Are You Having A Party Soon??

Do you have any parties coming up at your home? Try something different this time. If your party is a manageable size don't use plastic or paper plates. Break out the real stuff. Use regular plates and cups in place of those plastic ones. If you are having a child's birthday party and you really want to go with a theme they will want you can carry that theme with the cake or some decorations.

Yes, it may take you some extra time to wash those dishes (FYI you use less water with a dishwasher than with hand washing dishes) but you will save some trash along the way. You will also save yourself a little cash.
Talk with you soon,
Karen

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http://www.SwitchYourHouse.com

Green Tax Savings

I have been doing some research while preparing my taxes and found some information I thought was worth passing along.
Here is a great article I found about tax savings on green upgrades to your home. Some of them are a little costly, but I know home improvement comes around sometimes whether we want it to or not and there are some interesting things to keep in mind.

Green Tax Savings: $500 Energy Tax Credits for Upgrade to Your Primary Residence

Certain eco-friendly upgrades to your home can qualify for federal tax credits through the end of this year. A credit is much more valuable to you than a standard tax deduction. A credit is a dollar for dollar reduction in your tax bill. A deduction’s value is based on your marginal tax bracket. For example, a $500 tax credit reduces your taxable income by $500. A $500 tax deduction for someone in the highest income tax bracket of 35% is only worth $175 ($500 x .35)
The maximum lifetime energy credit you can claim for upgrades to your primary residence is $500 total. Among the energy-efficient upgrades that qualify for the credit are:

New windows, storm windows, sky lights: credit on 10% of the cost up to $200 total for all windows.
New Exterior doors: credit on 10% of the cost up to $500.
Metal roofs: 10% of the cost up to $500.
Insulation. Credit on 10% of the cost up to $500.
Central air/heating: $300 credit.
New Furnace: $150.
Geo-Thermal Heat Pump: $300.
New Water Heater: $300

So keep these things in mind while doing home upgrades.

Have a great day,
Karen Pore
http://www.green4yourfamily.com/

Trying To Go Green? This One Is Easy

If you have been trying to figure out what you can and can't give up to go green I have found an easy one for you. Most of us use our computers, phones all these electronics to find phone numbers anymore. Not the old phone books we used to end up using. Most of mine ended up in the recycle bin. An even better way to go green is rather than not ever using them and recycling them just sign up to opt out of getting them in the 1st place!!

A lot of people have chosen as one of their going green resolutions this year is to reduce junk mail and that sort of thing, it's a great idea!! I get WAY too much of it, but some of those services do cost you money. But this one is free and saves from something else cluttering your house and some paper too.

Visit http://www.yellowpagesgoesgreen.org/stop-yellow-pages/ to sign up today to stop receiving the yellow pages and/or white pages.

Do You Have A New Years Resolution?

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope your year has gotten off to a great start. Maybe we should put some thought in to how to get your year started out right! If you are like anyone else I'm sure you have heard all about other people's New Year's resolutions or you have already committed to your own. A lot of us set those resolutions that we put so much time and thinking in to only to find at the end of the year we forgot about them by February. I have a different idea for you!

Why don't you try setting your resolution for something that will help yourself and your household. Make yourself a green resolution for the year. I don't think that going green should take up a lot of time and money. There are so many simple and easy ways to start to transform your lifestyle and your home at little cost. Most of them involve replacing things you already have.

I have some simple ideas for you if you are not knowledgeable about them yourself. I won't go in to a great amount of detail right now because this email would go on forever! I will break each thing down in other newsletters if there are some things you want to know the cold, hard facts on. So take an idea, take two and make them a part of those New Years Resolutions.

Changing your light bulbs from standard bulbs to compact CFL light bulbs. If you choose to go as far as to throughout the year switch over all the bulbs in your house as I did last year know up front it can get a little costly. But these bulbs are not only less harmful but also last much longer. The regular CFL bulb lasts about 7 years. Also check the package for the voltage converter so you will know what type of bulb you need. I even got a larger bulb for my garage and outside lights.

Stop using paper or plastic---- Get cloth reusable bags. If you are a busy mom like me it can actually be hard to change over. I would always get to the store and not have the bags and of course I needed a lot of them for a family grocery trip. If that does every happen to you a lot of stores like Wal-Mart have a plastic bag recycling drop box at the front of the store. Be sure you bring them back.

Here is a link to a great 6 pack of bags Click Here

They also have a removable base so that makes them a lot more durable for cans and heavy things. If you are a single guy or gal you can find all sorts of stylish bags now. Even lunch bags if you carry the plastic bag in.

I sometimes find it helpful too to get a little bag that folds up or has a container that fits in my purse for little things I might need a bag for, not a big trip to the store. Click Here to check those out.

