WDAY Green Tip

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Green Tip – Organic 101

September 8, 2010 in Environment, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | 1 comment

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: Growing crops in healthy organic soil results in food products that offer healthy nutrients. Organically grown fruits, vegetables and grains may offer more of some nutrients, including vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus, and less exposure to nitrates and pesticide residues than their counterparts grown using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.
Source: Nutritional Considerations, Organic Trade Association

TEN GOOD REASONS TO BUY ORGANIC

1.  Organic products meet stringent standards

Organic certification is the public’s assurance that products have been grown and handled according to strict procedures without persistent toxic chemical inputs.

2.  Organic food tastes great!

It’s common sense – well-balanced soils produce strong, healthy plants that become nourishing food for people and animals.

3.  Organic production reduces health risks

Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Organic agriculture is one way to prevent any more of these chemicals from getting into the air, earth and water that sustain us.

4.  Organic farms respect our water resources

The elimination of polluting chemicals and nitrogen leaching, done in combination with soil building, protects and conserves water resources.

5.  Organic farmers build healthy soil

Soil is the foundation of the food chain. The primary focus of organic farming is to use practices that build healthy soils.

6.  Organic farmers work in harmony with nature

Organic agricultural respects the balance demanded of a healthy ecosystem: wildlife is encouraged by including forage crops in rotation and by retaining fence rows, wetlands, and other natural areas.

7.  Organic producers are leaders in innovative research

Organic farmers have led the way, largely at their own expense, with innovative on-farm research aimed at reducing pesticide use and minimizing agriculture’s impact on the environment.

8.  Organic producers strive to preserve diversity

The loss of a large variety of species (biodiversity) is one of the most pressing environmental concerns. The good news is that many organic farmers and gardeners have been collecting and preserving seeds, and growing unusual varieties for decades.

9.  Organic farming helps keep rural communities healthy

USDA reported that in 1997, half of U.S. farm production came from only 2% of farms. Organic agriculture can be a lifeline for small farms because it offers an alternative market where sellers can command fair prices for crops.

10. Organic abundance – Foods and non-foods alike!

Now every food category has an organic alternative. And non-food agricultural products are being grown organically – even cotton, which most experts felt could not be grown this way.

Source: Organic Trade Association

My Green Side’s web pick of the week:

How to Go Organic.com
A collection of resources for organic transitioning, certification, production, marketing and more.

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (CDT) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

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Green Tip – Pack a Zero Waste Lunch

September 1, 2010 in Environment, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | 1 comment

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: Pack a zero waste lunch. You’ll save money and help the environment. The best way to reduce garbage is not to create it in the first place.

We’ve talked before about using reusable products, Green Tip – Think Reusable NOT Disposable, let’s take it a step further and make our packed lunches both nutritious and environmentally friendly.

A zero waste lunch means that you have no packaging to throw away when you’re done – nothing other than apple cores, banana and orange peels, peach or cherry pits. The best way to reduce garbage is to not create it.

Source: Environmental Forum of Marin

Tips for a zero waste lunch:

  • Use a REUSABLE carrier (cloth bag, lunchbox). DON’T use  throw-away bags.
  • Use REUSABLE containers (preferably ceramic or glass). DON’T use plastic wrap, foil or styrofoam.
  • Use a stainless steel bottle for drinks. DON’T use single-use cartons or cans.
  • Use a CLOTH NAPKIN to wash and re-use. DON’T use paper napkins.
  • Use SILVERWARE to wash and re-use. DON’T use plastic forks and spoons.
  • Only pack the amount of food you’ll eat.

Source: Global Stewards

 Lunch Waste Facts

  • FOOD WASTE: A 2004 University of Arizona study reported that Americans throw away almost 50 percent of all the food we produce for domestic sale and consumption. In round numbers that’s $43 billion annually on wasted food.
  • FOOD WASTE: Researchers at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) concluded in a 2009 study that each year a quarter of U.S. water consumption and over 300 million barrels of oil (four percent of U.S. oil consumption) go into producing and distributing food that ultimately ends up in landfills. 
  • ALUMINUM FOIL: More than 20 million Hershey’s kisses are wrapped with 133 square miles of foil every day.
  • ALUMINUM AND TIN CANS: In the time it takes you to read this sentence, more than 50,000 12-oz. aluminum cans were made.
  • FOOD WASTE: Food debris in a landfill decomposes only 25% in the first 15 years (try composting!).
  • JUICE BOXES: Most inorganic trash retains its weight, volume, and form for at least four decades.
  • PAPER BAGS AND NAPKINS: It is estimated that 17 trees are cut down for every ton of non-recycled paper.
  • PLASTIC BOTTLES, FORKS, WRAP: U.S. citizens discard 2-1/2 million plastic bottles EVERY HOUR.
  • STYROFOAM: U.S. citizens throw away 25 billion styrofoam cups EVERY YEAR.

