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At least three times a day (if not more), we make decisions about the food we eat, but even if you try to eat healthily what do you really know about your food?
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About 76 to 80 million cases of foodborne illnesses occur in the US annually, most as a result of eating contaminated meat. But this summer, there’s no need to char your burgers into briquettes for fear of bacteria. Learn where animals came from and what they were fed, avoiding those that have been packed in disease-promoting factory farms and feedlots or contaminated with mercury or PCBs from polluted waterways. Whether you prefer fish, flesh or fowl for your firepit, you can avoid hazards if you follow these simple shopping and food handling steps.
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By Wendy Gordon
When the conversation turns to cap and trade, is your first thought: “Oh, that will never work, it’s too complicated?” It’s true, it can be harder to get one’s arms around than a gas tax or even a carbon tax—who doesn’t get taxes, right?—but cap and trade is a familiar, and an effective, means by which to reduce pollution among regulators and industry.
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By Paul McRandle
When I decided to join the 21st century and picked up a new iPhone, the lure of the iApp topped my list of reasons (if not excuses) to make the purchase. And among the heap available free or for little money, I was intrigued by those dealing with food—how to find local foods, what’s in my food and what it’s all going to cost. With maps and a compass on the 3GS phones, I got to wondering if I could track down raw milk, find stands of unpicked wild mushrooms, scan bar codes for environmental details or at least locate the nearest the farmers market. Not quite, but there are some interesting options available.
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By Wendy Gordon
“Once you’ve tried fresh tomatoes, you’ll never go back,” Bing Wright tells me. A neighbor in the Catskill Mountains, where frost in May and September is not unusual, Bing grows tomatoes by the bushel in a 20-by-30-foot vegetable patch. From that small garden, he can harvest and put aside enough tomatoes to enjoy all year long.
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Flea and tick treatments may contain toxic chemicals that can poison pets and harm people. Even when applied as instructed on the box, these chemicals are not safe, either for pets or humans.
Avoid toxic chemicals by taking care of your pet. Regular combing, bathing and vacuuming can reduce and control fleas. When chemical control is necessary, choose a safer treatment and avoid the most toxic chemicals. All pesticides should be used with caution and in consultation with a veterinarian. Ask you vet about one of the products or treatments marked with a yellow paw in our Guide to Safe Pets.
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By Paul McRandle
With Fast Food Nation, Eric Schlosser introduced us to the unsettling fact that our hamburgers are composed of the meat from hundreds of cows and with The Omnivore’s Dilemma Michael Pollan walked us through the brief life of a single cow ending up at the feedlot and slaughterhouse. To these works is now added a documentary, Food, Inc., which opens today in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Working with producer-director Robert Kenner, the dietetic duo outlines the entirety of the agro-industrial complex that controls our food production from the genes of the seeds to the labeling of finished product. The film starts with facts you will have heard before if you’ve read Schlosser and Pollan, but it quickly passes on to the stories of individuals.
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By Wendy Gordon
Wondering where all the seats at Yankee stadium went after the demolition? Into aluminum foil, quite possibly! While it seems like something they could have done years ago, given all the cans we recycle, Reynolds Wrap has just introduced a foil made from 100-percent-recycled aluminum they derived from post-consumer sources such as stadium seats, automobile components, cookware, gutters and siding, and post-industrial supplies such as scraps from industrial cable.
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Image courtesy of Apple
By Ashlee Bradbury and Paul McRandle
TVs have been focus of American living rooms for fity years, but with Hulu, You Tube and other online sources bringing programing to our ever larger computer screens, is it time to bid the TV farewell? And is their any environmental benefit hanging in the balance? To narrow the question, we took a look at LED monitors and LCD television screens to see which is smarter and greener.
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By Paul McRandle
In the first study of its kind, researchers at Mount Sinai Children’s Medical Health Center have found that newborn girls whose mothers have high levels of phthalates contained in plastics show markedly lower levels of attention and alertness than newborn boys of similar mothers. Phthalates of different types are used consumer products ranging from fragrances to vinyl flooring. The varieties associated with neurological effects in this study are commonly used to make plastics more pliable and often appear in medical tubing, food containers, wall coverings and flooring. Among the most widespread of these phthalates is di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and it, along with two other varieties, were permanently banned by Congress from their use children’s toys and child care articles in August 2008. All toys containing those phthalates were to be removed from shelves by February 10, 2009.
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By Paul McRandle
June 8 is World Oceans Day (so declared by the United Nations) and with the warm days here again you might take the chance to play hooky and go for a swim with the kids. But before you bodysurf on the swells, you'll want to be sure you and your family leave as healthy as you entered.
