The Shocking Truth About Pepsi Co’s Flame Retardant Drinks
Do you drink flame retardant chemicals? You may unknowingly down the toxic chemical if you choose certain sports drink flavors or popular sodas. Used for purely cosmetic reasons—to keep artificial ingredients well mixed in the liquid—brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, is a dirty food industry secret gaining national attention. Now, PepsiCo, the corporation that manufactures Gatorade, says it will be removing BVO from Gatorade products.
SAQ – Are Things Like Mr Clean Magic Erasers Safe?
It's our countdown to Earth Day 2013! One question I wish I’d known the answer to a long time ago is: Are things like Mr Clean magic erasers safe?
5 Healthy Ways To Speed Up Your Metabolism
Most dieters are aware of metabolism and it's effects on an individual's weight. Metabolism is a process that serves many important functions, including converting food and drinks into energy and using energy to construct certain components of cells. For the typical dieter, metabolism can be a natural-born enemy, a process that simply isn't fast enough for dieters to lose weight. Even more frustrating, a person's metabolism can hinge on genetics and gender. People may inherit a speedy or slow metabolism. Gender also plays a role as men have a tendency to burn more calories than women, even while resting. Those who inherited a speedy metabolism are often the people who can seemingly eat whatever they want without gaining a pound.
Small Step Brain Training Secrets For Your New Years Resolutions
For the last few weeks or even months, many of us have started to contemplate what things we want to change and improve on for the new year. It can be a time of dread or excitement or both. Many times when taking new strides or attempting big changes, it is easier to accomplish your goal by starting with a small step and easing your way into it. The purpose of this article is to get you into the mindset of being open to new ideas & small step brain training.
3 Killer Resources For Building A “Killer” Immune System
Over the last few weeks we've given a lot of attention to the changing of the seasons and how this affects our immune system and our overall health. We've talked about how the immune system and allergies are connected and how we can get our system to work correctly and identify true threats. We've also seen that a very well respected 3rd party research analysis team has published a new report that looked at all the studies done on the flu vaccine and found that the flu shot is consider worthless and has no effect on protection or transmission of the virus.
Earth Day Tip #4 – Bring Some Green Inside
We like the majority of our Earth Day Tips to be low cost or no cost, but still have a big impact. Earth Day Tip #4 is no exception and can actually make a bigger impact on you and the planet than you may think. Tip 4 is Bring Some Green Inside. We mean this in the form of growing a small plant or plants in you house. This tip focuses on your "mini environment" as we tend to spend much more time indoors than out these days. Many studies have shown that the air in our homes is 2-5 times more polluted than outdoors and many times even more.
Earth Day Tip #2 – Try Some Fun & Earth Day Friendly Activities For Kids
Today's Earth Day Tip is all about getting kids involved. Here are some fun ideas to inspire and encourage the young people in our lives to value and protect the earth and all its living creatures.
11 Ways To Make Thanksgiving Easy, Fun & Creative
While thinking of topics for this article, we wanted to stay away from the predictable topics like "Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain" that people might expect to see from a business that promotes a proactive and healthy lifestyle. We believe in doing enough health related things right, so that you don't have to attach non celebratory things like "sacrifice", "give up" "stay away from" to your Holidays, but can still stay healthy.
Antibiotics Trigger Weight Gain: Reason #2 To Build Your Immune System
How about another reason to build your immune system and prevent disease from grabbing you? Antibiotics trigger weight gain. This overlooked factor in gaining weight or not being able to lose weight has been identified by researchers. The human digestive tract is a lush ecosystem containing microorganisms that play a crucial role in digestion. But research shows that changing the delicate mix of bacteria may lead to weight gain.
Minnesota Environment Gets Big Lottery Win!
Last night as many of you know, they drew the numbers for the record-breaking $587.5 million Powerball Lottery. Here in Minnesota the state generated more than $10 million in sales, which was also a record. While on the surface these numbers really didn't mean much to me as I didn't win, it did lead me to find a silver lining in the process. After checking my numbers and finding out I wouldn't be receiving more than $4 for my numbers, I wanted to see who won. In the process I came across the "Where The Money Goes" page and was immediately much less disappointed in my lottery outcome. Here's what I found out.....
Milan Italy’s “Vertical Forest” Is More Than Just Sustainable Green Building
I came across this project a while back, and as someone who takes an interest in the evolving world or green architecture & buildings I wanted to share it with our audience as part of a new spotlight for people who are doing really cool, green & forward thinking projects around the world.
