Water Conservations Tips

Water conservation is one of the major environmental issues for us to be aware of. Not only is it important that we watch our usage but it can save you a lot of money on your water bill.

Lots of great tips here:

http://www.monolake.org/socalwater/wctips.htm

http://www.h2ouse.org/

Spooky Facts About Household Products

This information was emailed to me by Melaleuca (they sell nontoxic cleaners, vitamins, etc.), and it's pretty interesting. BTW, my SIL sells Melaleuca and I'll be trying out the products soon and I'll let you know how it works out - if anyone wants to order any, I can get you in touch with her. I'll be expecting a free haircut for that shameless plug, my lovely Lindsey. ;-)

When we pick up a product at the local grocery store, most of us like
to think we are getting something that has been tested and proven to
be safe. After all, we have laws to protect our health and safety,
don't we? Actually, the government has very limited power to regulate
manufacturers, or require testing of their products.

Here are some disturbing facts:

A product that kills 5-% of lab animals through ingestion or
inhalation can still receive the federal regulatory designation
non-toxic . Of the 17,000 chemicals that appear in common household
products, only 30% have been adequately tested for their negative
effects on our health; less than 10% have been tested for their effect
on the nervous system; and nothing is known about the combined effects
of these chemicals when mixed within our bodies. No law requires
manufacturers to list the exact ingredients on the package label.
Personal care product refers to just about anything we use to clean
our bodies or make ourselves look or smell good. The closest thing to
a regulatory agency for the personal care industry is the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), and their power is extremely limited. Here
are more unsettling facts regarding personal care products:

The FDA cannot regulate a personal care product until after it is
released into the marketplace.
Neither personal care products nor their ingredients are reviewed or
approved before they are sold to the public.

The FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing on their
personal products before they are sold to the public.

The FDA cannot require recalls of harmful personal care products from
the marketplace.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and health (NIOSH)
analyzed 2983 chemicals used in personal care products. The results
were as follows:

884 of the chemicals were toxic
314 caused biological mutation
218 caused reproductive complications
778 caused acute toxicity
148 caused tumors
376 caused skin and eye irritations.

Warning: You Can't Trust Warning Labels!

You may think you know what is in a product and its potential harms by
reading ingredient and warning labels. Think again. Manufacturers are
not required to list the exact ingredients on the label. Also,
chemical names are often disguised by using innocuous trade names. So,
even if the chemical is listed on the label, you may not recognize it
for what it is. Even if the harsh and dangerous active ingredients are
listed on a package, often time the remainder of ingredients are
lumped into a category known as inert (not active) ingredients. This
term may lead you to believe that these chemicals are not toxic or
hazardous. In fact, many of the 1,000 different chemicals used as
inert ingredients are more harmful than the active ingredients. The
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not require manufacturers
to identify most inert chemicals, or disclose their potential harmful
effects. Even suspected carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) are used
as inert ingredients in household products.

Regarding warning labels. One New York study found that 85% of
products they examined had incorrect warning labels. Some were labeled
poisonous, but weren't; others were poisonous but weren't labeled as
such; others gave incorrect first aid information. And there are
absolutely no warnings on products about possible negative effects of
long-term exposure. This is unfortunate because most diseases linked
to chemical exposure are the result of long-term exposure.

If we don't know what is in it, and we don't know if it can hurt us,
how are we supposed to make an intelligent decision about whether or
not to bring this product into our home?

Cleaning products
(just a few that I know are used in house cleaning)
Air freshener- toxic; may cause cancer; irritates, nose, throat, and
lungs.
Disinfectant- very toxic; causes skin, throat, and lung burns; causes
coma.
Drain cleaner- toxic; causes skin burns; causes liver and kidney
damage.
Oven cleaner - toxic; causes skin, throat and lung burns.
Window Cleaner- toxic; causes cns disorders; causes liver and kidney
disorders.
Floor/Furniture polish - toxic causes cns disorders, may cause lung
cancer
Spot remover- toxic; may cause cancer, may cause liver damage.
All Purpose Cleaner - causes eye damage; irritates nose, throat and
lungs.
Toilet bowl cleaner - very toxic; causes skin, nose, throat and lung
burns.
Chlorinated scouring powder- toxic; highly irritating to nose, throat
and lungs.
Dishwasher Detergent - toxic; causes eye injuries, damage to mucous
membranes and throat.
As I said just a few.

