So there we were along with dozens of others picking out markers, pencils, glue and folders and I found myself wondering: Are these products safe?  And how would I know?

A little research confirmed my suspicions that back-to-school supplies–like many consumer goods–are chock full of industrial compounds. Products like markers, crayons, notebooks and lunchboxes contain chemicals that have been associated with a range of diseases including allergies, asthma, cancer and behavioral disorders.

Chemical reform legislation that is making its way through Congress will hopefully change this, and put the burden on industry to prove that chemicals are safe before they go to market, as well as pull those suspected or known to be hazardous.

But in the meantime, I return to my original question: how are we to know which markers, notebooks, and lunchboxes are safe?

Fortunately, there are a couple of great resources we can turn to for help answering this question:

• The Environmental Working Group has put together a series of Healthy Home Tips to help families choose safe, non-toxic products.  Their Back to School Guide offers great tips for how to keep toxins out of your kids’ schools supplies.

• The Center for Health, Environment and Justice has also created a guide focused on avoiding PVC.  PVC is one of the most toxic plastics and yet is found in a wide variety of consumer goods, including those designed for children.  Examples include backpacks, lunchboxes, and three ring binder.  You can download CHEJ’s guide by clicking here and find out more about PVC by clicking here.

Happy & healthy shopping!

In the House version of the bill, rebates are available for everything from insulation and air sealing work, to window replacement, to furnace and boiler upgrades.  Houston Neal, of Software Advice, has written a clear and comprehensive guide to the bill–itemizing the 13 retrofits of the bill, along with the requirements and rebate amount for each. There’s another great piece about the bill, including the political backstory over at Grist.

I’m not sure what’s happening with the Senate version.  News reports from last week indicated that Senator Reid has incorporated Cash for Caulkers into the much pared down energy bill that has taken shape in the wake of the collapse of comprehensive climate legislation.

Home Star would be a very good thing; if and when the Senate bill passes, it will be financially feasible for many more of us to retrofit our homes.  This doesn’t mean, of course, that we should give up on comprehensive climate legislation.  We can and should let our congressional leaders know that they have let us down, and that they must try again.  You can get some ideas about how to do this at 1Sky.org and at The Union of Concerned Scientists website.  If Home Star passes, we’ll be able to continue to fight for this from homes that use energy much more efficiently.

The first trick is accessibility: Before you get started give some thought to where you are going to dry your clothes and what kind of system you are going to use: How close or far is your chosen spot from your washing machine? Will you string a clothes line? Use drying racks? Will you have a permanent system or one you have to set up and take down each time you use it?  The bottom line is that if your line or rack is much harder to use than your dryer you probably won’t use it.  And unfortunately many of us live in homes that were designed (or have been redesigned) for dryers but not for line drying.  Which isn’t to say it isn’t doable.  You just may have to get creative.

For me, outside drying is easy: my laundry area is in my mudroom, a mere 5 steps away from the clothesline strung out my back door, which remains strung all year long.   Inside drying is a different story.  I use racks when I dry indoors but there isn’t really enough space for them: my mudroom is too narrow and small to adequately accommodate the racks.  Which means that we don’t hang our clothes to dry much in the winter.

The second most important trick to successful line drying is planning. I have found that in order to line dry all of my clothes I need to wash and dry a load of laundry almost every day (there are 4 in my family, not counting the dog who thankfully doesn’t wear clothes).  Lack of planning and daily washing is currently the biggest barrier to my achieving my laundry goal.  If I don’t wash every day we get backed up and inevitably end up relying on our dryer.

Which brings me back to my goal: the warmer months are my best opportunity to establish a solid line drying habit.  And who knows, come late fall, it may be so ingrained that I’m inspired to come up with a creative solution to my indoor space constraints…

Do you line dry your clothes?  If so, what tricks and techniques have you found to be most helpful? If you don’t, what do you feel are your biggest obstacles?

Fortunately I’ve learned a lot since then.  Most weeks it isn’t hard to eat through our weekly share (although I still have the purslane from a couple of weeks ago; believe it or not it’s still looking fresh in the green bag I stored it in).  We eat LOTS more veggies in the summer that we used to, which is a good thing.

I’ve also become familiar with lots of produce that I had never really cooked with before.  I’ve tried lots of new recipes.  And I’ve learned to experiment and “make do” with what I have on hand. Although it doesn’t really feel like making do.  It’s more fun than that.  When I leave the farm now with an unfamiliar veggie I look forward to the challenge of figuring out what to do with it. And since I also visit my farmer’s market, I get a chance to supplement and round out my CSA share.

