Food Waste …

On average, Americans waste 25 percent of the food we prepare. We throw away 44 percent of our yard trimmings and over 90 percent of our wood waste.

It’s time to be part of the solution. EPA launched its new organic materials Website. This Website is a great place for businesses and consumers to find ways to put surplus food, yard trimmings and wood waste to good use. With information on the Food Waste Recovery Hierarchy, EPA's GreenScapes program, and wood waste recovery options, everyone can find a way to be part of the solution. Visit the Organic Materials Website at http://www.epa.gov/organicmaterials/ today!

Safety at Home
There's no place more important to keep safe than your home. And in January, when the cold weather can drive your family indoors for long stretches at a time, there are a number of potential dangers to avoid. To help keep your family safe, start the new year off by Committing A Minute to Safety with four simple resolutions:
	Install UL certified carbon monoxide detectors on each floor of your home and make sure that your whole family knows what they sound like and what to do if they go off.
	Keep UL certified fire extinguishers strategically placed in rooms such as the kitchen, garage or workshop.
	To help prevent a fire, keep combustibles such as draperies, clothing and furniture at least three feet away from air heaters. Children should also be taught to keep three feet from the heat.
	Look for the UL Mark when you buy appliances.
Click here to Commit A Minute to Safety this winter and stay on top of the latest information to help keep your family safe. After you Commit A Minute to Safety, please help protect your loved ones by forwarding this message today.
Sincerely, Sara Greenstein, UL

 

 

Be Careful of 'Green' Cleaning Products as they May Not Be Very Green

Story at-a-glance

• Simple Green claims to be “non-toxic, biodegradable and environmentally safe,” but it contains 2-Butoxyethanol, a petrochemical solvent that has been shown to destroy red blood cells and cause reproductive problems and birth defects
• 2-Butoxyethanol is also in Corexit 9527, a dispersant used during the early days of clean-up in the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Corexit 9527 has been determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be a 'chronic and acute health hazard'
• 2-Butoxyethanol is not listed on Simple Green’s label, as cleaning product manufacturers -- even those that claim to be "green" -- are not required by law to disclose all ingredients on their labels
• You can find more information about a product’s ingredients in its material safety data sheet (MSDS), but even these do not always disclose all ingredients
• The habit of using conventional cleaning products is one of the most unnecessary ways to expose yourself to toxic chemicals. Tried and true items such as vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice can get the job done just as well

By Dr. Mercola

Demand for safe "green" cleaning products is on the rise, as consumers are increasingly unwilling to risk their health for the sake of a "clean" home.

The truth is, most cleaning products on the market are toxic chemical cocktails, and when you spritz your bathtub or kitchen counter with that brightly colored liquid you're exposing yourself and your family to endocrine-disrupting phthalates, carcinogenic benzene, and organ-damaging phenols, just to name a few.

Unfortunately, finding a safer option is not as straightforward as it may seem, because when it comes to cleaning products -- even avowedly "green" cleaning products -- you can't judge a book by its cover.

Popular Green Cleaner "Simple Green" is Actually Toxic

Simple Green is one of the most widely used, supposedly "green" cleaning products on the market.

It's named "green" not only because of its color, of course, but because it is trying to promote a safe and natural image.

In fact, Simple Green's web site calls it "the leader of non-toxic, biodegradable, environmentally safer cleaning products."

This sounds great… until you discover its ingredients, which by the way is not a simple feat because cleaning product manufacturers -- even those that claim to be "green" -- are not required by law to disclose all their ingredients on product labels.

This is where a product's material safety data sheet (MSDS) comes in handy. The product manufacturer must make an MSDS available to consumers; this is federally mandated, so if you are in doubt about a product's true ingredients, this is the source to turn to. In the case of Simple Green, the MSDS is incredibly revealing, as it states that the formula contains up to 4 percent 2-Butoxyethanol by volume.

2-Butoxyethanol Linked to Birth Defects, Reproductive Problems and More

2-Butoxyethanol is a petrochemical solvent that has been shown to destroy red blood cells and cause reproductive problems and minor birth defects. At GreenMedInfo you can further see 10 diseases associated with 2-butoxyethanol, including liver cancer and osteoarthritis. Other health risks revealed by the MSDS for 2-Butoxyethanol include:

Perhaps what is most disturbing about this information is that most people spend about 90% of their time indoors, with women, children and the elderly being more susceptible to being harmed by chemicals like 2-butoxyethanol due to their increased likelihood of exposure. In the case of the very young, such as infants, whose blood-brain barrier and detoxification systems are not yet fully developed, the danger may be hundreds of times higher than for adults. 

2-Butoxyethanol is Also a Dispersant Chemical Banned in the UK

Remember the 2010 oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, where BP attempted to "clean up" the water with highly toxic dispersants? It's a disaster that's virtually impossible to forget, one that was made even more tragic because of BP's indiscriminate use of two toxic products from a line of dispersants manufactured by Nalco: Corexit 9500 and Corexit 9527A.

