doing so. According to the activist organization Environmental Defence, the World Health Organization and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization are holding an expert meeting in Ottawa in November to review BPA’s health effects.