Daily Loaf

The $500 billion beauty industry is embraces a message that tells women they must correct, conceal and camouflage. Peel away the glitz and glamour, says Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and author of Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry, and you’ll expose the toxic truths lurking beneath the beauty industry’s seedy underbelly. Malkan shares five of the biggies that the major beauty purveyors would rather keep under wraps.

1. Many skincare products contain chemicals toxic to the skin

“A mind-boggling array of products contain chemicals that sensitize skin and trigger skin problems such as rashes, redness, acne, and other symptoms of contact dermatitis”, says Malkan, who notes that doctors often misdiagnose these problems as eczema and prescribe drugs such as steroids or immunosuppressants. Then, of course, there are the toxic chemicals that are known or suspected causes of long-term health effects such as asthma, infertility, learning disabilities, and cancer—ingredients that companies persist in including despite the fact that they “already know how to make great products without these hazardous chemicals,” she says.

2. Companies that donate to breast cancer research still use carcinogens in their products
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Since 1996 my company, It’s Our Nature has had a vision of connecting our wellness to the health of the earth. Recently, Prevention Magazine provided a list of Surprising Signs That You’ll Probably Live Longer that correlate to a green lifestyle.

Here are some of the connections from Planet Green:

You walk to stay fit. Fit people–defined as those who walk for about 30 minutes a day–are more likely to live longer than those who walk less, regardless of how much body fat they have, according to a recent study of 2,603 men and women.

Green It: Walking for a purpose- The best way to stay fit is to include walking in your everyday life as a way to get from A to B. Park the car and instead choose to walk to the store or if you use public transportation, walk to the bus or train station. That’s why Europeans are so enviously thin; they walk to get somewhere not just to stay fit. Save fossil fuels and win the battle of the bulge by hitting the pavement.
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What is Fair Trade?  With the recent celebration of Labor Day (which, by the way, was started in 1894 by President Grover Cleveland as a way to distract attention from May Day) – the real anniversary of radical labor activism – I want to talk more about labor: fair labor.

The fair trade movement sets out to empower producers at the local level by paying them fair wages for their labor, strengthening their local living conditions, and giving them a stronger voice in the market.

While free trade advocates push for international trade devoid of as much regulation as possible, fair trade advocates insist that free trade isn’t enough. They argue that without regulation, a global trade system with power centralized at the international level will always hurt local-level workers.
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In the week that Senator Ted Kennedy’s death closed a major political chapter in US history a Treehugger.com looks at his influential role in the environmental movement. Being called a “progressive green champion” the “liberal lion” was known for his commitment to clean energy and wildlife protection.

Here are some of the highlights from Climate Progress:

Holding Oil Companies Accountable
During consideration of a 1975 tax cut proposal, Kennedy introduced a provision targeting the oil depletion allowance, which since 1926 had enabled oil producers to exclude 22 percent of their revenues from any taxes. Kennedy’s initiative passed overwhelmingly, trimming the allowance for independent producers and ending it for the major oil companies.

Raising Fuel Economy Standards
Senator Kennedy has a long and distinguished record supporting clean renewable sources of energy and reducing the nation’s reliance on fossil fuels. More than 30 years ago he cosponsored the first law to establish fuel economy standards. And in 2007, he supported a law which increased fuel economy standards, which is essential to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Improving Energy Efficiency
Senator Kennedy was a strong proponent of increasing energy efficiency, which is an essential part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He was a long time supporter of programs like the weatherization assistance program and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program that helps those most in need reduce their energy bills by improving home energy efficiency.

Ted Kennedy did much more in his six terms as senator. The United States is a greener place thanks to his efforts. Ted Kennedy was one of the most powerful, respected, and influential senators in US history—it is my hope that his progressive view towards our environment and the beings that share it will be carried on within our government.

Last month, I decided to unplug my clothes dryer and line dry – or over a rack, chair, or railing.

Every few years, the Pew Research Center asks about 1,000 Americans what they think about various appliances. Three years ago, 83 percent responded that a clothes dryer was a necessity. Now one in every three Americans sees this appliance as an unnecessary extravagance requiring a huge commitment of energy to run. In many households, the dryer is the third most energy-hungry appliance after the refrigerator and washer. Air-drying your clothes can reduce the average household’s carbon footprint by 2,400 pounds a year.
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The Federal Trade Commission has charged a number of bamboo clothing manufacturers with making false claims about the environmental attributes of their product. The FTC’s case is part of a growing fight against “greenwashing” – making an environmental claim about a product or service without adequate scientific evidence.

