Going Green: Just getting started

My major beefs

1. Hazardous Household Cleaning Products
   Manufacturers of household cleaning products are not doing the right thing. Sure, they are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but because of the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act (FHSA), manufacturers are not required to list their (hazardous, cancer causing) ingredients because they are considered "trade secrets." I have a major beef with that because words like DANGER and and WARNING don't always translate to YOU'LL GET CANCER or GET READY FOR ASTHMA for most consumers. That's not to mention the effect those chemicals have on our environment.
   
   Instead of putting 100% of the blame on the companies that that manufacture these hazardous chemicals (or the FHSA for not making the company disclose the exact chemicals they are using), I'm willing to take some of the blame for being naive or, in the past, just not caring. This is a stab in the dark, but I'm guessing it's this type of apathetic behavior that makes it easy for these companies to turn a blind eye. I'm looking to change that by joining in the effort to call to attention some of these things, no matter how small my contribution may be.

2. Conventional Farming:
   It seems like "conventional farming" has taken a bit of a turn. Maybe it's just me and this is just how it's been and suddenly now I'm more aware. In either case, everything in our world has moved to bigger, better, faster and farming is no exception. Farmers now use synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and growth enhancers. There's just so many things to be said about this issue but I wouldn't even know where to start. Partly because of how many different areas this subject touches (fruits and veges, dairy, fish, meat) and partly because I don't know enough. I do know I can live without all of the extra junk. Thanks but no thanks.

3. Other materials
   From lead in children's toys to bisphenol A in water bottles we're being exposed to things that we don't even know about. It just sucks big time, plain and simple. From a soon to be dad I can say it scares me a little to know that all my kid has to do is put the wrong toy in his mouth to be exposed to crazy amounts of lead.

Just a note to those think I've fallen off the deep end. I'm not going crazy and I will still continue to wear deodorant (albeit, Toms). My attitude summed up in a short statement is: If it's easy to cut all the extra crap out, why not? If it's not that much of a cost burden (milk is roughly $1 more), why not? I've talked with a few of my friends and I usually get the same argument of "you can't avoid everything." While that is totally true, there are things I know I can avoid so, why not? It gives me something to shoot for and hopefully the end result is, if nothing else, the satisfaction of knowing that I was able to do something good and productive. Maybe I can avoid a few cancer-causing compounds along the way.

To be fair, unfortunately some "organic" companies are not doing the right thing either. http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/DioxaneRelease08.cfm

Anyway, I'll have more on the "going green" topic, until then here are a few links to get you going

• Organic Consumers Association
• Natural News
• The Green Guide