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Archive for Green Advocacy
February 17th, 2012
Happy Friday, my groovy green friends! Can you tell I’m already hoping for spring? This week was another busy one at Groovy Green Livin. Here are a few highlights:
Green Your Workout
Did you ever stop to think how your workout could have an impact on the environment? Well, it can. Thankfully there are several ways we can lessen our eco-impact, while keeping our workout routine intact. Click HERE to read more.
How to Treat a Cold the Natural Way
Colds and flu run rampant this time of year. Noses are dripping, throats are hurting and coughs and sneezes can be heard in homes around the world. Thankfully there are a few simple tips that will ease your symptoms and help strengthen your immune system the natural way. Click HERE to read more.
Mom Talk Radio Show
I had the honor of joining host Maria Bailey on her Mom Talk Radio show. During the show we talked about how to have an eco-friendly Valentine’s Day. We also hit some of my favorite topics: how to live a green and a non-toxic life. Click HERE to listen to the February 12, 2012 show. My piece is called ‘Moms Roundtable” and can be found near the end of the segment.
Tide: Get Cancer-Causing Chemicals Out of Laundry Detergent
If you haven’t heard, it turns out that Tide Free & Gentle® isn’t so gentle. A report recently released by Women’s Voices for Earth, Dirty Secrets: What’s Hiding in Your Cleaning Products? found high levels of the cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane in the detergent. 1,4-dioxane doesn’t appear on the product label or on the product website, so consumers have no way of knowing it’s even there.
With the help of Healthy Child Healthy World and Women’s Voices for the Earth I put together a petition asking Procter & Gamble (makers of Tide) to strip this harmful cancer-causing chemical out of Tide Free & Gentle®!
Lisa from Retro Housewife Goes Green and Stephanie from Good Girl Gone Green both shared posts on this petition. Jenn Savedge from The Green Parent just shared a post on this too. Thank you Stephanie, Jenn and Lisa!
Last count we had over 600 signatures. If you haven’t already done so, please join in and SIGN THE PETITION. Better yet, sign the petition and then share it with your friends!
Pin of the week on Pinterest
This pin got a lot of action. It received likes and repins, too many to count. It just confirms my suspicion that we all have a new obsession with coconut oil. The pin originated from Delicious Obsessions and is called “52 Uses for Coconut Oil-The Simple, The Strange, and The Downright Odd!
This coming is a school vacation week for us so I will be spending more time with my family and writing less. I hope to get a few posts out, but we shall see!
Have a groovy green weekend. Do you have President’s Day off?
[Photo used under Creative Commons from D. Sharon Pruitt/Flickr]
February 10th, 2012
I hope everyone has had a wonderful week. Valentine’s Day is sneaking up on us and I’m predicting lots of sugary treats in my kid’s futures next week.
There have been a lot of good green happenings on the web this week. Here are a few headlines that caught my attention:
Petition asking Tide to remove a cancer causing chemical from its detergent
A report recently released by Women’s Voices for Earth, Dirty Secrets: What’s Hiding in Your Cleaning Products? found high levels of the cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane in the detergent.
With the help of Healthy Child Healthy World, MomsRising and Women’s Voices for the Earth I put together a petition asking Procter & Gamble (makers of Tide) to strip this harmful cancer-causing chemical out of Tide Free & Gentle®!
Please join me by signing the petition asking Procter & Gamble to take immediate action to remove 1,4-dioxane from Tide Free & Gentle® and any other Procter & Gamble products.
Lead in your lipstick
In 2007 the FDA began testing various lipsticks sold in the United States for lead. After testing over 400 brands, FDA scientists concluded that none of them contained unsafe levels of lead. In December 2011, the FDA updated its tests and posted the results on its website rather quietly. There are now two brands (Maybelline and L’Oreal) with lipsticks above California’s safe standard. These manufactures don’t actually use lead as an ingredient, the lead is considered an impurity. There are safe, non-toxic lipsticks out there. Make sure yours is one of them!
