If you need some background on what is BPA, I’ve got a FAQ on it.

The study is consistent with other epidemiological studies which have shown links between BPA and metabolic disorders.  Because virtually all American adults have BPA in their bodies, this study suggests that BPA may pose a significant health risk. 

BPA is used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastic, so food and drink stored in polycarbonate plastic can result in exposure (think of those 5 gallon water bottles).   BPA is also used in the manufacture of epoxy resin linings for virtually all canned food and drink in the US – so to avoid BPA, skip canned foods. Think fresh, frozen, dried or jarred in glass over canned.  At least one study confirmed that you can reduce BPA dramatically by eliminating canned foods.  BPA is also used in the manufacture of certain thermal receipts, and can be absorbed through the skin.

Just one more reason to avoid BPA.

“about one-third of all albatross chicks die on Midway, many as the result of being mistakenly fed plastic by their parents.”

Photographer Chris Jordan has been documenting birds on Midway Atoll (way out in the Pacific Ocean, near the Great Pacific Garbage Patch). And his images of the carcasses of baby birds with bellies full of plastic bottle caps will get you doing what you can to make sure those bottle caps don’t get swept into the ocean or any other plastic debris.  Five tons of plastic comes to the remote Midway Atoll every year – cast off and forgotten by us.

So, yet again, let’s take steps to eliminate disposable plastic. Switch to reusable grocery and produce bags. Use a reusable stainless steel bottle instead of buying bottled water. Buy items in bulk instead of single serve containers. Let’s keep in mind that plastic just doesn’t go away and our world is an interconnected web. Need more ideas? Check out Beth’s My Plastic-free Life.

So I got a copy.

And it is beautiful. And lovely. And just wonderful and enchanting and charming. So I am doing a review despite saying I wouldn’t. It is that good.

Mr. FitzSimmons photographs relatively common animals – animals you might find in your backyard – against white backgrounds. (Except for the pink katydid – which is hard to find as it is a result of a condition called erythrism). This approach allows the animals to shine. You can focus on the textures, colors, and features of the animals. The presentation makes the animals seem quite exotic and interesting. It makes you realize that the world, especially the world in your backyard, is an amazing place.

Plus, the text is not only informative but fun. Really fun.

Take the story about the Ohio Crawfish -

“Do you know why I’m waving my giant claws? I’m warning you: Don’t come any closer. Snap! Snap! Snap! I catch my food with these claws. I also attack and defend myself with them. Snap! Snap! Snap! Do you want to know something really cool? If any of my legs get hurt, including my giant claws, I can grow new ones. Pretty neat, huh? Now, enough chitchat. Back off! Snap! Snap! Snap!”

Each of the 21 critters tells its story. Plus, the book includes additional natural history information for each critter and more. The information on the book indicates that it addresses all the National Research Council’s life science standards for grades K – 5.

It is a lovely, charming, enchanting book. I recommend it for any child or teacher. It would make a fabulous gift for the holidays. You can find Curious Critters on Amazon. It is scheduled for release on November 7, 2011.
And you can see more of Mr. FitzSimmons’ photography at his website.

I think it will inspire readers to care more about the natural world. And, perhaps, to go exploring to see if they can find a pink katydid.

Green Halloween is a program of the non profit organization EcoMom Alliance. The concept is to make Halloween healthier and safer for our children and for the environment.  In 2010, a record one millionpieces of candy were replaced with healthier and more sustainable treat options. This year, the revolution will continue, and the Twitter party will share information on just how to do that.

Plus, of course, there are prizes.

First, to be eligible for the prizes, make sure you are following @GreenHalloween and then RSVP by leaving your Twitter handle here in the comments. Then, join us for the #GreenHalloween Twitter party on Thursday, October 13, 2011, from 6 to 8 pm. Don’t forget to use the #greenhalloween hashtag in your tweets.

We have a ton of special guests. The partners include HonestTea @HonestTea, Goodwin Heart Pine @GoodwinLumber, Kiwi magazine @KiwiMagazine, Red Tricycle, Practically Green @PracticallyGrn, Endangered Species Chocolate @ESC_Chocolate, Nature’s Path @NaturesPath, Stretch Island Fruit Co. @StretchIsland, Revolution Foods @RevolutionFoods, Plum Organics @PlumOrganics, Surf Sweets @SurfSweets, Angell Bar @OrganicCandyBar, Mr. Halloweenster @MrHalloweenster, EcoMom.com @EcoMom, Celebrate Green! @CelebrateGreen, Today I Ate A Rainbow @eatingarainbow, Terra Firma Cosmetics MoMoGirl, The Damsel in the Attic @DamselInAttic and Neighborcare Health @Neighborcare. The nonprofit partner is Goodwill Industries International @GoodwillIntl. And, the event partners are Womentorz @Womentorz, LiveGreene @ShopLiveGreene, Natural Luxe @NaturalLuxe, Eat Cleaner @EatCleanerFood, EcoPartyTime @EcoPartyTime, Divine Events @AlyZDivine, Divine Moms @DivineMomz, Green Halloween Daytona Beach @GreenHalloween1, Los Angeles Costume Swap @LACostumeSwap and Anna Clark @annaclark.

