Monday, June 2, 2008
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Cosmetics and life on the green track
Scary thoughts run through my mind at I think of just how much 'stuff' comes in contact with my skin - the biggest organ in our bodies. Have you looked lately at the contents of what's in your body wash, your lotion? petroleum. hummm makes you wonder if we eliminated using it in our stuff to clean our bodies maybe it wouldn't be costing us $4.00...then again maybe not. So want to know what else might be harmful for your skin and health? I found a web site that can help you decide if you want to continue using what you have been. http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
Have a happy Memorial Day Weekend. I've resigned to staying home. Reason: Gas prices. I can't even go to the movies.
Have a happy Memorial Day Weekend. I've resigned to staying home. Reason: Gas prices. I can't even go to the movies.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Freecycle and Chicago Green Fest...
Tonight I am rather excited. I just finished working my first four days at my summer internship! I am this company's Green Initiative Intern. I have been knee deep in research and looking for information on corporate citizenship and merging the social movement of going green. Today as I was cruising the internet I found a really great site: Freecycle.org Their mission "Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community." It's a really great concept! If you end up using one of the local chapters in your area let me know how it goes!
If anyone knows of some bartering online networks that would be good to know about. Let me know!
You can buy local things on Craigslist. Fort Wayne was recently added.
If you live in the Chicago area this weekend is the Chicago Green Fest!! woohooo! See you there!
If anyone knows of some bartering online networks that would be good to know about. Let me know!
You can buy local things on Craigslist. Fort Wayne was recently added.
If you live in the Chicago area this weekend is the Chicago Green Fest!! woohooo! See you there!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
"In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan
I was catching up reading on Accidental Hedonist and ran across the following youtube segment from Authors@google.com.
Michael Pollan visits Google's Mountain View, CA, headquarters to discuss his book, "In Defense of Food." This talk took place on March 4, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series.
One thing I will say that I do not entire agree with him is his view on fats. I think it is one of the contributing factors to the epidemics; however I do think it is an additional factor. Remember I am on a kick on HFCS and the link of it's inception and introduction to our diets in the late 1960s, early 1970s.
First question is related to something that I have been keenly aware of, that is, right now the rich can only afford the fresh produce, the "real" food. This is the same true with alternative energy products. I am trying to switch over as I can, but it COSTS a lot of money. "Change the rules of the food game." Including the subsides to the big grain farmers. Also, grass feed animals the way to go!
It's an hour long lecture. Enjoy.
Michael Pollan visits Google's Mountain View, CA, headquarters to discuss his book, "In Defense of Food." This talk took place on March 4, 2008, as part of the Authors@Google series.
One thing I will say that I do not entire agree with him is his view on fats. I think it is one of the contributing factors to the epidemics; however I do think it is an additional factor. Remember I am on a kick on HFCS and the link of it's inception and introduction to our diets in the late 1960s, early 1970s.
First question is related to something that I have been keenly aware of, that is, right now the rich can only afford the fresh produce, the "real" food. This is the same true with alternative energy products. I am trying to switch over as I can, but it COSTS a lot of money. "Change the rules of the food game." Including the subsides to the big grain farmers. Also, grass feed animals the way to go!
It's an hour long lecture. Enjoy.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Environmental Friendly Storage Jars
Bormioli Rocco Fido Canning Jars
I was looking for a rubber seal to replace one on a really nice jar that I have in my bathroom. It dawned on me as I did a search on google, that this jar is one that I could use to carry food and such back and forth to work and school. I felt like a dope only because I've been searching for something and figuring out when I could afford to buy it...and I had it right here...in my bathroom. I've been using it to hold cotton balls for the past two years. I believe we received it filled with some sort of yummy strawberry preserves. So across my searching I ran across one web site (greenboatstuff.com) that lead to another (www.naturalorganicguide.com).
I found the best deal on these jars www.wholesaleglassbottles.com. I have to admit, I have never ordered a thing from them and when I do I will let you all know. The jar size listed here is the one that I have in my bathroom: 1/2 L. This site you buy in bulk and save, there are 12 in one case for a decent price.
Bottom line, start looking around your house and see what you can reuse. You can also check out the upcoming garage sales this spring and summer. I really like the square mason jars that my favorite salsa comes in, I use the smaller one to hold my Q-tips in my bathroom. That bathroom keeps giving me great ideas...maybe I should start using the plastic containers in my bathroom to hold my cotton balls and q-tips, instead of my food. hummmmm.
I was looking for a rubber seal to replace one on a really nice jar that I have in my bathroom. It dawned on me as I did a search on google, that this jar is one that I could use to carry food and such back and forth to work and school. I felt like a dope only because I've been searching for something and figuring out when I could afford to buy it...and I had it right here...in my bathroom. I've been using it to hold cotton balls for the past two years. I believe we received it filled with some sort of yummy strawberry preserves. So across my searching I ran across one web site (greenboatstuff.com) that lead to another (www.naturalorganicguide.com).