Source: Scientific America and Global Stewards

We must shift our way of thinking, from what is the most “convenient” way to do something to how can we do something more sustainably. If we don’t, we are leaving a mess for our children and their children to clean up. Let’s leave our world better than we found it!

My Green Side’s web pick of the week:

My Zero Waste
My Zero Waste is dedicated to making the world a cleaner place. The overall purpose of the site is to help households reduce the amount of rubbish sent to the landfill. We show on a daily basis HOW we are reducing our own landfill waste by highlighting the pitfalls and sharing their mistakes and successes.

Read wonderful articles like How To Reduce Food Waste and find out about the third annual National Zero Waste Week, September 6th – 12th 2010.

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (CDT) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

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Green Tip – Avoiding BPA

August 18, 2010 in Food, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | 1 comment

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: Avoid ingesting bisphenol A (BPA) – especially pregnant women, infants and children.  ~Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the National Toxicology Program, quoted in an exclusive interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

What is bisphenol A (BPA)?

BPA is a plastics chemical invented nearly 120 years ago and currently used in enormous amounts to manufacture hard plastic water bottles and to make epoxy linings of metal food cans, like those for canned infant formula. Although its long-time use in consumer products has come with assurances of its safety from industry, studies conducted over the past 20 years now show it to be not only a ubiquitous pollutant in the human body – it contaminates nearly 93% of the population – but also a potent developmental toxin at very low doses.

Why avoid BPA?

Health concerns include heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, infertility, diabetes, liver problems and attention deficit disorder.

How to avoid BPA:

  • Do not do not use plastic containers when reheating or storing leftovers. Use glass or ceramic containers. This is especially important because, according to University of Missouri-Columbia scientist, Frederick Vom Saal, plastics made with BPA break down easily when heated, microwaved, washed with strong detergents or wrapped around acidic foods like tomatoes.
  • Do not used products that are packaged in cans (soups, tomatoes, sodas, vegetables, fruits, meats and so on). BPA is in the resin that lines a lot of canned goods. Use fresh or frozen ingredients over canned whenever possible. Drink tap or filtered water and drinks packaged in glass bottles.
  • Do not use liquid baby formulas.  All U.S. manufacturers use BPA-based lining on the metal portions of the formula containers. Tests of liquid formulas by FDA and EWG show that BPA leaches into the formula from all brands tested. Enfamil formula appears to have the highest concentrations of the 20 tests. EWG is concerned about BPA exposures for babies fed liquid formula. Choose powdered formula which may not have BPA in packaging and which is more diluted with water. If your baby needs liquid formula look for types sold in plastic or glass containers.
  • Do not use #7 plastics, especially for children’s food. Plastics with the recycling labels #1, #2 and #4 on the bottom are safer choices and do not contain BPA. Find baby bottles in glass versions, or those made from the safer plastics including polyamine, polypropylene and polyethylene. Soft or cloudy-colored plastic does not contain BPA. Bottles used to pump and store expressed breast milk by the brand Medela are also labeled BPA-free.
  • Do not use metal water bottles that are lined with a plastic coating that contains BPA. Look for stainless steel bottles that do not have a plastic liner.

Source: Environmental Working Group

Food for thought: 

In Canada and throughout Europe, a chemical must be proven safe before it’s allowed to be used in commerce.

In the United States, chemicals are allowed on the market and removed only if they have been found to cause harm.

It seems clearer every day that plastic is bad for our health and bad for our environment. I encourage everyone to educate yourselves on current news regarding plastics and before you buy another plastic item ask yourself if there is a better alternative.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has done a fabulous series on chemicals and their impact on our health:

Chemical Fallout: A Journal Sentinel Watchdog Report

Warning: Chemicals in the packaging, surfaces or contents of many products may cause long-term health effects, including cancers of the breast, brain and testicles; lowered sperm counts, early puberty and other reproductive system defects; diabetes; attention deficit disorder, asthma and autism. A decade ago, the government promised to test these chemicals. It still hasn’t.

My Green Side’s web pick of the week:

Eco Chic Boutique
Eco Chic Boutique is a green boutique for baby, mom and home (and so much more).

They opened their doors in June 2010. They are hosting a Grand Opening celebration August 23rd through August 28th in conjunction with Core Health Chiro & Life Energy Chiropractic. Festivities include games, activities, Penny & Pals, face painting, ice cream, Farmers market stand and more.

