Top 10 Green Living New Year's Resolutions for 2012 from EnvironmentalBooty.com

Top 10 Green Living New Year's Resolutions for 2012

10.  Just Say No to GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms) in Your Food

9.    Save Energy by Unplugging Chargers, Computers and Electronics When Not In Use

8.    Vow Not to Toss Another Battery, Electronic, Unused Medication, Paint or Chemical in the Trash

7.    Recycle Twice as Much as You Did Last Year but Please Keep BPA Laced Receipts Out of the Bin

6.    Decrease Your Exposure to the Harmful Chemical and Hormone Disruptor BPA (Bisphenol A)

5.    Get Fit and Stay Fit by Finding an Exercise Program That Works for You

4.    Buy Organic and Cruelty Free When You Can and Start Cutting Processed Foods From Your Diet

3.    Volunteer in Your Community to Connect and Find Purpose Beyond Your Work

2.    Think About How Your Consumer Choices Affect Your Health and The Health of Our Planet

1.    Get Informed and Share What You Are Learning About Green Living With Family and Friends as Well as Through Social Media.

Listen, living green is not about making certain choices to be trendy, because someone tells you should or because you were forced into it.  Living green is about making positive choices for yourself and your planet, each and every day of the year to live a better, healthier and more conscious lifestyle.  Living a green lifestyle should be an easy and natural extension of where you find yourself at this point in your life. 

This coming year, as you continue to walk your path to green, the main thing to remember is that knowledge is the key to unlocking a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.  I hope you will join us here in 2012 as you continue learning about living healthier for yourself and for our planet.

"Our future depends on our knowledge and actions.  What choices will you make today that will change your health and the health of our world tomorrow?"- Shane

Happy New Year!

Why The FIRM Express Get Thin in 30 is Your Answer to Quick Weight Loss, Sexy Sculpting and Feeling Great - Review

I have told you before how much I love The FIRM workout series.  I have over 40 of their workout videos and DVD's and they have kept me looking and feeling great for almost 20 years.  I used The FIRM workouts through all three of my pregnancies and now at 43 I am 5'8", 123 pounds and my kids try to keep up with me!

One of the things I love bout The FIRM workout series is that they never get boring.  Seriously.  The folks at The FIRM continually change not only the moves but also the system they use to sculpt your body.  I have enjoyed using The FIRM's Fanny Lifter, weighted bar, Transfirmer and even a Wave!  This time the system is The FIRM Express Get Thin in 30 and it is your answer to quick weight loss, sexy sculpting and feeling great.

Head of EPA Lisa Jackson's Top Green Tip to Get Our Economy Moving

I have to say that although I am not a huge fan of the EPA, I am a fan of its leader, Lisa Jackson.  Each time I hear her speak I find a new respect for the fact that she comes off as genuine and caring.  A mother of two, I am sure she must share some of the same concerns that I have about our planet's future.  I believe she is doing her best to make our country and its people healthier so when she says that the most important thing we can do for our environment is to recycle, I am on it.  Are you?

In 2010, Americans generated about 250 million tons of trash and recycled and composted nearly 85 million tons of it.  That may sound pretty good but it only equates to a 34% recycling rate.  Jackson says that if we could get our recycling rate up above 80% we could really make an impact on reducing energy use, increasing air quality and creating jobs.

So let's get that good old US economy moving again and recycle and compost our way back into the good times!  Sure sounds like a good idea to me.  It certainly sounds like a better plan than wasting another $800 billion on a stimulus package or spending $300-400 billion on a job's plan from the same guy who wasted the first $800 billion.  You in?

