- Lather on the Natural Sunscreens Jun 10
- Hot Water Makes Berry Stains Vanish Jun 08
- Send them off to the neighbor's garden! Jun 06
- No bike left behind! May 11
- Hyping the Wipe Apr 30
- See all posts
The GreenYour Blog
Jun 10, 2009
Lather on the Natural Sunscreens
The active ingredients in most sunscreens are chemical based, the most common ones being: PABA, octinoxate, benzophenone-3 also known as oxybenzone, and homosalate. When you're shopping for sunscreens look for words like, "plant based", "natural" etc which means the ingredients are likely to be the natural minerals zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.
One word of warning: these mineral sunscreens can often leave a very white film on your skin which does not rub in easily, even after a few hours of wear! Although that's great for sun protection it's not so good for vanity protection. The one pictured here however (UV Naturals), is fantastic! It is 100% natural and leaves no film at all. It's a tad greasy but it soaks in quickly. It's not cheap ($37 for just over 5 oz) but look at it this way - cosmetic surgery to remove sun damage will cost you a lot more :)
Jun 08, 2009
Hot Water Makes Berry Stains Vanish
I'm not sure how it works or why it works but it does. Magically. The moment you get a berry stain (strawberry, blueberry, tomato, etc), fill your kettle with water, boil it, then stretch the fabric over a large bowl (get it as taught as possible over the bowl so the fibres are pulled apart) then pour a slow steady stream of boiling water into the fabric stain. For some reaon holding the kettle about 18 inchces above the fabric seems to work best (perhaps the force of the water coming down adds an extra boost.)
You might have to do it several times. If the stain's still not 100% out, try rubbing a tiny bit of soap on the spot and then pouring the water (careful, if its a color that might fade with soap and hot water.)
The key to this natural method of stain removal is speed of action -- ie. if you wait an hour after the stains settled, your favorite shirt may become a dish rag.
Jun 06, 2009
Send them off to the neighbor's garden!
Any strong ingredients mixed with water, alcohol and/or vinegar are very likely to deter garden bugs from sticking around. A few ingredients you might want to keep on hand:
-hot peppers
-garlic
-onion
-cloves
-eucalyptus and peppermint oils
There are tons of home remedies available on the Internet, but here's one that looks particularly repellant (to a bug).
May 11, 2009
No bike left behind!
For many of us across the US, May marks the official beginning of bike season - although others might disagree and say that no bike should ever be left behind!
The League of American Bicyclists has declared this to be the perfect month for biking. In New York City, our friends at Transportation Alternatives have organized a jam-packed calendar with rides, rallys, and other events on two wheels. Some highlights include the Department of Transportation organized commuter rides from Brooklyn to Manhattan and the upcoming Tour de Brooklyn (though its not in May).
For folks outside New York, simply Google "bike month" + your city and you should find a bunch of events. We looked around and every major city seems to be on board, from Austin to Kansas City.
So dust off those handle bars, pour some grease on the chain, and start pedaling! Its the cleanest, healthiest, and often the fastest way to get around.
Apr 30, 2009
Hyping the Wipe
We get a lot of products sent to at GreenYour with the hopes that we'll list them in our products section or write a post about them. We get some pretty odd ones- a "natural" laundry soap that immediately turned the water into a murky muddish brown and left the white shirt I was testing the same undesireable hue.
It doesn't matter how natural or organic a product is if it doesn't get the job done. So it was a great pleasure to test the Skoy Cloth and witness what a fantastic product it is. It's 100% natural and biodegradeable (made from cotton and wood based pulp) but best of all it cleans well and lasts forever (well 2 mos so far). It's strong, doesn't shred or lose fibres after multiple washings, it doesn't fade or get smelly and they come in a rainbow of colors. I have two on the go at all times - one for dishes and counter wiping, the other for floor spills and other dirty jobs.
Give them a try -- the risk is low and the payoff is more fun in the kitchen :)
Apr 21, 2009
It's all about YOU.
It's Earth Day -- a day to remember that this is all about you.