Corexit products were removed from a list of approved treatments for oil spills in the U.K. more than a decade ago after the agents were linked to human health problems including respiratory, neurological, liver, kidney and blood disorders, as well as "harmful effects" on sea life. Corexit 9527, an older formula used only during the early days of the clean-up according to Nalco, has been determined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be a 'chronic and acute health hazard.'

The 9527 product contains 2-butoxyethanol, an ingredient identified as the cause of ongoing health problems in Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup workers, which is also found in Simple Green cleaner! As GreenMedInfo stated:

"It was the absence of the highly toxic and controversial 2-butoxyethanol in the 9500 Corexit formula that made it a "safer" alternative. It is believed that 2-butoxyethanol contributed to the significantly shorter lifespan of Exxon Valdez clean-up workers and is why Corexit 9527 was banned in the United Kingdom."

It's Common for "Green" Cleaners to Contain Toxins

Unfortunately, Simple Green is not the only chemical cleaner trying to masquerade as a natural product. In general, if you pick up a green cleaning product and it does not have its ingredients clearly labeled, you need to be very suspicious.

Take, for example, one study that analyzed 25 commonly used, scented products, including cleaning products (disinfectants, all-purpose cleaners, dish detergents), half of which claimed to be green, organic, or natural. Amazingly, the products tested emitted an average of 17 chemicals EACH, but only ONE compound was actually listed on the label.

All in all, the 25 products tested emitted a total of 133 different chemicals, about 25 percent of which are currently classified as toxic or hazardous under federal law, but only one of these 133 chemicals were disclosed on the label … and only two were listed on the MSDS! And every single product emitted at least one chemical listed as toxic or hazardous! So it truly is a buyer-beware market when it comes to cleaning supplies -- even "green" cleaning products. Further, researchers noted:

"For "green" products, emissions of these compounds were not significantly different from the other products."

Do You Want to Clean Your Home Safely? Here are the Simple Tips …

Have a clean home should not mean sacrificing your health due to chemical exposures, plain and simple. In fact, some of the best cleaners are items you probably already have around your home, such as vinegar, baking soda, and lemon juice. Here's a simple starter list of what you need to make your own natural cleaning products:

For a great video on how to use these ingredients and other tips for cleaning your home without hazardous chemicals, please review the article: How to Keep Your Home Clean Naturally. For example, lemon juice is a natural whitener, vinegar and water makes an excellent window cleaner, and vinegar combined with hydrogen peroxide works exceptionally well as both a disinfectant and sanitizer.

Baking soda is also great to scrub your bath and kitchen. Put it in a glass grated cheese container with a stainless steel top that has holes in it, and just sprinkle the baking soda on the surfaces and scrub. You may add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to this, such as lavender and tea tree oil, which have added anti-bacterial qualities.

If you prefer a ready-made cleaner, there are some truly safe versions out there, including our new Greener Cleaner, which my team and I spent over three years working on to develop the best environmentally and personally safe cleaner on the market. Ideally, you can use safe cleaners such as this, in combination with tired-and-true natural ingredients, to completely replace dangerous chemical cleaning products in your home. Here are several more simple tips to get you started:

• Use baking soda as a safe, non-scratch scrub for metals and porcelain.
• To clean your oven, sprinkle a cup or more of baking soda over the bottom of the oven, then cover the baking soda with enough water to make a thick paste. Let the mixture set overnight. The next morning the grease will be easy to wipe up because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven.
• To unclog a drain, pour 1/2 - 1 cup of baking soda down the drain, then slowly pour 1/2 - 1 cup of vinegar in after it. Cover the drain and let it sit for 15 minutes. If it bubbles like a volcano, it means it's working as planned. Flush with a gallon of boiling water.
• Deodorize dry carpets by sprinkling liberally with baking soda. Wait at least 15 minutes, then vacuum.
• To rid your garbage disposal of foul smells, add vinegar to water for ice cubes, then let a few of them get chopped by your disposal.
• To clean your silver, boil 2-3 inches of water in a shallow pan with 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and a sheet of aluminum foil. Totally submerge silver and boil for 2-3 minutes more. Remove silver from the pan and wipe away the tarnish with a clean cotton cloth.

Source:  Green Med Info December 30, 2011

Healthy Heads-Up: How Toxic Are Your Body Products?

The Environmental Working Group has a wonderful new interactive website that will give you the safety and toxicity rating on the personal care and cosmetic products you use. Are your products toxic? Find out at: http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep/

MoCo's Bag Bill Goes into Effect, January 1.
Whatever you call it -- the Bag Bill, Bag Fee Bill, Carryout Bag Bill -- Montgomery County waterways and roadways will have less plastic waste in the months and years to come because of it.  Retailers, including the ANS Sanctuary Shop, will charge 5 cents for every plastic and paper bag given out, starting Sunday, January 1. Get your reusable bags ready!  More helpful info here.

MISC.

Giving Green

What's your closet looking like these days? Find at least three articles of clothing you haven't worn the past year and donate them.