NEXT STEPS…
Learn how to identify “greenwashing”
June 10, 2023
As lovers of planet Earth, we all want to do our part to protect the environment. Making small changes, like supporting brands that utilize sustainable practices or products, is often the first step towards a sustainable lifestyle. But because of this widespread shift towards sustainability, many companies are trying to capitalize on it by marketing their products as eco-friendly, using misleading environmental claims instead of doing the work to make a difference.
We call this “greenwashing.” Here’s how to spot it and make informed decisions:
1. Look beyond buzzwords like “natural,” “organic,” and “green.” They aren’t regulated and can be used to mislead consumers. Look for third party certifications from reputable organizations that verify environmental claims.
2. Check fine print: Companies may bury important information about their product’s environmental impact in the fine print or use vague language to obscure the truth. Be wary of claims not backed up by specific data or details.
3. Consider the entire product’s lifestyle—cradle to grave. Look for products made with renewable resources, produced using clean energy, and packaged sustainably.
4. Do your research: Look up the company’s environmental track record and see if they have been involved in any controversies or lawsuits related to environmental issues Check if they have a sustainability report that outlines their goals.
By being vigilant and informed consumers, we can hold companies accountable for their environmental claims and drive real change.
We Can’t Address Climate Change Before Addressing the Problem of Fossil Fuels
January 26, 2023
The oil and gas sector is one the largest and fastest-growing source of carbon emissions, so we can’t address climate change without it.
Because of how deep the industry’s pockets are, it can lobby government constantly and flood the airwaves, billboards, bus shelter ads, social media and on-line advertising to mislead the public, media and governments into believing that oil and gas is clean, ethical, necessary and good for the economy. This is not true!
In this classic David and Goliath scenario, our power is in numbers. We need hundreds of people to help counter the lies by writing a letter to the editor of your local news outlet to set the record straight. We must begin to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels to meet the 2030 and 2050 climate targets necessary for a livable planet.
Please, spread the word. Write your local news outlet today.
It’s Time to Change Your Laundry Routine
January 25, 2023
Washing can be the most significant thing you do to your clothes. It can cause your clothes to shrink, become misshapen, fade, or pill. It also shortens the life of your clothes, causing you to buy more clothes. And don’t forget about energy, water, and detergents used in the process, which can release microplastics into waterways and exacerbate the problem of microplastic pollution. It’s a double whammy.
Dryers are environmental culprits, as well. They’re energy gobblers, and when combined with machine washing can quickly wear out your clothes. Making simple changes to your laundry routine can go a long way to helping you reduce emissions, save money, and take better care of your clothes.
Choosing more efficient washers and dryers is a good first step. Energy Star certified washing machines generally use 25% less energy and 33% less water than regular models. Certified dryers are 20% more efficient.
But even if you have high efficient machines, it’s still important to cut down on the laundry loads you’re doing. Every time you put a garment in the washing machine some of it goes down the drain. We lose another piece of it in the dryer, in the lint trap. So we’re disintegrating our clothes.
Here are a few good tips:
· Wash your clothes in cold water, and don’t wash them so much.
· Don’t use single use detergent pods.
· Hand wash delicate fabrics, like wool and silk.
· When the weather cooperates, dry them outdoors on a clothesline in the sunshine where they’re exposed to UV rays. Or inside on a drying rack.
· Dry clothes back-to-back in the dryer to make use of residual heat.
· Hang up your clothes in the bathroom while you’re showering or use an at-home steamer to de-wrinkle and refresh them.
Say No to Pesticides/Herbicides
Sept. 11, 2022
By Linda Mason Hunter
I had an unnerving experience yesterday. I was enjoying the outdoor swimming pool at my son’s condo when a man on a riding mower drove by outside the fence next to the pool. I noticed he was spraying something from a hose as he went back and forth through the grass. A few minutes later a sweet, noxious smell enveloped the pool ruining our fun. We left, saddened and discouraged because the pool will close for the winter in a few days and this day was perfect, until….
After changing into street clothes I left the building through the front door only to be confronted with the same noxious smell multiplied by at least 100. My head began to ache. My eyes watered. I couldn’t wait to get to my car and drive out of there.
When I got home I researched the harm residential pesticides/herbicides cause and sent a list of links to the president of my son’s Homeowners Association. The Association had recently banned smoking inside the building due to the harmful health effects of secondhand smoke. What I encountered today, I wrote, was so much worse.
Fortunately, she agreed and will no longer employ the company who cares for the condo lawn, opting to choose organic methods for weed control, instead. I, however, see no need for weed control at all. Simply mowing the lawn when it needs it takes care of that. Besides, it’s time we looked on a perfect grassy lawn as a thing of the past. It causes much too much harm to the environment. There are so many other creative options that help, not hurt, the eco-system.
Here’s a list of links I sent:
What Cancers Do Pesticides Cause?
“The preponderance of evidence uncovered in our systematic review indicated a positive relationship between exposure to pesticides and development of some cancers, particularly brain, prostate, and kidney cancers, as well as NHL and leukemia.”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › articles › PMC2231435
The Dangers of Pesticides
“After countless studies, pesticides have been linked to cancer, Alzheimer's Disease, ADHD, and even birth defects. Pesticides also have the potential to harm the nervous system, the reproductive system, and the endocrine system.”
Environmental Factors in Parkinson’s Disease
“Studies have shown a link between exposure to chemicals in pesticides and herbicides, and the incidence of Parkinson’s disease. These substances include the insecticides rotenone and permethrin (which may be found in clothing or nets treated to kill mosquitoes, for example); organochlorines, such as beta-hexachlorocyclohexane; and the herbicides paraquat and 2,4- dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D).”
Does Roundup cause Parkinson's and Cancer?
“New research out of Japan's Chiba University suggests that exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the most commonly used pesticide worldwide (Roundup), may be a risk factor in the development of Parkinson's Disease…Glyphosate is already implicated or proved in the development of numerous health anomalies, including cancer. Beyond Pesticides recognizes that pesticides play a variety of roles in causing or exacerbating negative health outcomes, including Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Transitioning pest management — in agriculture, land management, and household and personal care contexts — to nontoxic and organic approaches is the critical step away from bathing humans and the Earth in harmful chemicals.”
Home Pesticide Use and Childhood Cancer
“The strongest associations were found for yard treatments and soft tissue sarcomas (odds ratios [ORs] around 4.0) and for use of pest strips and leukemias (ORs between 1.7 and 3.0). These results suggest that use of home pesticides may be associated with some types of childhood cancer.”
