children
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Learn more about how you can reduce the health risks associated with radon, carbon monoxide and asbestos in child care environments. Childhood diseases and injuries associated with unhealthy environments cost us $54.9 billion annually. This includes lead poisoning, neurobehavioral disorders, asthma, childhood cancer and accidents in the home. Because of their size, stage of development…
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Everyone can carve out 5 minutes each day to keep yourself and your family healthy. You may need to make trade-offs, but it will be worth it. Here are five things you can do to make your home safer and healthier. Program the poison control number (1-800-222-1222) into your cell phone. Inspect your door locks and…
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Each day millions of children spend a good part of the day away from home in a child care facility. It’s important to keep them healthy and safe both at home and while they are away from home. One of best things you can do is to learn more about the connection between health and the indoor…
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Health problems and laminate wood flooring are back in the news. The cause of alarm centers around formaldehyde, a known-carcinogenic, that is used in some pressed wood products like laminate wood flooring. Formaldehyde is found in a variety of home and consumer products. It is used in plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard (MDF), wood floor finishes,…
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Every year 72,330 women die from lung cancer. Lung cancer has killed more women than breast cancer since 19871. Of those who survive, only 18% survive five years2, meaning lung cancer has one of the highest mortality rates of all cancers for women. So, why is it that only 1% of women consider lung cancer…
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It’s the last long weekend of summer. Take time off from your daily labors. Here are five things you can do to celebrate the long weekend. 1. Learn what Labor Day is all about? Do you know anything about Labor Day, other than the fact that you get Monday off? Take time to learn more…
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In 2013 there were 16,655 reports of children under 6 exposed to poisons that are easily found in our homes. In most homes you can find batteries, laundry detergent, medications, household cleaners, pesticides, gasoline, and paint, along with other household products. Many of these products, especially those that look like candy, can poison children. In…
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You could be adding to the pollutants in your home with the cleaning products you use. Studies conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show levels of several common organic pollutants are two to five times higher inside homes than outside. These indoor pollutants come from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from a variety of…
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Lead is a highly poisonous metal that can have serious health effects, especially for children under the age of 6. It only takes a small amount of lead to severely affect their mental and physical development. Lead-based paint and lead contaminated soil are the most common sources of exposure. House paint in the U.S. no…
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Mold is all around us. It grows on any organic substance, as long as there is moisture and oxygen. You can’t eliminate all of the mold and mold spores in your home, but you can reduce mold by controlling moisture. Mold can trigger allergies or asthma attacks in children and adults, so it is important…
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We spend close to 90% of our time indoors, much of which is spent in our homes where we are exposed to a variety of contaminants and allergens that can trigger asthma attacks. In the U.S. almost 25 million people are affected by asthma. This includes about 7 million children. The asthma triggers in your…
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Where did you walk today? Think about all the places your feet have been in the last 24 hours and then imagine the contaminants found in those places. Every time you walk into your home with your shoes on you are tracking in the contaminants you encountered throughout the day. About 30 to 40 percent…
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Compared to adults, babies and children have a higher breathing rate and less developed lungs. This means babies and children can be more susceptible to environmental damage to the lungs than adults, like in the case of radon. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. It’s a naturally occurring, radioactive gas that…
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Injuries in the home are the number one killer of children in the U.S. Most of these home injuries could have been prevented. An example is single-use laundry detergent, also known as Laundry pods. They are convenient to use, but can be very dangerous to children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFbPnYXeBGk What can you do to make your home…
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Children are more likely than adults to fall victim to hazards in your home. Relative to their body size, children breathe in more air and consume more food than adults. They also spend more time close to the ground where contaminants lurk and there are lots of things to chew on. This means they are…
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It is always important to provide opportunities for children to spend unstructured time with nature. Here is a book I suggest for parents, grandparents and those who are concerned about our children Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods. The book looks at the concept of nature deficit disorder. The theory is that our…
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Every year over 1 million people are accidentally poisoned. Many poisonings can be prevented by using and storing household products safely. For more information on ways you can reduce chemicals in your home and make your home safer check out the UGA Extension website, where you will find helpful tips and green cleaning recipes.