Last night, as I was looking ahead to today’s weekly pick up, I scanned my produce bin to see what remained from the week before: 2 zucchini, a big bunch of scallions, green garlic, purslane, beets and lettuce. Well I know we couldn’t eat all of that in one meal, so I vowed to use what I could.  The result: zucchini, scallion and potato (picked up at the farmer’s market) curry. I googled a recipe for zucchini curry to use as a base and 45 minutes later–voila, dinner was ready!

Now if only I could figure out what to do with the purslane…

CSA Curry

Ingredients
2-3 Tbs olive oil
2 zucchini (or squash, cauliflower, eggplant, etc), washed and cut into small cubes
2-3 medium to large potatoes, washed and cubed
bunch of scallions (or onions),  cut into approx. 1 inch long pieces
handful of wax beans (or green beans, peppers, carrots, etc.), cut in half3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 Tbs. ginger, minced
1 Tbs. curry powder
pinch of cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 cup of vegetable or chicken broth
handful of cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup of cashews, coarsely chopped

Directions
Saute potatoes over medium heat in olive oil for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add zucchini and saute for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove potatoes and zucchini to plate.
Add scallions and saute for 2-3 minutes.
Add garlic, ginger, curry powder, & cayenne and stir for about 1 minute, until fragrant
Return potatoes and zucchini to skillet and add vegetable or chicken broth.
Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer .
Cover and cook for 5 more minutes.
Serve with cilantro and cashews sprinkled on top

When you hear the word pollution what image comes to mind?

Back when I was a kid we learned that pollution was a threat to the great outdoors: damaging habitats, rendering waterways unsafe for swimming, and sullying the beauty of the natural world.  We also learned that we could do something: Woodsy Owl encouraged us to “Give a Hoot, Don’t Pollute!” We picked up trash and learned to recycle; and our government passed groundbreaking legislation—such as The Clean Air Act—that has gone a long way towards cleaning up our outdoor air and waterways.

But while we’ve been cleaning up the outdoors, another form of pollution has reared its head.  It’s called indoor pollution and it has seriously compromised the health of our homes, schools, offices and other indoor spaces.  Here are the grim facts:

• Air pollutants are frequently 2-5 times higher indoors than out and in some circumstances are hundreds of times higher.

• “Body Burden” studies conducted by the CDC have detected over 200 industrial chemicals in the blood and urine of test subjects.   Many of these chemicals—including the now infamous BPA—are common in consumer products.

• Almost every week a new study comes out linking chemical exposure to a wide range of health risks from asthma and allergies to cancer to developmental disorders. Click here and here for examples.

While we no longer behave like the Drapers in Madmen, shaking picnic remnants onto the ground, we still have a serious pollution problem on our hands.

The good news is that Congress is finally acting to protect our health. The Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 would require safety testing of all industrial chemicals and give EPA greater authority to pull chemicals that are deemed a threat.  You can voice your support for a strong bill by calling your representatives in Congress.

And here’s another piece of good news.  When we change our behavior we reduce our exposure and our body burden. We don’t need to and shouldn’t wait for Congress to act.  We can begin right now to make choices that will make a difference for our health & the environment. Here are some tips to help you get started:

• Choose organic produce to avoid ingesting pesticides.  If/when you can’t choose organic, follow the Environmental Working Group’s recommendations for avoiding fruits & vegetables with high levels of pesticides.

• Follow The Green Guide’s recommendations for safe plastic for food storage.

• Use The Cosmetics Database to find safe personal care products.

• Switch to all-natural, non-toxic cleaning products. The Good Guide is a good resource as is The Green Guide’s Buying Guides for Cleaning Products.  You can also make your own cleaning products (click here and here to learn more).

Granted it’s only been two days of the extreme heat, but I’m happy to report that–at least so far–we’ve been living AC free. Here’s how:

• During the day we shut our windows and put down our shades to keep the sun from heating up the house.

• When the temperature begins to fall in the evening we open windows to introduce as much cool air as possible.

• We use our grill for cooking and our microwave for reheating.  Mostly we eat cold food like salads & sandwiches.

• We take cool showers before bed.

• We use powerful but fairly quiet window fans that fit snugly into the window, minimizing light infiltration.

