The typical American meal contains ingredients from at least five countries outside the United States. Garlic from China, asparagus from Peru, peppers from the Netherlands, tomatoes from Mexico, and raspberries from Chile... most food has traveled thousands of miles to reach your grocery store's produce aisle. By choosing local produce, you can reduce fuel consumption and global warming pollution associated with transporting food, support local farmers, strengthen the local economy, and protect the environment -- all by eating fresher, tastier fruits and vegetables!
Want to stop global warming, reduce pollution, save money and keep your clothes clean? Consider taking a couple simple steps to reduce the amount of energy you use doing the laundry. Step outside and hang clothes out to dry and wash clothes in cold water to reduce your energy bill (and prevent shrinkage).
The refrigerator is often the most power hungry appliance in many homes, accounting for 10-15 percent of the average home energy bill each month. Replacing your older refrigerator with a more efficient model is a smart investment. New refrigerators consume 75 percent less energy than those produced in the late 1970s. And today's Energy Star-qualified models use 40% less energy than the conventional models sold in 2001.
Even if you're not ready to replace your fridge, you can save energy (and money) with these simple steps to make your fridge more efficient.
Time to pack the lunch box again: sandwich, apple, cookies, carrots...but hold the lead.
If your child's lunch box is soft vinyl, it's wise to check for lead before school starts. Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin that is particularly harmful to young children's developing brain and nervous systems. Even at extremely low levels, lead can impair cognitive and physical development. So what's it doing in your child's lunch box?
Lead is often added to vinyl as a stabilizer. It's cheap, it bends, and it helps vinyl bounce back to its original shape.
Bad news for allergy and asthma sufferers: global warming could make your symptoms worse. Both ragweed and ozone pollution could intensify as temperatures rise. Researchers found that ragweed, that nasty weed with loads of hay fever-causing pollen, produced about 130 percent more pollen today and will produce about 300 percent more pollen in the future. People who live in areas that have both ragweed and high ozone pollution levels have it even worse. NRDC mapped the areas in the United States where ragweed and unhealthy ozone pollution overlap and found that more than 110 million Americans live in places with this double whammy of ragweed and high ozone levels.
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