Such a fuss lately about the new, energy-efficient, long-lasting CFL lightbulbs. We all switched to be more green, and adjusted to the slightly odd cast of light and the funny swirls. I personally celebrated when they came out with short ones and different shapes to accommodate my many lamps.

But then opposition (can there really be? But yes there is and spearheaded from Texas no less, of course! Check out this YouTube video a concerned neighbor emailed to me.) made such a fuss, such a hue and cry about the trace amounts of mercury in the bulbs and how they can’t be simply thrown in the trash (no! oh no! one must recycle the bulbs! the horror!).

For the record: I am very perplexed how these politicians can say the uproar about mercury in vaccinations that we inject into small children’s bodies is just fine, but be all up in arms over a trace amount of mercury in light bulbs. Listen, either it’s safe or it’s not safe; frankly, mercury going into the body would worry me more than a small amount in a lightbulb.

But Home Depot has stepped in to make it easy by offering a CFL lightbulb recycling program at their stores—and admit it: we’re all there fairly regularly aren’t we? Read the rest of this entry »

Product Safety Bill Conference

Annys Shin of the Washington Post is blogging live from the Product Safety Bill Conference. Click over and read her update, which includes a list of provisions for the bill. She’s got a fun and entertaining writing style, and is very easy to read. She even includes jokes and quips. Congress is now out for the July 4th recess, but will resume the conference when they return, so we can look forward to more information from Annys Shin.

Food safety: are the protectors able to protect?

I read an interesting article in The Dallas Morning News about how the inspection system is unable to keep up with the influx of imported food, and most trucks at the border are simply waved through.

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On June 25, US Recall News reported:

Jardine Enterprises has worked with the CPSC to recall 320,000 cribs sold at various stores.

The wooden slats in the cribs can break. This creates a gap that causes a serious strangulation and entrapment hazard for infants.

So far there have been at least 42 reported occurrences of the slats and spindles breaking in these recalled cribs. Several children have already been trapped in the space created by the broken piece of wood, although - thankfully - none suffered from serious injuries other than bruises and abrasions.

These cribs were made in China and Vietnam and sold at various retail locations throughout the United States and other countries. If you have any of the cribs listed below, stop using them immediately and contact Jardine’s hotline to receive full credit toward the purchase of a new crib: 1-800-646-4106.

If any of your crib slats have broken stop using the crib immediately and contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to report the incident.

NewsInferno said:

According to the CPSC, the cribs were manufactured in China and Vietnam and sold at KidsWorld, Geoffrey Stores, Toys “R” Us, and Babies “R” Us stores nationwide, and at babiesrus.com, from January 2002 through May 2008 for between $150 and $300. The Mahogany Positano Lifetime Crib, model 0309K00, sold for $450. The item’s model number is printed on the inside of the bottom rail of the headboard or footboard.

See NewsInferno for a list of styles and models.

A new report out highlights the economic threat the current health care system creates for American cities, which are typically ignored in the discussion about health care reform. The report, put out by Families USA—a nonprofit and nonpartisan national organization that advocates for high-quality, affordable health care for all Americans—found that, “…cities are profoundly affected by the rising number of uninsured Americans and the rising cost of providing coverage for their own employees. These problems have an impact on all city residents, regardless of their health insurance status, and they affect cities’ ability to fulfill other municipal functions as well.”

“Our cities face the dual challenges of assisting a rising number of uninsured Americans and providing increasingly expensive health coverage for their own employees,” Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA, said on Monday.

Pollock’s statement summarizes the key findings of the report, which concluded that cities have been overlooked and left to manage local health care crises on their own, which poses a risk to the budgets of other city services, such as police and fire protection, schools, parks, and the repair of city streets and other infrastructure.

“Today’s report makes crystal clear what many of us in cities across America—who are faced with the spiraling costs of health care both for our employees and our citizens—understand all too well,” said Philadelphia’s Mayor Michael A. Nutter. “It’s threatening our economies, our families and our futures. It is time for Washington to stop the excuses and fix our broken health care system.”

The report is based on extensive surveys and research of thirteen cities nationwide, which all had consistent results. Immunizations are one of the largest burdens on cities.

Other key findings include…

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The Maternal Is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood & Social Change
Edited by Shari MacDonald Strong
Seal Press
352 pgs, $15.95
ISBN: 1-58005-243-6

Something definitely changes when you become MOTHER. Besides all the physical,emotional and mental aspects; the sleepless nights, cranky babies, the thought of being able to fit into your pre-baby jeans. You become more aware of the world and your place in it, of what is happening around you. You see things with a mother’s eye. One of the essays, In Albania, by Mona Gable, captures this new view absolutely. Here she recounts her time in Albania as a reporter during the Kosovo conflict-Balkan wars with the new eyes of a mother: “The lens of motherhood would filter everything I was to witness…..”. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks to Seattle’s The Green Parent for alerting us to the 21st Century Green High-Performing Public Schools Facilities Act (aka H.R. 3021).  It’s a school construction program with a green building requirement.  Makes good sense to require green building if you’re gonna fund building, but what I want to know is this: if Congress can drum up huge sums of money for this, why so few teachers?  Old text books?  Don’t states fund schools? Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t always agree with the bills that are introduced or passed in our U.S. Congress, but one bill that has quietly passed through the Senate is the Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008.  The basics of the bill are wider provisions on mental health support for our veterans and their families.  What are the mental health issues facing our troops?

Read the rest of this entry »

How high does a number need to get before it becomes impressive?  How about 24 million?  What about 3 million? 

There are currently 24 million people in the U.S. who have diabetes.

The past two years has seen an increase of 3 million people in the U.S. with diabetes. 

Check the facts here on the CDC website.  Those numbers are saddening, but what is even more saddening is this little tidbit.

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Say it isn’t so?  I have been blessed with hormones that gave me acne not in my teen years, when everyone expects to get zits, but in my late 20’s and beyond.  For the past year or so, I have found Oil of Olay’s “anti wrinkle/anti blemish” lotion to work wonders.  I know totally not green of me.  I confess, I am not perfect. Please forgive me. 

But NOW, I read this on Slate about Oil of Olay’s exfoliating plastic debacle. 

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If I stop and think about it, it really alarms me that I am a mere seven years older than the toxics law in this country, a clunker that has so few teeth it doesn’t control many substances at all, despite being named the Toxic Substances Control Act. I’ve dreamed of overhauling the clunker and ranted about bisphenol-A.

But rather than resorting to trashing more dangerous products from our pantry, we can get on board with the Kid Safe Chemicals Act, an excellent piece of federal legislation recently introduced by three U.S. Representatives (NY and CA, all Dems, natch). This bill could really and truly help with the explosion of toxic products everywhere. we. turn. And all we have to do, mamas, is help pass the thing.

Nothing to it! ‘Cause all you need to do for now is know about this excellent bill. Read about this excellent bill. Talk about this excellent bill. And, when it moves (and with us behind it, it will), when a floor vote is on the horizon, let’s be at the ready to pick up the phone, send that e-mail, make that in-person meeting to tell your Congressional delegation - loud and clear - how very much this matters to you. To us. To all parents everywhere. Read the rest of this entry »