Too much Sodium
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 9 out of 10 Americans eat too much sodium. Surprisingly, they found that bread and rolls were the top culprits rather than salty snacks.
Dandelions
Have you ever cooked with dandelions? When the weather warms up there is usually a field of dandelions on my front lawn. Jeff over at Sustainablog shares 7 Recipes for Dandelions. I might have to try a few when the sea of yellow weeds reappears.
A day in the life of an activist
Have you ever wondered what a day in the life of an activist mom fighting for climate change might be like? Harriet from Climate Mama shares a day in her life. I have to admit, I was exhausted just from reading her post.
Hopefully you’ve had a chance to check out my new addiction (maybe yours too?), Pinterest. Come on over and find me!
Have a groovy and green weekend! Any big plans?
[Photos used under creative commons from D. Sharon Pruitt and Vincent van der Heijden/Flickr]
February 7th, 2012
Today’s the day. It’s time to join forces with Women’s Voices for the Earth, MomsRising and Healthy Child Healthy World, to demand that Procter & Gamble (makers of Tide) strip a harmful cancer-causing chemical out of Tide Free & Gentle®.
Like many moms, my commitment to a greener lifestyle was strengthened after having children. I’m careful about what we eat, and am selective about products we use to keep our home clean.
It probably goes without saying that in a house full of boys, we do a lot of laundry. I know that some cleaning products are marketed as safe and healthy, but in truth, what’s in the bottle can hurt you.
For example, it turns out that Tide Free & Gentle® isn’t so gentle. A report recently released by Women’s Voices for Earth, Dirty Secrets: What’s Hiding in Your Cleaning Products? found high levels of the cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane in the detergent. 1,4-dioxane doesn’t appear on the product label or on the product website, so consumers have no way of knowing it’s even there.
This is especially concerning, because Tide Free & Gentle® is marketed to moms as a healthier choice for their children’s laundry. Infants and children are more vulnerable to chemical exposures, because their immune, neurological, and hormone systems are still developing.
1,4-dioxane is a known cancer-causing chemical, and has been linked in animal studies to increased risk of breast cancer.
Procter & Gamble (makers of Tide®) already have experience stripping 1,4 dioxane out of its products; in 2010, the company reformulated its Herbal Essences® shampoo to eliminate 1,4-dioxane. Unfortunately, Dirty Secrets test results show that the company has not chosen to make the same effort for its laundry detergent.
The Tide website says: Safety: The Most Important Ingredient in Tide®. If that’s true, then 1,4-dioxane should never have been in the product in the first place.
Please Sign the Petition
With the help of Healthy Child Healthy World, MomsRising and Women’s Voices for the Earth I put together a petition asking Procter & Gamble (makers of Tide) to strip this harmful cancer-causing chemical out of Tide Free & Gentle®!
Please join me by signing the petition asking Procter & Gamble to take immediate action to remove 1,4-dioxane from Tide Free & Gentle® and any other Procter & Gamble products.
Together we can make change happen.
[Photo used under Creative Commons from Pixel Drip/Flickr
February 2nd, 2012
Susan G. Komen for the Cure are you listening yet?
As a green lifestyle blogger there are many issues that fall well within my purview. The topics I tend to cover are widespread and can run the gamut from toys and food to anything related to health. Women’s health is a topic near and dear to my heart for a number of reasons: I care about my own health, the health of the many women in my life and the health of women in general.
Bad decision
It’s been hard to miss the collective outrage over the past few days directed at Susan G. Komen for the Cure for cutting their funding to Planned Parenthood (they received 680,000 from Komen last year). Planned Parenthood used the funding to pay for breast-screening exams for poor people.
About 12 years ago I ran a race in honor of and alongside a very special friend. It was the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. We were all decked out in our pink ribbons listening to the inspirational stories and looking around in awe at the sea of pink. Susan G. Komen was the creator of those pink ribbons, which have taken breast cancer awareness to another level. I’ll have you know I kicked some butt in that race and my friend kicked breast cancer.
