Earth 911 - polystyrene

	I do not feel that cost is in any way a viable  factor when NGOs such as churches, social groups,  etc, buy Styrofoam cups rather than containers such as ecotainer or even paper cups  and plates that biodegrade. If we are going talk the talk, we totally need to walk the walk.  I am personally zeroing in on several organizations to which I belong.  Read it, please....and think  about the message we are sending to guests, potential members and our community.
	Recycling polystyrene - aka Styrofoam Styrofoam is a trademark of the Dow company, but the material itself is called polystyrene. Like so many other plastics, it's all around us - very commonly used in packing material as peanuts or expanded foam, in food trays and a wide variety of other products - even explosives such as napalm and hydrogen bombs! The bad news is (aside from its use in WMD); polystyrene is manufactured from petroleum. It's highly flammable and a chemical called benzene, which is a known human carcinogen, is used in its production. Polystyrene in the environment Polystyrene foam, used commonly as padding in appliance packaging, takes an incredibly long time to break down in the environment and additionally, animals may ingest it which blocks their digestive tracts and ultimately causes starvation. This foam is also abundant in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Given the nature of polystyrene, it's surprising that such an energy intensive, oil sucking and toxic substance is allowed to be use as packaging for food; particularly for items such as meat where the food has direct contact with it. Nearly two dozen cities in the USA have banned the use of polystyrene for this purpose. Packaging and products containing polystyrene can usually be identified by a recycling triangle logo with the number 6 inside it stamped on the item. It's likely to be a very long time before the use of polystyrene is totally discontinued, and while we can try to buy products that don't utilize the stuff, we need to deal with the styrofoam that winds up in our hands instead of it heading straight to landfill. Unfortunately many  recycling programs don't accept polystyrene and given its bulk, it can be difficult to store. Also, polystyrene is often recycled to be used in single use products; such as more packing material, so it's really important to get the word out about recycling this form of packaging. Burning polystyrene Some people choose to burn polystyrene in order to be rid of the stuff, believing that as chloro-fluoro hydrocarbons were eliminated from expanded polystyrene over a decade ago, it was safe to do so. The burning of polystyrene releases styrene gas which can effect the nervous system. Also, as it usually burns with a  sooty flame, this indicates combustion isn't complete and a complex mixture of toxic chemicals can produced by the relatively low temperature of a backyard burn. Keeping polystyrene out of the waste stream A pound of polystyrene recycled is a pound of new polystyrene that doesn't have to be created. Currently in the USA expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam packaging is being recycled at a rate of approximately 10-12% each year. Here's a few tips as to what you can do with polystyrene to keep it out of the waste stream for as long as possible. Keep it as packing - how many times have you needed to pack something for shipping and found you had nothing on hand? Break down large lumps of styrofoam into smaller chunks and keep a bag of it handy Craft shops - I've read that craft shops are often a good place to take styrofoam as their customers use it in their craft projects. Earth911.org - If you're in the USA, there's a search function at the top of the Earth911 web site where you can enter the term "polystyrene" and then in the box on the right, enter your location. The search results will provide listings of companies and organizations in your local area that will take polystyrene.Note: be sure to enter "polystyrene" rather than "styrofoam" as the latter, being just a brand name, is unlikely to return any results. Planters - I've seen it used in pot plants to assist with drainage and as a filler - however, I'm not sure about the possibility of contamination when used in this way. Mail back initiative - The Alliance of Foam Packaging Recyclers offers a mailback program to USA residents; whereby you send the polystyrene in via the US mail service. There's a cost involved (postage), but this may prove more economical to you that carting it somewhere by car. You can learn more about this option here. Sell it! - If polystyrene is something you get a lot of; you might be able to make a few bucks from it. The Recycled Plastic Markets Database allows you to search for buyers of a wide variety of plastics. I was aiming for 10 tips; so I'm a few short :). If you have your own tips for polystyrene recycling, please add them below!

