How Long to Keep Food Stored in

Pantries, Cupboards, and Freezers

Buying in bulk saves money, but even dry and canned foods won’t keep forever. The following guidelines can be used to determine when foods need to be thrown away, particularly those that have been bought from bulk stores and don’t have packaging with expiration dates.

Cooking & Baking Ingredients

Store for the following times or until the expiration date if listed, whichever comes first:

Baking cocoa – unopened 8 months, opened 3-6 months

Baking powder and soda – 6 months after opening

Bread Crumbs - 6 months

Brown sugar – 4 months

Cake mixes - 1 year

Coconut (canned or shredded in an unopened package) – 1 year (refrigerate after opening)

Corn and canola oils – 18 months

Cornmeal – 12 months in a tightly sealed container

Cornstarch – indefinitely in a tightly sealed container

Dried fruit – 6 months

Flour, all types – 6-8 months

Gelatin – 18 months in original container or package

Honey – 12 months in a sealed container

Marshmallows – 2-3 months

Nuts in a vacuum can – 3 months (1 year refrigerated)

Nuts in the shell – 4 months (1 year refrigerated)

Olive oil – 24 months

Pancake mix – 6-9 months

Powdered or confectioner’s sugar – 18 months

Prepared cake, pudding, and biscuit mixes – 9-12 months

Semisweet chocolate – 18 months

Shortening (unopened) – 18 months (6-8 months after opening)

Chocolate syrup (unopened) – 2 years (refrigerate after opening)

Molasses – 12 months unopened, 6 months opened (refrigeration can extend life)

Vanilla extract – unopened 2 years, opened 1 year if tightly sealed

Vinegar – unopened 2 years, opened 1 year if tightly sealed

White sugar, brown sugar – 2 years (sugar doesn’t go off, but may change flavor)

Herbs and Spices

Herbs and spices are highly variable. Generally, whole spices can last up to 4 years and ground spices up to 2, while ground herbs such as oregano will last for between 6 months and 2 years with proper storage. Herbs and spices should be stored in airtight jars in a cool, dark, dry place. If they no longer smell strongly, they are probably past their prime.

These guidelines assume that the food is not stale or old when purchased and that food products are sealed in their original airtight packaging. Improper storage will shorten the lives of dry goods so that they may go stale before their use-by dates. Storing in a cool, dry place in airtight containers helps to preserve the maximum lifespan of dry goods.

What do packaging dates mean?

“Sell by” means the store should sell the product by the printed date, but the product still can be safely eaten by the consumer.

“Best if used by” means the consumer should use the product by the date listed for best quality and flavor (not for safety reasons).

“Use by” or “expires” means the product should be used by consumers by the date listed; you are likely to see a marked deterioration in product quality and safety after that date.

How Long to Keep Food Stored in

Pantries, Cupboards, and Freezers

Buying in bulk saves money, but even dry and canned foods won’t keep forever. The following guidelines can be used to determine when foods need to be thrown away, particularly those that have been bought from bulk stores and don’t have packaging with expiration dates.

Baked Goods

Baked goods should be stored at room temperature because they go stale faster in the fridge, with the exception of cheesecakes and other items containing dairy products (especially cream). Anything with fresh dairy must be refrigerated at all times.

Baked goods stored in cupboards and pantries usually go stale within a few days, freezing can extend longevity. Baked goods stored in the freezer should keep for the following times:

Angel, sponge, layer, or cheesecake – 4-6 months

Bagels – 2 months

Baked cookies – 4-6 months

Bread - 3 months

Danishes, doughnuts – 3 months

Fruit pies (baked) – 1 year

Muffins, quick breads, rolls – 2-4 months

Nut pies – 6 months

Pumpkin or chiffon pies – 1 month

Unbaked cookie dough – 6 months

Unbaked pie shells – unopened 12 months, opened 2 months (these should be used within a day if transferred to the fridge)

Storing bread dough in the freezer is not recommended, as it may not rise as well afterward. Freezing custard-based pies is also not advisable.

Dry Foods

Check the expiration dates on dry foods that are stored at room temperature. If there isn’t one, the following guidelines can be used:

Bread Crumbs - 6 months

Bouillon cubes or granules – 2 years

Brown rice – 6 months in a tightly sealed container

Cereals – 6-12 months (but will likely go stale more rapidly once opened unless kept in a tightly sealed bag or container)

Coffee creamer, dry - 6 months

Crackers – 6 months (faster after opening)

Flavored rice (i.e., with herbs) – 6 months in a tightly sealed container

Instant potatoes – 6-12 months

Noodles (containing dried egg solids) – 1-2 months

Pasta (without egg solids) – 1 year

Plain white rice – 2 years or more in a tightly sealed container

Popcorn – 1-2 years in a sealed container

Canned Food & Snacks

Discard cans that are rusted, leaking, bulging, or giving off a bad odor, as these are signs of spoilage. Assuming they’re not old when purchased, canned foods stored in a dry place should keep for the following times:

Canned fruit (including tomatoes) – unopened 12-18 months, opened 2-3 days in the fridge

Canned meals – unopened 2-5 years for low-acid items such as most pastas, stews, soups, and vegetables; 12-18 months for anything containing tomatoes, fruit, sauerkraut, or vinegar

Canned or bottled olives – unopened 1 year, opened 2 weeks in the fridge

Pickles – unopened 1 year, opened 3 months in the fridge

These guidelines assume that the food is not stale or old when purchased and that food products are sealed in their original airtight packaging. Improper storage will shorten the lives of dry goods so that they may go stale before their use-by dates. Storing in a cool, dry place in airtight containers helps to preserve the maximum lifespan of dry goods.

