Eco Green Tips

photo credit: Manchester Library

Since now you know the problems and concerns surrounding both paper production and consumption, you probably wonder what you can do to minimize the damage done not only to our health but the environment as well.

Here are some tips for shopping and usage:

• Look for acid-free paper, especially if you want your work to last a long time. Most processes leave the paper slightly acidic, which affects its lasting capabilities.
• Purchase light weight paper, since it requires fewest materials to create it and most of it should meet your printing and copying needs.
• Recycle used paper. Not only does recycling save trees, it has many other benefits, such as keeping the heavy metals out of the waterways, producing new jobs, saving water and energy, and reducing the amount of landfill space used. Moreover, the production of recycled paper releases far less greenhouse gasses than virgin paper production.
• Purchase recycled paper. Here is a list of labels you should pay attention to and their explanation:
  % Post-Consumer Waste (PCW)—defines what percentage is derived from consumer-generated paper (recycled from the solid waste stream). It is the most ecologically aware method of paper reuse. Look for the highest percentage number and stay clear (if you can) of ‘pre-consumer’ paper since it is the cause of mill waste.
  % Recycled—means that a specific kind of paper contains a said amount of recycled material, including post- and pre- consumer paper.
• Look for paper made from alternative fiber such as flax and linen, tobacco leaf, agricultural stalks and straws, bamboo, coffee-bean residue, esparto grass, seaweed, bagasse (leftover sugarcane stalks), old money, old clothing and ground junk-mail. The main substances (other than trees) for paper production available on the market are: kenaf (annual plant that produces twice the amount of fiber than pine, requires few pesticides and herbicides and is naturally whiter than wood pulp so it doesn’t need bleaching), cotton (rags, old clothes, old jeans and waste cotton from cotton mills) and hemp (produces excellent fiber for paper, is naturally lighter than wood and requires very few chemicals to grow).
• Look for paper that has some of the following CFPA certifications governing the bleaching process and the use of chlorine: TCF (Totally Chlorine Free)—applied to virgin paper pressed without chlorine or chlorine derivatives; PCF  (Processed Chlorine Free)—applied to recycled paper, which is not further treated with chlorine or chlorine derivatives;  ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free)—applied to paper treated with a chlorine derivative, e.g. chlorine dioxide.

photo credit: salsaboy

Paper production is an increasing concern around the world since it is predicted that it will rise in nearly half by 2010. Computer usage, contrary to expectations, did not reduce paper consumption and household printing constitutes a big part of the problem. In addition, only 20% of office or other business paper is recycled in the US. Paper production has many destructive side effects that include health, environmental and social issues.

Here is a glimpse of the issues surrounding paper production:

• Health—milling logs into paper involves using chlorine or chlorine derivatives for bleaching, which combined with organic matter (such as pulp) form organochlorine chemicals, namely dioxins. Dioxins are highly toxic carcinogens and hormone disruptors and prolonged exposure increases a risk of getting cancer to 1 in 1000. Even though about 80% of American mills switched to using less damaging form of chlorine, global mills continue to use gas form of chemical, which is the most toxic one.                                                                                     And the problem does not end there. Dioxins end up in waterways where they can     be easily ingested by animals or humans, which poses a whole different set of risks. According to EPA, 95% of human dioxin exposure comes from animal fats (meant, dairy, eggs).       Another health risk comes from dumping paper in landfills or burning it in incinerators, which releases chemicals from ink into the air, water and soil. And again they may easily end up in the food chain. Many companies still use chemicals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, zinc, manganese, mercury, potassium, copper, chromium and nickel in their ink production, and exposure to heavy metals results in mental retardation, cancers, kidney damage and autoimmune diseases.
• Environmental—paper industry is the largest wood consumer in the world and the enormous amounts of forests cut down contribute to a great number of environmental issues, such as deforestation, loss of habitat, soil erosion, floods (to name a few). Deforestation continues at an alarming rate and it is estimated that the remaining old-growth wild forests are threatened with the increasing need for timber. Deforestation destroys biodiversity, which leads to the loss of habitat for many species of animals and plants.                                                              Moreover, cutting down forests leads to soil erosion and adds to the amount of sediment in waterways, which disrupts the marine life (some of the fish may not be able to spawn in the muddy waters). Furthermore, the lack of trees contributes to the increasing number of floods since the water has no obstruction and rushes down freely.
• Social—timber, as a constantly wanted natural resource, has been a bone of contention between nations and led to many armed conflicts. Not only does cutting down forests bring war and destruction to some societies, it also hurts the indigenous people living in many of the ancient forests around the world, for instance the Mosquito People of Nicaragua are defending their habitat against the guerrilla warfare and fights broke out in Burma, the Philippines, India and Indonesia for the control over the timber.

