health

What’s all the Buzz about My Plastic Bottle?

Author
EUREKA RECYCLING
Recently there has been much discussion about the safety of drinking water. Concerns about tap water, bottled water, and reusable plastic bottles can be overwhelming. The main issue concerning plastic bottles is the leaching of the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) which is used in the manufacturing of polycarbonate, the hard clear plastic that is characteristic of many water bottles. It is used to make household goods because of its characteristics: it is very durable, moldable, and has good temperature resistance. Almost all

Safe Hair Color Options

Author
KASSIE KUEHL
Kasia Beautiful Health Salon
FACTS TO CONSIDER:

The average salon customer is in contact with hair color ammonia about every 4-7 weeks while hair stylists have daily contact with ammonia.

According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, ammonia is listed as a hazardous substance that has related negative health effects including headaches, loss of appetite, and fatigue due to the ammoniated smells.

Footnotes/Endnotes

Resource:

Skin Deep Database
cosmeticsdatabase.com

Live Non-Toxic in Your Home

Author
SARA GROCHOWSKI
Do It Green! Minnesota
Health is more than just the absence of disease; rather, it is a state of physical, mental and social well-being. We use the term health to describe anything from the physical state of our body to that of our soil. More and more studies and stories appear in the media, on the internet, and in research journals about the negative effects of chemicals on our body and our health-from chemicals in plastic water bottles and food storage containers to certain children's toys, or toxins in our own backyard soil. 

Rather than ignore the information and pretend to live

Nourishing Ourselves through Our Food Choices

Author
SARA GROCHOWSKI
Do It Green! Minnesota
Since the 1970s, the increase of multi-national food companies has increased the size of not only farms but the overall food system. During this same time period, a slow and steady movement of small farms began selling a variety of products to local communities, building relationships, and changing purchasing habits. With these changes in our food systems, people's eating habits and grocery choices have also changed. A number of terms can now be used for describing our diets today-from locavore, to a low-carbon diet, to slow food, or local.

Eating Low: Back to Basics

Author
JENNY BREEN
Local Chef / Educator
Eat food, not too much, mostly plants." So begins Micheal Pollan's recent manifesto, In Defense of Food. It sounds ridiculously simple, and actually, it is. But, we have reached a place and time in our culture where we need to re-learn these simple actions that were once just a way of life. Our food system has become very complex, and we as consumers need to be thoughtful and intentional about our food choices--that is, if we really care about our health and the health of the planet.

Given the impact of our food choices on our own health and that

Footnotes/Endnotes

on the web!

Search for "The Cheeseburger Footprint" at
brightcove.tv

Center for Science,
cspinet.org

The Daily Green,
thedailygreen.com

READ UP!

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, by Michael Pollan, Penguin Press HC, 2008.

act locally!

Minneapolis farmer's markets
mplsfarmersmarket.com

Minnesota farmer's market association, mfma.org

Capturing Cardio Power

Author
Compiled by
Do It Green! Minnesota

No pain, no gain, right? At the California Fitness Center, the new mantra may be “no pain, no power.” French inventor Lucien Gambarota has created a revolutionary concept in which energy burned through exercise is converted to powering light fixtures. The excess energy is then stored in a battery. Hong Kong’s California Fitness Center has installed these exercise machines in their club.

Footnotes/Endnotes

To view how the technology works go to: inhabitat.com/2007/03/08/human-powered-gyms-in-hong-kong/

Commingling the Environment & Health Care

Author
By Linda Lindquist
RN, BSN

Healthcare workers are a hidden, next generation treasure of environmentalists. This group includes, but is not limited to, doctors, such as those specializing in infectious disease, nurses of all disciplines in heath care, respiratory therapists, occupational therapists, nutritionists, dietitians, pharmacists, and emergency rescue response workers.

Footnotes/Endnotes

Environmental Health News
environmentalhealthnews.org

Hospitals for a Healthy Environment
h2E.org

Health Care without Harm
hcwh.org

Environmental Health and Nursing Practice, Barbara Sattler & Jane Lipscomb, Springer Publishing, 2003.

Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood, Sandra Steingraber, Perseus Publishing, 2001.

Minnesota Department of Health
St. Paul, MN, 651-201-5000 or 888-345-0823 o health.state.mn.us

Minnesota Technical Assistance Program's Healthcare Environmental Awareness and Resource Reduction Team (HEARRT)
University of Minnesota
612-624-1300
mntap.umn.edu/health/hearrt.htm

Raising an Organic Baby on a Budget

Author
Sara Grochowski
Do It Green! Minnesota

Every decision we make can impact the air, soil, water and our health. If there is one time when these decisions have heightened awareness, it is when people are about to have a baby. People are more motivated to make changes in their life both for their own health as well as for their children. According to the World Health Organization, children’s cancer rates are on the rise, childhood asthma incidence has doubled and learning disorders continue to increase, making it imperative that parents limit exposure to household toxins before and after their children arrive.

Footnotes/Endnotes

La Leche League International

Mothering, Natural Family Living

Holistic Moms Network

The Do It Green! Minnesota Family section

The Complete Organic Pregnancy, Deirdre Dolan and Alexandra Zissu, HarperCollins, 2006.

Natural Family Living: The Mothering Magazine Guide to Parenting, Peggy O’Mara,. Pocket Books, 2000.

Peapods, St. Paul, MN
651-695-5559 • peapods.com

Nu-Look Consignment Apparel
Minneapolis, MN, 612-925-0806
nulookconsignment.com

Don’t Burn Your Garbage

Author
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
reprinted from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Many people in rural areas in Minnesota still use on-site disposal methods like backyard burning to dispose of their household wastes. From burning waste in fire pits and woodstoves to the traditional burn barrel, 45% of rural Minnesota’s municipal solid waste (MSW) is still managed in this way. Did you know that burning garbage contributes to nearly half of all wildfires in Minnesota each year, contributes to food contamination on farms, and creates a potent carcinogen?

Footnotes/Endnotes

Dioxin info Minnesota Department of Health, www.health.state.mn.us

Burn Barrels Info
www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/reduce/burnbarrel-guide.cfm

County solid waste office
for alternatives

www.pca.state.mn.us/oea/lc/county.cfm

Burn Barrel Reduction Campaign Grants, Mark Rust, MPCA
651-215-0198 or 800-657-3864

 

 

Skin Deep

Author

Did you know that the government cannot mandate safety studies of cosmetics, and only 11% of the 10,500 ingredients the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has documented in products have been assessed for safety by the cosmetic industry’s review panel? You can now search for the beauty products you and your family use with Skin Deep’s rating guides and find safer choices for you and your family.

Footnotes/Endnotes

Resources:

Skin Deep Database
www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep

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