Label Palm Oil, Save Rain forests
(Source: khalaiedoscope, via khalaiedoscope)
So, is sunscreen really bad for our health and the environment?
It’s a topic that I’ve heard about a million times during the summer… to wear or not to wear sunscreen. If your like me you never plan on needing sunscreen until you go into your local pharmacy and see the bottles on sale, it’s then that you question whether you need a tan or protection. I’ll start with telling you all the general cons of sunscreen for both our health and the health of the environment.
So what does sunscreen do for our health?
1. Oxybenzane
This is an organic compound used in almost all sunscreens and various types of makeup and it absorbs UV rays. In a study in 2008, Oxybenzane was found in over 90% of Americans and is possibly linked to hormone disruption, allergies and more in newborn children.
2. Aminobenzoic Acid
This nifty ingredient in sunscreens is known to be carcinogenic, of course we apply sunscreen in small doses and not too frequently so the chances of becoming ill from this chemical are low, they are still a con on our list of the health effects of sunscreen.
3. Cinoxate and Dioxybenzone
Both of these are shown to cause skin toxicity if on skin for a long period of time, since most sunscreen is ‘water proof’, it is on our skin for quite a while. The later of the two is also a known hormone disruptor.
Effects on the Environment
1. Zooxanthellae
This little creature has a symbiotic relationship with coral, meaning they live inside coral. Zooxanthellae provides a food source for the coral through photosynthesis (light energy). Various chemicals found in typical sunscreen activate viruses within the zooxanthellae. If the Zooxanthellae die, the coral dies as well and coral already have a very difficult time living (especially with increased acidity of the ocean and people cutting and taking coral!).
This is only one of the effects of sunscreen use on the environment while a few other studies are still being done.
So… what are some alternatives to sunscreen?
1. Badger Sunscreen, spf 30
This sunscreen uses zinc oxide to block sun damage along with olive oil, jojoba oil and more.
2. Soleo Organics Sunscreen Organic chemical free sunscreen, SPF 30+
3. Purple Prairie Botanicals Sun Stuff, SPF 30
There are just a few, as a heads up you can also google ‘how to make your own sunscreen’
Well guys, hope this helps to clarify the basics on sunscreen and it’s effect on coral reefs and also our health.
Dana
I’m Back!
Hey Guys!
So this year has been a killer, truly. Budget cuts have officially closed down Stony Brook Southampton, Long Islands first school solely dedicated to Environmental, Sustainabililty and Marine majors. This was pretty devastating to the students and professors, the family, which I was a part. So now, here I am, a year later and acclimated to the larger Stony Brook University and now officially blogging bi-weekly (or more!) here. This time, I will not take a year long break, :). So tomorrow I will do my first post of the summer season, maybe I’ll even be festive and make it about summer, so stay posted world…
Goodnight,
Dana
More Environmental Documentaries from Hulu
The town that was: http://www.hulu.com/watch/157861/the-town-that-was
tapped: about bottled water: http://www.hulu.com/watch/192680/tapped
Dirt! (about soil erosion from agriculture): http://www.hulu.com/watch/191666/dirt-the-movie
All of these films are presented by IndieWire: http://www.indiewire.com/#
Hope you all enjoy them, ill be writing another blog about my new prius! all information, details etc on how it is running, my opinions and all other first hand information about the 2010 Prius. Hope you’ll all read it:)
hello, again!
I’ve been out for a few weeks, I went to Maine for a camping and then spent a while without steady internet so here I am, from Stony Brook University, the Main or ‘West’ campus. So, I want to take this time to discuss a topic that, even though it has been quite a personal issue for me. Stony Brook Universities East Campus: “Stonybrook Southampton” where i completed 2 years of my undergraduate degree before it was illegally shut down by Stony Brook President Samuel Stanley. It is a lot to explain right now, however I will include a few links at the bottom of this page. Some good news reached us Stony Brook Southampton students last week, we have won a lawsuit against Stony Brook. This means that it was ruled that it was illegal to close a campus the way they did ours and their may be a chance they will reopen it before I complete my degree.
The reason I mentioned this on my primarily environmental based blog, is because this campus was focused on Environmental, Sustainability and Marine based majors. Our school also housed the first LEED certified building in the area. Check out some of these links for more info :)
i’ll start with when it shutdown, to the good news last week:
http://www.hamptons.com/News/School-News/11813/Thiele-Stony-Brook-Breaks-Another-Promise-To.html
http://thinksb.com/2010/08/breaking-judge-rules-stony-brook-violated-law-in-southampton-closure/
http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=299831 <— the good news
Visit our website and facebook page, too:
Save Stony Brook Southampton Facebook
Save the College Official Website
My posts will come more frequently now that I have steady internet, promise. Thanks for reading:)
Bottled water is healthy water – or so marketers would have us believe.
Just look at the bottled water labels or ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks… In reality, bottled water is just water; however, that fact isn’t stopping people from buying a lot of it. Here are some solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit.
via http://www.termlifeinsurance.org/why-you-should-stop-drinking-bottled-water/
very interesting, consider this when buying bottled water.