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By Kathryn McGrath
Where does plastic go? Most plastic won't decompose for generations, instead over decades it degrades into small pieces, which often wind up floating in our oceans.
All those pieces of plastic, large and small, are accumulating in the central Pacific. Thousands of miles from shore, the plastic detritus of modern life floats in two separate gyres of garbage that span an area twice the size of the United States.
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By Wendy Gordon
Forget the tie. How many does a man need, anyway? Give your dad something he’ll really appreciate—a good nap and then a trip to the park. “How can I do this?” you say. “I’m just a kid.” Do a couple of the weekend chores on his list and, to bring him real peace of mind, do them in a green way. Then follow up with a treat for everyone—a day or weekend at a National Park (100 are offering three fee-free weekends this summer) or a favorite nature spot near you. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there are a couple of green chores to be done.
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By Wendy Gordon
Keeping cool isn’t just about comfort; in the worst of recent heat waves, whether Chicago's in 1995 or New York's in 2006, hundreds have died. And climate change will only make this worse. But every time you crank up the AC, power plants pump out more greenhouse gases, making the problem worse.
Is there a way out of this lose-lose cycle? In fact, air conditioning is not an absolute in a warming world. A good architect can design homes in hot climates that require little air-conditioning. But most of us aren’t building a new house or even moving any time soon. Is there anything we can do? Actually, yes. Recall the wise ways of your parents, or grandparents, and try out some passive cooling techniques that should definitely cut your AC use and your energy bills and your carbon footprint along with it.
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NRDC's Dr. Gina Solomon explains the results of NRDC's recent tests that found dangerous levels of pesticide residues on pets' fur after they were treated with over-the-counter flea and tick products and how she fights fleas safely on her two dogs.
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By Wendy Gordon
...The kind you make yourself, from fresh, whole ingredients.
Really. It’s true. While Americans have been hammered with messages for 50 years or more that cooking is a time-consuming drag, according to a 2006 U.C.L.A. study, families saved little or no cooking time when they built their meals around frozen entrees and jarred pasta sauce.
And “cheap calories,” as New York University nutritionist Marion Nestle likes to call heavily processed quick meals, snacks and drinks, just encourage people to eat more calories than they need, which is roughly 2,000 to 3,000 for most Americans depending on one’s daily activity level. Certain fast-food coffee drinks can in themselves exceed 1,000 calories.
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By Kathryn McGrath
In just under two weeks, on June 13, all broadcasters must switch from an analog to a digital signal. If at this point you still have an older analog television and are using an antenna, you'll either need to purchase a converter box, get cable or find something new to do with your off hours.
Today's bigger, better and brighter TVs consume a lot more electricity than the old cathode ray tube sets of a decade ago. When combined with related devices, TVs make up about 10% of the average household's annual electricity bill. Toss in gaming consoles and home theater systems and you may be accounting for some serious electricity consumption—and pollution.
Even when you think these products are off, together their standby consumption—referred to as "phantom" electricity loads—can be equivalent to that of a 75 or 100 watt light bulb running continuously.
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One thing that is puzzling me these days are the plastics that are used so ubiquitously as packaging…plastics like you find wrapped around paper goods, breads, etc. They don’t seem to be made of recyclable plastics and I wonder why they can’t be made of plastics like we use in plastic bags.
Phil G.
New York, NY
In the last few years things have started to change: Bread bags, for example, are now accepted for recycling at locations that accept plastic grocery bags. But when it comes to why product packaging isn't made of recyclable materials, the answer is threefold, according to Keith Christman, senior director of packaging at the American Chemistry Council. In some cases, the plastic is recyclable, but local programs don’t have facilities to handle them. So while most locations don’t accept yogurt tubs, many cities in California do take them (and Whole Foods Market is taking the tubs in other regions). In cases such as food wraps and frozen food or salad bags, plastic that might otherwise be recyclable is too contaminated with food. “Washing bags and wraps is very resource- and water-intensive for flexible packaging thus clean material is collected in the in-store programs,” says Christman. Finally, some packaging is composed of multiple layers that cannot be recycled but help preserve food from spoilage and so prevent waste.
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By Wendy Gordon
Few companies are taking any action to address concerns regarding hormone-disrupting BPA, according to a recent study of 20 leading publicly-traded packaged food companies conducted by Green Century Capital Management and nonprofit As You Sow. Bisphenol A mimics the effects of estrogen and may play a role in numerous health problems including heart disease, diabetes and breast cancer. It is used in polycarbonate bottles, including baby bottles, and in the epoxy lining of canned foods. This inaction is striking considering the heightened concern of consumers about reports of adverse health effects from exposure to BPA and government efforts at all levels to ban the chemical from certain products.