I found the best deal on these jars www.wholesaleglassbottles.com. I have to admit, I have never ordered a thing from them and when I do I will let you all know. The jar size listed here is the one that I have in my bathroom: 1/2 L. This site you buy in bulk and save, there are 12 in one case for a decent price.
Bottom line, start looking around your house and see what you can reuse. You can also check out the upcoming garage sales this spring and summer. I really like the square mason jars that my favorite salsa comes in, I use the smaller one to hold my Q-tips in my bathroom. That bathroom keeps giving me great ideas...maybe I should start using the plastic containers in my bathroom to hold my cotton balls and q-tips, instead of my food. hummmmm.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Green Economy
How are we (the American Society) going to move forward and live into the future? Will we have a legacy beyond trash? Beyond the short-sightedness of a consumer life-style? Is there a way to combine the all-mighty consumer behavior with a sustainable future?
The buzz words this week in the media have been green collar jobs. Both Demorcatric hopefuls have used the words, yet give over optimistic statistics on creating jobs in this 'new' job replacement for those displaced blue collar workers. The key thing that these two hopefuls are doing is feeding into the hope they have a source for jobs that not only will be good for economy, but good for the planet. While I'd like to believe them, the proof will be once time has marched on.
I have a dream that all sustainable technology will be affordable and easily accessible to all people. A bit a kin to Ford's dream that a car should be priced for every American to afford. Right now those things that are good for the planet, good for people such as organic food and solar panels are so out of reach for the poor. I sit and wonder, is this once again going to be a class struggle of those that have and those that have not. Right now I am amongst the have nots. I have a strong desire to expend less petroleum, but must drive long distances to gain my education. I desire to eat healthier foods, but a frozen dinner, which is overly processed wasting energy and loosing the nutritional value in which they must enrich it with nutritions costs less than a dollar where as to buy an organic meal costs much more. Not to mention that same meal has produced waste that now must be either recycled or left to the future generations to deal with.
Depressing. I know.
Still wondering about these green collar jobs? Me too.
MSNBC reports that "by 2030, nearly a half-million new jobs could be created in green industries." I don't know about you, but I need a job now, not in 2030. By 2030 I hope to be approaching retirement.
So I did a Google search for "green collar jobs" and got a rather large hit for possibilities. Here are some of the results that looked more promising:
Sustainable Energy Jobs
GreenBiz.com has a job link
Alternative Energy News has and article from October 17, 2007 on jobs. It is interesting to note that this article points out that Senator Clinton and Senator Sanders want to combine jobs and energy bills together, yet no federal grants for green collar initiatives have made it off the congressional floor.
Amongst this search I was very excited to land on a page with an academic understanding. "Green Collar Jobs" by Switching To Green-Collar Jobs" by Douglas MacMillan. This article gives some information on who are the types of people opting for a mid-life career switch.
You think only white middle class are getting into the Green-living activism or jumping on the green movement ban wagon? Think again some of the most brilliant grass roots movements for green living were born in the inner-city. And some just were born. An October 17, 2007 New York Times Op-Ed Column article by Thomas L. Friedman, introduces us to Van Jones. "Van Jones is a black social activist in Oakland, Calif., and as green an environmentalist as they come." The Green-Collar Solution is about one man and his innovations for creating solutions for more than just the environment but for the next generation to become empowered citizens.
Still need more information about what green living and equal rights have in common? Check out Green For All.
Want to know about what Universities are doing? Here's one place to start:
The UCSC Green Enterprise Initiative
Green collar jobs, I will suspect we will continue to hear as the new platform the candidates will speak hope of. I maintain that these jobs will be local, small businesses. That these jobs will be created with or without the help of the federal government, because our society has awakened to the facts that our only way of life is on planet earth. If we continue to consume and throw away and use only corn for our additives we will perish, not only as society but as a planet. We can not be like the pests that feast on a field and move on. There is no where else to move.
The buzz words this week in the media have been green collar jobs. Both Demorcatric hopefuls have used the words, yet give over optimistic statistics on creating jobs in this 'new' job replacement for those displaced blue collar workers. The key thing that these two hopefuls are doing is feeding into the hope they have a source for jobs that not only will be good for economy, but good for the planet. While I'd like to believe them, the proof will be once time has marched on.
I have a dream that all sustainable technology will be affordable and easily accessible to all people. A bit a kin to Ford's dream that a car should be priced for every American to afford. Right now those things that are good for the planet, good for people such as organic food and solar panels are so out of reach for the poor. I sit and wonder, is this once again going to be a class struggle of those that have and those that have not. Right now I am amongst the have nots. I have a strong desire to expend less petroleum, but must drive long distances to gain my education. I desire to eat healthier foods, but a frozen dinner, which is overly processed wasting energy and loosing the nutritional value in which they must enrich it with nutritions costs less than a dollar where as to buy an organic meal costs much more. Not to mention that same meal has produced waste that now must be either recycled or left to the future generations to deal with.
