Going Green

Pick a new thing to do, once a month. The best choices cost little and take very little effort. There are green possibilities for every individual, small business, and corporation.
Recycling

         Where  to Recycle in Desoto County
         Mississippi  School Recycling Grants from Weyerhaeuser
         Apple Recycles Program
         Empties for Case/Ink Jet Recycling
         Funding Factory/Recycle Ink Jet  Cartridges
         Cell Phone Recycle
         International Association of Electronics  Recyclers
         How to Recycle Computer Printer Cartridges
What can we do as individuals?
1. Start very small and don’t expect to go green overnight. Think in global terms.
2. Get educated;  read all the fine print on products. Sign up for automatic email updates on green sites. Go ahead with the reusable bags. People will eventually catch on.
3. Think sustainable and not consumerist. Don’t fall for all the advertising! Where and who made the products that are to be purchased? What is the living conditions of the employee? Can anyone ethically sport a sweatshop garment and truly not care?
4. Forget about status. It won’t feed or heal a person. Shop at yard sales, thrift stores, and rethink purchases. Live without if possible. Reduce, reuse, recycle. 
5. Realize that products’ ingredients are not regulated. Many do this under “fragrance” or “inert” ingredients. Many toxins are in cleaners, cosmetics, and lawn treatments.
6. Rethink plastic. Try to find safer alternatives to chemicals  if at all possible.
7. Find an alternative organic lawn treatment for weeds instead of using 24D. It is in many products at the major retailers, used agriculturally, in lawn services. (24D was ½ of Agent Orange along with 245T).
8. If you or your child is allergic or presents a nervous condition, try going green at a faster rate. Many changes can lessen the body burden and improve the situation.
9. Remember that all the water in the world exists today. What is placed or dumped tends to be persistent. Skip the antibacterial in soaps if possible, don’t flush your extra meds, and dispose of toxics properly.
10. Be willing to spend a little extra on greener products. Keep in mind the cost of health care when thinking of expenses.

Poison Control Nationwide Hotline 1.800.222.1222

Lawn, Garden, & Farm
    How Pesticides/Herbicides Work
    Detailed Pesticide/Herbicide Lookup
    Beyond Pesticides Organization
    Do it Yourself and Safer Pest Control
    Alternative/Sustainable Farming Methods
    Rachel Carson Council on Herbicides/Pesticides
    Publications by the United Nations Environment         Programme

Basic Green-ology and Groups
    The National Geographic Green Guide
    The Donatella Meadows Institute
    Nature Conservancy
    Treehugger
    About Bisphenol A in Plastics / Commonly in Baby & Water Bottles
    Reusable Bags & other Alternatives to Bisphenol Plastic
    Wikipedia Stockholm Convention POP Chemical Information

Links to Greener Supplies & Cosmetics
   Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap
   Burt's Bees
   7th Generation
   Dr. Hauschka Skin Care/Cosmetics
   Less Toxic Guide to Products
   
Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database
   Aviva Natural Products Canada Store
   Do it Yourself Green Cleaners
   Ecover
   Tom's of Maine
   Shaklee Products
   Local Harvest Community Supported Farms & Cooperatives
   Healthy World Store

Publications for Greener Living
   Organic Gardening
   Mother Earth News

Health
    American Academy of Environmental Medicine
    National Institute for Health Household Product Safety Lookup
    Endocrine Disruptors Explained for Women
    Complete Report from Prague on Endocrine Disruptors
    Natural Resources Defense Council Info and How To Avoid the Disruptors
    Detailed Info Paul Goettlich's Fundamentals of Naturopathic Endocrinology
    Mindfully.org
    Pollen Count for Memphis Area from Weather.com
    Babies Naturally (Lots of Scientific Research)
    World Health Organization Information on Endocrine Disruptors 

Links for Children / Nature Play
   Green Hour (Ideas for One Hour of        Unstructured Play Outdoors)
   National Wildlife Federation Home          Page
   Tiki the Penguin: Living With Care
   Tiki: Global Warming
   Town Tox Lookup from National          Institute for Health

Green Building Links
    US Green Building Council
    Energy Effeciency and Renewable Energy Site
    Green Building Grants for Industry, Nonprofits, Government
    Green to Green Organization/Compare Building
    Clean Ingredients Site/Cleaners
    Sustainable Packaging Organization
    Green Seal Products / Certification Standards
    Energy Star
    EERE Home Page
    Eco Choices Environmental Products

Dioxins
    Chlorine, Pollution, and the Environment
    Facts about PCB's.
    Reach for Unbleached Paper Mill Pollution Information
    Forest Sprayed Before Trees Harvested for Paper

Green Reads
   Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
   Animal, Vegetable, Mineral  by Barbara Kingsolver
   Green Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck
   Earth in the Balance: Ecology and the Human Spirit by Al Gore
   An Inconvenient Truth Al by Gore

Vietnam and Iraq Veterans, Children, and Families
    Current Research on Dioxin Containing Herbicides Used in Vietnam
    Dr. Alvin L. Young Special Collection of the National Agricultural Library
    Veterans Administration
    Chemicals Sprayed and Volumes for Vietnam
    Agent Orange Group Resources
    The Ugly Agent Orange Truth
    VVA Addresses the Need for Study/Children of AO Exposed Veterans
    Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign
    Birth Defects Vietnam & Iraq
    AO Defects Blogspot
    Birth Defects Research Site by Betty Mekdeci, Executive Director
    Global Research on Locations of Depleted Uranium
    National Gulf War Resource Center


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