WoW! It's really ok to drink bottled water.....

Well, not really--although Poland Spring is working hard to convince us that it is. Don't get me started on the whole bottled water thing.

The US has (or, maybe had, unfortunately, but that's a long and sad topic for discussion at another time) a wonderful , safe system for supplying water to its citizens. Just turn on a tap and you get safe drinking water.

Why anyone would buy bottled water has long been a mystery to me. The power of advertising is great.

But now, at long last, after billions of plastic bottles have been manufactured, filled, transported, bought, used and discarded, there's a bit of a backlash against bottled water.

So Poland Springs has apparently hired Nick Naylor (Thank You For Smoking) to do some explaining.

They now have --

A better bottle for you and our environment!

Our Eco-Shape® Bottle...

• is made with an average of 30% less plastic versus comparable size carbonated and non-carbonated beverages.*
• features a label approximately one-third smaller.
• is more flexible so it's easier to crush for recycling.
• is easier to carry.

I really like the term eco-shape(R)---what does this mean? the shape is good for the ecology? or maybe it's shaped to look like it's good for the ecology...so ambiguous.

(sent by Sylvia)

Milk of Magnesia--for Your Pits

This is strange & interesting--Milk of Magnesia really works as a deodorant. I read about this recently, at the Dish. Of course I had to try it--and it is very effective. No niff even the next morning. And it doesn't make your pits chalky--it dries clear.

I guess this qualifies as Green--a bottle has to last for six months at least--and the bottle's recyclable, which I don't think deodorant containers generally are.

And even though I'm kind of doubtful about the connection of the aluminum salts in deodorant to breast cancer, they are an irritant, and the magnesium hydroxide in MOM is considered safe for ingestion, so I think it's pretty safe for skin application.

I just generally like oddball uses for products so I love this....

A Sad Little Prison For Plants

This is both funny and sad--I have an image of a tech slave who longs for the freedom of Nature-- chained to his monitor-- where his only pleasure is watching plants grow in the USB Greenhouse--sort of like those severed heads being kept alive in the Mad Scientist's lab in B movies.

http://usb.brando.com/prod_detail.php?prod_id=00350

You have to have your computer running 24 hours a day to keep the greenhouse working--not too green, although your computer will tell you when the plants need watering--clever but ridiculous--I guess the tech slave is so removed from Nature that he wouldn't trust himself to recognize dry soil or drooping leaves without the word from his computer.

Organic Baby--or Should I Say Babee?

I'm singling out this product, but it's really just one of many "green" products for baby....

New parents are suckers--they want to do the best for their baby--and spending a lot of money on something "organic" is a good way to do this--isn't it?

And this lotion is expensive--Johnson's Baby Lotion is $4.29 for 15 oz, and Babee Lotion is $7.99 for 6 oz---about 4x more money.

So where do I start on this one?

Ok, the word "Babee". Enough said.

And, babies don't need, and shouldn't use, baby lotion. The less that's put on their skin the better--they shouldn't even have soap very often, just every few baths. If their skin gets dry and flaky, a little olive oil massage is just perfect.

Second, organic is important for what you eat, but less so for skin care or rinse off products--the pesticides in non organic aren't going to be sufficient in a skin product to be absorbable in any significant amount, so spending more on organic cosmetic products is a waste of money.



Now let's talk about the ingredients list:

Ingredients: aqueous infusion of organic white tea, organic aloe vera gel, wildcrafted organic shea butter, vegetable glycerin, stearic acid (vegetable fat), organic jojoba oil, glyceryl stearate (plant derived), glyceryl stearate citrate (plant derived), cold pressed avocado oil, organic bees wax, xanthan gum (plant derived), vitamin E (d-alpha tocopherol), grapefruit seed extract, polyhexanide, botanical fragrance (plant derived).

Total baloney--the organic tea is what Dr. Bronner's calls a teabag thrown into a vat of water to up the "organic" percentage.

"Plant derived" ingredients--sure, a very long time ago--almost every ingredient used in skin care was a plant about a hundred steps back in the manufacturing process.

Polyhexanide--why is this in this lotion? It's an antiseptic.

Grapefruit seed extract is often touted as a "natural" preservative--but studies have shown that the reason it preserves is because of all the pesticides in the extract itself.

The baby's cute, though.

(sent by Irena)

Sugar's Not the Bad Guy.....

