Asbestos is a naturally occurring mineral that has many useful properties when incorporated into building materials. With a high resistance to heat and fire, it makes an excellent insulator. It’s also lightweight, durable and flexible, and can even be woven into cloth or spun into yarn. For these reasons, asbestos has been widely used in many industries. Although it has been highly regulated by the EPA, asbestos can still be found in many common places. You may have heard of asbestos abatement projects occurring in your community – these are attempts to remove asbestos in the safest way possible. Asbestos is a much talked-about topic, especially in the United States, the UK, and Australia.

Asbestos, however, has a fatal flaw: it’s carcinogenic. When the raw asbestos materials, or products containing it, are damaged or disturbed, it releases into the surrounding air microscopic fibers which are harmful to humans. These fibers can be inhaled, and once inside the body they cause cells to replicate erratically and uncontrollably, leading to a rare form of cancer known as mesothelioma.

Mesothelioma strikes relatively few patients, but it is a terminal cancer with no known cure. One of the most devastating aspects of this disease is that it has a latency period of up to 50 years, meaning that people can have mesothelioma and not know it for decades.

Since asbestos is a mineral, the areas around asbestos and related mineral mines can be contaminated with the airborne fibers, and may lead to mesothelioma diagnoses in residents. There have been a remarkable number of cases diagnosed in the residents of the Libby, Montana area, where chemical giant W.R. Grace ran a large vermiculite mine for many years. Concentrations of asbestos particulate in areas that are not near mines are very low, however.

Anyone who works with asbestos should take safety precautions, such as wearing protective clothes and using respirators. And anyone who has previously been exposed to asbestos, either through their workplace or environmentally, needs to inform their doctor of that fact and schedule regular physical exams. Mesothelioma, like most cancers, can be more successfully treated the earlier it is diagnosed.

Homes and buildings built before the 1980s are at a much greater risk for containing asbestos. If you are worried about your possible risk, consider getting your air quality tested by a professional service, or finding a company who can test for asbestos specifically. If you’re remodeling your home soon, you’ll need to make sure any asbestos-containing materials are removed properly – it can actually be illegal to do it yourself. Invest in eco-friendly building materials and insulation. Not only will you be safe from asbestos, you’ll be helping the environment as well.

Article by Anna Clark
Asbestos.net

With the environmental problems that we hear and read everyday. It is time for us women to do something to help in reducing these problems. Presently, millions of girls/women use feminine hygiene products such as sanitary napkins, tampons, applicators, etc. We often use tissue paper to wrap our used feminine products before we dispose them in the trash bins or we flush them at the toilet bowls. These actions could lead to adverse effects to the environment.

Statistically, an average female uses more toilet paper than a male does. An average female would consume 450 rolls of toilet paper throughout their lifetime for the disposal of used feminine hygiene products alone. Just imagine how many trees are cut down to produce toilet papers. These resources are wasted because of the toilet paper that we use to wrap the used feminine hygiene products. Everytime we flush down the toilet these used products will go to the sewers and may cause drainage blockages. These blockages may overflow  and may pollute the marine life.

There is a great product that can help us women do a proper disposal of the feminine products that we use and that it is very Earth-friendly. Use Sani Sac, a sanitary, sealable, degradable plastic bag. It  provides a more discrete, safe and sanitized disposal of menstrual products. It will reduce accidental contact to germs because the used products are safely sealed in the bag. Sani Sac will also reduce the unpleasant smell of menstrual waste in the bathroom trash can. These bags bags degrade and oxo-biodegrade which is very earth friendly. Visit their site www.GoldenGroupInternational.com for more information. Each of us can make a big difference if we will do our own share in  saving Mother Earth!

Article by Ma. Theresa Cimafranca

Crafters, or at least the crafters I know, are usually a thrifty bunch, making the most of their fabric and yarn stash, minimising on waste and re-using as much as they can.

