Health Hazards

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Double the Life of Post-It Notes — Save $100 Million and Reduce the Landfills

June 2, 2009 in Biking, Free Stuff, Go Green, Green Products, Health Hazards, Save Resources, Saving Money, Uncategorized by susan | 2 comments

By Susan Seliger

I have come up with a discovery so beautiful in its simplicity that I feel like 3M’s Art Fry and colleague Spencer Silver must have felt upon inventing the Post-It Note decades ago. And like those fine gentlemen, I am giving this discovery away free.

The technique for doubling the life of Post-It notes is so simple and elegant that I don’t know why I have not read about it before. As you’ll see when I reveal the technique below, (which I am affectionately calling, “Be Nice, Use It Twice”) you’ll wish you had started years ago.

Can you imagine the savings??? There are 6,005,000,000 post it notes sold every year – 6 billion – according to Wiki Answers. (If six 100-packs cost about $10, that’s $100 million right there.)

Though 3M’s sales are down 20% from last year, the company is still reporting first-quarter sales of $5.1 billion, — over $20 billion per year – and a good chunk of that is from those cute little sticky notes, according to  Industrial Distribution, a Reed Business publication.

Everybody loves to use those cute notes with the low-tack adhesive on the back. They’re not just stuck all over your office and mine. The FBI uses so many of them that they’ve coined a term for them: FLYNs.

“That stands for ‘funny little yellow notes.’ Except I’m cleaning it up when I say ‘funny,’” according to Fry, one of the inventors of the notes as quoted in an entertaining article by Greg Beato, called Twenty-Five Years of Post-it Notes.

The U.S. Post Office uses a higher-adhesive version of the yellow address labels to forward mail.

Who doesn’t use them?

So get ready to save big: Double your usage, double your fun. Here’s how.

Be Nice, Use It Twice Technique

1. After you have filled out the top of the post-it note – and you have already done the chore: BUY MILK, DEODERANT, DOG FOOD – Fold the note up and over at the point where the adhesive bar at the top ends. Make a sharp crease.

2. You will see before you a whole new post-it note. Write a second message, then lift the note back up a little and it will stand up like a little message-soldier.

The area to write on is slightly smaller. But the second-time around the note is even more helpful at reminding you what to do because it STANDS UP instead of lying flat on your desk. How cute is that!

If everyone took this simple step, we could save hard-working, multi-tasking Americans (with memory deficits that require post-it notes to survive) over $100 million a year. Maybe this simple act won’t exactly empty the landfills, but imagine how much space we could save by keeping over 6 billion of these little sticky suckers out of the dumps every year.

Be nice, Use it twice.

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7 Eco-Tips to Fight Swine Flu and Diseases – Air Kisses, Sing Happy Birthday and More

May 14, 2009 in Go Green, Health Hazards, Healthy Living by susan | 3 comments

By Susan Seliger

With fears of swine flu spreading, sales of hand sanitizers and anti-bacterial soaps are soaring. But studies have shown that you don’t need all those chemicals and high-priced, individually-packaged cleaning products. The best steps you can take to prevent getting sick from swine flu – in addition to a host of other more serious infections, including salmonella, strep, staph, E. coli on down to the common cold — are far simpler and considerably more eco-friendly.

You can’t avoid exposure to these common disease-causing critters – they are simply present in the world around us. But you can take simple steps to keep yourself and your family safe from dangerous infectious viruses and bacteria.

1. Stop Shaking Hands

Unless you’re a politician, you can keep the hand-pumping to a minimum. Kissing hello and goodbye on the cheek may actually be even safer than a firm handshake – and a lot more fun.  If you can pull it off, consider blowing kisses (though admittedly, this is a far cuter gesture when executed by a baby). Or perhaps you could single-handedly bring back the Eurotrash custom of air kissing — sure it’s been deservedly dissed as  pretentious, but it’s oh-so-sanitary. We all must be brave when facing down epidemics.

2. Clean Your Computer Keyboard

Especially if you share your computer with the family or co-workers, it is vital to disinfect this gadget that your fingers come into contact with for hours every day. Use straight alcohol – no, do not spray it on the keyboard. Spray it on a clean cloth or paper towel and then wipe the keyboard several times. (Did I mention turning off the computer first? Do I have to tell you everything?)