Eating Locally: How is it healthier for you AND the planet?
So, I’m sure many people have noticed this new trend: eat locally. It seems many more people are realizing the benefits of not only eating the food the grows near their homes, but also, the benefits of eat seasonally. In this blog, I think I’ll try to discuss both topics (how they tie hand in hand) and mention the benefits for both humans and the planet.
What I’ll be discussing: Reasons to eat locally, both for your health and for the planet. GMO crops. Eating seasonally. I’ll also post links to a few great documentaries that I have seen to do with this topic.
Let’s outline some reasons why we should eat locally:
Reasons for Humans:
Helping the local economy: Farmers who grow food commercially only receive a small fraction of every dollar spent. This means the local economies go down because the local people are not spending their money locally. By supporting local farms (organic or not) you are giving the farmer full ‘retail’ value (instead of the very small fraction of the money they would receive if you bought the same food at a supermarket).
Preserving local land: I’m originally from New York City, so I definitely see whole pieces of land disappearing in order for the next row of condominiums… that being said, I never experienced other people wanting to preserve land for the sole purpose of having land without buildings— until I moved out to Southampton, NY for school. Land preservation and the preservation of a nice local atmosphere in general is really important to people of the East End; I admire this. Eating locally keeps local farms running. We don’t necessarily realize this, but every time we pick up some produce at a supermarket, we are supporting other farms- in turn, local farms lose money. We all know the consequences of losing money and farmers have to support a whole farm! Everywhere, local farms were dropping because of the lost money due to commercially owned farms.
Health!: (This will be a long one! )The biggest factor here is, of course, HEALTH! Eating locally cuts down on pesticides and also helps us eat seasonally. Eating seasonally is shown to dramatically improve health. Not only are we eating the nutrient our body needs per season, we are also getting more of the good nutrients. We may think that the food from commercially owned farms are healthy based on how they look, but they aren’t. Food Irradiation is used by many commercial farms to lengthen the time the fruit/vegetable can be sold, a.k.a. it’s “shelf life”. We are eating the by products of all of these processes. Why not save our time and just get natural fruits and vegetables? Here’s a link that describes, generally, what we should be eating seasonally: CLICK HERE.
Also, many commercial farms plant GMO crops…
What is GMO? GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism, sounds tasty huh? Genetically Modified crops came into play when we realized that we basically have too many people to feed. Genetically Modified crops are used in just about everything in the United States that isn’t A) labeled Organic Certified and B) Labeled GMO-free. I will do another blog on this at a later time, to fully discuss my opinion and suggest some foods and products that I personally use.. a suggestion: ANNIES ORGANIC, gmo free and delicious!
*If you are interested in eating locally, look in your local paper (or ask around) for CSA farming (Community Supported Agriculture)… it’s a great way to eat right, locally and get to know some of the people in your area :) here’s another link if you want to know more about CSA : CLICK HERE
WOW. I have not stopped typing since I started, information overload!
Reasons for the Planet:
Waste of Materials: Have you ever noticed the packaging on any food you buy at the grocery store? Example: A box of cereal: a plastic bag on the inside, a cardboard box on the outside and 90% of people bring that box to their homes in ANOTHER plastic bag. Now, how many cereal choices are there? How many of each cereal choice is there? A lot, right? Think of all of those plastic bags, all of those cardboard boxes. Now take that thought and multiply that by every box (cereals, snack bars, crackers, pastas etc.). There is a lot of waste in the food industry and packaging is only one, very small, part. You know the pesticides and growth hormones used on our vegetables/fruits/meat? All of those are circulated into our environment, into marine habitats especially. I would expand on hormones and pesticides invading ecosystems, but I think I’ll mention it here and expand another time—- guess you’ll have to stay tuned :)
Back to wasting materials though, not only are we wasting with packaging but we waste ENORMOUS amounts of fuel in order to transport food. You know that box of your favorite cookies? Turns out those cookies could have had their ingredients come from one place, sent hundreds of miles to be combined and baked, sent back hundreds of miles to be packaged (never mind how far the packaging materials traveled) and then sent out a few hundred MORE miles to come to you. That isn’t only with cookies, this is with almost everything, from bread to dairy to chips/snacks, to soft drink, even bottled water! The carbon footprint on this stuff is beyond enormous.
Less Pesticides: Yes, eating locally will lessen the amount of pesticides used in general. Commercial Farms use mass amounts of pesticides on crops and hormones and antibiotics in meat.
Now, hopefully you are convinced, or at least a bit more educated on eating locally. It’s an extremely healthy movement that you can be a part of, for yourself, your community and of course, your planet :)
Here are some movies/documentaries that I found very interesting on GMO foods (mostly Monsanto and how our government is involved), eating locally and seasonally.
