Green Zone
KFMG 99.1 FM, streaming at kfmg991.org
Des Moines, Iowa
August 25-29, 2008
Monday, August 25
Today’s Tip: It’s
official—plastic shower curtains are bad for you!
We’ve
known that plastic shower curtains outgas toxic chemicals
for a long time now, but finally a scientific study from a
reputable research institute has reached the same
conclusion.
Vinyl shower curtains release over 100 toxic chemicals into
the air in people’s bathrooms, including carcinogens and
reproductive toxins, according to a report released in June
2008 by the Virginia-based Center for Health, Environment
and Justice. These compounds can cause respiratory
irritation, headaches, nausea, and damage to the liver,
kidney, and central nervous system.
The shower curtains contain polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, as
well as phthalates already banned in children’s toys in
California, Washington state, and the European Union.
Everybody knows that heavy chemical smell, and it’s just
commonsense that it isn’t good for you. But finally this
report puts numbers to it.
Some retailers are already moving away from PVC shower
curtains. Sears has developed plans to offer more PVC-free
shower curtains. Ikea plans to phase out PVC shower curtains
altogether.
So get toss out that plastic shower curtain if you have one,
and install an organic cotton or canvas one, instead.
Tuesday, August 26
Today’s Tip: Use
poo bags when cleaning up after your dog.
Some times I just need to be hit upside the head. Such a
time occurred last week.
When I take my dog for his daily walk, I never fail to bring
a plastic bag, just in case. It’s always a plastic grocery
bag, one of those awful environmental hazards that have
somehow become indispensable in our lives. I mindlessly
reach for it, and if I do any thinking at all it’s that I’m
doing good by recycling this awful stuff, using it twice
before submitting it to the landfill where it takes hundreds
of years to decompose.
Well, last week (much to my delight and eventual
consternation) I found myself running out of plastic bags.
I’m being diligent, you see, taking canvas bags with me
whenever I go shopping, so I don’t bring home plastic bags
any more. So, what to use for my doggie’s poo?
That’s when I realized how much this easy habit had deluded
my thinking. It’s ridiculous, of course, to wrap something
as wonderfully biodegradable as an animal’s poo in plastic
that doesn’t biodegrade at all, then bury the whole thing in
a mountain of garbage. The wisest course of civil action is
to pick up the poo in some sanitary manner and flush it down
the toilet. But you can’t flush a plastic bag, too. What to
do?
Buy poo bags! I got mine at a pet store for about 6 cents a
bag. Made from cornstarch, they readily biodegrade. The
manufacturer urges you to put used poo bags in the compost,
but I’m leery of that advice. If you have two compost piles
(as I do), you can dedicate one to flowers and shrubbery,
and one to vegetables and fruits. Poo bags go in the one for
flowers and shrubbery. Too many unsavory items go down a
dog’s gullet. Best to keep the result off human food.
So, no more plastic grocery bags for me. That’s one huge
habit licked. If we all did that, our reliance on petroleum
would dwindle significantly, and we’d go a long ways toward
ridding the planet of the now ubiquitous plastic bag.
Wednesday,
August 27
Today’s Tip: Learn how
to think critically
Last week I was introduced to two new products--the E-cloth
(a microfiber cleaning cloth), and Soapnuts (an
honest-to-goodness real fruit, from the earth, not a
laboratory). I like the idea of soapnuts, a natural
detergent used in India for centuries. They work as laundry
soap as well as dishwasher soap and in a bucket of water for
general cleaning. And the packaging is great—recycled
cardboard printed with soy inks. But the E-cloth is another
story altogether. Here’s why.
The E-cloth is marketed as “green” because it cleans all
hard surfaces simply with water, thus eliminating chemical
cleaners. It works well, but I’m not sold on its
“green-ness.” Why? It’s made of plastic through and through.
Not recycled plastic, either. Virgin plastic.
I hate plastic. It’s bad for the environment cradle to
grave. People living near plastic manufacturing plants cope
with polluted air and water, and it takes years for plastic
to biodegrade, if at all. It’s not worth it.
Touting E-cloths as green because you don’t need to use
chemical cleaners is a cop-out. There are many plant-based
cleaners in the marketplace today that work extremely well.
