Earth Friendly Shopping

We have been fans of Klean Kanteen for years.  The kids each have one of their own, and both Mrs. EFS and I have at least one.  We have found the Klean Kanteens were durable, and really did keep our water tasting great.   Klean Kanteens eliminate BPA worrries, and reduce the waste from disposable water bottles.  The only problem we ever saw with them was that the look of the plain stainless steel was (shall we say) utilitarian.  Now, utilitarian kind of fits our style, but occasionally you might want something a little, oh, more fun or stylish.  Well, the wait is over, and you can now get Kolor Klean Kanteens.   Available in Ocean Blue,  Black Eclipse and Pink Renewal, Kolor Kanteens are both Earth Friendly and stylin.  They are available in a variety of sizes, including the popular 12 oz stainless steel sippy cup.    All we can say is Kool.

Ecogeek reported that

In less than 7 years, Mercedes-Benz plans to ditch petroleum-powered vehicles from its lineup. Focusing on electric, fuel cell, and biofuels, the company is revving up research in alternative fuel sources and efficiency.

The first of these cars, is an HCCI and spark combination, capable of running on biofuels, and projected to be available in 2010.

While I applaud Mercedes for the rapid increase in research in this area, and I wish we were seeing this same kind of commitment from the  American car companies, I question the aggressiveness of the goals.  As they note,  most of the non-gasoline cars are not even in development yet, and some require major improvements in underlying technology (such as better batteries)

Then of course there is the matter of the infrastructure to support the cars.  Will the biofuels be available? what about plug in stations for the electric cars?  Overall, there is a lot of work to do

Well it’s summer time, and that means playing harder, working out, and garden work.  And with all that comes sore muscles and joints.   Well, we found a some great all natural relief with Badger All Natural Balms.   The first one we tried was the All Natural Extra Strength Sore Muscle Rub.  This terrific blend contains no synthetic ingredients, and nothing petroleum based.  Instead, this balm contains extracts of cayenne, chili and cinnamon.  These extracts are naturally warming and anti-inflammatory.  Rub them on sore muscles and you can feel the natural warmth stimulate circulation like a heating pad.  In addition, Badger Balms smell really good. The Sore Muscle Rub features the scents of Ginger, Lemongrass, and Rosemary.  Many of the ingredients are certified organic.    The base of the balm is organic extra virgin olive oil, so it is good for your skin too.

Next we tried the Badger All Natural Arnica Sore Joint Rub.   Arnica is a traditional remedy that has been shown to reduce inflammation and promote healing.   It has been used for centuries in a variety of forms.  In addition to arnica, this great rub also contains black pepper to warm and promote circulation.  Like the muscle balm, the sore joint rub contains many certified organic ingredients all in a base of certified organic extra virgin olive oil.

Badger Balms are made in the United States.  The ingredients in the products are 100% natural and either organic, ecologically harvested and/or wild-crafted. Badger Products contain no chemical preservatives, no synthetics dyes or fragrances, no petroleum-based products and no parabens. Read the label – it’s the good stuff. And it works, which is the best part. 

Over at 3 Quarks Daily, there is an interesting take on the New Whole Foods in the Bowery in NYC, and some fascinating commentary about what it says about our relationship to food.

Now,  the article is about a year old, even so it struck me for several reasons – 1)Many years ago, I lived in (near) the Bowery, when I was a starving art student at NYU.  The idea of a Whole Foods in THAT neighborhood is mindblowing.  Even though I realize that the lower east side of today is not the lower east side of 30 years ago.  2) Where I live now, we have been desperately trying to get a Whole Foods to move here for years.