3. Wash Your Hands – but you’re probably doing it wrong.

The Mayo Clinic and the Centers for Disease Control say that the single most important step you can take to stop the spread of infectious diseases is to wash your hands. (See Mayo Clinic article.) Soap and water can be even more effective than some hand rubs with alcohol.

Ok, maybe you’ve heard that already. But what you may not know is that just washing is not enough – you have to do it right.

As Melinda Beck points out in an excellent Wall Street Journal article on fighting disease with soap and water, doctors have known about the importance of hand-washing

“since 1847, when a doctor named Ignaz Semmelweis suspected that maternity patients were dying in his Vienna hospital because med students treated them right after working on cadavers. When he instituted hand-cleaning, the deaths fell sharply…. But many people don’t do it often enough, or long enough.”

4. The best technique – rub, rub, rub and take your time.

You have to scrub both hands, inside, outside, interlacing fingers and then rubbing energetically, like a miser who has just discovered that his stock portfolio did not really drop 40% in the last four months – for as long as it takes to sing Happy Birthday to You twice. Melinda Beck recommends that if you get tired of that tune, you can try Rub a Dub Dub or any other ditty that lasts at least 15 seconds. There is no mention of trying The Black Eyed Peas latest hit “Boom Boom Pow,” but really, I think you can take it from here.

5. Don’t touch the doorknob on your way out.

So you’ve just washed your hands, sung a heart-rending version of “I Did It My Way,” and you figure you’re clean as a whistle and safe from germs. Then you unlock the bathroom door, turn the door knob – and boom – you may as well not have bothered washing your hands.

Here’s how that scene should have gone. After washing, you wipe your hands with a paper towel (yes, it is safer than blow-drying, as you’ll see if you just keep reading), and then use that towel to turn off the water faucet and to grab the door handle on your way out. Even in your very own bathroom at home, door locks, light switches and door handles are the hard-to-clean surfaces that play a large role in transmitting disease.

6. Do not touch your eyes or your nose with your hands.

Yes, this is a hard one. As soon as you even think about not touching your nose, it starts to itch. Especially when you are on the subway or train or plane and someone has just passed by coughing. Remember, the germs on your hands are not dangerous at all until you put them in contact with the vulnerable eyes and nasal passages. Solution: cover your face if someone nearby is coughing or sneezing, but do not actually touch your face. And as for rubbing your eyes or nose – just make sure you carry tissues with you, and cover your fingers with the clean tissue before you (gently) dab your eye or scratch that itch.

7. Hand sanitizers work – but not all of them

It’s fine to buy hand sanitizers and schlep them around with you if you are spending a lot of time beyond the reach of a sink. They work – but only if they are at least 60% alcohol.  Otherwise, soap and water work just as well.


Photo credit: www.Moonbattery.com

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Which Peanut Products Pose a Salmonella Risk? 500 People Sick, 8 Dead, 125 Products Recalled

February 3, 2009 in Health Hazards, Organic Food, Uncategorized by susan | 3 comments

By Susan Seliger

Peanut butter and peanuts – they’re one of the best, cheapest, most nutritious sources of protein in the American diet. But are they safe?

If you’ve been reading the headlines about the recent salmonella alert for peanut products, you’ve heard the stats: over 500 people have become ill; 8 are dead; more than 125 peanut products have been recalled. The Food and Drug Administration has launched the largest food recall in recent history — and is now pursuing a criminal investigation.

But if you’ve been too scared to read past the headlines, you may be asking yourself what’s really dangerous and what isn’t? Do I have to throw out my jars of peanut butter? What can my family and I eat — and what should we steer clear of?

Here’s what you need to know to keep yourself and your family safe and healthy. Take heart — if you’ve been sticking to organic peanut products, you are probably safe.

WHICH PEANUT PRODUCTS ARE SAFE

Your small jars of peanut butter should be safe — the source of the original salmonella contamination, according to state and federal officials, is peanut butter and peanut paste products made by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at its processing plant in Blakely, Georgia.

