Organic Bug Spotlight On Healthy Child Healthy World

It is exceptionally rewarding to work with an company whose mission is to carefully examine the materials that are in our products to ensure they are natural, organic, safe, environmentally sustainable and free of harmful chemicals that are frequently found in seemingly harmless every day products.

A Wake-Up Story from Healthy Child Healthy World on Vimeo.

For The Health of It!

No doubt about it, there is a growing interest in bicycling to promote green transportation and to maintain a healthy, active lifestyle. The number of people riding bicycles has exploded within the past year or so, in cities and towns all over the country. As wonderful as this is for our environment and our health, the frustration from some is overbearing as we can’t seem to find a way to share the road.

Research shows that bicycling health benefits include reduction in cancer, heart disease and diabetes-which outweigh its risks 20-1. So as great as it sounds to become a cyclist, there are things that raise a few red flags as to why cyclists are at risk sharing the road.

Many people choose to find a solution by pushing for more money to be spent for alternate bike lanes and paths. The money could also be allocated to build and sustain infrastructure that is well suited for cyclists’ safe transportation in and around a town or city.

Many people believe that the future of bicycles is not on the same paths as cars but rather built upon separate paths and lanes, not shared. However, the controversy lies not only on how to make bicycling safer but also how to include them in the normal routes of transportation so they are seen as equal.

With more bikers on the road and more frustrations on the rise how and what do we change so everyone can commute happily and safely? What do you think? Here’s what I have come up with:

If you are a cyclist, ride your bike as you would drive your car. Try and make the road a safe place for everyone, whether they ride on 2 wheels or 4, we are all human, with somewhere to go and more often than not, crunched for time. Be patient, road rage won’t get you anywhere but behind bars.

It goes without saying but every form of transportation necessitates a safety precaution, seat belts and helmets are encouraged and in some places mandated. If you do find yourself becoming increasingly frustrated with cyclists, take a deep breath and remember they are doing something positive for our beautiful planet. If that doesn’t help, just switch lanes.

What are your suggestions and comments?

Turning Your Dinner Party Green!

With the Holiday season just right around the corner, your busy schedules probably just got slammed with a number of dinner parties to attend. Attending dinner parties are fun but hosting dinner parties can be fun too! Whether you are having a small get together or many people over for a green celebration, planning does not have to be stressful and hopefully this article will ease your list of things to do.

So you’ve decided you’re going to have a dinner party. Next step is figuring out how you’re going to send your invitations. To go green and ease the carbon footprint on getting your attendees attention to save the date, may we suggest using social media? What a quick and easy way to contact your network of friends. Remember, just because its online doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. Send your invites a jazzed up email, they will be excited to open it making them even more excited to attend, we like to use Evite.com.

Another idea is to suggest a prize for those who arrive by alternative forms of transportation other than by car, but whatever the prize is, make it green and make it goodJ. When you decorate for your party create displays of fresh flowers and soy candles and get creative with the seasons offerings. Pinecones, lemons, leaves, and oranges are all things found in or around your house that can add to the fall season and add to the mood of a comfortable environment.

Don’t forget to invest in some ‘green wine’; no, the color of the wine is not green but you can compliment any dish by supporting an ecologically sensitive winery.  Or, you can have green drinks by supporting a local micro brewery, as more and more breweries are using organic ingredients. When shopping for your dinner party, don’t forget about the after dinner coffee which you can go green by supporting fair trade. If there are leftovers, send everyone home with whatever is left, or compost your scraps for your garden. When you’re cleaning up, make sure to skip the prewash, however if you don’t have a dishwasher, use some eco friendly soap to hand wash your dishes like Seven Generations or Shaklee. You should always seek out green household cleaning products because they are good for your health and good for the environment too.

As you can see these are quick and easy steps to use when you’re plan for your green celebration. We aren’t asking you to make drastic changes in the way you plan but as you can see by changing a little, you can and will reduce your holiday dinner party carbon footprint. All of these things are easy on your wallet; health and the environment too. Have fun and stay green this holiday season!

What Do You Sacrifice To Afford Health Care in America?

Sara Robinson has the distinction of being one of the few trained social futurists in North America and is currently a Fellow at the Campaign for America’s Future. Among other interesting projects, Sara is a founding member of Group News Blog and lives with her family in beautiful Vancouver, BC.

I ran across a recent article on AlterNet Sara wrote asking some thought provoking questions regarding what ALL Americans sacrifice to afford health care as we know it. Her extremely insightful approach is based on her experience living in both the American and Canadian cultures.

Providing a litany of quality-of-life comparisons to our northern neighbors, you may experience an intense sadness like I did OR you may simply be outraged. Whatever the emotion that erupts from within, any thought of politics and partisanship will melt away leaving you wanting more than just business as usual in our great country.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts! Read on…

We’ve Been Trapped Inside a Bad Health Care System So Long, We Don’t Even Know How Much We’re Missing