Once summer kicks into high gear living AC free can become a lot more challenging, especially as high nighttime temperatures make it hard to maintain comfortable indoor temps.

Last year we did pretty well and kept our use of our central air conditioning system to a minimum (maybe 7-10 days the whole summer).  But last year we didn’t consistently close our windows and shades during the day, so our house was probably hotter and more humid than it (hopefully) will be this summer.   Stay tuned for updates…

Natick Community Organic Farm participates in Natick's Winter Market

Winter farmer’s markets are a growing trend, but what about spring markets?  At least in my neck of the woods (Boston), many off-season markets close up in March (this includes the Natick and Wayland winter markets).  So while I was happily munching locally grown lettuce in February, the past few months I’ve had to make due with organic lettuce from California (courtesy of Whole Foods).

As interest in local food continues to grow, I suspect that many off-season markets will continue straight on through until the “regular” farmer’s market season starts up in June or July.  But in the meantime, how are we localvores going to satisfy our hunger for fresh, local fare?

In my area (Brookline-Newton-Needham) there are a few places where you can find local produce in the spring including:

• Allandale Farm in Brookline is selling produce at its farm stand. Today when I called they had rhubarb, kale, scallions and spring garlic.
• The Dedham Square Country Store is not so much a store as a traditional farmer’s market that sells local fare (much more than produce) every Sunday from 10-2.  I have yet to visit this market but hope to soon (If you have visited, please share your comments)  .
• Newton Community Farm is scheduled to open its farm stand this Sunday, May 16th.
• Stillman’s Farm located in New Braintree sells produce as it becomes available in Jamaica Plain (Bank of America parking lot, 677 Centre Street) on Saturdays from 12-3.  Contact Stillmans for more information about availability and schedule. Stillmans also sells locally, sustainably raised meat as well.

If you live elsewhere in Massachusetts, Rhode Island or Connecticut, visit Farm Fresh to find farmers markets, farm stands, etc. in your neck of the woods (hint: click on your region in the map in the upper right hand corner to find farms close to you). Farm Fresh is a fantastic resource: you can search not only by location but also by food.  It also contains lists of local food artisans and restaurants, retailers and caterers that source locally.  For those of you who live outside this region there is a similar national directory called Local Harvest, although I have found that it isn’t always current.

First a little context: Ewaste is a devastating problem.  According to National Geographic reporting, 80% of our used and broken electronics are landfilled in this country (this despite bans that seek to keep toxins from leaching into soil and water supplies).  What about the 20% that is “recycled”? Well most of this gets shipped overseas where individuals are burning it–that’s right burning it–or ripping it apart in order to recover materials like copper that have a resale value.  Meanwhile dangerous pollutants like flame retardants, arsenic and mercury are released into the air, water and soil.   And how are the individuals conducting these “recycling” operations protecting themselves from exposure?  They aren’t. And many of them are just kids.

There are solutions. On the legislative/regulatory side, we could and should require manufacturers to take responsibility for the end-life of their products.  This would surely go a long way towards moving away from a conventional design practice called planned obselecense.  Instead of designing products to become obsolete (motivating consumers to buy newer, better, faster products), such laws would incent manufacturers to design products that will last a long time and are easier to fix when they break and upgrade as new technology develops.

But even with better design, things will still break.  Someone needs to fix them and most of us don’t have a clue to go about doing this.  Enter solution number 2: Ifixit is an exciting young company that is working to create comprehensive online repair manuals for every electronic device and, thus, enable people to fix their broken down electronics.  In a video on the company’s website, co-founder, Kyle Wiens, describes the effort as a “wikipedia-like” one.  In other words, Ifixit is aiming to create a continually updated encyclopedia for repairing electronics.   Not only that: they provide troubleshooting guides and sell parts and tools.  Pretty exciting if you ask me.

If you want to learn more about the ewaste problem and how Ifixit is working to solve it, visit their website and make sure to watch the video.  It’s devastating and inspiring at the same time–in my opinion, just the right combination to motivate change.

Meanwhile, here in my home town of Newton, MA we are still struggling to adjust to single stream curbside recycling–as we continue to consign our apple cores, cucumber peels, egg shells and coffee grounds to the garbage disposal or trash bin.  Which, by the way, accounts for a heck of a lot of trash: nationwide almost 30% of municipal solid waste nationwide is  organic, compostable matter.  And this figure doesn’t even take into account the amount of food we’re washing down the drain.

