Pets Suffer From Chemical Exposure

The Environmental Working Group released the results of a study last week which showed that the family cat or dog absorbs a dangerous level of toxic chemicals from household cleaners. Showing up in the blood or urine of their test subjects were plasticizers, stain-resisting chemicals, flame retardants, lead and mercury.

In some cases, our furry companions can absorb 20 times the amount of toxins we do. Many of these chemicals or elements are known to cause cancer and can affect important organs like the thyroid.

This may come as a shock to animal lovers, but it should serve as a lesson to parents as well. Young children who spend a lot of time on the floor, and who often put their hands in their mouths, are being exposed to these dangers in the same way our pets are.

If you want to read more about the study, click HERE.

If you want to find recipes for natural, home-made cleaning products that don't contain toxins, click HERE, HERE and HERE.

DC E-Recycling Event Too Successful

As I told you in THIS post, the DC government hosted an electronics recycling event last Saturday. Apparently many of the city's citizens had a lot of electronics equipment and hazardous waste to dump because the event caused intense traffic jams and hour long lines.

The government expected about 1,800 people to drop-off junk. Between 3,000 and 4,000 people showed up. In fact, two hours before the event was to begin, 300 cars were already waiting in the parking lot.

Obviously green thinking is beginning to take hold in the District and more than semi-annual electronics recycling events are necessary. In Montgomery County, Maryland, citizens can recycle hazardous waste 7 days a week at the Shady Grove recycling center. Fairfax has a drop-off site that is open Thursday through Sunday.

To help those who were unable to drop-off their waste on Saturday due to the long lines, the District is planning to open the Benning Road trash transfer station in NE next weekend. Also, there are plans to make the Benning Road and Fort Totten trash sites available for drop-off on alternating weekends.

To everyone who showed up to recycle their electronics and toxic materials, I say congratulations. Its definitely a good sign that so many want to do the right thing. If you weren't able to recycle your stuff, try the Benning Road site next weekend. Whatever you do, don't pollute our water even more with lead and toxic chemicals.

More Baby Bottle Fears

A story published in the Washington Post on April 26th confirmed what I had posted in THIS entry a few weeks ago, that bisphenol A (BPA) may be more of a threat to our health than the government will admit.

BPA is a chemical used to manufacture several plastic products ranging from baby bottles to eyeglasses. For years, several studies have shown that the chemical can have a variety of negative health impacts like breast cancer, prostate cancer, reproductive health problems and behavior disorders on laboratory rats.

From 1997 - 2005, 116 studies were conducted to uncover possible health issues associated with BPA. Many of these studies specifically focused on the impact even a small amount of BPA exposure could cause. Of these 116 studies conducted by objective government scientists, 90% showed a negative health effect associated with exposure to BPA.

The question posed in the Washington Post story is this: If 90% of government studies show a link between health disorders and exposure to BPA, why does the FDA approve of BPA's inclusion in consumer products like baby bottles?"

The answer is that the FDA doesn't rely on objective government studies for its regulatory decision-making. Instead, it relies on the industry's studies. The same industry that gains monetarily by continuing to include BPA in its products is providing research results for the FDA.
This odd relationship between a federal regulatory agency, and the industries it is required to regulate, is not unusual. According to David Michaels a former regulator in the Clinton administration, this type of relationship is the same used by the tobacco industry to slow regulation of its products.

"If you fight the science, you're able to postpone regulation and victim compensation, as well. As in this case, eventually the science becomes overwhelming. But if you can get five or 10 years of avoiding pollution control or production of chemicals, you've greatly increased your product."

Of course the industry and the FDA see the situation differently. The industry defends its studies and says they uphold the highest standards when investigating their products. The FDA says its the responsibility of the industry to prove the products are safe and that the agency provides instructions on the way these studies are carried out.

What is interesting, however, is that of all the industry-funded studies released, none show any connection between BPA and negative health effects. In addition, these industries have hired very powerful lobbying/PR/law firms to manage any fallout associated with their unusual relationships with the FDA. The Weinberg Group is a firm that has its own scientists and lawyers and has represented corporations who produce Agent Orange, tobacco and teflon. They are currently representing plastics manufacturers who use BPA and have used strong-arm tactics to influence federal agencies in the past.

