Living greener

[Gemini Cricket]

The problem I have with 'green' is the same problem I have with 'red' as in red state. There's a lot of preachiness going on. Lots of lectures, guilt, making you feel like the can of tuna you're about to eat is the last one ever...
I think working at the Monterey Bay Aquarium did that to me. Everything was such a downer. Otters are going extinct, tunas numbers are dropping, don't eat orange roughy, shark finning is horrible, kitty litter kills marine life, lobsters are smaller than they used to be. I mean, I know all this stuff and I do my best to spread the word and follow the rules but... sheesh!
I just get so tired of people telling me this and that. Such a drag.

(This isn't a commentary about the thread starter or anything. Just me thinking out loud.)

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Traci - we've been using vinegar to clean the bunny's litter box and I'm so impressed with how well it cleans. The smell does vanish immediately and I never have to scrub. I've also cleaned carpet stains with it. I keep thinking I should buy a spray bottle for the stuff, and I think your post is the final push for me in that direction.

My biggest environmental pet peeve are all the recent disposable cleaning cloths - Swiffer, Clorox wipes, etc. Not only are you throwing away tons of fabric but those things are loaded with chemicals. I use rags when I can and save paper towels for truly nasty jobs.

The wipes also enforce the idea that every surface in the house should be sanitized. The commercials I'm seeing for these products frighten me - wiping children's toys, wiping the baby's play area, wiping every piece of food... I do not want an absolutely sanitary life for my kids, I want their bodies to be able to fight disease by themselves. I think this ties in to what Alex was talking about: overkill. Not to mention OCD.

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

My biggest environmental pet peeve are all the recent disposable cleaning cloths - Swiffer, Clorox wipes, etc. Not only are you throwing away tons of fabric but those things are loaded with chemicals. I use rags when I can and save paper towels for truly nasty jobs.

The wipes also enforce the idea that every surface in the house should be sanitized. The commercials I'm seeing for these products frighten me - wiping children's toys, wiping the baby's play area, wiping every piece of food... I do not want an absolutely sanitary life for my kids, I want their bodies to be able to fight disease by themselves. I think this ties in to what Alex was talking about: overkill. Not to mention OCD.

I totally agree. Especially when they show them wiping toys with the bleach cloths. We don't want our kids to get sick, so let's wipe pesticides on their toys! Good idea. Soap does a fine job of cleaning most things. If you compare disinfectant soap to regular soap there is only a miniscule amount of difference as far as germ elimination.

The paper towel thing I totally need to work on. They are hard to give up.

[Stan4dSteph]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

I totally agree. Especially when they show them wiping toys with the bleach cloths. We don't want our kids to get sick, so let's wipe pesticides on their toys! Good idea.

Bleach is a great disinfectant, but I wouldn't call it a pesticide. I love the smell of bleach. To me it equals clean. I do agree about the disposable wipes though. I need to get some microfiber cloths at the store to use instead of disposables.

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Stan4dSteph

Bleach is a great disinfectant, but I wouldn't call it a pesticide. I love the smell of bleach. To me it equals clean. I do agree about the disposable wipes though. I need to get some microfiber cloths at the store to use instead of disposables.

Bleach is a registered pesticide.

If I recall, bleach has been linked to asthma and other health problems. You don't need to completely eliminate bacteria to get things clean. Vinegar kills germs really really well. A naturalish company just came out with the first non-bleach cleaner that is approved for use in hospitals. It kills the HIV simplex virus. It's made with thyme oil. Looks promising. Bleach is murder on the environment.

ETA: Wikipedia on bleach:

A problem with chlorine is that it reacts with organic material to form trihalomethanes like chloroform, which is a well known carcinogen. The benefit of using chlorine to kill the germs in drinking water far outweighs any risk from the tiny trace of chloroform in treated drinking water. However, the use of bleach in industrial processes such as paper bleaching, with its attendant production of organochlorine-persistent organic pollutants (including dioxins), does not have any such clear benefit.
Chlorine is a respiratory irritant. It also attacks mucus membranes and burns the skin. As little as 3.5 ppm can be detected as an odor, and 1000 ppm is likely to be fatal after a few deep breaths. Exposure to chlorine should not exceed 0.5 ppm (8-hour time-weighted average - 40 hour week).
Another hazard is the formation of acrid chloramine fumes when hypochlorite bleach comes into contact with ammonia or urine, which, though not nearly as dangerous as chlorine, can cause severe respiratory distress.

[Stan4dSteph]

I try to buy things in larger packages, but I admit that I buy individually packaged foods for convenience.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

Bleach is a registered pesticide.

It is an antimicrobrial pesticide which is not what most people mean when they say pesticide. Vinegar also is an antimicrobial pesticide.

[Not Afraid]

Our house is a eco-nightmare. Built in 1927, it has only a few things that make it even slightly green. I recently got a front loading washer and dryer and our fridge is evergy complient. We do use compact flourescents.

I drive to places for a living. Granted, I stay local, but I make an abundance of short trips. I have thought about getting a Vespa for work, but the thought of driving around "naked" scares me.

Next go around with cars, we will be considering a smart car or a hybrid, but I'm stuck for 2 more years in a lease.

We do recycle regularly but we don't compost (something I'd like to start doing). I always snip my 6-pack holders.

I use vinegar to clean quite a bit. I buy it by the gallon jugs and go through it pretty quickly. I, too, hate the sudden sanitize hysteria and refuse to buy products to support that craze and waste.

I'm now using pine cat litter.

Two good linkd for more tips:

One

Two

[tracilicious]

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

We do recycle regularly but we don't compost (something I'd like to start doing). I always snip my 6-pack holders.

Our town is giving away free compost bins right now. I need to call and get one. We were doing earthworm composting for a while, but I now have a bin of 1000+ dead earthworms in my garage.

I'm going to do a big above ground garden this year, but that's more for hobby reasons than earth wise reasons.

[Matterhorn Fan]

Originally Posted by tracilicious

I'm going to do a big above ground garden this year, but that's more for hobby reasons than earth wise reasons.

You can grow your own veggies and herbs!