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Celebrate your pregnancy with a fun, eco-friendly baby shower. During pregnancy, parents-to-be learn a lot about protecting the health of their developing baby from environmental toxins. Share your joy and your values by hosting an eco-friendly party. These six simple steps make planning and hosting an eco-friendly baby shower easy.
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By Wendy Gordon
The Lunch Lady, Anne Cooper, was on The Daily Show the other night defending Michelle Obama for putting in a vegetable garden at the White House. Yes, you read it right; she was defending her from criticism by the American Council for Science and Health, the infamous front group for the biggest petroleum, chemical and food processing companies on the planet. ACSH felt Michelle’s garden cast a bad light on chemicals. I’m sure you can see where this went and what great fodder it made for Samantha Bee’s toxic wit (watch the video here ). But I digress, as did the interview, with Lunch Lady luckily getting the last word.
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A graduate of New York's Natural Gourmet Cookery School, Alexandra Jamieson has worked in Italy, creating seasonal and vegan menus, as a pastry chef at New York's Other Foods, and as the vegetarian chef at Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. If you would like more information, check out her website at healthychefalex.com.
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The famous biologist, E.O. Wilson, loves ants. As for his protégé, Gaby Chavarria, Director of NRDC’s Science Center, she’s bats about bees—honeybees in particular. Honeybees are top pollinators, and pollinators are essential to our sustaining a food supply.
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By Wendy Gordon
With cases of swine flu, or H1N1, rising in Japan and school closures in New York, it's a good moment to review preventive measures and prepare in case we are seeing another surge in this outbreak.
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By Paul McRandle
In 1995, Michael Rozyne, a Growing Green Award nominee, founded the nonprofit Red Tomato to distribute fruits and vegetables from Northeastern family farms and small farm co-ops to larger food buyers. Rozyne is also the co-founder of Equal Exchange, which imports and distributes fair trade goods from around the world. The connection isn’t accidental and he notes that Red Tomato embraces transparency, fair prices to growers, and elevating the importance of the grower in the supply chain. In fact, although Rozyne enjoys greens fresh from his garden, he notes that buying locally isn't always a guarantee of freshness. The farms he works with have refrigeration on site that brings produce down to 40F, removing the external heat from the crop. This is essential because, as Rozyne points out, "the management of temperature and humidity are at least as important in maintaining freshness as time and distance; the complete focus on miles in the local food movement ignores the cold chain."
He shared with us a favorite spring soup that he makes with produce from his garden.
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By Paul McRandle
Your health and safety are in your own hands—it’s a truism, but one that some in the packaged food industry are too ready to promote. According to The New York Times , Con Agra, makers of the Banquet pot pies that sickened 15,000 people with salmonella in 2007, have given up tracking the source of that contamination and instead are opting for detailed, if inadequate, safety instructions.
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By Paul McRandle
This week, NRDC presented a Growing Green award to Will Allen, Founder and CEO of the Growing Power National Training and Community Food Center in Milwaukee. Feeding an estimated 10,000 people from urban farms in Wisconsin and Illinois, Growing Power combines aquaculture and agriculture to provide fish and fresh vegetables to communities living in urban food deserts. The program works in a closed loop by collecting waste from tilapia to serve as fertilizer for the produce.
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By Wendy Gordon
Planning your Memorial Day picnic—maybe in a park along the river? What seems like the perfect spot to relax, perhaps fish and play in the water, could be—yet be advised. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency now considers urban runoff and
pollution from other diffuse sources the greatest contaminant threat to
our nation's waters. When we pave over the natural world, rain falling on hard surfaces mixes with oil, grease and soot, pet waste, trash, litter and toxic chemicals before draining into our rivers, contaminating the water, destroying habitat and damaging property. This type of pollution can have serious consequences, from fouling drinking water to closing beaches and poisoning shellfish beds.
So what can we do? That depends. How much time do you have?
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By Paul McRandle
Mother’s day is a time to show the moms in your life that you care—with gifts, certainly, but how about cleaning up a little while you're at it? After all, there's no doubt that airborne environmental contaminants can harm the health of mothers and their children. Dr. Frederica Perera, a professor at Columbia University, and the director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health, has conducted research into women’s and children’s exposures to tobacco smoke, workplace contaminants and air pollution and the relationship of those exposures to cancer and developmental disorders. In a study of a sample of pregnant women in New York City, Dr. Perera
found that they were commonly exposed to pesticides, particulate
matter, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and phthalates. Her
work has already made the consequences of PAH exposure clear: In 2003,
she showed that PAHs, which are combustion byproducts, resulted in
lower birth weights and smaller head circumference in African-American
babies. “In following the children,” Dr. Perera says, “we have found
PAHs were associated with reduced cognitive functioning at ages
three to five among the entire cohort (African American and Latina
children).” And there is certainly reason to be concerned about
exposures to hormone-disrupting phthalates, heart-hazardous
particulates and neurotoxic pesticides as well.