Changing your water supply! Stop buying bottled water ASAP! You can read my previous post for a lot of detail on why that is so important.Bottled water vs tap water isn't even a ? in my mind anymore. But my answer to the water problems is using a water pitcher that is eco friendly Click Here to check out the pitcher. And I put that water into. I like Klean Kanteen Click Here because they offer stainless steel water bottles in many sizes and even with a sippy cup lid too for the little ones.

These are just a few choices for you and I could give you lots more, but I will wait. This gives you some things to mull over and they aren't going to break the bank but make a HUGE difference.
Hope you had a great holiday season.

Until next time,
Karen Pore

http://www.SwitchYourHouse.com

The Tap Water & Bottle Water Question

I have been doing some research on the issue of bottled water vs tap water. I had always heard tap water was safer but you never really know so I thought I would read up on the two and see what I could find.

The Tap Water ?

When I started looking I found a lot of information and studies. I looked further into the Environmental Working Group, they conducted a study of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They wanted to look closer at the reports that the EPA has issued in recent years. They found that water utilities are 90% complaint with EPA standards....that's the good news.

Here is the bad news. There were actually 260 individual chemicals or contaminants in the water in those EPA reports. The EPA only had enforceable standards for 114 of them. That is half of them!

Here are some of the things found in those reports and samples: pesticides, chemicals from fertilizer & manure, pollutants from urban run off from water treatment plants and factory waste. The scariest thing about all of that is since there are no regulations on any of those 116 chemicals or contaminants they can be in any amount!!

You are probably thinking right now I have been drinking tap water forever and nothing has happened to me. For most of us that is true. But we know tap water is responsible for acute and chronic effects. Many researchers believe that intestinal flu comes from contaminants in tap water.

Some of the problems comes in in the way the system is set up. The EPA is a federal government organization. It sets the standards that tap water to, it is the state's responsibility to implement those standards. The states are required to submit reports each year to the EPA.

The long term effects of tap water are startling though. Of those 116 contaminants, again not regulated and can be found at any unlimited amount this is what has been found:

41 of them lead to reproductive toxicities

36 development toxicities

16 immune system damage

I want to be clear on this though. I am NOT saying tap water is dangerous. I am saying it can be and unless you have your own personal lab to test your water it's very hard to get a straight answer. You can contact your water supplier though. They are required by law to provide customers a report once a year of their findings in your water supply. Municipalities and water companies to provide customers with the best possible water supply they are able to.

The problem mostly lies with the EPA who is in charge of enforcing the Safe Drinking Water Act. They have fallen behind in establishing standards for more than 1/2 the contaminants it's own data shows!

Now I know what I have said about tap water can be a little scary, but PLEASE don't turn to bottled water. Lets see what we found on bottled water......

Bottled water is a huge environmental risk and a health problem. There is actually no evidence that shows bottled water is any better than tap water. There are actually fewer regulations on bottled water than tap water and it's been found that 1/4 of bottled water is actually tap water.

The Bottled Water

In 1999 the National Resources Defense Council released the results of their 4 year study analyzing bottled water. They tested 1,000 bottles of 103 major brands of bottled water. 1/3 of of them contained organic chemicals, bacteria and arsenic that exceeded the allowable limits under state and bottled water industry standards or guidelines. The FDA is in charge of assuring the safety of bottled water but it's not responsible for to water bought and sold in the same state. Also bottled water is tested far less frequently than tap water.

And the cost...well that's a big one I never thought of. The average bottle of water sells for $1.50 a liter depending on what snazy the bottle looks. That is more than a gallon of gas. And speaking of gas there's the cost of producing, bottling and shipping all the bottled water. 1/4 of bottled water is transported nationally. This means it is transported by boat, train and truck. That is a lot of gasoline! Even more most water bottles are made out of polyethylene terephthalate (that is a long one!!!), that is plastic made from crude oil. Did you know our demand for bottled water actually costs us 17 million barrels of oil a year that's enough oil to power over 1,000 cars in a year. .

The Container Recycling Institute also reports that only 20% of plastic water bottles are actually recycled. Most bottles are throw away and it can take up to 1,000 years to breakdown.

So now we have learned all this information about water. We have learned that tap water is probably the better for you health and the environment , not to mention the cheaper avenue. But we have also learned that a lot of the contaminants found in tap water are not regulated by the EPA. What do you do now??

A good avenue is filtering your water. There are many ways to go about doing that but you want to make sure those filters actually work and create a healthier drinking water. There are a couple of different ways to use a water filter. There are filters that are used at the point of entry (where the water enters your house) and others that are used at the point of usage (the tap). Of course filters at the point of entry would be great but a lot of those are very expensive and also it's not always a possibility if you live in an apartment of duplex.

Most people choose filtering your water at the point of usage. I use The Get Clean Pitcher click here.

Here Is Why.

