How Dare She!

Let's tell Sarah Palin we DON'T approve of her eco-friendly bag proclaiming that "Real Women Hunt Moose" For Shame!

(Source: tmz.com)

There is a seemingly endless list of reasons to switch your home cleaning products to more natural and environmentally friendly choices. From supporting a cleaner and better industry to your own personal health. Here are some numbers in case you thought "eh whatever"

*There are roughly 63 synthetic chemicals in the average home equalling 10 gallons of harmful chemicals.

*Indoor pollution is 100% higher than outdoor, so before you shut the window thinking you're keeping that pesky pollution out, think again.

*There are 17,000 petrochemicals available for use in home cleaners, only 30% of which have been tested for exposure in humans and environment.

Yikes. Here are some brands of cleaners I use and love:

Mrs. Meyer's

Ecover

Seventh Generation

Or you can make your own! I will post some recipes in the next few days...stay tuned!

(Image:sexyhippy.files.wordpress.com)

Go Fish v.3

Finally here are your Eco-WORST fish choices. We can all make such a difference if we put our money where our mouths are and vote with our dollar. Don’t let an appetizing meal steal you away from doing what’s right. Hopefully things will change in our lifetime, I believe it can.

Eco-Worst Fish Choices:

*Chilean Sea Bass- HIGH LEVELS OF MERCURY, overfishing causing population decline, illegal fisheries and bycatch deaths including sea birds

*Grouper- overfishing causing population decline

*Monkfish- overfishing causing population decline, fishing method of dredging from sea floor causing major environmental damage

*Orange Roughy- HIGH LEVELS OF MERCURY, overfishing causing population decline

*Farmed Salmon (Atlantic)- HIGH LEVELS OF MERCURY & PCB’s (PCB’s are man made chlorinated industrial chemicals), raised in densely populated netpens which high rates of fish escape causing mixed breeding and parasite transfers to natural populations

*Shark- HIGH LEVELS OF MERCURY, overfishing causing population decline, sharks only produce a few offspring in their lifetime.

*Swordfish (Imported) - HIGH LEVELS OF MERCURY, bycatch deaths include sea birds, sharks, sea turtles and other fish

*Big eye Tuna/Yellowfin (Imported) - HIGH LEVELS OF MERCURY, bycatch deaths include sea birds, sharks, sea turtles and other fish

*Bluefin Tuna- HIGH LEVELS OF MERCURY, highly corrupt fisheries, overfishing causing population decline

To find out a ton more fish and what list they fall under Eco-Best, Eco-ok and Eco-Worst visit www.edf.org.

(Image: www.redhillgeneralstore.com)

Go Fish v.2

Hopefully you read Go Fish v.1 yesterday and saw lots of your favorites on the list. Here is a list of 10 Eco-Ok choices. Tomorrow I will post the Eco-Worst choices that you should stay away from. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but in my opinion ignorance is not bliss, its avoidance.

Eco-Ok Fish Choices:
*Wild Clams- some dredging which causes damage to sea floor habitats

*Pacific Cod- catch methods include line & trap which are less environmentally destructive. Some dredging is also done causing damage

*Snow Crab- population fluctuations require proper management (often not up to par) and no overfishing

*Flounder/Sole (Pacific) - caught by trawl method which is damaging to the sea floor habitat. Overfished in Atlantic

*Lobster (American/Marine) - Lobster pots are not too damaging to the sea floor

*Scallops (New England/Canada)- caught by dredging which is damaging to the sea floor and has high rates of bycatch including sea turtles.

*Shrimp (US Wild) - high by catch, but the U.S. now requires the use of devices that allows for bycatch such as some fish and sea turtles to escape the nets

*Squid- squid fisheries are largely unregulated leading to high bycatch, but they reproduce quickly helping keep the population numbers high

*Tilapia (Latin America) - most Tilapia in the US comes from Latin America where the fish is not typical to the area meaning that escape from farms causes considerable damage to the existing eco-system because of breeding. US Tilapia is an Eco-best choice though most is brought in to the US from Latin America, go figure.

*Canned Light Tuna (Skipjack) - most pole & line caught but sometimes purse seine fleets used which causes damage to the sea floor habitat.
Hope this helps you choose your next fish dinner. I know I am having Tilapia Tacos tonight, and I am eager to ask the waiter exactly where the fish is sourced from. (fingers are cross for US Tilapia!)
(Image: www.cadsmith.com)

Go Fish v.1

A lot of people are trying to eat less red meat and poultry to reduce the environmental impact on the earth and in many cases their health as well. Eating fish seems like the perfect option, fish are high in omega 3’s and are often prepared in healthy ways. Before you think “wow that was easy”, you should know there are eco-friendly fish choices and not so eco-friendly fish choices out there. What makes a fish eco-friendly or not eco-friendly you ask? Well, many types of fish production (fishing, farming, netting…) are poorly (if at all) managed, meaning there is often unregulated waste pollution and poor worker rights, a high bycatch (meaning in their nets they catch sea turtles, dolphins, sharks, sea birds that all get killed by mistake), chemical run off and finally fish escape and bread with natural populations changing the biological makeup of the fish forever. In this 3 part series I will tell you the best and worst eco-friendly fish choices. Tomorrow I will give you the eco-ok choices, and finally the eco-worst choices on Wednesday.

Eco-Best Choices (and 1 reason why):

*Anchovies- reproduces quickly thus replenishing the population

*Artic Char- fish caught with gear that has little environmental impact

*Atlantic Mackrel- fast growing fish, thus replenishing the population

*Farmed Oysters- raised on suspension systems instead of dredging up the ocean
floor, which causes harm to the sea bed ecosystem

*Sablefish- fish caught with gear that has little environmental impact

*Salmon (wild Alaska)- fish caught with gear that has little environmental impact

*Sardines- reproduces quickly thus replenishing the population

*Rainbow Trout (farmed)- well managed farm reduces waste runoff and escape

*Albacore Tuna (US or Canada)- caught by pole & line thus reducing environmental impact of bycatch

(Image:www.goldfish-designs.com)

Polluting is a Sin! AMEN

So it's official, Polluting is a Sin, to the Pope at least! Check out the article by cutting and pasting this link into your browser:

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-fg-pollute14mar14,1,709740.story?track=rss