Parking Lot Party:Tuesday, August 24th
Games to Go
Penny & Pals Shows at 5 and 6pm
Culver’s Custard Cart
Jimmy Johns
Face Painting
Balloon Animals
Obstacle Course
Sydney’s Market Stand

Location: 4955 17th Ave. S., Suite 106, Fargo

Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Opens June 5.

Contact: (701) 356-6600

Online: www.beingecochic.com

For additional information visiting Eco Chic Boutique’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/beingecochic

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a different favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (Central) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

Green Tips previously posted on December 16, 2009: Green Tip – Green Cooking (Giveaway)

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Green Tip – Avoiding Toxic Sleepwear

August 11, 2010 in Health, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | 1 comment

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: When buying sleepwear, avoid pajamas containing flame retardants, synthetic materials and pesticide laden materials. Look instead for pajamas that are snug fitting and made with natural, organic fibers.

Flame Retardants

In the United States, children’s sleepwear sized 9 months to 14 years must meet certain flammability requirements. The requirement is intended to protect children from burns.

Chemicals used on pajamas or pajama fabrics include chlorinated and brominated flame retardants, inorganic flame retardants such as antimony oxides, and phosphate-based compounds. Chlorinated and brominated flame retardants are contaminating the environment and accumulating in the human body. For example, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been linked to doing damage to the nervous and reproductive systems and impairing thyroid function. North Americans have the highest body burden of PBDEs in the world.

Source: Avoiding Flame Retardants In Cozy Children’s Pajamasby Jennifer Taggart, TheSmartMama

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), there have been unintended consequences linked to using these chemicals. There is growing evidence that PBDEs persist in the environment and accumulate in living organisms, as well as toxicological testing that indicates these chemicals may cause liver toxicity, thyroid toxicity, and neurodevelopmental toxicity.

According to Erin Royer, owner of Snug Organics, PBDEs have been linked to damage of the thyroid, immune system, reproductive system, and liver. They disturb brain development, learning abilities, hormone function and can cause cancer, hyperactivity (ADD & ADHD), obesity, diabetes and permanent behavioral changes. These are all the same conditions that are increasing in our children today, who are the most highly exposed.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requires that children’s sleepwear contain flame-retardants or be snug fitting. Erin suggests that parents choose “snug fitting” due to the dangers of flame-retardants, which are added to materials during the manufacturing process in order to reduce the likelihood of a garment catching fire. Flowing nightgowns and baggy tops and bottoms have a higher chance of coming into contact with an open flame than a snug fitting pair of pajamas.

If you don’t want flame retardants, then always look for the specific key phrases “must be snug fitting” and “not flame resistant.”

Synthetics

Most children’s sleepwear is made of polyester (fleece), nylon acetate, and rayon. These fabrics begin their lives as a vat of chemicals, including petroleum. They have a prolonged landfill life, create more dependence on oil and take 40% more energy to produce than cotton. They are not breathable and block out air sometimes causing the body to overheat. These synthetics can also emit toxic gasses and are allergenic, causing respiratory disease in some cases. Polyester is plastic and will melt when heated. Synthetics must also contain flame retardants.

Pesticides

Conventional cotton is one of the most pesticide-saturated crop in the world and one of the most environmentally destructive. 90% of production involves the use of synthetic chemicals. It takes one-third of a pound of pesticides and fertilizers to make one cotton t-shirt. 70% of conventional cotton farmers use GMO seeds and treat them with fungicides and insecticides. Synthetic fertilizers and herbicides are added to the soil to kill weeds, five of which are probable carcinogens. Aerial spraying of these chemicals drift onto farm workers, neighboring wildlife and communities. They runoff into our water, cannot be eliminated by water treatment centers, and end up in our city water systems. Residues of these chemicals have been found in human amniotic fluid, breast milk and fatty tissues. The biggest problem with non-organic cotton fabric is the finishes. Softeners and brighteners like bleach, formaldehyde, heavy metals, and ammonia are used in the finishing process of conventional cotton and a scientific link has been proven between these toxic chemicals and cancer, endocrine disruption and even reproductive disorders. Permanent press finish releases formaldehyde and no amount of washing removes permanent press.

Source: Erin Royer, owner of Snug Organics

The Healthy Children Project recommends

buying clothing, bedding and furniture made of natural fibers, such as cotton and wool, which do not melt near heat and as such do not need to contain flame-retardants.

The Environmental Working Group says,

To avoid any chemicals in sleepwear and reduce the risk of igniting sleepwear, we suggest you choose natural fibers that are inherently fire resistant and snug-fitting.

My Green Side’s web pick of the week:

Organic Authority
Organic Authority seeks to change the way Americans think about the word organic, washing away the grungy hippy image of the past. Our goal is to disseminate information while educating the public about the benefits of buying and choosing organic produce, meats, and products, while promoting sustainable living and an organic lifestyle. We believe that implementing small fundamental changes in the choices we make everyday will have a large impact on the future of healthy families around the world and protect Mother Earth for generations to come. 

