Health
NYC’s First Bikesharing Program!
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008Wow, I’m so thrilled to read about the City’s first bikeshare– though it’s limited to Governors Island, and only on certain Fridays, it’s a groundbreaking initiative:
From Treehugger: “Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC), Transportation Alternatives and Bike and Roll have joined forces to create a bike share program, and every Friday between now […]
Update: Natural Body Care
Tuesday, June 17th, 2008I wanted to update ya’ll on the state of affairs here at Casa Jenn, specifically, the various choices I’ve made towards greening up my body care.
Deodorant: I don’t often use deodorant, mostly because I don’t often remember to apply it– but when I do, the Tom’s of Maine unscented stuff works pretty well, even in […]
Help! Facial SPF 30?
Tuesday, June 10th, 2008Are ya’ll hot yet? Here in NYC we’re having a little bit of a heatwave, which means that it’s officially summer. And having spent part of last weekend outdoors, I seem to have acquired the first base-layer tan of the season. Which would be nice except for the fact that I usually […]
Greener Pedicures?
Thursday, May 29th, 2008Now that we seem to be fully into sandal season, I spontaneously treated myself to a lunchtime pedicure today. This was only the second professional pedicure I’ve ever had, and so I kind of forgot that the whole deal is a pretty un-green practice. While I throughly enjoyed it (and my toes look […]
The Dental Floss
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008I recently overheard a statistic about the “real age effect” of flossing– that it can add 7 years to your life. While I can’t find evidence to back that stat up, it’s true that the lowly act of regular flossing can lower your risk of heart disease, arterial issues, and diabetes. And […]
“Microbead” Facial Scrubs
Tuesday, May 6th, 2008So, you’ve heard of those “microbead” facial and body scrubs? Ever wonder what the microbeads are made of? As it turns out, they’re actually tiny balls of polyethylene plastic:
From Orion Magazine: “[PhD student Mark Browne] selects a peach-colored tube of St. Ives Apricot Scrub; its label reads: 100% natural exfoliants. “This stuff is […]
Bikes, Bikes, and More Bikes
Thursday, May 1st, 2008Spring is in the air, and with it comes bicycles! Seems like it’s time to dust off my bike, inflate my winter-flats, and start two-wheeling it again… and that’s a lovely thing. Biking in NYC is quite literally a death-defying act, but the benefits are so darn rewarding– great exercise, fewer cars, less […]
Down With BPA
Thursday, April 24th, 2008Well, there have been some big developments in the world of Bisphenol-A this past week, that’s for sure. There’s suddenly so much to read about this issue that I feel like I’m lagging behind, and the only way for me to cover all the bases is to summarize– so here goes:
Canada becomes the first […]
Water Bottles: How Necessary Are They?
Thursday, March 27th, 2008By now, ya’ll know that one of my personal eco-dilemmas is the black hole that is water bottles (see the “related reading” list at the end of this post for proof, if you dare). Disposables will be the death of us, Nalgenes will be the death of us, aluminum bottles have a “safe” […]
SOLE Insoles
Thursday, March 13th, 2008So I have this incredibly persistent foot problem that I’ve been living with for the past three years, which dragged me from my burgeoning triathlon hobby to my current state as semi-pro couch potato. Which is just backstory for the topic of this post: when I bought these SOLE customizable orthotics a few months ago […]
Goods 4 Girls: Reusable Pad Drive
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008Fellow eco-blogger Crunchy Chicken is a truly amazing woman– that rare person who sees a need and then figures out a way to fulfill it.
After reading about Proctor & Gamble’s program Protecting Futures, which donates disposable (plastic and bleached cotton) menstrual pads to young women in Africa, Crunchy realized there had to be a […]
DIY Toothpaste
Thursday, February 7th, 2008Dental care kind of seems like something that’s best not experimented with at home… like, if the tube/box/packet of toothpaste/powder/cream doesn’t have the ADA seal of approval on it and you decide to use it anyway, you are risking life and limb. Not to mention tooth. And perhaps our National Security.
Well, I wonder how true […]
Mason Jars & Further Water Bottle Insanity
Tuesday, February 5th, 2008Have ya’ll had enough talk about water bottles yet? How about Bisphenol-A? No?
From Grist:
Hot liquid increases toxic leaching from plastic bottles, says study
Contact with hot liquid causes a huge spike in the amount of toxic chemical bisphenol A leaching out of plastic bottles, says new research that’s bad news for baby-bottle-sterilizing parents […]
Water Bottles, Again…
Tuesday, January 22nd, 2008Update: Please read our “We Are Not Experts” disclaimer
I’ve written before about the sad but true fact that pretty Nalgene bottles most likely leach Bisphenol-A (a hormone disruptor) into the liquids and foods you store inside them, and how even though this has yet to be proven absolutely, a certain Canadian giant outdoors store has […]
Mineral Makeup
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008When I was in Georgia visiting my family, my cousin, aunt and I went to a cosmetics store and tried out mineral makeup. Have you heard? It’s so 2006, but it’s still a popular and trendy cosmetic. It’s marketed as natural, without chemicals, and as something that will protect your skin from environmental hazards. Part […]
Ten Ways To Green Your Bathroom
Tuesday, January 1st, 2008Spray the shower with a natural mold-fighting solution after each use: This preventative measure can eliminate the need for toxic chemical mold-killers in the future– a few spritzes now will save a whole lot of scrubbing/re-grouting later. Fill a spray bottle with one of these suggested solutions, and keep it in the shower:
White vinegar, […]
Mountain Equipment Coop Stops Selling Bisphenol-A
Thursday, December 13th, 2007Mountain Equipment Co-op “is Canada’s leading supplier of outdoor clothing and equipment”, and is a vision to behold– I had the opportunity to visit the store in Vancouver, B.C. this past summer and, as a gearhead geek, I was left swooning by the block-long shop filled with outdoors equipment. Backpacks, stoves, sleeping bags, hiking […]