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/abs/10.2105/AJPH.85.2.249
When getting rid of unwanted electronic devices, put privacy first
We love our electronic devices until they get old — or we tire of them — and we want a shiny new diversion. Not only is this constant upgrading to the latest and greatest bad for the environment, it can put your security at risk. Before donating, recycling, or reselling your unwanted electronics, take time to put privacy first. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions about how to properly “wipe” the memory. Simply deleting the files is not enough to prevent crooks from accessing that information.
For Windows computers, do a factory reset and use a disk-wipe utility, such as Disk Wipe or DBAN (both free), to shred any files on the hard drive. For Macs, do a factory reset, and use the built-in disk utility or a third-party program, such as ShredIt for Macs.
For Android phones, make sure the data is encrypted, perform a factory reset, remove the SIM card, then overwrite the data with an app such as Shreddit – Data Eraser (free) or AVG Cleaner (free or subscription). For iPhones, remove the SIM card and destroy any stored data by using the “erase all contents” setting. The SIM card is either in a side panel or behind the removable battery, depending on the model.
For information about how to donate, recycle, and resell your unwanted electronics, check out https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/electronic-devices-disposal-recycling/2021/05/18/fc5b42fc-ac1f-11eb-ab4c-986555a1c511_story.html.
If you invest in the stock market, consider social choice investments
February 9, 2022
Sustainable investing is here to stay. If you have enough financial security to invest in the stock market, consider investing in environmental, social, and governance issues. In the trade, these stocks are called ESG stocks and exclude companies whose primary business is tobacco, alcohol, gambling, weapons, for-profit prisons, nuclear power, mining, and traditional energy. Depending on your commitment, you may also wish to exclude buying any oil company because of the employee deaths and the environmental liabilities litigation.
Amy Domini, a pioneer of ESG investing and founder of Domini Impact Investments, says sustainably managed portfolios represent $8 trillion in global assets—a figure that’s on track to quadruple by the end of the decade. Domini Impact Investments puts companies into five different categories, ranging from companies that are clearly providing a social benefit to companies that aren’t perfect but that are plenty good enough from an ESG perspective.
For more information, check out Amy Domini and Domini Impact Investments on the Web.
Do You Think Your Cell Phone is Safe?
March 6, 2021
Have you considered why you believe that? Is it a fact or is it based on carefully crafted messages that you’ve read or heard?
For the past few decades, the telecom wireless industry and its enthusiasts have heralded cellphones as the greatest achievement of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. But as their use soars, scientists worldwide worry about their hazards and have produced over 2,000 studies that tell a darker tale. They warn that the devices and antennas that power them expose humans and wildlife to nonionizing low-frequency electromagnetic fields—also called cellphone, microwave, or radio-frequency radiation. These studies indicate that when people and animals are exposed, they can develop brain, thyroid gland, prostate gland, acoustic nerve, and breast tumors, and other diseases.
Researchers report that birds and bees lose their navigational ability near cell towers, while trees sport damaged leaves and foliage die-off. Radiofrequency radiation might contribute to bird population declines, bee colony collapse disorder, and the dramatic drops in insect numbers.
It’s something to think about.
Reduce your exposure to unhealthy wireless radiation by simply switching out your bluetooth headset for a wired one. If your phone doesn't have a headphone jack, get an adapter like this one: http://apple.com/.../lightning-to-35-mm-headphone-jack...
Use Your Cell Phone Safely
March 6, 2021
Your health matters. We can’t ignore the multitude of scientific studies suggesting caution is warranted. Follow these steps to help protect yourself against cell phone radiation.
Use a headset or speaker. Headsets emit less radiation than phones. Take your headset off your ear when not on a call.
Hold phone away from your body. The amount of radiation absorbed by your body decreases dramatically with even a small distance.
Text more, talk less. Texting keeps radiation away from your head.
Call when the signal is strong. Fewer signal bars mean the phone must work harder to broadcast its signal to the cell tower.
Limit children’s phone use. Young children’s brains absorb twice as much cellphone radiation as those of adults. Limit use to emergencies only.
Skip the radiation shield. Antenna caps and keypad covers reduce connection quality forcing the phone to transmit with greater energy, generating more radiation.
Create a separate space for your Wi-Fi router. Don’t keep it in your bedroom or right next to the office desk.
For more tips, visit https://www.ewg.org/research/cellphone-radiation
Eliminate Synthetic Fragrance
February, 2020
I’m continually amazed how many ordinarily thoughtful people still use synthetic fragrance on their bodies, in their homes, and in their cars. It’s nasty. I hate it. Makes me sneeze and gives me a headache. Candles and air fresheners containing artificial fragrance are especially bothersome. When in a room with them it doesn’t take long before I feel light-headed and have a hard time focusing. Before long the smell is all over my clothes, on my coat, in my car. Eventually, I can’t smell it anymore, but I’ve ingested it through my nose, lungs, and skin. Ick.
What could be wrong with a beautiful fragrance? Nothing, if it comes from a genuine, authentic plant, unadulterated essential oil, or an organic, wildcrafted scent oil. These oils have been effectively used for fragrance throughout history. However, since World War II, inexpensive, synthetic chemicals can produce fragrances that can be terribly toxic.
Experts are calling synthetic fragrance “the new second-hand smoke” and advise eliminating it from your life in order to improve your health. Today’s fragranced products are associated with diabetes, obesity, autism, ADD/ADHD and hormone disruption.
Even washing clothes in detergents and fabric softeners containing synthetic fragrances releases toxic chemicals onto the skin and into the air all day long. At night, sleeping in pajamas and on sheets washed in the same toxic materials has the same effect. Because of this, people are awash in fragrances 24 hours each day.
Best advice: Ditch all synthetic fragrances. Everywhere you find them—in dryer sheets, laundry soap, candles, cosmetics, carpets, clothes—just say No Thanks!
Source: https://branchbasics.com/blog/2015/01/fragrance-is-the-new-secondhand-smoke/
Want to go plastic-free?
October, 2019
Last month Treehugger.comreported a survey which showed that slow, incremental changes are more effective than trying go plastic-free all at once. “Setting yourself a goal of going plastic-free for a month is like telling an alcoholic to go sober for a month. It's the wrong approach,” the website reported. “You need to change your habits for the long term, by increments. Make one single change per month, establish it, and don't change it.”
