Top 10 Toxic Products You Don’t Need

HCHW - Isn’t it time to purge what isn’t necessary? Let’s start by eliminating common, everyday items that contain toxic chemicals and contaminate your food, air, and body.

Here they are; listed in no particular order:

1. Vinyl plastic: Vinyl is the worst plastic for the environment. Banned in over 14 countries and the European Union, PVC, also known as vinyl, is still legally sold by U.S. retailers although it threatens environmental and consumer health at every stage of its product life cycle, according to the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice (CHEJ). When it's in your home, PVC can leach phthalates (linked to hormone disruption) and lead (a potent neurotoxicant) - contaminating air, dust, and eventually you. Go PVC-free by reading packages and avoiding the #3 in the chasing arrows symbol (usually found on the bottom of a product). If a plastic is not labeled, call the manufacturer.

2. Fragrance products: When surveyed, Facebook fans repeatedly cited dryer sheets as a toxic product they’d be happy to live without (and many wished their neighbors would stop using them too). Fragrances found in everyday products like air fresheners and perfumes can trigger asthma. Some of the chemicals of concern mimic estrogen, a process that may increase the risk of breast cancer. For example, diethyl phthalate (DEP) is absorbed through the skin and can accumulate in human fat tissue. Phthalates are suspected carcinogens and hormone disruptors that are increasingly being linked to reproductive disorders.

It's not so simple to avoid phthalates by switching products because they are rarely listed on product ingredient labels. Phthalates are claimed as a part of trade secret formulas, and are exempt from federal labeling requirements. Until the law changes and consumers get the right to know which chemicals are in products, choose fragrance-free products or use those scented with natural fragrances like essential oils.

3. Canned food: It's probably shocking to find a food item on a toxic product list, but it's no mistake. Food cans are lined bisphenol-A (BPA). Most experts believe this is our main source of exposure to BPA, which has been linked to early puberty, cancer, obesity, heart disease, depression in young girls and much more. Eden Foods was the first company to eschew BPA, but many other brands have gone BPA free, including Campbell’s Soup. But beware: some companies have switched to BPS, BPA’s chemical cousin, which has been linked many of the same health effects. To be safe, opt for fresh, frozen, dried or jarred foods.

4. Dirty cleaners: Admit it: it’s a bit odd to wipe toxic chemicals all over your oven, floors, counters, and toilets to get them “clean.” Corrosive or caustic cleaners, such as the lye and acids found in drain cleaners, oven cleaners and acid-based toilet bowl cleaners, are the most dangerous cleaning products because they burn skin, eyes and internal tissue easily. It’s simple and effective to use non-toxic cleaners or to make your own. You won’t miss the toxic fumes in your home either!

5. Pesticides: This is a huge category of products, but they deserve inclusion in their entirety because of how extremely toxic they are. They're made to be. That's how they kill things. But, solving your pest problem may leave you with another problem - residual poisons that linger on surfaces, contaminate air, and get tracked onto carpet from the bottom of shoes. There are so many non-toxic ways to eliminate pests and weeds - next time you need to get on the offense, check out the recommendations at Beyond Pesticides.

6. Bottled water: Americans buy half a billion bottles of water every week, according to the film The Story of Bottled Water. Most people buy bottled water thinking they're avoiding any contaminants that may be present in their tap water. For the most part, they're wrong. Bottled water can be just as, or even more, contaminated than tap water. In fact, some bottled water IS tap water - just packaged (in plastic that can leach chemicals into the water) and over-priced. Also, from manufacture to disposal, bottled water creates an enormous amount of pollution - making our water even less drinkable. Do yourself and the world a favor and invest in a reusable stainless steel water bottle and a water filter.

7. Lead lipstick: Can you believe lead, a known neurotoxin that has no safe level of exposure, is found in women’s lipsticks? A study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration discovered lead in 400 lipsticks tested, at levels two times higher than found in a previous FDA study. There is no safe level of lead exposure. Pregnant women and children are at special risk, as lead can interfere with normal brain development. To find a safe lipstick, as well as other personal care products like shampoo and lotion, check out the Skin Deep Database.

8. Nonstick Cookware: Just get this stuff out of your kitchen now. Studies show that perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), which make products stain-and stick resistant, are linked to cancer and low birth weights. They are incredibly persistent and can now be found all over the globe, including in the bodies of polar bears. Not only are PFCs found in cookware, but microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes, some dental flosses, furniture and clothing. To steer clear of PFCs, avoid products made with Teflon or list ingredients beginning with “fluoro” or “perfluoro.”

