The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) recently aired an incredibly powerful program called The Disappearing Male that you can now watch on the web. And I’ll tell you, it’s an amazing, informative and startling video. I can’t recommend it enough. If you have been skeptical about the impact that some chemicals like phthalates and bisphenol A can have on our health and our bodies, this will open your eyes. Wide. And if you are already a “believer” – this will just solidify your beliefs.

The CBC promoted the program this way:

“The Disappearing Male is about one of the most important, and least publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system.

The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer.

Some researchers say that declining male fertility rates could be the first sign of extinction.

At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD, autism, Tourette’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia.

The Disappearing Male takes a close and disturbing look at what many doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these problems: a class of common chemicals that are ubiquitous in our world.”

Here are some of the startling facts they explore -

• There are more than 20 heavily industrialized nations where the birth of baby boys has declined every year for the past 30 years – amounting to 3 million fewer baby boys.
• The number of boys born with penis abnormalities and genital defects has increased by 200% in the past two decades.
• Boys have a higher incidence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, learning disabilities, Tourett’s syndrome, cerebral palsy and dyslexia.
• Boys are four times as likely to be autistic.
• The average sperm count of a North American college student today is less than half of what it was 50 years ago.
• The quality of sperm is declining. Eighty-five per cent of the sperm produced by a healthy male is DNA-damaged.
• Damaged sperm have been linked to a 300% increase in testicular cancer – a form of cancer that affects young men in their 20s and 30s.
• The chemical industry has developed more than 90,000 man-made chemicals in the last sixty years. Eighty-five percent of them have never undergone testing for their impact on the human body.

As someone who tries to stay on top of the toxin research and news, I found this to be very powerful and informative. (BTW – I listened to it while I did work on my computer and would periodically watch bits of it. The voice-over is really all you need!). Check it out, and please let me know what you think.

Did you know that there is a patch of floating trash in a garbage “vortex” in the Pacific ocean that is the size of TEXAS? According to an article by Greenpeace:

“The North Pacific sub-tropical gyre covers a large area of the Pacific in which the water circulates clockwise in a slow spiral. Winds are light. The currents tend to force any floating material into the low energy central area of the gyre. There are few islands on which the floating material can beach. So it stays there in the gyre, in astounding quantities estimated at six kilos of plastic for every kilo of naturally occurring plankton.  The equivalent of an area the size of Texas swirling slowly around like a clock. This gyre has also been dubbed “the Asian Trash Trail” the “Trash Vortex” or the “Eastern Garbage Patch”.”

And sadly, this isn’t just a hyped up thing to get people’s attention. It’s for real. Apparently each year, worldwide, 100 million tons of plastic is produced (!) and about 10 percent (!!!) ends up in the oceans either as a result of shipping issues or from just regular pollution from land. Isn’t that crazy?

And now, they have just announced that this disgusting, man-made phenomenon is not just a Pacific ocean issue, but they have discovered a smaller, but similar, vortex in the Atlantic ocean. Yesterday an AP article was released that stated:

“Researchers are warning of a new blight on the ocean: a swirl of confetti-like plastic debris stretching over thousands of square miles (kilometers) in a remote expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

The floating garbage — hard to spot from the surface and spun together by a vortex of currents — was documented by two groups of scientists who trawled the sea between scenic Bermuda and Portugal’s mid-Atlantic Azores islands.”

So aside from just being generally disgusting and a display of the impact of the plastic-crazed, consumptive world we live in, what’s the big deal? Well, this stuff is here to stay. Forever. Really. The process for them to break down is slow and destructive. Here’s another quote from the Greenpeace article:

“A single one litre drinks bottle could break down into enough small fragments to put one on every mile of beach in the entire world. These smaller particles are joined by the small pellets of plastic which are the form in which many new plastics are marketed and which can be lost at sea by the drumload or even a whole container load.  These modern day “marine tumbleweeds” have been thrown into sharp focus, not only by the huge quantities removed from beaches by dedicated volunteers, but by the fact that they have been found to accumulate in sea areas where winds and currents are weak.”