Earth Day Tip #1 – Turn Concern Into Action
Happy Earth Day! To complete our Earth Day Tips countdown we've listed the top environmental concerns people have and the categories you can take action and support.
Earth Day Tip #3 – Have Fun & Get Creative With Upcycling!
For our 3rd Earth Day Tip, we wanted to play to you creators! Someone who likes to take something old or used and make not only something creative, but really cool & different. We're also going off an idea that is not necessarily new, but has picked up a newer alias called "Upcycling". There are a ton of materials that can be upcycled as well as different levels of difficulty to pulling them off, so we chose 6 ideas we though landed somewhere in the middle. So lets get into it -
It’s Here & You’re Invited To Do A Shaklee180 With Us!
It's here and everything's live! Find out why so many people are excited for this totally unique & credible program. Because we are the #1 Natural Nutrition in the Nation, we can bring that knowledge & success to help people get lean & healthy at the same time! Go from "Before" to "After" to "After-After"
The Top 4 Reasons Most People Fail In Their Weight Loss Attempts
With 1/3 of December now gone, D-day for New Years Resolutions is almost here. For millions of Men and Women, that resolution will be to lose weight and keep it off! And many of those people it will not be on their 1st attempt at that goal. So with more and more people making this a goal and fewer and fewer of them being successful, we wanted to look at the top {blank} reasons most people fail in their weight loss attempts.
Shaklee 180 App Provides Amazing Weight Loss Help
So yesterday I downloaded the new Shaklee 180 App for my Ipad (also available for the Iphone & Androids) and I haven't been able to put it down since! I am on the 2nd half of the program which is called "Lean & Healthy" which teaches you how to keep the weight off long term or for people who are looking to tone up and not necessarily lose weight... like me. If you are looking for weight loss help or just looking to lean / tone up than lets look at some pictures from this very cool app.
Can We Really Trust Antimicrobial Soaps?
Do Antimicrobial soaps and sanitizers do More Harm than Good? Does it seem that this time of year (and increasingly all year long) more and more people are reaching for hand sanitizer? The importance of properly washing your hands is undisputed, but what are you washing them with?
Earth Day Tip #5 – Dispose Of Batteries Properly
Its April again and with this great month comes Earth Month, Week & Earth Day. Our founders birthday is also Earth Day so we always enjoy a fun Earth Day Birthday! Last year we did a countdown to Earth Day with 7 Tips leading up to the 22nd, and this year we will again do a countdown. The 5 day countdown this year will go Today - Friday and end on the Monday of Earth Day.
What To Do With Those Political Yard Signs?
The Election is over and whether or not your favorites won, there's an easy way to guarantee a win for the planet! After months of being sent flyers, brochures, direct mail & other election material, it's time to put them where they belong......In the Trash RECYCLING!
A Sneak Peak At 3 Cool Tools In Our New Healthy Weight System
Over the next two weeks we'll be celebrating the holidays and that means we're getting closer to our Healthy Weight 180 launch! So we wanted to share a couple pictures of 1 part of the system, the cool, fun & different technology we'll all have access to in our healthy weight goals! One of the coolest things about this is that every time you use one of these tools you'll earn points towards weekly, monthly (every 90 days) & grand prize(s) (every 180 days). There are some really huge and exciting prizes, we'll be releasing those details in next weeks post.
Happy Earth Day! To complete our Earth Day Tips countdown we’ve listed the top environmental concerns people have and the categories you can take action and support. From water pollution to global warming, environmental issues affect every person, animal, community, and nation on the planet. As increasing evidence supports the devastating effect humans have on the environment, more people are taking steps to protect the environment and educate others about environmental problems. There are so many different areas you can choose to help, everyone is sure to find a cause to get behind.
Top 5 Public Environmental Concerns
1. Contamination of Drinking Water:
Contamination of fresh water used for household needs, including pollution of oceans, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, ranks top on the list of environmental concerns for many Americans. More than half of respondents stated they worry about the safety of their drinking water a great deal.
2. Water Pollution:
General worry over water pollution and associated environmental issues greatly concerns half of all Americans who participated in the poll. Related issues include acid rain, ocean dumping, urban runoff, oil spills, ocean acidification, and wastewater.
3. Soil Contamination:
Soil erosion, soil conservation, soil salination, and soil contamination by waste, pesticides, and lead worries 50 percent of Americans.
4. Wildlife Conservation:
More than 40 percent of Americans expressed concern about wildlife conservation and associated environmental issues, such as endangered species, animal and plant extinction, coral bleaching, introduction of invasive species, poaching, and loss of natural animal habitats resulting in relocation and a break in the food chain.
