the ecomoderate

For years I have used antibacterial soap in my bathrooms and kitchen. I thought it was better than using regular soap. I mean who wants germs everywhere? I remember a few years back my in-laws said their plumber told them it was a bad idea to use antibacterial soap since it not only killed bad bacteria but the good kind too. Being naive, I ignored them and continued my use of the germ-a-phobe soaps in my house. That is, until my daughter was born. I started reading about the need to have some germs around to build up your child’s immune system. It got me thinking and I started slowly switching out my favorite Bath and Body Works scented antibacterial soaps. However, silly me purchased a large container of Softsoap and as thrifty as I am, could not throw it away. Now I am finally on my way to antibacterial soap freedom. Just in time for the EWG to send out it’s newsletter on how horrible triclosan is, the main ingredient in antibacterial products.

Triclosan, is an antibacterial pesticide. Yes, you read that right PESTICIDE! It’s in your soap, dishsoap, face wash, toothpaste and even kid’s toys. And of course it’s another one of those lovely chemicals that disrupts hormones, is linked to liver and inhalation toxicity, thyroid disruption and end’s up in breast milk. It’s also toxic to aquatic life since wastewater treatment does not remove all of it. The FDA has deemed it no more effective than regular soap and the American Medical Association does not recommend using any products with triclosan because it can cause resistance to antibiotics.

The EWG’s Guide to Triclosan can help you rid your household of products containing triclosan and also has germ controlling tips.

How do you know if a company is truly eco-friendly? There are so many symbols out there, how do you know as a consumer that it actually has some significance? The current issue (August 2008) of Entrepreneur magazine has spelled it all out for us. From Cradle2Cradle to USDA Organic, this sheet will help you decipher what each certification means.

I never used to wash my fruits and vegetables until my husband started getting on my case about Ecoli & Salmonella outbreaks. I thought if I just ran some water on my fruits and veggies it would be fine. And why would you need to re-wash the pre-washed lettuce or spinach?

While meandering through the local Whole Foods Market produce section I came across Environne Fruit & Vegetable Wash. With my husbands’ voice in my head I decided to give it a try. Six months later, I’m still using it to wash all of my produce. From potatoes, tomatoes, fruits and lettuce. I love how it washes the wax off of my cucumbers and fruits like apples and melons. All you need is a small drop and some water and it removes pesticides, fungicide and herbicide residues, waxes and oils from your fruit and veggies. It is made with non-toxic cleansing agents, is biodegradable and free of harmful effects. Independent lab tests show that it removes 97% of the chemical residues off your produce.

I still have the same bottle I bought six months ago, so it is definitely a good bargain! They also have wipes which are great for on the go when you are at the grocery store and want to delve into that piece of fruit or in my daughters case, tomato, you just purchased. The company is in Roseburg, Oregon which is a few hours from where I live, so I feel that I am contributing to a local company.

You can check out more of their products and find a location near you at their website http://www.environne.com

It seems like the word “green” has become one of those words the media and tv shows like to beat you over your head with over and over again. Watch any home show and “green” is in just about every one of them. Look at articles about products and “green” is almost always mentioned. Next thing we’ll see is Project Runway going green, with designers using green fabric and supplies! Now that would be interesting.

Buzz words always seem to fizzle and lose their meaning when overused like the way “green” is being used today. I prefer the words “sustainable” or “sustainability” because they have more significance. For instance, the past few nights I’ve had insomnia and when my husband found out once again I fell asleep at 4 a.m., his response was “Honey, this is not sustainable!” Now that has meaning!

In my own opinion, I am quite tired of the extensive use of “green” in the marketing of products. Carbon foot print is another one that is starting to grate on my nerves. I’m not saying that changes don’t need to be made for our children and grandchildren’s sake. And for ours for that matter. But I think people are trying to do their best every day to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle and having it in our face every day can cause anxiety which in turn causes the meaning to fizzle and lose it’s enthusiasm. Eventually we will throw our hands up in the air and surrender to the conventional because it just seems easier. And I for one do not want to do that. So for now, I am removing the word “green” from my vocabulary and using sustainable because I want these changes to continue and have significance. What about you?

I have always liked my nonstick pans until recently when I started researching their toxicity. Ever heard of “Teflon Flu”? It feels like the flu with symptoms including headaches, chills, backache, and a fever between 100 and 104 degrees. Cooking with Teflon can make you sick if the non-stick pan gets overheated which to my surprise happens in just a few minutes. At 554 degrees fahrenheit studies show ultra-fine particles start coming off the pan. These are tiny little particles that can embed deeply into the lungs. The hotter the pan, the more chemicals that are released. This is caused by perfluroctanoic acid (PFOA), a synthetic chemical used in the production of Teflon and other similar non-stick coatings.

Low and behold, Dupont, the maker of non stick pans, has been hiding their health data about the dangers of PFOA for 20 years resulting in a number of class action lawsuits being filed against them in 2006. The lawsuits charge the company with exposing millions of Americans to serious health risks from cooking pans. AND if that’s not scary enough, in January 2006 the EPA posted its outside panel’s draft report suggesting that the Agency strengthen its study of the Teflon chemical PFOA and call it a “likely” human carcinogen”.

