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Lead in Your Garden Hose

Of all the apparently benign things around your house, your garden hose has probably always seemed to be one of the simplest and safest. And when you're working in the yard on a hot day, the water coming out of it is mighty tempting. Who hasn't taken a long, cool drink out of the hose?

Well, if you were growing up in the forties or fifties, or even the early sixties, that wasn't such a bad thing to do. Most garden hoses were made of rubber. Vinyl hoses began to be pretty widely available in the later fifties and early sixties, but they didn't take over the market until the seventies.

What's the Problem?

Today's hoses are almost always made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plastic that is stabilized by--you guessed it--lead. And those shiny brass fittings? Lead is used to make the brass malleable. So the average green garden hose is chock full of stuff that you shouldn't be drinking and your kids REALLY shouldn't be drinking.

Here's the situation. According to Consumer Reports (July, 2003):

We tested 16 new hoses, brands sold at national chains and on the Internet. Four were labeled safe for drinking; six had warning labels. The remaining six weren't labeled either way.

The four hoses labeled safe for drinking typically contained less lead in their construction than the others. In our tests, those hoses leached minuscule amounts of lead into water that had been standing in the hose for 20 hours or more. We measured concentrations well below 15 parts per billion, the level in drinking water at which the Environmental Protection Agency requires remedial action. In fact, tap water contained as much lead as some samples. (The time the water stands in the hose, water temperature and acidity all affect the amount of lead leaching.) Hoses containing the highest amounts of lead, only two of which carried a "do not drink" label, leached 10 to 100 times allowable lead levels in the first draw of standing water.

We probably don't need to tell you about the dangers of lead, especially for small children. "Lead is a potent neurotoxin. There is no amount of lead that's safe for a child," said Charlie Pizarro, associate director at the Center for Environmental Health. "They create a public health risk to children. They put children at risk for brain damage, developmental disabilities and a host of other very serious problems." 

In 2004, the CEH sued three of the country's leading hose makers for having high levels of lead in their products and won. So, no drinking out of a PVC garden hose, especially when it's first turned on. And no running in the sprinkler when it's attached to a PVC hose, at least not for children.

No Drinking, Just Watering?

What about just using a PVC hose in your garden? That's a judgment call. When you water, you will be adding small amounts of lead to your soil. Lead is notorious for hanging around in soil for decades or more.  It will build up. Since your soil has already absorbed and will continue to absorb lead from other environmental pollutants, there is the possibility that you will not be able to grow root and leaf vegetables directly in the ground or even that it might eventually become unsafe for children to play in. As we say, it's a judgment call.

Where Can You Get a Safe Hose?

If you do decide to buy a non-PVC garden hose, you may not be able to pick one up at your local hardware store, but you you shouldn't have any problem finding one at a garden center or a box store. They're also available at stores where RV and camping equipment are sold. They may be white with a blue stripe or a lighter green than a regular hose. They will be marked as safe for drinking water.

How Do You Recycle the Old Hose?

At the moment, there aren't a lot of recycling options. You can donate it to somebody who doesn't have children or other issues with lead. Or you can wait awhile. PVC hoses are being recycled on a large, industrial scale. That's likely to filter down to consumers in the not too distant future.

 

The Notorious Water Bottle

How bad is it, and how can you replace it?

For awhile there, we all thought bottled water was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Americans were hydrating! What could be wrong with that? And then the questions started to fly through the air and the airwaves. Well, here's the nitty gritty on the bottle, the water, and the replacement options.

• Plastic water bottles are undeniably bad for the earth. As recently as 2006, people in the U. S. were using 70 million bottles a day to carry their water. To make those bottles for one year took 1.5 million barrels of oil. And most of the bottles ended up in landfills. (Yeah, we know you recycle. But when you're out walking, get thirsty, buy a bottle and don't have any place to put it, that trash can looks mighty tempting, doesn't it? Just sayin'.) And most places want you to take off the caps first. Also, there's a limit to the number of times plastic can be recycled before it becomes unusable. The limit is right around 3.
• BOTTLE CAP NOTE: AVEDA stores accept rigid plastic bottle caps and helps schools organize campaigns to collect the caps. They are working with their suppliers to recycle the caps as new caps for their products.
  