One Common Ingredient

Although it would take a second book to cover all the ingredients
commonly used in the products above, I want to let you know about one,
formaldehyde, as an example. Formaldehyde is used frequently in both
cleaning and personal care products because it is a cheap
preservative. The following information is taken from a Material
Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) which , by law, must be supplied to anyone
who uses any chemical product in the workplace. The MSDS for
formaldehyde warns: Suspected carcinogen; may be fatal if inhaled,
swallowed, or absorbed through the skin; causes burns; inhalation can
cause spasms; edema (fluid buildup) of the larynx and bronchi, and
chemical pneumonitis, extremely destructive to the tissue of the
mucous membrane. All these symptoms and more are caused by
formaldehyde. Yet manufacturers can put formaldehyde in shampoo and
not list it as an ingredient! You will be shocked to learn that
formaldehyde is a common ingredient in baby shampoo, bubble bath,
deodorants, perfume, cologne, hair dye, mouthwash, toothpaste, hair
spray and many other personal care items.

Formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen. If all cancers start with the
abnormal growth of just one cell, then why allow any amount into or
onto your body?


Toxic Chemicals and the Human Body

Your body is a very complex, very fragile system of chemical reactions
and electrical impulses. When you consider a single cell breathes,
uses energy, and releases waste much like your whole body does, you
can begin to understand how even small amounts of harmful chemicals
can affect the performance of the body's processes. Chemicals enter
the human body in three ways: ingestion, inhalation, and absorption.

Ingestion
Ingestion brings to mind the image of a young child opening the
cabinet under the sink and drinking something deadly. Well, each year
nearly 1.5 million accidental ingestions of poisons are reported to
U.S. Poison Control Centers. The majority of the victims are under the
age of twelve and have swallowed a cleaning or personal care product.
It amazes me how many deadly chemicals are stored under sinks or on
bathroom counters and bathtubs within easy reach of young children.

Inhalation
It may surprise you to learn that poisoning by inhalation is more
common, and can be much more harmful, than ingestion. When something
harmful is swallowed, the stomach actually begins breaking down and
neutralizing the poison before it is absorbed into the bloodstream.
However, when you inhale toxic fumes, the poisons go directly into the
bloodstream and quickly travel to organs like the brain, heart, liver
and kidneys. Many products give off toxic vapors which can irritate
your eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and give you headaches, muscle
aches, and sinus infections. The process of releasing vapors into the
air is called outgassing. Outgassing occurs even when a chemical is
tightly sealed in its container. If you doubt this, simply walk down
the cleaning aisle at your local grocery store, and notice how
strongly it smells of toxic vapors, even though the containers are
sealed tight.

Absorption

Most people never guess this.

Finally, you need to realize the potential threat absorption poses.
One square centimeter of skin (less than the size of a dime), contains
3 million cells, four yards of nerves, one yard of blood vessels, and
one hundred sweat glands. We've all heard the ads for nicotine patches
and analgesic creams. These medicines work by being absorbed into the
bloodstream through the skin. Even some heart medicines are
administered through trans dermal (through the skin) patches. Any
chemical that touches the skin can be absorbed and spread throughout
the body. This can even happen when you come in contact with a surface
that was treated with a chemical days or even weeks earlier. I had no
idea that my children could be harmed by crawling across the kitchen
floor we had just cleaned. I thought that we were being conscientious,
not reckless.

Helping One Family at a Time...=)

If you're not interested in Melaleuca, you can make wonderful household cleaners with vinegar, baking soda, lemon, tea tree oil... There are many websites that will give you recipes (some in my links). This is obviously better for your family's health but also saves a lot of money if done wisely.

