Healthy Nail Polish
by Greenista Girl Shivani
A healthier way to do your nails …
At a cool boutique in Houston called Kuhl-Linscomb in Houston that our friend Bridget introduced us to, Neha and I found WONDERFUL natural skin care products, hair care products, gifts for kids, and a plethora of other items. It’s like every boutique you every wanted to visit, all under one roof.
There I found a great brand called Deborah Lipman – beautiful packaging, beautiful branding, beautiful, natural product – wow you’ve got me! The products contain no toluene, formaldehyde or DBP, no animal testing. Tons of celebrities love the product, and have created fun custom colors with the line.
I try to use natural, healthy, toxin free body products as much as possible in my daily life, when I’m pregnant I’m hyper conscious-about these things, so try it out, it’s an easy way to switch one of your personal care items to a more toxin-free alternative. That is, unless you’re willing to go au naturel …
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Ever looked at the labels on your shampoos, moisturizers and cosmetics? Do you
really know what chemicals you're putting on your body?
Most Americans
use about 10 personal care products a day. And they think that the government is
making sure these products are safe - but the scary truth is, it's not.
That's why Environmental Working Group scientists have put together
easy-to-use tips on how to read labels on personal care products. Check out
the new video featuring EWG's Senior Analyst Nneka Leiba on what to watch out
for before you buy.
Click here to watch the video and get
simple tips on how to read personal care product labels.
Some
products have major safety concerns - skip those likely to contain dangerous
chemicals, such as:
- Hair straighteners
- Loose powders
- Perfumes
- Dark permanent hair dyes
- Skin lighteners
- Products with "fragrance" listed as an ingredient
- Ingredients that have harmful contaminants, including:
- DMDM hydantoin
- Diazolidinyl urea
- Imidazolidinyl urea
- Ceteareth
- Polyethylene glycol
- PEG
EWG is committed to helping you live healthier and greener all
year long. Keep checking your inbox for brand-new tips every month
Want to know how much greenhouse gas, trees and wastewater you can save by using
eco-friendly paper products? Find out and keep track of your organization's
environmental savings today by adding Green Printer’s Eco-Calculator widget
code to your blog, Facebook or website. (Source: Environmental Protection
Agency)
The Green Word A Day - your green vocabulary builder. When you say GREEN -
What do they hear? Its brought to you by Jane Tabachnick Marketing and
SeasonsGreenings.net
“Going” (Literally) Green — The Need-to-Know
Green travel is a broad term with two main branches: It refers first and
foremost to responsible travel
practices that pay attention to environmental, social, and
economic sustainability. It can also refer to eco-tourism, which
involves responsible travel specifically to natural areas. And while we love our
readers in the Galapagos and the Arabian Desert, for the purposes of this
article, we’ll be focusing on the first definition.
Why should we bother greening our travel practices? For starters, the U.S.
transportation sector is responsible for about 40 percent of the
nation’s fossil-fuel related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions — one of the main
gases responsible for climate change. Reducing
our collective transportation footprint
(aka environmental impact) could significantly lower the amount of CO2 we emit
into the atmosphere. But is it possible to add worries about “traveling green”
to the stresses of holiday travel and still maintain sanity? Luckily, yes.
Not only is it possible (and pretty easy) to keep the environment in
mind while traveling, but in a lot of cases green travel practices can save us
some, uh, green.
Before You Go: Packing and Leaving Home
Greener travel starts before we actually… start traveling. Follow these
packing and home preparation tips to prepare for environmentally friendly travel
and minimize a home’s footprint while you’re away
- Pack light. The more weight trains, planes, and automobiles
have to carry, the more fuel they use,
and the more greenhouse gases (the
kind that cause the planet’s temperature to rise) are emitted into the
atmosphere.
Bring a reusable water bottle and shopping bag. Toss the
bag in the suitcase and keep the water bottle handy for water fountain fill-ups
— using both items will help cut down on wasteful
packaging during travel.
- Recycle before you go. If you purchased new products before
the trip (an iPhone charger, a new tube of toothpaste), recycle the cardboard
wrappers before leaving home. It’ll circumvent the “I can’t find
a recycling station anywhere” panic that can happen away from home
(just me?).
- Turn off — and unplug! — lights and electronics. Unless the
roommate is staying put for the holidays, nobody’s going to use that couch-side
lamp while you’re gone. Turning off electronics saves on the electricity bill
and cuts down on energy usage. To make an even bigger dent, unplug all electronics,
since they can “leach” power even when they’re not turned on.
- Turn down the thermostat. Same reasoning as above: An empty
room doesn’t need to be heated, and keeping it warm unnecessarily uses up energy. If you
have your own water heater, go ahead and turn that down, too.
- Suspend newspaper delivery. A quick call to the
newspaper company can save trees (and the paper kid’s tired little legs) for the
time that you’re away.