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (CDT) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

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Green Tip – Back-to-School Shopping

August 4, 2010 in Environment, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | No comments

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: When back-to-school shopping, avoid buying school supplies containing polyvinyl chloride (PVC or vinyl) or other toxic plastics.

According to the Center for Health, Environment & Justice(CHEJ), PVC plastic is one of the most hazardous consumer products ever created. PVC is dangerous to human health and the environment throughout its entire life cycle, at the factory, in our homes, and in the trash. Our bodies are contaminated with poisonous chemicals released during the PVC lifecycle, such as mercury, dioxins, and phthalates, which may pose irreversible life-long health threats. When produced or burned, PVC plastic releases dioxins, a group of the most potent synthetic chemicals ever tested, which can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.

Children are at risk from even small exposures to these toxic chemicals. That’s why it’s important to purchase PVC-free school supplies.

CHEJ recently released this years  Back-to-School Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies to empower all of us to make smarter, healthier shopping choices for a toxic-free future. The guide lists the most common back-to-school supplies made out of PVC plastic and suggests safer PVC-free alternatives.

You can also download the wallet-sized version of the guide here: http://bit.ly/ds4bs1

WHAT TO AVOID:

  • Products that are labeled with the words “vinyl” on the packaging.
  • The number “3” inside the universal recycling symbol.
  • The letters “V” or “PVC” underneath the universal recycling symbol.
  • Other toxic plastics to avoid: polycarbonate (PC), polystyrene (PS) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastics.
  • If there isn’t any labeling indicating what the product is made of, call the manufacturer’s question/comment line (usually a toll-free 800 number) listed on the package to find out.

For additional information:
CHEJ’s report, PVC: The Poison Plastic.
Beth Terry’s informative summary on the evils of PVC, New Guide to PVC-Free School Supplies.
CNN’s series of investigative reports by Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Toxic America.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Rather than recycling or tossing PVC items, like old vinyl curtains and floor tiles, in the trash, Mike Schade, CHEJ’s PVC campaign coordinator, recommends disposing of them in hazardous waste landfill sites. Call your sanitation department or state environmental agency to see where you might dispose of hazardous material.

CHEJ also suggests returning PVC products and packaging to retailers and manufacturers. “We recommend consumers contact manufacturers and let them know that PVC is an unacceptably toxic material and that it should not be used in production,” says Anne Rabe with CHEJ. “As consumers, they can also send that message by not purchasing products packaged or made from PVC.” Look for the number 3 in the recycling symbol or the letter “V.”

This is becoming an easier task already. Rabe points out that there are a number of PVC alternatives already on the market. For example, Ikea now sells non-PVC shower curtains exclusively.

Some manufacturers have already heard the calls for a halt to PVC use in production. CHEJ has successfully worked with Victoria’s Secret and Microsoft to eliminate PVC from their packaging and is currently in talks with Target, Sears and Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has already committed to eliminating PVC in its private-label-product packaging in two years.

Source: CHEJ’s report, PVC: The Poison Plastic

My Green Side’s web pick of the week:

The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ)
CHEJ’s overarching goal has consistently been to prevent harm—particularly among vulnerable populations such as children. If a safer process, material or product exists it should be used. They believe that everyone, regardless of income, race, religion, or occupation, has a right to live, work, learn, play and pray in a healthy community.

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (CDT) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

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Green Tip – Greening Your Beauty Routine

July 28, 2010 in Health, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | 2 comments

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: Empty your bathroom cabinets and take a look at the labels on your personal care products. Are you are using the safest ingredients for you and your family?

There are so many choices out there for shampoo, conditioners, make-up, deodorants, baby care products… the list is endless and, unfortunately, the majority of them are made from chemicals that are toxic to our bodies. And even more bothersome, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) currently has no authority to require companies to assess ingredients or products for safety. FDA does not review or approve the vast majority of cosmetic products or ingredients before they go on the market. The agency conducts pre-market reviews only for certain color additives and active ingredients in cosmetics classified as over-the-counter drugs.

I discovered the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Reviews database when we had our second child. I was looking up a trusted baby lotion that we were going to use on our little baby. I was horrified to find that it was loaded with toxic chemicals.

I know. Toxins in baby products? 