5. Air pollution:
Concerns over air pollution have remained steady over the last decade, with more than 40 percent of Americans worried about indoor and outdoor air quality, carbon emissions, tropospheric ozone, particulate matter, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds, radon, refrigerants, and methane emissions.
Other Top Concern Areas & Ideas Of Where To Help
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Biological pollutants
including bacteria, viruses, molds, mildew, dander, dust, mites, pollen, ventilation and infection.
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Carbon footprint
and the responsibility of individuals to reduce their effect on the environment, including the use of renewable energy sources (solar power, geothermal heat pumps), recycling, and sustainable living.
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Climate change
and issues related to global warming, such as the greenhouse effect, global dimming, and the gradual rise in sea level.
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Consumerism
and over-consumption and their effect on the planet.
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Dams
and the impact of dams on the environment.
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Ecosystem
destruction and associated environmental concerns, such as aquaculture, estuaries, shellfish protection, landscaping, wetlands, and ecological restoration.
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Energy conservation
issues, including renewable energy for home and business, energy efficiency, and fossil fuel depletion.
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Fishing
and its effect on marine ecosystems, blast fishing, cyanide fishing, bottom trawling, whaling, and over-fishing.
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Food safety
concerns and the effects of hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, toxic contamination, and lack of quality control on health.
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Genetic engineering
including concerns about genetically modified foods and genetic pollution.
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Intensive farming
irrigation, overgrazing, monoculture, methane emissions, and the damaging environmental effects of deforestation for farming and cattle.
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Land degradation
and related problems, such as desertification and soil and land pollution.
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Land use
urban sprawl, lack of free space, and habitat destruction and fragmentation.
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Logging
deforestation, clear-cutting, destruction of wildlife habitats, and greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
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Mining
and its role in global warming, acid mine drainage, and soil and air pollution resulting from toxic emissions and heavy metals.
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Nanotechnology
and the future effects of nanopollution and nanotoxicology.
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Natural disasters
and their impact on all aspects of the environment.
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Nuclear issues
including the effects of nuclear fallout, nuclear meltdown, radioactive waste, and the population’s reliance on nuclear power.
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Other pollution
issues, such as light pollution and noise pollution, and their effects on human health and behavior.
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Overpopulation
concerns, such as continued building and burial.
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Ozone depletion
and damage to the Earth’s ozone layer caused by CFC.
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Resource depletion
the need for newer, cleaner energy sources, and exploitation of natural resources.
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Sustainable communities
and issues such as reducing reliance on fossil fuels, supporting local farmers and merchants, encouraging green practices and building, consideration of native wildlife, and adoption of mass transportation and cleaner methods of commuting.
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Toxins
including chlorofluorocarbons, heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, toxic waste, PCB, DDT, bioaccumulation, endocrine disruptors, asbestos, and poorly implemented hazardous waste management.
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Waste
and associated environmental issues, such as litter, landfills, recycling, incineration, marine debris, E-waste, and contamination of water and soil caused by improper disposal and leaching toxins.
So pick a topic and turn that concern into action this year & do your part to impact this world we all share. Happy Earth Day!
Brian is the co-founder of The Universal Key & an Entrepreneur who has been involved in 7 different start ups. His focuses are on Social, Lifestyle & Sustainable Business’s.
Posted in Climate Change Conservation Earth Day Energy Environmental Green Recycling by .
Today’s Earth Day Tip is all about getting kids involved. Here are some fun ideas to inspire and encourage the young people in our lives to value and protect the earth and all its living creatures.
Take A Garbage Walk
Let The Kids Give A Test
Gardening For A Child’s Health
This Earth Day, let the kids lead and you’re sure to have a fun and rewarding experience that will show them how to be good stewards of the earth. Check out our Earth Day Tip #1 on Monday.
Lisa is a home environmental specialist focusing on smart, safe alternatives for families concerned about today’s toxin epidemic
Posted in Earth Day Environmental Kids Environmental Social Responsibility by .
For our 3rd Earth Day Tip, we wanted to play to you creators! Someone who likes to take something old or used and make not only something creative, but really cool & different. We’re also going off an idea that is not necessarily new, but has picked up a newer alias called “Upcycling“. There are a ton of materials that can be upcycled as well as different levels of difficulty to pulling them off, so we chose 6 ideas we though landed somewhere in the middle. So lets get into it -
Pallet Upcycling / Wood
This idea takes used pallets that are touched up a bit and makes them into a pallet bench with center table. Great for morning coffee, lunch, or a evening glass of wine!