As far as beauty products go, Melaleuca's have parabens, so buy that elsewhere. Parabens are linked to reproductive and breast cancers and are in most beauty products. When you read the ingredients, look for propylparaben, methylparaben, ethylparaben, butylparaben, etc. Stay the heck away from these. Also, they're known to dry out your skin. Since we're usually putting on lotion to moisturize it makes sense to avoid them for this reason, too. Many drugstore brands are made without parabens and your local health food store (or Super Supplements - they're only in WA and they don't sell on their website but I LOVE them!) carries many great products. Just be sure to still read the package - just because it says it's "All Natural" doesn't mean it is. Also, if there is not sodium laurel sulfate (a common skin irritant) included it will not lather like you're used to. It will still clean like anything else but it seems strange at first. Honestly, you may have to try a few brands before you find one you love, but it's worth it. Who wants cancer? Not me. ;-)

This website ranks beauty product brands and discusses common ingredients and why you'd want to avoid them. A great resource as you can search for the ones with the lowest risk rating and try that brand for yourself!

I love you all!

Use less gas

A few of these tips are very handy:

http://www.greenlightmag.com/dept-carTravel-dtl.php?recordID=232

Great article on consumerism and the environment

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/006082.html

Remodeling Sources and Ideas

Hi everyone,

I had a request for green remodeling info (Congrats on the new home, Ann!), so here it is:

Maintenance Ideas:

• Replace all the light bulbs in your house with CFL's.

• Install dimmer switches.

• Install a motion activated light switch in places where the light is often left on unnecessarily.

• Avoid heating/ cooling areas that don't need to be comfortable - such as closets, pantries, etc. Seal the rooms by installing weather stripping and a door sweep under the door, and shut off the heater vent in that room.
  

• To seal around windows, carefully remove the trim (first cut the paint attaching it to the wall with a knife), then spray Great Stuff Window and Door Formula (the regular formula will bow your jambs!) or DAP Tex Plus (which is easier to clean up) into the gap between the wall and the window jamb. Trim off excess with a knife and reinstall the trim. Warmer windows!

• Seal up the garage and basement. That cold gets into your house!

• Check for leaks in ductwork and seal them with aluminum tape (NOT DUCT TAPE) on straight ducts and pure silicone caulk on joints.
  

• Hate to be a party pooper, but fireplaces are one of the biggest leaks in a home and when lit actually suck warm air out of the rest of the house! When you're not using it, fill a plastic bag with insulation and stuff it up the chimney. Just be sure to take it out before lighting a nice cozy fire, haha!
  

• Tune up your heater.

• Clean your air conditioner.

• Put a "jacket" on your hot water heater and foam sleeves on your pipes.

• Install low-flow showerheads.

• Plant an organic veggie garden, if you have room. Doesn't get any more "locally grown" than that! And considering an organic red pepper is $4, that could save a lot of money!
  

• Vacuum behind and under your fridge to keep it efficient. Fridges account for over 15% of energy usage in homes. If you're considering upgrading, click here.
  

• To make your dryer more efficient: Replace flexible ducting with 4" rigid metal duct, with as few bends as possible. Lint can't clog a nice smooth straight duct. Install a 4"x4" vent hood rather than the standard 2 1/2" - this is the equivalent of shortening the ducting by 6 feet - a great thing. Vacuum out the lint chute yearly. Scrub the lint screen with a brush and soapy water yearly, especially if you use fabric softener. Softener clogs the mesh, which means less airflow and slower drying. Also, vacuum the area under the drum inside the motor once a year - not only does this make it more efficient but it will make your dryer last longer and reduces the risk of dryer fires.

• Check for air leaks around your home. I've heard that if you added up all the tiny leaks in your house you could drive a truck through it! Yikes! It's wonderful to have an energy auditor come and check out your home with an infrared camera (oooh!) but that costs $250-400, and for that price you could fix a lot of little leaks in common places. Walk around your house and feel the floor, walls, windows, recessed light fixtures, attic access door, and exterior doors for cold spots. 35% of air leaks are in the attic, 18% doors and windows, 17% floors and basement, 13% walls, 10% ceiling. Adding more insulation (check Certainteed for insulation suggestions), outlet sealers, weatherstripping, caulking indoors and out... Crawling around in the attic to add more insulation is not a pretty job, but somebody (coughyourmancough) really needs to do it. Just don't do it on a hot day!!!

