Sunday, March 23, 2008

Friday, March 21, 2008

HAPPY SPRING, EVERYONE!!


there is a red-tailed hawks' nest in a tree in our front yard:
There are two hawks. I assume they are a breeding pair. we don't see them hunting in the neighborhood so much anymore, but i have seen them coming in to roost right at dusk.



AND... not one, but THREE golden eagles have consistently been heard calling and seen flying overhead!





what suprised me the most, was how completely different eagles are from hawks. i mean, you think big bird of prey, same same. but NO! They look different, they act different, they sound different. they simply aren't the same at all... neat, huh?

Saturday, March 15, 2008

toxins found in "natural" products

CONSUMER ALERT:CANCER-CAUSING INGREDIENT FOUND IN LEADING "ORGANIC" & "NATURAL" PERSONAL CARE PRODCUTS

A newly released study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and overseen by environmental health consumer advocate David Steinman (author of The Safe Shopper's Bible), revealed the presence of the undisclosed carcinogenic contaminant 1,4-Dioxane in leading shampoos, body washes, lotions and other personal care and household cleaning products claiming to be "natural" or "organic". The study results, to be released this weekend at the Natural Products Expo in California, are already sending shockwaves through the "organic" and "natural" body care industry. Laboratory tests showed that products certified under the USDA National Organic Program DID NOT contain this toxin, but most of the best selling personal care products claiming to be "organic" (but not USDA certified) contained the cancer-causing ingredient. All leading self-proclaimed "organic" brands have at least a few individual "certified organic" ingredients, but for most of these top-selling brands, the product, as a whole, is not USDA organic certified, thereby allowing the presence of synthetic toxins. Similar studies have revealed the presence of this toxin in conventional personal care products, but this is the first study indicating the presence in misleadingly labeled "organic" and "natural" products. Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/comingclean.cfm



HOW TO AVOID 1,4-DIOXANE IN YOUR PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS:

Some of the products found to contain 1,4-Dioxane: JASON Pure Natural & Organic, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Kiss My Face, Nature’s Gate Organics (see a full list of OCA's study results here)

Remember that just because a personal care product labels itself with the words "organic" or "certified organic" doesn't mean it meets any specified organic standards.

Look for products that are certified under the USDA National Organic Program (or a similar German program) and products that bear the "USDA Organic" seal.

Search product labels for ingredients with the following in their names to avoid products containing 1,4-Dioxane: myreth, oleth, laureth, ceteareth, any other eth, PEG, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, or oxynol.

In general, avoid products with unpronounceable ingredients to be sure to avoid synthetic toxins and carcinogens.