It was last summer that I wrote this post. I found it interesting that one year later, the information is still spot-on and thus, I continue to share this message to anyone who will listen. I hope it will be beneficial to all of you:

For those of us who defied the Surgeon General’s warning on the cigarette package for all those years…. We all know,  how valid the warning was and still is.

And now,  research has proven that many products that families are using in our homes around their children and family, can be detrimental to their health.

In a report from the NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences), the following statement pretty much sums up what all the research is saying:

Children are highly vulnerable to the negative health consequences associated with many environmental exposures. Children receive proportionately larger doses of environmental toxicants than adults, and the fact that their organs and tissues are rapidly developing makes them particularly susceptible. Research in children’s health looks at the effects of air pollution on respiratory diseases such as allergies and asthma, the impact of lead, mercury, and other environmental contaminants on cognitive development and behavior, and the influence of prenatal and early life exposures on growth and development.

So, what’s stopping you from making the switch over to greener and cleaner products in your home? Money, convenience, not knowing what products are safe to use? I’ve prepared a little survey about these issues and would appreciate each reader taking it for me. It should take less than 5 minutes to complete it!

There are many reputable brands of non-toxic cleaning products available on the market, besides the ones that I distribute. For most of them, it’s fairly easy to find out what the ingredients are and if any of them, can pose some type of health hazard to your family. Two of the websites that I most commonly refer to are:

Environmental Working Group – www.ewg.org

US Dept of Health & Human Services – http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov

You can also obtain a free report that lists many of the commonly used household cleaners and their ingredients by going to: www.4greenplanetsolutions.com. There’s an excellent video called Toxic Brew on that webpage, that talks more about the unseen exposures right in our homes.

Besides the retail products, you already have some natural products right in your cupboard; vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda. There are numerous online resources with suggestions of how to dilute and use these products.

Make it a greener and cleaner summer. The changes may very well make a positive health and financial impact to your family. If, you just don’t know where to start, feel free to contact me with any questions or ideas. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but love the chance to research and find them !!

The public is invited to participate in the Refuge’s 6th annual BioBlitz Festival on Saturday June 11th from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Refuge Visitor Center. This free family event includes guided boat trips to net fish on Lake Lowell; guided bird and plant walks; and insect-collecting expeditions. Visitors can also view live birds of prey, fish, and reptiles; learn to identify insects at the Bug Tent; learn how to draw wildlife; visit interactive exhibits from wildlife-related organizations in Idaho; participate in kids’ crafts and activities; and explore the Refuge through a photo scavenger hunt.

BioBlitz is a 24-hour rapid survey of biological diversity. On June 10th and 11th, local scientists, naturalists, and volunteers will comb Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge to find and identify as many different species of plants and animals as possible. This year, visitors can participate in some of the surveys through deer spotlight survey, bat detector, and small mammal trapping demonstrations on Friday, June 11th. Although BioBlitzes have been held across the country, this is Idaho’s only one!

This year’s BioBlitz Festival is being held on Free Fishing Day, so bring your pole and also visit Gotts Point for kids fishing activities. From 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, kids can learn about fish biology, fishing ethics, and water safety. Visitors will have a chance to practice casting and rigging before testing their newly-learned skills by fishing in Lake Lowell! Fishing poles will be available to borrow if needed.

The event schedule is as follows. All the guided activities listed below require pre-registration Friday, June 10th

6:00 AM Birding survey (intermediate and experienced birders only)
10:00 AM Aquatic invertebrate sampling (volunteers needed)
9:00 PM Bat presentation and bat detector demonstration
10:00 PM Deer spotlighting survey

Saturday June 11th
7:00 AM Small mammal trapping demonstration
10:00 AM Boat trip to net fish
10:30 AM Introduction to birding walk
11:00 AM Boat trip to net fish
11:30 AM Plant walk
12:00 PM Boat trip to net fish
12:30 PM Introduction to birding walk
1:00 PM Pollinator survey
1:30 PM Plant walk

BioBlitz 2011 will be at the Refuge Visitor Center; the entrance road is located at the corner of Indiana and Roosevelt in Nampa. Kid’s Fishing Day will be at Gotts Point at the west end of Greenhurst. A map, directions, and a schedule of festival events (see below) are available at http://www.fws.gov/deerflat. To register for one of the guided activities or for more information, call the Refuge Visitor Center at (208) 467-9278 or email deerflat@fws.gov

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The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

Oregon’s bill proposes removal of BPA from baby bottles, sippy cups and reusable water bottles. Toxic BPA has been linked to several increasing children’s developmental problems.

