Welcome! If you are new to our challenges and would like a little more information, please click HERE.
Before we get started, I'd like to say Thank You to everyone who voted for Reduce Footprints in Blog Interviewer. As of this writing, we have 116 votes which puts us in 6th place. There are only a few more days of voting remaining but I think that, thanks to all of you, we made a wonderful showing. I'm feeling proud!
Last week we asked that you cut the number of showers you take in half. The idea was to see how few showers we could get away with and still be clean. Each time we eliminate a shower ... it's water saved. Let's see how our Honor Society met this challenge:
Aine Butler-Smith joined us. She brought up a very good point ... "over bathing not only uses more water it strips your skin and scalp of nourishing natural oils, drying them out".
Brian also commented on showers and skin health. He's trying to teach his son not to take all-day showers and says that's a real challenge.
EcoGrrl has already cut her showers down as much as possible. But ... always thinking of new ways to conserve, she's going to shave her legs outside the shower to save even more water.
Ange leads a pretty active life (daily sports and even a 7-day, non-stop adventure race) so daily showers are necessary. Instead of cutting showers in half, she decided to turn off the water while soaping up. Great water-saving technique, Ange. By the way, Ange ... lovely new header on your blog!
Mrs. Green is another Eco-conscious person who has already reduced washing down to bare minimum (sorry ... pun intended). She's going to concentrate on other ways to conserve water. You can read about her ideas HERE.
Marvinlzinn stopped in with a very profound comment which reminds us that using less water, for many people worldwide, isn't a choice. Many people consider bathing ... even once a week ... something of a luxury because taking that bath may mean no food and/or no drinking water. It's a sobering thought. Thank you, Marvinlzinn, for that reminder.
Emmie took the challenge. Since her solar heater isn't in place yet, her showers are cold so ... she says it keeps her in line.
Kate has a very good reason for not cutting back on showers ... she's pregnant and hot showers help get her through the day. It's okay, Kate ... got to keep mommies happy and healthy. She did complete a previous challenge to plant something ... she planted carrots, salad mix, spinach and cilantro. Yay!
Harmony is doing a lot to "green-up" her life. Because of her work, she feels it's necessary to bathe daily. Here's a hint why ... beer. To find out more about that and read her adjusted challenge, click HERE.
Nancy joined the challenge via Harmony's site. Yay! Nice to have you with us, Nancy!
We had a few Twitter friends out there spreading the word about our challenges. If you're a Twitter member, click over and meet these great people: @catcanpaint, @ttotshop, and @waylandcook. If you Tweet about our challenges, be sure to use the hashtag #ctww ... that way I'll find you!
As always, the Honor Society did a great job. Each week, as I read comments and posts, I'm always impressed by individual efforts ... even when the challenge, as written, doesn't work ... our Honor Society searches for adjustments which will accomplish the task in new ways. And that's really what this is all about ... searching for all the ways in which we can thread lightly on the earth.
I've Stumbled and Tweeted your articles.
Okay ... onto a new challenge:
This week remove, or begin to phase out, antibacterial products from your home (specifically those products containing Triclosan). Why? Antibacterial products contribute to new strains of antibiotic-resistant "super-bugs". They are toxic chemicals which also pollute waterways and affect the environment. So this week ... get rid of them.
Or ...
If you have already rid your home of antibacterial products, please write a post about all the commonly used products which contain Triclosan and suggest alternatives.
What do you think? Can you do it?
WE'RE CHANGING THE WORLD ... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Change The World Wednesday
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11 comments:
This weeks challenge was easy, I don't use them...
But I have reported on the results of a previous project from some months back. The post is up on Tomus Arcanum: http://tomusarcanum.blogspot.com/
AV
Wow. This is an interesting challenge. I will have to see if we have any products containing this. We make our own laundry soap and by natural soap for our hands and body as well as a natural dish soap. There is always the hand sanitzer that everyone carries with them.
By the way, I love Monday's post about renew, reuse, recycle. We do that here at Two Vegan Boys. There is no excuse not to.
Hope you have a lovely day.
This is a really good challenge. I have harped on this for years! I can understand hospitals, nursing homes and even schools using items like Purell hand sanitizer but beyond that we need to leave products like that alone.
What ever happened to plain, good old fashion soap to wash your hands with? It has worked for generations. The plain truth is this, if we don't allow our bodies to generated the immunity we need to combat colds and viruses then we will only see stronger strains of the flu and viruses that will cause a great deal of problems.
The 30's, 40's,50's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and a large part of the 90's did not have all of these sanitizers and we survived. There is an old saying, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it.'
Isn't that strange - I don't use antibacterial products at all, but I had no idea what nasties were actually in them. Just knew they were nasty. Don't much fancy anything that proclaims to wipe out every bacteria around. Having said that - i'm a bit over trying to scrub the tea stains off my porcelain sink (rented house) with bicarb soda and vinegar so opted for hitting the organic shop and getting something that could help me along full of essential oils and natural cleaners. Still need a good scrubby sponge and elbow grease - but it's a bit easier!
I've heard some of these anti-bacterial things and weird disposable cleaning cloths have killed pets and intoxicated kids. Hey there's another challenge - no more throw away wipes and cloths like baby wipes and swiffer stuff. Use hot water on your floors and 'black' soap, and a gentle muslin cloth and plain soapy warm water on bubby's bot!
As for hand soap - try pulling my Provençal husband away from normal, pure olive oil, savon de Marseille...
Thanks for the lovely comment about my new header SF ;-)
I have heard the buzz about Triclosan lately. Scary thing is even though antibacterial products have never, ever, been allowed in my house or to be used by my child (I do what I call the "eat dirt" form of parenting :) Triclosan is in stuff like toothpaste that you'd never think about. I've been reading a lot of labels lately and have yet to find this scary hormone disrupter in anything that I buy, but I'll be keeping a watchful eye none-the-less.
Remember, a challenged immune system is a healthy immune system!
Great challenge. I phased these soaps out several years ago. Just standard soap works. Along with hot water, It's the friction of the soap and water that gets rid of the germs and dirt.
I haven't used triclosan for years; it just doesn't feel right does it? I've shared my favourite recipe for an all purpose 'antibacterial' household cleaner on my site - it smells so good and is uplifting. Sure it will get rid of germs, but without any nasty side effects:
http://littlegreenblog.com/family-and-food/bodycare/why-you-should-get-rid-of-triclosan-in-your-home/
I've never used antibacterial anything, ever. To clean my house I use baking soda for scrubbing stuff, general wipe up with organic hemp peppermint castile soap (makes the house smell so good!) All laundry soap, dishwashing soap, is environmentally friendly,no chlorine,phosphates,etc. To remove stubborn stains in the toilet, I use a pumice stone. Removes the spot and won't scratch the porcelain. Vinegar or lemon juice and baking soda to freshen drains.
What a cool Blog! So glad to have found you! Will read more so I can see what you're all about! Love the idea of these challenges! Happy wk-end to all!
http://ann-mythoughtsandphotos.blogspot.com/2010/04/skywatch-friday-save-our-worldmarch.html
This is an unschedule post. It is very important. My govt is allowing ming in protected land. We are having a march tomorrow.
Cheers,
Ann
I take this one a little personally, cuz last year I got a bit of MRSA from I-don't-know-where but I sure don't wanna meet it again! You think it won't happen to you, but it can, so I suggest we think of eliminating antibacterials as Debugging the House
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