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This past week was Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. It was good to have a week focused on lead poisoning, but we really need to pay attention to the dangers of lead year around. Lead poisoning is often preventable. The most common sources of lead poisoning are lead paint chips and dust. In 1978 lead was…
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Your children are at a greater risk of exposure to environmental hazards than you. These hazards exist where they live, learn and play. Children engage in “riskier behaviors” than most adults. Two big “environmental risky behaviors” children engage in are: Crawling across floors that can have a number of different contaminants on them Putting toys…
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When my husband and I married we were both college students and money was always earmarked for the books, lab fees, and tuition – furniture and household items were either hand-me-downs or finds. We furnished our first home at Oklahoma State University from grandma’s toss-aways and things found on the curb. When I think back…
Posted in: Challenge, community, Conservation, Environment, Family, Green Living, Neighborhoods, Sustainability, Working Together -
Planning your summer getaway? Five things to consider: 1) Leave the place you visit better than you found it – whatever you take to the picnic bring home – trash receptacles often become filled to overflowing. Debris will take wing – so remember to take a trash bag and bring home your recyclable, compostable, and…
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I just finished watching Bill Moyers’s interview of Biologist, mother and activist Sandra Steingraber. This made me stop and think about how I approach my life as an activist, my life as an educator, my life as a Change Agent. in the video Ms. Steingraber discussed how we all have a different set of skills…
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This week I participated in an informative blogging workshop taught by Tara Dunn for the University of Georgia College of Family and Consumer Sciences Cooperative Extension. She did a fantastic job of helping all of the participants develop blogs and better understand and use online communication. Blogs are a great way to share research and…
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Mother’s Day is just around the corner. What plans have you made? How about going GREEN this Mother’s Day. Here are a few of my favorite ideas. Spring is here and all thoughts go to gardening, how about making a special garden just for mom. Here are some suggestions: Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden, Cutting…
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It is springtime in Athens, Georgia. When days are soft and sunny folks start to move out-of-doors. So what are some green outdoor activities that are low cost and low impact, but high on the fun index? We all want play and live greener without spending our shrinking “greenbacks.” Walk. One of the healthiest and…
Posted in: community, Energy, Environment, Giving, History, Holidays, Safety, Uncategorized, Working Together -
Recently I was teaching an online class about keeping your home healthy and reducing the asthma triggers in your home. I talked about some of the main asthma triggers in your home – dust mites, pet dander, secondhand smoke, mold, cockroaches, and mice. The training included action steps to take to reduce or eliminate these…
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Today I heard a wonderful presentation by Henry Cisneros, who was Secretary of HUD under Clinton. He spoke at the National Center for Healthy Housing (NCHH) 20th anniversary celebration. He talked about housing, linkages between our homes and our health, and changing housing needs. It was a good reminder of what really makes a house…
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Take the Radon Test to see how much you know about radon. 1. What is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers? a. Secondhand smoke b. Radon gas c. Industrial pollution d. All of the above 2. Where are you most likely to be exposed to radon? a. At home b. At work c.…
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A news story earlier this week served as a reminder about the dangers of Carbon Monoxide (CO). An Atlanta school was evacuated when several students and adults became ill from exposure to high levels of CO. Thankfully, everyone seems to be okay, but the school remains closed while officials work to resolve the problem. I…
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How many of you remember getting “BIG MONEY” during the holidays from a favorite aunt or uncle or maybe your Godparent. I remember one particular Christmas, I had been sick with a very sore throat. My uncle was visiting and the family was sitting in the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen all wrapped up…
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I am posting this for my colleague Sharon. This is the first in a series of 3 postings on gifting and children. Today as I was driving back from Thanksgiving with family I started to think about why some people seem to be very generous with their time, talent and resources while others are not. …
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Biophilic Design suggests that suggests that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and other living systems. We heard much at the Healthy Building Conference about the need to rethink our living spaces – beyond community gardens, bike paths, and public transport – though each idea is important it is about an holistic approach…
Posted in: Uncategorized -
The community that resides in the Ecovillage at Currumbin has already developed some traditions of their own- One such tradition applies to new life in the community: When a baby is born the community pulls together in support and brings dinner for the new family every night. This beautiful practice exemplifies the support and connectivity that…
Posted in: Uncategorized -
Last Friday, we wandered around the Ecovillage at Currumbin, which is located in a rural area on the Gold Coast, Queensland, just south of Brisbane. This community is made up of around 150 homes on 110 hectares of reclaimed farmland, laid out around a village center that includes community facilities, home offices and retail space.…
Posted in: Uncategorized -
On the 10th we watched a very powerful documentary titled Underkastesen (Submission). It was disturbing, to say the least. The amount of chemicals in our environment is overwhelming and, the truth is, they aren’t safe. Watch the trailer for a taste of what the documentary is all about- A short description: “Manmade chemicals are everywhere…
Posted in: Chemicals