Maybe we were a little too eager to go green.

A Swiss research team just published results on radiation from the popular Energy Saving Light Bulbs. Turns out that the radiation is high enough to be potentially dangerous just 30 cm. That’s about 12 inch.

This very moment my son is probably a sleep with his bedside lamp still lit just 8 inch from his head. Now that feels great!

Switzerland is now recommending that you keep a distance of a least 30 cm from energy saving lamps while you rest, work or do any longer activity. So no energy saving by your bed or at your desk.

It’s the CFL bulbs they are talking about compact fluorescent lamp.  CFL light bulbs are expensive but they use less energy and have a longer rated life. It is estimated that you can save $30 in electricity costs during the lamp’s life time. The lamp bulbs are very popular in Europe and many countries have banned the old fashioned “safe” light bulbs.

Now I have to go upstairs and change a lamp. See you guys later.

Image by http://www.flickr.com/photos/levyfulop/

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Ready for  a fresh smelling home without using toxins on overpriced products. You can make your own room deodorizer and get rid of nasty smells without any toxins. No need to run to the store, you probably have everything you need at home at this very moment.

Check out these great ways to clean your home naturally:

Deodorize

1. Fill  a 32-ounce spray bottle with plain tap water. Add about 15 drops of your favorite essential oil in it.

2. Mix  1/2 cup fabric softener, 1/2 cup baking soda, 1 cup warm water in a spritzing bottle.

Quick fixes to get rid of nasty smells

1. Use a small open dish and fill it with baking soda or vinegar with lemon juice.

2. Keep fresh coffee grounds on the counter, or bowls of dried herbs.

3. Simmer water and cinnamon or other spices on stove.

4. Mix water and vodka in a 1:1 ratio and spritz it to freshen synthetic materials.

Preventive and beautiful

Houseplants reduce odors and increase air quality

Are you ready for a Green Spring Cleaning? Check out this article for the best  Organic cleaners and Do It Yourself solutions.

Image by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yogma/ / CC BY 2.0

• Greenwashing, Are You Being Mislead? (3)

Today is Black Friday, the beginning of the holiday shopping season. For some, it is the best time to shop for gifts. Not a bad idea at all. But it’s also best if you start giving eco-friendly presents. You’re not only saving money, you’re also helping preserve the environment.

Eco-Vegan Gal shares with us some eco-friendly shopping tips and a number of green companies with great Black Friday deals.

Image by 4nitsirk.

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The week from November 20 – 26, 2009 is designed by the National Farm City Council as National Farm-City Week. This is to recognize the important role of the farmers in food and fiber production, as well as, to strengthen the bond between farm families and urban residents.

Judi from Care2.com tells us why we need to thank and support the farmers and the local agriculture in our area.

You may be reluctant to do this, since most news stories regarding farmers usually cast a negative light on them. However, many of our farmers practice sustainable agriculture and work toward preserving our natural resources, protecting the environment and conserving water. As I have written about several times here on Care2.com, they are the largest stewards of our land and are working to preserve what little open space is left.

But each year, their very existence is jeopardized by the unchecked growth of development, competition and dominance by large corporate farms, over-regulation at the state and federal level, and the apparent lack of concern for their survival by the general public.

American Farmland Trust (AFT), reports that every minute of every day, America loses two acres of farm and ranch land to development. And, as they point out, without local farms and farmland, there is no local food.

For the past several years, more people have been buying and eating locally grown produce, and overall there is more awareness that buying from local growers supports a healthy economy. But, this increased demand will take more farms, farmers, and farm land to grow more local food and that’s why supporting the work of groups like AFT is so important.

We can continually show our support to our local farmers by shopping at local farm markets. Buying locally grown produce does not only support them and the agriculture sector, it also encourages us to eat healthy and in season. This way, we have access to natural foods and various nutrients needed by our body all throughout the year.

Thank you, farmers! Thank you for growing local fruits and vegetables and happy Thanksgiving!

Image by OrganicNation.

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How long before polar bears only exist in the zoo?

Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise is just ending a 3-month long expedition to the North Pole. The purpose was to examine how climate change is effecting the arctic environment.

The result is bad. The ice is melting faster than the calculations  from the most pessimistic climate change models show. Does that concern you?