What do packaging dates mean?

“Sell by” means the store should sell the product by the printed date, but the product still can be safely eaten by the consumer.

“Best if used by” means the consumer should use the product by the date listed for best quality and flavor (not for safety reasons).

“Use by” or “expires” means the product should be used by consumers by the date listed; you are likely to see a marked deterioration in product quality and safety after that date.

Originally published January 16 2009

FDA Approves Some New Drugs Illegally

by Susan Thixton, citizen journalist

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(NaturalNews) The Office of Inspector General has just released a sickening report on the FDA’s drug approval process; providing evidence the FDA has approved drugs without following required legal procedures. When is this madness going to stop?

Did FDA approve drugs illegally?

The Office of Inspector General (OIG), as mandated by law, is the government agency responsible for making sure the FDA is abiding by Federal law, properly following procedure and protocol to assure the safety of human and animal foods and human and animal drugs. A new report from the OIG provides clear cut evidence the FDA is NOT doing their job; not following proper protocol required by Federal law.

Are new drugs being properly tested by the FDA?

The OIG investigated the FDA drug approval process; they discovered that in 2007, the FDA approved numerous new drugs without complete information; specifically conflict of financial interest information of clinical trial investigators.

The drug approval process is a lengthy and costly procedure. Millions of dollars are spent getting a new drug to market; many drugs fail the clinical process resulting in millions lost to the drug manufacturer. No refunds are provided to a drug company whose product fails clinical trials. In other words, the success of the clinical trial could mean the difference between a drug company making millions of dollars or losing millions of dollars.

The Federal government recognizes the importance of a new drug clinical trial; the health and safety of future patients are at stake, and the government recognizes that the prospect of millions of dollars in profits can tend to make a company do bad things.

As a result, Federal law requires that all investigators involved in clinical trials disclose any potential financial interests with the drug company. Law requires the FDA to review all clinical investigators financial information before a new drug is approved for sale, and should any conflict of interest be found, to closely re-examine the entire approval process.

Just to clarify the severity of the OIG findings, as example, XYZ Drug Company has applied for FDA approval of it’s new drug XYZ-E. Ten million dollars have been spent in the drug’s development, five million dollars to the FDA for approval; and the clinical trial begins. XYZ Drug Company REALLY needs this drug to be approved, so, the clinical investigators hired to manage the required clinical drug trials are provided stock in XYZ Drug Company as part of the compensation for their ‘work’. Any smart investigator realizes, if the clinical trial does well, so will I. The ’smart investigator’ oversees the clinical trial making sure things go well, the new drug appears to be the next miracle drug, is approved and everyone gets healthy, or wealthy.

You can see why government requires all clinical investigators involved in the process of testing a new drug, be required to provide the FDA any and all financial interest information of those involved in the clinical trial process. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a financial interest in the outcome of the clinical trial of those that run the clinical trial, could sway the results of the testing, putting countless humans and pets (depending on the drug) at great risk.

Is the FDA doing it's job?

The Big problem is for drugs approved in fiscal year 2007, the FDA did NOT review all the conflict of interest financial information, in fact they didn’t even collect this information on many new approved drugs.

The Inspector General’s findings:

• - 23% of 2007’s approved drugs and approved medical devices were missing required attachments.
• - 31% of the 2007 FDA approved drugs and approved medical devices showed the FDA did not document any financial information.
• - 20% of the 2007 FDA approved drugs and approved medical devices showed the FDA did not take action to minimize potential bias of clinical trial investigators.

The FDA’s response to the OIG investigation and report, in typical form, was basically ‘it’s not our fault’. The FDA told the Inspector General, that the responsibility for collecting financial information regarding potential bias of clinical drug trial investigators was the responsibility of the drug companies. The OIG report stated “FDA asserted that this additional effort would not be worthwhile because financial interests are only one form of potential bias.”

The findings of the Inspector General prove the FDA cannot or will not, abide by Federal law, and furthermore, is not a Government Agency that has the best interest of U.S. citizens in mind. With pet food being at the very bottom of the FDA ‘to do’ list, just imagine what’s done and/or not done with regards to pet food safety.

Bailouts are the latest topic of discussion in Washington. Perhaps the law makers in Washington should take a closer look at the FDA’s misgivings, and consider an FDA bailout, of sorts. Not a financial bailout; a different kind, more like a ‘throw out’, a ‘throw out’ the front door every member of FDA administration. So long, good-bye, see ya, you are fired, don’t come back, don’t ask for a referral!

To read the full Inspector General report: http://www.oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-…

Wishing you and your pet the best,

Susan Thixton

Are drugs being tested properly before FDA approval?

Psychotropic drugs are prescribed to children in the United States at three times the rate of children in Europe, according to one of the first studies to rigorously compare such prescription patterns between different countries.

“There is significantly greater use of atypical anti-psychotics and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)-type antidepressants for child mental health treatment in U.S. than in Western Europe,” lead researcher Julie Zito said.

Zito and colleagues from the University of Maryland’s School of Pharmacy examined the prescription of psychotropic drugs, including stimulants such as Ritalin and antidepressants such as Prozac, to more than 600,000 people under the age of 20 in the United States, Germany and the Netherlands between 1999 and 2000. They found that 6.7 percent of children in the United States, 2.9 percent of those in the Netherlands and 2 percent of those in Germany were taking at least one psychotropic drug at the time.

Teens on drugs, prescription drugs.

Among U.S. children between the ages of five and nine, the rate was more than 8 percent, or four times the European rate. The use of more than one drug at a time by U.S. children was also widespread.

