I love my new reusable bag by Flip & Tumble. It’s attractive, roomy, has a shoulder pad on the strap and rolls up into a small, lightweight ball that fits easily in my purse. I showed it to my cat Boo. He didn’t think much of it as a ball. I shook it open. That [...]
Archive | shopping RSS feed for this section
Green Giving for the Holidays
I still remember virtually every gift I received in childhood, not because the gifts were so special, but because they were so few. Though I was a comfortable child of the post-war boom, the times were thrifty compared to today. I never had more than a few dolls, games, crayons, records, books, a bike and [...]
Unscented Products — Why and How
Air freshener, laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, moisturizer, lip balm — these and other common household and personal care products are scented with fragrances that can be dangerous to your health. Dozens if not hundreds of synthetic chemicals go into these fragrances, including: Phthalates — endocrine disruptors that cause hormonal abnormalities, birth defects and reproductive problems; [...]
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) — [...]
Low VOC Paint is Best
Recently, I’ve had experience in my home with low-VOC paint as well as conventional paint. The first left the place virtually odor-free; the second filled it with noxious fumes from volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Possible health effects from VOC exposure include headache, dizziness and respiratory problems in the short-run — and liver, kidney and neurological [...]
12 Most Important Foods to Buy Organic (2009)
If you can’t afford to get all your food organic (how many people can?), you will be interested in the latest edition of the “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides” from the Environmental Working Group, which lists the fruits and vegetables with the highest and lowest pesticide loads. EWG says its research shows that “people who eat [...]
BPA-free Water Bottles
Are the new breed of clear, hard “BPA-free” water bottles made with Tritan – from Nalgene, Kor, Camelbak, Thermos and others — safer than the polycarbonate bottles they replaced? Not necessarily. To assess their safety, we would need to know what chemicals are in the bottles, not just that BPA is not. After all, other [...]
Safer Ways to De-ice
My local landscape has been covered with road salt the last couple of weeks, due to periodic snowfalls and temperatures consistently below freezing. I can’t say I am sorry to have steps and sidewalks clear of ice (with my bad back, a fall could be disabling), but I wish the landlords and homeowners that dispense [...]
A Different Approach to Holiday Giving
In our family we celebrate Hanukkah with very little gift-giving except to the kids. We’ve even cut way back on their gifts in recent years — to things they’ll love but can also really use. Gift-giving at Hanukkah parties is more difficult to control. At our annual celebration with my brother’s family, we have tried [...]
Seasonal Doesn’t Mean Local
My refrigerator is filled with seasonal food — by which I mean food that is ready for harvest now in the northeast where I live (or is harvested earlier and stored) — yet only a fraction of it actually comes from local sources. Beets are in season in the northeast, but I had to make [...]
ABOUT
This Green Blog is the companion blog to NRDC's This Green Life, a green living column written by Sheryl Eisenberg for the Natural Resources Defense Council. (Subscribe to get it for FREE each month.) Sheryl has also written Greentips for the Union of Concerned Scientists and designs websites for environmental groups and others with her firm, Mixit Productions.
Holiday gifts that save the environment
I go to NRDC Green Gifts when I need presents for friends who care about the planet and don't need more stuff. These gifts are very meaningful for the right kind of person—and do real good in the world. My fave: Revive a Rainforest. For just $15, NRDC plants a tree in the Costa Rican rainforest for your friend or family member.
Subscribe
Get my free monthly column by email. It's personal like this blog, but vetted by the experts at NRDC.
Recent Comments