This controversial situation hasn't been ignored by Congress. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) has requested documents from the Weinberg Group that show their intervention with federal government decision-making. After information was unearthed that industry research groups in Virginia were covering up facts that showed BPA could cause cancer or premature puberty, Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) launched investigations that ended contracts between the feds and these groups.

If you'd like to read the full Post article, click HERE.

Half of EPA Scientists Experience Political Interference

The Associated Press is reporting on a survey conducted by the Union of Concerned Scientists that shows half of EPA scientists have felt political pressure while working for the Agency.

Nearly 400 EPA scientists have seen Agency officials misrepresenting scientific data in public discussions. Over 250 have seen officials manipulating data to serve a specific political purpose.

There has been a lot of news recently about the EPA being pressured by its Administrator and the White House to suppress scientific information and to emphasize the political views of the Administration. I have documented those stories HERE and HERE.

This new survey shows how the politicization of the EPA is beginning to upset Agency scientists.

You can read the full story HERE.

Earth Day: Call for Climate Change

There are so many things you can do today to positively impact our environment. That's what Earth Day is all about.

One of the most important things you can do, however, is tell Congress you are serious about environmental and energy reform.

The politicians in Washington really believe that voters are apathetic about our environment and aren't paying attention to the pattern of Congress favoring big oil & coal over individuals.

Now is your chance to join forces with thousands of other people in letting our elected Members of Congress know that you are serious about immediate changes in our national priorities.

Call (202) 224-3121 today.

When you get through to the office of your representative in the Senate or House of Representatives, tell the receptionist you want to leave a message for the Member.

These offices do keep track of who calls and on what issue. That daily tally of your concerns impacts the voting decisions of your elected representatives.

Tell the receptionist that you want your elected official to know that global warming proposals currently in Congress are unacceptable.

Tell them you want to see...

1. A moratorium on new coal-burning power plants (even those claiming to burn"clean coal")
2. Renewable Energy tax incentives.
   
3. Tax incentives for carbon-neutral buildings and expansion of carbon neutral federal buildings.
4. Tax benefits to help lower and middle class citizens take part in the new green economy.
   

The organization Earth Day Network is hosting this call-in effort. Their site is available HERE.

Green DC: Cool Capital Challenge

This post is part of a weekly feature where we will focus on events and issues, related to the environment, happening in our own back yard of Washington, DC. Come back next Wednesday for another post.

Hope you enjoyed your Earth Day in DC. Its unfortunate that the big Earth Day concert on the National Mall was rained out over the weekend. I guess Mother Nature doesn't appreciate The Roots. There are still a few more events this week in honor of Earth Day. You can check them out HERE and HERE.

Now onto today's "Green DC" installment on the Green Piece Blog.

If you are trying to reduce your carbon footprint, its easy to feel that the changes you are making are just a very small drop in a very large bucket.

Of course anything you do really does make a difference, but if you want to join a local movement where your efforts will have a more recognizable effect, try joining the Cool Capital Challenge.

Cool Capital Challenge is an effort that brings together individuals, corporations, organizations and congregations from around the DC area in order to reduce carbon emissions in our community.

The goal of the Challenge was to get District residents and companies to commit to reducing their carbon emissions by one billion tons. That number represents one-third of the emissions that must be cut by 2012 to meet the Kyoto Treaty commitment made by Mayors Williams and Fenty.

The Challenge successfully met its goal, but new commitments are always welcomed.

When you visit the site (Click HERE) you will have the opportunity to make your own carbon reduction commitment by choosing from a series of actions you promise to take in order to reduce your carbon footprint. The site will estimate the amount of your carbon reduction based on the actions you promise to make and will contribute that number to the total amount of reductions promised by other DC citizens and companies.

In the words of the Cool Capital Challenge, "The Challenge is like a fundraising campaign, only instead of pledging money, we are pledging the region's greenhouse gas emission reduction."