Looking specifically at different classes of medications, the researchers found that U.S. children were prescribed antidepressants and stimulants at three or more times the rate of children in Europe, and antipsychotics at between 1.5 and 2.2 times the European rate.

Not just vitamins anymore

In the United States, more than 75 percent of psychotropic drugs were prescribed to children “off-label,” for uses not approved by the FDA.

The findings were published online in the journals Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health and BioMed Central.

Zito noted that the prescription of psychotropics in the United States has probably increased in the eight years since the study’s completion.

“The US trends appear to be continuing,” she said.

The researchers proffered several possible explanations for the vast differences in prescription rates between the United States and Europe.

Part of the difference may be due to different diagnosis systems, with less stringent requirements in the United States for a diagnosis of mental illness in children. For example, the criteria for a U.S. diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are much easier to meet than for the equivalent European hyperkinetic disorder. Likewise, a diagnosis of childhood bipolar disorder is much more common in the United States.

Other differences in the medical establishments include a much higher per capita number of child psychiatrists in the United States (meaning there are more people to write psychotropic prescriptions) and the European public health system’s aversion to prescribing expensive, patented antidepressants and antipsychotics. European doctors are also less comfortable prescribing stimulants to children; the practice was actually banned in France while the study was being conducted.

Some parents feel their kids are being over-medicated.

Another possible explanation is cultural: doctors and patients in the United States are much more likely to turn to pharmaceutical remedies than Europeans are.

“Direct-to-consumer drug advertising, which is common in the U.S., is also likely to account for some of the differences,” the researchers wrote. “The increased use of medication in the U.S. also reflects the individualist and activist therapeutic mentality of U.S. medical culture.”

“It has been said many times that the U.S. has a sick-care system, rather than a health-care system, with a particular emphasis on use of drugs and procedures for diagnosed conditions,” said David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine. “This study reaffirms that pattern, with more use of medication for various mental health conditions among children in the U.S than other countries.”

Zito warned that with most psychotropics being used by children off-label, much more caution is needed in prescribing and post-prescription monitoring.

“Until we have better evidence, we need to be conducting close monitoring of off-label use to assure parents that the benefits of medications outweigh the risks of unnecessary use (when the benefit is inadequate) or risk of adverse events such as increased glucose levels and lipid levels for youth receiving atypical neuroleptics,” she said.

This article really hit home for me. My daughter, Maegan, was diagnosed with ADHD a year and a half ago. I was not happy with putting her on what I consider to be very strong medications. However, I didn’t feel we had much choice.

She was having difficulty concentrating when she needed to and nothing we tried seemed to help. Then there were the emotional outbursts, fighting with everyone around her, and finally, the beginnings of violence and an oppositional defiance disorder. At least, that’s what the shrinks said.

We were given alternatives to conventional drug treatment. Biofeedback, herbs & supplements, individual & family counseling, private schooling and several types of physical outlets for her excess energies were recommended. Unfortunately, we can’t afford most of the options that don’t require drugs. Since we’re poor, and the kids are on the State’s health insurance (Soonercare here); we pretty much have to go with the prescription drugs.

This is not the way I ever wanted to, or imagined, raising a child.

I loathe prescription drugs and the companies that make them. It used to be about the science and helping people. Now, just like almost everything else, it’s become all about the money; and how much money can they make off each new drug before it kills too many people to be sold.

US Music Corp., parent company of several music brands including Washburn Guitars, have partnered with Disney to create the Disney Star suite of applications - which unlike console-based music games, will teach children to play a real guitar or piano using familiar songs from Disney franchises like Hannah Montana and High School Musical.

Disney Star guitarist

Disney Star Guitarist comes with a 3/4 scale steel string guitar designed for small hands, and a special pickup that can tell which note is being played on each string, and communicate with the software via a USB cable. In the future, you’ll be able to bring a pre-existing full-size guitar along, by buying a bundle including the software, colored strings and the pickup. As you’re using a real guitar, it will need to be in tune for the software to work properly - luckily the software has a built-in tuner which teaches you how to tune a guitar. You’ll start out with three note chords, which the initial testing has shown that kids can pick up almost instantly, and go through to playing complicated solos.

Disney Star Keyboard comes with a four-octave keyboard with color coded keys, much like Piano Wizard - however unlike Piano Wizard, there are no plans for a software-only version for households already equipped with MIDI keyboards. It’s surely no surprise to you by now that Disney Star Vocals comes with a USB microphone.

The Star Suite will be available this Summer, with pricing as follows:

• US$79.99 for Vocals
• US$129.99 for Keyboard
• US$199.99 for Guitarist

When you compare these prices to the value of Guitar Hero World Tour or Rock Band 2, which are only teaching kids to play scaled-down versions of real instruments, it’s a no-brainer to buy them Disney Star instead. They might be annoyed at first, but once they’re melting faces on stage, they’ll thank you for it.

We greatly look forward to this technology reaching maturity and moving into adult-friendly forms.

Source: Gizmag.com

guitar lessons

I’m so thrilled about this. I can’t wait for this to be available here. Both of my kids love music, but there is no way we can afford music lessons.

Public schools used to offer a way for even poor kids to learn how to sing or play a musical instrument. Not so much anymore. If you want your kids to join band, you need to have the money to pay for the instruments, the uniforms and anything else that comes with being in band (field trips, parades, and performances all come with travel, food,  and incidental expenses).