• The water is no better. It may be worse. "As much as 40 percent of bottled water started out as the same tap water that we get at home," says Victoria Kaplan, senior organizer with Food and Water Watch. A 1999 Natural Resources Defense Council study found that, with required quarterly testing, tap water may even be of a higher quality than bottled, which is only tested annually. So you're paying about a thousand times more money and not getting anything for it. Not a good economy in which to be doing that. And shipping water from France and Fiji is just nuts!

So, what are your options?

• Refill the bottles? This is all right, if the number inside the little recycling symbol is 2, 4, or 5, according to the Yale Sustainability blog. These plastics are not known to leach any hormone-disrupting or carcinogenic substances. However, stay away from 1 and 7. Some 7's are okay and some aren't. (You won't find any 6's.) And you will need to wash your bottles, not just rinse them. It's recommended to let them dry completely before you refill them to avoid bacteria buildup.
  
• Get a colorful hard plastic bottle? Oops. Those great hard plastic lexan bottles made with polycarbonate plastics and identified by the #7 recycling symbol, may leach BPA. In case you don't know about BPA yet, it's really not good for you. It's a xenoestrogen, which disrupts hormonal messaging in the body. It's been linked to breast cancer and uterine cancer in women, decreased testosterone levels in men, and is very, very, very bad for developing bodies. You know. Kids.
  
• Refill glass juice bottles? Now we're talking. Again, you have to wash them and let them dry before you refill them, but that's what you do with other things you drink out of, right? Like cups and glasses?
  
• Carry a canteen? Looks like cowboys and gold miners had the right idea. Stainless steel is great. Just make sure it's not lined with epoxy.

NOTE: If you live in an area where the water doesn't taste good, filter it with one of those water filter things you can keep in your refrigerator.

 

The most successful recycling program in the world

It's called the thrift shop. Really. Just think about it.

1. It's easy to donate. You get a tax deduction for your donation and, if you have furniture, the shop will probably come pick it up.
2. It's fun to shop. You can buy all kinds of things you couldn't afford new. Like an Oscar de la Renta evening gown, for example. Or a Tom Wolfe first edition.
3. For people who have even less money than you do, it can be a lifesaver. The kids get to go to school in nice clothes.
4. Nobody has to subsidize it. It not only pays its own way, it makes money, often for charity.
5. It provides employment.
6. And think of all that stuff that doesn't end up in a landfill.

Pretty amazing, don't you think? If you want to know about thrift shops near you, you can go to thethriftshopper.com and enter your zip code. You'll get a list of "charity-driven" thrift stores near you.

And, of course, there are now online thrift shops. The big cahuna is eBay, which has gone way beyond its orgins. And then there's Craigslist, a kind of thrift shop often utilized by people who would not darken the door of a Salvation Army. Everybody knows about these guys. But did you know about these?

shopgoodwill.com is the first Internet auction site created and operated by a nonprofit organization. Goodwills around the country sell a variety of collectibles, art, antiques and odds and ends on the site. Registration is free and shopping is open to the public. The site operates continuously and gets more than 500,000 hits a day from all corners of the globe. By the way, Goodwill recycles. If they get stuff they can't sell, they deal with it responsibly.

handmedowns.com is all kids stuff, and their site is so pink it makes your teeth ache. If you can get beyond that, however, it's perfect for parents. It even has classifications for eco-friendly stuff, if handed down is not enough for you.

 

The best part of waking up is organic, fair trade, bird-friendly coffee in your cup.