I have signed up for the challenge and committed to reduce my footprint, I hope you take a second to do the same.

Celebrating Earth Day at Home

Earth Day is tomorrow. Around your community there are probably many great events that you can attend to learn more about green living, pick up litter, plant trees, or drop off recyclables.

Of course I encourage you to participate in the events happening around town. However, since Earth Day is on a Tuesday this year, I'm sure many won't be able to make it to one. That doesn't mean you can't celebrate right at home.

We all celebrate holidays with our families at home. Earth Day shouldn't be any different. Use this special day as an excuse to finally make all those changes around the house you've been planning.

Where should you begin? I like to think of greening up one's home room by room.

1) Bathroom:

• Install a low-flow shower head, like the one found HERE, to reduce water usage.
  
• Insist that family members take 5 minute showers.
• Install an aerated faucet for the bathroom sink like the one found HERE
  
• Use organic cotton towels like THESE.
  
• Install fluorescent light bulbs.
• Use recycled toilet paper. Read more about recycled toilet paper HERE.
  
• Place a water-filled gallon milk carton in the toilet tank to reduced water demand.
• Use non-toxic home made cleaning supplies to wash the tub, toilet and sink. Find recipes HERE

2) Kitchen:

• Only use re-usable dish, silver and glass ware. Look for biodegradable or recycled napkins.
• For cleaning, try turning old t-shirts and sheets into rags. If not, use recycled paper towels.
• Again, you can use home made non-toxic cleaning supplies for the kitchen (look HERE) or in your dishwasher (look HERE)
  
• Clean your oven the easy way without using smelly sprays (look HERE)
  
• Only run the dishwasher when it is full and never use the "heat dry" function, drip dry instead.
• Vacuum the refrigerator coils to improve your fridge's energy efficiency.
• Purchase organic food at the farmers' market.
• Replace your garbage can with a recycling can. Leave a small biodegradable garbage bag hanging on a cabinet handle for garbage. This makes it harder to toss things away without taking into consideration that it might be recyclable.
  
• Install a faucet aerator and wash dishes in a sink full of water rather than by running the faucet.
  
• Use a dry erase marker to label a water glass for each family member each day to use. This will avoid wasting glasses throughout the day and will reduce the number of dishes being washed.
  
• Install florescent light bulbs.
  

3) Family Room:

• Avoid phantom energy usage by plugging the television, DVD player, CD player, stereo, video game system, etc. into a surge protector with a power switch. Turn it off when you don't need it and save big money on your utility bill.
  
• Install fluorescent light bulbs.
• Recycle old newspapers and magazines.
• Go HERE to find inventive ways to dispose of books.
  
• Cancel junk mail (go HERE) and catalog subscriptions (go HERE)
• Use natural, non-toxic homemade furniture polish (go HERE)
• Recycle old electronics and computer equipment so the toxic chemicals inside them don't get into our drinking water. Go HERE to find a dump site near you.
• Insulate your windows and save on heating/air conditioning by installing clear THIS clear tape.
  

4) Laundry Room:

• Wash your laundry using cold water.
  
• Only run the washer with a full load.
• Use laundry detergent free of phosphates that end up in lakes & rivers and choke the fish.
• Hang up laundry when you have the opportunity. It will make your clothes last longer and will save a lot of electricity.
  

5) In the Yard:

• Re-use coffee grounds on the soil around acid-dependent plants as a natural fertilizer.
• Avoid unnatural pesticides, fertilizers and insecticides. Often, natural remedies like lime juice and citronella can be just as effective.
• Water your lawn in the morning before it gets hot.
• If you step on the your grass and it stands back up, it doesn't need watering.
• Ensure your sprinklers are watering grass and not sidewalk.
• Get your car washed at a commercial car wash that recycles the water or wash your car on the lawn.
  
• Install covers on your pool and spa to stop evaporation.
• Use a broom to clean the sidewalk and driveway, in lieu of the hose.
• Cut your grass higher to create longer blades that will shade the roots to allow for better water conservation.
• Try xeriscaping your yard by going HERE.
  