Hundreds objected to the mandated flu vaccinations. Mel Evans/Associated Press

2009: The Vaccine Freedom Tipping Point

by Barbara Loe Fisher

January 10, 2009

Last night the nighttime medical soap opera, “Private Practice,” on ABC-TV demonized parents of children with MMR-vaccine related autism for refusing to vaccinate normal siblings while glorifying doctors forcibly vaccinating children without parental consent. The segment entitled “Contamination” left the viewer with the impression that every child who gets measles will die and that MMR vaccine poses no risks whatsoever to any child. It was a cheap shot at parents with vaccine injured children trying to protect their healthy children from vaccine injury and yet another wake-up call for Americans, who understand the importance of voluntary, informed consent to taking any pharmaceutical product or undergoing any medical procedure that can injure and kill.

As 2008 ended and the New Year began, evidence that the “Tipping Point” in the 27-year old vaccine safety and informed consent movement has arrived is becoming more apparent. There is the escalating rhetoric and hyperbole being spewed by the evangelistic pediatrician from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, who called for doctors to be burned at the stake for the heresy of individualizing CDC and AAP vaccine use guidelines. In a brilliant letter to Pediatrics, it was a parent of a vaccine injured child, neurologist Jon Poling, M.D., who pointed out why sophomoric errors in logic and misunderstanding of the scientific method invalidated the claims of Paul Offit. Soon Dr. Poling was joined by others speaking out in defense of pediatricians like Bob Sears, M.D., who are wisely advocating that doctors and parents engage in shared vaccine decision-making for children.

Then there was the stern reminder to parents from militant New Jersey health officials that babies must get flu shots by January 2009 or face being kicked out of daycare and pre-school. Parents living in the state with the most vaccine mandates (41 doses of 13 vaccines), especially those with children already suffering with health problems, are trying to protect their children from further damage but have no recourse because New Jersey state law only allows restrictive medical and religious exemptions. Vaccine educated parents are writing letters to legislators urging them to pass a conscientious belief exemption to vaccination.

After a Dec. 14 legislative roundtable discussion at Stony Brook University with proponents for and against addition of a philosophical exemption to New York vaccine laws, vaccine educated parents are urging that letters be written to legislators (New York Assembly at http://assembly.stat e.ny.us/ and New York Senate at http://www.senate.state.ny.us/senatehom epage.nsf/senators?OpenForm ) and also to New York Governor David Paterson, Executive Chamber, State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224 in support of the exemption.

Merck rang in the New Year trying to pump up sales of the reactive Gardasil vaccine by asking the FDA to open up the young boy market, while Prevnar-maker Wyeth is making a bid to become the world’s most profitable vaccine manufacturer. The Jan. 1 voluntary moratorium by drug companies on giving doctors free pens and trinkets is a token drop in the bucket compared to the big bucks Big Pharma will spend in 2009 to keep doctors convincing Americans that the only way they can stay healthy is to consume more and more drugs and vaccines.

But then came a breath of fresh air this week when the formidable M.I.N.D. Institute at UC-Davis published an epidemiological study confirming that the autism epidemic that has emerged during the past three decades is not due to genetics or “better counting” but is likely caused by environmental co-factors.

2009 is off to a contentious, challenging and promising start. Like all social movements that advocate reform of institutions stubbornly resistant to change, the way is not easy and change does not come quickly or without sacrifice. The three-decade U.S. vaccine safety and informed consent movement is approaching its final and most important stage: the fight for freedom of choice. As several hundred vaccines are being developed and tested in several thousand clinical trials around the world and drug companies are jockeying for market-share positions, doctors are trying harder to convince Americans that 69 doses of 16 vaccines given to children between birth and age 18 will keep America healthy.

The argument that more vaccination will equal better health is an argument that is getting harder to make as one in two Americans suffers from chronic disease and America plummets to 39th in infant mortality while 25 percent of all children are suffering with learning disabilities, ADHD, severe allergies, autism, asthma, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disorder, rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic immune and brain disorders. The question that doctors and public health officials fear most is:

WHY IS THE MOST HIGHLY VACCINATED CHILD POPULATION IN THE WORLD SO SICK AND DISABLED?

Until that question is answered by doctors and public health officials, there aren’t enough daytime or evening soap operas, bogus news reports and poorly conducted studies claiming that vaccines are totally safe, or threats by vaccine patent holders and doctors shouting “coincidence” every time another child regresses into chronic poor health after vaccination to keep the tipping point from tipping.

The 6+ Synthetic Fabrics You Most Want to Avoid, and Why

by www.SixWise.com

Fabric may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about living a healthier lifestyle, but it definitely should be considered. Even many “health nuts” don’t realize that synthetic fabrics are teeming with chemicals and dyes that cannot be washed out, making them a potential health hazard.

Toxins in Your Textiles

Organic, all-natural fabrics like cotton, wool and linen may be the safest options when it comes to your health.

Most synthetic fabrics, from towels to dress shirts to bed linens, are treated with chemicals during and after processing. These chemicals not only leach into the environment, leaving an impact on groundwater, wildlife, air and soil, but they also may be absorbed or inhaled directly.

“The use of man-made chemicals is increasing, and at the same time we have warning signals that a variety of wildlife and human health problems are becoming more prevalent,” says Dr. Richard Dixon, Head of the World Wildlife Federation (WWF) Scotland. “It is reckless to suggest there is no link between the two and give chemicals the benefit of the doubt. Urgent action is needed to replace hazardous chemicals with safer alternatives especially in clothing and other consumer products.”

WWF is so concerned about one fairly new clothing additive that, in 2004, they advised parents to check their children’s clothing labels. If the chemical is on it, they advise switching to clothing made from natural fibers whenever possible.

Teflon in Your Trousers

The chemicals that the WWF was warning about are perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), which include the non-stick additive Teflon. These chemicals are increasingly being added to clothing because it makes them last longer and also can make them wrinkle-free. Most clothing labeled “no-iron” contains PFCs.