Source: Dr. Oz
Photo Source: Oprah.com

Latest Lot Numbers Recalled in the McNeil J&J Motrin IB Recall - 6th Recall in Two Years

McNeil Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson has issued its sixth recall in two years.  McNeil Consumer Healthcare is voluntarily recalling certain lots of MOTRIN® IB 24 count COATED CAPLETS, MOTRIN® IB 24 count COATED TABLETS and MOTRIN® IB 24+6 count COATED CAPLETS from stores. The medication was distributed in the United States, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Fiji, Belize, St. Lucia and Jamaica. Consumers do not need to dispose of or return medication.  This is not a recall because of safety or health concerns.  If consumers take the recalled medication, there could be a possible delay in experiencing pain relief as the tablets do not dissolve as quickly as they are supposed to.

Several Thousand US Deaths Linked to Japanese Reactor Crisis - Latest News on Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

You may have heard the news last March that Americans had nothing to worry about from the Fukushima radiation disaster.  Did you believe it?  I did.  I was lazy and I didn't do enough research.  Well now I am wondering if, in my laziness, I allowed myself to once again be duped by a government who has time and time again shown itself to not be worthy of my trust.  Just six days after the disastrous meltdowns struck four reactors at Fukushima on March 11, scientists detected the plume of toxic fallout had arrived over American shores.

Subsequent measurements by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found levels of radiation in air, water, and milk up to 200 times above normal across the U.S.  The highest detected levels of Iodine-131 in precipitation in the U.S. were as follows (normal is about 2 picocuries I-131 per liter of water):  Boise, ID (390); Kansas City (200); Salt Lake City (190); Jacksonville, FL (150); Olympia, WA (125); and Boston, MA (92).  Still, the EPA told us there was nothing to be concerned about because the levels were too low to cause harm.  They were wrong.

How to Fight Antibiotic Resistant Superbugs in 3 Easy Steps

There isn't too much that worries me more than antibiotic resistant superbugs.  For years, I thought doing my part to fight the superbugs consisted only of making sure that my family took our antibiotics properly.   Recently I have found another way to make those superbugs less of a worry in 3 easy steps.  Applegate has joined forces with STOP Foodborne Illness to form Citizens Against Superbugs– a grassroots campaign designed to raise awareness about the overuse of antibiotics on industrial farms and its link to antibiotic resistant bacteria or superbugs.

You see, 80% of the antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used in animal agriculture and the vast majority are for non-therapeutic purposes, such as promoting growth and compensating for the effects of unsanitary and overcrowded conditions. This is four times the amount of antibiotics used to treat human illness.  This antibiotic over-use in animal agriculture is the real culprit to the superbug problem.

Huge Toy Blowout! FREE SHIPPING on Orders Over $30. Many Toys Under $10! - Environmental Booty Live Green and Save Series

Shop Nubius Organic's Eco- Toy Blowout!

I love this time of year.  Playing Santa is one of the many perks of being a mom.  The joy that I see in my girls' faces during the Christmas season reminds me of the joy I felt when I was a little girl. Each year Christmas is a reminder that all things are possible.  Okay so enough of the corny stuff...bring on the eco-friendly toy deals!

Beverage Daily Reports Artificial Sweetener Aspartame Is On Its Way Out

Stevia plant

Beveragedaily.com is reporting that the artificial sweetener, aspartame is on its way out and is being replaced by the Stevia plant.  After my bad experience with aspartame, this is almost the best news I have received in weeks.

"Slovenian ingredients producer Vitiva has launched a stevia line called Sweet' nVit, and says it will market its version of the intense sweetener worldwide, as its CEO predicts a shift from artificial sweeteners such as aspartame." - Beveragedaily.com

You might remember that with the help of Monsanto, which obtained the patent for aspartame when they purchased GD Searle in 1985,  aspartame has found its way into thousands of foods, drinks and pharmaceuticals.  Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA.   And leave it to those Europeans to lead the way in health, in 2007 UK supermarket chains Sainsbury's, M&S, and Wal-Mart subsidiary Asda, announced that they would no longer use aspartame in their own label products.

You can get the rest of the story on aspartame's demise at Beveragedaily.com.