Must Read: New York Times Piece on Building Green

From the New York Times:

To illustrate the confounding nature of green building, Lindsay Suter, a Connecticut architect, likes to start with a question: Between a stone and plastic foam insulation, which one is green?

“You’ll go, ‘Of course, Lindsay, the stone is a natural product,’ ” said Mr. Suter, who was trained at the Yale School of Architecture, where he now teaches part time.

Read the full article HERE

New WE Campaign Video

I told you about the new WE Campaign in THIS post.

By now you've probably seen some of their creative advertisements featuring political arch rivals agreeing that global warming is a non-partisan issue needing immediate attention.

I recently saw the Al Sharpton and Pat Robertson ad and really liked it.

Below is the newest advertisement starring current Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and former Speaker New Gingrich.

To see the rest of the advertisements go HERE.

Water Usage Calculator

Google "Carbon Calculator" and you'll discover a ton of great websites that allow you to calculate your carbon footprint. Calculating your water usage, however, is a little more difficult.

Zerofootprint has created a great "One Minute Calculator" that calculates your home water usage by answering a few quick questions.

The calculator can be found HERE.

I answered the questions and came out with 95,827 liters/person/year of water usage. I think its unusually low compared to the average American because I don't have a car to wash or a yard to water. According to the site, Canadians score an average of 125,000 liters/person/year, while Europeans score 73,000.

I played around with the questions and found that by reducing my showers down to 5 minutes a piece and by installing a "low flow" device into my toilet, I can save 44,165 liters/person/year. Thats lower than the Europeans, magnifique!

It doesn't take a genius to know that water is becoming an increasingly limited resource. If you want to conserve the amount of water you're using, go to THIS post where I outline some easy tips to do just that.

Energy Saving HDTVs

The most popular posts on the Green Piece Blog are the ones addressing HDTV's and energy usage.

HDTV's are tremendously popular as people make the switch from traditional tube televisions to the flat, high-definition versions. Unfortunately, as electronics companies improved the visual performance of their TV's, they did not improve their environmental impact. In fact, an LCD or Plasma TV burns through 4 times as much energy as a traditional tube TV.

The technology companies are currently playing catch-up by introducing more energy efficient flat-panel HDTV's. The first company to build a more energy efficient HDTV is Philips. Their Eco TV provides owners with options like dimming the back light or capping peak light output to reduce energy consumption by as much as 30 watts compared to traditional Philips HDTV's.

CNET has also ranked HDTV's based on several categories of energy usage, such as watts per square inch and watts overall. Here are the best of each category...

• Watts per square inch of screen overall: Samsung HL-T5687S (0.12)
• Watts per sq. inch LCD: Philips 42PFL7432D (0.22)
• Watts per sq. inch plasma: Insignia NS-PDP42 (0.29)
• Watts per sq. inch after calibration: Samsung LN-T4665F (0.09)
• Watts overall, regardless of screen size: Sharp LC-32D44U (126.25)
• Watts overall, 40- to 50-inch screen size: Philips 42PFL7432D (134.04)
• Watts overall, larger than 50-inch screen size, flat panel: Olevia 252T FHD (257.29)

In addition to buying a more energy efficient HDTV, there are other ways to reduce the environmental impact of your new toy.

First, make sure that your HDTV is plugged into a power strip or wall outlet that you can turn off whenever you are not using the television. HDTV's uselessly burn energy while in "standby" mode.

Second, make sure you recycle your unused tube television. Don't just toss that antique in the garbage. Inside the tube TV is a lot of toxic metals and substances that can get into the water supply or spread in other ways to negatively impact people and animals. To find a nearby television recycling center, go HERE.

Green DC: Flying Squirrels & the End of Nature

This post is part of a weekly feature where we will focus on events and issues, related to the environment, happening in our own back yard of Washington, DC. Come back next Wednesday for another post.

Last week we listed some of the events happening in town for Earth Day, which is April 22nd. Definitely check them out. You can clean up Rock Creek by the Zoo in the morning and catch the Roots at the national mall in the afternoon.

This week is a crap shoot of this and that.

