Check out my latest article on mosquito repellents at NRDC’s Healthy Living site. You may be surprised at what you learn about DEET and the other options!

Just a note to my readers: I am blogging less often but I continue to research and write about chemicals in consumer products and environmental health. I’ve realized that many people don’t know where to go for reliable information when they hear about a potentially harmful pesticide or industrial chemical. On the right side of this page in the “about the chemicals” section, I’ve listed the major government-sponsored sources that I use in my research. These agencies have teams of specialists charged with figuring out just how bad a chemical is for human health and the environment. Many people are surprised to find out that some ingredients in everyday products are indeed cancer-causing or otherwise bad for your health, according to scientists at our nation’s premier health institutes.

Last year my son had to have X-rays of his shoulder. I had to stop the radiologist and ask her to put the protective shield over the thyroid gland at the base of  his neck.

I don’t have any training in radiology but I had recently written an article on thyroid disorders. At the time, I questioned whether I had overreacted. After all, aren’t X-ray technicians the experts?

It turns out that X-ray technicians have no training and no certification in many states. According to a source quoted in today’s New York Times, some states require more training for hairdressers than they do X-ray technicians. The article has other details that will make your toes curl, like descriptions of full-body X-rays of premature infants with no shielding of the child’s reproductive organs.

I was right to follow my instinct and ask the technician to protect my child, even if the risk of harm from the X-ray was small. But I am disturbed that we parents have to take such an active role in protecting our children’s health, to the point of intervening in the X-ray room. Today’s parents are derided as being too overprotective and our government is a ‘nanny state.’ Yet the risk of cancer from too much radiation is not in doubt.

If you are concerned about X-rays, read these helpful tips from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

A few weeks ago, consumers were warned that reusable grocery bags are “hothouses for bacteria.” Now the New York Times is reporting that reusable bags contain potentially unsafe levels of the toxic metal, lead.

Is the bag to blame? None of us want lead or bacteria getting on our food, but all these news reports have me questioning, why are these news stories attacking the bag? Why not attack the bag manufacturers who are using leaded pigments to color the bags, or the food industry that wraps our meats in leaky packages.

Lead is found in numerous consumer products, including metal charms on children’s jewelry. This contamination is happening despite new consumer protection laws that require manufacturers and retailers to test for lead and certify that products do not contain lead. It seems that manufacturers have not caught on to the basic messages that we consumers and our government are sending:  Stop using lead in consumer products.

Bacteria in bags had to come from somewhere, and the most likely source is from leaky meat packaging. Is it the bag’s fault that the packaging is leaking? The bigger question is, why does our food supply contain lethal bacteria such as E. coli O157:H7? (Answer, modern farming practices have contributed to the spread of these bacteria.)

The New York Times dismisses the bags as “another must-have accessory for the socially conscious.” I think most people choose them not because they are a fashion statement but because they help us reduce the number of single-use plastic bags that are piling up in landfills around the globe.

If you are concerned that your bags contain lead or bacteria, a simple solution is to start using washable cloth bags. No need to rush out and purchase them. For those of you who are craft-oriented, you can sew them from scraps of old clothing. Or raid the back of the closet looking for old bookbags or tote bags, or just grab a cardboard box from the garage. You may look a little silly at the grocery store, but at least no one will accuse you of packing your groceries in a fashion statement!

The chemicals we use to make nonstick cookware are bad for our health. One of these chemicals, PFOA, has been linked to cancer and is suspected of causing reduced fertility and harming the thyroid gland, which controls growth and development. The Environmental Protection Agency is working with the producers of these chemicals to phase them out over the next few years. Meanwhile, the evidence for poor health outcomes associated with these chemicals keeps rolling in. See this article in Medical News Today (07 Sep 2010): Non-stick Cookware and Waterproof Fabrics Linked to Higher Cholesterol Levels in Kids.

With the amount of candy that kids haul home each October 31st, you might start feeling that the only thing healthy about Halloween is the workout that kids get sprinting between houses. But there are lots of easy and fun ways to make Halloween healthier. Around our house, one of my kids’ favorite traditions is to exchange their candy for a toy or book. My son starts scheming well before the holiday about which new toy he wants. For my daughter, it took a trip to the doll aisle for her to decide that a lasting toy was a better deal than a short-lived sugar high.