Like the author of the article, my own household is far from plastic-free, but over the years I've managed to figure out where to buy milk in glass bottles, eggs from a farmer who accepts old cartons for reuse, meat and cheese wrapped in paper, and pantry items in glass jars. I've learned how to pick my own fruit and freeze it, grow my own vegetables and can them, and take my own cloth bag when I go shopping. I've gradually accumulated a collection of glass and stainless steel food containers, glass jars of all sizes, cotton mesh produce bags, water bottles and coffee mugs for travel.
These habits take time to form, and if I'd tried to do everything at once, it would have been a discouraging failure. It also would have been expensive.
Treehugger advises that, rather than giving plastic-free living an all-out effort, pick one aspect of your life that you'd like to make plastic-free and focus on that for a month. Then, choose something different the following month. In a year, you will have transformed your shopping habits and greatly reduced the amount of plastic in your home.
This month I’m giving up Ziploc bags. Unfortunately, I’m hopelessly addicted.
Source: “Want to go plastic-free? Start with one thing,” by Katherine Martinko. Treehugger.com. https://www.treehugger.com/green-home/want-go-plastic-free-start-one-thing.html
The story of plastic
May 11, 2020
A global catastrophe driven by corporate interests. This moving film reveals where plastic comes from – and where it goes.
What to recycle & how
August, 2019
What really happens to the plastic, paper, metal, and glass items we recycle every day? Some of those items are recycled into the same product, while others are “recycled down” or turned into something different. For instance, your water bottle could be turned into a polyester t-shirt or a park bench. Here’s the skinny on how to recycle:
Aluminum and Other Metals: Your aluminum beverage and tin cans can be recycled into an infinite number of times. Aluminum cans are the most valuable recycled item in the United States and can be recycled repeatedly without losing any quality. In fact, today’s discarded aluminum beverage containers can be transformed into new cans and back on store shelves in as little as 60 days!
Take Note: Aluminum foil and foil pans ARE NOT accepted and belong in the garbage
Cardboard: When cardboard is recycled, about half of it will be turned into new cardboard, and the rest is downcycled into other paper products such as cereal or shoe boxes. Don’t forget to remove staples and packing materials before placing it in the cart.
Take Note: Cardboard with food on it, such as cheesy and greasy pizza boxes, cannot be recycled. They belong in the trash.
Glass: Glass is also endlessly recyclable, as long it's the right kind. Different types of glass have different melting points and can’t be recycled together. Glass food jars and bottles into new glass containers.
When recycling bottles and containers, there’s no need to spend ten minutes trying to spotlessly remove those sticky paper labels. Just leave them on! The recycling process rids the container of the label eventually anyway.
Paper: Paper consists of long fibers that become shorter and shorter every time it is recycled. The shorter the fibers become, the harder it is to recycle the paper, so this material can usually only be recycled about five to seven times. Paper can be turned into tissues, toilet paper, newspaper, or egg cartons.
Plastic: Most plastics can only be recycled once or twice before being cycled down or losing quality. They can be made into polyester thread for items like clothing or carpet. Today, there are so many types of plastic, with varying degrees of recyclability and value, it’s important to know what is and is not accepted in your curbside recycling program. If your plastics have a twist off lid, they go in most recycling bins.
Lids & Caps
The majority of the items we recycle each day have lids and caps that we don’t know what to do with. After a quick rinse, here’s the lowdown on how to dispose of lids and caps.
1. Plastic Twist-Off Containers
Big or small, when you’re done with a detergent or beverage container, give the bottle a quick rinse, twist the lid back on, and you’re ready to recycle. When you detach a plastic lid from the bottle and recycle it separately, the lid can fall into small nooks and crannies of the machinery and often ends up on the floor destined for the landfill.
2. Glass Jars with Metal Lids
When it comes to glass jars with metal lids, simply remove the lid from the jar and recycle them both, separately. This allows them to be sorted into the right category of material.
3. Glass bottles and Metal Bottle Caps
No matter the fizzy beverage your glass bottle held, the lid is often different than the bottle, so what’s next? The good news is, you can recycle both! Similar to glass jars, after your bottles have undergone a quick rinse, recycle both parts separately.
Ditch Disposable
There has been a lot of talk about “where it goes” when you put recyclables into your recycling bin. But what if it never went in the bin in first place? What it if never went in your cart, shopping bag, or closet? One way to help the overrun recycling markets it to produce less waste to begin with.
Each step may seem small -- refusing a straw, bringing your own shopping bags, or using dishware instead of disposable--but it all adds up over time. Plus, if each person made the change, it could make a ton of difference. Literally, all that waste could weigh several tons!
So, next time you reach for a paper towel, grab a cloth one instead. Bring your own “to go” coffee cup to your favorite coffee shop. Give your dishwasher a workout instead of your trash can after your next meal.
Hazardous Waste
Many household products we use daily have ingredients that are considered hazardous. Items with labels that say “toxic,” “flammable,” or “keep out of reach of children,” should be stored, handled and disposed of with care. In fact, improper disposal of leftover hazardous materials may pose significant threats to health, safety and the environment.
While leftover products like antifreeze and motor oil may be obvious no-nos for your regular garbage, some items on the hazardous list may surprise you.
1. Cleaning supplies. Many common cleaning products such as bleach, rust and stain remover, oven cleaner, or even glass cleaner, contain chemicals that are harmful to people, pets and the environment.
2. Compact florescent lightbulbs. Also known as CFLs, these bulbs contain sixteen different heavy metals, including harmful mercury, and should be kept out of the landfill.
3. Nail polish remover. This product is made of acetone, a highly flammable, and therefore hazardous, substance. Unused nail polish should not be poured down the drain or thrown in your regular trash.
Residents of the Des Moines Metro can get rid of household hazardous materials like these at the Metro Hazardous Waste Drop-Off, located one half mile north of the I-80 Adventureland exit in Bondurant. Residential household hazardous waste is accepted at no charge up to 75 pounds.
Residents of other areas—Check online for the hazardous waste disposal facility in your area.
Focus on Plastic #s 1, 2, & 5
May 9, 2019
One piece of information everyone should know by now is which plastics are recyclable and which are not. Not all plastics are created equal.
A good Rule of Thumb is to never put soft plastics, like cling wrap and Bubble Wrap, in the recycling bin; they tend to jam sorting machines.
