photo credit: steepways

Not trying  to be a scrooge, but with lots of candles being lit for the holidays, our thoughts turned towards how eco friendly are their emissions are? Do candles worsen indoor air quality?

I found an interesting article on BNET (CNet’s business site).  The author was threatened to attempt to squash the article.  Some interesting excerpts:

“David Krause, an air quality engineer and former employee of the Florida Department of Health, says that the soot given off from the burning of paraffin candles is the same as that given off by burning diesel fuel. Some of the air contaminants in paraffin fumes include toluene, benzene, methyl ethyl ketone (MEK), and naphthalene–substances found in paint, lacquer and varnish removers.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has determined that benzene and toluene are probable human carcinogens.

The state of California, under its Proposition 65 Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, has identified at least seven major toxins in paraffin wax including the carcinogen benzene.”

The upshot was that one should look for cleaner burning candles made from beeswax or any other natural vegetable wax such as soybean instead of traditional petroleum based paraffin candles.

Other tips include keeping the wick trimmed and trying to go easy on scents.

photo credit: shimgray

Keep Antibiotics Working covers the quiet FDA withdrawal of a ban of extralabel use of an antibiotic used for animal production.  Industry has once again prevailed. We’ve all read about superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics.

They have a good page on how to help end misuse of antibiotics.  Buy organic meat or poultry raised without routine use of antibiotics.

A timely update to a post we had several months ago..

photo credit: Pingu1963

The use of phthalates in toys and childcare items has been restricted in the European Union since December 1999 and will become restricted from children’s toys and child-care products in the USA starting February 10, 2009 . The law is not retroactive, so stores may have items with phthalates after that date.

Big retailers like Toysrus and Walmart are already following this new standard. So beware of toys being sold during the Christmas season from smaller retailers that might be trying to clear out non-compliant toys or that have no idea what products contain.

WSJ.com has details.

Of course, Look for toys with labels on packaging that state they are phthalate-free.

HealthyToys.org has a database of toys and what they contain.

NY Times had an interesting article about the rise in CO2 emissions as more people eat meat.  I knew that meat consumption affected the environment, but did not understand the magnitude.

From the chart, you can see what the alternatives to meat cost.  Time to eat more chicken instead of beef.  Yes becoming a vegetarian helps, but that is a difficult step for most to make.

photo credit: loop_oh

Car washing used to be a tradition that one did in their driveway.  We have come to realize that traditional car washing is not eco friendly.  All the detergents oil, and chemicals wash down the sewer drain and flow into local water systems, almost always without water treatment.  In my area, it flows into San Francisco Bay.  You wonder why you should not eat fish caught in the San Francisco Bay, and this is San Francisco! Not a 3rd world country. Water use is also costly.

It is more eco friendly to wash your car at a local car wash that uses recycled water and often 50% less of it. They are also required to drain water into sewer systems so it gets treated.

If you have to wash your car at home, wash it on the lawn or dirt so the waste can be absored in the ground.  Use biodegradable soap or green car products for cars, such as Simple Green’s Car Wash or use a waterless car wash product.