• Created on 2/28/10 by teej

House plants not only brighten your home but also improve your indoor air quality. This is a natural air quality improvement you can make vs. having to purchase a bulky plastic humidifier or air purifier. Plants can actually remove some home toxins, for example, in studies, specific plants have been found to do very well at removing formaldehyde. Formaldehyde is a substance that the EPA calls a possible carcinogen and it's found in things like carpet, plastics, synthetic fabrics, and more. You can naturally reduce the amount of formaldehyde found in your home along... read more

• Created on 2/26/10 by Brandy Martin

Plenty of things can contribute to air pollution in your home. A good goal is to have pure, clean air inside your home, for both planet health and the health of your family. Allergies, asthma, and even cold-like illnesses can all be affected by poor indoor air quality.   Use an Apple computer. Apple computers are free of PBDE which makes them a bit greener than PCs. Use a cloth not vinyl shower liner. Vinyl shower liners are very hard to keep clean and worse release icky chemicals into your home air and in some people these chemicals can even cause allergic... read more

• Created on 6/17/08 by stins

Your outfit says “Dry Clean Only”?    Sometimes you can handwash these items- cool water, very gently (hand powered) agitation, and line drying is safe for many garments that masquerade as "dry clean only."  But for your most treasured (or expensive) items, there are more environmentally friendly options.    The most common method of dry cleaning uses the toxic solvent and probable carcinogen perchloroethylene, commonly referred to as “perc.”  The state of California has enacted a ban on perc, starting in 2023.  The first step, banning dry cleaners from buying machines... read more

• Created on 6/17/08 by Russ

Why should you be concerned about air pollution? Studies have shown that exposure to air pollution, particularly particulate matter, is harmful to your health. Exposure to air pollution has been linked to increases in hospital admissions and mortality related to respiratory illness and diseases. A World Health Organisation (WHO) study suggested that particular matter air pollution reduced the life expectancy of Europeans by 8.6 months, and that reducing this air pollution would save up to $161 billion euros. Indoor Air Pollution Air pollution is usually measured outdoors... read more

• Created on 5/30/08 by stins

  "If you care about global warming ... then you've got to care about what's happening in Indonesia right now."   What’s happening in Indonesia?  The rapid deforestation, draining of peatland, and burning off to accommodate palm plantations.  And why is palm oil such a big deal?   Palm oil is a common ingredient in foods, cosmetics, and increasingly biofuels.  The demand has been increasing quickly, partially due to the rush to replace transfat rich partially hydrogenated oils with industry favorite palm oil.  Palm oil is now in about 10% of supermarket products, and... read more

• Created on 4/9/08 by alanwells

AFM SafeChoice 3 in 1 Adhesive Safecoat 3 in 1 Adhesive is a low odor, not toxic, water-based adhesive designed for hard composition wall and floor tiles and carpeting. AFM Safecoat Caulking Compound Safecoat Caulking Compound is a not-toxic, water-based, elastic emulsion type caulking compound designed to replace oil caulk and putty for windows, cracks and general maintenance work. It will not dry out or crack and does not release any solvents or obnoxious odors. Safecoat Caulking Compound provides a water resistant, flexible, easy to install, non sag sealant with... read more

• Created on 4/9/08 by stins

Basic tenents of sustainable design, as outlined in Sustainable Exhibit Design: Guidelines for designers for small scale interactive and traveling exhibits "In the simplest terms sustainable design should adhere to two main principles: 1. Minimising resource consumption 2. Reducing pollution.   Minimising resource consumption "Resources or raw materials can be classified as ‘renewable’ and ‘non- renewable’. Increasing the use of renewable resources over non- renewable ones is imperative. But even more important is the reduction in consumption as a whole.... read more

• Created on 3/26/08 by erinely

Glass vs. Plastic [Source: ElyOrganics.com Perception & Reality by Narelle Chenery]   My journey of discovery   Like most of us, I have always assumed that glass was the better environmental choice for our product packaging. I assumed glass required less energy to manufacture and was less polluting than plastic, and that all plastics were toxic and leaching. We had challenges with both our glass and plastic packaging; I really needed to find a solution.   The pitfalls associated with our current glass packaging:   Glass is very heavy and therefore... read more