For all other plastics, take a look at the little triangle on the bottom of the item. Inside the triangle is the resin code, which tells you which kind of plastic it’s made from.
Numbers 1, 2, and 5 have great marketability in the U.S. You find them in water and soda bottles, milk jugs, laundry detergent bottles, yogurt cups and butter tubs. Please remove labels and rinse these containers before throwing them in the bin.
Items made with resins 4, 6, and 7 are contaminants and are tossed in the landfill. These are squeezable bottles, plastic bags, pouches, meat trays, some clamshells, anything Styrofoam, and disposable plates and cups.
The third category is resin number 3. This defines PVCs, which are particularly bad. Never put PVCs in your recycling bin. They are used in packaging for cosmetics, some food wraps, blister packs and pipes. Due to their chemical composition, they can contaminate large batches of otherwise acceptable plastics in the recycling system.
Focus on numbers 1, 2, and 5. These are recyclable.
addicted to plastic?
This is good. From The New York Times.
Don’t Be Idle
May 9, 2019
I spend a lot of time in Vancouver, British Columbia, a fast-growing, multi-cultural metropolis that rivals San Francisco for the title of greenest city in North America. I chose to live part-time in Vancouver for just that reason. I wanted to know more about what they are doing to be on the cutting edge of being green.
Turns out they do lots of things, many regulated by law. One that impresses me is the idling law for vehicles. In BC, and other parts of Canada, it’s illegal to idle your car for more than three consecutive minutes in a 60-minute period.
The other day I drove through the parking lot of a Des Moines shopping mall a little after the noon hour, and was astonished to find at least 12 cars standing in the drive-up lane at Starbucks. That wouldn’t be allowed in Vancouver. So, it’s hard to find drive-up banking, drive-up food take-out, drive-up prescriptions, drive-up anything. It’s a good law, one step toward a greener future by eliminating all the fossil fuels emitted while car after car is stopped, waiting, doing nothing but waiting.
Next time you enter a drive-up line, think about changing your habits to avert the worst of climate change. Perhaps just parking your car and going inside would be a better option.st
Reduce Your Lawn
May 11, 2019
Spring is here, and that means millions of Americans will be seeding, fertilizing and mowing their lawns. America has a lot of grassy lawns. Add them all together and they’d cover an area roughly the size of Florida. All that grass comes with an environmental cost.
To keep weeds at bay, homeowners dumped 59 million pounds of pesticides onto their lawns in 2012, according to the EPA. Some of those leach into waterways, potentially exposing children and pets to harmful chemicals.
Grass is thirsty, too. Americans use about 7 billion gallons of water a day, a third of all residential water consumption, to irrigate. Then there’s the mowing, edging, and leaf blowing with equipment powered by gas, emitting 26.7 million tons of pollutants into the atmosphere in 2011, and contributing to climate change. Despite all this, a tidy lawn provides no habitat for bees, butterflies, or birds that feed on insects.
The good news is you don’t necessarily have to let your yard go wild to lower your environmental impact. Instead, you can chip away one weekend, one season at a time, planting native grasses, shrubs, trees, flowers, and food. Consider replacing some of that needy grass with a low-maintenance ground cover, like clover, creeping thyme, mint, or strawberry. Put in shade-loving plants like hostas and ferns.
Whatever you plant, avoid pesticides and aerate the soil instead. Fertilize grass with leaf clippings and accept that you may need to coexist with dandelions. Bees and butterflies love them. You can learn to love them, too.
Source: “Climate Forward,” The New York Times; April 3, 2019.
Stop Plastic Microfiber Waste
November, 2017
There’s a new environmental danger that just may turn out to be the biggest environmental problem you’ve never heard of. New studies indicate that the fibers from synthetic clothing are poisoning our waterways and food chain on a massive scale.
Microfibers—tiny threads shed from fabric—have been found in abundance on shorelines where waste water is released. Alarming numbers of these tiny fibers are making their way from your washing machine into aquatic animals. Health problems among plankton and other small organisms eat the plastic microfibers, which then make their way up the food chain, eventually reaching you and your family in the food you eat.
Plastic microfibers are found in Spandex and fleece and outdoor apparel. They’re problematic because they do not biodegrade, and tend to bind with molecules of harmful chemical pollutants found in wastewater, such as pesticides or flame retardants. Plus, fibers from apparel are often coated with chemicals to achieve performance attributes such as water resistance.
What is astounding is how many fibers are released with every wash. One study revealed that every city of 100,000 residents releases a wash-related volume of microfibers that’s equivalent to 15,000 plastic bags. That means that a city the size of Los Angeles is releasing enough microfibers to make more than half a million plastic bags daily.
Patagonia (the outdoor and sports clothing company) is in the process of creating, manufacturing, and marketing a bag—called Guppy Friend—to contain microfiber clothing when it’s washed, so fibers don’t pollute water systems. Until washing machines and wastewater treatment facilities can be outfitted with proper filters, and shoppers are willing to transition to fewer synthetics in their wardrobe, Guppy Friend sounds like the best interim solution we’ve got.
Clearly, the impact microfiber clothing has on the environment is something to consider when shopping for clothing. Your contribution to protect nature matters.
Source: http://www.treehugger.com/green-home/stop-plastic-microfiber-pollution-ingenious-laundry-bag.html
Change Bedsheets Weekly
October, 2017
I’ve always wondered about how often bedsheets should be changed. Ipractice the rule of not making the bed until at least a half hour after I’m out of it, to allow sweat and body odors to dissipate into the air. But changing the sheets weekly usually seemed like more work than necessary. I was wrong. Turns out you should wash your sheets weekly. Here’s why.
You spend more than one-third of your life in bed. It’s important to keep it clean. Sheets, if left unchecked can become a botanical park of bacteria and fungus, according to scientists. If left for too long, microscopic life produced by sweat within the wrinkles and folds of bed sheets can lead to sniffing, sneezing, and allergic reactions, especially if you’re already prone to allergies and asthma.
Studies show we produce up to 26 gallons of sweat in bed every year—sweat that is responsible for at least 16 different species of fungus. The same is true for feather pillows. In addition, foreign microbes from animal dander, pollen, soil, lint, dust mite debris and feces, and finishing agents from whatever your sheets are made of can trigger sniffing and sneezing.