Dozens of children’s bath products analyzed at an independent laboratory in 2009 were found to contain formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane, two chemicals that cause cancer in lab animals and are classified as probable human carcinogens. Popular brands containing these chemicals include Johnson’s Baby Shampoo, Sesame Street Bubble Bath and Huggies Naturally Refreshing Cucumber & Green Tea Baby Wash. The companies argue that each product contains just low levels of these toxins – but there shouldn’t be any carcinogens in baby shampoo at all. Period. The good news is, many companies have already figured out how to make excellent products without the toxic chemicals. Source: The Story of Cosmetics: Frequently Asked Questions

To learn more check out: http://www.safecosmetics.org/toxictub

I recently viewed Annie Leonard’s newest, The Story of Cosmetics. She has an excellent way of getting to the heart of an issue in a really disarming manner. Take a look:

Here some more interesting information from The Story of Cosmetics: Personal Care Product Myths and Facts page:

Myth: Cosmetic ingredients are applied to the skin and rarely get into the body. When they do, levels are too low to matter.

Fact:People are exposed by breathing in sprays and powders, swallowing chemicals on the lips or hands or absorbing them through the skin. Studies find evidence of health risks. Biomonitoring studies have found cosmetics ingredients – like phthalate plasticizers, paraben preservatives, the pesticide triclosan, synthetic musks, and sunscreens – inside the bodily fluids of men, women, children and even the cord blood of newborn babies. Many of these chemicals are potential hormone disruptors that may increase cancer risk. Products commonly contain penetration enhancers to drive ingredients deeper into the skin. Studies find health problems in people exposed to common fragrance and sunscreen ingredients, including elevated risk for sperm damage, feminization of the male reproductive system, and low birth weight in girls.

Myth: Products made for children or bearing claims like “hypoallergenic” are safer choices.

Fact: Most cosmetic marketing claims are unregulated, and companies are rarely if ever required to back them up, even for children’s products. A company can use a claim like “hypoallergenic” or “natural” “to mean anything or nothing at all,” and while “[m]ost of the terms have considerable market value in promoting cosmetic products to consumers,… dermatologists say they have very little medical meaning.” An investigation of more than 1,700 children’s body care products found that 81 percent of those marked “gentle” or “hypoallergenic” contained allergens or skin and eye irritants.

Myth: FDA would promptly recall any product that injures people.

Fact: FDA has no authority to require recalls of harmful cosmetics. Furthermore, manufacturers are not required to report cosmetics-related injuries to the agency. FDA relies on companies to report injuries voluntarily.

Myth: Consumers can read ingredient labels and avoid products with hazardous chemicals.

Fact:Federal law allows companies to leave many chemicals off labels, including nanomaterials, contaminants, and components of fragrance. Fragrance may include any of 3,163 different chemicals, none of which are required to be listed on labels. Fragrance tests reveal an average of 14 hidden compounds per formulation, including potential hormone disruptors and diethyl phthalate, a compound linked to sperm damage.

Myth: Cosmetics safety is a concern for women only.

Fact:Surveys show that on average, women use 12 products containing 168 ingredients every day, men use 6 products with 85 ingredients, and children are exposed to an average of 61 ingredients daily. The large majority of these chemicals have not been assessed for safety by the industry-funded Cosmetics Ingredients Review (CIR) safety panel.

TAKE ACTION and SUPPORT the Safe Cosmetics Act 2010!

My Green Side’s web pick of the week:

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a coalition effort launched in 2004 to protect the health of consumers and workers by securing the corporate, regulatory and legislative reforms necessary to eliminate dangerous chemicals from cosmetics and personal care products.

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (CDT) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

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Green Tip – Buying Paper Products

July 21, 2010 in Environment, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | 3 comments

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: Make smart shopping decisions when buying paper products, look for high recycled content and clean manufacturing processes or, even better, buy reusable products in place of the paper products.

Each day we have the opportunity to make smarter shopping decisions. Buying the right paper products is especially important because forests are being destroyed to make toilet paper, facial tissues, paper towels and other disposable paper products. And, during the chlorine bleaching process, harmful dioxins are formed causing serious health implications.

If every household in the United States replaced just one box of virgin fiber facial tissues (175 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 163,000 trees. SEE THE LIST

If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber toilet paper (500 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 423,900 trees. SEE THE LIST

If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees. SEE THE LIST

If every household in the United States replaced just one package of virgin fiber napkins (250 count) with 100% recycled ones, we could save 1 million trees. SEE THE LIST

Three Things You Can Do

1. Buy paper products with recycled content — especially post-consumer fibers.

Look for products that have a high recycled content, including high post-consumer content. Post-consumer fibers are recovered from paper that was previously used by consumers and would otherwise have been dumped into a landfill or an incinerator.

