Return of the Rubber Duckie

Hello,

My name is bwings and I'm still struggling to remember what plastics are worse.

I doubt I'll ever get rid of all plastic in my household, but I would like to make an effort to rid myself of the most damaging. Since my initial post about PVC and BPA I've reduced the cans in our household in case of BPA plastic lining in the can. If they had some regulation enforcing companies to state what they lined their cans with I might continue to use canned goods. But for now the only canned goods in this house are to be canned corn as it's my fiancée's favorite. For now, if we buy beans, they will likely be canned as well simply for simplicities sake. However, we don't frequent the beans in this house so that should not be a problem.

So what is the deal with plastic? I know to avoid BPA and PVC but what labels am I looking for. Not everything that is BPA free will say so. Although I'm sure most will seeing as it's considered something to brag about in plastic departments. To remind myself I returned to the charts of recycling codes.

Click on picture to view chart

There is going to be a complaint about all types of plastics with leeching, bio-degrading etc. So for now, for my sanity and my families, I will focus mostly on those concerns that affect my health and the health of my family.

PVC (our lovely rubber ducky's skin) has a massively bad rep. But a little research would find that this is because of the plasticizers (mostly phthalates) added to soften the PVC and make it flexible. These additives can leach out into our food, mouths or ... other body parts, as they are common in shampoo bottles, shower curtains, food containers, children's toys and adult toys ...so to speak. This leaching is concerning as Phthalates have been linked to liver/kidney damage and tumors. They can mimic human hormones and hurt the environment. Studies have shown statistical association between allergies in children and indoor air levels of DEHP. This additive of particular concern, DEHP (Diethylhexyl phthalate) has, among other phthalates, been banned in Europe. In the United States it has not been banned but most companies have voluntarily ceased production of PVC toys using DEHP additives. An alternative to DEHP called diisononyl phthalate (DINP) has been found to have unlikely risks by the European Commission.

What, outside of Europe, has been done to reduce issues with PVC? As far as toys are concerned factories have started using DINP in lieu of DEHP although it is not required and so personal investigation into purchases would be necessary. There is a call for a ban on use of DEHP on shower curtains and a few other household items as the initial outgassing of the additive may cause medical complications. In November '05 Catholic Healthcare West signed a contract for vinyl-free IV bags & tubing. Several corporations including Microsoft, Wal-Mart & Kaiser Permanente have announced efforts in eliminating PVC from products and packaging in that same year. Japanese car companies (Toyota, Nissan & Honda) have eliminated PVC in car interiors in all models 2007 and beyond.

As far as environment is concerned I doubt I need to mention that plastic does not biodegrade in the environment because they are not digestible to microorganisms. If you toss plastic out instead of recycling it will simply be moved about by are or water and accumulate.  Animals can become entangled in some plastic litter or eat plastic mistaken for food and die.

So what have I done to reduce plastic in my home?

• Grocery bags - I take my stroller with me most times and instead of bagging them I put them in the carriage of the stroller. I am a vegetarian and so meat juices is not an issue here. In addition I have over two dozen cloth bags that I bring with me when I am without a stroller. I do bring home the occassional plastic bag when I'm low at home. I use them for kitty litter sometimes and also as my main form of garbage bag. A resolution in my house is to reduce our waste to one grocery bag a week. This has meant composting for the first time so we're still working on it. 
• I purchased a soap dispenser and buy my soap in bulk recyclable containers to reduce the amount of plastic containers. 
• I have been enforcing the bare bum or cloth bum policy when home. I still use disposable when out of the house or when we have a babysitter. But my daughter runs around disposable diaper free as much as I can. 
• I poked a bunch of holes in some containers and reused them as containers for her bath toys, so they get the proper drip dry anti-mildew action with the holes but I get to put them away and reuse a plastic container.
• I bought a wipe container and always bought refills thereafter.
  

I know I can only get better at this as I look around and see various plastic objects everywhere. But as far as the health of my family is concerned, it is my top priority. I will be even more mindful now of PVC (#3 plastic) and try to find out what ones are made using DEHP. I have stopped microwaving in plastic. I may still occasionally store leftovers in plastic but when they are heated I put them on the plate they will be consumed from. It might make more dishes for me but that is what a mother is for. Right?

Your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.

12 days of christmas

Hello,

My name is "bwings" and I'm making my list and checking it twice.