PCA’s peanut butter is sold only in bulk to institutions – in containers from 35 to 1,700 pounds .

WHAT’S NOT SAFE

BUT – and this is the big but – PCA sold it’s tainted peanut paste and peanut butter to over 100 firms who use it in products including

  • candy
  • cereal
  • crackers
  • cookies and
  • ice cream.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has called for over 125 products to be recalled. In addition, several well-known companies have voluntarily issued a hold or recall on some of its products – including Kellogg’s, General Mills, Kroger Co., PetSMart, and Clif Bar & Co.

NutriSystem Inc., also announced a voluntary recall of its peanut butter granola bars because the product contains peanut butter supplied by the Peanut Corporation of America.

WHAT ARE SALMONELLA SYMPTOMS?

Look for fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps 12-72 hours after ingestion of tainted foods. The illness can last 4 to 7 days.

Remember, most people can recover without treatment and without life-threatening problems. However, infants, elderly people and those with impaired immune systems can develop a severe infection that can spread throughout the body and even result in death.

If in doubt, consult a doctor. Prompt treatment with antibiotics is required to treat the illness.

CHECK PRODUCTS HERE

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New Dangers Found in BPA Plastics: Add Death from Heart Disease to the List that Already Included Diabetes, Obesity, Breast and Prostate Cancer, says a New JAMA Study

September 18, 2008 in Health Hazards, Uncategorized by susan | No comments

By Susan Seliger

Here’s a BPA update. Just when you though it was safe to drink bottled juice and water and eat canned foods and go to the dentist, a new study from the Sept. 17, 2008 JAMA (the Journal of the American Medical Association) finds that death from heart disease may be another risk to add to the list. That risk list (from BPA found in hard plastic bottles and the lining of most food and beverage cans) already included diabetes, obesity, and hormonal changes that can produce breast and prostate cancer and neurobehavioral changes in infants exposed in the womb.

I know you’re worried about your money and might be thinking that buying organic and focusing on eating local, natural foods is a needless splurge in tough times. But this new study is a serious reminder that going green, especially when it comes to the the foods you eat, is not an indulgence. It will keep you healthy — and alive a little longer.

Here are some answers to your basic BPA questions. See for yourself if the fuss is justified. ANd there’s a useful list of other BPA articles at the end.

WHERE IS BPA FOUND?

BPA (bisphenol-A, an endocrine-disrupting chemical) is used in polycarbonate plastic (such as hard, colored water bottles and 5-gallon bottles used in water coolers) and the lining of most food and beverage cans. BPA can leach from the plastic into foods and liquids – and even more leaches when the container is heated or used and re-used.

BUT DOES IT REALLY GET INTO OUR BODIES?

Short answer: Yes. Nearly everybody in the U.S. seems to have BPA show up in their urine – which means it was in the body. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control found BPA in the bodies of 93 percent of the people they tested.

From the JAMA study:

“Widespread and continuous exposure to BPA, primarily through food but also through drinking water, dental sealants, dermal exposure, and inhalation of household dusts, is evident from the presence of detectable levels of BPA in more than 90% of the US population.”

BUT IS THIS LOW-LEVEL EXPOSURE REALLY DANGEROUS?

Short answer: yes.

Long answer from the JAMA study:

“Evidence of effects in animals has generated concern over low-level chronic exposures in humans…..“Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the world’s highest production–volume chemicals, with more than 2 million metric tons produced worldwide in 2003 and annual increase in demand of 6% to 10% annually.1 Bisphenol A is used extensively in epoxy resins lining food and beverage containers and as a monomer in polycarbonate plastics in many consumer products. Widespread and continuous exposure to BPA, primarily through food but also through drinking water, dental sealants, dermal exposure, and inhalation of household dusts, is evident from the presence of detectable levels of BPA in more than 90% of the US population.”

“The potential for low-dose effects has added to the controversy about possible hazards and whether currently recommended exposure thresholds require revision.”

CONCLUSION:IS BPA REALLY A HEALTH RISK?

Short answer: Yes — exposure to BPA may lead to death from a variety of diseases – that could have been prevented by reducing exposure.

