KEEP YOUR
MOTHER HAPPY
10 tips for Earth-friendly,
healthier living
By KELLY A. GOFF
The adage “When momma’s
not happy, ain’t nobody
happy” can also be applied to
Mother Earth. She’s giving us
all kinds of passive aggressive and
sometimes downright aggressive signals
that our guardianship has been
less than stellar.
Normally the Health Matters section
of SAN ANTONIO WOMAN focuses on
wellness and prevention with regard to
the human body, but since this issue
coincides with Earth Day (April 22), we
thought a prescription for environmental
health was in order.
Here are 10 ways you can improve the
health and well-being of our fair planet.
Try one, or better yet, try them all and
carry the spirit of Earth Day into your
everyday life. Your body, your bank
account (in some cases) and your mother
will thank you.
RX #1:
CHOOSE REUSABLE BAGS
Paper vs. plastic, the great shopping
bag debate, rages on in grocery
stores daily. Many of us think choosing
paper is taking the higher environmental
road because it’s made from a
renewable resource. However, both
paper and plastic bags consume large
amounts of natural resources, and the
majority will eventually end up in the
landfill. Both types of bags can be
recycled to some extent and utilized
around the house.
But neither one is a winner. The best
choice overall is a reusable bag. They're
made from renewable resources, take
minimal energy, are light, durable (each
holds up to 40 pounds) and last for
years. Typically, a reusable bag will pay
for itself in a year and a half if you buy
groceries once a week. According to the
Sierra Club, the difference between
paper and plastic RECYCLING is small
compared with REUSING bags.
RX #2: CHANGE A LIGHT,
CHANGE THE WORLD
If every American replaced ONE
incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent
light (CFL), we would:
• Prevent greenhouse gases equivalent
to the emissions of 800,000 cars
• Save $600 million in annual energy
costs
• Save enough energy to power 3 million
homes for a year
• Energy Star-qualified CFLs use
approximately 75 percent less energy
and last up to 10 times longer than traditional
incandescent bulbs. An Energy
Star CFL can save $30 or more in energy
costs over its lifetime.
RX #3: OPT FOR
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Did you know you can choose which
type of energy you use in your home or
business? Windtricity™ is a voluntary
renewable energy option for City Public
Service (CPS) customers to purchase
electricity generated by wind-powered
turbines in West Texas.
Wind power is as close to ideal as you
can get. It has minimal environmental
impact and is a renewable resource,
unlike fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural
gas). In 2006, CPS got 41.4 percent of its
power supply from coal. By choosing
Windtricity, you can help reduce that
coal percentage.
The cost of Windtricity will be a premium
to your electric bill. The good news is
you can choose the percentage of your
total electric use you want on Windtricity.
That percentage will be locked in for one
year, and the locked rate will not change
from month to month.
RX #4: MOW DOWN SMOG
Did you know a conventional lawn
mower pollutes as much in one hour as
driving a car up to 70 miles? What's
more, the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has found that Americans
spill millions of gallons of gasoline every
summer while refueling and using their lawn and garden equipment. For those
who suffer from asthma and other respiratory
illnesses, clean air is especially
important. You can improve your health
and that of the environment just by plugging
in. Check www.cpsenergy.com in
April for rebates promoting the use of
electric lawn equipment.
RX #5: CHOOSE TAP
OVER BOTTLED
The United States is the world’s largest
consumer of bottled water, purchasing
37 billion bottles in 2005. According to
Food and Water Watch, a nonprofit consumer
organization that works to ensure
clean water and safe food, bottled water
is not cleaner, safer or healthier than tap
water. The organization says both regulation
and enforcement of bottled water
safety is weaker than that of tap water
safety. Federal, state and local environmental
agencies require rigorous testing
of tap water safety. You can rest assured
that our water, as managed by the San
Antonio Water System, has been rated a
superior water system by the state of
Texas since 1936.
Save yourself money, decrease
demand on oil, and choose to fill your
reusable water bottle from the tap.
RX #6: DIAPER BABIES
IN FLUSHABLES
For the last 40 years there have been
but two choices in diapers — cloth or
disposable. Now there’s a third option — flushable, brought to the United
States by a couple from drought-stricken
Australia who knew cloth diapers
used too much water and who couldn’t
stand the idea of adding more to landfills
with disposables.