And, of course, me. I’m hosting as @TheSmartMama.

The prizes are as follows:

(1) Angell Organic Candy Bar sample pack including 2 bars each Crisp, Dark and Snow; an organic cotton t-shirt and assorted stickers generously donated by Angell Bars.

(2) A copy of the book “Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family” generously donated by mother-daughter founders of @GreenHalloween and @CostumeSwapDay.

(3)  Stretch Island Fruit Co. package consisting of 2 cases of 30 fruit strips – winner can choose 1 or 2 flavors from Stretch Island Fruit Co.

(4) 1 Lunchbots Pico, a stainless steel divided lunch container from LunchBots @Lunchbot.

(5) A treat from Honest Tea valued at $64.

(6) A Kiwi magazine subscription from Kiwi magazine.

(7) A Nature’s Path Specialty Gift Basket with a value of more than $100.

(8) Revolution Foods is generously giving away a case of 50 Jammy Sammys.

If you need information on Twitter parties, please check out this informative post.

The article discusses how our microbial systems – acquired beginning at birth – may help “steer normal development, molding immune sysetms and calibrating fundamental metabolic functions such as energy storage and consumption.” These systems may explain why one person gets cancer and another doesn’t.

Yet, we don’t understand these systems yet. And, our rush to use antibiotics, antibacterials, and heavy cleaning chemicals and even electric Caesarean delivery of babies may be disrupting nature’s balance, leading to a host of disease.

So, I was really struck by that the article just gives one more reason why not to use an unneccessary antibacterial such as Triclosan.

And I was also struck by the suggestive evidence that the use of antibiotics during pregnancy, as children and in our food may be leading to obesity. The research suggest that antibiotics may be killing off the bacteria needed to regulate the hormones which are key players in regulating metabolism, hunger and a sense of fullness.

And, I was also struck by the statement that one finding from the recent research is that babies born through Caesarean sections apparently miss out on acquiring their mothers’ microbiota. This may lead to certain diseases, such as perhaps asthma. This should be fodder for those women fighting for vaginal delivery after a Caesarean, and should at least be considered by those considering elective Caesarean delivery.

But I guess what mostly struck me is that you really can’t monkey around with Mother Nature.

Right now, the website is focused on issues involving high fructose corn syrup, products that call themselves “Blueberry” but contain no blueberries and misleading labels involving tomato products. The primary focus is on the efforts of the Corn Refiners to change the name of High Fructose Corn Syrup to corn sugar to make it sound better, but the website promises to address other deceptive food labeling issues. I found the blog posts the most interesting, particularly the blog post entitled Fresh isn’t alway what you think it is . . .

But the costumes have sure gotten away from the homemade costumes of my youth. One year my mom my a red wing blackbird costume for me, and hand sewed individual black feathers on the wings. Another year my sister was a circus performer, and my mom made a white horse out of foamboard and attached it to my sister’s tricycle. And yes, one year my mom made my sister and me lion costumes from felt and yarn.

But now most of us buy costumes from the store, and then get rid of them. Disposable Halloween. But there is something we can do about the waste associated with disposable costumes – National Costume Swap Day!

National Costume Swap Day is a partnership of Green Halloween, Swap.com and Kiwi Magazine. This year, the official day is October 8, 2011. Host your own (register here) or find a local swap.

In honor of and to spread the word about National Costume Swap Day, we are having a Twitter party with prizes (of course) on September 27, 2011 from 6 to 7 pm Pacific (that’s 9 to 10 Eastern).  Be sure to RSVP at Green Halloween to be eligible for prizes.

The following prizes will be given out during the #costumeswap Twitter party on 9/27/11:

Be sure to follow Costume Swap on Twitter (@CostumeSwapDay) as well as the fabulous special guests on Twi

1. Angell Bars sample pack with sample Angell Organic Candy Bars in different flavors, an organic cotton t-shirt and stickers valued at $45 from Angell Bars;
2. Copy of the fabulous book Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations & Traditions for the Whole Family valued at $24.95 from Celebrate Green;
3. A Kiwi Magazine subscription (to the US or Canada) from Kiwi Magazine;
4. A Nature’s Path Specialty Gift Basket with a collection of products and eco–friendly items from Nature’s Path Foods; and
5. A Revolution Foods Healthy Halloween Snack Kit with 48 organic Mashups squeezable fruit for kids with a suggested retail price of $67.

tter – Swap.com (@Swap), Kiwi Magazine (@KiwiMagazine), Green Halloween (@GreenHalloween), EcoMom Alliance (@EcoMomAlliance), Practically Green (@PracticallyGrn) and Celebrate Green (@CelebrateGreen). And, of course, follow your hostess – @TheSmartMama.