I can safely assume that most of us know at least one person afflicted by this disease. Many of those with breast cancer were fortunate to catch it early, thanks to a simple (albeit uncomfortable) mammogram. And now those women are part of a strong and amazing group of survivors. Cutting the Planned Parenthood funding is effectively stripping the option of early detection away from those who have no means.
Truth be told, I really don’t care what the head of Susan G. Komen believes. She has a right to believe that abortion is wrong. What I find appalling is that she is willing to take those beliefs and directly make others suffer and/or possibly die. Victims of cancer don’t really care about politics and cancer sure as heck doesn’t care what you believe.
Lisa Stone of BlogHer said it perfectly:
Just as women are about more than our breasts, so is health care for women about more than abortions. Especially the kind of primary health care that Planned Parenthood has been providing for years to women and children who otherwise couldn’t afford it.
Now the good news is many people, because of the Komen decision, have pulled Komen funding and are donating directly to Planned Parenthood. The hope is Planned Parenthood will ultimately recoup most, if not all of the funding lost.
Komen’s made bad decisions before
The Planned Parenthood funding cut comes after other not so brilliant moves by Komen. Komen’s attorneys have been known to send out letters to groups who were using the language “for a cure” in their fundraisers. Really? Don’t they have anything better to do with their time then to go after piddly little fundraisers? Komen also came under fire for animal testing and experiments, which many times led to the animal’s death.
And what was Komen thinking when it released “Promise Me” perfume to raise money for cancer research? The perfume was tested and it was found to contain several ingredients linked to cancer. Say what? Yep cancer causing perfume from an organization working “for a cure”.
If you are looking for ways to help here are a few:
What’s your two cents on the Komen decision?
[Pink ribbon photo used under Creative Commons from SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget/Flickr]
January 27th, 2012
There are so many exciting things happening in the green blogosphere. The news ranges from the new USDA nutrition standards for school lunches to a study showing drinking red wine in moderation could reduce your risk of breast cancer.
I’ve been jet setting around the web over the past few weeks and wanted to share a few of the places I’ve landed.
Climate Change
Climate change is a growing concern throughout the world. In an effort to take action and inspire others to join in, the mighty women of the Green Moms Carnival collectively joined voices to speak out and share what we’re doing to fight climate change. My post, Four Resolutions to Fight Climate Change, is included among the many other suggestions for fighting climate change.
Wintery Weather
Snow and ice has made an appearance in many parts of the world. Many conventional snow and ice removal products contain toxic chemicals. These nasty chemicals could end up tracked into our homes on the bottom of shoes and boots. They could also end up in our yards, on our sidewalks and in our waterways once the snow and ice begin to melt.
Thankfully, there are a few ways to keep your driveways and sidewalks clear of snow and ice without using toxic chemicals. Click HERE to read more.
Ready to Abandon Those Resolutions?
If you need that little extra push to help your resolutions stick, hop on over to the J.R. Watkins Clear Conscience Blog for a few tips to keep you motivated and on track for 2012 and beyond.
Reuse and Repurpose
The saying goes: “One person’s trash may be another person’s treasure.” We live in a use-and-toss society where most of the time we don’t give a second thought to using an item once and then tossing it. If we stopped before tossing we might realize that some of those items that seem ripe for the trash can be repurposed into something completely different for our own use. That trash could become our own treasure.
There are so many creative ways to reuse and repurpose everyday items we find in our homes. Head on over to Healthy Child Healthy World for this week’s round-up of posts on repurposing and reusing. I’m honored that my post, 3 Creative Ideas for Reusing and Repurposing, was selected as the Blog of the Week.
Have yourselves a very groovy green weekend! Any big plans?
[Photo used under Creative Commons from Luis Argerich/Flickr]
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