Today we have awakened to Earth Day 2010! What a fabulous opportunity to have an annual check up on our routine habits and their impact on our own physical well-being, our pets, wildlife, plant life, and Mother Earth. Last year on Earth Day in my article for ASO, I delineated seven basic, tangible ways that you and your family could become more green without any startup costs, and in fact, reap tangible financial savings while causing less harm to our environment. http://www.americaspeakon.org/blog/read/333 These suggestions were:
1. buy local and organic foods
2. stop using chemical fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn and plants
3. rethink your garbage production & recycle
4. make a rainbarrel to collect rainfall to water your plants in dry spells
5. get rid of the commercially available cleaners in your household and use simple, effective alternatives
6. buy a water filter pitcher and portable steel water bottle
7. stop using household and personal products with synthetic fragrance
Let us look at how our society is doing as a whole one year later, while you look at your personal checklist for your annual checkup.
1. More and more people are now understanding the importance of buying local, in season food instead of trucking and shipping food globally just so that they can have the ingredient that they want, even if their own climate cannot produce it. Besides, who is regulating what exactly is sprayed or applied on those crops abroad? Many pesticides that have been banned in the U.S. by the EPA are still used abroad, with the pesticides oftentimes coming from American companies no longer able to sell their product domestically, so they opened new markets. The term "locavore" is chanted on cable tv cooking and gardening shows one year later.
In 2010, try starting your own garden, even if it's just indoor or seasonal potted herb plants in organic soil. You can trim off a bit as you use it in summer months and then at the end of the season, you can hang the herbs upside down to dry and bottle them for use in winter months.
2. Some pest control companies are now touting themselves to be "organic or green." My response, "caveat emptor." There are very few chemical lawn or household pesticide products that are truly safe for humans and pets despite what companies claim. In general, contrary to common public thought, there are no independent studies conducted when pesticides are approved for market, only information submitted by the manufacturer themselves and reviewed by the EPA. Yes, they may check lethal doses on dogs and other animals that they use as guinea pigs, but really, do we NEED these products at such a price? And, we all are aware by now just how fast the revolving door between government and industry rotates, so do not put your safety in anyone's hands but your own. In all but a few instances, there are no double blind, independent studies which would be the basis of any scientific claim to support the safety of these products. Veterinary Emergency Rooms are daily testimony of the negative health consequences of lawn and other outdoor products to our pets. Unfortunately, physicians are poorly trained at best to recognize, diagnose and treat environmental injuries in humans, especially the long term effects.
In 2010, try placing less emphasis on having the "perfect" lawn and more emphasis on the perfect playtime & lifestyle that occupies it. Use natural fertilizers from local sources. Use composted nutrients for your foliage. Use wood chips made from your own tree trimming. Encourage you community to work together on these issues. Work with your region's climate to create easily sustainable outdoor landscaping that requires fewer chemicals and less upkeep. Create a line of defense against insects in your home by applying a line of boric acid all around the exterior (be careful if you have cats, as it can be toxic to them), so that insects do not infiltrate in the first place. Spray insects with a mixture of vinegar and water to kill them once you use up your leftover commercially available window cleaner-you will be surprised at how effective it is at killing black ants, sugar ants, ghost ants, grease ants, spiders, and countless other insects. Just think, when you used to use it to clean your windows you were breathing the same stuff!
3. Greater numbers of municipalities responsible for garbage are realizing that there is more than simply a price per pound to consider when comparing "regular" waste disposal with recyclables. Even last year, I was still being told by the ignorant that recycling is a profit loss center. Of course, these shortsighted public servants were merely calculating the pound per pound pricing of disposal and not adding in the cost of new landfills or other ingenious ways to dispose of regular garbage. Awareness is increasing.
In 2010, start a composting bin in your backyard and larger community to reduce food waste. The resulting compost can be used to to enhance your outdoor plants, lawn and newly planted garden to provide natural nutrition and fertilization. Urge your municipalities and counties to wood chip or compost tree limbs and yard debris collected and either use them for public projects or have a compost day for residents to come pick up their share either for free or at minimal cost to sustain the project. While some communities adopted these practices decades ago, there are still anachronistic counties that are actually burning this type of debris. Even New York City began mandatory recycling n 1989. We still have cities and counties where it is neither mandatory nor facilitated. Rethink your garbage again this year and take your recycling to a higher level-you will be amazed at how little true garbage you have when you really make an effort.
4. As drought prevailed in the Southeastern U.S. last year and watering restrictions dominated, more citizens began tightening their water bill belts and collecting rainwater in mosquito proof containers. If you haven't gotten a rain barrel yet, at least consider voluntarily cutting back on your sprinkler timer.
In 2010, consider not letting the water run while you are brushing your teeth. Use the shorter cycle on the new energy efficient dishwasher and washer you just purchased during "cash for appliances." Consider a tank less hot water system. Water plants outside with a hand held hose containing a trigger device or old-fashioned watering can.
5. Homemakers around the world have reduced their toxic exposures and financial burdens by effectively cleaning with simple, non-toxic cleaners that their great grandmothers used such as peroxide, baking soda, borax, steam, and white vinegar. The campaign to reverse the marketing brainwashing which had us sold on the idea that we "needed" a different chemical to "clean" each item in the home is releasing its hold on us. Perhaps unprecedented unemployment levels resulting in less disposable family income may be playing a role in our newfound greenness, but the result is positive regardless: fewer toxic cleaners being off-gassed in homes and fewer buckets of the resulting drudge being dumped into our sewage system and waterways.
