Monday, Oct. 27
Today’s Tip is a recipe-- for a low-carbon load of laundry.
We’ve all heard about the need to lower our carbon footprint, which translates into using less fossil fuel to diminish the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. There are many ways to do this in our daily lives. One way is to change the way we do laundry.

According to Procter & Gamble Co., the average American family does about 300 loads of laundry per year, or about six loads per week. That suggests a per-family carbon footprint from doing laundry of about 480 pounds of carbon dioxide per year, or about ten pounds per week. And that doesn’t include running the dryer.

You can lower this carbon footprint in three significant ways:

1. Use concentrated liquid detergent instead of powder. This shaves the carbon footprint of each load by 0.3 pounds.

2. Wash your clothes in cooler water—86 degrees F. instead of 104 degrees. This yields as much of a reduction as you get from switching from powder to liquid detergent—0.3 pounds.

3. Hang clothes out on a line to dry. This one change is the biggest way to cut the environmental impact of doing laundry. Drying laundry outside on a line cuts the carbon footprint of every load by a whopping 4.4 pounds.

So reduce your carbon footprint by changing the way you do laundry.

1. Use liquid detergent, not powder;

2. Wash in cool water, and

3. Hang clothes on a line to dry.

Tuesday, Oct. 28
Today’s Tip is a warning--Mammals are disappearing from the earth.
Half of all species are in decline, and one in four is at risk of extinction, according to a recent report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, or IUCN, a trusted authority on world biodiversity. Deforestation and other habitat losses, along with hunting, are the main reasons for the decline.

While isolated populations of certain animals are increasing—(5% of mammalian species overall—often due to the hands-on efforts of governments and conservation groups), the larger trends are all pointing toward an extinction crisis. And the threat is not isolated to mammals. Similar reports have identified crises among birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. Overall, 38% of known species are at risk of extinction.

Unlike past extinction events, caused by meteor strikes, climactic shifts spawned by volcanoes, or other natural phenomena, this extinction has one primary cause: humans.

The spiritual loss from the extinction of any one species is likely greater than the actual loss. But it’s important to remember that the next medicinal cure, biochemical breakthrough or natural remedy could be lost forever with the loss of a single species. And it’s also important to remember that the loss of a species can often have a spiraling effect on its ecosystem. That, particularly, can be the case when large mammalian predators disappear, and their prey is left to run amok.

While 76 mammals have gone extinct in the last 500 years, hundreds could go extinct this century alone.

From thedailygreen, #47100602, 10.6.08

Wednesday, October 29
Today’s Tip: “Whiter than white” is not natural.
“Whiter than white” is an advertising myth, promoted at a time when the byproducts of chlorine were Big Business. Today we bleach everything from our paper towels to our sheets and shirts.

“Whiter than white” is available only with the aid of synthetic chemicals developed in laboratories, not found in nature. That unnatural “whiter than white” effect comes from a combination of surfactants, optical brighteners, and bleach found in conventional detergents which harm the environment and the human body. Many of these chemicals, when discharged in municipal waste water, break down into more toxic compounds that do not readily biodegrade in soil and water. These same chemicals also cause estrogen-sensitive breast cancer cells to proliferate in test tubes.
What’s a green consumer to do? Adopt a natural aesthetic. Whiter than white is not natural. When shopping for laundry products, look for plant-based, phosphate-free detergent and oxygen-based bleach. If you must buy paper towels and Kleenex, buy the unbleached, recycled kind. And purchase toilet paper made from recycled paper.

“Whiter than white” is no longer cool. Off-white, ivory, and tan are found in an earth-based color palette.

Thursday, Oct. 30
Today’s Tip: Live happily with less stuff.
Here’s a fact for you: Americans in 2008 consume ten times more than we did 40 years ago. Believe me. I remember. In the United States we now have 19 square feet of shopping space per person? Shopping is our Number One pastime. Not hiking in the woods. Not gardening and growing some of our own food. Not biking, or walking, or even eating out. It’s shopping!
Well, it’s time we lived happily with less stuff. Hard times are ahead.

In reality, shopping, like income, doesn’t have much to do with happiness. Studies prove that Americans have not become any happier as they have prospered in the last 50 years. And winning the lottery doesn’t make people happier in the long term.

This is called the Easterlin Paradox: Once they have met their basic needs, people don’t become happier as they become richer. Happiness, in fact, has less to do with money than with having good friends and family, and time to spend on social activities and finding meaning in a cause larger than oneself.

Make that cause survival of the Earth. Everyone—every taxpayer, every citizen—needs to learn to live wisely. To take care of each other. To nurture the earth.
The spending spree is over. It’s time to restructure your life around new green goals and activities. Please.

Friday, Oct. 31
Today’s Tip is recent news: Both cigarette smoke and lead are linked with ADHD in kids.
According to a new study by the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, children who are exposed in the womb and early life to both cigarette smoke and lead are more than eight times as likely to develop ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) than are children who aren't exposed to either environmental toxin.

Eliminating exposure to both could reduce ADHD cases by more than one-third -- more than 800,000 cases at today's rate of diagnosis.

Prenatal exposure to cigarette smoke, or exposure to lead, each makes developing ADHD more than twice as likely, but exposure to both simultaneously magnifies the risk, according to the research.

The dangers of both lead and cigarette smoke are well known. Lead -- found in old house paint, in contaminated dirt near roads, and in some common household products (even toys) -- is known to disrupt the normal development of the brain, and exposure can reduce IQ, cause behavioral problems, and other health issues. Cigarette smoke's long list of ills is also well known, but the study suggests that more should be done to prevent children and pregnant women from being exposed to second-hand smoke, and that parents need to be better educated about the dangers of lead.

From thedailygreen.com, 10.20.08.