When tweeting during the party, don’t forget the hashtag – #costumeswap. If you need some information on how a Twitter party works, check out this blog post.

Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic science fiction frequently explore the impact of our tinkering with our world, resulting in devastation and illuminating the folly of men. The currently popular Rise of the Planet of the Apes is just one example.

In our real world, people fear resistant super bacteria – and many have reduced or eliminated the use of triclosan containing antibacterial soaps because they promote such resistant super bacteria and, for household uses, are no more effective than conventional soaps.

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are another potential problem. Generally speaking, a genetically modified organism is an organism which has genetic material added to its genome to achieve certain traist or characteristics. I personally try to avoid GMO products. In my garden, I do not buy or plant any GMO seeds. When grocery shopping, I try to steer clear of GMO products.

I do understand that there are arguments to support the use of GMO. But, I think we need to proceed with much more caution. The recent news report that some GMO corn crops are being eaten by a resistant rootworm is a bit, well, troubling.

An Iowa State University researcher’s paper indicates that western corn rootworms in at least four northeast Iowa corn fields have developed a resistance to the natural pesticide in Monsanto’s GMO corn – the a pest that the GMO corn is supposed to thwart.

Monsanto’s GMO corn seed is herbicide-resistant, which means that farmers can blanket their fields in herbicide and kill everything but their food crop plants. Monsanto also developed the GMO corn seed with a gene that produces a crystalline protein called Cry3Bb1 (the natural pesticide referenced previously), which kills the rootworm but is otherwise allegedly harmless. Or so we like to think.

But now, an Iowa researcher has found fields with rootworms resistant. The fear is that the resistance will spread. Monsanto’s GMO corn seed with the gene producing the crystalline protein was so successful that it’s estimated that roughly a third of U.S. corn now carries the gene. Meaning that the rise of the resistant super rootworm may be coming, causing problems for those corn crops.

More problemmatic is that if one bug can develop resistance then it seems likely that others will too (just like the resistant bacteria). And we will continue to seek to tinker with Mother Nature to develop that super crop, resulting in more and more super bugs.

But you can’t fool Mother Nature for long.

But, in any event, I was curious whether recycled plastic items can have Microban in them if Microban was in the source plastic used. In my searching, I came across Westcott’s KleenEarth scissors for kids which use recycled plastic in the handles and recycled plastic in the packaging. And there are a bunch of different products in this line, all with Microban. BUT, the recycled plastic handles are treated with Microban. So doesn’t that completely defeat the green, earth friendly message? What do you think? Greenwashing at its finest?

As I explained in my post from yesterday, I think I’ll skip the unnecessary Microban containing products.

My take on going back to school is pretty close to my good friend Lynn at OrganicMania. You can avoid back to school shopping by remembering to repurpose and reuse. I try to limit new purchases – although the reusable lunch sacks do get pretty worn out each year. So my kids get one new item each year. And I try to purchase with purpose – we don’t even get our class lists until after school starts, so I refuse to buy anything until I know exactly what my kids actually need.

But, that doesn’t mean I haven’t looked at the back to school merchandise when shopping. And boy,  has the use of Microban technologies in school supplies proliferated this year! If you aren’t aware, Microban is a broad range of antimicrobial technologies that are designed to protect products from microbes. Microban technologies do not protect the user of the product from disease causing microorganisms (if Microban International was making such claims, it would be subject to certain regulatory requirements and would have to have proof to support the claims).  Microban technologies are built into the product during the manufacturing process.

What is actually used in the particular Microban technology in a particular product is difficult to discern. It is generally understood that Microban in plastic includes triclosan, a chemical many of us are trying to avoid. But you don’t know for sure. Microban has many different technologies it is using now, including zinc and silver technologies, so the average consumer can’t really tell what formulation is being used in any particular product.

But what is being used begs the question. Why exactly do we need Microban technologies in our binders and other school supplies? It seems like a completely unnecessary use of a chemical. If I need disease prevention, then I should be wiping down the binder and encouraging my children to wash their hands. The Microban technology added to it isn’t going to protect my child from disease – good old handwashing with warm water and soap will do that.

So why the heck are we seeing Microban technologies added to so many products? Because we seem to have a fear of microbes. A completely unnatural fear of microbes. And we think the solution is some antibacterial germ killing chemical, when all we really need to do is wash our hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds, rubbing vigorously. That’s it. And it doesn’t take antibacterial soap or antibacterial products.

So how about for back to school we skip the Microban technologies and send our kids to school with some castile liquid soap?