Getting There: Choosing How to Travel
Airplanes have been pretty vilified by the green community (it does
take a lot of fuel to keep those things up in the air), but the greenest
method of transportation might actually depend on how far we have to go.
The basic breakdown, in terms of pounds of CO2 emitted per mile, goes something like this:
Buses, trains, hybrid cars, and coach seats on narrow jets weigh in with the
smallest carbon footprints at less than ½ pound of CO2 per mile. The “medium
carbon footprint” category goes to regular cars and coach or regional jets. The
worst carbon offenders are SUVs and first-class jets, which produce more than
one pound of CO2 per mile. What does this mean in practical terms? Read on.
Buses tend to be the best option all around. Yeah, bus
rides can be long, and the person next to you might have BO. But that’s a risk
on any form of public transportation, and the environmental benefits of motor
coaches are impressive: A couple taking the bus will automatically cut their
carbon emissions nearly in half — even
when compared to a hybrid! And compared to flying, that same bus-ridin’ couple
will cut their emissions anywhere from 55 to 75 percent (whoa). Just make sure
the bus is full or close to it; otherwise, the benefits aren’t so
clear-cut.
- For shorter trips: Take the train or bus instead of flying. Doing
so emits three to seven times less gas than air
travel.
- For couples and solo travelers: A nonstop coach flight almost always beats car
travel, especially for trips longer than 500 miles (but a full
bus or train is still the best option).
- If renting a car: Choose the smallest vehicle possible and
rent a hybrid if one’s available.
- If traveling by air: Use the most direct route possible;
take offs and landings use the most fuel. Fly
coach instead of first-class (less leg room = more people on the plane, which
means more bang for fuel’s buck). Also try to choose an energy-efficient plane.
This one can be tough, because the information isn’t always available. But some
airlines, like Southwest, have started retrofitting their
planes to make them more energy efficient, and new plane models
(like Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner) are being designed to burn up to 20 percent less
fuel. If you’ve got the time and inclination, call up the airline and ask them
about their environmental practices.
- Offset your travel. To make up for the carbon dioxide
released during transportation, why not plant a few trees? Trees
convert CO2 for oxygen, which is good for us (apparently we need oxygen to
survive?) and good for the planet, because CO2 “consumed” by trees isn’t
released into the atmosphere. Luckily, a host of programs exist
to do the planting for you. It’s worth noting, however, that carbon
offsetting has gotten some flak: Critics worry
that offset plans give people a “free pass” to use the same amount of resources
(since they can “make up for it”) instead of taking direct action to reduce
their environmental footprint.
During Your Stay: Keeping it Green
Whether you’re staying in a hotel or crashing with family, there are steps
you can take to minimize environmental impact in transit.
Choosing a (green) hotel: There are some accrediting bodies for
green hotels (though they have their critics) and also a host of resources for
the would-be green traveler. Regardless of whether a hotel has a green sticker
in the lobby window, it’s possible to get a sense of the company’s environmental
ethics by visiting their website or calling them up to ask a few questions: Is the
hotel locally owned and operated and/or staffed by local employees? What kind of
recycling programs are in place? How does the hotel work to reduce its energy
consumption?
- At the hotel. Follow some simple practices to minimize energy use:
Keep showers short, and shut off the water while brushing your teeth. Turn off
the TV, lights, and heat or air-conditioning whenever you leave the room. If
staying for multiple nights, reuse sheets & towels instead of having them
washed and changed every day.
- Or just scrap the hotel. Instead, stay with family,
friends, or friends you’ve never met.
- Getting around: Use public transportation, bike, or walk
whenever possible. If driving, follow tips for green driving:
Avoid fast starts and stops, avoid idling, keep the tires properly inflated,
combine trips, keep cargo light, and stick to the speed
limit.
- Shopping: Purchase meals, foods, and other products from local vendors (and use that reusable bag to carry
your loot!).
- Eating: The basic principles of eating green apply pretty much anywhere.
Challenge yourself to include one local or organic ingredient in every dish on
the family table (just make sure to suggest it in a friendly way to the
chefs).
How do you travel green? Did we leave anything out? Share in comments
below or get in touch with the author on Twitter @LauraNewc.
Dolphins, the defenders of wildlife and humans have become extremely endangered
of late due to the unsafe tuna fishing and toxins in the ocean. The other reason
more prevalent has to do …
with global warming, as dolphins migrate and
search for warmer waters they often end up more inland and in bays and gulfs too
close too land where they are lost and can not swim or direct themselves out.
Learn about global warming & our very sensitive environmental issues. Have
fun with this interactive quiz format & join the community forum. Share the
fun with friends. Easily add …
questions and answers to the wiki-like quiz
format & pass it on. Act Locally! Think & Share Globally!!
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