Eco Friendly Green Living & Natural Health & Wellness

Going green doesn’t need to be difficult or complicated. Even small steps count, and what you do every day can help keep your family and the planet healthy.Thanks to the thousands who have chosen Green Clean, look at the difference made over the past 12 months!

• * Kept 10,230,732 pounds of packaging waste out of landfills.
• * Eliminated 23,492,792 pounds of greenhouse gas.

5 Ways You Can Go Green

Clean Up Your Cleaning Products-Some conventional cleaning products can contain questionable chemicals like phthalates, butyl cellosolve, sodium hydroxide, ammonia, or formaldehyde. Why would you endanger your health or the health of the planet with harsh chemicals and toxic substances when you can choose natural and healthier alternatives?

Switch to Green Clean. Green Clean offers choices that are safe, nontoxic, and natural, and they work wonderfully. Many Get Clean products are formulated using sustainably sourced ingredients from natural sources, like activated enzymes or biodegradable cleaning agents derived from corn and coconuts.

When you welcome Get Clean products into your home, you’re not exposing your family to many of the dangerous chemicals found in conventional cleaners. A great way to start is with the Green Clean Starter Kit—everything you need to clean your home. Order Yours Now!

Start Using your Dishwasher!- Using the dishwasher is actually better for the planet than washing dishes by hand. The average energy-efficient dishwasher uses just 4 gallons of water per cycle, saving nearly 5,000 gallons of water per year compared with hand washing—as well as $40 in energy costs and 230 hours of washing time, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Make sure to use a phosphate-free detergent. Phosphates spur algae blooms and are a major source of water pollution.

Green Clean Dish Wash Automatic Concentrate is one of the first phosphate-free automatic dish wash detergents.

Ditch the Anti-bacterial Hand Soap-Triclosan, a common ingredient in antibacterial soap that kills microbes, ends up in our water sources and, at specific levels, is acutely and chronically toxic to aquatic life. Moreover, overuse of antibacterial and antimicrobial soap can help create antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which may weaken the effectiveness of currently useful antibiotics. Antibacterial soap doesn’t offer any better protection against illness than vigorous hand washing with plain soap and warm water.

Green Clean Hand Wash Concentrate is a great antibacterial-free alternative. It’s soap free, pH balanced, hypoallergenic, and has biodegradable surfactants.

Bring your own bag-Okay, we’ve all heard this one, but it’s true. Neither paper nor plastic is the ideal choice. Paper is accepted in more recycling programs, but only approximately 20% is recycled, and most bags can end up in landfills. Plastic bags not only can take a thousand years to decompose and but use up nonrenewable resources.

The best choice? Bring your own reusable bag. A sturdy, reusable one can take the place of hundreds or maybe even thousands of single-use bags over its lifetime.

Get Clean offers lightweight, sturdy, reusable shopping bags in a bright green color with the GREEN Clean logo, so you can spread the word while you shop. Order Your Bags Here!

Buy from Socially Responsible Companies-Use your consumer power to support companies that are environmentally responsible and offer products that are safe for you and the environment. Our GREEN company has a long history of environmental responsibility, including introducing one of the first biodegradable cleaners in 1960.

Our GREEN company is the first company in the world to obtain Climate Neutral™ certification and totally offset its greenhouse gas emissions

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Glass containers, such as those for food and beverages, can be recycled. Other types of glass, like windows, ovenware, Pyrex, crystal, etc. are manufactured through a different process. If these materials are introduced into the manufacturing process, they can cause production problems and defective containers.

Furnace-ready cullet must also be free of contaminants such as metals, ceramics, gravel, stones, etc. Color sorting makes a difference, too. Glass manufacturers are limited in the amount of mixed cullet they can use to manufacture new containers. Separating recycled container glass by color allows the industry to ensure that new bottles match the color standards required by glass container customers.