But here is the paragraph that got to me

In a world in which we’ve been socialized to distrust the claims of brands, we paradoxically require ever greater documentations of authenticity, ever wordier mediations between ourselves and things.  We don’t trust ourselves to be able to divine with our own eyes what an edible object is, whether it’s genetically modified, whether it contains omega-3, whether it’s safe for our children.  But the Lower East Side of New York has lasted against this tendency, thanks to the richness of its cultural inheritance.  It’s also due, frankly, to intrepidness of the people who have lived here, their lack of a need for handholding, and their willingness to seek out the new and the strange.  There is something beautiful about the fact that the greatest smoked salmon purveyor in the country operates on the very corner from which the taste for the foodstuff emanated.  It is a rare and appropriate historical congruence, and to me it represents what is fascinating and powerful about the food culture of this quadrant of New York City.  Whole Foods is not.

An Earth Freindly Back Sack for kids on the go.

Soccer Games? Trips to the Pool? or even just the playground. We know that wherever kids go, they have to bring their “Stuff” – and sheesh, it seems like kids have a lot of stuff all the time. So why not get your kids a place to keep all their stuff.

The Kidz Sack is an Earth friendly Back Sack. It is made from recycled cotton, with a natural fiber drawcord and an inner pocket for marker storage.

Each Kidz Sack comes with 8 premium nontoxic, water-based washable markers. Let kid color Kidzsack. When “masterpiece” is complete and the artist wants to start over, wash Kidzsack in warm or hot water with liquid detergent. When dry, it’s ready to be colored again!

The Kidz Sack comes in three designs,  Castle, Jungle, and Sea Life.   Kid Sacks are available for $19.95 at Kate’s Caring Gifts.

If you live in California, particularly Northern or Central Coast California, you need to learn about the  Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) Eradication Plans, and work to stop it.

This information is taken from   Stop the Spray  .   We urge you to go there, read the information, check the resources, and get involved.

 What is the LBAM Eradication Program?
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) plans to resume “emergency” aerial pesticide spraying for the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM) in summer 2008. The program began in 2007 in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties using a pheromone-based pesticide dispersed from low-flying planes in microscopic plastic capsules. In 2008, CDFA plans to spray the Central Coast again along with the San Francisco Bay Area. The spray is planned to repeat monthly for  up to 5 years or indefinitely until LBAM is eradicated. The LBAM eradication program also
involves other treatments, including painting of telephone poles with permethrin, a carcinogenic nd neurotoxic pesticide that is also toxic to honeybees and aquatic species. CDFA has not completed an Environmental Impact Report on the spray program.

What are the Health Risks of the Spray?
More than 600 in Santa Cruz and Monterey County reported adverse health reactions following the spraying in 2007. The active ingredient in the spray, a synthetic moth pheromone, has not been tested for long-term human toxicity. Other ingredients in the spray are carcinogenic, mutagenic, reproductive effectors linked to birth defects, liver toxins, dermal irritants, unsafe to inhale, and toxic to aquatic species. The microscopic plastic capsules in which the pesticide is sprayed break down over 30 days, releasing the pesticide. They are small enough (<10 microns) to be inhaled into the deep lung where they cannot be expelled. The aerial spray poses particular risk to sensitive populations: children, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic disease, as well as to those in the homeless population who do not have access to shelter and those who work outdoors.
The Moth Does Not Threaten Agriculture or Native Plants
CDFA has repeatedly stated publicly that LBAM has done no documented crop damage in California. Entomologists have testified that, based on its range, LBAM has likely been in California for 30-50 years. A recent scientific report on LBAM in New Zealand states that LBAM there “is considered a minor pest that does not cause economically significant crop damage or have detrimental effect on native flora” and that LBAM is 80-90% controlled by natural predators in New Zealand, and the same predators are present in California, including birds, spiders, wasps, flies, beetles, lacewings, and earwigs. These facts, taken together, indicate that there is no “emergency” and likely no need to use pesticides to control LBAM.

Eradication will Not Work
Even if LBAM posed a problem in the state, scientists say that eradication has no chance of success given the range over which LBAM is established and the fact that pheromone spray has ever been used successfully to eradicate a pest.