Green Options

I was saddened to read about the death of Mike Tyson’s daughter. The loss of a young child is a parent’s worst nightmare, and just reading about any loss such as this is heartbreaking.

I paused as I read this post from New York Times health blog, Well, which explained an increase preventable injuries from treadmills among children. In Mike Tyson’s daughter’s case, she became entangled in a cord that hung from the console (this cord was probably a safety cord used to shut down a treadmill if a user falls off). Severe burns are also an increasing problem from treadmills. Even with the parent in the room, a child can come up from behind and touch the treadmill belt. The statistics about how many children are hurt by home gym equipment is eye opening– 25,000 a year. Treadmill and home exercise equipment safety is a subject that isn’t normally talked about, such as pools, window blinds, car seats and lead paint are.

We have a voice when we use it. Green parents are making choices with their wallets, at the ballot box and on social media that impacts the environment and businesses in real and meaningful ways. There are times when we have to realize that we can’t shop our way out of a problem by picking safer products. We need to have only the safer products available, so all children are protected, regardless how informed the parents are or how much money they may or may not have.

States, towns and jurisdictions are banning BPA, but it is not enough. We need congress to act on this, and the time is now. We need to urge our federal representatives to support the “Ban Poisonous Additives Act of 2009″ being introduced by Senator Feinstein and Representative Markey. This legislation will eliminate BPA from the everyday items our children use such as baby bottles, sippy cups, reusable water bottles, and infant formula containers. .

Towns, states and muncipalities are taking the BPA situation in their own hands. We’ve been talking about BPA in baby bottles, sippy cups and food containers for years. In fact, my first post ever was about this subject. And since that day I have reported countless studies, attempted legislation, and proposed bans of BPA.

Today Chicago added their voice, banning the sale of baby bottles and sippy cups containing BPA. What’s all the fuss about BPA or bisphenol A (in case you’ve been living in a remote village, or have been in the continual fog of new parenthood)? According to the New York Times:

The U.S. Center for disease control sets a limit for “safe” exposure to lead at anything below the 10 micrograms per deciliter threshold. There has been mounting evidence that adverse health effects in children are caused at a much lower levels.

Back when I testified at the Vermont Legislature in support of a Lead in Children’s Products Bill (that did ultimately pass!), I heard compelling testimony from two doctors, who shared (quoted from Non-Toxic Kids):

“At the hearing I listened to the testimony from two doctors, Dr. Best of the George Washington School of Medicine and Dr. Bruce Lanphear, pediatrics professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. They explained how new research shows even low levels of lead (blood levels lower than what is considered “safe” at 5 mcg/L )can lead to multiple problems for growing children, such as reading problems, behavioral and attention problems, school failure, and a decreased IQ. Dr. Lanphear said “we should not wait for the CPSC and the EPA” as they often are prompted to act by individual state action, and can’t be counted on to lead the way.

I was particularly disturbed by a recent article in Newsweek. The magazine sat around my house for weeks (what parent has time to read a whole article?) until the article Tales of a Modern Diva caught my attention.

This story shared some shocking statistics about this generation of young girls, and their use of cosmetics that stopped me in my tracks. As a feminist and critic of the relentless media exposure most children face daily, I aggressively limit the amount of media my girls are exposed to. But ultimately, it will catch up with them, by way of their peers.

First of all, the whole idea that there is a reality show about the beauty industry of toddlers makes me nauseas (Toddlers and Tiaras on TLC). Add that to the fact that now there are actual spas for the girls and the preteen set, and I am tempted to take my girls and run for the hills in a hut with no Internet, TV and home schooling. In some ways, though, I might just be putting off the inevitable.

Here are a few statistics to consider from this article:

In the quest to learn why autism rates in this country are rising dramatically, we have to look at the environmental health of our communties and chemical load that is being placed on our children. I recently wrote over at Non-Toxic Kids about the new link between PVC flooring and autism. Cate Nelson also wrote about this issue for Eco-Child’s Play last week. Today, I came across this article in posted on Environmental Health News, about the link between autism and toxic waste sites.

Up here in Vermont we live for spring. I mean, really. We literally go berserk. If it is 40 degrees and sunny, people become uncorked. They run, barely clothed, through the streets. We sit on porches. Everyone is outside, doing something. Because for months and months, we’ve been inside, in the dark, huttled around our woodstoves.

Okay maybe I am exaggering just a wee bit. But spring is a really big deal here. It’s like we should be awarded a congressional medal of honor just for making it another winter. Right now, we’ve got mud galore, and patches of dirty snow in the yard. And cold, driving rain. So we read about spring.

I’ve read with horror the stories of lead in lipstick and scary chemicals in cosmetics. I’ve stared into my bathroom bag and have wondered what I have been putting on my lips. After ditching any questionable lipsticks, I was looking for something else to put on my sleep deprived face.

Kiss My Face Lip Shimmers are just the thing. They come in a variety of colors, feel good on your lips, and are 91 percent organic. Made from minerals, they contain no:

*parabens
*SLS
*synthetic colors or fragrances or flavors
*and have no animal ingredients or testing.

I’m a sucker for anything organic. Even those organic, crunchy snacks that remind me of cheese doodles. Part of me feels justified in eating these, because they are organic, of course, how can they be bad?

When I am thinking clearly, not in the grocery store at 5pm with two hungry kids, I see plainly that junk food is junk food. The New York times ran an interesting story that too many Americans are seeing organic food as the solution and are not looking at the big picture. We want buying organic to be the answer. We want it to help us eat healthier. We want it to solve the obesity problem. Eating organic food is in most cases better for the earth and for us, but the truth that the article states is:

Ah, Easter memories. I remember those brightly colored plastic dye sets. You know the ones. All that packaging, plastic parts, and chemical dyes. The cute little bunny labels and little plastic egg dipping spoons.

They are still available, of course. And for busy working mother types, this is tempting. Especially for the craft and creatively impaired such as myself. But they are essentially the opposite of what I believe in: made from chemicals, created and shipped from China (can you say carbon footprint), and packaged in and made from gobs of plastic.

So I was happy when my mother in law passed along a clipping from none other than Ladies Home Journal. Not exactly the site I’d go to for green advice, but they had this short article about how to dye eggs naturally with ingredients found in your kitchen. How cool is that?

Here are the directions: