Lead In Lipstick

For those of you who missed the NYT's 10/11 article, "Lipsticks Contain Lead, Consumer Group Says," here's the link. According to The Campaign For Safe Cosmetics, 61% of the lipsticks tested by Bodycote Testing Group had detectable levels of lead. One third of the lipsticks tested reportedly had more lead than allowed in candy. Hmmm. Lead is allowed in candy? Seems like there's something wrong with that too.

Infant Cough And Cold Medicines Withdrawn

Here's a link to CNNMoney's article on 10/11 discussing the withdrawal of many of the kid cough and cold meds.

Building a Yurt

I love yurts, so when I stumbled on this video -- Building A Yurt Kazakh Style -- I thought to pass it on. Here's the link.

"The Everyman Who Exposed Tainted Toothpaste"

Today's edition of the New York Times carries the above-titled article. Walt Bogdanich discusses Eduardo Arias, a 51-year-old Kuna Indian, his reading the label on a 59 cent tube of toothpaste and discovery on the ingredient list of "diethylene glycol", a sweet tasting, poisonous ingredient in antifreeze. Diethylene glycol had previously been mixed into cold syrup in Panama, killing or disabling at least 138 Panamanians during 2006, according to the article.

Just for the hell of it, I entered "diethylene glycol" into the sustainable casa search engine and narrowed my search to include the EWG/Skin Deep database. Guess what? EWG/Skin Deep show that Johnson & Johnson, among other manufacturers, make or made several products (depending on current formulations) containing diethylene glycol: Neutrogena SkinClearing Oil-Free Compact Foundation, Blushing Ivory; Neutrogena SkinClearing Oil-Free Compact Foundation, Classic Porcelain; Neutrogena SkinClearing Oil-Free Compact Foundation, Natural Buff; Neutrogena SkinClearing Oil-Free Compact Foundation, Rose Cream; Neutrogena SkinClearing Oil-Free Compact Foundation, True Beige; Neutrogena SkinClearing Oil-Free Compact Foundation (Rose Cream, Natural Buff, Golden Bisque, Classic Porcelain, Blushing Ivory); and Neutrogena SkinClearing Trio Salicylic Acid Blemish Treatments (Medium 03, Light 02, Fair 01).

Ban Sought On Kids' Cold Medicine

The New York Times today reported that FDA safety experts urged consideration of an outright ban on over-the-counter, multisymptom cough and cold medicines for kids younger than 6. Gardiner Harris wrote, "[t]he reviewers wrote that there is little evidence that these medicines are effective in young children, and there are increasing fears that they may be dangerous[,]" and cited the experts' 356-page safety review report disclosures of at least 54 kids having died after taking decongestants and at least 69 having died after taking antihistamines. On the other side of the safety issue is, of course, the Consumer Healthcare Products Association armed with its industry-sponsored safety review. Anyway, here's the link to the article.

Forbes -- Building Green -- $12 billion bucks in 2007

Here's an excerpt from the article:

"The U.S. Green Building Council estimated the green building industry--an area that was rarely heard of a decade ago--to be worth around $12 billion for 2007. While sustainable construction is one of the fastest-growing segments of the commercial building industry, only a small percentage of buildings going up are actually green. The buildings that do meet green standards save significantly on energy costs, a benefit that is likely to become more attractive as the cost of non-renewable energy sources continues to increase."

Wind Up Lamp Saves Energy

I stumbled on this lamp while reading the morning's news. I like the idea, though not the aesthetic.

Additional Sites to Sustainable Casa Search

OK. I've taken a break from suing my former law partners to do something that makes me feel good. I've added 6 eco-friendly flooring manufacturers to the sustainable casa search engine:

www.interfaceflor.com
www.naturalfloors.net
www.meridameridian.com
www.dkmikc.com
www.earthweave.com
and
www.fibreworks.com

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