Representative Ben Cannon, a state legislative sponsor of the Oregon BPA-Free Baby Bill (SB 695) filed a “discharge petition” that will allow this important kids’ health bill to come to a vote of the full House, instead of staying stuck in committee for who knows how long. 24 Oregon representatives have signed on already, but for the discharge petition to work, 31 members of the Oregon House of Representatives must sign it by today, June 1, 2011.

Oregon residents need to take immediate action and contact their representatives about this issue. They can use the online link to find them and send an email, but a phone call would definitely be helpful, also.

Apparently, YouTube will be featuring a video on its homepage on Mother’s Day. This is a winning video sponsored by Search For The Obvious, in a project that asked people to tap into the power of social media and viral marketing. The challenge asked for the participants to use their creative genius to show that moms around the world deserve more! Quality maternal health is not an option, it’s a right.

So, what’s in it for you. You will be inspired by the video and know that just because you viewed it, at least one penny for each view during the month of May will go to benefit Christy Turlington’s organization, Every Mother Counts.

Please watch the below video and share it with everyone you know. You’ll be blessed and bless others in the process. Happy Mother’s Day!

Is there lead and or mercury in the water you drink or the food your buy and feed to your family? Watch the below video which talks about 85% of kids drinks and snacks containing high levels of lead. And hear how 1/3 if the 55 top brand food items contain high levels of mercury.

Or how about aspartame? Think you’re being healthier by consuming a “non-sugared” product? Did you know that aspartame is the feces of genetically engineered bacteria that are associated with health problems? YUCK!!

How about silicone? Not something you want your children ingesting? When’s the last time they ate some Chicken McNuggetts.

No, we can’t get away from it all, but we can educate ourselves. A recent New York Times article talks about lead in those bounce houses that you rent for your kids birthday parties and such.

You can also remove lead and numerous other contaminants from your tap water with a new water pitcher system that removes 99% of lead from tap water.  It also reduces 9 times more contaminants that a leading competitor.

Be informed and be moved to make changes for your family and the planet.

For a safe tap water filtering system click here and also receive a free water bottle.

Congress is currently involved with mandating stricter guidelines, under the Kids-Safe Chemical Act. But, the chemical industry may not be as happy about these changes, as they claim to be.

We are not living in a fairytale, this is the real deal. Watch the below video and take action by letting Congress know that strict, toxic chemical reform, must be mandated!

Check out the below video from SaferChemicals.org.

And now,  research has proven that many products that families are using in our homes around their children and family, can be detrimental to their health.

In a report from the NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences), the following statement pretty much sums up what all the research is saying:

Children are highly vulnerable to the negative health consequences associated with many environmental exposures. Children receive proportionately larger doses of environmental toxicants than adults, and the fact that their organs and tissues are rapidly developing makes them particularly susceptible. Research in children’s health looks at the effects of air pollution on respiratory diseases such as allergies and asthma, the impact of lead, mercury, and other environmental contaminants on cognitive development and behavior, and the influence of prenatal and early life exposures on growth and development.

So, what’s stopping you from making the switch over to greener and cleaner products in your home? Money, convenience, not knowing what products are safe to use? I’ve prepared a little survey about these issues and would appreciate each reader taking it for me. It should take less than 5 minutes to complete it!

There are many reputable brands of non-toxic cleaning products available on the market, besides the ones that I distribute. For most of them, it’s fairly easy to find out what the ingredients are and if any of them, can pose some type of health hazard to your family. Two of the websites that I most commonly refer to are:

Environmental Working Group – www.ewg.org

US Dept of Health & Human Services – http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov

You can also obtain a free report that lists many of the commonly used household cleaners and their ingredients by going to: www.4greenplanetsolutions.com. There’s an excellent video called Toxic Brew on that webpage, that talks more about the unseen exposures right in our homes.

