Fifty - Greener Menstruation

Yup. I said it. I did birth control and now I'm going to green up my periods. I have been working at this for a while now, but I'm going to take it a step further. I will go step by step through my journey. Beyond green, think about these products, what they are made of, and where we put them. Don't we want the safest, most chemical-free products?

1. Greener tampons and pads
The first switch happened when I ran out of tampons in college after moving near the Wedge. I didn't want to make the trek to Target for just that one thing so I looked in the Personal Care isle and was amazed. I found Natracare products, read the box, bought some liners and tampons (applicator free) I started to learn more.

2. Party in Pants / GladRags
Still, I was using tampons that needed to be thrown away. Though difficult to go back to pads, I was startled by these figures from Tree Hugger: "73,000,000 women in the US use tampons. The average woman uses 16,800 tampons in a lifetime; 24,360 tampons for women on estrogen-replacement therapy. Assuming a 40-year period of fertility, that is over 30 billiontampons per year which must be handled by special sanitary disposal systems."
Yuck. I started with GladRags. Honestly, too bulky. Party in my Pants, if you can get over the stupid name, is actually really nice. The slogan's better -- Cloth Pads for the Princess on her Period. For only the cost of shipping, you can try out a liner for free. Marie Claire even has an article review of them. You could also make your own or even, if you can't do the pads, try Sea Sponge reuseable tampons. They last a few months, making them better that the disposable kind.

3. Diva Cup / The Keeper
I talked to my doctor and made the switch. I've practiced a bit, but all went smoothly and I am looking forward to my first real test coming up soon. (wow, usually not excited for these... :) )

It simply folds, is inserted like a tampon, and you remove and rinse as needed. You can wear it overnight, for extended periods of time, and don't have to worry about TSS. This is also going to save me a TON of money! One product for $35-40 does it all--and with no TRASH! Again, many have already written a lot about this topic and this product, so check out this brief posting from Tree Hugger for more details.

Still not convinced? Try this. Take a box of tampons. Divide the cost by then number in them. Decide how many you use in a month. A year? See how much it's costing you. Then, add in what it's costing Mother Nature. I think it's time to switch to something greener.

Peace!

The No-Impact Project - Starting January 3rd

Guthrie and I are signing up to participate in the next round of the No Impact Project. It is the "one week carbon cleanse". It models what NYC writer Colin Beavan did with his family for a year -- slowly look at different aspects of their lives (waste, water, electricity, transportation, etc) and made systematic changes to lower their impact. His book No Impact Man has been turned into a movie with the same name. On his website, he invites you to do the same for one week. The great thing is that it starts on specific dates so that you can connect with others in your area who are doing the same. They make it real easy with a how-to manual on what to do on each day plus interesting facts. Obviously, you do what you can; making any change is a positive one. What Colin found out was that during the course of the year, he lost weight, had more energy, reconnected with his wife, spent more time with his family, and was genuinely happier. Guthrie and I will participate in this to learn some new things that we can incorporate into our lives. 

Join with us -- maybe we can meet up for a candlelit dinner of local food! :)

Peace! 

Twenty-Four - Car Maintenance

There are some easy peasy lemon squeezy things I found out that Laura and I could do while at the gas station that will help our car run more smoothly and, at the same time, help lower our emissions and reduce air pollution. We found four simple tips from the book, The Green Year.

Firstly, don't top off your gas tank because the added gas takes up space that is needed for your gas to expand in the tank. I always rounded up to the next dollar or half dollar for my benefit but, apparently, if this space is taken up then the gas tends to evaporate in the vapor collection system, causing your car to run poorly and increase emissions. Secondly, fill up at night when at all possible. More gas fumes are released in the air from the gas pumps when it is hotter outside, depleting the ozone layer. Thirdly, getting a car wash at the gas station is a great idea. Not only do you get a discount when filling up, but much water is conserved in the process. Commercial car washes use around 45 gallons per wash (compared to the 80-160 gallons used at home) and have a waste-water management system so water contaminated with chemical soap doesn't get into the sewer system. Finally, click your gas cap three times to prevent unnecessary gas evaporation. If your cap is too loose you may be contributing to the 147 millions gallons of gas that is needlessly evaporated in the air each year because of loose, broken or missing gas caps.

There is another great tip Laura and I came across as well that will help keep your car in great shape and reduce your impact on Mother Nature. Recently, there was a New York Times article that discussed the oil change every 3,000 miles adage that has been passed down from generation to generation. Well, the idea that changing your oil every 3,000 miles is best for your car is a myth. It's a waste of money and should only be done every 6,000 miles or so. Here's Why: firstly, check your car manual to see what the manufacturers suggestion is. It will probably be around 6,000 to 7,500 miles. In California alone, nearly 153 million gallons of oil are used each year for this purpose. No good. At some point in time, the 3,000 mile adage made sense but since then engine technology and oil chemistry have improved. Laura and I grew up adhering to the parental adage that you must religiously change your oil every 3,000 miles or else you will ruin your car. Having this new knowledge is great considering that we take great care of our car and don't use it that often, so there's no need to impact Mother Earth even more and use more money and oil than we already do. The article also states that if you use your car less than 3,000 miles a year, get an oil change once a year. If more than 3,000 miles but still driving it sparingly then every 6 months will do the trick.

Safe travels!