Long answer from JAMA:

““We found that higher BPA concentrations were associated with diagnoses of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.”

“Higher BPA exposure, reflected in higher urinary concentrations of BPA, may be associated with avoidable morbidity in the community-dwelling adult population.”

“Using data representative of the adult US population, we found that higher urinary concentrations of BPA were associated with an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and liver-enzyme abnormalities. These findings add to the evidence suggesting adverse effects of low-dose BPA in animals.”

FOR MORE information on BPA, check out these stories:

JAMA STUDY: Association of Urinary Bisphenol A Concentration With Medical Disorders and Laboratory Abnormalities in Adults

BPA in Dental Plastic: Are the Fillings in your Teeth Dangerous?

BPA: The Dangers of Canned Food May Be Greater Than Plastics

BPA: 5 Tips to Avoid the Dangers in Plastics

Where to Find Baby Bottles Without BPA — and Formula and Pacifiers, Too

Where to Find BPA-Free Baby Bottles and Sippy Cups

BPA: Plastic Products That Are BPA-Free

Where to Find Safe Plastics without BPA Chemicals

Your BPA Questions Answered

Photo credit: Susan Seliger

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Hey — Did Your Dog Do That? What To Do with Dog Poo — It’s Eco and Easy

September 2, 2008 in Go Green, Green Products, Health Hazards, Uncategorized by susan | No comments

By Susan Seliger

Scientists have found that one of the biggest sources of nasty and dangerous bacteria in streams and seawater — from Florida to Maine and clear out to California — is from dog waste. No fellow dog lovers, all that poo is not great fertilizer for the grass. It is disease-carrying waste that washes into the streets after a rain and works its way through the storm drains and into your local waterways.

Green-up cleanup tip:
It’s simple: just pick up after your pet. What a good dog, what a good dog. Pat Pat.

Green Products:

1. Here’s a new product to take care oF your dog’s business: A Pooper Scooper box –made out of a 100% recycled material that biodegrades in a landfill in about 20 days, according to the manufacturer: Skooperbox.

2. For a variety of pooper scooper devices you can buy, from a few bucks on up, check out this pet supplies site: Pet Food Direct.

3. And for biodegradable plastic bags you can use for the task, check out BiobagsUSA or Ecoanimal.

Photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/danagraves/54026470/.

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Worried about Skin cancer? New Study says 80% of Sunscreens Don’t Work and Some May Contain Hazardous Ingredients

August 29, 2008 in Green Products, Health Hazards, Uncategorized by susan | 8 comments

By Susan Seliger

Hey—isn’t somebody out there looking out for our health? Anybody? The FDA, for instance? How can that possibly be that sunscreens don’t necessarily work as promised? And some may even contain ingredients that pose health risks?

A new study of almost 1,000 sunscreens has found that 4 out of 5 do not screen out the sun as promised or may contain chemicals that could be hazardous to your health. The Environmental Working Group, (EWG)a nonprofit research group in Washington DC that conducted this study, found that many of the leading brands of sunscreens do not protect us from the sun’s rays as promised. And some contain chemicals that may be hazardous to your health. (See Top 10 Recommended Brands – below)

How Can That Be?

Here’s how that can be: Apparently sunscreen companies can make any claims they want. Though the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is supposed to ensure that all such products are safe and effective, that government agency has not issued any standards that sunscreen producers must meet. And the agency has not approved some ingredients that are used in Europe that could provide better UV radiation protection, according to the EWG.

Does everybody agree?

First the New York Times ran a story quoting sunscreen reps saying the EWG study wasn’t sufficiently scientific. Sunscreen Safety Is Called Into Question.

Then, a week later they ran another story reporting how the FDA has dragged its heels on regulating sunscreens:

IrishHealth.com says research in the UK finds some sunscreens are making false claims.

Now the US Senate is getting into the action – proposing legislation to get the FDA moving on regulating the safety of sunscreens:

Decide for yourself. Here’s the short version of what EWG has to say:

Basic Tips on ingredients to look for and which to avoid:

Look for — Products containing zinc oxide and titanium dioxide — they offer good protection.