In the National Textile Association’s 8/12/09 News Blog, they state that the FTC has charged four sellers with deceptively labeling and advertising garments made of bamboo fiber, when they are actually made of rayon. The complaints also charge the companies with making false and unsubstantiated “green” claims that their clothing and textile products are manufactured using an environmentally friendly process that retains the natural antimicrobial properties of the bamboo plant and that they are biodegradable.
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Having grown up on the beach, I learned that I could never completely shake the sand out of my shoes.  I am forever imprinted with a stong connection to a shoreline. I was thrilled to discover the lastest project of one of my favorite websites – Treehugger.com.  They have introduced Blue August – a month long dedication to the water on our planet.

With water covering more than 70 percent of the globe and yet drinkable water in precious short supply, this is a most timely topic to dive into. You will discover the magnificent beauty and horrifying destruction of the lifeblood of the oceans – coral reefs. They take us on an in-depth look at marine life, water purification, rivers, and everything associated with impacting our beloved beaches.
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Zora Neale Hurston: January 7, 1891 (Nostasulga, Alabama) – January 28, 1960 (Fort Pierce, Florida)

Zora Neale Hurston was a novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist whose fictional and factual accounts of black heritage are unparalleled. Her autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road, begins with the words: “I have memories within that came out of the materials that went to make me. Time and place have had their say.” Zora’s “place” was the frontier wilderness of Florida. She grew up in Eatonville, the only incorporated all-black town in America. Playing in the pine barrens and oak scrub, she unconsciously absorbed impressions about the wild flora and fauna. The memory of these sights, smells, and sounds inspired her curiosity and creativity.

Zora explored and understood all parts of her home state of Florida. She traveled its every mile gathering folktales. Mules and Men, a collection of Hurston’s folklore from Florida, is rich in the magic of the natural world. The lyrical descriptions of settings, the realistic dialogue, and the haunting simplicity of symbols demonstrate her knowledge of real Florida.
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For the past year, I have read and re-read Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, which is basically about where out foods comes from and how it gets to our tables. Having grown up in my parent’s grocery store – slicing lunchmeat for our customers standing next to my father’s butcher block – I have had an intimate relationship with our food choices. At the age of 16, I rebelled against veal and so began my food activism. 

Pollan’s writing so well describes our dilemma. In his most recent book, In Defense of Food, he provides the simplistic of advice: eat whole foods, eat mostly plants, and don’t overeat. There are so many questions to sort out, like, ‘How slow is my own personal slow food movement?’ ’Is something labeled “organic” really organic?’ As I try to squeeze some more production from my backyard garden, I wonder how far away can a food source be to still be considered “local” and what are the conditions? What impact do my food choices have on this planet? Is raw really better than cooked? So many issues go into our choices. Can we sit down to a meal content with our decisions, and for that matter, can we afford what we philosophically know is best? 
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I purchased a push reel lawn mower and am having a blast mowing my lawn. People are always stopping to see this unusual time machine (that my Dad used). No gasoline or noise – just people power, natural mulch, and the time to smell the freshly cut grass.

Push reel mowers are widely recognized as the superior cutting method for the health of the grass plant. Lawn grass forms a dense interwoven network of growth just above soil level. This network is a key element in the lawn’s desirable ability to retain moisture and crowd out weeds. The scissors-like cutting action of the reel mower cuts the grass blades cleanly, gently, and precisely, with a minimal disturbance to the grass plant’s natural growth pattern.

Just how much air pollution does a power mower cause?
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Last Wednesday – which many of your remember due to the heavy rain, flooded roads and overflowing water barrels – I had the wonderful opportunity to speak at the Florida Native Plant Society’s monthly meeting held at the Pinellas Extension Center in Largo. As I left the building, an orchestra of frog calls filled the damp night. The roar was almost deafening and oh so beautiful. In the warm humid evening I was catapulted back to my childhood: listening to frogs “croak” and watching fireflies dance – a treat that fewer and fewer children will experience.
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This morning I came across an amazing article by Alex Pasternack on Treehugger that was accompanied by the Michael Jackson music video ”Earth Song”. Another extraordinary aspect to Michael’s passions.