Called gDiapers, this Earth-friendly
product puts waste where it belongs, in
the toilet, not the landfill. Because when
you consider that the average baby goes
through 5,000 diapers before being
potty-trained, and 95 percent of those
are disposable diapers, one family’s diapering
decision could make a big environmental
impact.
In fact, flushables are so gentle on the
Earth you can even garden compost the
wet ones (urine only) in one compost
cycle, approximately 50 to 150 days. You
can find gDiapers at Whole Foods or
order online at www.gdiapers.com.
RX #7:
BECOME A LOCAVORE
The past year saw the popularization
of a trend in using locally grown ingredients,
taking advantage of seasonally
available foodstuffs that can be bought
and prepared without the need for
extra preservatives.
The “locavore” movement encourages
consumers to buy from farmers’
markets or even to grow or pick their
own food, arguing that fresh, local products
are more nutritious and taste better.
Locavores also shun supermarket offerings
as an environmentally friendly measure,
since shipping food over long distances
often requires more fuel for transportation.
Food-lovers can still enjoy
what they eat while appreciating the
impact they have on the environment.
You can find a farmers’ market near you
at www.picktexas.com.
RX #8:
AVOID POLYCARBONATE
PLASTICS WITH BPA
Polycarbonate plastics contain a
compound called bisphenol A (BPA). It’s
a highly versatile chemical that
strengthens plastic. It’s also a compound
that mimics hormones. Scientists
say small amounts may leach out and
find their way into our bodies when the
plastics start to break down under high
heat or wear and tear. Hundreds of animal and test-tube studies suggest that
low-dose exposures, particularly during
gestation, may later lead to breast and
prostate cancer, abnormalities in the
reproductive tract and behavioral problems,
among other things.
Most baby bottles, sippy cups and
juice bottles are packaged in polycarbonate
plastics. Although there isn’t
conclusive data in humans (yet), keeping
babies and children away from BPA
can’t hurt. There are a number of glass
baby bottles on the market now, as
well as stainless steel and BPA-free
sippy cup options.
RX #9:
BURN CALORIES,
NOT FUEL
Want to lose 10 pounds, improve
your cardiovascular fitness and decrease
ozone-eating emissions? Forgo your gasguzzling
automobile, the diesel bus or
the propane trolley and use your —
gasp! — legs.
Motor vehicle emissions represent
31 percent of total carbon dioxide, 81
percent of carbon monoxide and 49
percent of nitrogen oxides released in
the United States, according to The
Green Commuter, a publication of the
Clean Air Council. Short car trips (over
distances that could easily be bicycled
or walked) are much more polluting
than longer trips on a per-mile basis
because 60 percent of the pollution
resulting from auto emissions is
released during the first few minutes of
operation of a vehicle.
A recent Nationwide Personal
Transportation Survey reported 25 percent
of all trips are made within a mile of
the home, 40 percent are within two
miles of the home, and 50 percent of the
working population commutes five miles
or less to work. Yet more than 82 percent
of trips five miles or less are made
by personal motor vehicle. A short, fourmile
round trip by bicycle keeps about 15
pounds of pollutants out of the air we
breathe. And when you consider that a
cyclist is burning calories while pedaling,
it’s worth taking a spin rather than pushing
the pedal to the metal.
When walking or riding a bike isn’t
practical, consider using VIA’s bus or vanpool
services. Avoid driving during peak
traffic periods, and heed the warning
given on Air Quality Health Alert days.
RX #10: CHOOSE
ECO-FRIENDLY SEAFOOD
Studies show eating fish a few
times a week can be beneficial to your
health, but how about the oceans?
What’s being over-fished? What
species are high in mercury? The
Seafood Choices Alliance has those
answers and more. Founded in the
United States in 2001, the Alliance
helps the seafood industry — from
fishermen and fish farmers to distributors,
wholesalers, retailers and restaurateurs — to make the seafood marketplace
environmentally and economically
sustainable.
When you visit www.seafoodchoices.
com, you can scroll through this list
of environmentally smart choices to
find detailed information on the conservation
status, fishing and farming
practices, seasonality and human
health considerations for each species,
and find restaurants near you that feature
sustainable seafood.
RESOURCES
• www.energysavers.gov
• www.cpsenergy.com
• www.saws.org/conservation
• www.foodandwaterwatch.org
• www.bikeleague.org
• www.viainfo.net
• www.treehugger.com