In 2010, consider one more way of reducing toxic exposures in your home by getting Fido and Pussycat off of the commercially available flea and tick products. The EPA finally announced in a recent press release that these products have produced horrific side effects in dogs and cats (yes, the over the counter ones, as well as the ones that you buy from your vets) including, "skin effects, such as irritation, redness, or gastrointestinal problems that include vomiting r diarrhea, or effects to the nervous system, such as trembling, appearing depressed or seizures-from pet spot-on products." And while for now, some of those effects are attributed to misuse of the product including, overdosing for weight, some of those reactions are side effects of putting a toxin directly on the skin of your pet where it is absorbed directly into the blood stream. There are less toxic alternatives to these products that have been safely used for centuries and while the EPA says that you cannot allege that a product is effective at being a pesticide unless it has gone through their "rigorous" or "industry tainted" testing process, common sense and our constitutional right to freedom of speech as a common sense people should promote the sharing of low cost natural alternatives to toxic flea and tick treatments such as garlic pills. Garlic has been used for centuries as a medicinal with antibacterial and antimicrobial properties. Why isn't it promoted more? Because it would take away an enormous profit center of toxicity for veterinarians and chemical companies hawking you this poison you are currently putting on your pet's neck. In addition, this year forward, open your awareness further by realizing that you and your children are exposed to these pesticides when petting your pet. And, remember, these products are designed to be absorbed through the skin, which as an unforeseen side effect, can be your child's skin. These toxic products can be rubbed off on your carpet, rugs, sofa, bed, animal bedding, or anywhere else your pet has contact. And, not just while they are wet.
6. Filtering water pitchers, whole house water filtration systems, and steel water bottles became all the rage in the last year as the toxicity of BPA was recognized and the damaging phthalates in plastics were finally, preliminarily unveiled to the mainstream public. People are filtering their water against municipal treatment chemicals. And while some eco-manufacturers of bottled water have made the bottles themselves thinner in an effort to cut manufacturing costs and produce less waste product, the bottom line is that still less than 25% of all plastic water bottles are ever recycled.
In 2010, try a shower filter that will filter out harmful showerhead bacteria and fumes known to cause lung infections and present in most homes. If you made the transition from soft drinks to bottled water last year, we congratulate you. Now in 2010, go one step further and do something good for the environment, not just your body, by using filtered water in a non-toxic, reusable steel container whenever possible and recycle any time you use plastic portable water bottles.
By now, everyone is aware not to use BPH, but also, do not use plastic products period. Plastics are petroleum derivative products. Plastic bags are passé and only governments beholden to large grocery and other megastores have not put in place a ban or significant tax on their use. Really, how hard is it to carry a few bags in your vehicle and use them each time you shop? Our national petroleum supply is better used in our gas tanks right now until more fuel efficient and alternative energy sources are put into mainstream use. Try this year to not heat food in plastic containers as the phthalates can leach out during the heating process into your food, in particular in the microwave. The biochemistry of the harm phthalates do is beyond this article, but feel free to read up. But, rethink those frozen, microwaveable meals or anything that steams in the microwave in a plastic bag. While the manufacturer is concerned with providing a manner to evenly & thoroughly cooking your frozen food, why are you not cooking with raw ingredients from scratch? In addition, try living without a microwave and read up on how it ruins the nutritional content of your food nor matter how healthy it was before your cooked it. After all, there is a reason it is called "nuking."
7. Americans are not yet aware of the dangers of synthetic fragrance because there are no double blind, scientific studies showing its safety to humans or animals required in order to bring them to market as they are considered consumer products. Our usage of scented candles, fragranced home products, and personal products is an overwhelming assault to our senses. In an EPA public document, indoor candles were found to, "emit trace amounts of organic chemicals, including acetaldehyde, formaldehyde, acrolein, and naphthalene (Lau et al., 1997). In addition, lead is oftentimes used in the wicks to keep them standing straight. While U.S. candle manufacturers have "voluntarily" agreed not to use lead in wicks, check the country of origin. In addition, while it has been long know that the synthetic fragrance in perfume, scented candles, and other personal & household products with artificial scent irritates those this asthma, allergies, and COPD, the EPA recently finally decided to protect the consumer and announce that candles. Contrary to popular hype, candles with synthetic fragrance touting natural scent names are by no means "aromatherapy," but rather have no positive medicinal side effects, and several potential negative side effects including lead poisoning, toluene exposure, headaches, loss of smell, asthma, shortness of breath and more. And, brain scans show that they do have alarming effects on the brain. Aromatherapy is based on true, unadulterated, natural organic plant oils, not synthetic fragrance in consumer products, and perfume in the US is not required to disclose its ingredients as they are considered trade secrets. So, the next time you see a new celebrity hawking their scent, send your dough to the next earthquake victims instead of putting countless, unknown chemicals on your skin to be directly absorbed like your dog's flea "protection."
Kimberly Wilcox is currently freelance writing about financial politics, as well as Healthcare policy, specifically, Chemical Injury and its medical & lifestyle consequences. She is a lifestyle coach to others with chemical injury, chronic fatigue, autism, Gulf War Syndrome & Fibromyalgia, as well as to professional athletes desiring peak performance without use of illegal PED's. She is an expert on Green Living and her new book will soon be published about the Green Life that she has been forced to live for the last decade.