Americans love their coffee. And the world loves to sell it to us. But that morning brew can cause a lot of problems for the earth and the people who live on it. So, here's how to tell whether the coffee you're buying is worth the buzz. Look at the pretty pictures.

	Transfair USA certifies coffee as fair trade. According to that organization: "Today's historic lows in world coffee prices have created a crisis for millions of farmers around the world. Most small-scale family farmers live in remote locations, and are dependent on local middlemen (known as "coyotes" in Latin America) to purchase their coffee, often at a fraction of its worth. Fair Trade guarantees farmers a set minimum price for their coffee and links farmer-run cooperatives directly with US importers, cutting out middlemen and creating the conditions for long-term sustainability."
	Rainforest Alliance certifies coffee that is grown in sustainable conditions. According to that organization: "Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee is grown on farms where forests are protected, rivers, soils and wildlife conserved; workers are treated with respect, paid decent wages, properly equipped and given access to education and medical care. The Rainforest Alliance seal ensures that experienced inspectors have verified that the farms meet demanding social and environmental standards, and are on a path toward true sustainability."
	The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center certifies coffee shade-grown coffee that is friendly to birds. According to that organization: "Over the past 30 years, more than half of the traditional shade-grown coffee farms in Latin America have been converted to "sun-coffee" farms to increase production. This newer method entails clearing or thinning the shade trees and growing coffee plants under full or nearly full sun conditions. These changes also demand the use of agrochemicals like synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides to counter the effects of eliminating the shaded agroforestry system."
	The U. S. Department of Agriculture certifies coffee that is organically grown. U.S. requirements for organic coffee production include farming without synthetic pesticides or other prohibited substances for three years and a sustainable crop rotation plan to prevent erosion, the depletion of soil nutrients, and control for pests.

 

 

Are you itching to recycle that pizza box?
Step away from the bin !

It just looks like it should be recyclable, doesn't it? Innocent corrugated carboard--perfect for the old recycling bin. Well, your instincts are right. The carboard is innocent. It's the grease and cheese that cause the problems.

First, any food--even a little bit of it--can make a recycling station stinky and more appealing to critters than to the people who work there.

Second, paper and carboard are recycled by making a water-based slurry, and you know how grease and water get along. They don't. So the grease from your pizza box can coat the machinery, and an entire batch of recyclable paper will be lost while the machinery is cleaned.

So, if the lid of your pizza box is clean, go ahead and put it in the bin. And if you want to very thoroughly cut out all the grease spots and recycle the rest, well, that's your call. Otherwise, just throw the pizza box in the garbage, where it will do less harm.

 

Use Your Microwave

The kind of stove you use just doesn't make much difference over the long haul. It certainly does not make enough difference to offset the energy cost of replacing a stove. On the other hand, using a crockpot or your microwave can be significant. This chart compares the cost of cooking a dish inside your oven or in one of the less traditional ways.

	Temperature (degrees F)	Time	Energy Used	Cost
Electric oven	350	1 hr.	2.0 kWh	$0.20
Gas oven, electric ignition	350	1 hr.	0.112 therm +0.35 kWh	$0.18
Gas oven, pilot	350	1 hr.	0.112 therm	$0.15
Electric oven, convection	325	45 min.	1.39 kWh	$0.14
Toaster oven	425	50 min.	0.95 kWh	$0.10
Crockpot	200	7 hours	0.70 kWh	$0.07
Microwave oven	High	15 minutes	0.36 kWh	$0.04

From Citizens Campaign for the Environment
Assumes $0.10/kWh for electricity and $1.30/therm for gas

 

Insulate Your Water Heater

It would be great if we could all afford tankless water heaters that heat our water on demand, but that's a bit of an investment. In the meantime, you can insulate the water heater you have. It has to keep the water hot, whether it's being used or not. Help it out by buyiing a water heater insulation kit at your hardware store for about $20. If you insulate the heater and any accessible hot water pipes, you can reduce standby heat losses by 25-45 %. And that, according to the U. S. Department of Energy, could save up to 9 % in water heating costs.