Because glass manufacturers require high-quality recycled container glass to meet market demands for new glass containers. Cullet is always part of the recipe for glass, and the more that is used, the greater the decrease in energy used in the furnace. This makes using cullet profitable in the long run, lowering costs for glass container manufacturers—and benefiting the environment.

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PR WEB- Entrepreneur Jim Gaylord opened Renew Salon to put into action his belief that each of us can make a difference in the future of the planet. His goal for Renew was to provide high quality services to clients while reducing the effects of the business’s operation on the environment. Renew is located at 368 West 46th Street, close to New York City’s Times Square and Broadway theatre district.

Gaylord, who has been a [hair stylist for more than 30 years, has done some very famous heads — James Gandolfini, Anthony LaPaglia, Blythe Danner, Marisa Tomei, Kate Burton and more. He has also styled for numerous Broadway productions, including Entertaining Mr. Sloane (Alec Baldwin) and Twelve Angry Men. Cast members of Avenue Q and Beauty and the Beast are regular clients.

Gaylord became environmentally aware after he moved to New York City from Florida. "I was part of a like-minded group of people," he said, "who regularly talked about how to bring our environmental concerns into the workplace. Renew grew out of these discussions."

Throughout the building process, Gaylord attempted to use as many sustainable non-toxic, ecological elements as possible:

• Bamboo flooring
• Cotton insulation
• Natural building products instead of plastics
• Paint without vocs (toxic emissions)

Daily operations achieve Renew’s mission by:

• recycling of paper and foil used for highlights;
• limiting waste (fewer towels, reduction of color products washed down the drain);
• conserving water using new technology that reduces water flow without reducing effectiveness; dual-flush toilets in bathrooms;
• using organic products, where possible; and, buying from eco-friendly
  vendors.

Renew is a beautiful 1200 square-foot salon (with a wonderful backyard garden). The space offers a relaxing escape from the pressures of New York, superior services and a commitment to the future of the planet.

Way to go Renew Salon in your efforts to help keep NYC Eco-Friendly!

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by Dr. Gary Farr

It’s no wonder our population is nutritionally deficient. We wouldn’t think about putting poor quality fuel in our autos because they would sputter and cough; eventually we’d need a tow truck. But that’s essentially what you’re doing if you buy commercial food.

What’s commercial food you ask?
Your typical middle class grocery store.The average person’s state of health is much like a car sputtering and missing a few beats. If you’re buying your food from commercial sources, such as a grocery store, take a look at the difference in the quality of this food versus organic food. Yes, you can starve your body with “empty” or bad food. It’s a fact!

How can you better the situation? Buy organic whole foods or buy to ensure you are getting the nutrients your body needs! Read all you can and empower yourself with knowledge.

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NEW YORK — A spider-like catamaran sailed into New York Harbor on Thursday to promote the well-being and protection of the world’s waterways, TechWeb reported.

The catamaran, Proteus, so named for the ancient sea god and guardian of all marine life, graced the waters surrounding Manhattan before it was to begin its One Ocean mission through America’s national marine sanctuaries to “build international alliances and strengthen ties between marine protected areas around the world.”

Click here to read the story on TechWeb.

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Most people who suffer with allergy and sinus problems often feel that they must resort to using medications that have unpleasant and even dangerous side effects. For those who may be interested in safer, more natural alternatives, some of the following products may be of interest.

Garlic
This popular herb has been used for centuries as a natural decongestant and a natural antibiotic. Often recommended for congestion, asthma, sinusitis, allergies and ear infections…also beneficial in lowering bloodpressure and cholesterol.

Nasal-D
The Ephedra herb is the first Chinese herbal remedy whose active medicinal compounds has been identified and are widely used in Western medicine today. Contains natural pseudoephedrine from the Ephedra herb. Fast acting, non-drowsy formula promoted sinus and nasal drainage.