2. Buy paper products made with clean, safe processes.

Paper products are bleached to make them whiter and brighter, but chlorine used in many bleaching processes contributes to the formation of harmful chemicals that wind up in our air and water and are highly toxic to people and fish.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), chlorinated dioxins form as an unintended byproduct of waste incineration and a variety of industrial processes, including smelting, chlorine paper bleaching and pesticide manufacturing. Burning household waste and even forest fires can also produce dioxins. Sometimes described as the most toxic contaminant ever found, dioxin has been linked to multiple outbreaks of disease and cancer triggered by high-level exposures at least as far back as 1949.

Look for products labeled totally chlorine-free (TCF) or processed chlorine-free (PCF). In some cases, elemental chlorine-free (ECF) may be acceptable.

3. Tell tissue manufacturers to stop using virgin wood for throwaway products.

If a brand you buy for your home doesn’t have any recycled content, contact the manufacturer (click here to send a message to paper giant Kimberly-Clark). Tell the company to use more recycled fibers, to avoid sourcing from ecologically valuable forests such as those in the Cumberland Plateau and Canadian boreal, and to ensure any virgin fibers used are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. Saving forests also helps reduce global warming pollution.

Source: Natural Resources Defense Council

Local retail providing green paper product options:

My Green Side’s web pick of the week:

Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ): BE SAFE Precautionary Campaign
The precautionary approach looks at how we can prevent harm from environmental hazards. It is a “better safe than sorry” practice motivated by caution and prevention. Why ask “what level of harm is acceptable?” when we can prevent pollution and environmental destruction before it happens. The Center for Health, Environment & Justice’s BE SAFE campaign is a nationwide initiative to build support for the precautionary approach.

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (CDT) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

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10 Simple Tips for Green Living

July 14, 2010 in Environment, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | 6 comments

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: If you’re new to green living, there are a few simple tips you can incorporate right away to begin living sustainably.

10 Simple Tips for Green Living

1.  Reduce, reduce, reduce. Here are a few simple ways to reduce your impact and conserve our resources:

  • Turn off the tap water when brushing your teeth.
  • Take shorter showers.
  • Use cold water to wash clothes whenever possible.
  • Run your clothes washer and dishwasher only when they are full.
  • Drink filtered tap water instead of bottled water.
  • Regularly replace the filter on your Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) system. Check furnace or heat pump filters once a month for blockages and replace them regularly. A dirty air filter can increase your energy costs and lead to early equipment failure.
  • Install a programmable thermostat in your home (and then actually program it).
  • Walk or bike instead of driving.
  • Turn off the lights when leaving a room.
  • Reuse envelopes and backsides of paper, print double-sided and purchase high recycled content paper.

2.  Buy local, organic produce. Food travels an average of 1,200 miles before it reaches your plate, so buy locally produced items to save energy and prevent emissions from going into the air.

3.  Recycle. By recycling materials such as aluminum cans, newspapers, and glass jars, you can save energy and landfill space, conserve natural resources, and also prevent pollution. Earth911.com is a wonderful resource for learning about recycling.

4.  Unplug electronics when they’re not in use. Many appliances continue to draw electricity when they’re turned off, releasing unnecessary pollutants into the air, and costing you unnecessary dollars.

5.  Use non-toxic laundry detergents to avoid harmful exposure to chemical detergents and water pollution.

6.  Properly dispose of hazardous waste. Electronics, compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), certain batteries and other household hazardous wastes contain toxic materials so they should not be sent to landfills where they can pollute the surrounding land and water. A single computer monitor may contain 4 pounds of lead as well as other toxic heavy metals. For the City of Fargo, check out their site for information regarding hazardous waste.

7.  Buy recycled. Look for the words “post consumer” or “recycled” when shopping. There are over 4,500 recycled-content products available including paper towels, printer paper, note pads, packing boxes, sleeping bags, laundry detergent bottles, glass containers, nails, carpeting, trash cans, and trash bags. The amount of post consumer content can vary from a small percentage to 100 percent, so look for labels that indicate the highest percentage. (Source: US EPA)

8.  Compost. Compost your food scraps and yard clippings. This will keep them out of the landfill and provide you with mulch, soil amendment and potting soil.

9.  Buy reusable products. For example, washable utensils, tableware, cloth napkins, and dishcloths can be used many times.

10. Buy used products. Check out your local resale or consignment shops. Locally check out the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Thrift Store, Once Upon A Child and so on.

My Green Side’s web pick of the week:

 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
The NRDC’s mission is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends.

For more tips on how to reduce energy consumption visit NRDC.org.

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (CDT) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

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Green Tip – Eco Cleaning Your Cars Interior

July 7, 2010 in Environment, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | 2 comments

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: Detail the interior of your car yourself. You’ll save money and have a clean interior using safe, non-toxic and earth friendly products to protect your investment, your health and the environment.