Fertilizer Affecting Our Water Quality

Nothing says Spring and Summer like the color green appearing everywhere.  The massive use of phosphorus fertilizers is a common  ritual and is currently drawing a lot of attention.  Phosphorus use worldwide is affecting our quality of life.  The countdown to Summer correlates with the smell of lawn fertilizers in many places.  Are they helpful, necessary and healthy?
The Feb. 14 edition of the journal Environmental Research Letters featured an article written by Stephen Carpenter of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Elena Bennett of McGill University.  They have discovered that the human use of phosphorous, primarily in the industrialized world, is causing the widespread eutrophication of fresh surface water. Add to that he discovery that global stocks of usable phosphorous are concentrated in just a few countries and are running out, posing the risk of global shortages within the next 20 years.  You can read the article here.

The overuse affects the quality of our water.  ”Phosphorous stimulates the growth of algae and weeds near shore and some of the algae can contain cyanobacteria, which are toxic. You lose fish. You lose water quality for drinking.” says Carpenter.  North American soils are already loaded with the mineral, yet more is added in what seems to be a waste of a mineral that could be put to better use somewhere where the soil is deficient, like Africa and Australia.
Deposits of phosphorus take millions of years to form.  Some statess have taken the water quality issue seriously enough to propose and or pass a ban on using lawn fertilizers for established lawns.  Read about it here and here.  So before you spread fertilizer this Spring, research this issue and consider using phosphorus free fertilizer to keep our water clean and healthy for ourselves and for future generations.



This article is reblogged from http://blog.ecoetsy.com

Ginger  Hendrix from Wiener Dog Tricks shared this with Sew Mama Sew over a year ago.  I made using it up in no time using  voile from Anna Maria Horner.



This lovely little number flies together with just a few pieces and not all that much measuring.

1. Gather the Goods.

Nice soft cotton is wonderful for this nightie–you’ll want right around a yard and a half of fabric. In terms of extras, it’s begging for some trim and a few buttons to give it extra hoopla.

And then get to cutting:

• Chest piece: Two strips.
  Width = Your Bra Size + 1 inch
  Height = 5 inches
  A note about piecing fabric together: If you need to scrap pieces together for these strips, just make sure you don’t have any funky seams running up the middle of the front. That’s just not pretty. Hide your piecing in the back. I’m just saying.
• Body piece: One big chunk.
  Width = 1 ½ times the width of the chest piece (For example, if you use a Chest piece that’s 40 inches wide, your Body piece will be 40 + 20 = 60 inches wide.)
  Height = 30 inches X Your Hoochie Girl Factor (Take your willingness to show your backside and divide it by 12.)
  Just joking.
  The 30” number is a decent starting place, but hold up the fabric chunk right up to your chest and see what you think. Make it longer if you’re not that kind of girl; shorter if you are. Also—it’s always easier to hem than it is to add some weird trim to cover what you don’t want showing. Just a thought.
• Straps: Two little strips
  Width = 1 inch
  Height = 18 inches
  (Throw a piece of fabric over your shoulder to get a sense of the length from the top of your shoulder blade over to the top of your, um, upper self. Again: better to start long and adjust.)
• Trims
  You may want a few buttons, a length of ric rac and some hem tape if you’re inclined to fancify your nightie—but they’re not strictly necessary.

2. Ruffle your Body piece.

Take your big Body piece and baste a nice, wide stitch with loose tension down the length of the fabric–about ¼ inch from the long edge. Then run another one along next to it. Make sure you let some thread hang loose from the ends—you’re going to skrinch the fabric up with that thread. (And before you start pulling, mark the center of the fabric—this will help you eyeball whether or not the gathers are mostly even and keep you from having a wonked nightie with 1000 gathers on one side and all flat on the other.)

Take two threads and hold them lightly and pull so that the fabric gathers. Then skootch the gather toward the center. Keep doing this gently. (If you bust the thread you have to start over and that’s a mega-drag, so go slow here.) Gather the fabric along the full length of the body piece so that it matches the width of your chest piece. (Just keep skrinching and un-skrinching until they match.)

3. Attach the Chest pieces.

Start with a little handy ironing work: on one long side of each Chest piece, fold the edge over ½ inch and iron it down toward the backside of the fabric. (This will help later.) Like this…

Now put it all together: make a sandwich with your Body piece and your two Chest pieces (right-side-facing-in-with-ironed-edges-facing-down Chest pieces = bread; ruffled-edge-up Body piece = bologna).

