One Minute Toxic Test
Between the cute kittens and baby pictures, there was one meme circulating in my social media this week that I couldn’t click away from: Have you taken the Toxic Test? And although I’m usually adverse to flashing messages promising to tell me something I don’t already know, I clicked on over to the Toxic Test to check it out. Believe me, I was surprised.
Good Mom…or Chemophobe?
I would step in front of a bus for my kids, as would most moms. I make sure they have sweaters when it’s cold, and water when it’s warm. I worry when they don’t get enough sleep, and go on red alert when they cough or sniffle. I also feed them primarily organic meals, try to reduce their BPA exposure by using more reusable water bottles and less canned foods, avoid food dyes and other artificial ingredients, pack their beach bags with zinc-based sunscreen, refuse triclosan or other pesticides, and clean my home with vinegar so they don’t have to inhale synthetic fragrances. I think that all of these things make…
Nix Toxic Pink Soap in Schools
In 2012, the CDC’s annual assessment of schools discussed green cleaning for the first time ever. “Children are more vulnerable than adults to hazardous environmental exposures because, compared to adults, they breathe more air, eat more food, and drink more water per pound of body weight,” the report states. “A school that…[is] free of hazardous chemicals, and clean is arguably best equipped to support student and teacher health, learning, and overall productivity.” And while most of this is good news—more than 36% of districts now purchase low-VOC paints, cleaners and floor coverings, 55% require that schools test drinking water for lead, and more than 50% pursue an integrated pest management…
How to Avoid Chemicals Linked to Autism
In case you haven’t noticed, there’s a serious debate going on among parents about whether or not vaccinations cause autism. And no wonder, as the numbers keep going up: New statistics from the CDC show that autism now affects a staggering one in 68 kids and jumped more than 400% in 20 years. Everyone wants to know why. And a recent study brings new evidence to support the theory that our environment—not our vaccines—is causing the autism spike.
Watch Unacceptable Levels on Mommy Greenest!
I am so thrilled to be able to bring Ed Brown’s “Unacceptable Levels” to Mommy Greenest. It is truly amazing. I hope you can watch it with friends and family—the message of this film is exactly what this site is all about. You can click the big arrow button to watch the preview for free; then enter your credit card information to pre-register for a discount on the full movie after it premieres on May 9th. Once you register, the movie will be on Mommy Greenest for you to watch in full, at your convenience. Once you have, please leave me a comment below—I want to know what you think! Oh, and don’t…
Chemicals, By The Numbers
The shocking information in this post, part of an infographic-driven “by the numbers” series that I’m doing this month, is why I started Mommy Greenest in the first place. I remember being pregnant with my third child and learning exactly how many toxic chemicals my kids were being exposed to—and that none of them had ever been tested for child safety. How could that be possible? Well, take a look at the numbers. Is it time for an overhaul of our nation’s toxic chemical regulatory policies? I think so. How about you?
Faking It? Get to Know Grass Turf
A straggly, mushy, pee-stained lawn was the bane of my existence for a long time. The grass turf gets very little sun, and the combination of that plus my elderly incontinent dog made the lawn something that I avoided walking through—let alone encouraging my children to play on. So I jumped on the artificial grass turf bandwagon in a big way, encouraged by landscapers who emphasized the water savings and probably didn’t know much about the true environmental impacts.