Pasternak states in the article,

“Michael Jackson was famous for his socially-conscious music, but ‘Earth Song’, his big, bold environmental call-to-arms, is often overlooked. Still, by sheer dint of his reach, the song might have made Jackson (who bears no relation to U.S. EPA chief Lisa Jackson) a kind of super-sized Al Gore, a decade before An Inconvenient Truth.

‘Earth Song’ is indisputably the most popular green-themed tune ever. It remains Jackson’s best-selling song in the U.K. (yes, bigger than “Thriller” or “Billie Jean”), and beat out the Beatles’ first single in 25 years for the top spot on the British charts. But the song, and its lavish globe-trotting video, barely registered in the U.S.”
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As we look back on the traditional wedding month of June, many couples are extending their lifestyle commitment of sustainability to their day of exchanging vows. As we know from experience, weddings can be an extremely wasteful event. There are certainly different shades of green but here are some wonderful ways committed partners are lessening their impact on our battered earth.

Invitations are sent via e-mail. This reduces transportation costs and the raw material to make the paper.

Attendees are asked to dress casually so that the temperature of the facility can be set degrees warmer, or the ceremony and reception are planned outdoors in a tree-filled park.
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Along with Father’s Day we will honor the Summer Solstice on June 21 – precisely at 1:46 AM. How appropriate, as many native cultures respected Mother Moon and Father Sun. “Sol” and “stice” derives from a combination of Latin words meaning “sun” and “to stand still”.
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Last week I took a bit of a break after my hectic market schedule to visit my folks. I was raised on the Jersey “shore” as it is termed in the Garden State/Philadelphia area. I have been a bird watcher since the age of 8 starting with my magazine drive prize fold-down opera glasses. Once home and without  any responsibilities (except providing a good appetite for my mother’s cooking), I am emersed in my beloved hobby. Of particular interest in the Delaware Bay area is a shorebird called the red knot rufa. This beautiful bird’s story is interesting because it is linked to the prehistoric looking horseshoe crab. The red knot has one of the longest yearly migrations of any bird, traveling 15,000 km from its Artic breeding grounds to Tierra del Fuego in southern South America.
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Is hemp our future economic stimulus? A recent article on Alternet.org written by Dara Colwell suggests so. Industrial hemp has 25,000 known applications. From paper (our Declaration of Independence and Constitution were written on hemp paper ), to clothing (your hemp pants will last forever ), to food products (according to this article, the Wall Street Journal stated that hemp is the fastest growing new food category in North America). Add in construction and automotive materials and you have a very sustainable green economy start-up.

But as most of you know, growing hemp in the United States is still illegal. The Drug Enforcement Administration has grouped this low-THC plant with its relative, marijuana. We are the only industrialized country on earth to prohibit hemp production. Canada even legalized growing hemp in 1997. Read the rest of this entry »

Thomas and Mina Edison had three children, Madeleine, Charles and Theodore, in addition to the three children Thomas had by his first wife – Marion, Thomas and William. The family loved boat trips. They traveled up the winding Caloosahatchee River to the mysterious waters of Lake Okeechobee by way of the Everglades. The love of nature bound the friendship of the Edisons and Fords with John Burroughs, a renowned author and naturalist.

A greatly anticipated camping trip into the Everglades included Mina and the children. The camping party employed local guides to take them through the sand pines into the palmettos to set up camp by a lake sixty miles into the Everglades. The experience proved so profound that two of the Edison children wrote eloquently of the camping expedition years later and became advocates – along with their parents – against the millinery trade (bird feathers) slaughter. Read the rest of this entry »

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, may we also honor our Mother Earth – especially as so many of us are nurturing our backyard gardens and installing rain barrels.  Throughout history we see Mother Earth as a common metaphorical expression for the Earth and its biosphere as the giver and sustainer of life.

Mother Nature is a common representation of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing features of nature by embodying it in the form of the mother. Images of women representing Mother Earth, and Mother Nature, are timeless.

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It’s Our Nature- A Reflection

It’s Our Nature® will celebrate its 13th year in business on Earth Day, April 22, 2009. My vision has been to promote products and experiences that connect our well being with the health of the earth. It’s Our Nature officially began on Earth Day 1996 as I guided a group of six women to Caladesi Island from north Clearwater Beach. Since that first walk, my focus has been to blend the enrichment of one’s mind with the wellness of one’s body and the spirit of our earth. Experiences encouraged participants to “Move in the Rhythm of Nature” through moderately paced walks, gentle kayak paddles and t’ai chi on the beach. Read the rest of this entry »