Personally, I always have cotton candy with some fruit.

I just love the Pure Fun company--they've truly got their act together. Information--it's all there at the website & you can listen to The Nutcracker while you read.

http://www.organiccandy.com/index.html

If you perhaps feel a little guilty eating cotton candy they'll enlighten you .....

Sugar's Not The Bad Guy

We're born with a natural taste for sweetness, and a little wholesome sugar is good for the soul. Beware of refined sugars since all the nutrients have been removed. Natural, organic, pure, chemical-free, and wholesome sugar taken in moderation is not bad for you!

Pure Fun has a big pile of information at the website--scientific studies galore-- and throws around a lot of terms to impress--"Fair Trade", "Organic", "Cane Sugar"and that USDA organic certification, of course. And there's a comparison of Pure Fun with regular cotton candy--

Do you know what you're eating?

Cotton Candy Ingredients

PURE FUN™ COTTON CANDY

Ingredients: Organic Evaporated Cane juice (retaining all of natures nutrients and minerals), natural flavors, natural colors, air spun

Maple	Natural Caramel
Root Beer	Natural Caramel
Licorice	No color added
Spicy Cinnamon	Natural Black Carrots
Bubble Gum	Natural Red Cabbage

CONVENTIONAL COTTON CANDY

You’ll be shocked at what regular candy floss is made with! Here are a few examples of non-organic Candy Floss recipes:

Refined white sugar (with all the nutrients that nature provides in sugar removed); synthetic flavors created in a laboratory to simulate a 'tastes like' the real thing, and artificially produced Food, Drug and Cosmetic (FD&C) controlled colors (some of which have been banned in cosmetics!)

Ingredients: Refined White Sugar, Artificial Flavors and Artificial Colors (see FD&C colors below, do your own investigations and draw your own conclusions)

Blue	Blue Dye#1 (E133)
Pink	Red Dye #40 (E129)
Grape	Red Dye #3 (E127) + Blue Dye#1 (E133)
Orange	Red Dye #40 (E129) + Yellow Dye #6 (E110)
Banana	Yellow Dye #5 (E102)+
Watermelon	Blue #1 (E133) + Red #3 (E127) + Yellow #6 (E110)
Cherry	Red Dye #8 (E127)
Green Apple	Yellow Dye #5 (E102) + Blue Dye#1 (E133)
Lime	Blue #1 (E133) Yellow #5 (E102) + Green #3

I haven't seen any natural bubblegum flavor yet.

I actually love cotton candy, although I probably don't eat it more than once a year--I guess now that I've learned the truth I should be scared about the terrible ingredients in regular cotton candy--sugar & flavor & color additives. I'm definitely going for the Pure Fun--it has....sugar & color & flavor additives.

(sent by AustinElements)

Yes Men NY Big Event on Sept 21

The Yes Men are serious pranksters--one of the best was a fake edition of the NYT with all GOOD News--in their movie The Yes Men Save The World you see the joy on peoples' faces when they read that the Iraq War is over-- makes you cry.

So anyway, they are planning a Big Event in NYC in Monday--so sign up if you can--but at least make sure to watch the news that night--I'm sure they are planning something amazing.

http://www.theyesmen.org/

CLEAN COAL?

The image says it all, doesn't it? Just dreamy.....no fuss, no muss...plug it in, plug it in....

http://www.cleancoalusa.org/


The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity is committed to the idea that America can have the affordable, reliable electricity we need ... with the clean environment we want.


I don't know--sounds good, doesn't it?


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/29/AR2008022903390.html


This writer doesn't think so--and he's a descendant of coal miners, not an effete lefty.

AMAZING!!!! Batter Blaster-- Pancakes in a Can!!!

http://www.batterblaster.com/



And, it's Organic. And Original.

The ingredients DO seem to be organic

Ingredients and Nutrition
Filtered water
Organic wheat flour (unbleached)
Organic cane sugar
Organic whole egg solids
Organic soybean powder
Sodium lactate (lactic acid from beet sugar)
DiCalcium phosphate (leavening agent)
Sea salt
Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)
Organic rice bran extract

The site has a USDA certified logo. But the whole idea is completely bizarre.

The thought of squirting pancake batter into a pan from a spray can being in any way healthy or good for the environment is laughable.

The site claims the can is recyclable--the plastic top, maybe, but the can is steel--the only metal I can recycle is aluminum.