A special Earth Day message from Gillian Deacon:
"Earth day shouldn't just be an annual tip of the hat to greener living. This year, make it the day you recalibrate your everyday patterns to be more earth-friendly all year long.
Deacon's book is full of startling information. Here's one quick excerpt to give you an idea...You don't have to be a treehugger to care about avoiding toxins in your everyday bodycare. Synthetic chemicals in personal care products contaminating groundwater and wildlife is alarming enough—but they’re also contaminating us. Those hard-to-read ingredients you squint at on the back of a product label? They’re building up inside your body and in your children’s bodies—on Earth Day and everyday.
Make today the day you start paying attention to that fine print. Turn a product over and read the ingredients label before you are seduced by the “green” imaging on the package. The good news is, there are lots of safer products on the market.
Good luck and I hope you’ll check out There’s Lead in Your Lipstick for more ideas on how to clean up your act!"
"The Real Cost of Cosmetics
There’s a reason why these more healthful options are usually more expensive. Most conventional cosmetic manufacturers use parabens to preserve the ingredients, claiming it is a necessary evil. Parabens are estrogenic, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, which means they mimic natural estrogen and can wreak havoc on your hormones. When your hormones are out of whack you can experience mood swings, irregular menstruation, skin irritations, and other troubling symptoms. Parabens are also potentially carcinogenic."
(From There’s Lead in Your Lipstick by Gillian Deacon (Penguin Canada). Copyright © Backbone Inc. FSO Gillian Deacon, 2011)
Open to Canada only. To be entered, leave me a green tip of any kind. Ends Saturday May 7th at 6 pm EST. Good luck!
My green tip is to walk or bike more places. it's good for the environment and your health!
ReplyDeletemomtodc(at)gmail(dot)com
My green tip is to recycle everything you can. My community now allows table scraps including meat in with the green waste pick up.
ReplyDeletepocokat AT gmail DOT com
tuck a small reusable bag in your purse incase you do any unexpected shopping!
ReplyDeletestrandedhero(at)gmail(dot)com
Composting is invaluable and helpful. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteIf you are just printing for your own use and do own a laser printer, reverse the sheet of paper and print on both sides.
ReplyDeletepboylecharley(at)hotmail(dot)com
my green tip is use double paned windows to help keep your heating and cooling costs financially and ecologically down speck135les at yahoo
ReplyDeleteBring your own canvas bags with you to the library, and grocery store. rojosho(at)hotmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteMy green tip is to use reusable water bottles, snack containers, "real" cutlery and a reusable lunch bag for a completely litterless lunch. This small step will really help to cut down on unnecessary plastic waste.
ReplyDeleteajmizen(at)hotmail(dot)com
My green tip is to share things like tools when you can - sometimes not everyone needs their own, and sharing, if you have people who are willing to participate, saves both space and resources (renting is also a possibility for some things).
ReplyDeleteikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca
I know it's simple; but, read labels and ask questions.
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ReplyDeleteI used to use tinfoil to line my bakeware when baking fish or meat in the oven (easier to clean!). But now I use parchment paper. It works great and isn't quite so hard on the environment.
ReplyDeletesister_know at yahoo dot com
My green tip is to recycle
ReplyDeletepdiffy at liberty dot edu
My green tip is to always remember to bring a big bag and extra canvas bags with you when shopping so that you don't need to take any plastic bags from stores.
ReplyDeletechibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com
Get energy efficient appliances.
ReplyDeletepbclark(at)netins(dot)net