When you drive a high efficiency car - a hybrid or light car with high MPG- you save money in gasoline. When you don't allow the car to idle, you keep CO2 from being emitted and hence ensure the oceans remain beautiful places to visit. (CO2 gets absorbed by the oceans, making them more acidic, leading to the death of fish and coral that you were hoping to see on your next tropical vacation). When you choose skincare products that are made with 100% natural ingredients, you avoid applying carcinogens and hormone disruptors to your skin. When you recycle containers, you decrease the need for more landfills that are being built in what might be your next backyard. When you eat fish that has been sustainably caught, you ensure that you will still be eating that species of fish in 5 years. When you turn your lights out, you decrease the amount of coal burned at the power station, meaning less mercury (a by-product) emitted into the air, dramatically decreasing your risk of cancer, emphysema, asthma and throat irritations.
Go green - not for the Earth, not for your kids or their kids - do it because it's the best thing you can do, for you.
Happy Earth Day :)
Apr 19, 2009
Wheel of Fortune
There is no replacement for the sheer joy of entering a farmers market with no preconceived notion of what you might see and allowing all 5 of your senses to be transformed by the pleasures that await. The "local food wheel" only enhances this pleasure.
Why it's such a great device:
1)You can avoid the "mistake" of buying local seasonal foods -- from Chile
2)You can go to the farmers market equipped with the power of information, and ask confidently "where are the strawberries?" and know you wont be embarrassing yourself
3)You can plan seasonal recipes/parties in advance when certain foods will be in season
Currently the wheels are for New York and The Bay Area (in CA) but the NY one is pretty accurate for most of the NE, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest. The Bay Area wheel works for most of Central and N.California.
Apr 16, 2009
Adopt a "recycled" dog!
For all the talk about the Obama's adopting a dog from a shelter, it was unfortunate that they opted instead for a "new" dog from the Kennedy's. They have said they will be making a large donation to the humane society, which is generous, but unfortunately actions are far more powerful than cash.
According to the Humane Society, about 6-8 million cats and dogs are given to shelters each year and about half of these are adopted. The other half, sadly have a second life in heaven. Some people's rationale for not getting a pet from a shelter is that they are looking for a purebred or for a specific mix that they assume will be hard to find at a shelter (the Obama's for example needed a hypo-allergenic dog). Perhaps ten years ago that was the case, but these days most shelters have all of their animals online and make it easy for the prospective owner to search for very specific breeds.
Like a favorite pair of jeans, often a little "wear" makes a cherished find, even more cherishable.
Apr 16, 2009
Don't do it for the planet - do it for your wallet.
As the adage goes, "you cant control what you cant measure" -- this wonderful little device helps you measure the amount of electricity various devices use. It's incredibly simple and actually becomes addictive! You start measuring the energy your laptop uses and next thing you know you're measuring your electric toothbrush and coffee grinder.
To use, simply plug the device you want to measure into the Kill-a-Watt, plug the Kill-a-Watt into the wall socket, let some time elapse (30 mins is plenty) and take a reading of the killowatt hours used. You then multiply your cost per killowatt hour (which you can find on your electricity bill) and see exactly what using your laptop, lamp, tooth brush etc is costing you. It was fascinating to learn that a laptop in sleep mode, if kept on 24/7, would only cost $1.50/month however the corner floor lamp would run me $15 ! Turning off the lights just got a price tag ...
Apr 01, 2009
70% of antibiotics in the US go to healthy animals.
It's a frightening paradox but the more the livestock industry continues to give antibiotics to healthy animals, the sicker it's making *us*.
The reason for the drug craze? Pure economics. The backbone of the industry is the immense factory farm where thousands of animals are packed together inhumanely, with no exercise (often not even room to lie down) and no access to fresh air or natural feeds, there is a high risk of infection and disease among the animals. Giving the animals drugs *before* they're sick prevents disease. Fewer sick animals=more meat to sell.
But this practice comes at a high health cost to the consumer -- namely via rapidly growing human resistance to antibiotics, which has created "super bugs" and hence the need for ever stronger drugs to cure our ills.
It has long been thought that the over-prescription of drugs at hospitals and by doctors was the main contributor to this epidemic, but many experts argue that animal use of antibiotics may have an even greater impact on drug resistance.
So what can you do to avoid penicillin in your pork chop? Buy organic meats. And in the absence of an organic label, chose meat that clearly states that the animal has not been given antibiotics or hormones. And if in doubt - raise your own pig.
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