Over the past couple of years I’ve been learning crafting skills with the aim to make more things for my wardrobe and our home. When I began I decided I wanted to make as little impact on the environment as I could. It would defeat the point of making my own things if I started buying materials that had wasted energy and caused lots of pollution in its production.

So here are 5 handy ways to craft green that I’ve picked up along the way:

1. Charity shops make good craft shops too

If you buy new fabric from the shops or market do you know what went into making it? Conventional cotton, for example, is extremely polluting and resource hungry so unless you buy organic then you can’t be sure that your pretty hand made item hasn’t contributed to putting all kinds of chemicals into the environment. That’s why charity shops make good craft shops.

You may not always be able to buy fabric on the roll or by the metre at your local charity shops but you can get great fabric from other items like curtains, sheets and duvet covers and turn them into other things like cushion covers, skirts and napkins.

If you’re lucky you might find yarn, embroidery threads, cottons and needles in charity shops too!

2. Look after the odds and ends

You’ve probably heard the saying “save the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves”. Well a similar rule applies to the odds and ends in your fabric and yarn stash or leftover paint from the last time you decorated. Keep those little bits and pieces and when you put them together you can make something bigger. Saving the end of a ball of yarn could go towards a colorful knitting or crochet project like a blanket, fabric scraps could be used to stuff cushions or soft toys and paint could give a piece of furniture or picture frame a new lease of life.

3. Save the template

Save the backs of notepads or cereal boxes to make sturdy card templates for patterns. Drawing on the back of leftover wallpaper does the same job for larger projects like tops or bags.

4. Give to craft class

If like me you pick up second hand fabric from anywhere and everywhere you’ll probably soon come to the conclusion that you’ll never use it all. You could donate the pieces you don’t want to your local charity shop or you might find that nearby craft courses could use them for students to practice their sewing, embroidery, dyeing, anything. Think of it as spreading a little craft love.

5. Take it to your wardrobe

If you haven’t already guessed by now I’m a big fan of charity shopping. I’d always say donate your old clothes to charity shops first but only if they’re in good condition (the sort of condition you would expect to buy). If you have clothes that aren’t good enough for the charity shop, if they’re damaged and beyond repair see what you can salvage before you throw them away like zips, buttons and ribbons. It saves you buying these things from new for your next project. The leftover fabric could then go to a textile bank (some local councils have these at their recycling centres) where it will be cleaned, shredded and used again.

Check out Crafting a Green World for lots and lots more green crafting tips!

You wouldn’t take this from your neighbours and neither should the woodland.

I haven’t seen this before – but it’s scaring me that this video is 16 years old and still as relevant as it was back then, if not more. I think the message in this video is so strong that it gives me goosebumps – and I am ashamed that we still ain’t fixin it. I would say it’s a must-see. Enjoy.

Severn Suzuki speaking at UN Earth Summit 1992

Enjoying an eco-lifestyle means living greener in all areas of your life. You may be taking environmentally friendly steps at home, but are you also doing it at work?

People spend almost 90% of their lives indoors, and for those people who work inside that equates to about 40 or more hours at your desk, office or cubicle. Whether you’re a student interning at a major corporation, a marketing associate making phone calls all day or an office assistant handling paperwork, you’re going to spend a majority of your time in one place all day.

So don’t you want your work space to be eco-friendly and energy efficient? It can be if you make some simple changes in your life.

1. Computer Conservation
For many people with desk jobs the computer is absolutely necessary to get things done. It is estimated that people waste over $1 billion in electricity every year just in computer use! To help conserve energy for your computer you can:

• Invest in an energy-saving computer, monitor and printer
• Switch to energy-saving settings
• Turn off your computer whenever you’re not using it
• Set it to sleep mode when you are away for short periods of time

2. Paperless is More
Do you really have to print out every email and handout? You can reduce paper waste by going paperless wherever possible. You can try to:

• Keep copies of important emails, files, manuals and more on your computer
• Don’t get any extra catalogues or magazines mailed to your office
• Get your check directly deposited instead of a waiting for a hard copy
• Send company updates through email instead of on paper
• Review any documents online instead of printing them out