• April 26th from 9am t0 3pm:
• The DC government is holding an electronics recycling and hazardous waste drop-off at the Carter Barron Amphitheater parking lot between 16th and Kennedy Streets NW. This is a great opportunity to dump all those old computers, monitors, printers, CD players, VCR's, etc. that you just don't want anymore.
• BTW - If you have cell phones, MP3 Players, or any other small electronics and you can't make it to the drop-off, DC is home to a pilot program for the US Postal Service that provides free pre-addressed and stamped envelopes to ship these items to a recycling plant.

• Pepco Florescent Light Discounts:
• If you live in the District or Virginia, it might be worth catching the Green and Red lines to Maryland where Pepco is offering coupons for florescent light bulbs. You already know how long they last and how they are good for the environment, now you can finally finish replacing the old bulbs.
  
• HERE is the list of store locations offering the $1.50 or $3.00 of coupons at the cash register.

• Attract Flying Squirrels:
• Random opportunity to learn about flying squirrel habitats and how you can lure them into your yard for the thrill of having rabid rodents flying after neighborhood children.
• Every Saturday evening the Long Branch Nature Center in Arlington hosts an educational seminar on flying squirrels and how to make your yard into a safe, inviting habitat for the bat hybrids.
  

• The End of Nature:
• This should be an uplifting event. April 12 - May 4, the Warehouse Gallery (1014 7th Street NW) will be hosting an art exhibit titled "The End of Nature."
• Artists will be displaying their concept of a world where nature ceases to exist.
  

• Gridskipper's DC Green Spots:
• Gridskipper compiled a great list of DC's hot "green" spots. Check it out HERE.
• Did they miss any? List your favorites in the comments section.
  

A More Efficient Dishwasher

Your dishwasher seems pretty harmless. It just hums away, loyally cleaning all those dishes and not complaining about dish pan hands. But slight tweaks in the way you run your dishwasher could have a big impact on your utility bill and environmental footprint.

Here are some quick tips on making your dishwasher just a little bit better...

• Never run your dishwasher until it is full.
  

• Only use dish washing detergent that is natural, biodegradable and phosphate free. Like THIS BRAND for example.

• Don't pre-rinse your dishes before loading them into the machine. Most new models do not require pre-rinsing. Just get the big pieces off.

• Air dry your dishes. Turn off the heat dry function, its unnecessary. If you have a problem with spots, use Wave Jet.

• Reduce the number of dishes you use by using the same glass for water throughout the day rather than grabbing a new glass for every drink. Keep an eye on the number of dishes you use and look for ways to reduce that number.
  

• Most dishwashers heat the water coming into them. However, they also draw water from the hot water heater. So its doing the same job twice and charging you for it. Lower the temperature on your hot water heater to 120 degrees so you aren't paying to heat it twice.

• You can make your own dishwasher soap at home using this recipe: Mix baking soda and borax with dishwasher soap. Fill a container half full with the dishwasher soap then a quarter baking soda and quarter borax. You can also use vinegar instead of Jet Dry in the rinse dispenser.

NBC News - Pacific Salmon Disappearing Fast

An order issued by fishing authorities prohibits any fishing of Pacific Salmon because stocks have declined drastically over the past few years for an unknown reason. Several theories have been suggested ranging from ocean temperature warming to disease. Whatever the cause, there is serious fear that the Pacific Salmon is quickly facing possible extinction.

Watch the story below.

Environmentalists Target Coal

From the LA Times...

Every time a new coal-fired power plant is proposed anywhere in the United States, a lawyer from the Sierra Club or an allied environmental group is assigned to stop it, by any bureaucratic or legal means necessary.

They might frame the battle as a matter of zoning or water use, but the larger war is over global warming: Coal puts twice as much temperature-raising carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as natural gas, second to coal as the most common power plant fuel.

Read the full article HERE

Green Wedding Tips

Every year, about 2.3 million couples are married in the United States. With an average wedding budget of about $20,000, over $72 billion is spent annually on weddings. Amid all of this spending a cottage "green wedding" industry has sprung up in recent years to offer eco-friendly couples the opportunity to have an environmentally friendly wedding.