Avoid – sprays or containing zinc and titanium – they may be dangerous if inhaled

So here, from the EWG is a list of the sunscreens that do work. There are 143 that provide protection and are safe. But you may want to think twice about some of the leading brands you have been using. They may not work as well, last as long, or be as safe as you think.

Top 10 Recommended Common Brands

Blue Lizard (without oxybenzone)

California Baby (SpF 30+)

CVS (with zinc oxide)

Jason Natural Cosmetics (Sunbrellas mineral-based sunblock)

Kiss My Face (Paraben free series)

Neutrogena (Sensitive skin sunblock)

Olay (Defense Daily UV moisturizer with zinc)

SKinCeuticals (Physical UV Defense)

Solar Sense (Clear Zinc for face)

Walgreens (Zinc Oxide for face, nose and ears)

Top 10 Products that are Safe and Effective

Keys Soap Solar Rx Therapeutic SUnblock SPF 30

Trukid Sunny Days Facestick Mineral Sunscreen UVA/UVB Broad Spectrum, SPF 30+

California Baby Sunblock Stick No Fragrance, SPF 30+

Badger Sunscreen, SPF 30

Marie Veronique Skin Therapy Sun Serum

Lavera Sunscreen Neutral, SPF 40

Vanicream Sunscreen, SPF 35

UV Natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+

Sun Science Sport Formula, SPF 30

Soleo Organics Sunscreen all natural Sunscreen, SPF 30+

Major brands that EWG does not highly recommend

Banana Boat

Burt’s Bees

Coppertone

Dove

Dr. Scholl’s

Garnier

Gillette

Lubriderm

Hawaiian Tropic

Lancome

Maybelline

For Full List, and more details on safety issues, go to the EWG web site.

See the study:

Tags EWG study, sunscreen study, Sunscreens, sunscreens-not-safe

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5 Tips to Keep Your Cell Phone from Killing You: Save a Little Energy and, Oh Yes, Your Brain

August 15, 2008 in Health Hazards, Uncategorized by susan | No comments

By Susan Seliger

Will your cell phone really do you in? The evidence is not all in. The well-respected Swedish National Institute for Working Life reported (in the largest study on the issue) that they may cause brain tumors. But the Dutch Health Council reviewed international research and found no such links as did a study published in the British Medical Journal.

Still….brain tumors?!? Why mess around? Especially for phone calls that consist largely of shouting, “Can you hear me now?”

So here are 5 things you can do right now that definitely won’t hurt you and might just keep that little brainpan of yours safe from killer cell-phone radiation (no promises regarding the Loch Ness monster and space aliens).

1. Put your phone on speaker – and keep it away from that cute little ear (because the earbone (am I getting too clinical here?) as you know, if you had any singing ability, is connected to the brainbone.) But make sure you go outside because the rest of us do not want to listen to your lame excuses for why you’re running late.

2. Use the Bluetooth earpieces – that’s even safer than speaker phone. Who cares if people think you’re talking to yourself as you walk along the street – if they think you’re crazy, maybe they’ll keep their distance.

3. Make fewer calls and keep them short – so you can save energy, too. Maybe then you’ll only have tiny tumors.

4. Text instead – and practice doing it at full arm’s length. Holding your arms out in front of you while texting is a neat isometric exercise and will build muscles at the same time – all right, very little muscles, but still…

5. Check your phone’s SAR Rating — Next time you buy a phone (if you last that long – just kidding) choose one with a low SAR rating. Honestly I do not know what that means – OK, Specific Absorption Rate. But really can manufacturers actually measure how much radiation your body will absorb? Do they know how thick (or thin) your skin is? Anyway, all you need to know is BUY LOW.

Which, in the current economy, is not a bad philosophy for the rest of your life as well.

FOR MORE INFO TO SAVE YOUR LITTLE BRAIN:

* Check CNet for a list of the 10 phones with the lowest SAR rating.

* University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute – on the potential dangers

* And if you want some more tips, check out The Consumerist which may or may not have some serious advice – I leave that up to you.

Illustration credit:

mooreslore.corante.com/…/computer_interfaces/

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