10 ways to Conserve water at home

After our freezing winter it was a relief to see that we’re expecting a good warm summer. In fact Environment Canada is forecasting above normal temperatures in much of southern New Brunswick. But it seems that our precipitation will be a bit below normal, or “near normal” as Environment Canada puts it.

The forecast got me thinking about water conservation and what a warm sunny summer might mean to our water supply.

 

Whether you’re on municipal water or on a well, water conservation through the summer should be top of mind for everyone, especially since we all use more water during the summer months. And on average we use a lot of water.

Five tips for choosing safe sunscreen

EWG offers tips for choosing safe sunscreen and a database that rates the safety and effectiveness of sunscreen products on the market.

We deserve some hot sunny days. After a long winter and damp, cool spring a little bit of sun and warmth is just what the doctor ordered, but as much as we enjoy the sun we still need to protect ourselves from its warming rays. 

Since sunscreen is the most common form of sun protection it’s important to understand that sometimes we need to protect ourselves from sunscreen as well. 

For years now the experts in how to choose sunscreen that’s safe and effective is Environmental Working Group (EWG), a science-based research organization in the United States. EWG analyzes sunscreen ingredients and scientific data associated with skin cancers in the U.S. and each year develops a list of tips for choosing the best sunscreen. 

The environmental impact of single serve coffee

Single-serve coffee (pods & k-cups) has a hefty environmental impact.

K-cups, -- the ultimate in convenience. A single serving of tea or coffee in under a minute with no waiting for the kettle to boil or the coffee to drip through -- how perfect is that? When I was first introduced to this single-serving coffee system I was totally seduced by the variety and convenience but I could never brew my k-cup of English Breakfast Tea without thinking about the waste.

The environmental impact of the pods stares you in the face each time you toss a spent k-cup in the garbage. Even before I dug up the data on this coffee craze I knew the picture wouldn’t be pretty.

How to eat well and reduce your exposure to pesticides

 

An apple a day…just might increase your pesticide exposure, according to this year’s Dirty Dozen/Clean Fifteen analysis by the U.S.-based environmental research group, Environmental Working Group (EWG).

The organization does an annual analysis of pesticide residue on produce based on data gathered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. EWG uses this data to compile of list of the 12 fruits and vegetable which carry the highest pesticide load when they reach your plate.

It’s not all doom and gloom - EWG also publishes a list of the 15 fruits and vegetables that contain the least amount of pesticide residue.

How to give your diet an eco makeover this Earth Day

Six ways to give your diet an eco makeover this Earth Day

 

The new “eating well”; being deliberate about what food you buy, where your buy it, and then ensuring that you eat it all.

I consider Earth Day a celebration, a launch party for a new way of doing things. The annual event challenges Canadians to make changes to our day-to-day lives in ways that benefit the planet and if we want to take up that challenge, April 22 is the kickoff day.  

One of this year’s challenges is to give our kitchen tables an eco-makeover by making more sustainable food choices and wasting less. It’s a very green thing to do since where we buy our food, what we buy and what we do with our leftovers has such a big impact on the environment. Regional food security comes into play as well since we’re so dependent on food from faraway places.

So where to begin? Earth Day Canada presents six suggestions for what we can all start doing today to make a meaningful impact through our daily meals.

Why teaching kids to cook is so important

Over the March Break my husband and I met a woman who told us that when her kids were growing up each was responsible for preparing one evening meal a week for the whole family. They learned to cook by cooking and were completely capable in the kitchen even at the age of 12. She said it taught them an important kind of independence and a sense of responsibility.

As someone who happens to believe that cooking wholesome food from scratch is one of the most important things that you can do for your family, it’s probably no surprise that I’m particular about what I feed my kids. But it occurred to me that I’m putting a lot of effort into teaching my kids about good food, but I’m not teaching them how to prepare it.

Learning to cook is a life skill, and as parents our job is to teach kids to become independent. You can’t very well go out into the world if you don’t know how to feed yourself. Teaching our kids how to feed themselves well should be our goal. We want our kids to succeed in life, why should we lower our standards when it comes to food?

How to choose eco-friendly flooring

Eco-friendly flooring options abound, for basements, kitchens and the rest of your home. Here are some great options.

Renovations are not my favourite thing to do. I love the idea of renovating but it’s all the decisions, the final decisions, that I find difficult.

Take our current project: We’re in the process of finishing a room in our basement. It’s almost complete but we’re stuck on the flooring and have been for nearly a year.

We want something that is durable, suitable for a basement and eco-friendly.

Finding options that are both durable and suitable for a basement are easy enough, but figuring out what options are the most ecofriendly are more of a challenge.

How to avoid toxic flame retardants

Eight easy tips for avoiding or reducing toxic flame retardants in your home.

I have never been one for dusting. Just ask my mom. I was the child with the room full of knick knacks, an aversion to cleaning and great tolerance for dust and clutter. I’m the person most likely to write in the dust on the mirror: “A clean house is the sign of a wasted life.”

But I’m starting to change my tune.

Dust isn’t just dust. It contains tiny particles of stuff that includes a lot of undesirable chemicals. In particular flame retardants that are still in use today and others that have been banned from newly-manufactured items but are still everywhere in our homes.

Green living lessons from the 2013 Christmas ice storm

The ice storm taught us that we can get by with less water and less electricity.

Challenging times have a way of teaching us life lessons. Although I wouldn’t wish another outage on anyone I’m happy to admit that I learned a lot during our two (half) days in the dark.

For most it was an exhausting reminder of our dependence on power, it exposed how self-sufficient we are (or aren’t) and proved how we can call get by with less.

How to avoid toxic food colouring




Food colouring is toxic. Instead, choose natural, plant-based food colouring. http://www.indiatree.com



Christmas is the season of candy and colour. Brightly tinted cookies and colourful holiday candies seem to suit the season. They’re fun and festive. But if you do a little research on food colouring you start to wonder about how healthy it really is to be eating foods that are so unnaturally vibrant.