Our home is our sanctuary. The place we go to huddle with our loved ones, to relax, to be comfortable. Except that during the summer in Dallas our home becomes more like an insulated fortress: nothing gets in and nothing gets out, including fresh air. It’s stifling outside, so opening the windows to get a breeze flowing through the house is completely out of the question. But without a breeze, all the smells of a house start to slowly creep up on you, swirling together to create one, big nauseating whirl of your lifestyle: whether it’s the new sofa we bought that still smells like some chemical, or the mixture of cooking gas, old paint fumes and cleaning products (albeit non-toxic ones), being indoors is feeling less like a sanctuary and more like a prison. I’d give anything for a cool breeze…
But that’s just Texas in the summertime. For some people it’s a punishing winter. Regardless of the season, being unlucky enough to be stuck indoors brings into relief the fact that everything you bring into a home lives within four walls, pretty much literally sealed off from the world: all your painted/sealed furniture and floors; dyed/treated carpets and fabrics; painted walls; the foam in your cushions and beds; plastic children’s toys; and on and on. Because the air inside our homes was slowly becoming more polluted than the air outside, about two decades ago the medical establishment had no choice but to diagnose something called “sick building syndrome,” which really meant unexplainable malaise and illness due to exposure to toxic materials in poorly ventilated office buildings. NASA undertook a two-year study to see if household plants could effectively purify the air of common household toxins like benzene and formaldehyde. Their findings were that yes, plants do help to clean the air in indoor spaces, and they released a list of the 15 best houseplants for helping to improve indoor air quality. Needless to say we’ve got alot of vegetation in the house right now, which makes it feel a bit like a hothouse, but that’s more because of all the plants than the outdoor temperature.
Tags: plants to help improve air quality
by:LC
Is to wish this photo into existence. It’s good to have goals!! See you Monday. x-
by:LC
Well, according to this report just released by Ocean Alliance, you may not for much longer. After a five year study taking tissue samples by dart gun from over 1,00o Arctic whales, researchers found the whale’s blubber contained “stunningly high” levels of chemicals that come from thousands of miles away. To put it into perspective: when doctors tell us to avoid fish which likely contain high levels of mercury, they are thinking of 1 part per million. These whales showed levels of 16 parts per million. Does that scare you? It scares me.
I think some people look at trying to be eco-friendly and responsible about the products and processes we support as some fringe movement that just can’t leave well enough alone. But that mindset can only be because the reality is washed so far downstream that you don’t see how unwell things really are. You have to look for it. And people are doing that, and finding damage – serious damage – to our world, to ourselves, to species we depend on for survival. When it gets to the point, and it will, where we can’t eat fish for fear of heavy metal or chemical poisoning, and humans’ main source of protein for millenia is gone, how are we going to adapt, let alone feed the world?
Where’s the good news, right? It is Friday after all. The good news is that we can do something about it. You may not think these small things we talk about here on the blog are decisions that can make a difference, but it all matters. Everyone out there is giving out tips on tiny ways to clean up the mess we’ve been making, however unwittingly. But that’s not the case anymore. There’s an argument to be made that our parents are exempt from responsiblity because they didn’t know what was going on, this information was not out there in widespread circulation. But it is now. We have no excuses for continuing to do things that harm us all in the end. No excuse truthfully except willful ignorance.
So what can we do? Begin by reassesing all of the products you use that have chemicals which drain into the waterways: dishwasher, laundry, what you use in the shower, at your vanity. It all adds up. Of course many of the chemicals found in the whales are industrial pollutants. To wit, from the report:
Chromium, an industrial pollutant that causes cancer in humans, was found in all but two of the 361 sperm whale samples that were tested for it. Those findings were published last year in the scientific journal Chemosphere. ”The biggest surprise was chromium,” Payne said. “That’s an absolute shocker. Nobody was even looking for it.” The corrosion-resistant metal is used in stainless steel, paints, dyes and the tanning of leather. It can cause lung cancer in people who work in industries where it is commonly used, and was the focus of the California environmental lawsuit that gained fame in the movie “Erin Brockovich.”