Besides the retail products, you already have some natural products right in your cupboard; vinegar, lemon juice and baking soda. There are numerous online resources with suggestions of how to dilute and use these products.

Make it a greener and cleaner summer. The changes may very well make a positive health and financial impact to your family. If, you just don’t know where to start, feel free to contact me with any questions or ideas. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but love the chance to research and find them !!

These exposures come from products right off the shelf. Plastic baby bottles, baby clothes, cleaning products, personal care products, to name a few. And, since all of these products are for sale to each and every consumer, a natural assumption would be that they are safe, or they wouldn’t even be available to the consumer. Right?

WRONG !!!!

Unfortunately, that assumption is incorrect. Of, over 80,000 chemicals being used in the manufacturing of everyday products, only about 200 of them have been tested by a 34 year old program, the Toxic Substances Chemical Act (TSCA) of 1976. In addition, all chemicals developed prior to the TSCA were grandfathered in, without being tested!

There is a very large voice right now, demanding an update to the Toxic Substances Control Act. It’s called the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010. The reports are in, the facts are clear, and something must be done and quickly.

Please watch the below video and go to SaferChemicals.org to educate yourself and to take the pledge. Without action by each of us, the exposures will continue and so too, will the health issues to go along with them.

Health hazards for children are everywhere. Yes, there are exposures outside, as well as inside of their homes, that can trigger common diseases and health conditions in a child. Even in utero, babies and children are often vulnerable to environmental toxins. Obviously, parents can’t remove all the “bad stuff”, but they can become more informed and make educated choices for their children’s health, as well as the whole family.

Children are more likely than adults to come in contact with many of the health hazards around us each day. Their most common playground; the floor, holds a barrage of allergens, such as dust and heavier-than-air chemicals. Then, they put everything in their mouths, further exposing them in different ways than adults.

It really is easy to start making changes by choosing a few simple steps to take in your home. It’s not necessary to do everything at once, but doing something, is definitely a good thing. HealthyChild.org offers a Pocket Guide with 5 easy steps to give you a place to start:

1. Manage Pests Safely
2. Use Non-Toxic Products
3. Clean Up Indoor Air
4. Eat Healthy
5. Be Wise with Plastics

The below video is from HealthyChild.org. It’s called A Wake Up Story. Please watch the video and become committed to make some small changes to provide a healthier home for your whole family. Then, please pass this message along to another and another …..

A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.

I’m sure there are a lot of arguments, good and bad, for kids and teens having their own cell phones. In my opinion, the #1 positive would point to the issue of children being able to reach their parent or emergency service provider, in the event of an emergency.  Beyond the scope of emergency situations, parents also want a way to ensure they can keep in touch with their children throughout the day.

Keeping “tabs”, some may call it, is the responsibility of every parent. And with a mobile phone, parents and children can communicate their plans, whereabouts, curfews, etc., to one another.

But, an issue that is often talked about, is the misuse of cell phones by the kids. Texting or talking on the phone at inappropriate times, (i.e. middle of the night, at school, etc.), talking to people that the parent doesn’t want them talking to or the parent doesn’t know, or even using the phone to harass or badger other kids.

There’s a great mobile phone resource that is available that has all the parental controls, a budgeting system, GPS Locator, no annual fees and plan limitations all in one. It’s offered by Kajeet, and there are plans as low as $4.99 a month.

Statistics show that  54% of teens were texting daily in a survey taken in September 2009. Half of the teens send more than 50 text messages a day,  or 1,500 texts a month, which may or may not, be excessive to a particular parent. Older teens are shown to text even more.

With the Kajeet phone, parents can monitor the phone usage in real time and provide the necessary guidance to keep kids safe and focused on all their other responsibilities. And, then there’s the feature of having no annual contracts, no activation or termination fees and a plan can be changed at any time.

A Kajeet mobile cell phone would be a great graduation gift to family or friend’s children. Since, there are no contracts or activation/termination fees, the gift could be given with no strings attached or future financial or contractual responsibility of the giver. Then, it would be the responsibility of  the receiver and/or their family, to decide whether to continue the use of the Kajeet phone and/or modify the type of plans/services.