What’s a non-stick pan lover to do? There are some great alternatives for when you do choose to replace your non-stick pans. Watch out for “non-stick” labeling and ask if the coating is PTFE, even if it’s not Teflon. Be sure to choose stainless steel, cast iron, or enameled iron pans.

1. KitchenAid Stainless Steel 10-piece cookware set, $149
2. GreenPan™ 6-piece Nonstick Cookware Set $99.90 at The Home Shopping Network
3. Lodge unseasoned Original Finish 10.25″ skillet, ($13.95) and Cast Iron Cooking for Dummies set
4. Cuisinart 10″ stainless steel skillet ($60) and 7-piece Chef’s Classic stainless steel set ($260)
5. All-Clad 10″ stainless-steel frypan with aluminum core ($84.95) or 5-piece set ($394)

If you would like to learn more about the dangers of Teflon you can visit the Environmental Working Group Site

This past holiday weekend I sat in my backyard and took in the aromas of the food that was grilling from my neighbors backyards, along with the “wonderful” scent of charcoal and lighter fluid. It got me thinking, if we spray the charcoal with lighter fluid, does it go onto our food? And what about gas grills? My husband prefers gas, but I know several of my friends are charcoal purists. So what’s more eco-friendly?

The Sierra Club’s website estimates there are on average 60 million BBQ’s held on the Fourth of July holiday that consume enough energy to power 20,000 households for a year. ‘That one day,’says Tristram West, a research scientist with the U.S. Department of Energy, ‘burns the equivalent of 2,300 acres of forest and releases 225,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. ”

When you slather on the lighter fluid, a petroleum distillate, it gives off VOC’s (volatile organic chemicals) contributing to smog. A more eco-friendly way to light your charcoal is with a chimney starter which uses newspaper to light up your grill. Another option is an electric grill starter.

And for the purists out there who love the flavor charcoal gives their food, I hope you like the taste of borax, coal dust, sodium nitrate, limestone, and starch with your food because that’s what you’re getting from the cheap charcoal bought at the supermarket. There are brands made without chemicals and additives such as lump charcoal that’s harvested from sustainable wood, or pillow shaped briquettes which are made from scrap wood without the nasty additives. You can usually find eco-friendly charcoal at Whole Foods Markets or Safeway. Check your local natural food store or online retailers for options also.

For all the griller’s like my husband, gas or electric is the most eco-friendly. These burn cleaner and leave a smaller carbon footprint than the above options. Plus they use less energy than a cooktop or range oven.

There are also solar powered grills available on the market from Swiss-based Tammock Trading & Marketing and Sun Ovens International.

The National Geographic Green Guide has a great section called “Products We Can Live Without”. In their Spring 2008 issue the product focus is on Chlorine Bleach, a laundry room staple in Americans homes for years. Chlorine bleach is a mix of water and sodium hypochlorite and is used to whiten our whites, disinfect surfaces and purify drinking water.

Chlorine bleach causes damage to your eyes, skin and lungs. Ever try to clean a closed room with bleach and have the scent in your nose for the rest of the day? Yuck! If it’s consumed it poses an even greater risk. Whether swallowed or inhaled, bleach leads to more deaths than any other household cleaner. And don’t even think about mixing it with ammonia based cleaners which can lead to lethal vapors called chloramines.

When chlorine is produced dioxins, which are known carcinogens, are released into the environment eventually entering our food chain and concentrate in cow’s milk. Some chlorine factories emit brain-damaging mercury into the environment as well.

Bleach also forms harmful byproducts when mixed with organic compounds such as waste water, wood and soil. These carcinogens called trihalomethanes have been found to cause miscarriages, birth defects, and bladder and rectal cancers.

Here are a few alternatives to use instead:

1. Sunlight: It’s free and removes touch stains
2. Hydrogen peroxide: add half a cup to your laundry and it will brighten those whites just a well
3. Oxygen-based bleach: these are chlorine free and available at retail stores an online. Some brands are OxiClean, Seventh Generation, Ecover, Bio-Kleen and Clorox has one also. These bleaches work well on delicate fabrics but not on wool or silk.

If you would like to learn more about chlorine bleach and it’s effect on our environment visit this article.

If you’re like me, mosquitoes and any other blood sucking insects attack me while missing everyone else around. This weekend I went for a short hike and was immediately bombarded by the little buggers. 10 bites later, I seriously started thinking about bug repellents. I’m not too fond of DEET and other chemicals and it was obvious the “all natural” repellent wipe I used did not do it’s job. So, once again I put on my research hat and this is what I found.

Most insect repellents contain DEET (a.k.a. N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide). Although the CDC and American Pediatric association state it’s safe if used properly, additional studies have found it to slow motor skills and impair central nervous system function along with causing severe headaches and seizures. DEET is also not biodegradable and has been found in waterways. Now it’s probably better to use DEET if you are in an area where insect-bourne diseases are a concern. I’d rather use DEET than contract Lyme Disease that’s for sure. When using DEET be sure to follow these guidelines:

• Don’t apply to children’s hands or face, to reduce potential contact with eyes or ingestion.
• Don’t apply on cuts, wounds or sunburned skin.
• Apply as little as possible, to exposed skin only.
• Be conservative about reapplication, following label directions regarding length of effectiveness.
• Never use under clothing.
• Wash product off with soap and water when coming indoors.