If you want to add in a little ric-racy trim, now’s your moment. I’m not a big fan of perfect pinning, so I like to sneak it in as I go. Line it up like this inside your sandwich on top of the right side of the chest piece– Just lay it along the bottom stitch…

Your sandwich will look like this (with another chest piece hiding beneath and the ric rac hiding inside…).

Now sew it all together along the pinned edge with a nice, sturdy stitch. (A note about the ric rac–shoot to sew right smack down the middle of the ric rac and it’ll give you a lovely little edging.) When you fold the chest pieces up, it’ll look like this.

Now lay down a little topstitch. Lovely.

4. Add the straps.

Before you start trying to sew up the dainty little straps, fold up the two chest pieces to meet at the top, and pin them together.

Now to assemble your straps: take your one-inch strips and pretend like you’re making skinny little bias tape– Fold the edges to meet in the middle, then fold the whole thing in half longways. And sew it up…

Your finished straps will be longer than you need them to be so that there’s room to adjust them to fit just right.

Time to find the center point of your nightie and attach the straps, so find the middle and pin it.

Measure 5 inches in both directions out from the center point to attach one end of each strap. Then measure 5 inches in from both outside edges to attach the remaining end of each strap.

Once you’ve got it all pinned in place, run a basting stitch along that top edge to hold your straps in place. Basting stitch? Yes. We’re working with fit-as-we-go here, so baste it and try it on like a painter’s smock; this is a crucial step, because if your straps are too long or in the wrong spot, you can accidentally look like you’re wearing a feedbag with pretty strings attached. This is not the look we’re going for.
Now it’s all just adjust-it-to-fit-you-honey and some gussying up and you’re done. Figure out how long your straps should be (you’ll be trimming your strap pieces–get that chest piece to sit right up under your armpits so that you can avoid the aforementioned feedsack/pretty strings scenario.) If you need to skootch the straps a little to the left or a little to the right, get that done too.
Once you’re sure of where the straps should live, run a nice, clean topstitch close to the top edge. Good work.

5. Sew it all up. Once you close the main back seam together, you’re just about home. So do that. Fold the thing in half (with the wrong side facing out) and sew it up.

6. Give it a little hem. My favorite way to do this is the old ‘The Iron It Over 1/4″ Then Fold It Over Again As You Sew’ method. You can’t beat it.

7. Fancy it up if you feel like it. This is a completely optional step for Nightie Overachievers. Add a couple of little buttons and some hem tape to cover your inside seams to give your little number a truly finished look.

High five. You’re a Bona fide Nightie Maker. (Put it on your resume.)

Baking Soda Rocks?

Just a few uses for ordinary, inexpensive, non-toxic baking soda:

Kitchen
- A bowl of baking soda in your fridge will help remove excess moisture and absorb odors.
- Sprinkle some in your veggies crisper and cover with a cloth or paper towel for crisper veggies that last longer.
- Sprinkle baking soda onto a damp sponge for cleaning out your refrigerator and benchtops without scratching.
- Dissolve a couple of tablespoons of baking soda in water in a microwave safe bowl, then bring to the boil in your microwave. Allow to sit for a minute or two, then you should easily be able to wipe out any baked on stains, plus your oven will microwave will smell fresher too.
- Sprinkling baking soda in the bottom of rubbish bags will help to control odors as you add trash.
- To give your dishwasher a good clean, run it through a cycle and use baking soda instead of detergent.
- Baking soda can be thrown on stove fires to extinguish the flames. The carbon dioxide generated when the powder burns starves the fire of oxygen.
- Wash chemicals and pesticides off fruits and vegetables in a pot filled with water and 3 - 4 tablespoons of baking soda added.