Hypoallergic Laundry Product
Fragrance free, no masking agents, no dyes, hypoallergenic, dust- free granular formula, highly concentrated cleaning products, natural organic enzymes, environmentally safe (biodegradable free of phosphates, chlorine, borts, nitrates) Kosher certified.

Highly Concentrated Germicide
Disinfectant, no cresol (easily absorbed by the skin, causes digestive disturbances, nervous disorders, mental changes, skin eruptions and jaundice). Kills parvovirus, feline leukemia, distemper virus and the AIDS virus on surfaces. Note: for allergy and sinus relief in the winter when it is dry,
remember to use a humidifier with a few drops of Concentrated Germicide to inhibit bacterial growth.

Skin Care Products
Combine advanced technology with herbal and botanical extracts…especially formulated for sensitive skin. They are hypoallergenic, pH balanced, no artificial colorants or heavy minerals oils, noncomedogenic (won’t clog pores) and no animal testing.

Clean Air
40 million Americans have Allergies and 17 million Americans have Asthma. Millions more have Emphysema and other breathing problems. Indoor air pollution contributes to these and many other health concerns. The EPA lists indoor air quality worse than outside air and one of the top 5 health hazards. The recommended air purification has a patented system with Photo-Ionization using silver, copper & titanium for microbial reduction and whole house Electron Generation to reduce airborne particulate levels for up to 2500 square feet with safe ozone levels. Unlike others on the market which does only one room at a time, this product cleans the air in the whole house, and is attractive enough to set on a table stand as a conversation piece.

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Here are some excellent ideas for recycling products you may not even know can be recycled!


1. Appliances: Goodwill accepts working appliances, www.goodwill.org , or you
can contact the Steel Recycling Institute to recycle them. 800/YES-1-CAN,
www.recycle-steel.org

2. Batteries: Rechargeables and single-use: Battery Solutions, 734/467-9110,
www.batteryrecycling.com

3. Compact fluorescent bulbs: Take them to your local IKEA store for
recycling: www.ikea.com

4. Compostable bio-plastics: You probably won’t be able to compost these in your
home compost bin or pile. Find a municipal composter to take them to at
www.findacomposter.com

5. Eyeglasses: Your local Lion’s Club or eye care chain may collect these.
Lenses are reground and given to people in need.

6. Ink/toner cartridges: Recycleplace.com (http://lists.coopamerica.org/t/1335856/401205/404760/0/)
pays $1/each.

7. Phones: Donate cell phones: Collective Good will refurbish your phone and
sell it to someone in a developing country: 770-856-9021,
www.collectivegood.com  .

8. Tennis shoes: Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring. www.nikereuseashoe.com
One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America, and Haiti. www.oneworldrunning.com

9. Toothbrushes and razors: Buy a recycled plastic toothbrush or razor from
Recycline, and the company will take it back to be recycled again into plastic
lumber. Recycline products are made from used Stonyfield Farms’ yogurt cups.
888-354-7296

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You can now take your own action in helping fight asthma caused by air pollution.

The effects of air pollution are reaching the smallest and most fragile Americans. 4.5 million U.S. kids suffer from asthma. 14 million missed school days occur every year because children are too sick to go to school.

Ashtma is attacking to many people and with the help of the Earth Justice and everyone signing the new petition, perhaps the EPA will take action!

The petition site has announced a new petition to try and urge the Environmental Protection Agency to adopt ozone health standards at the most protective end of the range as recommended by the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee.

The idea is simple. When you sign this petition you will “adopt” a mile of sky above the US! Your personalized air bubble will appear on the adoptthesky.com website along with thousands of other people’s bubbles.

It’s fun and free to do your part.

Visit http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/568486853 today to view and sign the petition today!

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By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Even brief exposure to secondhand smoke in bars and restaurants can result in measurable levels of a toxin in workers’ bodies that is known to cause lung cancer, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

They found nonsmoking workers in Oregon who worked a single shift in a bar or restaurant that allowed smoking were more likely to have a detectable level of NNK — a carcinogen linked with lung cancer — in their bodies than those who worked in nonsmoking establishments.