Several outdoor clothing manufacturers have also started selling clothing treated with permethrin a synthetic version found in chrysanthemums. It’s used to help deter mosquitoes, ticks and other biting insects by releasing the chemical as you sweat. The down side is it permeates into your skin and can cause asthma attacks, headaches and nausea. It is also a suspected endocrine disrupter. Additionally the chemical comes out of the clothing when washed, drains into our water system and eventually you are left with clothing that no longer is effective.

The best thing to look for is repellents with natural plant oils such as; geranium, citronella, tea tree, catnip, marigold, lemon balm, lavender, peppermint and oil of lemon eucalyptus. The CDC also recommends using picaridin, which the World Health Organization has found just as effective as DEET on mosquitoes found in the U.S. and the best protection against Malaria.

The best way to repel bugs and ticks is prevention not chemicals. Follow some of these guidelines when out in an area where you are most likely to be attacked by the little buggers:

• Wear long sleeves, long pants, closed shoes and socks in areas with high mosquito or tick populations.
• For added protection against ticks, tuck pants into socks and shirts into pants.
• Wear light colors. There is some evidence that mosquitoes are more attracted to dark colors than light colors, and light colors make any ticks that might crawl on you more visible.
• Avoid being outside when the bugs are worst, generally dusk to dawn.
• When walking in tick-infested areas, stick to the center of the path and avoid brushing against grasses, where ticks wait to hop a ride.
• Check for ticks at the end of each day, paying careful attention to your head and warm spots such as underarms, behind the knees and between the toes.

Also be sure to avoid products that combine sunscreen with insect repellent. Sunscreen should be applied often, whereas insect repellents should only be reapplied as needed.

The National Geographic Green Guide has a great product comparison which lists the active ingredients, what the product is most effective against, msrp, and where to purchase the product.

Millions of pairs of tennis shoes clog up landfills every year.  I know I’ve been guilty of throwing my old pair in the trash.  This is not only bad for the environment but a waste of re-usable material.  You can recycle your old tenni’s with Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program.  Since 1990, they have recycled more than 21 million pairs of athletic shoes (and not just Nike brand) to build more than 265 sport surfaces such as playground, running tracks and basketball courts around the world.

When Nike receives your shoes they turn it into Nike Grind, a material that contains rubber from the outside, foam from the midsole and fabric from the upper part of your shoe.  They then partner with surfacing companies to incorporate the Nike Grind into their products.  How many pairs of recycled athletic shoes does it take to make a surface?  

• Outdoor basketball court: 2,500 pairs
• Outdoor tennis court:2,500 pairs
• Full Field or soccer pitch: 50,000 - 75,000 pairs
• Mini soccer field: 10,000-20,000 pairs
• Running track: 75,000 pairs
• Playground: 2,500 pairs
• Indoor basketball court: 2,500 pairs
• Indoor synthetic basketball court: 2,500 pairs
• For full-size fields and tracks: the average use is equivalent to the rubber from about 50,000-75,000 pairs of shoes.

To send off your worn out shoes visit a Reuse-A-Shoe drop-off site in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Netherlands, germany, Australia, or Japan or send them in to the Nike Recycling Center in Wilsonville, Ore.

I love to bake. Especially being 8 months pregnant and craving desserts!  So needless to say, it wasn’t easy to do research for this blog posting, knowing eventually I will probably start to feel guilty putting those homemade brownies in my mouth.  I’ve always known sugar is not healthy and thought brown sugar was better until I learned it was white sugar colored brown; sometimes ignorance is bliss. But when I found out that white, brown, and confectioners sugar can deplete your body of nutrients and overindulging causes damage to your vital organs, I wanted to run out and pour my sugar container in the trash. Artificial sweeteners are even worse since they have been linked to cancer in lab animals and can result in headaches and depression in people. And it doesn’t help when you learn that  aspartame was discovered as an ulcer drug, not a sweetener.  

I’ve also had my reservations about the sugar substitute Splenda (a.k.a. sucralose) since it hit the market a few years ago.  My intuition was confirmed when I read a recent article  from the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU) who found it in the Oslo Fjord and in raw and treated wastewater. Now, scientists in Sweden have found it completely unchanged in wastewater across their country.  How can this be, you may ask?  Well, it turns out that we excrete 98% of it unchanged and depending on pH and temperature it goes undigested in your body.  In addition, it has a half-life in water of up to several years. This creates a problem because it can change feeding behaviors for organisms in the environment and plant photosynthesis which could cause algae to shut down CO₂ uptake.

So what’s a sweet tooth to do?  No worries, I have listed the good, bad and ugly below to help you become more familiar with sweeteners.

The Good - Raw and Lightly Processed Sugars and Syrups

 
The Bad—Heavily Processed Sugars

The Ugly—Non-nutritive Sweeteners