The problem with PFcs?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that PFCs are cancer-causing compounds. However, “no-iron” and “wrinkle-free” pants have become a popular part of many schools’ compulsory uniforms. Hardly the thing you’d like to send your child off to school in, but other options usually aren’t provided.

“Without knowing it, parents are exposing their children to toxic chemicals in clothing that could have serious future consequences for their health and the environment. Children are usually more vulnerable to the effects of chemicals than adults, so the presence of these substances in school clothing is particularly alarming,’ says Dr. Dixon.

Your Clothing’s Chemical Cocktail

You may be wondering when, and why, chemicals are applied to your clothing. The fact is, man-made fabrics are complex, and getting a soft pullover out of raw materials takes some measure of chemical manipulation. For instance:

• Chemicals are used to make fibers suitable for spinning and weaving.
• A formaldehyde product is often applied to prevent shrinkage. This product is applied with heat so it is trapped in the fiber permanently.
• Petrochemical dyes, which pollute waterways, are used for color.
• Chemicals are added to make clothing softer, wrinkle-free, fire-retardant, moth-repellant and stain-resistant.
• Commonly used chemicals include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and dioxin-producing bleach.
• Nylon and polyester are made from petrochemicals, whose production creates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that’s 310 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
• Rayon is made from wood pulp that has been treated with chemicals, including caustic soda and sulphuric acid.
• Dye fixatives used in fabrics often come from heavy metals and pollute water systems.
• Acrylic fabrics are polycrylonitriles, which may be carcinogenic.
• Clothing and fabric that is treated with flame-retardant chemicals, such as children’s pajamas, emit formaldehyde gas.

The chemicals used in synthetic clothing have been linked to health problems including cancer, immune system damage, behavioral problems and hormone disruption.

Synthetic Fibers to Avoid

If at all possible, it’s best to stay away from the following fabrics in lieu of more natural options:

• Acrylic
• Polyester
• Rayon
• Acetate
• Triacetate
• Nylon
• Anything labeled static-resistant, wrinkle-resistant, permanent-press, no-iron, stain-proof or moth-repellant

Natural fabrics tend to breathe better than synthetic fibers and naturally wick moisture away from the body. These include:

• Cotton
• Linen
• Wool
• Cashmere
• Silk
• Hemp

If you are very sensitive to chemicals, you may want to seek out organic fabrics. Even natural fabrics, such as cotton, are treated with pesticides while they are grown, and some of those pesticides will remain in the fibers. Organic fabrics are becoming more widely available and can be found in health food markets, specialty shops and online.

More Safe Clothing Tips

• Wash and dry synthetic fabrics three times before wearing them.
• Do not use conventional dryer sheets, as they are loaded with toxic chemicals. An excellent alternative is Static Eliminator, a reusable dryer sheet system with woven sheets that take static cling out, and soften fabric without any toxic chemicals whatsoever.
• Avoid dry cleaning your clothing, as perchloroethylene, the chemical most widely used in dry cleaning, is a VOC known to cause cancer in animals. There are environmentally friendly dry cleaners that do not use this chemical.
• Wash your clothing in non-toxic detergent, such as the EnviroRite Laundry Detergent, which is non-caustic and free of petroleum solvents, fragrances and dyes.

Recommended Reading

Volatile Organic Compounds: The Health Dangers of VOCs, Where They are Hiding & How to Avoid Them

BEWARE: Your Fireplace or Wood Burning Stove May Be Harming Your Health in an Unexpected Way

Check School Clothes for Toxic Chemicals

Union of Concerned Scientists: Dressing Green

Green Choices: Clothes

The Environmentalist’s New Clothes

The Chiropractic Journal: Toxic Sleep

Everyone now understands that the economy is broken.

While many name the mortgage and credit-default-swap crises as culprits, they are only the most recent indicators of an economy with fatal design flaws. Our economy has long been based on what economist Herman Daly calls “uneconomic growth” where increases in the GDP come at an expense in resources and well-being that is worth more than the goods and services provided.

When GNP growth exacerbates social and environmental problems—from sweatshop labor to manufacturing toxic chemicals—every dollar of GNP growth reduces well-being for people and the planet, and we’re all worse off.

Our fatally flawed economy creates economic injustice, poverty, and environmental crises. It doesn’t have to be that way. We can create a green economy: one that serves people and the planet and offers antidotes to the current breakdown. Here are six green-economy solutions to today’s economic mess.

1. Green Energy—Green Jobs
A crucial starting place to rejuvenate our economy is to focus on energy. It’s time to call in the superheroes of the green energy revolution—energy efficiency, solar and wind power, and plug-in hybrids—and put their synergies to work with rapid, large-scale deployment. This is a powerful way to jumpstart the economy, spur job creation (with jobs that can’t be outsourced), declare energy independence, and claim victory over the climate crisis.

2. Clean Energy Victory Bonds
How are we going to pay for this green energy revolution? We at Green America propose Clean Energy Victory Bonds. Modeled after victory bonds in World War II, Americans would buy these bonds from the federal government to invest in large-scale deployment of green energy projects, with particular emphasis in low-income communities hardest hit by the broken economy. These would be long-term bonds, paying an annual interest rate, based in part on the energy and energy savings that the bonds generate. During WWII, 85 million Americans bought over $185 billion in bonds—that would be almost $2 trillion in today’s dollars.