Some cleaners may also disinfect and rid surfaces of
bacteria, which plain water does not. Saying the E-cloth is
green is a real stretch of the imagination.
So don’t take someone else’s word for it when they say a
product is green. Ask questions, like what is it made of?
Does it biodegrade? If so, how long does it take? More than
a year is too long.
Do your own research. It doesn’t take a lot of digging to
learn that plastic, in all its forms, is not sustainable.
And what is the definition of green? It’s one word:
Sustainable--actions and products that meet current needs
without sacrificing the ability of future generations to
meet theirs.
Thursday, August 28
Today’s Plea:
Don’t Drink Bottled Water
And don’t let your children drink it. Why? There are seven
compelling reasons:
Reason #1:
Using bottled water sends the false message that municipal
tap water is unsafe. More than a quarter of bottled water IS
municipal tap water.
Reason #2: It
takes oil to make those plastic bottles. The energy required
to make one bottle is the equivalent of filling it ¼ full of
oil.
Reason #3:
Most bottles are not recycled, and end up in the landfill.
Reason #4: It
takes more energy (i.e. oil and gas) to ship and truck them
around.
Reason #5.
Why pay 1,000 times more for bottled water when it costs a
penny a gallon from your tap? Geez.
Reason #6.
Drinking bottled water makes our children grow up with the
habit.
Reason #7.
Can we really trust those plastic bottles not to leach their
chemicals?
Bottled water
is OK for emergencies – but otherwise, let’s junk it.
Friday,
August 29
Today's Plea: Don't
Drink Bottled Water
And don’t let your children drink it.
Yesterday on
“The Green Zone” I explained why drinking bottled water is
bad for you and harmful for the environment. If you missed
it, go to my website
http://www.hunterink.com. That’s INK I.N.K.
People all over
the country are waking up to the reality that bottled water
is unsustainable and drinking it must be discouraged.
-
The City of
Los Angeles has not allowed the use of city funds to buy
bottled water since 1987.
-
San
Francisco and Seattle have banned its purchase by city
departments and agencies.
• Chicago placed a 5 cent tax on every bottle to
discourage its use.
-
All Illinois
state agencies have been banned from buying it.
-
Berkeley
School District has stopped providing it.
-
Students on
campuses across Canada are creating bottled-water-free
zones.
So ditch the
habit. Get a carbon filter for your kitchen tap, or a Brita
pitcher, and drink water from your kitchen tap—water you’ve
already paid for. Bottled water is OK for emergencies – but
otherwise, let’s junk it. |
|
 PROJECT:
Calculate Your Ecological Footprint |
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How much space does your lifestyle require? Find out.
Calculate your own ecological footprint by taking the quiz
at
www.myfootprint.org.
Then, you can compare your Ecological Footprint to what the
planet can sustain.
Adjusting your entries or playing with the “Reduce Your
Footprint” calculator will show how lifestyle changes affect
the Footprint size. Enter simple goals for your life on the
Action Calculator (such as a pledge to eat less meat) and
find out how many acres of land you could save just by
implementing that goal. Post your goals in a place where you
can see and review them every day. |
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ON THE AIR |
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• Dec. 29-Jan. 2, 2009
• Dec. 22-26, 2008
• Dec. 15-19, 2008
• Dec. 8-12, 2008
• Dec. 1-5, 2008
• Nov. 24-28, 2008
• Nov. 17-21, 2008
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Nov. 10-14, 2008
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Oct. 27-31, 2008
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Oct. 20-24, 2008
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Oct. 13-17, 2008
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Oct. 6-10, 2008
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Sept. 28-Oct. 3, 2008
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Sept. 22-26, 2008
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Sept. 15-19, 2008
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Sept. 8-12, 2008
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Sept. 1-5, 2008
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August 22-29, 2008
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Aug. 18-22, 2008
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June 30-July 4, 2008
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June 23-27, 2008
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June 16-20, 2008
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June 9-13, 2008
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June 2-6, 2008
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May 26-30, 2008
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May 20-23, 2008
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May 11-18, 2008
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April 6-13, 2008 |
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