EcoPlum Green Living Blog
Zika’s Here. Now What?
by Kirby Wetzel, August 18 2016, 0 Comments
There’s no doubt about it: Zika is here and it is really scary. Zika has been in the news for months now. In fact, there was a call to postpone or move the Olympics in Brazil, the country that’s been...
Ecological Crisis in Brazil is No Match for Competing Countries
by Ciarra Wentzel, August 18 2016, 0 Comments
Photo courtesy of CBC News (Canada) The 2016 games are on! On August 5th, Rio welcomed the Olympic games in Brazil during the opening ceremony. As impressive as the ceremony might have been, there has been some obvious controversy regarding...
Campbell’s Responds to Pressure to Remove BPA From Its Canned Products
by Silvia Milanova, April 06 2016, 0 Comments
Campbell Soup Company, a leader in the canned food industry with over $2.4 billion in annual sales, revealed last week that it promises to phase out BPA-based epoxy across its entire North American portfolio by mid-2017. This comes in response...
Popular Anti-Aging Products Linked to Breast Cancer
by Gia Machlin, October 14 2015, 3 Comments
A new report from the Breast Cancer Fund’s Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reveals toxic contaminants in L’Oreal’s Garnier and Proctor & Gamble’s CoverGirl brand products. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics sent products created by top multinational cosmetic companies to an...
Designing Green with Robin Baron: Revamping Your Kitchen
by Guest Blogger, November 30 2011, 0 Comments
Photo courtesy of Solares Architecture via Flickr. Full kitchen renovations are glorious, but laborious, processes. Before taking the first steps to clean out the existing space, many things must be considered. Do you hire a company to rip out the...
Environmental Impact of Forest Fires
by Silvia Milanova, June 10 2011, 193 Comments
The flames that have recently engulfed a large portion of the forests in the West and Southwest may seem 'harmless' to those living far away, but such persistent wildfires can have a devastating impact on our environment and economy. Wildfires,...
Greening Our Schools: Indoor Air Quality - Part 2
by Guest Blogger, May 19 2011, 0 Comments
Photo courtesy of bss1jlm via Flickr. It’s Springtime and pollen season is raging. According to scientific studies, global warming has caused pollen rates to soar this year. If you have kids with allergies and asthma, as I do, you know...
Green Dishwashing
by Guest Blogger, October 29 2009, 0 Comments
Photo courtesy of Estefanía Rodríguez Mancilla via Flickr. It's easy to assume that washing dishes in the sink is more energy-efficient than installing a big, energy-guzzling machine to do the work for you. But dishwashers, if used properly, can be...
The Environmentally Responsible Way to Dispose of Empty Perfume Bottles
by Brianna Marquart, July 08 2009, 23 Comments
I used to think that buying a new scent involved going to a department store in the mall and scouting out the most elaborate bottle. I would wander by all of the glass counters staffed with overdone women waving little...
Alternatives to Synthetic, Toxic Bug Repellent
by Guest Blogger, June 30 2009, 0 Comments
Photo courtesy of J.o. Comia via Flickr. Insects share the biosphere with us; but, like many a close neighbor, they can be pests. The use of synthetic chemicals are bad for everything in the biosphere, including us. But is there...
Counting Sheep? Seek Organic Sleep
by Guest Blogger, February 02 2009, 1 Comment
Photo courtesy of Mazzali via Flickr. When we lay to rest at night, the last thing we want is to be immersed in toxins, volatile organic compounds and off-gassing chemicals. Conventional mattresses often use petroleum-based polyester and polyurethane foam, which...
LEED Certification
by Guest Blogger, January 20 2009, 0 Comments
Copyright: ponsulak / 123RF Stock Photo Industrial facilities contribute more environmental pollution and harm than any other type of building structure. Pollution is also generated from our home and offices—whether we live in apartments or houses or whether we work...
Dry Cleaning: Eco Options
by Guest Blogger, December 30 2008, 0 Comments
Copyright: andreypopov / 123RF Stock Photo Regardless of the name, dry cleaning is not a dry process. In traditional methods, potent chemical solvents are used to remove stains from delicate fabrics, and these solvents can be toxic to your health...
Organic Cotton
by Guest Blogger, December 02 2008, 0 Comments
Conventional cotton crops require the application of more synthetic pesticides than any other crop: approximately 25% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of all pesticides are used on cotton. Most cotton grown outside the US is covered in dangerous pesticides...
Indoor Air Pollution and Plants
by Guest Blogger, October 31 2008, 0 Comments
Photo courtesy of AnnieAnniePancake via Flickr. Adding up the hours we spend at work, at home and at the places in between, it appears that most Americans are indoors for roughly 90 percent of their time. While that statistic might...
Have a Seat, Stay a While: No Good to Good Wood
by Guest Blogger, August 24 2008, 0 Comments
Copyright: project1photography / 123RF Stock Photo One of the best things in the world is coming home from a long hard day, curling up on the sofa, putting your feet up on the good ole reliable coffee table and having...
The Dirt on Cleaning Products
by Guest Blogger, August 20 2008, 0 Comments
Copyright: frannyanne / 123RF Stock Photo Even with all the warning labels and pictures of skulls with crossbones, who knew that what we believed was safeguarding our children and pets from goopy disease and bacteria was perhaps one of their...