I’m always surprised by how few people recycle. I actually know a person who drinks bottled water daily and doesn’t recycle. Curbside recycling is an option in her area. ?!?!?!? There is an east coast company called RecycleBank, the 4-year old brain child of two high schoolers, that pays Americans to recycle. Households get 2.5 [...]
Archive for September, 2008
26 Sep
Eden Foods uses BPA-free cans
It’s best to avoid cans when possible, but I know as well as any how hard that is. A lot of our winter recipes (stew, chili, etc.) require canned tomatoes. I haven’t found a way around it, except to jar my own tomatoes each summer, and I just haven’t been able to do that. For [...]
23 Sep
Country of origin labeling
One week from today, on Sept 30, a federal law takes place that will require certain foods, like meat and produce, to be labeled with their country of origin. Processed foods will not be labeled. This is a great way for you to know where your food comes and to support more locally grown and [...]
20 Sep
The power of example
When I was a little girl, my father walked to work. We lived between one and two miles from his office, which happened to be up a pretty sizable hill. Every day–snow, rain, or shine–my father hiked up that hill to his job. He also worked out in addition to this, taking classes at the [...]
17 Sep
FDA stands by their conclusion that BPA is safe
The FDA met yesterday to reexamine the safety of BPA in consumer products like canned goods, baby bottles, and sippy cups and concluded, yet again, that BPA is safe. The same day, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study that found higher BPA concentrations in the urine of 1455 adults to be [...]
15 Sep
Big Green Purse
I recently checked out Big Green Purse from the library because it had good reviews on Amazon. When I picked up the book, I skimmed the Index and saw that, not surprisingly, it followed the typical formula of most other “green” books out there–a chapter on personal-care products, one on food, one for cleaning products, [...]
11 Sep
Countertops might be a health threat?
Recently, there have been a few articles in the press about granite countertops emitting radon. Radon is a radioactive gas that is released from the natural stone when the uranium in it decays. But would this be enough radon to harm the health of the people living in a home with granite countertops? Radon is [...]
8 Sep
New research shows BPA damages monkey brain synapses
The saga of BPA continues… For those of you not up to speed on BPA, here’s a quick recap. In the U.S., 7 billion pounds of BPA are produced annually. Since 2004, we have known that detectable levels of BPA are found in the blood of 93% of Americans over age 6. In April of [...]
7 Sep
PBDE flame retardants in children
There was a nice video clip on NBC’s Today show last week that discussed some concerns with brominated flame retardant chemicals called PBDEs. These chemicals cover many household products in an attempt to keep you safe from fires, but the chemicals are turning up in our blood and more worrisome, in the blood of our [...]
4 Sep
Who says one person can’t make a difference?
When it comes to making changes in your lifestyle for the sake of the environment, it’s easy to become discouraged. Honestly, how big of a difference can just one person make by changing her light bulbs or using reusable grocery bags or driving less? When I think about the lifestyle changes my family has made [...]