Microbial buildup reaches “significant” levels in as little as a week. So wash your sheets weekly. One to two weeks of this buildup is enough to leave anyone with a scratchy throat. One scientist likened dirty sheets to coming in contact with animal waste. If you touched dog poo in the street, you’d want to wash your hands. Consider that analogous to your bedding. If you saw what was there, you’d ask yourself “Do I want to sleep in that?”
Quality follows sustainability
April, 2024
That’s the motto of Leaf Score, a new online store for the recommending the best eco-friendly products for a sustainable life. I’ve looked all over for a reliable marketplace like this one. With Leaf Score you don’t need to worry about greenwashing. They are the real deal, a company with integrity you can rely on. They make it simple to switch out toxic products for greener alternatives.
Research at Leaf Score is devoted to finding the best sustainable brands in every category and product type, products we use in our everyday lives, like laundry soap, shampoo, sheets and mattresses, cookware, air purifiers, hardwood flooring. You have to see the wide range of products in this marketplace to believe it. The good news is, the best, and longest lasting products are almost always made with sustainable, natural, non-toxic, and organic ingredients and materials.
When researching eco-friendly products in a particular category, the people at LeafScore begin by examining scientific literature to see if there are known safety concerns. Research compiled on each product is then used to assign a LeafScore ranging from 1-5 leaves, with products that achieve a five leaf rating showing exceptional commitment to the environment.
Check them out at https://www.leafscore.com.
Find Your Bliss Station
August 23, 2023
In order to meet the many challenges we’re faced with today, we must remain clear and centered ourselves. That’s not easy in today’s world.
Joseph Campbell, a great thinker of our time, said that as a person ages they come to realize the interference daily societal demands put upon our lives—demands which diffuse our sense of self. To get back to a centering place, you must find a quiet place, or a “bliss-station,” where there are no outside distractions, a place where you feel soothed, comforted. Within this space you can rediscover the radiance of life. It becomes a sacred place where you find yourself again and again, a place you return to when you're ready to take care of YOU.
In his book The Power of Myth Campbell defines a “bliss station” this way:
“You must have a room, or a certain hour or so a day, where you don’t know what was in the newspapers that morning, you don’t know who your friends are, you don’t know what you owe anybody, you don’t know what anybody owes you. This is a place where you can simply experience and bring forth what you are and what you might be. This is the place of creative incubation. At first you may find that nothing happens there. But if you have a sacred place and use it, something eventually will happen.”
Take care of you. Find your bliss station.
Keeping Quiet
By Pablo Neruda
If we were not so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps the huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves
and of frightening ourselves with death.
Options for Eco Burial
By Linda Mason Hunter
March 12, 2023
You may not like to think about it, but one day you’re going to die. All things age and die, even you, and me. It’s a fact of living on Planet Earth. When one gets to a certain age, it’s wise to ponder what kind of burial you wish to have.
As an environmentalist committed to walking the talk, I’ve pondered long and hard what to do with my body once my spirit no longer lingers there. Traditional burials are toxic, expensive, and leave a huge carbon footprint. Researching environmental options raises some discomfiting questions, like how open am I to quickly dissolving my body in a vat of lye? (Not the least bit open.)
I definitely do not want formaldehyde embalming fluid injected into my body before placing it in an expensive open casket, put on display with my head resting on a pristine satin pillow, encased in non-biodegradable materials and buried in a populated cemetery with a big fat tombstone proclaiming “RIP.” Standard funeral home caskets are resource intensive costing upwards of $8,000. Each year, cemeteries in the United States bury enough steel and concrete caskets to rebuild the Golden Gate Bridge. That’s a huge carbon footprint for a process as natural as disposing of a dead body.
For a long time I favored cremation, a cheaper alternative to standard burial. I thought it was more sustainable until I learned cremation produces greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to driving 500 miles in a car. That’s an immense carbon footprint in an age when climate change threatens the survival of humanity as we know it. Given my commitment to a sustainable lifestyle, cremation makes no sense.
My parents donated their bodies to Mayo Clinic for medical students to poke and prod and hopefully learn something important about how to live and die. That seemed laudable to me until I discovered bodies are embalmed before placing them in refrigerated storage for as long as it takes to be claimed, a process which can take a year or more. I’m an impatient person for whom waiting is anathema, not to mention the icky problem of embalming with synthetic toxins.
Turns out I’m not the only one seeking a greener option. More than half of Americans are interested in greener funerals, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, and the percentage is rising. The funeral industry has begun to offer options with various “shades of green” — such as wicker caskets, urns designed to grow into trees, and an organic mixture that reduces the toxicity of cremated remains, allowing for safe mixing into the soil. And there are more palatable options for burial, as well. Here are a few that are kinder to Mother Earth:
Human composting: A 45-day biological process turning the body into a cubic yard of nutrient-rich soil and bones with negligible environmental impact.
Water cremation: Called “flameless cremation,” the body is placed in an airtight chamber filled with highly alkaline water, where soft tissues dissolve within a few hours leaving behind only bone and tea-colored liquid safe to pour onto the ground as fertilizer or down the drain. The process takes 6 to 8 hours, or 18 to 20 hours depending on the operating temperature of the equipment. The 6 to 8-hour process takes place at 300°F, and the 18 to 20 hour process takes place at 200°F. A flame cremation, for comparison, takes 1 to 3 hours and takes place at 1600-1800°F. Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s “national conscience,” opted for water cremation upon his death in 2021.
Mushroom Shroud: Essentially a classy, organic-cotton pajama set, the mushroom shroud is impregnated with flesh-eating fungi spores and other microorganisms that naturally assist the body’s decomposition. The mushrooms break down human remains and distribute them back into the soil while leeching away any earth-harming toxins left in the corpse.
Natural burial: The body is wrapped in a simple shroud and buried in a biodegradable casket made of wood, bamboo, or cardboard. No embalming, grave liners, or conspicuous headstones.
Natural burial suits me just fine. I descend from a long line of Quakers for whom simplicity and practicality are sacrosanct. Many of those ancestors were probably buried this way. Their remains rest peacefully under modest headstones in a quiet rural cemetery near the family farm. I find great comfort in the energy there, sitting beneath a tree surrounded by breeze and birdsong. That’s where I want my mortal coil to finally rest. My children can tote me there in the back of a pickup truck. Options such as this are available if you just dig deep enough to find them.
I need to contact this Quaker cemetery to make sure it accepts a natural burial. State and local laws vary, so check them out before making a definite plan.