• Filters 80 Gallons Of Water – double all the leading brands
  
• Only pitcher with a refillable carbon block filter (reducing waste in landfills)
• Only pitcher with an automatic meter so you know just how many gallons you have filtered.
  
• Only pitcher made with sustainable coconut shell using zero emissions process.
  

So we have found a solution to make sure we are all drinking healthy and saving ourselves some money by not buying bottled water anymore, but it's very important that you maintain your water filter system whatever it may be. The reason I prefer the Shaklee brand is because everything is made to be biodegradable ----not over 7 years either-- and made from recycled materials whenever possible.

So go out and get yourself a nice fresh drink of water.........

What's Under Your Sink?

WHAT'S UNDER YOUR SINK?

By Dr. Joyce Woods.

Joyce worked as a medical/surgical nurse, public health nurse, nurse educator, nursing school administrator, occupational health consultant. She holds a Bachelors of Nursing, Bachelors of Arts (Specialist), Masters of Education degrees, and has completed her doctoral degree in the area of Indoor Air Pollution, and it's effect on your health.

Begin by thinking of your home as a toxic waste dump. The average home today contains 62 toxic chemicals - more than a chemistry lab at the turn of the century. More than 72,000 synthetic chemicals have been produced since WW II. Less than 2% of synthetic chemicals have been tested for toxicity, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects, or birth defects.

The majority of modern chemicals have never been tested for long-term effects!

An EPA survey concluded that indoor air was 2 to 5 times MORE polluted than outdoor air. The EPA states that common sources include: household products including: paints, paint strippers, and other solvents; wood preservatives; aerosol sprays; cleansers and disinfectants; moth repellents and air fresheners; stored fuels and automotive products; hobby supplies; and dry-cleaned clothing.

Another EPA study found that toxic chemicals in household cleaners are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air. Every man, woman and child breathes in 10 to 20 thousand liters of air per day, 90% of which is indoor air.

"There are many sources of indoor air pollution in any home. These include combustion sources such as oil, gas, kerosene, coal, wood, and tobacco products; building materials and furnishings as diverse as deteriorated, asbestos-containing insulation, wet or damp carpet, and cabinetry or furniture made of certain pressed wood products; products for household cleaning and maintenance, personal care, or hobbies; central heating and cooling systems and humidification devices; and outdoor sources such as radon, pesticides, and outdoor air pollution.

The relative importance of any single source depends on how much of a given pollutant it emits and how hazardous those emissions are. In some cases, factors such as how old the source is and whether it is properly maintained are significant.

For example, an improperly adjusted gas stove can emit significantly more carbon monoxide than one that is properly adjusted. Some sources, such as building materials, furnishings, and household products like air fresheners, release pollutants more or less continuously. Other sources, related to activities carried out in the home, release pollutants intermittently. These include smoking, the use of unvented or malfunctioning stoves, furnaces, or space heaters, the use of solvents in cleaning and hobby activities, the use of paint strippers in redecorating activities, and the use of cleaning products and pesticides in housekeeping. High pollutant concentrations can remain in the air for long periods after some of these activities.

"The National Cancer Institute released results of a 15-year study concluding that women who work in the home are at a 54% higher risk of developing cancer than women who work outside the home. Cancer rates have almost doubled since 1960. Cancer is the number ONE cause of death for children.

There has been a 26% increase in breast cancer since 1982. Breast cancer is the Number ONE killer of women between the ages of 35 and 54. Primary suspects are laundry detergents, household cleaners and pesticides.

There has been a call from the U.S./ Canadian Commission on chemicals to ban bleach in North America. Bleach is being linked to the rising rates of breast cancer in women, reproductive problems in men and learning and behavioral problems in children. Chemicals get into our body through inhalation, ingestion and absorption. We breathe 10 to 20 thousand liters of air per day. There are more than 3 million poisonings every year. Household cleaners are the number ONE cause of poisoning of children.

Since 1980, asthma has increased by 600%. The Canadian Lung Association and the Asthma Society of Canada identify common household cleaners and cosmetics as triggers. ADD/ADHD are epidemic in schools today. Behavioral problems have long been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals and molds.

Chemical and environmental sensitivities are known to cause all types of headaches.

Labeling laws do not protect the consumer - they protect big business. The New York Poison Control Center reports that 85% of product warning labels were either inadequate or incorrect for identifying a poison, and for first aid instructions. Formaldehyde, phenol, benzene, toluene, xylene are found in common household cleaners, cosmetics, beverages, fabrics and cigarette smoke. These chemicals are cancer causing and toxic to the immune system.

Chemicals are attracted to, and stored in fatty tissue. The brain is a prime target for these destructive organics because of its high fat content and very rich blood supply.

Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, circulatory disorders, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and hormonal problems are diseases commonly related to chemical exposure.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has found more than 2500 chemicals in cosmetics that are toxic, cause tumors, reproductive complications, biological mutations and skin and eye irritations.

Pesticides only have to include active ingredients on the labels, even though the inert (inactive) ingredients may account for 99%, many of which are toxic and poisons.

The CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) reports that houses today are so energy efficient that "out-gassing" of chemicals has no where to go, so it builds up inside the home. We spend 90% of our time indoors, and 65% of that time at home. Moms, infants and the elderly spend 90% of their time in the home. Our homes should have a complete change of air 3 or 4 times a day. We should leave our windows open on each side of our house for better cross ventilation. New homes are built so airtight that it is impossible to get a complete change of air.

In Alberta last year accidental poisoning statistics were as follows: Between the ages of: * 0 - 4 years - 11, 515 poisonings
* 5 - 10 years - 1,524
* 11 - 19 years 1,019
* 20 and over 7,799

The top three culprits according to Poison Control: household cleaners, bleach, and medications. In the USA the #1 cause of accidental poisoning is Dawn Dishwashing Detergent (c). WHY? Because it is the #1 seller. Tide contains Lye and is the #1 polluter. It is also the #1 seller.

Inert (or inactive) ingredients in products are protected by trade secrets and very dangerous. In the work place Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) must accompany any product used. The work place and the outdoors are considered "legal environments" while the air in homes is not. So regulations for outdoor air pollution and toxins in the workplace are much more strict than in the home.

The ideal humidity rate is 35-45%. Higher rates cause mold. Use of humidifiers and dehumidifiers with standing water encourages mold growth in the water. The ideal temperature for homes is 68-72 degrees. Higher temperatures make chemicals more active. When we shower, the hot water aerates the chlorine and can cause headaches, as can the use of aerosols. Steam from our dryer vents is extremely toxic from the chemicals in fabric softener sheets and residues from detergents and bleach.

Chemicals used to dry clean clothing are very dangerous and can cause cancer. When you bring dry cleaning home you should hang it outside for at least 3 days. The same chemicals are in mothballs.

Deep Woods and Off have an ingredient called DEET. DEET causes seizures in children and adults. There are 4700 chemicals in tobacco smoke.

Formaldehyde is one of the largest indoor pollutants in our homes. Products containing Formaldehyde include: * Antiperspirants * Mouthwash * Toothpaste * Tupperware * Permanent Press clothing * Floor waxes and furniture polishes * Baggies * Coffee * Wax Paper * Paper Money

Symptoms caused by formaldehyde are: * Allergies, cancer, immune system failings, and asthma

Phenols are a major indoor pollutant. Phenols are absorbed by lungs, and skin. Symptoms include caustic burns, kidney and liver damage and hyperactivity. Products containing Phenols include:
* Acne medications * Baking Powder * PC's * TV sets * Mouthwash * Sugar subs * Wallpaper

Do you think the major products are safe? WRONG! Lysol (c) is even more dangerous than we thought. It contains phenols and dioxin (Agent Orange). Bleach must be safe because people have been using it for years, right? WRONG! When using bleach, antiseptics or chlorine in industrial areas you are required by OSHA to wear impervious protective clothing, hard hats, boots, gloves, apron or coveralls, chemical goggles or full face shield and use only in well ventilated areas.

When using Easy Off (c) make sure all your skin is covered, wear protective clothing, do not breath in and don't get on your enamel, (if this product will hurt the enamel on your stove, can you imagine what it will do to us?).

NTAs were banned in 1970. Lobbying by Proctor & Gamble in 1980 put them back into home products although they are extremely cancer causing. What are they for? ONLY to make more suds in detergents to make you think your clothes are getting cleaner.

Our immune system is very powerful, like a janitorial system. Giving our bodies good nutrition means our body can repair itself and be able to handle what we face in the world. Household chemicals cause all kinds of symptoms - from cardiovascular problems, panic attacks, and anxiety attacks to bedwetting.

Eliminating the cause of the environmental illness is more effective and much less expensive than treating the symptoms. Prevention - 80% - 90% effective. Treatments - 50% - 60% effective. What seems to make the most sense? How can you find help?

Forward this to someone you care about.

We are fortunate with Shaklee. We can introduce loved ones to Shaklee knowing that it is a shopping system that everyone can benefit from using. We have a network of satisfied customers with the ability to turn this healthy lifestyle into a vibrant business if they chose to do so.

Shaklee: Non-toxic and highly efficient products that get the job done without poisoning our children and our children's children! The Shaklee difference is science. What a difference!

If you would like more information about safe, non-toxic cleaning products visit:

http://www.SimplyGreenClean.com

Karen Pore

Tomorrow Night

Just an FYI I wanted to pass along tomorrow night CNN will be another edition of their Planet In Peril series tomorrow night. Click Here for more information.