The environment inside your car can impact your immediate and long-term health, as well as the world around us. Just as we have learned that the indoor air in our homes is polluted with off-gassing materials and the VOCs (volatile organic compounds) found in cleaning supplies, so is the air in our car interiors. This is important because the average American spends 400 hours or more a year here while commuting and running daily errands.

After a detailing at the local dealer, a car interior can be filled with chemical irritants from the carpet and upholstery cleaner, polishes, protectants, and perfumes used in the process. The promise of regaining that new car smell indicates the presence of these toxic chemicals. There are other ways to maintain the interior of your car and be health conscious. And staying on top of minor daily and weekly maintenance eliminates the need for the heavy cleaning artillery later.

Source: GreenCar.com

With some help from Diane MacEachern, author of Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World, here is a list of green options for maintaining your car’s interior:

  • Clean your windows. Make your own window cleaner. The commercial cleaning products are loaded with toxic chemicals.

Recipe:  Mix 1/2 cup white vinegar with two cups water in a spray bottle. Add a few drops of pulp-free lemon juice for fragrance (optional). Apply directly on a lint-free cotton cloth so the cleaner doesn’t spray all over the car. Once you wipe the windows clean, buff them with a micro-fiber cloth for extra shine.

  • Take trash with you. Whenever you leave the car, take your trash with you avoiding the need to have an air freshener to mask any nasty smells from something that should’ve been taken out of the car.
  • Open the windows for a few minutes while you’re driving to let fresh air circulate through the car.
  • Use hot soapy water to wipe down interior doors, handles and vinyl seats.
  • Rinse off floor mats. To clean really dirty mats, lay them on your driveway and pour white vinegar in them. Let sit. Rinse out vinegar and swipe clean. Avoid letting vinegar go into your grass, it will kill it. I poured my vinegar into the cracks in my driveway to eliminate the weeds that were growing there.
  • At a car wash, don’t let them spray the interior with air freshener when they finish vacuuming. If they’ve done their job properly, the car should smell just fine without it.
  • Use a whisk broom or hand-held vacuum to remove dirt and dust from the floors and seat cushions.
  • Keep a cloth napkin within reach so you can wipe up spills when they occur.
  • Dust surfaces with a damp cloth once a week to keep grime from building up.
  • For spots on the steering wheel or console, sprinkle a little baking soda on a wet towel and gently rub. Wipe with a clean damp cloth.

Source: Big Green Purse

Ingredients to avoid in car care products from Eco Touch:

1. Synthetic fragrances/scents – used to mask the smell of the chemicals used in the product. Manufacturers typically opt for the synthetic version of a chemical because it is far less expensive than their natural counterpart. Essential oils are a much better alternative than synthetics.

2. Synthetic dyes/colorants – change the appearance of a formula so it is more pleasing for the consumer. The majority of dyes derive from coal tars or petroleum. Coal tar contains various toxins and carcinogens.

3. Teflons, Fluropolymers- used by car care manufacturers as a gloss/protective agent for car surfaces. Traditionally found in quick detailers, car waxes and car wash products. During the production of teflons and fluropolymers, a hazardous chemical known as perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is used. PFOA is a toxicant and carcinogen in animals. In people, it has been linked to birth defects, increased cancer rates and changes to the immune system.

4. Kerosene- a synthetic distillate which is used as a grease cutter. Kerosene can damage lung tissues and dissolve the fatty tissue that surrounds nerve cells. Found in all purpose cleaners and degreasers. [1]

5. Methanol – a solvent derived from wood and petroleum. It is acutely toxic and can cause blindness. Found in window cleaners and windshield wash.

6. Sodium Hydroxide (lye, caustic soda, white caustic, soda lye) – extremely strong caustic substance that damages skin, eyes and mucous membranes. Blindness is reported in animals exposed to as little as 2% dilution for just one minute.

7. Ammonia – a corrosive substance which causes burning of the eyes, nose, throat and respiratory tract and can result in blindness, lung damage or death. Boosts the nitrogen levels in soil and water which adversely affect marine and animal life.

8. Phosphates – phosphorus occurs naturally in rock formations in the earth’s crust, usually as phosphate. They are of high nutritive value to plants and animals at normal levels in the environment. However, phosphates are also used as detergent builders in some car care products, which causes aquatic plant life to flourish, thus decreasing oxygen levels for other organisms. Found in car wash soaps.

9. Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)- Polyvinyl Chloride is recognized by the recycling symbol #3. PVC is highly toxic because during its production, it is mixed with softening chemicals known as plasticizers, the most common variety being phthalates. Exposure to PVC and plasticizers have been linked to an increased risk of the following: hormonal imbalance, reproductive problems, allergies in children, brain cancer and tumors. PVC is used in packaging for several major car care manufacturers. The sensible alternative would be to switch to #1 PET or #2 HDPE.