9. Triclosan: This antibacterial agent is found in soaps, toothpastes, mouthwashes, deodorants, and even clothing. Studies have found triclosan may harm the human immune system, which makes them more likely to develop allergies, and reduces muscle strength in humans and animals. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns consumers to read labels for triclosan and recommends using just plain soap to clean up. Instead of using antibacterial hand sanitizers made with triclosan, choose an alternative made with at least 60 percent alcohol.

10. Oil-based paints and finishes: There are 300 toxic chemicals and 150 carcinogens potentially present in oil-based paint, according to a John Hopkins University study. Still interested in coating your walls and furniture with this gunk? I hope not. Look for water-based options - ideally those that are low- or no-VOC. You could also explore natural finishes like milk paint and vegetable or wax based wood finishes.

Pick the 7 Endangered Wonders

Make your voice heard in a fun way and take part in a new initiative designed to bring increased attention – and ultimately protection – to some of the world’s most endangered animals.

The Alliance for Zero Extinction’s (AZE) new 7 Wonders campaign asks conservation-minded people like you to help select seven sites from around the globe to highlight the plight of species on the brink. The winning sites will be featured in a campaign to help conserve endangered species.

You can vote for your top sites from a list of 20. Each site is the last refuge on Earth for one or more endangered species. If any of these sites is lost to development, logging, agriculture, or other threat, the endangered species it harbors will go extinct. The 7 Wonders campaign highlights the precarious nature of these places and their species, and the urgent need to save them.

The 20 candidate sites were selected from among 587 sites around the world that were identified by scientists working with AZE. Voting will be open through November, and can be carried out at the campaign website: www.AZE7Wonders.org.

Green Competition on Facebook

As initiatives that target behavior to curb energy consumption spread nationwide, competition is emerging as an increasingly useful tool to motivate people.

Comparing people with their peers is one of the most effective ways to get them to lower their energy consumption – even if they don't care about the environment. With competition in the air, given the Olympics and the U.S. presidential race, take a moment to learn how friends and neighbors embrace their competitive spirit to save energy at home and at work.

Opower is known for encouraging neighbors to compete for energy savings with its home energy reports, which feature easy-to-read energy-use comparisons of neighboring homes. But the software company has recently been making headlines for its Social Energy app, a Facebook app that encourages friendly competition among Facebook friends.

The app's competitive features include "Friend Rank," which compares your energy usage to that of your friends. App users can also invite friends to a "group" with a specific energy goal. In a group, members compare energy use, boast, and goad each other onto sometimes creative energy-saving tactics – one recent conversation revolved around the energy-saving potential of forgoing reality TV.

Although the app is only four months old and still in its beta testing stage, Opower is already seeing the signs of energy-savings to come. "What we're seeing is that people are having really authentic conversations about their energy use," said Wayne Lin, Opower's product management director. Lin noted that it's hard for utilities to generate buzz around energy use because their language can be "markety," but the social aspect of Facebook is continuously spawning genuine conversations about how to save energy.

"And if people can have genuine discussions about energy use, that can lead to behavior change and reducing the amount of energy they’re using," Lin said.

The app has over 5,000 monthly users and 800 Likes, and Opower expects that to rise exponentially as word gets around.

In the meantime, social app users are trying out some advanced competitive features, like "badges" that indicate how much of an energy efficiency rockstar you are. The badges, which get posted on your Facebook wall, indicate how many kWh of energy you used in the past month. There are 11 types of badges, including the "tree house" badge (see image, above) for those who only used 100 kWh in the past month, and the coveted "tent" badge for 50 kWh users.

Check Out the Social Energy App by Facebook, NRDC, Opower.

Sarcasm and the Apple

Here is the biggest problem I face every day: I want to eat an apple as a healthy snack to get me through the afternoon, but eating a whole apple is really too much for me given my busy schedule. So I cut an apple into slices and put half the slices in the fridge for the next day. But when I go to eat the other half the apple slices have turned brown. Forget adding lemon juice, that’s one step too many! Luckily, human ingenuity has finally delivered. The good folks at Okanagan Specialty Fruits up in Canada recently submitted their Arctic® Apple, which has been genetically engineered so it doesn’t brown when exposed to oxygen, to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval. Never mind that consumers won’t see GE labeling on these apples, or that apple biodiversity could be irreversibly contaminated. I don’t have time to worry about those things; I want my apple slices and I want them to be pretty.