Very important: When you seal up your house nice and tight, you MUST invest the $20 to get a carbon monoxide detector. A well sealed home keeps you comfortable with less electricity, but also will help hold in carbon monoxide. This is imperative!

Remodeling Ideas:

• Use low/ no VOC paints. Most major paint stores (Kelly Moore, Rodda...) carry them, and your local environmental home store has them, too.

• When replacing the flooring, use rubber, bamboo, cork, reclaimed wood (which can all be fixed rather than replaced when need be), or marmoleum (one note- to clean solid floors, use the swiffer-style mops with washable microfiber covers, not an actual Swiffer. Waste of money and landfill.) Carpet is not only a germ and dust magnet, but it has to be vacuumed (which takes electricity), and even when it's recycled carpet it will still need to be replaced in a few years, and will probably end up in a landfill. Matt is a total diva about carpet and flat out refuses to put it in people's homes. ;-)

• Install radiant heating.

• Obviously, buy Energy Star appliances when it's time to upgrade.

• Research any materials you might use. There are a lot of great options out there. Educating yourself can save you money and give you a very "green" and beautiful home.

• Countertops come in amazing materials - paper (really!), quartz, recycled glass... It's best not to use natural stone. Yes, it's beautiful, but impractical for daily life and quarries are bad news for the environment.
  

• If replacing a toilet, check this site and click on "CWWA Maximum Performance Testing of Popular Toilets Reports".

• When doing any demolition, contact a building materials recycler, and freecycle or craigslist any useful stuff you don't want any more.

• Check out salvage shops for beautiful high quality materials with history. Not always money saving, but good for the environment and kinda exciting when you find a one of a kind piece that calls to you.
  

• Check local classifieds and Craiglist for used materials. We've gotten brand new double pane vinyl windows for next to nothing (or actually nothing) just by doing our homework.

• Consider quality. It's better for everyone if your purchase lasts a very long time and looks great doing it.

• Refinish cabinets, or if necessary, replace the doors if the cabinet layout is good but the cabinets are ugly. This goes back to the big picture of Buy Less Stuff.

• Go for timeless beauty. Trends are fun now, but in ten years you'll be dying to remodel again because it's so "outdated". Stay contemporary with paint colors - cheap, fast, and easy. On the big ticket items think about how well it will blend with changing aesthetics. That doesn't mean it has to be boring! Just classic. Again, saves you money and saves the world. They're connected so often!
  

Links:

• Seattle Environmental Home Center

• http://www.eere.energy.gov/consumer/your_home/

• http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/

• http://www.greenerchoices.org/

• This website is still pretty new, but I have high hopes for it

• Even Martha Stewart is going green!

• A link with fantastic links

• http://www.moderngreenliving.com/

• http://www.lazyenvironmentalist.com/

• http://www.verdantmag.com/

• http://www.sustainablestyle.org/

Of course, in ten years when Matt and I build our Zero Energy Home development, you can just buy one of our houses! ;-)

The Most Terrifying and Inspiring Movie I've Ever Seen:

We watched An Inconvenient Truth last night, and, frankly, I'm alarmed. The scientific data behind global warming is undeniable. Of the 928 scientific studies published on the subject, not a single one has denied its reality. The "controversy" we all hear is just spin put out to confuse the issue so businesses can continue doing things their own way without changing for the better. It's exactly like what happened when the Surgeon General announced that smoking causes lung cancer. As much as we want to ignore it, it's the truth.

What's most remarkable is that we can do SO MUCH to reduce the effects, but as a general public, we just don't care. It's time to care. It's time to educate ourselves on what exactly is happening and how to change it. We fixed the hole in the ozone layer, we can change this too! We just have to choose to. Politicians are essentially just salesmen, and they will sell us what we ask for. If the voters are saying "We want policy changes made to fix this", it will happen. We need to vote for leaders who care about the future, we need to write letters, we need to make conscious buying decisions. In the business world, we vote with our wallets. Vote for environmentally responsible businesses and products.

Most of you reading my blog are in the 20-30 year old range. We will soon be entering into the time of our leadership. It is also the time that many of us are raising and educating the new generation. Will we create a volatile environment that our great-grandchildren may not survive? Or will we change our habits and take charge of this crisis? We need to not only tell them but show them our responsible actions, and they will follow in our footsteps. Now is the time to change the world for the better. If enough people care, it will happen.