Repinned @ Pinterest.com/TheUniversalKey
This next idea is pretty simple, not much modifying here. It involves using an old pallet to make a vertical herb garden that can be put really anywhere depending on the size you choose.
Repinned @ Pinterest.com/TheUniversalKey
Wine Bottle Upcycling / Glass
Bird houses or feeders can be made from a lot of different recycled products, but we thought this one was a bit cooler. Just in case you needed another re-use for your old glass bottles, this simple DIY bird feeder is made using scrap wood, wire, a hook, the base of a plastic bottle, and an old glass sauce bottle or wine bottle.
Repinned @ Pinterest.com/TheUniversalKey
This idea again takes a wine bottle, but this time turns it into a vibrant mosaic table top torch! A little bit more involved and time consuming, but would be a sure “fire” conversation starter!
Repinned @ Pinterest.com/TheUniversalKey
Cardboard & Plastic Upcycling
Believe it or not this next one is actually made from discarded plastic bottles. The bottoms are cut to look like flowers and can be used to create dramatically beautiful curtains, light fixture or room divider.
Repinned @ Pinterest.com/TheUniversalKey
One of my personal favorites, this idea takes recycled cardboard and turns it into ultra cool & stunning lights. A Seattle and Amsterdam based design studio graypants is behind the idea.
Repinned @ Pinterest.com/TheUniversalKey
So there it is, 6 cool Earth Day ideas for upcycling and getting creative. To see more ideas and pictures follow us on Pinterest Let us know what you thought in the comments below and share this post with others you think could benefit from it. See you tomorrow for Earth Day Tip #2.
Lisa is a home environmental specialist focusing on smart, safe alternatives for families concerned about today’s toxin epidemic
Posted in Conservation Earth Day Environmental Green Recycling Upcycling by .
We like the majority of our Earth Day Tips to be low cost or no cost, but still have a big impact. Earth Day Tip #4 is no exception and can actually make a bigger impact on you and the planet than you may think. Tip 4 is Bring Some Green Inside.
We mean this in the form of growing a small plant or plants in you house. This tip focuses on your “mini environment” as we tend to spend much more time indoors than out these days. Many studies have shown that the air in our homes is 2-5 times more polluted than outdoors and many times even more.
Cleans The Air In You Home
On of the first list of air filtering plants was compiled by NASA as part of the NASA Clean Air Study,which researched ways to clean air in space stations. As well as absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, as all plants do, these plants also eliminate significant amounts of benzene, formaldehyde and/or trichloroethylene. This can be especially helpful in today’s age where toxic “air fresheners” & pungent laundry products are pushed more and more. You can read more about this at http://www.nasa.gov/
If you’re looking for something a little bit more intriguing than a houseplant, try planting some fresh herbs that you can then use to spice 
up everyday meals. Basil, Thyme and Dill are some popular choices and have some great fresh clean smells.
Positive Psychology Of The Color Green
In addition to the air benefits, you can also improve your home environment in a positive psychological way too. Green is nature’s color. It is restful, soothing, cheerful and health giving. It symbolizes nature and the natural world and also is associated with tranquility and good luck. It is also said that the color green promotes stress relief and an overall calming effect. I don’t know about you but all those sound good to me!
It just goes to show how many small yet impactfull things we can do in our own environments to make an difference in the overall health 
of our planet. So go out this week and bring some green inside.
Leave you comments below and share this post with others who could benefit from this information. See you tomorrow!
Lynne is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and Therapeutic Massage and Ethics Educator with extensive study in preventative nutrition and physiology. For over 35 years, Lynne has helped thousands of people through consulting, seminars and writing.
Posted in Climate Change Earth Day Environmental Green by .
Its April again and with this great month comes Earth Month, Week & Earth Day. Our founders birthday is also Earth Day so we always enjoy a fun Earth Day Birthday! Last year we did a countdown to Earth Day with 7 Tips leading up to the 22nd, and this year we will again do a countdown. The 5 day countdown this year will go Today – Friday and end on the Monday of Earth Day.