Of course you can choose to pay someone a premium to make your wedding "greener" or you can follow a few simple tips that will likely save you money and reduce your wedding's environmental footprint.

Wedding Dress & Tuxedo:

• Avoid the impulse to buy a new dress. The average wedding dress costs $18-20 thousand. Borrowing a dress from a relative adds more emotion to the occasion. You can have it altered to your body and taste. Make sure the dress is dry-cleaned using non-toxic chemicals. If you cannot find a relative with a dress you like, consider other options described in THIS Smart Money article.
  

• Donate your wedding dress when you're done so someone less fortunate can have their own special day.
  

• Rather than buying a true wedding dress, find an attractive evening gown you would wear to another occasion. This is true for tuxedos too. Find a handsome suit that could be used again in the future.

• BYO-Suit/Dress...If you invite your wedding party participants to choose their own clothes while sticking to a specific style, color, tie, etc. you ensure they can wear something they already own or something they'll wear again.
  

• Go vintage and buy classic dresses and suits that will add sophistication to your wedding.

• Or just go casual and wear comfortable clothes, especially in an outdoor wedding, that you will likely wear again.
  

Invitations:

• Choose only 100% PCW recycled invitations processed without chlorine. Encourage guests to recycle their invites. Or choose these invitations that have seeds embedded in them and will sprout when planted.
  

• Skip the extra envelope for RSVP cards by using reply postcards instead. They will be cheaper in the long run and will reduce the need for paper.
  

• For internet savvy guests, consider only sending electronic invitations that link to a wedding site with all the event information and where they can RSVP via email. This system makes it easier to RSVP and it makes it easier to track your guest list in one place. Its also a time and paper saver.

Flowers:

• Instruct the florist to stick to locally grown flowers only. Flowers shipped from other states or countries require a lot of fuel and special refrigeration that uses harsh chemicals.
  

• Use wildflowers. They grow naturally and can be nearly any color or size.
  

• Decorate with potted plants rather than cut flowers so your guests can bring home the plants rather than just putting them in the garbage.
  

Dishes/Glasses:

• Reusable glasses, plates and silverware are always preferable to disposable varieties. This is especially true with regard to any Styrofoam supplies. However, if you want to be really eco-friendly, consider bio-degradable disposable items made of natural products.
  

Honeymoon:

• Avoid the traditional Niagara Falls honeymoon and opt for an eco-vacation where you can be among the beauty of nature and observe creatures in their natural habitat.

• I did a post on eco-vacations you can READ here. Some of the really interesting options are in South American countries near the rain forests.

• Use the back of your wedding program to educate your guests on your honeymoon location and invite them to contribute to some of the great organizations that are working to preserve natural habitats and forests.

• You, or your guests, can donate money to a carbon offsetting organization so that the carbon emissions from your honeymoon will be neutralized by the development of renewable energy sources or from the planting of trees.
  

Martha on Sustainable Home Renovations

Found this interesting video from Martha Stewart with different home renovation materials that are eco-friendly. Enjoy!

Click HERE to watch.

"Grow a Tree" Kit

With Earth Day approaching, you might be thinking of ways to contribute something eco-friendly to the planet. Planting a tree is always a good choice. Trees provide a multitude of benefits to our planet including: homes for birds, oxygen, carbon absorption, shade, etc.

If you are a little nervous about planting a tree, you can buy a $10 kit from canoeonline.net that includes all the necessary ingredients for successfully growing a ponderosa pine tree.

According to canoe, the ponderosa pine is good choice for almost anyone because..."Ponderosa Pine tolerates heat and drought, and is extremely cold-hardy. It can be cultivated almost anywhere, and is a beautiful and statuesque tree at every stage of its life."

Buy the kit HERE for yourself or for a friend.

Baby Diapers: Cloth vs. Disposable

While watching National Geographic's "The Human Footprint," I learned that in an average American baby's pre-potty trained years, they will use about 3,000 disposable diapers.

A lot goes into manufacturing disposable diapers and most people know