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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
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DISPOSAL
&
RECYCLING:
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CONSUMERS-
BUSINESS:
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WHAT YOU CAN DO? LYNN'S LIST:
In general...
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Eliminate what you don't really need.
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Stop shopping and avoid toxins, mined
products, manufactured goods, imports, and shopping (buyer beware)!
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Substitute with organic, biodegradable, home
grown, hand-made, and local products.
It's important to start making your own stuff, grow your own
food, learn to knit, weave, spin, etc. Those are skills that no
society can afford its citizens to lose. Promote local self-reliance and global cooperation. Cooperation, not competition, will enhance our chance to survive and do well.
For high technology, which is important for communications & education
(computers, etc.), try your best to carefully manage use and re-use.
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Below is what I currently do. It's not a final list because I'm always
experimenting and so should you! I try to use common plants. NOTE:
I was using peppermint for all kinds of cleaning, but it made me feel arthritic - see
http://noarthritis.com/mint.htm
- ELIMINATE!
Shop as little as possible. I don't use the following: make-up,
perfume, metal jewelry, hair dye, hair spray, nail polish, soap,
detergent, air fresheners, deodorant,
junk mail.
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CLEANING KIT:
I've switched to diluted 'scallion'
juice (crush or blend, then sieve) for just about everything: bath, hair,
laundry, dishes, mirrors, windows, floors, and general household cleaning.
I grow them in pots indoors (mainly shallots and scallions), so I have a
constant supply. I sometimes also use oat flour, egg yolk, egg
white, and apple cider vinegar. (I use Bragg's which is raw/not
pasteurized and organic)
- SKIN &
HAIR: a couple of sprigs of scallions, crush or blend,
then sieve. I
sometimes use salt, but if we all used salt often, we would alter the
salinity of our drinking water. Apple cider vinegar seems to be
effective against many skin conditions, including: lice, scabies,
shingles, and
seborrheic
dermatitis
- HAND SOAP:
oat flour in small cheese shaker - use fat for hard to clean hands, then
wash with oat flour to remove grease.
- HAIR
CONDITIONER: egg yolk as needed
- HAIR STYLING
GEL: egg white as needed
- TEETH AND
MOUTHWASH: onion greens juice or apple cider vinegar
- DEODORANT:
I haven't found the perfect solution. Try
onion greens, just slice a rub the inside of the green on your armpit.
I've also found that certain grains, such as wheat, increases my body
odor. And don't wear synthetics.
- CALCIUM
BUILD-UP on faucets, pans, etc.: apple cider vinegar (wrap faucet in
cloth soaked in vinegar for 30 minutes)
- DUSTING:
use gloves, sometimes lightly wetted with diluted scallion juice.
- HOUSEHOLD
CLEANING: Use a little bit of oil or fat for tough spots
- LAUNDRY:
Apple cider vinegar and sometimes oat flour
- MORE ON CLOTHING: Try hand washing, then
line dry. Sunlight is a natural bleach and disinfectant. If you use a machine, try a front loader -
it's more effective and needs less detergent. I hand sew and knit (using un-dyed yarn)
many of my clothes in order to avoid toxic materials and sweatshops. I try to avoid
cotton or silk because they are not locally produced. I dye the yarn in
combinations of beets, turmeric, and black turtle beans (use uncooked
beans and only soak for two days, otherwise beans start to spoil)! I
haven't yet learned how to avoid dyes fading...stay tuned.
- JEWELRY -- Diamonds are not a girl's best friend -
http://apscuhuru.org/campaigns/diamonds/index.xhtml
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DISHWARE -- I
use ceramic, glass or
stainless steel (however, even these materials can be contaminated with
various substances. SEE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_scrap_metal Avoid plastic, aluminum, or stickless
pans. Also, avoid using dish washer. It's a major source of indoor
air pollution.