Unfortunately, the problems connected to paper production and consumption don’t end here. Recycling could be the answer to many of the issues however, only a fraction of the paper used around the world is recycled. Stay tuned for information about how you can minimize the problem and reduce your paper consumption.

photo credit: me vs gutenberg

Not only is mold unsightly, but it can be dangerous to your health. Scientists have associated nearly 80 strands of mold with various respiratory tract disorders, thus removing mold if you happen to have some or simply keeping it from forming in your house should be on anyone’s agenda. However, do you really have to use the harsh chemical agents (which could be just as dangerous, if not more so) to do so?

Fortunately, there are natural and effective mold eliminators and you most likely have one of them right there in your kitchen. What is it?—you ask. It is undiluted white vinegar, which kills 82% of most mold strands. To remove mold patches, pour vinegar in a spray bottle, saturate the area with mold and let it stand. There may be a strong scent of vinegar lingering in the air but it should clear after a while. Contrary to harsh chemical cleaners, vinegar does not release fume that could be potentially harmful to your health. But if the odor becomes unbearable, imply open the windows and leave the room.

For mold that is resilient to vinegar, try tea tree oil mixed with water (two teaspoon of tea tree oil with two cups of water). However, the smell of this natural essential oil is much stronger than vinegar and it will linger on for a few days. On the other hand, when everything else fails tea tree oil will do the trick. Then again, if the smell is too much to take, the mixture of grapefruit extract (20 drops to two cups of water) is nearly as potent and it will most likely make your bathroom (or other parts of the house) smell fresh.

So arm yourself with these natural mold fighters and get rid of these nasty little furry patches. And keep them at bay with a bit of good old white vinegar.

photo credit: JasonJT

You try to live greener and replace the bad with the good (or at least the lesser evil) and most of the time you manage to make the right choices. The same should be true for sugar substitutes, which are supposed to be a better choice in general than sugar. Or are they?

If you think Splenda is natural, you couldn’t be more wrong. Sucralose (Splenda’s generic name), even though derived form sugar, is chemically made in laboratories. While sugar contains three pairs of oxygen and hydrogen atoms, the sweetener has three chlorine atoms. Quite a different chemical make-up, wouldn’t you say? In fact, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) states that Splenda should be referred to as “made from chlorinated hydrocarbons” rather than sugar.

In 2006, a year after Splenda (considered the best of the sweeteners) was introduced in Norway, the scientists there found Sucralose in waterways. Sucralose is not digestible therefore it ends up down the drain, no pun intended. After your body excretes it, it remains in the environment for a few years, depending on the water temperature and its PH. Scientists claim that the chemical may interfere with photosynthesis and cause algae problems as well as disrupt organisms’ feeding behaviors.

So if you have a choice between sugar (which, as bad as it may be, is still natural) and any kind of sweetener containing chlorine, which would you choose?

With the hot humid weather, both our pets and family members are exposed to the pesky little problem called fleas. They can cause skin irritation on humans and if you scratch the bites, which are really itchy, it may lead to inflammation. Our pets are in the highest risk from the nasty creepers, since not only do they cause skin irritation but can lead to fleabite anemia, dermatitis (something like dandruff) and carry tapeworm as well.

However, some of the conventional flea prevention treatment products may be even more dangerous since they contain harsh chemical pesticides that fall into two categories: pyrethroids or carbamates.

Carbamates (including active ingredients carbaryl and propoxur) disrupt the insects’ nervous system but they have the same effect on birds and fish. Moreover, these chemicals also affect the nervous systems of pets and humans, especially children who absorb more chemicals than adults.

Pyrethroids, used in flea sprays, powders, shampoos etc, are a synthetic version of a natural chemical, pyrethrin, found in chrysanthemums. They can cause skin and respiratory irritation as well as interfere with immune system, which may lead to allergies. Furthermore, the chemical is highly toxic to marine life.

Experts advise to stay away from anything containing ingredients ending with –thrin (e.g. permethrin, sumithrin, bioallethrin, etc.) and no to use permethrin-containing products on cats since they are highly susceptible to it and may suffer muscle spasms, tremors or seizures.

For information on natural ways of preventing and treating fleas, read my article “Getting Rid of Fleas, Naturally…”