Depressing. I know.
Still wondering about these green collar jobs? Me too.
MSNBC reports that "by 2030, nearly a half-million new jobs could be created in green industries." I don't know about you, but I need a job now, not in 2030. By 2030 I hope to be approaching retirement.
So I did a Google search for "green collar jobs" and got a rather large hit for possibilities. Here are some of the results that looked more promising:
Sustainable Energy Jobs
GreenBiz.com has a job link
Alternative Energy News has and article from October 17, 2007 on jobs. It is interesting to note that this article points out that Senator Clinton and Senator Sanders want to combine jobs and energy bills together, yet no federal grants for green collar initiatives have made it off the congressional floor.
Amongst this search I was very excited to land on a page with an academic understanding. "Green Collar Jobs" by Switching To Green-Collar Jobs" by Douglas MacMillan. This article gives some information on who are the types of people opting for a mid-life career switch.
You think only white middle class are getting into the Green-living activism or jumping on the green movement ban wagon? Think again some of the most brilliant grass roots movements for green living were born in the inner-city. And some just were born. An October 17, 2007 New York Times Op-Ed Column article by Thomas L. Friedman, introduces us to Van Jones. "Van Jones is a black social activist in Oakland, Calif., and as green an environmentalist as they come." The Green-Collar Solution is about one man and his innovations for creating solutions for more than just the environment but for the next generation to become empowered citizens.
Still need more information about what green living and equal rights have in common? Check out Green For All.
Want to know about what Universities are doing? Here's one place to start:
The UCSC Green Enterprise Initiative
Green collar jobs, I will suspect we will continue to hear as the new platform the candidates will speak hope of. I maintain that these jobs will be local, small businesses. That these jobs will be created with or without the help of the federal government, because our society has awakened to the facts that our only way of life is on planet earth. If we continue to consume and throw away and use only corn for our additives we will perish, not only as society but as a planet. We can not be like the pests that feast on a field and move on. There is no where else to move.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
PGRP: Polyglycerol Polyrcinoleate (food emulsifier)
I was so happy the other day when I was looking over my stash of chocolate. I was reading the labels to see if HFCS was on any of them, yes on most of them, but to my amazement I had a Dove "Fairy Bunny" that did not have HFCS listed. Woohooo! I delightfully munched away on the ears of the bunny, put it back in the box and returned it back in it's hiding place. Today as I pulled the box back out to satisfy my need for chocolate I noticed that ingredient again, PGRP. I went ahead and snarfed the rest of the bunny and just as I finished it I got online to do some research about what that last ingredient on the package. PGRP.
Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate (PGPR) Popping Up In Sugar-Free, Low-Carb Chocolate by Jimmie Moore was an eye opening read about what PGPR only he didn't know when he wrote that it is showing up in their other products, not just the sugar-free products. It seems that companies are trying to cut costs by using things like HFCS and now PGPR as a replacement for some cocoa butter in their products.
UPDATE: May 4, 2008
I am studying for finals this week. I stopped by a Wallgreen's to get some junk food (bad idea on my part) to take for my classmates and myself to eat this afternoon while studying. One of the things I purchased on impulse was a Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds big bar. Just for kicks I read the ingredients:
Milk Chocolate (Sugar; milk; chocolate; cocoa butter; lactose; milk fat; soy lecithin; PGPR, emulsifier; vanillin, artificial flavor); almonds (roasted in cocoa butter and/or sunflower oil).
As you will note - there is PGRP again!
Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate (PGPR) Popping Up In Sugar-Free, Low-Carb Chocolate by Jimmie Moore was an eye opening read about what PGPR only he didn't know when he wrote that it is showing up in their other products, not just the sugar-free products. It seems that companies are trying to cut costs by using things like HFCS and now PGPR as a replacement for some cocoa butter in their products.
UPDATE: May 4, 2008
I am studying for finals this week. I stopped by a Wallgreen's to get some junk food (bad idea on my part) to take for my classmates and myself to eat this afternoon while studying. One of the things I purchased on impulse was a Hershey's Milk Chocolate with Almonds big bar. Just for kicks I read the ingredients:
Milk Chocolate (Sugar; milk; chocolate; cocoa butter; lactose; milk fat; soy lecithin; PGPR, emulsifier; vanillin, artificial flavor); almonds (roasted in cocoa butter and/or sunflower oil).
As you will note - there is PGRP again!
High-Frutose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
A few good places to start to learn more about HFCS:
The Murky World of High-Fructose Corn Syrup by Linda Joyce Forristal, CCP, MTA
http://highfructosehigh.com/
Looking for foods that DO NOT HAVE HFCS?
http://highfructosehigh.com/no-hfcs/
Looking for foods to avoid?