(p.s. – Are you freakin’ kidding me?)

Say "no" to genetically engineered apples!

Glowing Pet Fish Could Threaten Natural Species

Back in 2003, biotech company Yorktown Technologies developed a genetically modified fluorescent fish that was neon-bright and glowed in the dark under black light. Since that time, the company has sold millions of these "GloFish," which have made their way into various living room aquariums and sushi bars. But now it appears that they may be ending up somewhere else — namely our lakes and rivers. And needless to say, a number of scientists are saying this is not a good thing.

More...

Winged Funerals

When western scrub jays spot the lifeless body of another on the ground, they cease their foraging and flight to alert fellow jays. And from great distances the others come, gathering around their dead and singing their cacophonous dirge -- what ornithologists call "zeeps," "scolds" and "zeep-scolds" -- to encourage those even farther away to attend.

According to a recent study published in the journal Animal Behaviour, these funerary rites help jays share information about nearby danger. In the study, Western scrub jays reacted differently to a series of objects set out by observers from the University of California, Davis: They attempted to scare off a stuffed predator, scolded a stuffed jay, ignored painted scraps resembling a dead jay, but gathered to better understand the implications of a true death.

Of course, such practical yet metaphysical contemplation isn't entirely shocking coming from such a smart bird. Recent research also suggests western scrub jays may be among the most intelligent animals, with a brain-to-body-mass ratio that rivals that of chimps and whales and an uncanny ability to plan for the future -- long believed a uniquely human trait.

Read more in BBC Nature.

Five State Capitols Receive Green Design from EPA

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that the capital cities of Kentucky, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana and Indiana will be awarded design assistance from EPA to create healthy, prosperous communities through green development. EPA’s Greening America’s Capitals (GAC) program will help these capital cities stimulate economic development, provide more housing and transportation choices, and reduce infrastructure and energy costs. Through this project, EPA will provide design assistance from private-sector experts to help these capital cities demonstrate sustainable designs that create vibrant neighborhoods while strengthening the local economies and protecting people’s health.

The following five cities were selected through a national competition for assistance.

•    Frankfort, Ky. will receive assistance to enhance walkability and add bike lanes between the historic downtown and the State Capitol. The project will also connect the downtown with the proposed Kentucky River trail.

 

•    Des Moines, Iowa will receive assistance to incorporate green infrastructure elements into a proposed streetscape plan for a one-mile segment of 6th Avenue. The project will revitalize the commercial street that serves as the northern gateway to the city’s downtown.

 

•    Baton Rouge, La. will receive assistance to incorporate green infrastructure elements into a proposed walking and biking trail that connects Louisiana State University with the city’s downtown.

 

•    Helena, Mont. will receive assistance to improve the walkability and add bike lanes along Last Chance Gulch, a street that connects the northern part of the Helena business district with the historic downtown. The project will also explore design alternatives for a five-way intersection to enhance walkability.

 

•    Indianapolis, Ind. will receive assistance to make streets more pedestrian-friendly and revitalize public plazas within and adjacent to the Market Square redevelopment area. The project will tie in with the city’s larger plan to develop businesses in a new green cultural district.

GAC is a project of the Partnership for Sustainable Communities among EPA, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The partnership is helping communities across the country create more housing and transportation choices, reinforce existing investments, and support vibrant and healthy neighborhoods that attract businesses. This is the third year of the Greening America’s Capitals program. Capital cities selected in the first two years included Boston, Mass.; Charleston, W.Va.; Hartford, Conn.; Jackson, Miss.; Jefferson City, Mo.; Lincoln, Neb.; Little Rock, Ark.; Montgomery, Ala.; Phoenix, Ariz.; and Washington, D.C.

More information on GAC: http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/greencapitals.htm

More information on the Partnership for Sustainable Communities: http://www.sustainablecommunities.gov

Larry Gibson

There are certain people whose voice and vision have an outsized influence, their work expanding in a ripple effect that catalyzes real social change. Larry Gibson, founder of Keeper of the Mountains, protector of Appalachia and fighter of coal mining, was one of those heroes.

