Green Options

At a scientific hearing held Tuesday, the FDA maintained the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in hard plastics is safe, but advised on ways to limit exposure.

If it is safe, why limit exposure?

As reported by the Associated Press,

“Right now, our tentative conclusion is that it’s safe, so we’re not recommending any change in habits,” said Laura Tarantino, head of the FDA’s office of food additive safety. But she acknowledged, “there are a number of things people can do to lower their exposure.”

Mainly, she said, avoid any recyclable plastic stamped with the number 7.

“The vast majority of evidence suggests that even everyday levels of exposure to BPA can be associated with a number of different health issues,” Sarah Janssen, a science fellow at NRDC who attended the hearing, wrote on her blog.

Everyday exposure is especially dangerous for babies, who, according to Sonya Lunder of the Environmental Working Group, are exposed to more than 12 times as much BPA as adults.

So what gives? Independent studies and scientists have been sounding the alarm bell on the levels of BPA found in human blood and tissue.

I never doubted that I would nurse. I read all articles I could get my hands on and after learning about the huge health benefits for both mother and child, I was sold. But really, when I’m totally honest with myself … I also nursed because I’m lazy.

Yep, that’s right. For all the horror stories you hear about lost sleep and teething babies, it seemed a lot easier to me to just pop a boob out when he was hungry. No bottles to clean, nothing to warm, no formula to shake or measure, just one swift movement and - voila! Happy baby.

I decided early on in my pregnancy that I would have an epidural if need be. I fully support anyone who has a natural birth, but for me that was a level of pain that I did not wish to experience.

Funny how best laid plans always go awry isn’t it?

So we were two weeks from our due date and family had just arrived “just in case” I delivered early. My husband went with me for the weekly check-in with the doctor. After listening for the baby’s heartbeat she pulled me up from the exam table, told me to throw my clothes on and get to the hospital right away - she’d have a team ready to meet me (the hospital was next door to her office). Words blurred, but I managed to remain calm and understood only that the heart rate was not what it should be.

Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona, joined forces with shoemaker Rockport to study what types of microorganisms are transported by footwear. Ten people were given a brand new pair of shoes to use for two weeks before having them tested for bacteria.

After two weeks, more than 420,000 units of bacteria were found on the outside of the test shoes. Of that bacteria, 27% were deadly E. Coli virus. Also detected was Klebsiella pneumonia, which can cause pneumonia and wound and bloodstream infections and Serratia ficaria, which can lead to infection of the respiratory tract.

After finding myself seeking out organic musical instruments for my child, I had one of those open-palm-to-the-forehead-moments and realized the old stand-by of spoons on pots, dry beans in Tupperware and whisks around a metal bowl were classics for a reason. Simple. Easy. And I don’t have to buy anything.

BUT, for the really adventurous out there - I did find this wonderfully endearing YouTube clip of a man (the language barrier won’t matter) delighting in showing the world how he fashions apples, carrots and even asparagus into musical instruments. It is music so good you can eat it! (Sorry … couldn’t resist).

It is a little weird - but what a fantastic way to take the fear out of vegetables. I don’t know that I can pull off this trick with my paring knife, but I might give it a try. If nothing else, this will provide at least 10 minutes worth of hysterical laughter from my son.

Enjoy the clip after the jump.

I don’t know how you spent your weekend, but we spent ours with hands outstretched, feeling for hot, attic air shooting out of electrical outlets, ventilation fans and air vents. After months of crazy-high electric bills, we decided to get to the bottom of why it was costing so darn much to cool our rather small home.

Enter the HERS Rater (Home Energy Rating System).

It turns out there are wonderful people who will come to your home, put up a strange looking contraption called a “blower door” on either your front door or entry to the attached garage. A fan is turned on, the pressure is measured (our house was brought to -50 Pascals) and the cubic feet per minute of air that is rushing out of the house is measured.

Let me first preface this post with the following: I’m not a construction professional. I’m just a curious homeowner seeking out the best building materials for my home. With that said, I was familiar with three options in residential construction - concrete block, wood frame or the super green alternative, rammed earth.

Turns out there are new options that combine the wonderful qualities of Portland cement with recycled post-consumer plastics (Rastra) or recycled wood fibers (Durisol).

I am so impressed with the folks at Kee-Ka! They sell adorable organic cotton clothing and accessories for babies/toddlers/pets with simple graphics (sweet pea, pumpkin and lion are my personal favorites). All metal closures are nickel free and they utilize fair trade manufacturing standards.

But what makes this company truly stand out is the packaging! See, when you purchase a Kee-Ka item it comes housed in this nifty little brown box crafted of recycled paper that is ready to be mailed in three simple steps. No digging for wrapping paper, no searching for tape, no “This looks like my kid wrapped it” thoughts. Nada.

This article posted on CNN absolutely infuriates me.

The story is a warning about a nipple cream, Mommy’s Bliss Nipple Cream (a “natural” cream that is lanolin free and made with shea butter and calendula), which is SUPPOSED to sooth cracked and sore nipples. Instead, it causes respiratory distress, vomiting and diarrhea in infants.

That’s bad enough - but this quote made me crazy.

“FDA is particularly concerned that nursing infants are being unwittingly exposed by their mothers to this product with dangerous side effects,” said Janet Woodcock, director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

I get the point - but as a mother, that reads like these nursing moms are strapping guns to their breasts.

One of my closest friends (and fellow mom) is not exactly “green”. She tends to skew towards the tested and reliable brands and not towards the “fad” of baby organic products.

I recently persuaded her to try a few organic products and, low and behold, she has been very pleased with the results. So … here are a few tips to getting your parents, friends, mother-in-laws and other skeptics to slowly embrace healthy alternatives.