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The Story of Cosmetics - An Important Video
From the producers of "The Story of Stuff" comes this important video "The Story of Cosmetics". Take a few minutes to get informed about the safety risks of the cosmetics you and your family use.
Then check out Shaklee's safe and awesome alternatives for your family's health at the information link below. Beauty products, daily care, baby products - everything you need to stay healthy and beautiful.
Take a look at the amazing products Shaklee has available for you and your family. For your health and safe, green home - there is no solution like Shaklee! Click on the image and browse to your heart's content.
Are Pesticides on Your Grocery List ? Don't Miss This Report.
Watch this video about pesticides on our fruits and vegetables - The Dirty Dozen - you can't even wash away all the contaminants. Important information for you and your family.
Take Action for Safer Strawberries and Healthy Farm Workers
You may have heard that California, the nation's largest agricultural producer, is on the verge of approving a potent carcinogenic gas for use on strawberry fields and other food crops.
The chemical -- methyl iodide -- is so toxic that scientists in labs use only small amounts with special protective equipment, yet agricultural applications mean it could be released directly into the air and water.
Methyl iodide is a known carcinogen, thyroid disruptor, and neurotoxin, and presents clear dangers to farm workers and surrounding populations when used for broadcast agricultural applications.
Whatever California decides, the only surefire way to keep this poison away from our food and farm workers is for the U.S. Environmental Protection agency to re-evaluate and ban methyl iodide at the federal level.
I just signed a petition to the EPA asking them to de-register methyl iodide for agricultural use. Will you too? Take action with me and tell your friends.
Wednesday and Thursday, June 2nd and 3rd, at 8pm EST, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be airing an eye-opening investigative story: Toxic America. If you care about public and environmental health, it's must-see TV.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta hosts the two-part program, revealing devastating results from a year-long investigation.
Wednesday night highlights “Toxic Towns” and will delve into the environmental health and justice problems plaguing the community of Mossville, Louisiana. Mossville is not an isolated example, but instead a poster child for a broken chemical safety system.
Thursday night highlights the “Toxic Childhood” and features Healthy Child founders, Jim and Nancy Chuda; Scientific Advisor, Dr. Phil Landrigan; and our “A Wake-Up Story” video. This second part of the series reveals the effect toxics have on unborn babies.
We all need to be aware of what's happening in our environment so we can take action to protect our health and our planet. So watch "Toxic America" and join the conversation.
Build Your Own Compost Bin.
Have you noticed? There are so many new compost bins and barrels available at home improvement stores this spring. I have been eying them for many months now, checking out the features of each and saving up my money for a fancy rolling barrel design.
Then I remembered an old compost bin I had many years ago which was simply made of wire fencing and four metal poles at the four corners. I could open one of the sides when I wanted to stir it up or remove some of the fresh compost. It worked great. No, I couldn't tumble it or turn it over with one easy spin, but it was easy to take the new soil from the bottom of the pile where it had become rich and crumbly.
I thought about this simple - yet effective construction and I decided not to wait. So, this Memorial Day, I took some old four foot fencing which had failed to keep our dogs in and four metal poles I had leftover from projects around the house.
I picked out an inconspicuous spot on the side of the house and built myself a quaint but durable compost bin.
I left one side secured with wire ties, but easy to open for future access. For now, all I have to worry about is filling it up with lawn and garden clippings and left over fruit and vegie debri from the kitchen. As the ingredients break down, I will stir it a bit with my shovel and keep it moist. Soon the lower layer will have turned into rich soil perfect for feeding my garden beds.
So, if you can't afford a fancy compost bin don't sweat it. Start simply - but do get started. You will save money, time, fuel (no shipping compost all over the country) and best of all - cultivate a rich love of gardening!
Have you noticed? There are so many new compost bins and barrels available at home improvement stores this spring. I have been eying them for many months now, checking out the features of each and saving up my money for a fancy rolling barrel design.
Then I remembered an old compost bin I had many years ago which was simply made of wire fencing and four metal poles at the four corners. I could open one of the sides when I wanted to stir it up or remove some of the fresh compost. It worked great. No, I couldn't tumble it or turn it over with one easy spin, but it was easy to take the new soil from the bottom of the pile where it had become rich and crumbly.
I thought about this simple - yet effective construction and I decided not to wait. So, this Memorial Day, I took some old four foot fencing which had failed to keep our dogs in and four metal poles I had leftover from projects around the house.
I picked out an inconspicuous spot on the side of the house and built myself a quaint but durable compost bin.
I left one side secured with wire ties, but easy to open for future access. For now, all I have to worry about is filling it up with lawn and garden clippings and left over fruit and vegie debri from the kitchen. As the ingredients break down, I will stir it a bit with my shovel and keep it moist. Soon the lower layer will have turned into rich soil perfect for feeding my garden beds.
So, if you can't afford a fancy compost bin don't sweat it. Start simply - but do get started. You will save money, time, fuel (no shipping compost all over the country) and best of all - cultivate a rich love of gardening!
Check out your favorite sunscreen on the best and worst sunscreen list put out by the Environmental Working Group. Is the product you buy really protecting you? Is it safe for everyone in your family? The ugly truth about popular sunscreen products.
Is Pesticide Exposure Contributing to ADHA in our Kids?
See what the experts are saying about pesticide exposure and the rise in ADHD. We all know a child or two who struggles with behavioral issues. The ADHD diagnosis is rampant and seems to be growing. Read this report from the Environmental Working Group on the possible link between pesticides and ADHD.
Below the Surface of the Gulf Oil Spill - video from diver Phillipe Cousteau, Jr. -
The grandson of Jacques Cousteau, Philippe Cousteau, Jr., dives beneath the Gulf oil spill to see what is really going on under the surface with the oil and the chemicals being used to break it up. Are they actually making things worse?
Besides writing this website, I work as a private voice teacher. Yesterday, during a lesson, I noticed a strong fragrance on my student, a woman in her late forties. It wasn't a bad smell, it was a sweet scent. I thought it was her perfume.
Soon I noticed my throat getting crackly and I had to clear my throat constantly. Soon I couldn't sing through all the phlegm.
I told my student that I thought her perfume was bothering my throat. She told me she wasn't wearing perfume. I asked her what the strong fragrance was. She hadn't really noticed, but any scent must be the Gain laundry detergent she used. In fact, I was the second person that week who had asked her about the strong fragrance. She had become used to the scent.
I thought for a moment. "Doesn't your daughter have asthma?"
"Yes," she replied. "It's pretty severe, too."
"Well, if that fragrance bothers me so much and so quickly, don't you think it might bother your daughter when she wears clothes you've washed in Gain and sleeps on sheets you've washed in it."
The thought had never occurred to my student.
After our lesson, I got in my car, rolled down the windows to let the fresh air in, and within a few minutes I was feeling much better - no more throat discomfort.
Have you thought about how the fragrance in your detergent and cleaners may be effecting the health of your family? Maybe you are accustomed to the fragrances and don't really notice them anymore. The chemicals used to create these fragrances may be causing respiratory and skin problems.
What about window cleaner that costs 1 cent for a 16 oz. bottle?
Or an effective, safe all-purpose household cleaner from sustainable ingredients for just a few pennies more?
That's the great bonus of using concentrates.
Just add your own water. Great for the environment - we don't need to ship water all over the country or use new bottles every time we need more cleaner - and great for your budget!
BigGreenTV is an environmental news and video site geared to ages 9-14, framed as both a supplemental educational resource for in-class use and a stand-alone information source that kids can explore independently.
