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Watch out for the blob!

By Linda Brown-Kuhn
October 16, 2009
File under: Environmental Concerns

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Our oceans are taking hits left and right, between the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, overfishing, ocean pollution, and red algae tides. Now there are huge, smelly, mucus-like blobs floating around the Mediterranean Sea.

Besides their eeew factor, the blobs, which are called mucilages, can contain viruses and bacteria, including the potentially dangerous E coli. They also can harm fish and suffocate sea life when they settle to the ocean floor.

These blobs are nothing new. They were first observed more than 200 years ago. Mucilages are made up of large amounts of marine snow, tiny bits of living and dead organic matter. …read more of Watch out for the blob! here

 
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Five Ways to Stop Junk Mail

By Linda Brown-Kuhn
October 5, 2009
File under: Cleaning, Environmental Concerns, Recycling, Waste Reduction

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Summer’s afterglow is barely gone, but retailers are poised to unleash their steady onslaught of holiday catalogs. If you don’t want your mailbox to bulge with glossy catalogs and other annoying junk mail, read on.

1. Cut the catalogs you receive with Catalog Choice if catalogs are your bugaboo. More than a million people use this free online service which is a sponsored project of the Ecology Center. I’m a member and I find it quite easy to use. Also, their site now has a bunch of icatalogs you can peruse.

2. DIY if you have the time and like the feeling of accomplishment you’ll experience after making a round of calls to companies whose mailing lists you don’t want to be on anymore. …read more of Five Ways to Stop Junk Mail here

 
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5 Natural Deodorants Tested. How Did They Fare?

By Linda Brown-Kuhn
September 17, 2009
File under: Environmental Concerns, Lifestyle, Personal Care, Products

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I’ve dipped into the natural deodorant market from time to time over the years wanting to find a way to keep body odor at bay without possibly putting my good health in peril.

Chemicals typically found in antiperspirants that I’d rather do without include aluminum-based compounds, propylene glycol, steareths, and triclosan. The worry is that these ingredients applied daily year after year may cause cancer.

While the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration know of no conclusive evidence to link antiperspirants to the development of breast cancer, if I can find what I believe is a safer, effective alternative, why not go for it? …read more of 5 Natural Deodorants Tested. How Did They Fare? here

 
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Recycle Your Old TV

By Linda Brown-Kuhn
June 10, 2009
File under: Recycling, Waste Reduction

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This Friday, June 12, is the big day of the digital television transition. If you’re taking this opportunity to get rid of your analog TV and go digital, plan a proper green send off for your old pal, by recycling it.

I’m sticking with my analog but I know that others may see this as the perfect time to buy an ultra thin LCD set or that smoking plasma TV.

In 2007, Americans discarded almost 27 million TV sets of which only 18 percent were recycled. The eco-concern is that with this switchover, many more people will throw out their old sets. …read more of Recycle Your Old TV here

 
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Sparkling, Green Teeth

By Linda Brown-Kuhn
May 11, 2009
File under: Health, Personal Care

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When thoughts turn to spring cleaning, as they do for many this time of year, most people don’t think of their teeth. But there are eco-options available that deliver a bright smile without all the chemicals and waste.

True, toothbrushes are small, but we go through a lot of them. If someone replaces their toothbrush the American Dental Association-recommended four times a year and lives to be 80 years old, that’s around 300 toothbrushes tossed out over the years.

Petroleum-based plastic is the material du jour, so alternatives that incorporate greener choices like recycled plastic and replaceable heads reduce the impact and numbers of toothbrushes destined for landfills. …read more of Sparkling, Green Teeth here

 
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Go green with new ideas to simplify your life, ecomii inside stories on ways to live healthier, shop smarter, reduce spending, live toxic-free and use less with more.

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