Our Battery Operated World
Batteries have become an integral part of our lives. Whether disposable or rechargeable, batteries are a main component of many 
electronic devices and systems that we use daily and can’t seem to do without any longer. Cell phones, computers, hand tools, toys and for some cars. Batteries help control power fluctuations, run commuter trains, and provide back-up power for critical needs like hospitals and military operations. The upside of the battery is portability, but the downside of the battery is the potential environmental harm. Battery technology often incorporates the use of a variety of toxic metals (e.g., lead, mercury, cadmium) and/or corrosive chemicals (e.g., sulfuric acid) to make batteries function. Some battery makers like Duracell have voluntarily eliminated all of the added mercury in their batteries since the early 90′s, when laws were passed about it’s use, but that doesn’t mean they’re totally mercury free or safe.
Did You Know?
- Americans purchase nearly three billion dry cell batteries every year to power radios, toys, cellular phones, watches, laptop computers, and portable power tools.
- Nearly 99 million lead-acid car batteries are manufactured annually.
- Car batteries containing lead should be brought only to waste management centers (or batteries plus), where they can eventually be recycled. Because of the value of their materials, many auto retailers and service centers will “buy back” your used car batteries for recycling.
- BestBuy, RadioShack & other electronic retailers will take your used batteries (Not car batteries)
- Never dispose of batteries in fire because they could explode.
- Old batteries you may find buried in the closets or elsewhere that were made before 1997—when Congress mandated a widespread mercury phase-out in batteries of all types—should most surely be recycled and not discarded with the trash, as they may contain as much as 10 times the mercury of newer versions.
Resources For Recycling Your Batteries
Call2Recycle
Call2Recycle® is the only free rechargeable battery and cellphone collection program in North America. Since 1996, Call2Recycle has diverted over 70 million pounds of rechargeable batteries from the solid waste stream and established a network of 30,000 public collection sites. Advancing green business practices and environmental sustainability, Call2Recycle is the most active voice promoting safe reclamation and recycling of rechargeable batteries and cellphones. In adherence to the strictest and safest recycling standards, Call2Recycle has received the Responsible Recycling (R2) certification for the management of the collection and the distribution to processors for the recycling of batteries and cellphones. Call2Recycle is a 501(c)4 non-profit organization.
How They Are Funded:
Call2Recycle is funded by product manufacturers across the globe committed to environmentally-sound recycling of rechargeable batteries and cellphones. These manufacturers place our recycling seal on their rechargeable products and batteries, informing users that they are recyclable. To find a rechargeable battery recycling location near you, visit http://www.call2recycle.org.
Batteries Plus
I called Batteries Plus because they have a lot of locations and are in around 50 states, to ask them what they offer. The gentleman I talked to said they recycle all batteries free of charge except for A, AA, AAA, C, D & 9v alkaline batteries (also called 1 time use) which they charge a small fee per pound to recycle. You can use their website to find a store near you – Batteries Plus Many resources online and off, tell you it’s safe to throw away these 1 time use batteries with your household trash as there is nothing really recyclable in them. However there seems to be some conflicting recommendations about this including what Waste Management told me. More on that coming up….
Waste Management
I called both Waste Management Headquarters in Texas as well as a local office here in Minnesota and they told me that if you throw those 1 time use batteries (A, AA, AAA, C, D, & 9v) batteries in your household garbage, they will end up in the landfill and not disposed of properly. They went on to say that you need to put them in your recycling bin with tape over the conductors to keep them from reacting with one another. I also found out that laws and disposal methods are different in each state, so make sure and find out through one of these resources what the most environmentally responsible option is in your state. Don’t want the hassle? Waste Management offers this Battery Recycling Kit for $19.99 on their website http://www.WM.com which you can put all those 1 time use batteries in & send it in once a year…..pretty reasonable. A nice bonus is the Recycling Certificate you get to proudly display your environmental commitment.
Canadian Providers
We obviously know that this isn’t the only organization that offers recycling services & safe disposal services in Canada, but we included them because they theme many of their events and outreach around young kids. They do this because, they’ve seen that kids have a driving influence on their parents recycling behaviors. In 2010, Orange Drop Tour took part in 86 events throughout the province, with a combined attendance of over 4.7 million people! Check out their site here http://www.makethedrop.ca/
Proven cost-effective and environmentally safe recycling processes are not yet universally available for alkaline batteries. Some communities offer recycling or collection of alkaline batteries—contact your local government for disposal practices in your area. We hope you’ll use this information to learn how to properly dispose of batteries, which like other products (plastics) still isn’t a cut and dry process. Share & Comment below & Look for Earth Day tip #4 tomorrow!
Brian is the co-founder of The Universal Key & an Entrepreneur who has been involved in 7 different start ups. His focuses are on Social, Lifestyle & Sustainable Business’s.
Posted in Earth Day Energy Environmental Recycling by .
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