“NNK is only found in the body as a result of either smoking or breathing other people’s smoke,” said Michael Stark of the Multnomah County Health Department in Portland, Oregon, whose study appears in the American Journal of Public Health.

Stark and colleagues studied 52 nonsmoking bar and restaurant workers who were exposed to smoke at work, and compared them to 32 similar nonsmoking workers from communities in Oregon that prohibited smoking in such places.

For the study, participants, mainly young, uninsured women, gave urine samples before and after working at least four hours.

“As a group, four out of five of the nonsmokers who worked in a smoking environment had some detectable level of this deadly chemical in their body, and as a group, for every hour that they worked, that level increased by 6 percent,” Stark said in a telephone interview.

Other studies have shown that nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke have about a 20 percent higher risk of lung cancer. They are also at a higher risk of asthma and perinatal complications such as sudden infant death syndrome.

“This adds to the very strong and growing body of evidence that second-hand smoke exposure is dangerous and people need to be protected,” Stark said.

According to Stark, clean indoor air acts protect about 70 percent of workers from exposure to tobacco smoke.

Secondhand smoke causes about 3,400 lung cancer deaths and 46,000 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers in the United States each year, according to the American Lung Association.

Levels of environmental smoke in restaurants and bars are two to five times higher than in homes with smokers, they said.

Source

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A new study of 13,000 children from infancy to age seven links early use of antibiotics to respiratory ills
By David Biello


Asthma is on the rise worldwide. Virtually unknown at the dawn of the 20th century, the wheezing respiratory disease caused 255,000 deaths globally in 2005, according to the World Health Organization. These recurring attacks of breathlessness from the swelling of bronchial tubes in the lungs is now the most common chronic disease among children—and no one knows why. Theories range from an increase in smog—an attack trigger—to a rise in the use of antibiotics. Now a new study of 13,116 children from birth to age seven reveals that use of certain antibiotics during infancy increases the risk of developing childhood asthma.

Drug epidemiologist Anita Kozyrskyj of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg and her colleagues used health care and prescription databases to find that children who had received antibiotics during their first year of life had a significantly greater risk of developing asthma by age seven. “Children who had received more than four courses of antibiotics were almost twice as likely to have asthma develop,” the researchers wrote in the journal Chest.

Previous studies that found similar results have been challenged on the grounds that many antibiotic treatments in infancy are for respiratory infections, which may also lead to asthma. To rule that out, the researchers isolated 148 children who had received antibiotics for skin or urinary tract infections. They found that these kids had an even greater chance of developing asthma than children with respiratory infections who had been treated with antibiotics. “The risk of asthma was twofold higher in antibiotic use for nonrespiratory tract infections,” Kozyrskyj says. And “the antibiotic effect did not go away when the analysis was adjusted for upper respiratory tract infections, including ear infections and colds, meaning there wasn’t a separate effect.”

The researchers also found that the presence of a dog in the home lowered asthma risk (perhaps because they carry germs that engage children’s immune systems), whereas treatment with so-called broad-spectrum antibiotics that wipe out many different kinds of microbes (as opposed to those targeting specific bacteria) increased the risk. In addition, rural kids had less of a chance of developing asthma than urban children, overall. The researchers speculate that this may have to do with the differing microbes that colonize the guts of city and rural children as well as country kids’ wider exposure to a variety of microorganisms.

“Evidence for this hypothesis comes from epidemiologic studies, which link variations in gastrointestinal microflora and probiotic administration with less allergy and asthma,” Kozyrskyj says. “Perhaps the gut microflora in urban children has already undergone change and the addition of an antibiotic makes no difference.” The authors note that more research is needed. In the meantime, they suggest carefully weighing the risks and benefits of antibiotic use before age one.

Source

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