On a somewhat related note, here's something interesting I came across. Baking soda is sometimes used when boiling vegetables to preserve their color. That practice is not recommended as it destroys the vitamin C content of vegetables.
General home - Anywhere that moisture is a problem, such as cupboards under sinks, place a bowl of baking soda to help control humidity. You'll need to occasionally stir the powder for maximum effective life.
- Crayon or texta marks on walls? Try applying baking soda/water paste on an old toothbrush and lightly brush the affected area.
- Water stains on wooden floors can be removed with a sponge dampened in a solution of baking soda dissolved in water.
- Sprinkle some baking soda into your vacuum bag to help reduce musty/pet smells being spread throughout your house when vacuuming.
- Sprinkle baking soda on rugs and carpets before vacuuming as a deodorising treatment. Most carpet powders you buy are baking soda based! Just a brief note on this - not recommended for areas that are very humid as the baking soda may stay in the carpet.
- Mops can really stink out areas where they are stored. If your mop is getting on the nose, don't throw it out, try soaking it in a mixture of 4 tablespoons baking soda and a gallon of water for a while.
- Stains on porcelain sinks, toilets and plastics can be removed by applying a layer of baking soda and then using a damp sponge . I found this to work particularly well on a water stain in a sink that couldn't be shifted otherwise without the use of heavy duty chemicals and scratching the surface.
Plumbing
- As an alternative to caustic soda for clearing blocked drains, throw a cup of baking soda down the drain, followed by a couple of jugs of boiling water.

Garden
- Baking soda can deter ants - pour a solid line in areas of activity and they won't cross it.
- Mix a tablespoon of baking soda, a teaspoon of (earth friendly) dish detergentent and a gallon of water to make a spray for treating roses against black spot fungus.
Laundry
- Work a baking soda and water paste onto stains prior to washing to help remove them from the fabric
- Half a cup of baking soda added to a full load of washing will help brighten your wash and remove odors.
Workshop/auto
- Mix a paste of baking soda and vinegar and apply with a pot scourer to remove light rusting
- A baking-soda/water paste applied to chrome surfaces, allowed to dry then buffed off will leave chrome shining!
- Baking soda applied to fresh grease and oil spills on your garage floor will draw away the oil, which can then be scraped off.
Pets
- Baking soda lightly sprinkled and mixed into cat litter will help control odor.
- Eliminate odor after you've cleaned up pet accidents by sprinkling over the dampened area with baking soda; allow to dry and then vacuum.
Personal
- Whoofy shoes getting you down? Get a couple of old socks, fill up the toe secitions with baking soda, place into the offending shoes and leave overnight to help remove odors.
- A thick paste of baking soda and water applied to bug bites can provide relief.
- A half teaspoon of baking soda mixed into a glass of water can act as mouthwash.
- Sprinkle baking soda onto regular toothpaste to create a whitening toothpaste
Miscellaneous
- To clean jewelry, use a paste of 3 parts baking soda to 1 part water, apply the mixture the piece, allow to sit for a couple of minutes, rinse off and then polish with a soft cloth.
- Sprinkle your Christmas tree with baking soda to mimick snow - a much more environmentally friendly alternative to some of those chemical snow sprays!
With so many uses you'll likely use a lot and buying baking soda in small boxes probably won't be too economical. Have a chat to your local baker who may be able to supply you with larger quantities or try contacting a bakery supplies company as some sell direct to the public.
You can also save money on baking soda by re-using it. For example, once it has served its purpose as a fridge deodoriser you can put it down your sink to help keep your drains clear.
Phew, that's quite a list of baking soda tips - it's such a versatile substance and certainly a greener way to get many jobs around the house done. My list is by no means exhaustive and I'm sure I've missed a bundle of ideas and applications! Please add your own tips below!

With thanks to Michael Bloch from Green Living Tips.com Green Living Tips is an online resource powered by renewable energy offering a wide variety of earth friendly tips, green guides, advice and environment related news to help consumers and business reduce costs, consumption and environmental impact .  Please take a good look at his site and think about subscribing to the newsletter.

Do You Really Need.....?

Do you really need that specialized power tool forever, or just for the day? Should you invest in a full set of camping equipment, even if you’re not sure your family will enjoy it? Isn’t there someone out there who wants to trade those size 8 ice skates for a size 9?
If you ever find yourself pondering questions like this, welcome to collaborative consumption–a concept of organized sharing and swapping. Although peer-to-peer sharing may have been a tenet in communities of lore, our modern this-is-mine culture has taken us away from what seems like such practical common sense. But times, they are a-changin’.

