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The Magnificent Plastic Bag Mockumentary

The Magnificent Plastic Bag Mockumentary

This hilarious spoof on public TV-style nature shows, narrated by Jeremy Irons, follows “one of the most clever and illustrious creatures”—the plastic bag— on its long and perilous migration home to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. To learn more about the garbage patch (it’s real) and how you, personally, can avoid contributing to it—besides shopping [...]

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To Raise Healthy Children, Reduce Exposure to Toxins

To Raise Healthy Children, Reduce Exposure to Toxins

Nowadays, raising healthy children requires more than keeping them safe from germs. It also requires protecting them from toxic chemicals pervading their everyday environment, from phthalates, BPA, organophosphates and PBDE flame retardants to lead and mercury. For tips on how to reduce your children’s risk, read, print and share my latest This Green Life column [...]

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Are Brita and Pur Water Pitchers BPA-free?

Are Brita and Pur Water Pitchers BPA-free?

My family has used a Brita pitcher for years to filter our water and make it safer to drink and I have always insisted our kids use it, rather than drink directly from the tap. Recently, though, I began to wonder if the pitcher itself might contain a dangerous chemical — bisphenol A (BPA) — [...]

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Which Plastics are Microwavable?

The question of which plastics are microwavable can be answered different ways, depending on what you mean by “microwavable.” If you just want to know whether a plastic container will withstand microwaving without becoming damaged or exposing you to on-the-spot injury (such as a burn), the answer is, follow the instructions on the container. However, [...]

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Reusable Bags Gaining Ground?

This weekend, I found myself at a supermarket in foreign territory (New Jersey) with an unwonted form of transportation (a car). My husband and I were stocking up on our way back to Manhattan after a visit with my mother. “Paper or plastic?” the young woman at the check-out asked, which triggered a conversation among [...]

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