3. Reduce, Reuse, Rethink
Living lightly on the Earth, saving resources and money, and sharing (jobs, property, ideas, and opportunities) are crucial principles for restructuring our economy. This economic breakdown is, in part, due to living beyond our means—as a nation and as individuals. With the enormous national and consumer debt weighing us down, we won’t be able to spend our way out of this economic problem. Ultimately, we need an economy that’s not dependent on unsustainable growth and consumerism. So it’s time to rethink our over-consumptive lifestyles, and turn to the principles of elegant simplicity, such as planting gardens, conserving energy, and working cooperatively with our neighbors to share resources and build resilient communities.

4. Go Green and Local
When we do buy, it is essential that those purchases benefit the green and local economy—so that every dollar helps solve social and environmental problems, not create them. Our spending choices matter. We can support our local communities by moving dollars away from conventional agribusiness and big-box stores and toward supporting local workers, businesses, and organic farmers.

5. Community Investing
All over the country, community investing banks, credit unions, and loan funds that serve hard-hit communities are strong, while the biggest banks required bailouts. The basic principles of community investing keep such institutions strong: Lenders and borrowers know each other. Lenders invest in the success of their borrowers—with training and technical assistance along with loans. And the people who provide the capital to the lenders expect reasonable, not speculative, returns. If all banks followed these principles, the economy wouldn’t be in the mess it’s in today.

6. Shareowner Activism
When you own stock, you have the right and responsibility to advise management to clean up its act. Had GM listened to shareholders warning that relying on SUVs would be its downfall, it would have invested in greener technologies, and would not have needed a bailout. Had CitiGroup listened to its shareowners, it would have avoided the faulty mortgage practices that brought it to its knees. Engaged shareholders are key to reforming conventional companies for the transition to this new economy – the green economy that we are building together.

It’s time to move from greed to green.

–Alisa Gravitz

I heard about this through Cafe Mom. I don’t need them anymore, but I’m sure plenty of you moms out there could still use them. I’m not sure how much longer they will be accepting these applications, so be sure to apply soon. Best of luck.

Limited Time - Open Applications!

For a limited time, Miracle Diapers is accepting Applications without a Reservation! Don’t miss your chance to apply without a reservation.

Miracle Diapers

Thanks to thousands of generous donors, Miracle Diapers has proudly cloth diapered over 1,000 babies in three years! What does that translate to? We have saved over a million dollars and 500 tons of garbage! Every year we receive more than double the amount of applications than in previous years.

Miracle Diapers have been sent all over the world. Most of our applicants are from the US and Canada, but we welcome applications from anywhere. We have joyfully sent diapers to Latvia, Germany, Japan, Australia, and India, to name a few.

Though our focus is on cloth diapers, we accept any donations that promote natural living such as unused natural menstrual items and unused cloth nursing pads and baby carriers.

Past and Future

Miracle Diapers was founded in Oregon in January of 2005 to fill a need. There were many families who wanted to cloth diaper their children for health, economical, and environmental reasons but could not due to financial restrictions. Due to the overwhelming response, Miracle Diapers decided to to open two more chapters by the end of that year. Now, under new management, Miracle Diapers is now in our fourth year of service and looks forward to expanding even further.

Our goal is to someday have chapters all over the US and internationally. Through this we hope to not only be able to serve thousands of families in need, but to be able to educate the public on today’s cloth diapers and therefore helping cloth become more mainstream.

Mission Statement

Our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is dedicated to providing cloth diapers, baby products, and natural living items to struggling families all over the world. We accept donations that were given generously by caring individuals and redistribute them to families who are in need of assistance.

The use of disposable products decreases resources, increases waste output, costs more, and has significant health risks. Through providing cloth diapers and other natural living alternatives to low income families, we aspire to increase the use of reusable items on a larger scale, therefore helping improve the environment.

Our NonProfit Proof

Check out the proof of our nonprofit status by viewing the letter from the IRS/Department of the Treasury.

Did you know that you could find Miracle Diapers listed as a public charity on the IRS website? Click here to search now.

If the water isn’t safe to drink, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to find this:

Orange drinks with 300 times more pesticide than tap water

By Sean Poulter

Fizzy drinks sold by Coca-Cola in Britain have been found to contain pesticides at up to 300 times the level allowed in tap or bottled water.

A worldwide study found pesticide levels in orange and lemon drinks sold under the Fanta brand, which is popular with children, were at their highest in the UK.

The research team called on the Government, the industry and the company to act to remove the chemicals and called for new safety standards to regulate the soft drinks market.

The industry denies children are at risk and insists that the levels found by researchers based at the University of Jaen in southern Spain are not harmful.

The study uncovered pesticides in some fizzy drinks at up to 300 times the level permitted in tap water

The researchers tested 102 cans and bottles of soft drinks, bought from 15 countries, for the presence of 100 pesticides. The UK products were bought in London, Cambridge, Edinburgh, St Andrews and at Gatwick Airport.

The experts said the levels found were low under the maximum residue levels allowed for fruit, but they were ‘very high’ and ‘up to 300 times’ the figure permitted for bottled or tap water.

The chemicals detected included carbendazim, thiabendazole, imazalil, prochloraz, malathion and iprodione. They are mainly applied to fruit after harvest to stop it developing fungal infections and rotting.

A total of 19 products were bought in the UK, all made by Coca-Cola.

Two orange drinks bought in the UK contained imazalil at 300 times the limit permitted for a single pesticide in drinking water.

Two similar products contained 98 times the legal drinking water limit for thiabendazole.

The average level of the total pesticide contamination of the British drinks was 17.4 parts per billion  -  34.6 times the EU maximum residue level for water.

Coca-Cola GB insisted the products are safe. A spokesman said: ‘All of the drinks tested meet the safety regulations relating to food products made from agricultural ingredients, which include drinks with fruit juice as an ingredient.