Privately-held clothing and book swaps have become a very practical social pastime among freinds, but now the premise is spreading into more official capacities. Sites and services are popping up to facilitate the simple concept: You can get what you need without buying it.  The arrangements are manifested in a number of ways. SnapGoods, for instance, helps to connect people with stuff to lend with people who wish to borrow; while Neighborhood Fruit lets people swap garden bounty or distribute fruit harvested from public trees. Some places arrange rentals, some create swaps, while others create communities of sharers.

It’s a brilliant model of sustainability–no new stuff to clutter the landfill, yay!–but according to an article in Time magazine, there is a beneficial emotional aspect as well. Not only in the community-building, but in that the lending element requires trust, and being trusted feels good. Paul Zak, founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, has shown that people get a spike of the pleasant neurotransmitter oxytocin when they’re entrusted with another person’s goods. “We’re gregariously social creatures, and one way we can exhibit that sociability is by sharing our things,” he says.

With a little research, you can find pretty much anything, there are even sites that allow you to borrow cars. But perhaps my favorite are those that are charity-inspired, such as Swap for Good.  This site helps people  set up clothing swaps and collect donations from participants  (who are saving money by swapping not shopping) to give to domestic-violence shelters and other organizations.
Collaborative consumption is at once so simple, yet so revolutionary. It replaces “beg, steal and borrow” with “lend, share and swap.” It’s green, the sense of community feels great, and that little rush of oxytocin doesn’t hurt either.

With thanks to:   http://www.care2.com

It's Me With the Soap Again!

Soap - the deal with castile.  I have talked about this before and put out some recipes, but trust me, I am using:  castile soap (shampoo, body wash, dish soap, hand soap, mixed with water and vinegar for counter cleaner.  Vinegar is a disinfectant....you can spray it on food, the sink, toilet, mix it with baking soda and/or cornstarch to clean windows).

If you've been dabbling into going green, you're likely to have seen castile soap mentioned in books and various web sites.

What is castile soap?
Castile soap isn't a brand but a type of soap made exclusively from vegetable oil rather than animal fat or synthetic substances. The purists feel it should be made from olive oil but there's a wide variety of castile variants that use oil from plants such as coconut and jojoba. The simple nature of the soap means a lesser enviromental impact due to reduced waste stream during manufacture and also faster biodegradability.
While castile soaps can have additional synthetic ingredients, usually you'll find if it's marketed under that name, it's a fairly natural sort of product.

Castile soap - so versatile
Castile soap has many uses aside from washing your skin - it's also known as seafarer's soap due to its versatility.
I use an olive oil based one in place of shampoo - works great for me and I don't need to use a conditioner. I also don't have to wade through the dozens of shampoo brands at the local supermarket trying to translate what all the darned chemicals they use are any more - I tried that once and gave up in total confusion. As the soap I use comes in a simple paper based box, that also saves on packaging. Another benefit is that castile soap is far cheaper than other fancy label soaps and shampoos!
If you've ever tried using normal soap to wash your hair, you would have likely found your hair very dry afterwards, but for some reason I haven't experienced that with castile soap - it's likely because the glycerin content is retained, whereaas in normal soaps much of the glycerin is removed and sold separately in moisturizers.

Liquid castile soap uses
While bar castile soap is pretty amazing stuff, in a liquid form it's even more versatile.
- Liquid castille soap can be used for a shaving lather
- It can be used as a pet shampoo
- Great for washing clothes and diapers
- General cleaning, diluted and used in a spray bottle
- Heavy duty degreasing
- I've heard that pure liquid castile soap can even be used for brushing your teeth! But of course, don't swallow the stuff. I don't think it would kill you in small doses but I'm sure it would taste pretty yuk.
- It can also be used in place of dishwashing detergent and even in your automatic dishwasher! "Green" automatic dishwasher detergents are hard to come by, but a Green Living Tips reader, Kathy Stevens, contributed this recipe (Thanks Kathy!):
Ingredients:
1/2 cup liquid castile soap
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 drops tea tree oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
Method:
stir all ingredients together until blended. Store in a squirt top bottle. Use 2 tablespoons per load of dishes, shake well before use.