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By Paul McRandle
Last week’s release of the American Lung Association’s State of the Air report highlighted how far we still have to go in handling our smog problem. Given that air pollution is one of the longest recognized environmental health hazards—the ancient Greeks fought off miasma from rotting debris—the fact that 186 million people in the US live in communities that received failing grades from the ALA may give you little confidence in the odds for improvement. Furthermore, cities such as Houston, Dallas and Las Vegas, have higher pollutant levels than they did 10 years ago, when the ALA released its first report card, and many cities scored worse than they did last year.
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Today's digital televisions are bigger and better-and, with almost a hundred channels, DVDs and video games, they're also on more hours a day. If you're like most people, your television is an increasingly large part of your electricity bill. Some of the worst power-hungry big-screen TVs use as much energy each year as a new refrigerator. But those electricity-guzzling TVs don't offer better performance than more efficient models.
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Flea and tick treatments may contain toxic chemicals that can poison pets and harm people. A first-of-its-kind study by NRDC shows that dangerously high levels of pesticide residue can remain on a dog's or cat's fur for weeks after a flea collar is put on an animal. NRDC found that residues from two pesticides used in flea collars -- tetrachlorvinphos and propoxur, among the most dangerous pesticides still legally on the market -- were high enough to pose a risk to both children and adults who play with their pets.
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There's plenty of reason for hope this Earth Day -- the United States seems ready to cap the pollution that causes global warming. But there's also a lot of work ahead to curb the damage already done. Here are four simple steps you can take that will have an immediate impact on the environment. By focusing on the areas that will have the most impact, you'll find that doing your part for a sustainable future isn't as difficult as you may have thought. It's that easy!
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Most Americans know very little about where their food comes from, and even less about the relationship between the food they eat, our natural resources and climate. Yet the way food is produced, transported, processed and distributed has enormous implications on global warming and the environment.
That's why NRDC is honoring leaders in the field of sustainable food through the Growing Green Awards. Selected by a panel chaired by Michael Pollan, best-selling author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, winners will be celebrated on May 9, 2009, at an NRDC benefit at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Calif.
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While some producst used to kill felas and ticks on household pets are safe, others leave harmful chemical residues on our pets' fur and in our homes. These chemicals are highly hazardous to animals and humans, can damage the brain and nervous system, and cause cancer. The April 2009 paper Poison on Pets II details a first-of-its-kind study by NRDC showing that high levels of pesticide residue can remain on a dog's or cat's fur for weeks after a flea collar is put on an animal. Residue levels produced by some flea collars are so high that they pose a risk of cancer and damage to the neurological system of children up to 1,000 times higher than the EPA's acceptable levels.
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Now's the time to invest in energy-efficient home improvements and take advantage of new federal tax credits. Tax credits are available for 30 percent of the cost of qualified windows, skylights, doors, insulation, water heaters or solar panels. Tax credits, unlike tax deductions, are as good as a rebate -- they come straight out of Line 46, the taxes you owe.
You may not be able to claim tax credits for energy efficiency improvements to your home on this year's return (unless you installed a geothermal heat pump, solar water heater, small wind energy systems or fuel cells) but this is a good time to consider making improvements in 2009 and 2010. The economic stimulus package restored and expanded tax credits for energy-efficient home improvements made in 2009 and 2010.
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There are some things it's hard to get around to doing -- even when they're making a 'drip, drip' noise. Celebrate 'Fix a Leak' week by checking your faucets, showers and toilets for leaks and then putting a stop to the flow. The EPA estimates that leaks waste more than 1 trillion gallons of water every year in the U.S.
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Are you pouring money down the drain every time you turn on the hot water? Reduce your utility bills by increasing your water heater's efficiency and reducing the amount of hot water you use. In most homes, heating water consumes as much energy as lighting. Here are four basic things you can do to save energy and money.
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How much energy could be saved by more efficient lighting? If you're among the millions of Americans who switched to CFLs, you've seen the difference in your electricity bill. But some specialty light bulbs remain inefficient, despite new standards by the Department of Energy. Some fluorescent tube lamps, including the four-foot-long bulbs found in millions of office light fixtures, and incandescent reflector lamps, the common cone-shaped light bulbs used in "recessed can" light fixtures and track lighting use more energy than you would think.