The Future of Food: Discusses GMO foods and their impact on society and human health, mentioning Monsanto.
http://www.hulu.com/the-future-of-food?c=Health-and-Wellness
Supersize Me: Shows what corporations are doing to human health, he eats McDonalds for a month straight in order to show us the real health problems caused, very good:
http://www.hulu.com/watch/63283/super-size-me?c=Health-and-Wellness#s-p1-so-i0
No Impact Man: A man lives sustainably for One year: Discusses his wife’s reversed diabetes because they ate locally: find on google, i think MEGAVIDEO has a copy, or go to the website: http://noimpactman.typepad.com/
Food Inc.: Discusses the meat industry, GMO foods and the american food industries in general, very informative: http://www.foodincmovie.com/
Some links about GMO crops, if you are interested:
- http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food
- http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Genetically-Modified-Foods
Also, for people new to this concept, there is a challenge on this website: Eat Local Challenge, remember, if you do not want your whole diet to be local, that is okay! Maybe try getting some of your produce and dairy locally, or at least organic. :)
The Age of Stupid: Great Documentary
Hey guys! I want to thank Spr(out) for re-blogging my blog on Alternative Energy and Offshore Drilling, I really appareciate it:). Right now I’m watching a documentary on Climate Change and how our society is built around harming our planet— i guess that is how i would describe it shortly. This documentary is a little bit “in your face” and some might possibly say some parts are “unrealistic”, but in all honestly I think that it is amazing and all of you should definitely watch it at some point. Good news! It’s on Hulu, so it’s free and it’s good quality for an online documentary :) Click HERE and watch it.
I think tomorrow I’ll write about local food.
Sign this petition
… if you are interested in stopping offshore drilling in the U.S.
Oceana Offshore Drilling Petition— Click HERE to sign.
Offshore Drilling/Alternative Energy Debates
Over the last few months I have read tons upon tons of articles debating the Pros and Cons of offshore drilling.
Some Pros I’ve seen:
Gas Prices: Gas prices have risen almost exponentially and as we get closer to $4-$5 per gallon, Americans are favoring offshore drilling as a way of relieving the increase.
Reliance on Other Countries: Offshore drilling would (they say) relieve our dependence on foreign oil and “avoid wars”.
Those are really the only two that make any sense to me, however I still think that both of these reasons do not justify offshore drilling in the slightest—- here is why: we have the technology to be forever free of dependence on other countries AND have unlimited (and in many cases, free) energy, without harsh environmentally devastating side effects.
Cons of Offshore Drilling:
Costs: The cost of installing a rig, only to have a limited supply of oil, that will be used very quickly (since the U.S. is completely dependent on oil).
Cleaner Alternatives: Why use oil when we have many other alternatives: Solar Power, Wind Power, Geothermal Power, HydroPower-Tidal Energy, BioMass Fuel, Algae Fuel…. just to name a few. These sources of energy after the cost of initial installation are free, oil rigs have to keep relocating for oil.
Environmental Hazards: Why use oil when it damages the environment and puts the welfare of wildlife and humans at risk? I do not think I have to go into how badly oil, in every stage of use from pumping the oil to transporting it and the use of the oil. Oil pollutes every environmental system, via air, water etc.
So, why is renewable energy sort of a no-brainer?
This should be obvious by now, alternative energy is clean, free and healthy. The only problem that many of us have with alternative energy is the breaking down of the oil infrastructure we have relied on for decades. What many American’s aren’t seeing is that every poorly built system eventually needs to be rebuilt. I think that is is worth investing in our future, as a country. Oil will only last us so long and offshore drilling is a short term solution with devastating long-term effects.
Renewable Energy is defined, in short, as “an energy that can be replenished at the same rate as it is used”. Oil is not renewable because there is only a set amount of it, and there is a fairly small amount left— once we run out, we run out for good. With renewable energy, there is no “set amount”. Let’s discuss the popular, or mainstream alternative energy resources I listed above.
(for site-reference of the photos right click and hit preferences or view selection source)
Wind Power: Wind Turbines can be places on land or out in the ocean (where wind is usually better).This technology uses wind speed, which pushes the turbines and creates usable energy. Wind power was used in the form of wind mills many years ago, now this renewable technology is used in many countries such as Denmark, Spain, Germany, etc. Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_power
Tidal Power: As wikipedia explains: Energy in water can be harnessed and used. Since water is about 800 times denser than air, even a slow flowing stream of water, or moderate sea swell, can yield considerable amounts of energy. Hydropower can also be used in the form of tidal energy, gathering kinetic energy from water motion. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_power
Solar Power: Conversion of sunlight to energy using photovoltaic cells. Solar power has the highest outcome energy of all the renewable energy options. Many people today rely on solar panels to bring energy to their homes. Solar energy is extremely reliable and completely free after the initial installation: Learn More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy
Geothermal: This technology is a bit confusing to understand. Geothermal technology is not considered to be fully renewable in some locations. Geothermal, as wikipedia explains, is power extracted from heat stored in the earth. Areas of tectonic plate boundaries are seen using this technology more often because of the ample supply of heat. Learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_power
You guys should really research all of these technologies, the others I mentioned and the number of other technologies available, on the internet because they are extremely interesting. What other topics do you guys think I should have mentioned/covered in this blog?