Other tricks parents (and kids!) love:
- Host a party in lieu of trick-or-treating. Serve pumpkin bread, carrot sticks, and other (healthier) orange foods.
- Give out toothbrushes, pencils, or another non-candy treat to the ghouls and boos that come to your door.
- Establish the tradition of a “pumpkin fairy” that swaps candy for a toy in the middle of the night.
- Have your child pick his or her five favorite candies and dispose of the rest.

Does Halloween have to be healthier? A lot of parents cringe at putting limits on a holiday that they remember so fondly from childhood. But today’s kids are growing up in an unhealthy food environment. Today many children eat candy year round, not just on holidays. A third of children in the U.S. will grow up to be obese or overweight, and many children today already have cavities. So, yes, we should try to cut down on our candy consumption, but do it in ways that preserve the fun!

There is no “away” at my friend Lana’s house. That is, there is no all-purpose trash can neatly lined with a fresh white plastic bag.  Instead, she has a collection of receptacles throughout the house for recycling, paper, plastic bags, compostable food items, etc.

As a houseguest, I was a bit intimidated by the lack of garbage can. I took to keeping my own plastic bag tucked away inside my suitcase. I didn’t want to have to ask, in which receptacle do I put my used contact lenses? And where should I put this used Starbuck’s coffee cup?

Yet, as inconvenient as my deception became, it made me stop and think about how our feelings of well-being depend so much on the idea that we can toss away our clutter. When we toss, we get a small feeling of satisfaction that we’ve taken care of ourselves, done our part. We conveniently forget that our waste has not really gone to any final resting place. Some of it never will go “away,” at least not in the next several hundred years.

My own kitchen has four receptacles – paper recycling, bottle recycling, compost, and garbage. I’ve hung onto that last one even though nearly all items can now be recycled or reused if we really make an effort.  Somehow I feel comforted by the knowledge that my waste will be swallowed by a giant truck next Tuesday, but I’m learning that this mindset is one item that I should really throw away.

Outdoor cooking is a summer ritual for many families. Check out these tips on greener grilling that I shared today with Sam Champion of Good Morning America. Watch the broadcast online.

This July 4th, help keep America (and its air) beautiful by switching to greener grilling techniques:

If you own a gas grill, good for you! This is probably the greenest way to grill. Natural gas and LPG are relatively clean burning fuels, so you’ll generate less air pollution and climate-changing carbon dioxide.

Electric grills are the second-best choice. Although they burn very clean in your backyard, most of the electricity in the U. S. is made from burning fossil fuels. Your backyard air may be clean but there is a cloud over a power plant somewhere.

Charcoal grills come in last place because they generate a lot of smoke that can irritate the lungs. They also make the most amount of greenhouse gases. Yet, many of us love the taste of charcoal-grilled food and for those of us on a shoestring, these are the least expensive grills on the market. If you have this type of grill, choose charcoal made from solid wood instead of the processed briquets. The lump wood has fewer petroleum based additives that will end up in your family’s food. Use a chimney starter instead of lighter fluid.

Finally, one of the best ways you can help the planet and your own health is to grill less red meat and more chicken, fish, and veggies!

You can read these and more green grilling tips in my book, Green Guide Families: The Complete Reference for Eco-friendly Parents (National Geographic Books, 2010).

I’ve got lots of suggestions ready when people ask me how they can afford to go green without going to the cleaners. One of the easiest things to do is buy organic versions of the fruits and veggies that are most likely to contain pesticides, and go conventional for everything else. A quick rule of thumb is to buy organic soft-skinned fruits (berries, peaches) and leafy greens. (A  full list of the top ten fruits and veggies to buy organic can be found in my book, Green Guide Families.)

Other things you can do:

• shop at farmers’ markets
• join a member-supported farm (community supported agriculture, or CSA) that delivers produce on a weekly basis
• hunt out the often-ignored organic produce at your regular supermarket, and look for sales
• buy only the organic products that will most benefit your health: think fruits and veggies insted of  organic chips and cookies!
• grow your own organic produce – try growing some tomatoes on your patio or in a hanging planters!