Did you catch that? A SINGLE one liter bottle can break down to into enough small fragments to put one on every mile of beach in the ENTIRE world! Really makes you think, doesn’t it? But not only is it just producing more gunk to clog up our oceans and beaches, it’s really hurting our marine life.

If you’d like to see just how awful the effects of this pollution is, check out Greenwala blog’s  The Ocean’s Top 25 Deadliest Pollution Predators. The visuals on the site (including the one I have here with the turtle) are incredible  – and so sad. They say that “Scientists believe that 100 million sea creatures — including a combination of one million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles — die annually from this foreign and highly toxic diet.” Sigh. Balloons, batteries, cans, dental floss (who knew?), six pack holders – there all there, plus plenty more.

Here’s hoping that someday we can figure out a way to get this whole mess cleaned up. Otherwise, who knows what the consequences will be.

Sometimes you come across a company that have such a heartfelt story that it really makes you want to think of a reason to buy something from them. That’s the way I felt when I found out about Carebox.com. Carebox was started by Christine Curavo. This is what she says:

“After the recent loss of both parents to lung cancer, I founded CAREBOX™, which is a series of beautiful gift packages meant for somebody going through a life changing event. I donate a portion of my profits towards an early detection test for cancer.

Because I was able to be with, and take care of my parents during the last months of their lives, I came to know what helped them feel more comfortable or what brought a smile—and I designed a CAREBOX™ for those situations.”

So her first products at Carebox were really focused on uplifting gifts for people going through a life struggle or a serious illness. She has the Lemons to Lemonade box for when “life gives you lemons”, the Lavender Ladies box to help ease insomnia or nausea, the Club Pink box to send to someone who is fighting breast cancer, and (the one I think that’s the most creative) the Nausea Not box filled with natural remedies to fight nausea.

But as her business started to grow, she got requests for more types of boxes and gifts. So she now offers the Welcome to the World box to celebrate the birth of a child, as well as a Build a Box option so you can create your own gift – there’s a HUGE list of goodies you can put in the box. Plus she has one that’s just filled with Hershey’s Kisses. YUMMY and simple – and sure to bring a smile to someone’s face.

Christine was kind enough to send me a sample of one of the Lemons to Lemonade box. And wow- is it gorgeous! And the reason that I’m also especially excited about her products is that she makes a serious effort to be eco-friendly. The beautiful boxes are made from recycled paper, the products are natural and she sources them from the US whenever possible.

The brown and silvery green box arrived with a lovely bow and gift card. Inside, there was a very pretty cloth sack with natural lemonade mix, a box of 3 lemon shaped and scented soaps (they look just like a real lemon!) from Bronnley Soaps with Sicilian lemon oil, and a tin of natural Lemon Cookies (made in the US – and happily without hydrogenated oils, however not nut safe for those who need to know). The package is presented so nicely, I would imagine anyone – whether life IS giving them lemons or not – would be very happy to receive it.

So next time someone you know is struggling with an illness – big or small – and you aren’t sure just what to say, think about sending a gift from Carebox.com. They are a beautiful and thoughtful gift that will say just the right thing.

In my Yubo Lunchbox review posting, I wrote about this very cool new lunchbox system. And they are actually giving one away for FREE in celebration of Earth Day! But hurry – you must submit your entry by 4/22.

Celebrate the planet with yubo’s Mother Earth Photo Contest. In honor of Earth Day, yubo is holding a contest asking eco-conscious kids to submit their favorite/best “Mother Earth” photos. yubo will collect photo submissions and choose a winner based on the guidelines below. yubo will then create faceplates from the winning photos and offer them for sale as Mother Earth faceplate designs (as seen below). Net profits from the sale of the Mother Earth faceplates will go to the Earth Day Network. Each entrant will receive $10 off a yubo purchase and the winner will receive $50!

Who: Entrants must be under the age of 11 in order to qualify to win.