- HOME & TRANSPORTATION -- We live in downtown Philadelphia in
a small 1300 square foot townhouse. We generally walk, rather than drive. We
own a
Toyota Prius, a hybrid, but have also joined
phillycarshare.org/, since
our son often uses our car.
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AIR CLEANERS -- Certain
houseplants are beneficial to remove toxins from the air, such as
formaldehyde, benzene etc. The best plants for removing these and
other toxins are philodendrons, spider plants, aloe
vera, English ivy, golden pothos, and Boston fern. To learn more, there is a really good book available called:
"How
to Grow Fresh Air: 50 Houseplants That Purify Your Home or Office"by
B. C. Wolverton. http://www.ourlittleplace.com/nontoxic.html
- PLANT & LAWN CARE -- For
excellent potting soil, go out in the woods and dig some up! Do
not use store-bought chemicals, even if the container says it's safe.
There's no way to know.
Make your own compost and plant fertilizer using ingredients such as:
rotting leaves, egg shells, vegetable waste (no citrus or meat products). ALSO SEE:
ZWA'S LAWN CARE KIT
- FOOD -- Try growing your own herbs,
greens,
and other foods! Greens
from planted root veggies are very nutritious and easy to grow, such as:
onions, garlic, & carrot greens! Avoid foods that are imported, highly processed, packaged, canned, bottled, baked,
radiated, highly refined grains and sugars
(including maple syrup). Eat and cook with any and
all basic foods that are organic and can be grown in your local area (not
imported!)
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AVOID!
NOTE: Despite the assurances
of the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental
Protection Agency,
many environmental health hazards are associated with the
manufacture, use, and disposal of consumer products. (See Health &
Wastes & Toxics) "EPA
Registered" on pesticide and other products does NOT mean
that the chemicals were fully tested for safety by the EPA or are
safe to use. Most chemicals have not been fully tested for safety
by the EPA. The EPA continues to rely heavily upon research and
reporting by industry.
- Driving a car - try to live within walking
distance of where you work
- Any mined product - including products such
as: aluminum, gold, diamonds, baking soda, perlite, stickless cookware
- Plastics, synthetics, or petroleum-tainted
or treated products, containers, and packaging
- Soaps and detergents, petroleum-tainted cosmetics, jells, &
personal care products
- Outside lawn & garden chemicals,
pesticides, & fertilizers
- Inside pesticides, pest strips, & flea
collars (see: Pesticides)
- Bleach & non-biodegradable detergents
and cleaning agents
- Paper: tissues, napkins, towels, diapers
- Fluoridated water and fluoridated dental
products (see: Fluoride)
- Chlorinated water and chlorine cleaning
products (see: Chlorine)
- Talc (see:
Wastes&Toxics)
- Fiberglass (including air filters and insulation) see:
Wastes&Toxics)
- "Dry clean only" clothes
- Air fresheners / perfumes / scented
candles (These scents are particularly harmful for
the growing numbers of chemically sensitive, allergic,
and asthmatic sufferers.)
- Aerosol spays
- New homes: Most new buildings need a
period of years to "out-gas" due to the use of
toxic construction materials. In addition, old buildings
may harbor lead paint and/or lead plumbing.
- Dishwashers: The biggest source of indoor air pollution
may be the dishwasher and its plastic parts. US tap water is laced with traces of toxic
chemicals, including by-products of water-treatment with chlorine and
fluoride. Environmental Science & Technology reports that the hot
spray of a dishwasher liberates 96 to 100 percent of the toluene, ethylbenzene, and cyclohexane in the water within minutes and releases it
into the surrounding air. Washing machines, showerheads and faucet taps
also release toxins in lesser amounts. (The hotter the water, the more
toxins are freed.) Chlorine cleansers compound the problem University of
Texas researchers warn. Listed in Earth Island Journal Winter 1999-2000
Page 3, Earth Island Journal is published quarterly by the non-profit
Earth Island Institute
www.earthisland.org
- Check-out your medications - many are
hazardous to your health and the environment
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