Going to find out what's naughty or nice eco.
As I'm sure you know, yesterday marked 12 days until Christmas. WOW, have you gotten the gift for that special someone on your list yet? Is there an eco-friendly hippie on your christmas list? Well if so, and you're stumped for ideas, I'm here to help you out. For the next 12 days (excluding weekends of course) I plan on presenting you with one green gift. Friday & Monday I'll make it a lovely double gift to make up for the lack of weekend postings.

To start off, seeing as I missed my opportunity yesterday, I thought I'd bring you two gifts to start with.

So, *clears throat* ♫ On the first day of Christmas a hippie brought to me a bobble water filter ♫ these are bottles are awesome for a person on the go who is on top of their water intake. It can be such a pain to have to refill the Brita water filter and then fill your bottle and rinse repeat. There is the obvious option of installing the water filter tap filtration. But that can be a bit pricey and my experience tells me if  you do not have the water presure to match you'll be waiting just as long as if you had the extra step.
The bobble water bottle has a built-in carbon filter with an electro-positive charge to attract chemicals and impurities. It's made from recyclable plastic bottles, BPA free, phlatates free and PVC free! I have not personally tried it but at $10.00 it is something I have been considering for some time. Maybe this year it'll be stocking stuffers for my hippie family.

Alright ....ahem *clearing throat* ♫ On the second day of Christmas a hippie brought to me 2 cangle earrings and a bobble water filter ♫ A cangle what? A cangle is Can + Bangle. What started as a family wanting to clean up their neighborhood of cans littering the roadways has become a family run business in jewelry made from recycled aluminum cans. Another item I have not currently worn but I have viewed their products online and the price isn't bad considering how much you would pay for factory made jewelry. This is essentially the same price for something that was handmade.

Happy shopping, your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.

To the left is the fridge...

Hello, 

My name is "bwings" and I'll be your tour guide for this evening.

To touch more on the previous post I thought I'd give you a tour of my kitchen.
With vegetarian food it's all about spice and/or flavor. Literally taking something simple (vegetables) and spicing it up. I try to keep most of these items in stock or plan to in the new year.

For Dry/Canned goods {I avoid cans because of possible BPA lining}:

• Pasta
• Beans, chickpeas,lentils
• Rice or whole grains
• TVP (textured vegetable protein)

Baking  supplies:

• Baking Powder, Baking Soda {of course Baking Soda is great to have around no matter what!}
• Cocoa Powder/Chocolate Chips
• Egg Replacer (I currently eat eggs but am considering switching to no eggs or milk)
• Flour
• Liquid Sweetner
• Sugar
• Vanilla

ESSENTIALS (most common in vegetarian specific recipes)

• Soy Sauce (I don't use too much because fiancée hates it)
• Tahini (think Humus!)
• Stir Fry Sauces {Peanut ... oh the name escapes me right now...I'll get back to you. It's delicious! Spicy and delicious! Goes great with pasta's. Sweet Chili Sauce as well.}
• Olive Oil, Sesame Oil (Again, I use Canola Oil as I find it to have more nutrients.)
• Balsamic vinegar, rice vinegar (I have white and balsamic. Again another good thing for cleaning ;) )
• Peanut Butter/nut butter (I have but honestly don't use pb much. Mostly my meat-eating partner in crime)
• Yeast (I keep active yeast available when I can)

My Spice rack favorites are Paprika and Garlic Powder. Often onion flakes as well:

• Basil
• Cayenne (Remember, only a little can make it hot hot hot!)
• Chili Powder
• Cinnamon
• Cumin (I personally do not like it, it's in a lot of vegetarian dishes though. I find it has a taste that you either love or can do without. Often in Samosas) 
• Curry (again, not often used in this house.)
• Garlic Powder (in everything! I will put it in instead of chives because it's quicker)
• Ginger Powder (I have run out)
• Onion Powder (or onion flakes)
• Oregano (running low)
• Parsley
• Pepper
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt (I really don't use that much

Aside from that I personally buy my fruits and vegetables frozen, mostly because it can be hard to keep and expensive to buy fresh. That's not to say we never have fresh never frozen fruit/vegetables. Just you'll always find a bag of frozen vegetables in our freezer. Rarely will you find canned fruits or vegetables (again bpa lined cans)

I also try to keep a little container of lemon juice and some people always have tofu handy but I rarely have tofu.