Sources: Wikipedia, Beveragedaily.com, LA Times, Mercola.com

Kickstarter Success Story David Foster and His Apple Certified, Light Powered LilyPad

It's like a Swiss Army Knife for your iPad - Charging your mobile on the go lifestyle with indoor and outdoor light

If you haven't heard of David Foster and his Apple certified LilyPad yet, you are about to find out just how badly you want what he has.  David, a fellow Orlando area resident, designed what has become my newest-favorite-green-gadget in his LilyPad.  And although his invention was noteworthy, green and certainly needed by millions, like many entrepreneurs, David would find financing his vision would require creativity.

3 No Fuss Natural Ways to Fight Your Kid's Cold That Work...Oh and They Work for You Too!

Watching your little one suffer from a cold can be heartbreaking.  Here are 3 natural and easy ways to fight your child's cold that work.

There is nothing worse than watching your little one suffer from a nasty cold.  And I don't know about you but I really hate giving my kids medicine laced with artificial flavors and dyes that may or may not help. In fact, in 2006, the American College of Chest Physicians found that "literature regarding over-the-counter cough medications does not support the efficacy of such products in the pediatric age group."  But don't despair!  I have found 3 no fuss, natural ways to fight my little one's colds that really work.  Oh and by the way, I use these natural remedies on myself and my hubby and we get great results too.

The Latest Research on Bisphenol-A or BPA May Have You Ditching Soda and Soup

A recent study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) may have you ditching canned soda, soup and anything else that comes in a can.  The latest news from HSPH  is that consuming canned soup has been linked to greatly elevated levels of the harmful chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA). 

Remember, BPA is one of the most widely used chemicals of all time and a known hormone disruptor that has been linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. BPA is used in the lining of metal food and beverage cans and it is in all of us.  Nasty stuff and not what we need for sustainability yet there are ways to lower your levels. 

“Previous studies have linked elevated BPA levels with adverse health effects. The next step was to figure out how people are getting exposed to BPA. We’ve known for a while that drinking beverages that have been stored in certain hard plastics can increase the amount of BPA in your body. This study suggests that canned foods may be an even greater concern, especially given their wide use,” said Jenny Carwile, a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology at HSPH and lead author of the study.

The findings were published online November 22, 2011, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).  You can read more about the latest BPA Harvard School of Public Health  study on the HSPH site. 

Photo Credit: iStockphoto.com

Will Rush Limbaugh Save Solar?

Solar's Unlikely Hero: Rush Limbaugh
Guest Post by Dan Auld

Will Rush Limbaugh save the solar industry?

Looks that way for Toni Lynch in Allentown, Pennsylvania. And Spiro Basho in Hicksville, New York.

Like lots of other solar installers, the financial tsunami of 2008 wiped out a lot of customers of both Lynch and Basho. And like a lot of other electrical contractors, through no fault of their own, they not only lost business, they lost their credit.

“When you see people on TV talking about green jobs or any kind of jobs, here’s what they usually do not know: That small contractors need a bond,” said Lynch. “And a bond is really a line of credit. And a lot of contractors just don’t have the cash or the credit score to do that any more because of the crash of 2008.”

Experience The Magic of Macy's This Holiday and Win Over $100 Worth of Peace, Love and Eco-Friendly Gifts in the Environmental Booty Holiday Fan Giveaway!

This Giveaway is Now Over!  Please Hit Our Giveaway Tab Above to Enter our Current Giveaway

From the excitement of watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, to experiencing the joy of holiday giving, Macy's has been a part of creating magical holiday traditions for families for over 150 years.  This year you can experience the Magic of Macy's by entering to win over $100 worth of peace, love and eco-friendly gifts in the Environmental Booty Holiday Fan Giveaway!  You see Macy's is not just about creating amazing traditions and fabulous gifts, they are also about helping to create a sustainable future for all.