It feels like the climate change discussion disappeared. Maybe the drowned in the noise from the  financial crisis or maybe it was just me moving back to the US. Here in Michigan, even with nature right around the corner, consideration of our nature and its resources feels far away.

Even if we try to avoid climate change  Frida Bengtsson’s film tells a cold reality. It tells us that climate change is real and worse than we expected.

Today is Blog Action Day . 7000 bloggers around the world blog about climate change today.

This year Blog Action day has a partner: Al Gore’s group the Alliance for Climate Protection. Together they have started a global online action addressed to the one country whose actions will most influence the future of our climate: the United States.

Add your voice and call for bold action now.

This is something that concerns all of us and  I hope you will take the time to watch the video.

Image by irishwildcat

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Many people are made to think that it is safe and healthy to drink bottled water. But the truth is, many of those packaged drinking water is only purified tap water. If you think it is pure, you may be mistaken. According to Natural Resources Defense Council, 22 percent of the brands of bottled water they tested contained, in at least one sample, chemical contaminants at levels above strict state health limits.

Look around you, people are drinking bottled water everywhere and you can find plastic all over the place. If you also care about our environment, you would think twice about drinking another bottled water.

Watch this video that will show you what’s wrong with bottled water.

I’ve made a safer and healthier choice to drink tap water. You should too!

Image by Stacy Lynn Baum.

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Today, it is easier to find skin and hair care products with improved formulations using natural ingredients with less chemical residue. However, for price-conscious consumers, there is still a cheaper alternative without compromising their beauty regimen.

“These products are nice,” says Renee Loux, eco-beauty expert and author of Easy Green Living (Rodale, 2008). “They can even be amazing. But gorgeous skin and lustrous hair don’t necessarily carry a high price tag. You can do a lot at home to transform your skin simply by using the things you have on hand in the kitchen.”

Moreover, Loux says, “Kitchen staples can’t solve every skin problem. Of course, certain products are well worth the cost. But they work for maintenance. You can reach right into your pantry and pull the ingredients for an awesome facial.”

Care2 tells us the different do-it-yourself beauty secrets from the kitchen.

Honey

• Honey can work as a simple mask to heal the skin and draw moisture to it.
• People have been using honey as an antimicrobial agent, and it really works to kill bacteria on the skin.
• Honey’s moisture-retaining quality gives it definite cosmetic benefits.
• Simply apply a thin layer to your face, sit in front of a fan for 10 or 15 minutes, then rinse with warm water.
• Honey is rich in minerals that nourish the skin, and enzymes to help slough off dead cells.
• It’s a balancing mask that’s good for every skin type.

Olive oil

• Olive oil is a natural moisturizer that’s rich with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents.
• It also contains the lipid squalene, which is especially beneficial to dry skin.
• Apply olive oil after the shower so that it spreads easily and soaks in readily as the skin dries.
• Olive oil also makes an effective deep-conditioning treatment for hair and scalp.
• Massage it in and let it sit for 20 minutes before taking a shower.
• Choose high-grade extra-virgin olive oil and look for the organic label.

Avocado

• Whether you eat avocados with chips or rub them on your skin, you can get all omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, especially vitamin E.
• Avocados are naturally rich in nutrients, which get into your skin directly when you apply them topically.
• Since they contain so much oil, they provide a great pick-me-up for dry or dehydrated skin.
• You may mash up half an avocado, stir in a tablespoon of honey, and then apply the mixture to clean skin for 10 to 15 minutes.

Almonds

• Almonds are quite soft, but abrasive enough to lift up the dead skin layer, which is perfect for gentle exfoliation.
• They contain a good deal of healthy oils.
• To make your own almond scrub, just throw a few nuts in a coffee grinder and process until a semi-coarse meal is formed. Then add a little water and honey and massage the paste into clean skin, using a circular motion.

Lemon

• Lemons contain alpha-hydroxy acids, which act as a gentle exfoliant for oilier skins.
• Cut the lemon juice with a little water to help buffer the skin and even the driest skins can benefit.
• A little acidic lemon can help maintain the skin’s proper pH level, and restore its natural lipid barrier.
• Apply the toning mixture directly to clean skin with a cotton pad.