CHECK OUT RECOMPOSE
The first human-composting funeral home in the U.S. near Kent, Washington, Recompose converts human remains into soil, a process taking 30 days in a hexagonal steel cylinder full of wood chips and straw. The vessel is slowly rotated a few times during the process, then the remains spend another few weeks in a “curing bin,” a large box (one per person) where soil is allowed to rest while continuing to exhale carbon dioxide.
Once that process is complete, friends and family can either retrieve the soil, or donate it to an ecological restoration project near Vancouver, Washington. Current cost is $5,500 for everything, excluding body pickup outside of the tri-county area. Body transport from further away can be arranged for an extra fee.
Source: https://recompose.life.
read about eco cemeteries
Buddhist Death Explained
By Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen Buddhist Monk and peace activist
"People ask - what happens when we die? It's like a cloud in the sky. When the cloud is no longer in the sky, it doesn't mean that the cloud has died. The cloud continues in other forms like rain, snow or ice. You can recognize your cloud in a new form. If you are very fond of a beautiful cloud and if your cloud is no longer there, you should not be sad. Your beloved cloud might have become the rain calling you: "Darling, don't you see me in my new form?" And then you're not struck with grief and despair. Your beloved one continues always.
“Meditation helps you recognize a continued presence in new forms. Our nature is the nature of no birth and no death. The nature of a cloud also. A cloud can never die. It is impossible for a cloud to pass from being into non-being. And that is true with your beloved one. They have not died. They continue in new forms."
Make Yourself a Promise to do Better This Year
By Linda Mason Hunter
January 1, 2023
Here we are, at the cusp of a new year. For the planet, for the world, it’s bound to be a challenging year for we are at the threshold of a new reality, a new normal. The old ways are quickly falling away and a new way of daily living is being born.
I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions, but I do believe in vows, in promises to others and to oneself. My advice is to vow to do better this year, to make at least one major change in your daily life to make your life more sustainable.
For me, I vow to reduce my energy consumption even more than I have already. There is always room for improvement. I promise to reduce my reliance on the clothes dryer, to air dry my clothes when possible. To celebrate wrinkles, and not do laundry so often.
I promise to decrease my reliance on plastic bags. Sustainable alternatives are available, I just need to make the change and use them.
Finally, when affordable electric vehicles and charging stations become available and convenient in my neck of the woods, I’ll be one of the first in line to trade my gas-fueled car for an electric one.
What do you promise to do this year to make your life more sustainable?
An electric car can do more than provide clean transportation. It can also power your home.
From Climate Couch, The Washington Post
February 7, 2023
Every year a storm or two knocks out the power in my house. Chances are it does in your house, too. The frequency will no doubt get worse as climate change escalates. It’s uncomfortable living without power until the electric grid gets fixed. But there’s an alternative to the grid. Electric vehicles can power your home.
A typical EV has three days’ worth of backup power in its battery pack—a handy reserve as power outages become more common. Some EVs are also cheaper than home batteries, according to The Washington Post.
Most new EV batteries can do the job of powering a house. You just need some extra equipment—a bidirectional charger and a home integration system, which is a hardware unit that allows you to disconnect your house from the grid and power it with your car.
Will it help the climate? You bet! The best way to curb emissions is to stop driving a car, even if it’s an EV. But by tapping into EVs’ enormous storage potential, you can help utilities ramp up renewables and stabilize the grid as extreme weather intensifies.
Buying a new electric vehicle when they become readily available and the infrastructure is in place is a win/win no matter how you look at it.
Think for Yourself
By Linda Mason Hunter
March, 2022
Since concern about climate change has become mainstream, with even staunch conservatives becoming believers, major corporate polluters have ramped up their green washing, advertising propaganda that makes them appear to be environmental stewards. Don’t believe it.
Take Chevron, for example, one of the largest fossil fuel companies in the world and the second largest oil company in the United States, behind ExxonMobil. Chevron is engaged in every aspect of the fossil fuel industry, producing an average of 791,000 barrels of net oil-equivalent per day in the United States.
According to the January 2022 issue of Harper’s magazine, in the last 18 months Chevon has promoted itself through TV ads as green or sustainable 26,400 times. Yet, in the past decade only one percent of Chevron’s budget has been spent on green technologies—a radical disconnect.
So, don’t believe the corporate hype. Do your own research. Find out the facts. Think for yourself.
Source: Harper’s, January 2022. Harper’s Index, page 9. https://harpers.org/harpers-index/
Help shift the narrative to things we agree on
February 10, 2022
We are living out the old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. For indisputably, these are interesting times. Our country is so polarized we can’t even have a civil conversation with someone who doesn’t share our perspective. Arguing with them doesn’t work. It only creates anger and hardens perspective.
How can we get out of this rut and become civil again? Start by finding common ground, something you can agree on. Social and political psychologists have developed a technique for these kinds of conversations. It’s called Conversation Cycles and includes five steps: Ask. Listen. Reflect. Agree. Share. Here’s how it works:
When engaging someone with a different perspective from your own:
· ASK open-ended, genuinely curious, non-judgmental questions.
· LISTEN to what they say. Deepen your understanding with follow-up questions.
· REFLECT back on their point of view by summarizing their answers, noting underlying emotions.
· AGREE with them by pointing out areas of common ground, then
· SHARE your thinking by telling a story from personal experience.
In the end you still may have deep disagreements, but you’ll come out of the conversation with richer understanding. Try it.
Source: David Suzuki Foundation, Vancouver, BC, Canada. https://davidsuzuki.org
Do you know what’s in your tap water?
November 3, 2021
Drinking plenty of good, clean water is important for a healthy body. But researchers recently discovered that tap water throughout the U.S. is polluted with contaminants at levels deemed unsafe to drink. These contaminants may be legal, but getting a passing grade from the government does not mean the water meets the latest health guidelines. Legal limits for contaminants in tap water have not been updated in almost 20 years.
What to do? First, learn what contaminants are in your tap water by reading your annual tap water quality report that comes with your bill. Tap water suppliers publish their water quality tests. The majority of bottled water companies do not.
Next, look up your city’s water report in the Environmental Working Group’s updated National Tap Water Database at Ewg.org/tapwater. I looked up Des Moines and discovered my hometown has a total of 34 contaminants, 15 of which exceed EWG health guidelines.
Once you have identified the contaminants of concern in your drinking water, check out EWG’s water filter guide to find the type of filter that works for you and is certified to remove the contaminants in your tap water. Ewg.org/tapwater is a valuable resource. Check it out.
