Conserve Oil and Save The Enviroment!

Quite simply we use too much plastic but today I am blogging about plastic bags. According to the EPA between 500 Billion and a Trillion plastic bags are consumed every year and less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled (at a cost of 125% of their retail worth).

Did you know that the US dumps millions of pounds of plastic in the ocean every year? Plastic bags alone account for 10% of the debris that washes up on our coastline hurts our scenery, contaminates our food sources, pollutes our soil and kills our wildlife? I know many of you simply do not buy in to the plastic problems and dozens of scientist could show you how it degrades and if they convinced you, your response would simply be how can little ole me help?

Well for a minimal cost (@$.75-$2 per bag) you can buy or make reusable shopping bags. I use Harris Teeter and Trader Joe bags that cost less than $1. This very small investment will save an average of over 26 plastic bags a month. That is over 300 bags a year. If 1/10 of the people that have read my blog this year did this simple thing then we would consume 960,000 less bags this year.

Or look at it like this... minimizing plastic use by using cloth bags would significantly reduce our dependence on the foreign oil. Yes OIL is used to make plastic. Studies estimate that China will conserve over 37,000,000 barrels of oil each year due to their ban on plastic bags.

So next time you are having a discussion about gas prices or the enviroment tell your friends how you do your part and use reuseable bags!

Want to make your own?
If you sew check out this blog for instructions on how to make reusable shopping bags or this one on how to recycle your old things into reusable bags

Or perhaps you dont sew but you do crochet? (I wish!!this is my new FAVE) then you can make the ULTIMATE reusable shopping bag (seen at left) and save the landfills and ocean from your recent shopping faux paus check this out I think I NEED to do my part and buy one what do you think?

Against The Grain

I have blogged before on Celiac and Gluten Free but today I want to share a GREAT listing of Gluten Free School Supplies and recipes.

BabiesRUs is exchanging BPA bottles!

My local BabiesRUs is doing even exchanges on ALL BPA containing bottles/cups. If you return the "questionable" bottle and nipple they will exchange it for a BPA free one. I know for some this is a controversial topic. Here is a blog that will give you a little more information on it. I have blogged on the dangers of plastic before (You can read it here). IMO it is better to be safe than sorry. Contact your local store for details.

SMOG

Last month, Steven Johnson, the head of the EPA announced that he was lowering the safe amount of ozone in the air from 80 parts per billion to 75.

The problem? An advisory committee created by Congress unanimously recommended a much lower level between 60 and 70 parts per billion. The panel says the new EPA standards, quote, "fail to ensure an adequate margin of safety for the elderly, children, and people of respiratory illness."

Is the Environmental Protection Agency protecting businesses over citizens when it comes to unhealthy smog?

Avoid 7,6 and 3

Choose your water bottles carefully in order to prevent chemicals in the plastic from leaching into your water.

Plastic water bottles are very convenient. However, it is worth paying attention to the type of plastic your water bottle is made of, to ensure that the chemicals in the plastic do not leach into the water. If you taste plastic, you are drinking it, so get yourself another bottle.

To be certain that you are choosing a bottle that does not leach, check the recycling symbol on your bottle. If it is a #2 HDPE (high density polyethylene), or a #4 LDPE (low density polyethylene), or a #5 PP (polypropylene), your bottle is fine. The type of plastic bottle in which water is usually sold is usually a #1, and is only recommended for one time use. Do not refill it and never heat it.

Unfortunately, those fabulous colourful hard plastic bottles are made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol. That means they may leach Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is a xenoestrogen, a known endocrine disruptor (IE it messes up your hormones!). Synthetic xenoestrogens are linked to breast and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and are particularly devastating to babies and young children. BPA has even been linked to insulin resistance and Type 2 Diabetes. I am not scientist but you can read up on it in the Environmental Health Perspectives Journal.

Unfortunately, most plastic baby bottles and many kids drinking cups are made with plastics containing BPA. In 2006 Europe banned all products made for children under age 3 containing BPA, and as of Dec. 2006 the city of San Franscisco followed suit and in March 2007 a billion-dollar class action suit was commenced against Gerber, Playtex, Evenflo, Avent, and Dr. Brown's.

So, check the recycling numbers on all your plastic food containers and gradually move to storing all food in glass or ceramic. Store water in glass or brass if possible, and out of direct sunlight.


Lets Recap...
Read the bottom and refuse to buy anything packaged in the worst plastics: 3, 6, and 7.
Plastics #s 1, 2, 4 and 5 are safer and are not known to leach chemicals.
Want to be EXTRA Cautious?
Never use Styrofoam, especially not for hot drinks/soups.
Don't reuse plastic containers by washing in the dishwasher; wash by hand and dispose before too many uses.
Don't put any plastic in the microwave and never microwave with plastic wrap despite what the cooking or instructions tell you!
When storing things with fat (cheese or covering a fatty soup or oil), or acid (citrus, tomatoes etc) don't use plastic.
Don't use Stretch-Tite plastic wrap.
Check The Green Guide for a complete list and read CHEC for more information

The video that inspired this entry:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/24023514#24023514

Does your body go against the grain?

Celiac disease is an inherited intolerance to gluten. For people with this condition, eating gluten can trigger immune system attacks that may ravage the lining of the small intestine. Then the injured intestine can’t adequately absorb vital nutrients (such as iron, calcium, and vitamin D). Untreated Celiac disease can lead to iron deficiency anemia, osteoporosis, lactose intolerance and MANY other problems.
Celiac disease was once thought to be rare, but experts now estimate that in the United States, about 1 in 133 people.
Celiac disease often goes undiagnosed because its classic symptoms resemble those of other common ailments, such as irritable bowel syndrome and lactose intolerance. This helps to explain why it takes an average of 11 years to be diagnosed with Celiac disease after the symptoms first appear. Many people assume that the disease is diagnosed as soon as a child starts eating foods that contain gluten, but that’s not the case. Celiac disease can develop at any time in life, including old age. The average age at diagnosis is 46; about 20% of cases are diagnosed after age 60.
In addition to anemia and osteoporosis, Celiac disease is associated with type 1 diabetes, thyroid problems, and dermatitis herpetiformis, a painful skin condition that involves itchy blisters on the elbows and knees.
The good news is that the only treatment for Celiac disease — a gluten-free diet — starts to work within days and the intestines usually heals with in six months. The bad news is in addition to giving up your favorite foods you need to read the labels on EVERYTHING. Anything that goes in, on, or near your mouth must be gluten-free... medications, vitamins, personal care products, such as lipstick, toothpaste, and mouthwash, and in the glues on envelopes and stamps.

Why you ask am I posting this?
Well it has been weighing heavy on me for a LONG time. All 3 of my children and myself show multiple symptoms that this may be a problem for us. C has had some IgA testing (came back negative). I remember when his results came in being so relieved that "We" did not need to start this restrictive diet only later to learn that the negative test does not exclude the possibility any more than the fact that our parents have never been diagnosed excludes it:-(
So the drama continues... to go Gluten Free or not?
Have any of you tried it with out an official diagnosis? Did it make a great impact on your symptoms?