Green Options

Eat some fries, fill your diesel, wash your hands.  How do these three things relate?  They have a common bond through oil.  Not following?  Let’s break it down.

Marshall Dostal has driven a bio-diesel fueled automobile for years which runs on biofuel he makes himself in his own garage from waste oil he gets from some of L.A.’s finest restaurants.  Once drums of glycerin (a byproduct of the biofuel distillation process) began to build up, Marshall’s wife, Megan, came up with the idea of making soap from the glycerin.  And Further Soap was born.

Add to this their signature fragrance, essential oils of Bergamot, Olive, and exotic grasses, and you have one spectacular hand soap.  It is super cleansing and the scent is very fresh and unique.

With green living, homeopathy and natural alternatives growing in popularity, soap makers are springing up around the world, concocting magical creations of coconut and lime in gleaming, glycerin-infused goodness that cleanse the body, mind and soul. 

Oh, and your hands too!

Growing up in my house, ‘handmade’ soap consisted of my mother gathering up all the remaining bits of bar soap from the shower and bathtubs, tossing them into a container with some water and shaking it up.  “Voila, hand soap!” she would state proudly.  But her objectives were to save money, not create a luxurious lather to soothe and soften the skin.  And, trust me, an acrid amalgum of Dial and Irish Spring was anything but soothing! 

But today’s handmade soaps are a beneficial blend of nourishing nutrients, rich with essential oils and alleviating aromatherapy that care for the skin and calm the senses.  And because they’re chemical-free, they’re an eco-friendly alternative to their caustic counterparts, making them a great way to indulge yourself and the earth.

In a breakthrough discovery announced today, scientists have found that a bit of E. coli could help put biofuel waste products to good use, and increase profits for the producers too.

Glycerin, a common biodiesel waste product, has become so abundant amid the rise in biofuel use that producers often have to pay to dispose of the chemical. Researchers at Rice University discovered that when combined, E. coli and glycerin produce succinate, a useful chemical that can be sold at a profit.

[photo by Becca C]

I was at Cosmo’s Vegan Shoppe looking to satisfy a craving for dark chocolate and couldn’t help but notice the tubes of personal lubricant behind the counter. I’ve got to admit here: until right then, it hadn’t occurred to me that maybe those little bottles of lube from the drug store were problematic. Clearly, some research was in order!

It seems that the issues with a lot of over-the-counter lubes are glycerin and paraben. Glycerin, which is derived from sugar, is just no good for your girlie parts. These sugars can ferment and make you more susceptible to a yeast infection or UTI. Yuck! Paraben is used as a preservative and is banned from use in consumer products in many countries, though not in the U.S. Some recent studies have shown a possible link between paraben and breast cancer.

Yikes! Now, the hunt is on to replace my little tube of KY. I found a few paraben- and glycerin-free products that look like they’re worth a shot. Check out the list with price comparisons after the jump!

As I have mentioned before when discussing vaccinations, I am not a medical doctor or an herbalist, but when my children are sick, I reach for Herbs for Kids. Herbs for Kids are liquid tinctures that children readily take. Unlike tinctures made for adults that have a grain alcohol base, Herbs for Kids uses sweet glycerin to preserve the medicinal qualities of the plants.

Not only are Herbs for Kids alcohol-free, but they are specially formulated for children, including the appropriate dosage. Founded by herbalist Sunny Mavo, Herbs for Kids is “the first company dedicated to Earth-reviving herbal health care for children”. My husband and I love these tinctures so much, that we use them for ourselves as well. Our medicine chest is always stocked with the Echinacea and Astragalus, the Cherry Bark Blend, and the Elderberry Syrup. It is important to note that herbs preserved in glycerin have a shorter shelf life than those preserved in alcohol. Glycerin tinctures are good for approximately one year.

Researchers at Rice University claim they've discovered a way to make ethanol from the waste glycerol (syn: glycerin) produced in biodiesel manufacturing. If true, it could be the biggest breakthrough in biodiesel production in years.

"We identified the metabolic processes and conditions that allow a known strain of E. coli to convert glycerin into ethanol," said Ramon Gonzalez, the William Akers Assistant Professor in Chemical

[...]