‘The generally miniscule levels that were detected were well within the acceptable daily intake levels and these findings should reassure consumers there is no safety issue here.’

Source

I don’t find those numbers reassuring at all. I’m just glad we don’t drink any of the brands mentioned. It does make me worry about what is in the stuff we do drink.

Pesticides in soft drinks?

Water - it's supposed to be good for you.

We’ve all been told to drink 8-8oz glasses of water a day for maximum health benefits. Normally, I would agree that hydration is one of, if not the most neglected needs our bodies have. The problem with needing water is, “Where do you get it?”

Coffee, pop, juice, kool-aid, and chocolate milk don’t count, much to my husband and children’s chagrin. While they do have enough water content to make them liquid, it’s not the same as drinking actual water.

Each of the other options carries calories as well as water, so you’re adding unneeded numbers to your daily caloric intake. That alone is a major factor in this country’s obesity problem. (That and enormous serving sizes.)

Even if you are good and drink the required amount of daily water, it may not be safe.

Bottled water comes in plastic, which raises the question of possible phthalate contamination. Even before learning of phthalate dangers, I disliked bottled water from a cheapskate’s point of view. I can’t see paying extra for water that came from a tap. I can put water in a bottle from my own tap, thank you very much. Not that all bottled water is tap water, but enough of it is to make me go “No way!”.

Now I have to worry about this:

Removing bottled water is a laudable action and there should be nothing better than being able to do it, unfortunately, this may force many children and others to drink City water that uses an toxic industry waste product Hydrofluorosilicic acid (HFSA)**, which includes traces of arsenic and lead, to fluoridate it - Fluoride also increases the up take of Aluminum and possibly other toxic metals! Fluoride itself is more toxic than lead yet they are knowingly putting it in our water! For more please see: Water Treatment With Silcofluorides And Lead Toxicity.

Besides the progressive damage that fluoride (along with its co-contaminates) brings to all, some are allergic to it and are forced to find unfluoridated sources of water. Sadly the added toxins cannot be filtered out with simple carbon filters. Only the costly and wasteful reverse osmosis or distillation can be used by those who want to avoid or are allergic to fluoride.

Just like lead, once fluoride enters our body it stays in our body, accumulating inside us over our lifetime.

…

Bottled vs Tap

A lot of bottled water in fact does come from municipal sources. And we are really getting ripped by the bottlers, and many of us hate being gouged not to mention waste of plastics and their attendant problems. However, much of the bottled water, with few exceptions, is treated via the wasteful reverse osmosis filters. One of the few filters that can remove much of the toxin** deliberately added by the City in our water. Hence the demand and often the necessity for bottled water for those sensitive and/or allergic to fluoride and those who understand the progressive nature of poisoning by fluoride and its co-contaminants.

**Hydrofluorosilicic acid is an inorganic fluoride on the CEPA (Canadian Environmental Protection Agency) list of toxic substances. It is toxic, bioaccumulative, anthropogenic and persistent. This chemical is scrubbed from the smoke stacks of the phosphate mining industry. It contains many other toxic substances such as arsenic, lead, mercury, radionuclides. It is categorized as a “hazardous waste” by Environment Canada and the US EPA. As such, you may not dispose of it directly into our source water.

Without addressing the real reason behind the need for bottled we only make matters worse. Cleaning city water is the primary solution to rid us of bottled water.

Polluting companies must pay $7,000/ton to dispose of the hazardous waste called hydrofluorosilicic acid safely. Instead, these companies receive $1,000/ton to dispose of this hazardous waste in municipal drinking water. (Source: Dr. Bill Hirzy, Senior US EPA chemist)

Water Babies (Don't drink any of it!)

The old site, now defunct.

I get an email offering a cd with information regarding earning money online with Google. (That should have been my first clue.) I know Google is a successful internet business, so I think, “maybe this is worth checking out, it’s less than $4, I can do that.” I follow the link to a professional-looking website. It all looks and sounds as good as the email promised. I even make sure I follow the link to the Terms of Service and skim through the lengthy amount of fine ( and I do mean small/fine) print. (Mistake number two, I should have gone over that sucker with a fine tooth comb, no matter how long it took.) Everything seems ok, and even if it’s bull, I’m only out a few bucks, right?

Wrong! Because, overlooked in all that small print was this - the cd is only the intro to a service subscription that is completely non-refundable. Nice, huh?

Sure enough, one week later the-oh-so-evil-not-Google company charges my account an additional $72.21. Which, of course, I don’t learn about until my bank sends me an overdraft notice, because (wonder of wonders) I’m seventy-some dollars short on my account. How did that happen? I used a one-use card number generated by PayPal’s oh-so-not-handy browser plug-in.

Turns out one-use secure card only means one-use sometimes. Turns out a “subscription service” doesn’t count because it creates a type of pre-authorization status to whatever company you gave the number. That’s a nice fact to know after the fact. Shouldn’t that be pointed out somewhere noticeable before you agree to a charge that has that effect on your account?

I’m just saying.

Well, that’s how I got screwed by GooglePro/InternetIncomeInitiative/TwoPartInvestments. Hope my story helps keep some of you from being screwed in the future.

The new site

From the LA Times:

Some owners say the cost of testing for  lead  will shut their businesses.
The law goes into effect Feb. 10.

Goodwill - the king of thrift stores

Dreams of thrift.

By Alana Semuels

January 2, 2009

Barring a reprieve, regulations set to take effect next month could force thousands of clothing retailers and thrift stores to throw away trunkloads of children’s clothing.