Chamomile tea

• Cool chamomile tea works wonders for rosacea and sensitive skin. It’s also a good remedy when your skin is irritated from over-exfoliating or exposure to the elements.
• Store the tea in a spray bottle in the fridge (make a new batch every few days) and mist it on when you need to soothe skin or spruce up your complexion.
• You can also use it on hair as a clarifying rinse or soak cotton pads with tea for a refreshing eye treat.
• Make sure to brew the tea with purified water. Chlorine from the tap water would undo every good thing the chamomile is doing.

So the next time you run out of beauty products you normally use, you know what to pull out from your pantry to help you stay beautiful.

Image by clkao.

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More and more of us value organic products or green products. We will choose them over other products whenever we can. But of course the manufacturers have caught on to this and they are now trying to trick us into thinking that their product is organic or green while it is not. I have talked about the  cosmetics industry several times and how a skin care products can be labeled “organic” but when you  turn the bottle around and read the small print you find out that the product contains less than 10% organic ingredients and the rest is just as toxic as an other product. The choices of really good natural and organic skin care products is very limited.

In ONEgourps latest organic newsletter they talk about green washing.  The act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

The North American environmental marketing Company TerraChoice publish on their Seven Sins of Greenwashing website.

1: Sin of the Hidden Trade-off

A claim suggesting that a product is ‘green’ based on a narrow set of attributes without attention to other important environmental issues. Paper, for example, is not necessarily environmentally-preferable just because it comes from a sustainably-harvested forest. Other important environmental issues in the paper-making process, such as greenhouse gas emissions, or chlorine use in bleaching may be equally important.

2: Sin of No Proof

An environmental claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information or by a reliable third-party certification. Common examples are facial tissues or toilet tissue products that claim various percentages of post-consumer recycled content without providing evidence.

3: Sin of Vagueness

A claim that is so poorly defined or broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood by the consumer. ‘All-natural’ is an example.
Arsenic, uranium, mercury, and formaldehyde are all naturally occurring, and poisonous. ‘All natural’ isn’t necessarily ‘green’.

4: Sin of Worshiping False Labels

A product that, through either words or images, gives the impression of third-party endorsement where no such endorsement exists; fake labels, in other words.

5: Sin of Irrelevance

An environmental claim that may be truthful but is unimportant or unhelpful for consumers seeking environmentally preferable products. ‘CFC-free’ is a common example, since it is a frequent claim despite the fact that CFCs are banned by law.

6: Lesser of Two Evils

A claim that may be true within the product category, but that risks distracting the consumer from the greater environmental impacts of the category as a whole. Organic cigarettes could be an example of this sin, as might the fuel-efficient sport-utility vehicle.

7: Sin of Fibbing

Environmental claims that are simply false. The most common examples were products falsely claiming to be Energy Star certified or registered.

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I find natural colors more beautiful.

To make your eggs even more fun by putting on stickers before you adding them in the dye. Carefully scrape off the sticker when your egg is done. Now you have a colored egg with a white figure from the sticker.

This is how you dye your eggs naturally:

1. Make the egg dye in a metal or glass container. Remember that the dye stains so protect all surfaces.
2. Hard boil the eggs.
3. Add them to the dye for 2 hours or leave over night depending on how dark you want the color.

Natural Egg Dye enough for 1-2 eggs:

Blue:

1 cup of red cabbage
1 cup water
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar

Boil for 30 min then separate the cabbage from the dye.

Yellow:

1 tablespoon turmeric
1,2 cups water
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar

Boil for 30 min

Orange:

1 cup of yellow onion peel, about 3 onions. (Just use what is lying in the bottom of the bag.)
1 cup of water
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar

Boil for 30 min then separate the onion from the dye.

Pink:

1 cup for chopped beetroot, picked works too.
1 cup of water
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar

Boil for 30 min then separate the beetroot from the dye.

Brown:

1 cup of strong coffee
1/2 tablespoon white vinegar

Boil for 30 min

The first dye will usually give the most color.

Happy Easter everyone!

Image by trickypup.

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In these plastic bag facts you can read that just 6 bags a week adds up to 22,176 bags in a lifetime.

You can find cloth bags in most stores today. But if you if you’re looking for something special, like the eyecatching tote bag on the image. Go to Reusablebags.com. Of for a more eco-minimalistic look try GreenKit .

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