I realize this is a bit of a rant, but when you see this movie, you'll want to rant too. Everyone, please watch this movie. Then go to these websites and see what you can do to help. Also, below the links I listed some very simple starter ideas on what we can do.

Links

http://www.climatecrisis.net/

http://www.fightglobalwarming.com/

http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2005/10/26/faqs/index.html

http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2003/11/25/consumption/index.html

http://www.greenerchoices.org/

http://www.thegreenguide.com/

http://www.wearewhatwedo.ca/index.php

http://www.mtv.com/thinkmtv/environment/


Ideas

(free and often money saving)

• Buy Less Stuff!!! This one is major. Everything we buy has to be manufactured, shipped, and displayed in the store; and then we drive to the store to buy it, then someday it'll be thrown out. Stop shopping as entertainment and start only buying what you truly need.

• Buy secondhand when you do need something. It's already gone through the process of being made and shipped. 10 Things You Shouldn't Buy New.

• When you need new clothes, buy classic, quality pieces, preferably from a responsible manufacturer.
  

• If you're just going down the street, walk. Save the world, gas money, and your figure. ;-)
  

• Don't circle the parking lot looking for the "best spot". Just park and walk the few extra feet. Think of the cumulative effect of all the people across America circling parking lots. Every little bit adds up.

• Turn off the tap while you’re brushing your teeth or shaving — every minute the water flows wastes up to 2 1/2 gallons, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Run full loads in washing machines and dishwashers. Water plants in the early morning to ensure that the water goes into the ground instead of evaporating. And use a bucket to wash the car, hosing it off for a quick rinse, to save 90 gallons of water per wash. For more conservation tips, go to the California Urban Water Conservation Council site, at www.h2ouse.org. Savings: $189 a year, or nearly 40 percent off the average U.S. household’s annual water bill of $476, according to a 2003 study prepared for the National Rural Water Association.

• Freecycle the things you don't need any more rather than throw them out.

• Buy recycled toilet paper and use cloth napkins (more elegant, anyway)

• Bundle up/ strip down rather than adjust the thermostat.

• Wash your laundry in cold water, and line dry whenever possible (your clothes will also last much longer). When you line dry, hang your clothes inside out so the sun won't fade the colors.
  

• Unplug all electronics you're not using at the moment. They often use almost as much energy when off than they do when in use. An easy way to do this is to plug it all into a power strip you can switch off, or even set up your outlets to turn on/off with a light switch.

• Join the do not mail list, and even call the catalogs you receive and get off their mailing list. Junk mail is more than just annoying, it uses lots resources to get to your mailbox.

• Turn off the TV and enjoy spending quality time with your family instead.

• When traveling to another state, consider taking the train. Same price as flying and takes more time, but greener, more fun, you get to see beautiful scenery as you travel, and it's great one-on-one time with your travel buddy.

(Invest less than $10 - and often save much more)

• Buy locally grown food whenever possible. On average, food travels between 1,500 and 2,500 miles from the farm to your fridge. A farmer's market is a great way to do this, and if you go at the end of the day you'll get a lot for your money 'cuz they don't want to pack it back up and bring it home.
  

• Install outlet sealers on exterior facing walls. It'll cost $2 for an eight pack at Home Depot/ Lowe's and you just need a screwdriver and ten minutes. Outlets and light switches are one of the leakiest spots in exterior walls and these little guys can go a long way in keeping in precious heat or A/C. Also, of course, weatherstripping doors and windows goes a long way too.
  

• Buy (and actually remember to use, haha) reusable grocery bags. The ones at Whole Foods are $1 each and are 1000% more pleasant to use than plastic bags. Five trillion (geez!) plastic bags enter the market every year, and most of them end up in landfills, not to mention the energy and resources used to make and ship the bags in the first place.

• Use a reusable lexan/ nalgene water bottle rather than disposable water bottles.

It's all in the baby steps!

If you're remodeling your home, there are tons of options too. I can give you guys an idea list or links if anyone is interested. :-)

I'd love to hear everyone else's great ideas and suggested links, too. Now let's go save the world!