Steps you can take today to make a lasting impact on nature.
October 6, 2021
The Nature Conservancy is one of my favorite non-profits, a charity I donate to regularly. They’ve come out with seven easy tips you can take today to make a lasting impact on nature.
Tip One: Showcase Simple Beauty. Instead of store-bought décor, use simple natural touches like extra branches from your tree, a bowl of pine cones, or local planes to bring nature’s calming influence inside.
Tip Two: Eat More Veggies. Incorporate more plant-based foods into your weekly meals. It’s good for your health and good for lowering your carbon footprint.
Tip Three: Purchase Wisely and Recycle. You can reduce the amount of waste you produce by purchasing products that come with less packaging and/or come in packaging that can be recycled.
Tip Four: Reduce Plastic Waste. Whenever possible, try to avoid single-use coffee cups, disposable utensils, straws, and napkins.
Tip 5: Re-Purpose and Re-Use. Before you go buy something new, consider buying it used which can also save you lots of money in addition to saving items from ending up in the dump.
Tip 6: Shop Local Farmers Markets. Support your local farmers while also getting fresher ingredients than you might find in the big-box grocery store.
Tip 7: More Fun, Less Stuff. Celebrate the people in your life with a gift membership to The Nature Conservancy or by donating in their honor. Visit https://gifts.Nature.org.
Start today.
Educate yourself on the dangers of wireless technology
By Linda Mason Hunter
March 6, 2021
During my pandemic isolation I did a deep dive into the science of non-ionizing high level radiofrequency radiation, the technology behind all wireless devices—from cell phones and tablets to cordless phones and baby monitors. I read esoteric scientific studies, attended virtual conferences, and personally interviewed several scientists. The issue is complicated and headache inducing, but the Environmental Health Trust’s website (ehtrust.org) makes it easier to understand. The Trust is now suing the Federal Communication Commission (regulator of wireless technology) on the grounds its safety standards are antiquated.
Indeed, the FCC uses safety data compiled in the 1990s when cell phones used 2G technology based on much lower electromagnetic radiation levels than 4G and 5G in use today. To make matters worse, the new 5G technology uses pulsed electromagnetic waves which can cause a multitude of harm. In 2018, the National Toxicology Program issued the results of a $30 million state-of-the-art study finding clear evidence of cancer and DNA damage in humans.
This isn’t a conspiracy theory. It’s scientific fact. Find out for yourself. Check out Ehtrust.org.
Cell phones and wireless devices send and receive invisible data such as text, voice, music, and video through cell phone towers and Wi-Fi routers. These data are carried on signals that travel invisibly through the air via a non-ionizing type of electromagnetic radiation called radiofrequency radiation, or RFR.
Should you be concerned? The answer is Yes! More human health studies and lab experiments link long-term and near-proximity exposure to RFR with several types of cancer and other adverse health effects. Worse still, wireless devices emit RFR all the time, even when you’re not using them.
As a general guideline, anything Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or wireless emits RF radiation. If a device can “sync” with your phone without a cord, then the device has a wireless antenna.
Thankfully, there is a solution. Wireless antennas can be turned off on many devices. You can hardwire devices with ethernet and corded connections. That’s what I did in my house. It’s a rewarding project and worth the trouble to protect yourself and your family.
Beware of PFAS
February, 2020
Scientists are increasingly concerned about a new class of chemicals found in our houses. They are polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, or PFAS, known as "forever chemicals" because they persist in the environment and in the human body—meaning they don’t break down and accumulate over time, leading to adverse health effects, like cancer, increased cholesterol, thyroid conditions, and auto-immune disorders.
They’re widely used to make water-, grease-, and stain-repellant coatings. You’ll find them on carpets and clothing, in microwave popcorn bags, and fast-food wrappers. The fabric may be labeled with brands such as Teflon, Scotchgard, Stainmaster, Polartec, or Gore-Tex, to name but a few. The wristband of the new Apple watch sport model is made with PFAS chemicals. They’re even in Oral-B dental floss. Their presence in human blood is a near-universal phenomenon in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Now PFAS are turning up in drinking water at levels seven to ten times greater than the safe level of exposure estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Your in-house water filtration system may not remove these chemicals.
A recent study at Duke University found that any water filter is better than none, but many filters are only partially effective at removing PFAS. After testing many kinds of filters, the Duke study found under-sink reverse osmosis and two-stage filters to be the best, achieving near-complete removal of PFAS. In contrast, the effectiveness of activated-carbon filters used in many pitcher, countertop, refrigerator and faucet-mounting filters was inconsistent and unpredictable. Whole-house systems were also widely variable.
The real win would be controlling PFAS at their source in the first place. You can help by not bringing them into your house. Do your research, especially when buying outdoor gear and purchasing new carpet and furniture. Find products that haven’t been pre-treated. Instead of non-stick pans and utensils, opt for stainless steel or cast iron. Pop popcorn the old-fashion way. Choose personal care products without “PTFE,” “PFOA, PFOS, GenX, or “FLUORO” ingredients.
Source: https://www.ewg.org/key-issues/toxics/nonstick-chemicals
Source: “What’s the Best Water Filter for Removing Toxic PFAS?” by Melissa Breyer, treehugger.com, Feb. 5, 2020. https://www.treehugger.com/health/whats-best-water-filter-removing-toxic-pfas.html
Eat Less Meat, Especially Beef
October, 2019
In order to keep the planet habitable, U.S. meat eaters need to cut back on beef by nearly half, according to a new report.
A collaboration between the World Resources Institute, the World Bank Group, United Nations Environment and others, the report offers a comprehensive list of actions for how we might be able to sustain the three billion more people who are expected to be on the planet by 2050. How do we make enough food for everyone without increasing emissions, fueling deforestation or exacerbating poverty? Or as the authors ask: Can we feed the world without destroying the planet?
The short answer: "It is possible – but there is no silver bullet."
The report details a 22-item “menu of solutions” that target both supply- and demand-side measures, noting that, "we must produce more food, but we must also slow the rate of growth in demand – especially demand for resource-intensive foods such as beef."
What does that look like? Getting to a 40% reduction would mean eating 23.72 pounds of beef for the year. With an average hamburger patty being about 4 ounces, you could have just about a burger and a half worth of beef a week. And there are ways to switch that up; you could continue to eat three burgers a week, for example, if you made mushroom-beef burgers.