3. Prioritize Your Paper Use
If you do use paper on a daily basis then you can make eco-friendly paper choices. Here are some things you can do:

• Buy recycled and chlorine-free paper
• Try paper made from organic products like bamboo, cotton or hemp
• Print on both sides of the paper
• Shred old paper to use as packing material
• Save and reuse old boxes
• Use old sheets of paper for scrap paper or note-taking

4. Recycle
There are many things in your office that you can recycle. If you don’t have a recycling station at work, start one on your own! You can get a few bins and post recycling guidelines above them. Some of them may include recycling:

• Paper products like copy paper, envelopes, magazines, etc.
• Cardboard boxes from shipped supplies
• Soda cans and plastic bottles
• Aluminum foil
• Plastic bags
• Ink cartridges

5. The Power of the Printer
The printer is one of the most used office items. Every day it cranks out tons of important faxes, emails and other documents. Here are some ways you make your printer use greener:

• Try not to print in color
• Use a printer that does double-sided copying
• Print in draft mode
• Use old paper with extra space to print small documents
• Recycle ink and toner cartridges

6. Air You Can Bare
It’s already bad enough that you have to worry about air pollution every time you walk outside, but it’s also a big priority when you work inside. Here are some ways that you can maintain a healthy air flow in your office:

• Use non-toxic cleaning products
• Open your windows to increase air flow
• Don’t smoke in or near the office
• Never bring any type of aerosol can to work
• Use an air purifier to get rid of contaminants

7. Travel with Care
The first part of your work day starts with you getting to work, and for many people that means driving. Cars emit tons of carbon dioxide gases into the air, contributing to global warming. Here are some things you can do for a green ride:

• Join a ride share group
• Take the train, bus or subway
• Ride a bike or walk if you live close enough
• Invest in a green car like a hybrid
• Reduce your travel by working from home whenever possible

8. Green Your Desk…Literally
Get a plant and place it on or near your desk. Or, even better, buy plants for all of your neighbors. They will not only see this as a friendly gesture, but they’ll also have cleaner air to breathe! Plants absorb indoor air pollution and increase the flow of oxygen, so get a green accessory to compliment your desk!

9. Food For Thought
Everyone looks forward to their lunch break. If you manage to save money by not going out to eat every day then you probably pack your lunch. You can follow these lunch tips to have healthier eating habits:

• Pack your lunch in a reusable lunch bag or box
• If you bring your lunch in a paper or plastic bag, reuse or recycle them
• Use plastic containers and silverware that can be washed and used again
• Switch to organic food and drinks
• Drink from the fountain or a water filtration system instead of brining water bottles
• Recycle your soda cans, bottles and aluminum foil
• Use a washable napkin instead of paper towels
• Walk to a lunch eatery if you forgot to pack it

10. Spread the Word
The best way to stay involved in the green scene at work is to get others involved. Share your practices and wisdom with your boss and coworkers. You can do this by:

• Encouraging the office to join or start a recycling program
• Purchasing company carbon credits
• Buying eco-friendly office products
• Setting up a carpool calendar
• Getting everyone to pack their lunch and eat together

Your work environment has a great impact on your personal and professional happiness and your emotional stability. If you enjoy how greening your life makes you feel, then there’s no better place to keep the tradition alive than at work!

About the Author:
Trish Smith is a copywriter for Green Student U, a blog-style site that introduces today’s students to a wide variety of global environmental issues by recognizing college campus green initiatives and personal success stories, as well as how the world is being shaped by environmental reform.

Moving on and off campus after a stressful semester is never fun. The idea of lugging tons of boxes, spending hours cleaning your old dorm or apartment and driving miles away from school with a jam-packed car, only to do it all again next semester, is more than enough to make the average student cringe.

Not only is it not fun to move, but it’s also very harmful to the environment. You accumulate excess waste from throwing out old possessions and packing boxes, and you release carbon dioxide into the air making several trips in your car to get everything home.