Through a "trade, not aid" partnership with Fair Winds Trading, Macy's offers the most amazing gifts and unique, hand crafted pieces of art for your home through their Heart of Haiti and Rwandan Path to Peace collections.  Fairwinds Trading, founded by lifelong artist and activist, Willa Shalit, guides artisans in need by helping with market-design, logistics and importing the products to the US. Macy's Departments stores helps out by marketing and selling the pieces at retail.  Artisans receive half of the wholesale price for each item sold helping to create a sustainable income and future.

In 1994, after the Rwandan genocide, the number of females in Rwanda was decimated to only 70%.  In 2002 Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) travelled to Rwanda determinded to help the women who had suffered terrible atrocities.  Willa Shalit responded to Noeleen’s wish and devoted herself to building a business that would bring economic security to these courageous women.  She spent three years developing the business that would help the women create handcrafted items to sell and in 2005 Willa teamed up with Ronnie Taffet of Macy’s, and Rwanda Path to Peace was born.  When the need came once more for rebuilding lives and creating a sustainable future, Macy's was there again to offer a little of their magic to help out.  

Although Haiti has always been full of colorful and beautiful art created by Her people, the 7.0 Magnitude, January 12th,  2010 Earthquake in Haiti killed 220,000 people and around 1.5 million to 1.8 million were left homeless. The government of Haiti also estimated that 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings collapsed or were severely damaged.  Can you imagine the struggles the Haitian people have had, and still face, as they work to rebuild not only their homes and lives but their economy too?  With the help of Fair Winds Trading and Macy's, more than 400 of the artisans that make handcrafted indigenous pieces that are perfect for gift giving or keeping to enjoy yourself, are employed full time, with income reaching over 4,000 Haitian citizens.  Since July of 2010, the Heart of Haiti project has been helping the Haitian citizens create a sustainable future.

Please join Environmental Booty in our Holiday Fan Giveaway to celebrate the Magic of Macy's through the Heart of Haiti and the Rwandan Path to Peace collections!  This holiday, enter to win a little Peace, Love and Eco from Macy's...

Win PEACE from Macy's
Peace Basket - From the Rwanda Path to Peace Collection comes this beautiful Ijoro basket.  Emanating peace and calm, the Ijoro basket is hand-dyed and woven in midnight blues and bright white to evoke quiet Rwandan nights, a time to put everything to rest. A meticulously crafted one-of-a-kind piece for use or simply show.

    * Naturally dyed sisal coil-sewn over bundled sweetgrass
    * Hand-woven in Rwanda
    * 12"
    * Because each bowl is a unique work of art, variations in size and color will occur
    * Includes a numbered Certificate of Authenticity
Retail Value - $46

 Win LOVE from Macy's!
Find the Magic of Macy's and Follow Your Heart with this Handcrafted Heart Necklace - Handcrafted in steel cut from recycled barrels, this special pendant embodies the unparalleled creativity of Haiti's master artisans. Cool textured detail creates a look of rustic beauty that's complemented by a faux suede cord. A great gift for yourself or a loved one.

    * Recycled steel with polyester/polyurethane cord
    * Handcrafted in Haiti
    * 1.5" pendant; 29" cord
    * Signed by the artisan
    * Because each item is a unique work of art, variations in size and color will occur
    * Includes a Certificate of Authenticity and "Follow Your Heart" decorated gift card
Retail Value - $10

Win Eco from Macy's!
With a minimalist shape to emphasize the luxe wood grain, this darkwood bowl lends crafted elegance to casual interiors. From artisans in Mozambique comes the Fair Winds Trading Bowl made from hand carved Laburnum darkwood harvested from an environmentally sound and managed forest.  A beautiful addition to any dining table or home decor.  A lovely reminder of sustainability -  a collaboration between eco-friendly living and making a living possible for the artisan who created it.Handmade in Mozambique, each one-of-a-kind design is a stylish vessel for fake fruit, potpourri and more.

    * Darkwood
    * Handcrafted in Mozambique
    * 8.7"
    * Not food safe
    * Because each item is a unique work of art, variations in size and color will occur
    * Includes a numbered Certificate of Authenticity
 Retail Value - $60