Disposing of old, expired and/or unneeded medications is tricky. You don’t want kids, teens or pets to get a hold of them (or drug abusers for that matter), so you might think the old recommendation to flush them down the toilet is good advice. But this practice solves one problem only to create another. With [...]
Tag Archives: drinking water
How Permeable Pavement Stood up to Hurricane Irene
While riding out Hurricane Irene in suburban New Jersey at my brother’s house this weekend, I got to see permeable pavement in action. The storm dumped over 7 inches of rain onto his town in about 12 hours. As I was out walking my dog in the worst of it, I saw water streaming off [...]
Permeable Pavement
Making pavement impervious to water only seems like a good idea. In fact, it creates a huge and serious problem. Whenever precipitation accumulates, the water travels across the pavement to street gutters, picking up contaminants along the way — from motor oil to dog poop. This noxious mix then flows into storm sewers, which empty [...]
Fracking, Explained — in a music video
Here’s a great little music video that manages to make fracking — a subject practically no one gets — completely understandable in 2 1/2 minutes. And it’s entertaining to boot!
A Well-placed Joke Brings Fracking Risks Home
“This water is most likely safe. If you have any concerns about contamination due to hydraulic fracturing, expose water to flame.” Ah, the power of a well-placed joke. You can read countless articles about the dangers of hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) to drinking water and health and never feel how much is at stake. But [...]
Fracking Fairy Tale
I’m worried there’s going to be a mad dash to natural gas now that people have been reminded how dangerous nuclear power is by the nuclear disaster in Japan. I’m not a fan of nuclear power, but don’t want to see us jump from the frying pan into the fire either — particularly the “fire” [...]
Nuclear Power vs. Gas — Danger on Both Sides
Were you scared by today’s report about radioactive contamination of Tokyo’s drinking water? Then how do you feel about radioactive gas drilling waste being discharged into rivers that feed drinking water supplies in the U.S.? It’s happening in Pennsylvania, in broad daylight, as reported in The New York Times. And no one has yet done [...]
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 [...]
Green Eating
Local, seasonal, organic, unprocessed, etc. I’ve covered these food topics and more in my writing over the years. My new Green Eating page explains the principles and links to the pieces. Among the more interesting items are columns on sustainable wine, coffee and chocolate, as well as a couple on the importance of eating less [...]
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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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.
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