This is the kitchen of a vegetarian. The chicken in the freezer is my meat-eating roommates *cough* finacée's ;p

Now that I've made you all hungry I'll leave you to make some din-din.

Have a great weekend,

Your friendly neighborhood hippie mom!

Water, water everywhere...

Hello,

My name is "Bwings" and I avoid bottled water.

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop for free. Oh, that's not how it goes? Well, it's sure how it is. Imagine, paying for tap water in a polyethylene or  polycarbonate container, the later being the worse. You could simply purchase a nice non-leaching bottle for a similar price and maintain filling it at home before your voyage. Would certainly be more economical considering.

Here goes the, "when I was young I walked uphill both ways" speech, but it is true. When I was younger, only 6 or 7 years ago, you could buy water out of a cooler for $1. I thought it a tad funny but considered myself as buying the container and not, in fact, the water. Although I knew it was wrong to do I'd continue to reuse this container for weeks. Looking back it makes me shiver a little at the frequency by which I used that plastic container as in comparison to the frequency that I washed it. *shiver* However, I digress, now when one finds oneself needing a quenching beverage outside of home, that same bottled water could run you $1.75! Sure 0.75 in 6 years doesn't seem like much....for general food. But for bottled water? Something you'd otherwise have for "free" at home. I put free in quotes of course because it'd come out of our tax dollars etc. but essentially to pay for bottled water, are you not paying for it twice?

That remains my biggest reason for avoiding bottled water. There are however the lovely alternative reasons for not buying bottled water. Some of these I don't buy into myself, no pun intended. But I am here to offer all the criteria for my decisions and so here it is.

1) Regulations - It is possible for your tap water (assuming not well) to be more tightly regulated than the bottled water you bought today. I say possible because not all bottled water would necessarily be as loosely watched as some others. However, tap water, by law, must be disinfected, frequently tested for bacteria and parasites and filtered to remove pathogens. None of this is required of bottled water. That does not mean they don't do it, simply that they needn't do it. Funny isn't it. Isn't it all tap water? Well...except for that spring water, mineral water, and/or water from the glaciers.

That is right, bottled water needn't be disinfected or tested as frequently, nor does it have to be filtered or tested for parasites. Yummy. But again, this doesn't mean they don't, simply that it's not enforced. One could argue that this is because it's tap water and already assumed (by the factory) to be regulated by the government. Why triple test what is presumed to be tested by the government already? Seems folly.

2) The container, that lovely, colorful (although often plain and translucent) container by which you transfer H20 to your body for quenching. It of course is our plastic buddy again. Although I am aware of glass alternatives. I don't likely need to go far into the plastic debate as it's all over the news. But to summerize there are the topics of BPA which is in the polycarbonate options. There are also heavy metals in plastic bottles that over time, regardless of temperature, break down and enter your body through that very source of thirst quenching fluid.

3) The icky studies performed by the National Resources Defense Council found that about 20% of bottled water tested contained known carcinogens or neurotoxins. 20% is a low number but it's a hell of a lot higher than 0%!

The study can be found online straight from the horses mouth. But here are the highlights:

Not even 50% passed! Close, but certainly not 50%

• Where is our water coming from? One alarming discovery by the NRDC was in Massachusetts  where there was a well designated as "spring water" sold under many labels. It was discovered that this well was in fact located IN a parking lot (oh it gets better) of an industrial warehouse facility (worst is yet to come) near a state-designated hazardous-waste site!!!! Did you just spit out your bottled water?! Feel free to dry off your monitor now. There's more. Several chemical contaminants were found in this water, duh, including Trichloroethylene (carcinogen), Dichloroethane and Methylene Chloride. The source was not identified and although contamination was found in 1993 through 1996 the company continued to sell the water! Dry off your monitor, the well is no longer in use thanks to a friendly whistle blower. But for 3 years the contamination was known and never addressed! 

Again, you can see the lengthy study for yourself and make your own judgement calls. I like to take everything I read with a grain of salt, research into it and then form my own opinion. So, in short, I would expect no less from people who read my blog.

However, I can assure you my honesty at all times and in the case of bottled water vs. tap water, I feel water can/will be contaminated regardless of source. I use tap water, filtered through a brita water filter. I avoid purchasing water bottles mostly because I'm cheap and less because of possible carcinogens. I can not deny the compelling study though and so I present it to you for your own judgement call. 

Tis all from your friendly neighborhood hippie mom.