So what are those of us who aren’t blessed with curbside composting programs to do (besides agitating for them)? Well, we can start by setting up a home composting system.

My family has been composting now for almost three years and it’s really a lot easier to set up and maintain than people often think. We have a ceramic composting pail from Gardener’s Supply on our kitchen counter where we collect vegetarian food scraps (no dairy or meat).

When the ceramic pail is full we dump it into a large, heavy-gauge, covered, black plastic bin in our back yard, into which we also add a good bit of grass clippings, leaves and even shredded paper.   We probably turn the pile a couple of times during the summer with a pitchfork, and we harvest the finished compost once a season from the bottom of the bin via a sliding door.  That’s it.

Well, sort of.  There are a variety of compost systems and a variety of ways to manage your pile, depending on your priorities.  Here are some tips to get you started:

• If you are concerned about rodents or other animals, use a covered bin (like ours).
• The more you turn your pile the quicker you will get finished compost. If you want to make compost quickly, go with a rotating system like the Bio-Orb from New England Rain Barrel:

• For higher quality compost strive for a 30/70 ratio between “green” and “brown” matter.  Green, or nitrogen rich, materials include food scraps and lawn clippings.  Brown, or carbon rich, materials include dried leaves, hay, and shredded paper.
• If you live in a cold and snowy climate, make sure your bin is easily accessible in the winter or you won’t use it.
• For easier harvesting, get a bin with an access door.  You can harvest finished compost from the bottom while adding fresh compostables to the top.

Of course curbside would be great–for one thing, the industrial composting facilities that process municipal composting accept all food matter including meat and dairy, which are not advisable in a home composting system. But we don’t need to wait for curbside.  We can make black gold right in our own back yards.  And divert 30% of our household waste from the trash.

If you’re ready to get started, you might also want to check out Earth Easy’s Guide to Home Composting and/or Mother Earth New’s article “Compost Made Easy” a comprehensive overview.

Happy composting!

Install Conserving Aerators and Showerheads
Water-efficient aerators and showerheads cost little and are extremely easy to install yourself.  Faucets and showerheads typically draw between 4-8 gallons per minute (pgm).  Fixtures manufactured after 1992 are required to meet a more stringent standard of 2.5 gpm but there are fixtures out there that use even less water and work just as effectively as those that meet the 1992 standards.  By installing one high-efficiency showerhead and one faucet aerator, the average household would save about 7,800 gallons of water per year.  You can find low-flow showerheads and aerators at Home Depot or your local hardware store.

Turn It Off When Not in Use
This may be a hackneyed piece of advice but it bears repeating because of the incredible savings potential. Let’s say you install a 1 gpm aerator on your bathroom sink but you run it while you brush your teeth.  2 minutes to brush your teeth x 2 x 365=1460 gallons of water wasted each year.  Now add to it the time you leave your sink running while you’re shaving… washing your dishes… It adds up!

Fix Those Leaks
According to EPA’s Water Sense program, 10% of American homes have water leaks that waste more than 90 gallons of water each day.  The most common sources of indoor water leaks include leaking toilet flappers, dripping faucets, and other leaking valves.  Is your toilet running or your faucet dripping?  Get it fixed and stop pouring money down your drain! For more information and tips on how to detect leaks, check out Leak Facts on the Water Sense website.

Buy Water Sense & Energy Star Labeled Products

When it’s time to replace your fixtures or appliances, buy the most energy and water efficient products available.  The government sponsored Water Sense and Energy Star programs provide a good baseline for efficiency, but often there are products that are even more efficient.  For example, WaterSense labeled faucets need to use no more than 2gpm.  However I have a  Hansgrohe faucet that uses 1.5 gpm.

Water Smart
The average American household spends about 30% of its water budget on irrigation. In MA, water use rises sharply during the summer months (from 55 gpcd to 82.5 gpcd). If you are anywhere near the Average American, you are likely overwatering your lawn and garden–as much as 50% of water applied to landscapes is lost due to evaporation, wind or runoff from overwatering! If you have an irrigation system, start the spring season off right by auditing your irrigation system. Check out these tips from EPA WaterSense or consider hiring a certified WaterSense landscape professional.  S/he may suggest fixes like a rain or climate sensor, turning off zones for established beds, watering less and earlier in the day, turning down sprinkler heads, replacing them with a drip system, etc.

Follow these tips and replace (at least some of) your water woes with wisdom!