To help strong changes happen with regards to industry, I’m afraid there is nothing to do but support the groups that pressure government to pass laws. That’s the only way these things change. And what industry has proven time and again recently is that when pushed to find alternatives, they always do. That’s the great thing about their capitalism, it finds a way. You can go to sites like the Natural Resources Defense Council, to see what bills they are trying to get passed, and sign online petitions. Surfrider.org has issues listed by region, so you can find something local to support. And Clean Ocean Action is dedicated specifically to issues affecting ocean pollution. Just find someone doing work you believe in and support it. Otherwise for sure there won’t be any results, let alone seafood to eat.
Tags: mercury in seafood, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Alliance report
by:LC
Who doesn’t relish the thought of a pedicure? Of one hour to have your feet massaged and primped, to read gossip rags, to let your body rise and fall to the chair massager’s whim? Pregnant women, that’s who. I mean, they like the idea of it, but they are more and more scared about getting their nails done on a regular basis because of all the chemicals in the removers and polishes. The problem is three-fold - toluene, formaldehyde, and phthalates – and we already have an inkling of their existence before anyone tells us (I mean, in a confined space that smell is nothing short of nauseating).
Thankfully, there’s been such a ruckus over this that it seems the mega-brand OPI finally introduced a formula here in the US that does not contain any of the three chemicals (they already had this in production for their European market, where the rules are more strict). But the same can’t be said for nail polish removers, which contain acetone and ethyl acetate, known carcinogens. In a move sure to make zero sense, it wasn’t until after Miss P was born that I finally started bringing my own non-toxic nail polish to the salon. They’ve never given me a problem over that. The next step, though, is to bring my own non-toxic nail polish remover, which is definitely a step beyond since you’re basically saying, “I don’t want to use anything you have here, I just need your labor.” But hey, if they’re smart they’ll think, “great, saves me money for materials!”
I had tried the well-publicized Acquarella remover as well as the brands they carry at Whole Foods. They were each terribly disappointing. (A well-worn emotion when it comes to looking for non-toxic alternatives.) Until I ordered Priti which smells divine and completely works. The consistency is a bit more like oil, so you definitely feel a difference. But because of that it’s also non-drying, so that parching thing acetone does to your nostrils and skin is gone forever. Incidentally it was named best polish remover for Elle magazine’s “Green Beauty Stars.” The great thing now is that when Miss P wants to use nail polish – which she more than likely will – now I won’t have to worry about what I’m letting her do to herself in the name of beauty. Now if only her mother can walk the walk when she goes into the salon next time…
Tags: non-toxic nail polish remover, Priti
by:LC
We’re not vegans in this house, or even vegetarians, but we do try to be aware of sourcing our food as healthfully and consciously as possible, when possible (Translation: we’re pretty lax, but when we come across something that makes sense and is fairly simple to introduce into our routines, we’re all for it.). And one thing that had always really grossed me out was the idea of eating anything containing gelatin, and that’s not an easy sentiment to digest because it’s in alot of “sweet” staples, for example:
The gelatin you eat in Jell-O comes from the collagen in cow or pig bones, hooves, and connective tissues. To make gelatin, manufacturers grind up these various parts and pre-treat them with either a strong acid or a strong base to break down cellular structures and release proteins like collagen. After pre-treatment, the resulting mixture is boiled. During this process, the large collagen protein ends up being partially broken down, and the resulting product is called gelatin. The gelatin is easily extracted because it forms a layer on the surface of the boiling mixture.
I don’t know why this grosses me out, but it does. Jell-O, marshmallows, Altoids, Skittles…boo. So when I saw an ad for these Dandie’s vegan marshmallows, my interest was piqued. I ordered, they arrived, husband and I ate. They are nothing short of delicious. And it’s not as if we were going to stop eating marshmallows if we hadn’t found this, but it’s terrific that someone has: given us an option, that it tastes every bit as good as what we’ve come to know, and made form and function match (i.e. our candy is made from stuff that looks sweet, not…cow hooves). Next on my list: Natural licorice, supposed to be the bee’s knees, not literally…
This is one of those items you can ask your local Whole Foods or natural foods grocer to stock, in case they haven’t seen it yet.
Tags: Dandie's vegan marshmallows, gelatin, Jell-O
by:LC