3 Easy Ways to Help Your Body and the Environment

The following is from a post by Beth Greer, Super Natural Mom®, who is a syndicated radio talk show host, former president and co-owner of The Learning Annex, Certified Build It Green® healthy home makeover specialist and author of Super Natural Home: Improve Your Health, Home, and Planet--One Room at a Time
by Beth Greer

If you're like most people, a little voice inside your head has probably been telling you for a while that it's time to get back to a more natural way of living and take a more serious look at the toxins in your everyday life. Even so, you may feel confused about the simple, practical things you can do to minimize your exposure and maximize not only your health, but your contribution to a cleaner planet.
What if I told you that making small, simple changes in your everyday routine could make a huge impact on your health and well-being, as well as the health of our planet?
Studies are coming out frequently about how everyday chemicals in our bodies are resulting in health problems like learning disabilities, autism, cancer and infertility. Often, the impact chemicals have doesn't show up for decades, like with tobacco, for example. What is also unclear is what happens inside our bodies when we come into contact with different chemicals from lots of different sources. What are the risks for us and our children? Don't wait to find out! You can do something today, right in your own home. Become aware of what goes IN you, what goes ON you, and what SURROUNDS you.

IN YOU: Your drinking water

If you think the water coming out of your tap is clean and health-giving ... you'd be mistaken. In 2008, an investigation by the Associated Press showed that America's tap water is contaminated with prescription and over-the-counter drugs, including antibiotics, pain medications, antidepressants and sex hormones "in significant quantities." Scientists are concerned that, even in small concentrations, these drugs could harm us over time because water is consumed in such large amounts every day. Our bodies may be able to deal with a big one-time dose of a chemical, but if a small amount is consumed continuously over years ... no one really knows what can happen to our health.

Green Tip #1:
Play it safe: Buy a water filter and fill up your own reusable metal or glass water bottles at home. Get off plastic bottles. 8 out of 10 plastic water bottles used in the U.S. become garbage or end up in a landfill, contributing to global warming.
(To check your local water quality, go to the Natural Resources Defense Council's site at www.nrdc.org and then go to "What's on Tap"? You should be able to access your community's Annual Quality Report, or you can ask your water utility company for a copy of its annual water quality report.)
ON You: Your personal care products
Most of us use at least 10 cosmetic and personal care products a day and according to the Environmental Working Group, people apply an average of 126 unique ingredients to their skin daily. No one really knows what happens in our bodies when we repeatedly expose ourselves to minute amounts of synthetic chemicals from a variety sources. Another way to absorb chemicals in our personal care products is through the mouth. When a drug like nitroglycerine is administered for a heart condition, it is given under the tongue for fast absorption. So are natural homeopathic remedies. So what happens with your toothpaste?

Green Tip #2:
Switch one thing you use most often in your bathroom. Your toothpaste, for example.
Chemicals like fluoride, saccharin, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), triclosan and acetylpyridium chloride are in there. Switch to a natural brand that doesn't contain these chemicals.

SURROUNDS You: Your household cleaners

If you've ever walked down the household-cleanser aisle at the market and your eyes began to burn or your nose became irritated, it's because common cleaning products contain chemicals that can be more dangerous than the germs themselves. Every time your children roll around on the carpet or your pets lick crumbs off the floor, they are being exposed to noxious chemicals. Don't make the assumption that if it's on the grocery shelf it's been tested and is safe. Most of us, unwittingly, buy products for our home with ingredients that are either poorly studied, not studied at all, or are known to pose potentially serious health risks. Of the roughly 17,000 chemicals found in common household products, only 3 in 10 have been tested for their effects on human health. Why? Because the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission does not require manufacturers to test household cleaning products before they appear on store shelves.

 

Green Tip #3:
Use hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and baking soda to clean your home. Fill one spray bottle with a 3 percent solution of hydrogen peroxide and a second one with vinegar. Spray one right after the other. Use it to wipe kill salmonella and bacteria on counter tops, appliances, and cutting boards. Do the same for the shower to kill bacteria and viruses. Use baking soda instead of commercial abrasive cleaners. Put it in a grated cheese container made of glass with a stainless steel top that has holes in it, and just sprinkle it on the surfaces and scrub.