Plastics and a Challenge for You

Ever wonder how much plastic is produced, used, and discarded without much of a thought as to its effect on our environment? Well, here's your chance! How many bottles of water do you drink in a day...how many cartons of milk do you go thru in a week...how is your bread packaged?

Plastic is a part of our everyday lives in ways that most of us don't bother to think about. While it can be recycled, avoiding it as much as possible is best, but in today's world, is that feasible? It may be difficult, but anything is possible! A little will power and a dash of compassion can go a long way to help improve our environment now and for future generations.

Check out the Enviroblog entry about the movie Addicted to Plastics and see if you can come up with at least one way in which to curb your plastic use. Even the smallest change can have a positive impact.

Instead of buying milk in plastic or unrecyclable wax lined cartons, buy organic milk in reusable glass bottles from a local farm that has grass fed cows. Not only will you be decreasing your carbon footprint, but you'll also get a fresher, more nutritious form of milk that came from a cow in the last week rather than over a month ago.

Educate, challenge, change...you can make a difference!

Happy Earth Day!

If you are interested making a change in your usual routine to help improve the environment, but don't know where to begin, here are a few fairly simple ways to start the process:

* Recycle everything and anything your local city, town, county allows. If there are limitations, look into local drop sites that take items your local service may not pick up curbside.

* Switch to baking soda and vinegar for most cleaning jobs. Baking soda is a fantastic whitener instead of bleach or oxy brand additives and can easily clean a soap scummy bathroom. Vinegar is a great fabric softener and odor eliminator.

* Instead of chlorine bleached diapers that contain Dioxin, Tributyl-tin (TBT), and sodium polyacrylate, switch to 7th Generation or G-Diapers or, better yet, cloth diapers. The Natural Baby Co has a fantastic line if Dream-eze organic all in one diapers. (I have no financial stake in the company, I just love their diapers and have tried my fair share)

* Use reusable bags when shopping...bonus...some stores offer a refund of 3 - 10 cents when you use your own bag(s)

* When buying fresh fruits and vegetables, forgo the bag

* Buy products with minimal packaging...if you can't avoid this, recycle as much of the packaging as possible or come up with alternate uses like using bread bags to pick up pet droppings, contain a dirty diaper, or for the contents of the tupperware container hidden in the back of the fridge

* Ditch paper napkins and towels and opt for washable versions. You can even go to your local craft store and pick out fabric to make your own.

Bacon and Penguins and a not so well known relationship

If you enjoy bacon for breakfast, you may want to put some thought into the type of bacon you are eating. The premiere episode of the new season of Stuff Happens hosted by Bill Nye addresses the impact of many breakfast items, including bacon, on our environment. Since it is easier to pick up a package of bacon at the store, bring it home, and fry it up without a single thought about what it takes to get it to you....here is some food for thought to help you out and maybe motivate you to pick a healthier, more environmentally friendly version:

According to Bill Nye: There’s an old supply chain from the South American Western Coast to North American farmers. And what is supplied is fish feed made from anchovies. So, American bacon pigs are fed fish from South American oceans. And so many fish are fished so aggressively that penguins are going out of business. The penguin ecosystem has been devastated, and penguin populations have been decimated by this practice. So we encourage you – the listener, the viewer – to buy…organic, grain-fed bacon. That’s what we want you to do to reduce the market for this anchovy feed. And it’s just something that humans are kind of doing by accident, but on such an enormous scale that’s it’s screwing up an entire ecosystem in the south western Pacific. (from Lab Out Loud)

Vegetarian for a Day

http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/04/06/why-going-vegetarian-for-one-day-will-help-stop-global-warming/

Right Back At You aka Karma

Check out the short connect2earth video on the 7Gen Blog

http://seventhgeneration.com/learn/blog/real-karma?source=email

Plastic and Garbage Island

When you have some time, sit down, pull up this link and watch this 12 part video series. Eye opening and mind boggling. (Warning: It has an occasional naughty word)
http://www.vbs.tv/video.php?id=1485308505&r=teaser

Perfluorochemicals (PFCs)

Know what perfluorochemicals (PFCs) are? If not, its time to learn about these chemicals, how you are exposed to them, and why it matters (you certainly won't find them on any labels but they are in products you purchase and eat).

Check out the EWG Enviroblog on this subject matter for more information:

http://www.enviroblog.org/2009/03/pfoa-in-butter.html