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You spend more than a quarter of your lifetime in bed, so it's not a bad idea to do what you can to assure that where you sleep is as healthy and comfortable as possible. Many mattresses are made with multiple chemicals such as polyurethane, synthetic fabrics, chemical fire retardants, toxic dyes, formaldehyde, and stain-resistant chemicals that can off-gas over time and may lead to allergic reactions and other health problems.
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Wouldn't it be nice to have a sustainably grown flower garden to enjoy year-round? It's just not possible in many parts of the country. So, is the next best thing a vase of gorgeous flowers? Not exactly. While receiving an unexpected bouquet can certainly brighten your day, fresh-cut flowers are a bit of an eco-nightmare. Most of the flowers sold in U.S. markets are grown overseas in developing countries where they're produced in huge, poorly vented greenhouses. To reach us, they're shipped thousands of miles, belching fossil fuels along the way.
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To help you make safer choices in flea and tick treatments, NRDC checked the listed ingredients of more than a hundred flea and tick products to report which chemicals they contain and the chemicals' toxicity: whether they are linked to cancer, allergies and asthma in humans or are suspected endocrine disruptors. Flea and tick treatments may contain toxic chemicals that can poison pets and harm people. Even when applied as instructed on the box, these chemicals are not safe, either for pets or humans. Based on the findings of NRDC's new report, the EPA should ban the pesticides tetrachlorvinphos and propoxur from pet products and closely scrutinize the safety of the other products on the market.
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Much of the cocoa that is produced around the world is grown using unsustainable farming practices. That sweet little treat could be contributing to deforestation, toxic pollution and exploitative labor practices. By choosing organic, fair trade or sustainably-grown chocolate, you can enjoy quality chocolate sweets that won't leave a bitter taste in your mouth. But read the label carefully to make sure you're getting the best chocolate for you and the environment.
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Ensure that your computer doesn't work overtime and waste electricity with these simple steps. Get rid of your screensaver, shut off your monitor and plug into a smarter power strip to save energy, money and prevent pollution from power plants.
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Compact fluorescent light bulbs aren't the only option for conscious, energy efficient lighting. LED, which stands for light-emitting diodes, are small and incredibly durable. Buy one now and you may not have to replace it until 2028. LEDs last up to 60,000 hours -- five times longer than compact fluorescents and 50 to 60 times the lifespan of an incandescent bulb. They use so little energy that some don't have to be plugged in at all, running on solar power or a single battery.
You already have LEDs in your home -- the little glowing lights on all your electronics. But now these tiny, bright lights can be found in modern lamps, chandeliers and sconces as well as crank flashlights and strings of holiday lights.
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They may not be high-tech, but ceiling fans are an energy efficient way to regulate the temperature of your home and reduce your energy bill. Heating and cooling are responsible for 40 percent of all residential energy consumption. Reduce the amount of energy it takes to a keep your home comfortable by installing a few fans -- they'll keep you cool in the summer and help circulate warm air in the winter.
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Take a look at your windows rather than out them if you want to save energy at home. Approximately one-third of a home's total heat loss usually occurs through windows and doors. What lets in light and fresh air may also be letting heat escape in the winter or unnecessarily heating up your home in the summer.
You don't have to replace your windows.
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If your recyling bin is stuffed with catalogs you never read, put an end to the pile with the free Catalog Choice service. Catalog Choice lets you select the catalogs you don't want to receive and sends your requests directly to the merchants.
Over 53 million trees are consumed each year to produce paper catalogs. The production of all those catalogs results in 56 billion gallons of wastewater. And when all those catalogs are thrown out it's approximately 4.1 million tons of waste, equal to the annual waste of 2 million households. An emptier mailbox means less pollution, less waste and less of the emissions that cause global warming.
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This year, make a few resolutions that are easy to keep. Take a couple of these simple steps to be well, make smart choices and save a little money in 2009. And as always, now's the time to get rid of the old and make a fresh start. Find out which three things even the most avid environmentalist should throw in the trash.
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Make sure that beautiful holiday tree meets an organic end, plan ahead and recycle your tree.
Many communities offer curbside pick up of trees, others have drop off locations or wood chipping services. But most communities only collect trees during a specific time period. If you miss it, your tree will wind up in a landfill where even the most natural trash is unlikely to decompose. Figure out now where and when to recycle your tree.
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take action
 Tell the EPA to protect kids from dangerous pesticides in pet flea products.
donateYour gift helps us seek better regulations, safer products and a healthier environment for all families. 
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