If you practice living green there are several steps that you can take to make your moving experience less stressful and more eco-friendly.

Give to a Good Cause
College students acquire more stuff in their tiny living space than most average people do in a lifetime, and when it’s time to move it takes triple the effort just to get everything packed! Here are some green ways to lighten the load:

• Donate – You can donate any items that you don’t use to a thrift store such as Goodwill Industries or the Salvation Army, who will sell your items to raise money for good causes. You reduce your carbon footprint because many of these places pick up your items from your front door.
• Sell – You can sell your stuff online through such sites as eBay and Craigslist. By doing this you not only get some extra money, but you also get to reduce paper waste because everything is done online. You can also have a yard sale (if you live in a house), which also saves you from spending gas money and driving to a new location.
• Recycle – Don’t forget that many items you may want to throw away, including old notebooks, metal tins and computers, can be recycled.

Post-Consumer Packing
Cardboard boxes are the standard way to pack up your items. Even though they are recyclable, an even better way to reduce your paper waste is to use an eco-friendly recycled container.

The people at Earth Friendly Moving created the RecoPack, which is a series of stackable moving containers made from plastic containers that were salvaged from U.S. landfills. You can rent them for $1 a week, and the Earth Friendly team will drop them off and pick them up for you!

Get a Helping Hand
If you need help moving you can always hire a moving company. I don’t mean the kind of company that releases tons of greenhouse gases in the air with their huge tractor-trailer trucks, but an eco-friendly moving company. A company like Go Green Moving uses biofuel to power its trucks and earth-friendly moving pads made from recycled cotton.

A Green Clean is a Great Clean
Once everything is packed up and shipped out, you still have one more thing to do: you get to clean up the messy spills and dirty corners. The best way to do this is to use eco-friendly cleaning products that are made of all-natural and organic ingredients. These are safe to use because they don’t release any toxic fumes and won’t irritate your skin. Some great places to get these products are Heather’s Natural & Organic Cleaning Products and Simple Green.

Moving may not be a fun experience, but it can be a green experience that will help you reduce your carbon footprint and save the environment’s natural resources. It just takes a little time and effort!

About the Author:
Trish Smith is a copywriter for Green Student U, a blog-style site that introduces today’s students to a wide variety of global environmental issues by recognizing college campus green initiatives and personal success stories, as well as how the world is being shaped by environmental reform.

From the age of 12 when I decided to become a vegetarian I understood and felt very strongly about the power of the consumer. Back then it was more about boycotting things (well asking my mum not to put meat in my dinner) rather than using my pocket money to protest because, really, how much weight can you throw around with a few pounds a week?

Nevertheless, now that I’m grown up with a proper bank account rather than a piggy bank those values are still important and this is why the Big Green Purse instantly appealed to me.

The aim of this book is to highlight to women the power of their spending and how they can use it in a way that is positive for the environment and for their health.

Although most of the facts and figures relate to American laws and culture the points in this book will still ring true in other countries as it tackles the issues of every day life.

The beginning of the book starts with some inspiring stories of how consumers have already effected change in the manufacture of products such as cars, nail polish and tea. Diane then asks her readers to pledge to shift $1,000 of their annual spending to green products. That’s roughly £500 right now for us in the UK and I think entirely ‘do-able’ especially when you think of all of the areas of spending covered in your life and this book:

• Cosmetics and personal care products
• Cars
• Food and drink
• Cleaning products
• Gardening
• Kid’s stuff
• Electricals
• Home decoration and furnishings

There is a strong theme on personal health as well as environmental health and as this book is aimed at women this includes issues around pregnancy and babies too. Although shocking I think it was necessary to include some of the findings on how the chemicals we’re exposed to can pass on to our unborn children. Even more shocking is the fact that we’re allowed to be exposed to these chemicals but this is very motivating too. It encourages you to read on and find out what we can do about it.

