The RAnts of RA

As the popularity of green product claims continues to spread, it’s important to understand the claims you can trust and the ones that are fooling you. Since the kitchen is the hub of the household and is said to harbor more bacteria than even the bathroom, it’s seems to be the most obvious place to start to be more conscious about cleanliness and the environment.

There are conscious choices and products you can easily incorporate into your kitchen to make it a healthier, more eco-friendly environment for everyone. Below are some tips and trusted kitchen products for a greener kitchen.

Use cleaning products and dish detergents that are 100% free of chemicals to wash your dishes, countertops and all surfaces exposed to food

Earth Friendly Products

Earth Friendly Products is the leader in the development and production of environmentally friendly cleaning supplies for household use with over 150 products manufactured with only sustainable plant-based ingredients that are safe for people, pets, and the planet.

The company proudly adheres to its strict “Freedom Code”, a list of harmful and toxic ingredients that are not found in any its products.

Think Twice Before Using Traditional Non-Stick Pans

GreenPan

GreenPan’s Thermolon, natural surface does not have the same harmful effects as traditional non-stick pans that are created with PTFE (PolyTetraFluoroEthylene) so no PFOA (PerFluoro0ctanoic Acid) can be released into the environment. PFOA is classified as a “likely human carcinogen.”

GreenPan is trying to educate Americans about the harmful effects of traditional non-stick cookware. Less energy is used in the application of Thermolon coatings onto the GreenPan product itself. This results in a 60% reduction in CO2 emissions during the manufacturing process compared to the application of a normal PTFE based coating.

Eliminate Aluminum, Go for Recycled Parchment and Cook In a Bag

PaperChef

PaperChef, a Toronto-based company founded in 2010, developed a line of products that includes parchment rolls, parchment cooking bags and parchment baking cups.

Sustainability and cleanliness were highly important, resulting in packaging made of 100% biodegradable FSC recycled paper printed with vegetable based inks. Storing and cooking with paper-over foil and plastic-is more natural and better for both humans and the environment.

The French method of cooking “en papillote”-a parchment-style method steams food to perfection and enhances natural flavors, without synthetic sprays and high-fat oils for simple, healthy meals. Entire meals can be cooked in a bag, which can then be re-recycled or composted.

Have Beverages On Hand That Are Produced Without Pesticides

Teatulia

Harvested using natural farming practices, all of Teatulia teas are cultivated without the use of pesticides, machinery and unnatural irrigation. The Teatulia garden was started in 2000 in order to give back to the community in a meaningful way. With 50% of the population below the U.S.poverty line the company sought to establish a business that would both protect our environment and provide a means to a living wage for the surrounding community therefore establishing the garden as a cooperative open to the workers and neighbors in surrounding villages. Each tea has its own unique, health benefit.

Related articles

• Earth Friendly Products Eliminates Over 600,000 Tons of Carbon Dioxide Pollution (greenreview.blogspot.de)
• 10 Fab Eco-Friendly Earth Day Finds (fabsugar.com)
• Celebrate Earth Day – April 22, 2012 (localhs.com)

I am thoroughly convinced that the State of California is trying to kill me.

Since the California Legislature has been unsuccessful in taxing smokers out of existence, they are now trying to kill us off.

As a long time smoker, who takes her health very seriously – don’t laugh, I really do. I’ve tried the whole quitting routine (five years), only to find that my health problems had multiplied and I was far worse off without my trusty pack of smokes than I was with them. I won’t bore you with the details – you’ll just have to trust me on this one.

After a recent purchase of my regular brand, Marlboro menthol cigarettes, which are made by none-other-than the infamous Phillip Morris, I began to notice something was terribly wrong with my cigarettes. They kept going out, if I wasn’t continuously dragging on the filter. Three times I actually thought I had lost the cherry off the end and began a frantic search for it, not wanting to burn a hole in my new pajamas.

“It is important to note that these cigarettes are not “fire-safe.” Anything that burns, if handled carelessly, can cause a fire. RCIP cigarettes should be handled and disposed of properly, just like regular cigarettes.” (Phillip Morris’s website)

Well, I have to tell you, even though Phillip Morris claims they are not fire-safe, I can assure you that starting a fire with these would be very difficult.

I realized about halfway through the pack that something was different about this pack. So, I went in search of an answer. It didn’t take me long to find it:

Phillip Morris posted the following on their website:

Reduced Cigarette Ignition Propensity (RCIP) describes cigarettes that demonstrate a reduced ignition propensity in certain laboratory tests. New York (effective June 28, 2004), Vermont (effective May 1, 2006) and California (effective January 1, 2007) have enacted laws adopting a statewide performance standard for RCIP.

Today, many manufacturers including Philip Morris USA (PM USA) use banded cigarette paper to achieve compliance with mandatory standards and improved test results. The developers of the test method, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), have stated that cigarettes with improved test performance are less likely to ignite bedding and upholstered furniture, such as mattresses and sofas. Banded paper cigarettes have been in the marketplace for a short time however, and therefore there is a limited amount of data regarding their actual real-world impact.

I have to tell you that if a smoker smokes these cigarettes for any length of time, it will certainly kill them. I’ve never had to inhale so deeply, to keep a cigarette from going out. I can only surmise that in their zeal to “protect” “innocent” citizens from the hazard presented by those nasty smokers, the legislators in Vermont, New York and California have colluded with tobacco manufacturers, to sacrifice smokers.

I’ve smoked about 15 cigarettes made with the new, banded paper and already my throat hurts, my lungs feel heavy and I’m having trouble breathing. Symptoms I don’t normally develop unless I have a cold or respiratory illness.

Phillip Morris admits the new paper has only been used for a short time and that they have no idea what the health impact will be on the smokers who are forced into this experiment against their will or the impact they will have on our environment.

Call me crazy but I say this is a lawsuit just waiting to happen.

Related Links

• States push fire-safe cigarettes
• Repeal Fire Safe Cigarette Laws
• Suit Alleges Philip Morris Hid Cigarette-Fire Risk
• Smoking is Legal
• Links for Smokers
• Smokers’ reactions to reduced ignition propensity cigarettes.
• Self-Extinguishing Cigarettes Designed by Manufacturers Sold in NY
• Tobacco Timeline: The Twentieth Century 1900-1949–The Rise of the Cigarette