The report concludes that just reducing consumption could be an important part of the solution for achieving a sustainable food future.
Source: “The World Resources Report, Creating a Sustainable Food Future”; https://wrr-food.wri.org
Switch to LED light bulbs
October, 2019
LEDs, or light-emitting diodes, are the most efficient light bulbs on the market. They use up to 85% less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs, and can last up to 25 years. LEDs are also much more efficient than halogen bulbs and slightly more efficient than compact fluorescents, the other common options on the market.
The upfront cost of LEDs tends to be higher than traditional bulbs, but that is rapidly changing as technology improves. And, over their lifetime, LEDs are almost certainly a better value because of the energy savings and because they don’t have to be replaced as often.
“In energy, we don’t get a lot of free lunches,” said Dr. Eric Hittinger, an energy expert at Rochester Institute of Technology. “But switching to LeD lighting, is basically a free lunch.”
Opt for the Car Wash
July, 2019
A trip to a carwash might seem like a water-wasting extravagance, but it’s better than the driveway alternative, according to The New York Times. The most efficient way to wash your car is definitely taking it to a carwash, although most folks don’t think that way.
Rinsing your car with a garden hose at home can quickly rack up 100 gallons of water or more. The exact amount will vary, but just to give an example: a standard-diameter garden hose, 50 feet long, with average household water pressure will expel about 11 gallons per minute. Having the garden hose running for 10 minutes will use about 110 gallons of water. Self-service carwash stations limit you to around 17 or 18 gallons of water. And most full-service stations average 30 to 45 gallons of water per car.
Many machine carwashes recycle and reuse water, too, which helps their bottom line and the environment. At self-service washes, high-pressure nozzles and timers keep water use to a minimum.
But the biggest reason to go to a carwash is to prevent pollution. When you wash your car at home, all the dirt, oil, engine fluids, soapy phosphates and chlorides from the soap can run with the water into a storm drain and into nearby rivers and lakes. Carwash businesses are supposed to collect the water they use when it can no longer be recycled and send it to a wastewater treatment plant where the pollutants can be filtered out before the water flows into the ecosystem.
So, use the carwash.
Source: “One Thing You Can Do: Opt for the Car Wash,” by Jillian Mock. The New York Times, June 26, 2019. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/26/climate/nyt-climate-newsletter-carwash.html
Learn How to Read Labels
The savvy consumer learns how to read labels to discern whether a product is green or not. It’s trickier to read what’s printed on the packaging of household and personal care products-- than the labels on food--because the law does not require that all ingredients be listed. Trade secrets are exempt, as are inert ingredients, so consumers have little to go on beyond such mandated signal words as danger, warning, and caution, which in any case warn only of acute exposure, not long-term chronic exposure, which is exactly how we use these products.
When investigating whether a company has green credentials, look for these words and phrases:
* Biodegradable in three to five days
* Plant-based
* Hypoallergenic
* Nonflammable
* Does not contain phosphates
* Does not contain chlorine
* Does not contain petroleum products
* Contains no ammonia, acids, alkalis, solvents, nitrates, or borates
* Formulated without dye or synthetic fragrance
Because the words “nontoxic” and “natural” have no legal definitions, they mean nothing on a label. And the word “organic” means one thing when applied to food (where it means grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers), and another thing when applied to chemistry (where it means carbon-based).
When in doubt, obtain a Materials Safety Data Sheet (or MSDS) which manufacturers are required by law to provide. Some manufacturers make them available on their websites. While not a complete source of information, an MSDS can be a useful tool because it lists chemical substances, precautions for safe handling and use, and known health effects.
A good rule of thumb: The more plant-based a product the greener it is and the healthier it will be for humans and other living things. If a product has ingredients with long chemical names, chances are those ingredients are manufactured in laboratories by humans, not found in nature.
Choose One Thing You Can Do
By Linda Mason Hunter
May 11, 2019
When it comes to climate change, we’ve had a lot of dire warnings lately.
* Since 1901, the United States has warmed 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Sixteen of the warmest 17 years on record have occurred since 2000.
* One million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, leading to what scientists are calling “The Sixth Great Extinction.”
* More than 3,000 additional people across the country will die prematurely because of higher temperatures by 2050.
It almost makes one want to dig a hole and hide in it.
I’m a great believer in the glass-is-half-full theory. We have much to be grateful for. In fact, a good practice is to begin each day with a prayer or meditation of gratitude our green Earth and all it provides for us. Then, set about doing something to solve the problem.
Choose one habit you want to change, then incorporate it into your daily life. It could be to quit eating dairy, or beef, or palm oil—all big contributors to climate change and the degradation of Earth. It could be to avoid drive-throughs and the resulting waste of fossil fuels. It could be to cut down on the amount of plastic you use.
One habit I am battling is the plastic bag habit. It’s like an addiction. One change I’m working on is avoiding the flimsy plastic bags grocery stores provide for fresh produce, the kind that come on a roll and tear at the perforated points. I’m taking three string bags to the market and using them, instead. Next, I’ll try to conquer my Ziploc bag habit. They are so useful for so many things, but so bad for the planet. I already rinse and dry them out and use them again and again, but that’s not enough. I shouldn’t be buying them at all.
That’s it. Choose one habit. Just one. And work on it.
The Problem with Paper Receipts
December, 2018
Paper receipts seem so innocuous, but they’re becoming an environmental nightmare. Why? Because these shiny smooth pieces of paper are made of thermal paper that uses heat rather than ink to form letters and numbers. and it relies on bisphenol A to do so. If you scratch a receipt and see a dark line, then you know it contains BPA or its common substitute BPS. BPA is a hormone disruptor and is absorbed through the skin, which means that even reaching for a receipt poses a risk of contamination.
To make matters worse thermal paper cannot be recycled. Its only “safe” destination is the landfill.
What to do? Be selective about the receipts you accept. Only take those you need in order to return an item or claim it as a business expense. Otherwise, just say no. Leave the receipt at the store. If you work in a store and handle these receipts daily, best to wear gloves to avoid absorbing the BPA which invariably gets absorbed through your skin.
It’s not a problem that’s going to be solved overnight, but it is something I suspect we’re going to start hearing more about.
Source: “The Trouble with Paper Receipts,” by Katherine Martinko, treehugger.com, Nov. 7, 2018. https://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/problem-paper-receipts.html
