Antibacterial Soap

"Consumers in the United States spend almost $1 billion per year on “antibacterial” soaps and other products, often motivated by the notion that these products will protect their families from harmful germs and illnesses. But in fact, these products are no more effective than regular soap and water for preventing illness, and they contain chemicals that can actually harm our health and the environment. Up to 75 percent of liquid soaps, as well as bar soaps, toothpaste, cosmetics, cleansing lotions, acne creams, and wipes contain triclosan or triclocarban—chemicals marketed as reducing the number of bacteria or “germs.” The FDA needs to take action now to stop the continued sale of ineffective and potentially unsafe antimicrobial chemicals in household products."

Source: http://www.nrdc.org/health/antimicrobials.asp

SORRYYYYY

Hello my lovlies!
Sorry for not updating sooner, BUT after my trip to Taiwan a couple of months ago (-_-'') I sort of got thrown off track, but thanks to Carlo, we have a new post!!! He wrote this post about his favorite car.

"2010 Prius Debut

On Monday, Toyota revealed the highly anticipated 2010 Prius hybrid, the successor to its most popular hybrid model. The new model is larger, faster, and more efficient than its predecessor.

The aerodynamics have improved, reducing the coefficient of drag from 0.26 to 0.25. This improves efficiency. A larger engine allows the engine speed to be reduced at highway velocities, thus reducing consumption more while simultaneously increasing acceleration. The electrical power consumption has been reduced through measures such as LED headlamps and a better air-conditioning system.

These are not the only merits the car has.

The car has more interior room, due to a slightly wider body and the peak in the roof being moved backwards. The battery has been made more compact, and thus the cargo space grew wider.

In addition, there are several features new to this model.

The roof itself is a cool feature, or rather, a cooling feature. This time around, there is an available moonroof, which tilts and slides to open. However, the rear portion is actually covered in solar cells, producing enough power to run a ventilation fan on hot days, reducing the need for energy-wasting air conditioning upon entering the car.

For safety, the buttons on the steering wheel are displayed on the dashboard, allowing the driver to use the controls without looking down. Also, a new energy display is integrated into the dash in addition to the multi-display screen.

The big news to greenies like us is the improvement in fuel economy. The 1^st generation Prius offered a 41 MPG EPA rating, with the 2^nd generation version rated at 46 MPG combined. The 2010 Prius will attain 50 MPG in the EPA testing, while simultaneously improving everything else the previous model had to offer: a small exterior with a big, useful interior, luxury-car features at bargain prices, and the head-turning style of a sports car.

Source: http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/toyota/2010-prius-reveal-speech.aspx"

Yay! Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things, because I've got a post that I've been saving since late November!!

DEODARANT

So I was studying for the calculus test tomorrow,

and of course I start staring off at random things.

Something that caught my gaze was my deodorant, which reminded me of the green book which reminded me of this blog.

What is says, is: 

" When you buy deodorant, try to avoid antiperspirants, which uses aluminum salts to seal up your pores.  In addition to being a potential health toxin, aluminum takes a tremendous amount of energy to mine.  If you buy one stick of aluminum-free deodorant, the energy saves could power your laptop for thirty minutes.  If 5 percent of adults switched from antiperspirants for good, the value of the annual energy savings could buy 250 new computers for U.S. classrooms every year."

Yupyup :D

After this short interlude, I guess I'll go back and hit the books.

Happy deodorizing! 

By the way, check out Wikipedia to learn more.  I was a little skeptical about my deodorant because it was labeled an antiperspirant, but the ingredients that are listed do not contain aluminum.

Pepper Plants!

Hi guys!

Here are some pictures of the pepper plants in my backyard.

Notice the use of the garbage can?

We used to use those a long time ago, until we switched to the big ones with the yellow lids.

My grandfather sawed one in half and is using it as a flower pot!  I think it's kind of cute.  What do you think?

By the way, the peppers themselves used to be prettier and redder, but my camera broke, and I had to use the camera on my macbook.

Cool article

Check this out!

Aww things like these are just so cute.

Reminds me of my grandfather.

Speaking of which, I will hopefully have a post up about him soon!  He is kind of awesome and he turns random things into stuff that he can use in his lair and in his patch of garden in our backyard.

In the bathroom...

Okay, on the topic of bath water, most people know that it saves more water if you take a shower instead of a bath.

Everybody in my family takes showers, but we get a little annoyed by the refusal of the water to get hot more quickly.  Lots of the water gets away while we're waiting for it to get warm enough.  My mom bought a bucket that we use to drain the cold water in.  It's really amazing how much water you waste per day when you have a container to measure it in.

So what you can do with it is water your plants, or wash the car, or flush the toilet with it.  I'm not comfortable with lugging a tub of water and trying to pour it down the toilet to flush it, but hey, it works!

Speaking of toilets...

From the green book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen:

"Try to flush just one less time per day, and you'll save about 4.5 gallons of water - as much water as the average person in Africa uses for a whole day of drinking, cooking, bathing, and cleaning."

So by flushing with bath water that was going down the drain anyway, you'll be saving water.

And if you and a family member both have to pee, just flush after you're both done, and you'll save water that way too.

But don't go crazy and try to contain your bladder, because bad things will happen.

:D

Going Green

Even though I'm generally a lazy person, I try to recycle and to do little things that could impact the world in a positive way if only more people could do it. In this blog, I'm going to show people what the little things that my family and I do to be a little more friendly to the environment.