The law, aimed at keeping lead-filled merchandise away from children, mandates that all products sold for those age 12 and younger -  including clothing — be tested for lead and phthalates, which are chemicals used to make plastics more pliable. Those that haven’t been tested will be considered hazardous, regardless of whether they actually contain lead

“They’ll all have to go to the landfill,” said Adele Meyer, executive director of the National Assn. of Resale and Thrift Shops.

The new regulations take effect Feb. 10 under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which was passed by Congress last year in response to widespread recalls of products that posed a threat to children, including toys made with lead or lead-based paint.

Supporters say the measure is sorely needed. One health advocacy group said it found high levels of lead  in dozens of products purchased around the country,  including children’s jewelry, backpacks and ponchos.

Lead can also be found in buttons or charms on clothing and on appliques that have been added to fabric, said Charles Margulis, communications director for the Center for Environmental Health in Oakland. A child in Minnesota died a few years ago after swallowing a lead charm on his sneaker, he said.

But others say the measure was written too broadly. Among the most vocal critics to emerge in recent weeks are U.S.-based makers of handcrafted toys and handmade clothes, as well as thrift and consignment shops that sell children’s clothing.

“We will have to lock our doors and file for bankruptcy,” said Shauna Sloan, founder of Salt Lake City-based franchise Kid to Kid, which sells used children’s clothing in 75 stores across the country and had planned to open a store in Santa Clara, Calif., this year.

…

Thrift store owners say the law stings because children’s garments often come in new or nearly new, because children typically outgrow clothing quickly.

Carol Vaporis, owner of Duck Duck Goose Consignment in New Port Richey, Fla., said her store stocks barely used brand-name clothing from places such as Limited Too and Gymboree.

“We really provide a service to the community to help people get clothes for their children they otherwise couldn’t afford,” she said.

Read the rest of the article here:

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-fi-thrift2-2009jan02,0,4604950.story

Thrift store interior

I would be one of those people, buying clothes for my kids at the thrift store that I can’t afford to shop for at the mall. Hell, most months I can’t afford the clothes at Walmart, much less at the mall or other big name retailers. If it wasn’t for Ebay and thrift stores, me and my kids would all be running around naked. Trust me, no one wants to see that.

AMBER Alerts Have Helped Rescue More Than 432 Children

Honor National AMBER Alert Awareness Day; Sign Up for Wireless AMBER Alerts

On January 13, communities across the country will observe National AMBER Alert Awareness Day – a day to recognize the collaborative efforts and successes of the AMBER Alert program to assist in the recovery of abducted children. To honor this program as vital to the safety of children, NCMEC encourages all wireless subscribers to sign up for Wireless AMBER Alerts.

The AMBER Alert Program, created after the 1996 abduction and murder of 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies, broadcasters, and transportation agencies. The program activates an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases.

A description of the abducted child and the suspected abductor is broadcast to millions of media listeners and viewers. The public becomes the eyes and ears of law enforcement.

The AMBER Alert program is coordinated on a national level by the U.S. Department of Justice. For more information about the National AMBER Alert Initiative, please visit www.amberalert.gov.

Nationwide there are 120 AMBER Alert Plans, including 29 regional, 38 local, and statewide plans in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Learn more about the AMBER Alert Program.

Opt in to receive Wireless AMBER Alerts as text messages on your cell phone! This free public service is offered in partnership by The Wireless Foundation, the membership of CTIA-The Wireless Association^® and the U.S. Department of Justice to deliver AMBER Alerts

Sign up now at www.wirelessamberalerts.org or through a participating wireless carrier.

From Gizmag.com:

Nu.M8 GPS childrens watch and child locator

800,000 children are reported missing each year in the United States. In the U.K., that number is 140,000 children and there is no greater ordeal for a parent than not knowing where they are. Gartner estimates that the worldwide market for GPS-based location devices will grow from 16 million in 2007 to 300 million in 2011. Using  GPS-based systems to keep track of your pets and/or children is a trade off between peace of mind and cost – we’ve detailed numerous pet and child GPS locators, and the just-announced Nu.M8’s main claim is that it does not rely upon the child being responsible enough to keep their locator with them in a bag or pocket. When Nu.M8 is securely fastened to a child’s wrist it cannot be removed without sending an alert to the parent’s phone. As it’s also discretely hidden inside a watch, it’s more likely that if something goes wrong, the parent locates their child, not the technology.

Nu.M8 has been launched by UK location services company, Lok8u, and its new GPS child locator has been designed with simplicity and ease of use in mind. Nu.M8 is accessible at home, abroad or on holiday from a computer or mobile phone.

As far as the child is concerned Nu.M8 is a digital watch. To locate your child, simply text “wru” from your mobile phone to Nu.M8 or click “where r you” on the Lok8u secure portal. Your child’s location is then presented as an icon on Google maps and/or the street address and postcode is displayed. In addition, parents can set unique “safe zones“ in which their child can safely play.

As long as your child remains in this area no alerts will be sent and you can still communicate with the device using the “wru” function. However, if they stray a priority alert will be sent to the parent’s mobile phone and computer.

Other features include: • Water resistant to Ipx 7 • Battery sufficient for seven days in standby • Dermatologically tested to ensure safe wearing • Use at home or abroad • Live track functionality • Home Zone for easy and safe removal of Nu.M8 • Cell ID back up with AGPS for quick and accurate GPS determined location • Accurate to within 10 feet • Metal reinforced rubber strap

Nu.M8 will be available from a selected range of major high street retailers in the UK in March 2009 and available in USA in late spring. Manufacturers recommended retail price in the UK is UKP149.99 (US retail price to be confirmed), plus a monthly subscription charge which varies according to the chosen tariff.

As far as the child is concerned Nu.M8 is a digital watch.