The Accidental Hedonist's article "Foods and Products Containing High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)" published 06/09/05 .
What to know what fast foods to avoid?
http://www.foodfacts.info/high-fructose-corn-syrup.shtml
Be ware during your web search for information...watch who the web site is published by, sometimes they are special interest groups, lobbyist, or corn producer organizations. One such site is created by Corn Refiners Association the site is all about HFCS Facts. But as you might guess it is only their way of making the public feel safe about their thoughts on HFCS.
UPDATE: May 11, 2008
I found another blog that discusses HFCS, thought you might be interested.
And American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 79, No. 4, 537-543, April 2004 article entitled "Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity."
UPDATE: May 14, 2008
Doing research at work I ran across this article that gives an account of trying to cut corn out of the author's diet for three days. She refers to the movie King Corn as well. I've heard good things about it but have not watch it yet.
The Murky World of High-Fructose Corn Syrup by Linda Joyce Forristal, CCP, MTA
http://highfructosehigh.com/
Looking for foods that DO NOT HAVE HFCS?
http://highfructosehigh.com/no-hfcs/
Looking for foods to avoid?
The Accidental Hedonist's article "Foods and Products Containing High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)" published 06/09/05 .
What to know what fast foods to avoid?
http://www.foodfacts.info/high-fructose-corn-syrup.shtml
Be ware during your web search for information...watch who the web site is published by, sometimes they are special interest groups, lobbyist, or corn producer organizations. One such site is created by Corn Refiners Association the site is all about HFCS Facts. But as you might guess it is only their way of making the public feel safe about their thoughts on HFCS.
UPDATE: May 11, 2008
I found another blog that discusses HFCS, thought you might be interested.
And American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 79, No. 4, 537-543, April 2004 article entitled "Consumption of high-fructose corn syrup in beverages may play a role in the epidemic of obesity."
UPDATE: May 14, 2008
Doing research at work I ran across this article that gives an account of trying to cut corn out of the author's diet for three days. She refers to the movie King Corn as well. I've heard good things about it but have not watch it yet.
Green Health
This is a personal journey to take back green living. I need a place to store all the links I have been finding. I needed a place to share what I am learning. Maybe it will help someone else too.
I have always had in interest in finding alternative ways to fuel cars and to burn a light bulb. I am a product of the 1970's. As a child I remember the oil crisis. I remember my father yelling at us to turn the lights off in the room if we weren't in it. I would doodle Jetsons type vehicles and would dream of ways that they could run on water. My reasoning was that water seemed abundant between the Great Lakes and the oceans. Why not? I would dream of putting solar panels on every home, apartment building, factory, and school building.
I have done a great deal of internet research on houses that use the natural energy (sun) to heat based on how they are constructed. I have been learning about Building the Green Economy and how to look for local solutions to world problems. I have been learning about whole and organic foods.
I have opted for trying to eliminate certain foods from my diet to begin my journey. I am eliminating any foods or beverages with artificial sweeteners, such as sucralose (aka Splenda®), aspartame (aka NutraSweet® or Equal®). I have also done a great deal of reading lately that makes me question the wide-spread use of high fructose corn syrup in the U.S. This elimination process is a great deal more difficult I find because it's in everything from bread to milk (in some cases)!
Most cases I will be listing links to other pages that have the information you can find. I do not want to reinvent the wheel. I just wanted to have a place where I can refer back and find all the glorious references I find and maybe share my journey along the way.
I have always had in interest in finding alternative ways to fuel cars and to burn a light bulb. I am a product of the 1970's. As a child I remember the oil crisis. I remember my father yelling at us to turn the lights off in the room if we weren't in it. I would doodle Jetsons type vehicles and would dream of ways that they could run on water. My reasoning was that water seemed abundant between the Great Lakes and the oceans. Why not? I would dream of putting solar panels on every home, apartment building, factory, and school building.
I have done a great deal of internet research on houses that use the natural energy (sun) to heat based on how they are constructed. I have been learning about Building the Green Economy and how to look for local solutions to world problems. I have been learning about whole and organic foods.
I have opted for trying to eliminate certain foods from my diet to begin my journey. I am eliminating any foods or beverages with artificial sweeteners, such as sucralose (aka Splenda®), aspartame (aka NutraSweet® or Equal®). I have also done a great deal of reading lately that makes me question the wide-spread use of high fructose corn syrup in the U.S. This elimination process is a great deal more difficult I find because it's in everything from bread to milk (in some cases)!
Most cases I will be listing links to other pages that have the information you can find. I do not want to reinvent the wheel. I just wanted to have a place where I can refer back and find all the glorious references I find and maybe share my journey along the way.
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