[1] – Healthy-Communications.com

My Green Side’s web pick of the week:

GreenerCars.org  
This is the official site for the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) Green Book. It is a unique consumer resource providing Green Scores rating the environmental friendliness of every vehicle on market. The site also includes green driving tips, news and resources.

Greenercars.org is part of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

ACEEE is a Washington, D.C.-based independent, non-profit research group dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of protecting the environment and strengthening the economy. Read more about the organization at its site.

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (CDT) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

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Green Tip – Avoid Toxic Food Packaging

June 30, 2010 in Environment, WDAY Green Tip by Wendy Gabriel | 6 comments

by Wendy Gabriel

GREEN TIP: Avoid food packaging that has been known or suspected to contain toxic chemicals that can leach into food. Eat whole foods, make your own meals (out of whole foods) and avoid industrial processed foods.

In 2009, Jane Muncke, a researcher with Emhart Glass, conducted a study of 50 legal food packaging substances that are known endocrine disruptors. She concluded that “food contact materials are a major source of food contaminants,” that many toxic chemicals and suspected endocrine disruptors can leach from food packaging, and that many chemicals that can leach from food packaging remain unidentified and unstudied.

Incidentally, food and beverage packaging is also a major source of waste, accounting for 55% of global packaging waste.

Source: The Daily Green

We’ve already discussed why to avoid foods that come in cans:

Now let’s talk a little about why we should be avoiding industrial processed foods.

One example. Kellogg recalled as many as 28 million boxes of cereal because a chemical is suspected to be leaching from the food packaging into the cereal. The company issued the recall last Friday on its Corn Pops, Honey Smacks, Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks breakfast cereals. The Food and Drug Administration states the reason for the recall as “uncharacteristic off-flavor and smell coming from the liner in the package.” Other sources call it a wax-like substance, and parents are being warned that it may cause diarrhea or vomiting, particularly in sensitive children (the recalled cereals – Apple Jacks, Corn Pops, Froot Loops and Honey Smacks – are sugary staples of the Kellogg line, marketed with cartoon characters primarily at children).

Source: The Daily Green

The recent Kellogg cereal recall points up another problem with industrial packaged foods. Not only do most non-organic cereals contain genetically modified ingredients, the cereals are made by an extrusion process that renders the grains unfit to eat and the cereals usually have unhealthy amounts of sugars, sodium and so on.

How do you avoid toxic chemicals at breakfast?

Make your own. Granola, old fashioned porridge, oatmeal, bacon (from organic, pastured pork) and eggs (from organic, free-range chickens), pancakes, organic plain yogurt with organic fruit, muffins… the list is endless.

Always remember, preparing food and eating it should be a pleasurable experience not a bothersome chore. We need to shift the way we think of food. It’s amazing to prepare a delicious, healthy meal and have the people you love savor every bite. It’s extremely unsatisfying to microwave some processed food and serve in during the nightly news.

“It’s better to pay the grocer than the doctor” was the saying that my Italian grandmother would frequently use to remind us of the love and attention to detail that went into her cooking  ~John Forti

Janet Flammang, a political scientist, writes in her book The Taste for Civilization: Food, Politics, and Civil Society “Significant social and political costs have resulted from fast food and convenience foods, grazing and snacking instead of sitting down for leisurely meals, watching television during mealtimes instead of conversing”—40 percent of Americans watch television during meals—”viewing food as fuel rather than sustenance, discarding family recipes and foodways, and denying that eating has social and political dimensions.” The cultural contradictions of capitalism—its tendency to undermine the stabilizing social forms it depends on—are on vivid display at the modern American dinner table.

In a challenge to second-wave feminists who urged women to get out of the kitchen, Flammang suggests that by denigrating “foodwork”—everything involved in putting meals on the family table—we have unthinkingly wrecked one of the nurseries of democracy: the family meal. It is at “the temporary democracy of the table” that children learn the art of conversation and acquire the habits of civility—sharing, listening, taking turns, navigating differences, arguing without offending—and it is these habits that are lost when we eat alone and on the run. “Civility is not needed when one is by oneself.”

Source: The Food Movement Rising by Michael Pollan

My Green Sides’ web pick of the week:

Simply Recipes
A site full of wonderful recipes (all tested by the site’s founder, Elise Bauer, or her family/friends), tips and tricks, and some great cookbook reviews.

Editor’s Note: Each Wednesday My Green Side brings Simple Tips for Green Living to The Christopher Gabriel Program. We also highlight a favorite green site each week. You can stream the segment at approximately 1020am (CDT) every Wednesday at WDAY.com.

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