Some newer water heaters are already insulated sufficiently. To find out whether yours is, touch it. If it's hot, it needs insulation.

For more information, see the U.S. Department of Energy's Consumer Guide to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy .

 

 

Five Ways to Cut Down on Dangerous BPA Exposure

1. Buy tomato sauce in glass jars, not in cans. The high acidity of tomatoes causes Bisphenol A to leach from the can lining. This goes for anything that's swimming in tomato sauce, too, like Spaghetti-Os.

2. Eat frozen or fresh fruits and vegetables instead of canned. No BPAs is just one more reason to eat foods with actual nutrients instead of salt-soaked grey peas. At least one organic food company, Eden Foods, does puts beans in BPA-free cans.

3. Buy your pop in bottles instead of cans if you drink a lot of the stuff. Otherwise, you're probably just fine with cans, and they're much more recyclable than plastic bottles.

4. Use powdered formula for your baby instead of liquid.

5. Look for the seven. Plastic bottles that contain BPAs have a number 7 in the recycling triangle.

 

Eight cleaners that won't make you (or the planet) sick

Hydrogen Peroxide. Put the 3% solution you get at the drugstore into a spray bottle and use it instead of your usual kitchen and bath cleaner. It cleans, disinfects, and bleaches.

Baking soda. It's the grit. When you're scrubbing, you sometimes need to be like Mike--mildly abrasive, but in a good way. Baking soda also fizzes when you mix it with water, vinegar or lemon, and that can speed up cleaning.

Borax. Even without the twenty mules, this helpful cleaner disinfects, bleaches and deodorizes.

Lemons Lemon juice is a good grease cutter. Bottled works almost as well as fresh squeezed.

Olive oil It's a furniture polish. No need to use extra virgin.

Distilled white vinegar. This natural disinfectant also breaks up dirt. Apple cider and red vinegars work, too, but they can stain. All three do windows.

Vegetable based (liquid castile) soap This is a non-petroleum cleaner you can use for all kinds of jobs.

Washing soda It removes stains and helps unblock pipes, but it is caustic. You need to use care and gloves.

Eat by the season

Raspberries in December may be heavenly, but they cost the earth . . . in more ways than one. Fruits and vegetables that are out of season in your area have to be shipped over long distances. That means a lot of the planet's resources are being used to bring you your little treat. Try to think of produce the way your grandmother did. Apples and squash were fall foods. You enjoyed melons in the summer. And tomatoes in the winter were canned or dried. Just like snow and daffodils, this approach will bring you back in touch with the earth and its changes.

Hot water coming r-r-i-i-i-g-g-h-h-t-t-t  u-u-p-p-p . . .

How much water comes out of your faucet in the morning before it gets hot? Enough to water your schefflera? Maybe your peace lily, too? Keep a few plastic milk jugs near the sinks and tubs in your house and put them under the faucet when you first turn it on. When the water gets hot, put the jug in a corner somewhere and let the chlorine evaporate. You'll have good water for your plants and you will have done the earth a favor.

Five bathroom water savers . . . absolutely free.

1. Turn off the water while you're brushing your teeth.

2. Use an egg timer to let you know how long you've been in that mesmerizing shower.

3. Turn off the water while you're shaving.

4. If your toilet and/or faucet starts to leak, fix it now, not next Memorial Day.

5. Don't put trash in your toilet and flush it away.

 

Use the Earth911 Recycling Search

If you're not sure where to take your recycling or you have something that your municipal recycling won't accept, you can go to http://earth911.org/. In their search engine, enter wha tyou want to recycle and your zip code and you'll get a location. For example, I entered Styrofoam and my zipcode and found that lots of suburbs accept styrofoam in their curbside recycling, but only for their residents, of course. However, there's a 24-hour drop-off site at FP International in Thornton, Illinois.