The Big Green Purse shows us how we can shop smarter, how to look out for greenwash, how to understand jargon and acronyms and what the multitude of badges and labels really mean. Throughout the book Diane provides suggestions on good brands to look out for but doesn’t shy away from telling us which companies might need a nudge in the green direction too.

I personally like the checklists which give you the opportunity to think about your own day to day activies and spending such as “How much do you drive?” and “How much [cleaner] do you use?”. This is a great way to get that particular chapter’s subject matter into context for you right at the start.

Diane realistically recognises that greener options such as organic can be more expensive which means sometimes this isn’t a option but her first principle is always to buy less and consume less and I think we would all agree with that. She provides money saving tips and ideas too.

This is a lengthy and detailed book and its clear that Diane has researched it thoroughly but she breaks it down in a digestible way using prompts and symbols which means it could read just as well from cover to cover or as a reference.

What I’d like to see next is a similar book for men. Although Diane’s target audience is women because they “spend $.85 of every dollar in the marketplace” men are still the big earners and its important for everyone to understand the valuable lessons here.

Check out the website at www.biggreenpurse.com

It’s 1^st April, which means all of you pranksters have been working hard at making fools out of friends and family. But did you pull a prank that really packs a punch? One network of environmental organisations did!

Today ‘International Rising Tide’ (a network of groups and individuals dedicated to taking local action and building a movement against climate change) organised a day of action against the fossil fuel industry – the name ‘Fossil Fools Day’.

The Fossil Fools Day website states:

“Roll up, roll up! The climate circus is in town. Confronted with melting ice caps, unprecedented species extinction, droughts and extreme weather, climate change threatens our very survival. The fools at the head of the fossil fuel empire continue to plunder the earth, with the governments as willing court jesters at their side.

They would have us believe that we can escape climate change with techno-fixes, market mechanisms and offset schemes – all technocratic acrobatics that distract us from the truth: the only real solution to climate change is to keep fossil fuels in the ground. On April 1st, 2008, we’re going to turn the tables and show them who the real fools are.Target a local fossil fool – See the clowns investing in coal – The carbon offset contortionist or the oily strong man? and join with thousands around the world in taking one step closer to dismantling the fossil fuel industry. Find a fossil fool in your community and pull a prank that packs a punch.”

Protests have taken place in over 100 locations throughout the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom which was organised by International Rising Tide partner ‘People and Planet’.

Whilst it is too late for you to attend the protests (sorry about not featuring this earlier) you can still be part of the revolution that is trying to topple the coal industry:

Ideas include:

Don’t be a fossil fool – ensure that you are not part of the reason for the demand for new coal burning power stations and avoid financing the fossil fuel industry, for example:

- Reduce your energy use as much as possible; avoid having unnecessary electronic devices and make sure you always turn appliances completely off when not in use.

- Change to a green energy company or if you can generate your own energy

- Reduce or even completely stop purchasing products made out of fossil fuels / oil / petroleum etc

Target fossil fools – such as energy companies and financial institutes which invest in coal. Contact them telling your concerns about what they are doing and advise them that you are not a fossil fool – thus will be boycotting their services and encouraging others to do the same.

Organise a meeting with your MP - to discuss your concerns about the

UK government considering providing permission to build a new coal power station in Kingsnorth. If this plant is allowed to be built, then it is possible that seven more will follow, which means that we can wave goodbye to any hope that the

UK will be a world leader on climate change. You can ask for a meeting with your MP through the Parliamentary Switchboard on 020 7219 3000.

If you have participated in a Fossil Fuel protest then it would be great to hear about it, and if you have targeted fossil fools then share your outcome.

Click here to download an information sheet from ‘Rising Tide’ with further details about how you can help topple the coal industry.

Earlier this month Pope Benedict XVI declared pollution a sin.  I laughed and clapped, but it got me thinking about eco-sins I commit fully knowing that what I am doing is bad yet refusing to give up.

What eco-sins do you commit?

I’ll go first.  I refuse to give up my long hot showers.  I take one every morning without guilt.  I also loathe public transportation.  I take it on days when I have to, not because I want to.