On Sunday, Larry Gibson died of a heart attack while working at his home on Kayford Mountain, West Virginia—land that had been in his family for generations and that he turned into a prime exhibit of the highly destructive practice of mountaintop removal coal mining. A piece of land he stubbornly refused to sell despite being offered millions by mining companies.

As Larry famously said, "I'm not collateral damage. I am not a victim. I am somebody. I am just as good as anyone. I deserve the same quality of air and health that everyone does that lives away from the coal fields."

Many, like me, first heard about the fight to stop mountaintop removal coal mining through Larry’s courageous protection of his family home.

One of the most important things we can do today to memorialize Larry’s legacy is to make a collective promise to keep fighting, to continue fending off King Coal, to protect our air, our mountains, our water, our climate and our communities. Today you can help by sharing Larry’s legacy, ensuring that one more person in your community is part of Larry’s ripple effect and is inspired to join the fight.

As writer Jeff Biggers eloquently put it, “Few people in our country were so fearless in the face of political pressure, bankers, Big Coal backlash and even death threats; and fewer people had the inspiring impact of this determined mountaineer, who had spent the last two decades crisscrossing the country, leading protests and beseeching power brokers to defend his Appalachian mountains from reckless strip mining operations.”

He will be so sincerely missed, but it is in our hands to ensure his legacy is not forgotten.

Hurricane Isaac Washes Up 2010 Gulf Oil Spill Remnants

Waves from Hurricane Isaac uncovered oil previously buried along Gulf Coast beaches, exposing crude that wasn't cleaned up after the BP spill in 2010.  Tests run by Louisiana State University for state wildlife officials confirmed that oil found on Elmer's Island and Grand Isle matched the biological fingerprint of the hundreds of millions of gallons of oil that spewed from BP's Macondo well. According to the US Coast Guard, oiled pelicans and other wildlife have been found in Louisiana marshes as well. Hurricane Issac, which stirred up intense winds and dumped over a foot of rain in some parts of Louisiana, has also disturbed some deposits that hadn’t been cleaned up after the spill. Reports of tar balls washing up on beaches after the storm were reported in Alabama and Louisiana, the two states that got hit hard by BP's massive offshore oil spill.

More...

“Test It Maybe” Video

Right now, our nation’s primary chemical law is the Toxic Substances Control Act, which has not been updated since it was passed in 1976. The law is badly broken, allowing the EPA to test only a few hundred of the over 84,000 chemicals on the market today. This means that most of the chemicals in our products — everything from the backpacks our children wear to the furniture in our houses — are not tested for their long term effects on our health and the environment.

To the tune of "Call Me Maybe," conservationists from a non-profit organization put this video together. OK, it's really quirky, but the message is clear. And by the end you might catch yourself smiling at how silly they are.



Rising rates of diseases like asthma, diabetes, childhood cancers, infertility, and learning and behavioral disorders have been linked to toxic chemical exposure. We need our government to protect our families from these chronic illnesses by requiring adequate testing of chemicals before they accumulate in our bodies and environment. The Safe Chemicals Act will ensure that the chemicals surrounding us every day are safe, but we’ll only be able to make it a reality if you speak out today.

Share this video with others!

Illinois Coal Plant Owner Wants Permission to Pollute Beyond Legal Limit

Ameren, one of the largest coal plant owners in Illinois, is requesting special treatment that would allow it to continue polluting beyond the legal standard ELPC helped pass in 2006. This summer, ELPC coordinated a sign-on letter for nearly 100physicians and scientists from across the state as well as additional public comments from ELPC eAdvocates to ask the state to deny Ameren’s request.

The company cut a deal with the state 6 years ago – an extension for complying with one part of the standard (mercury pollution) in exchange for a more aggressive schedule for reducing other pollutants (sulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide). The state held up its end of the bargain, and now Ameren wants to walk away from its commitment. Other coal plant owners, such as Dynegy, have already invested in equipment to meet the state standards and say it is ‘challenging’ when one competitor seeks an exemption from rules others have agreed to.

Read an article from Midwest Energy News.

Diver Films Himself Holding Hands With a Seal

An underwater wildlife cameraman has filmed the moment a grey seal held his hand while he was diving off the English coast. While deep sea diving, English doctor Ben Burville, encountered this friendly grey seal off the coast of Northumberland. What follows is absolutely heartwarming: The front flippers of the Atlantic pup can grasp much like a human - proving that perhaps we're not that different after all.