What: Photos will be judged based on originality, creativity, photo composition and how well the pictures answer the question: ‘What does Earth Day mean to you?’.

When: Deadline for entry is 4/16/10. The winner will be chosen and announced on 4/22/10, the 40^th anniversary of Earth Day.

How: Each entrant MUST submit 2 corresponding original photos (MUST be taken by person entering contest). Become a yubo Facebook Fan and upload the 2 images to the yubo Facebook Fan Page.

Good luck!!

The people at GetYubo.com sent me a very cool Yubo lunchbox to check out. I was intrigued by the lunchbox when I read about it online. It can be customized with different faceplates (you can even have your child’s drawing or photo used for a faceplate). Plus, it is made of recyclable plastic (very nice!) that’s anti-microbial and it’s BPA free. Even more handy, is that it comes with its own food containers that are BPA-free, and a perfectly-shaped-for-the-lunchbox, flat (yea!) ice pack. And not only that, they are giving a lunchbox away for FREE in celebration of Earth Day. (see Yubo Giveaway posting for details)

When I received the lunchbox, I immediately loved it. It’s adorable, bright and is incredibly easy to clean up. I find that the “soft” cooler-bag type lunchboxes get kinda stinky and icky after awhile and they are so hard to get clean. This lunchbox comes completely apart and you can wash each section (personally, even though it’s BPA-free and they say it’s dishwasher safe, I would still wash it by hand).

It really is a very clever design, and I’m impressed with the concept. As with so many cool products out there, this was designed by a mom and dad, Cyndi and Paul Pedrazzi, who were getting tired of the endless plastic baggies they used for their two daughter’s lunches each day. Not to mention the foul odors that accumulate in the typical lunch boxes. So they literally approached an award-winning design company, Whipsaw, in Silicon Valley (they also designed LeapFrog’s LeapPad). And they have gotten tons of press coverage – check out all of chatter on the Press page of their website.

I will say, there were a few things that I think could be improved:

• The design is really best for smaller children – maybe 5 and under? My 7 year old thought it was very cool but said he wouldn’t bring it to school. He does think it would be fun for bringing snacks on short trips.
• On the same note, the food containers are too small for bigger kids. My boys have to bring a snack and a lunch to school each day and these containers wouldn’t fit all the food they need. There also isn’t a place for a sports bottle or other reusable water bottle for drinks.
• The food containers are very cute and I love that  they are BPA free, but I did think that the tops seemed a little loose and they were a little leaky for liquidy foods (like yogurt). That said, I do appreciate the fact that the lids come off easily. My boys complain about some of the containers where the lids are so hard to pull off. So I’m on both sides of that one, I guess!

But definitely check this site out for your little ones. Perfect for “lunch bunch” at preschool or lunches for daycare. The kids will love picking out the faceplate. And who knows, maybe someday they’ll have a bigger version for bigger kids!

I was very excited to receive a package from VB Cosmetics recently. They sent me a bunch of products for me to review – including the Dazzle Dry Nail Care 3 piece Kit “for the on the go lifestyle”. They also sent one of their new spring nail colors “Sheer Elegance”. The reason I was excited is that I have been searching for a nail polish that I can feel safe using – and that actually works! Some of the “green” nail polishes just don’t stay on and they peel right off. The Dazzle Dry products claim to be a “dramatically innovational vegan nail polish system” that contains “no harmful chemicals; Toulene, Phthalate, Camphor and Formaldehyde-Free.” It’s also “Nitrocellulose Free” (admittedly, I had to investigate why that’s important – turns out nitrocellulose yellows the polish). Sounded intriguing to say the least!

Let me start by saying this – anyone that knows me knows I am not a “manicure” kind of person. Anytime I have paid to have my nails done (which, by the way, I can count on the normally-unlaquered fingers of my hand), I have screwed it up immediately. I notoriously chip or scratch or mess them up by the time I drive away from the salon. Not to mention the fact that I am pretty rough on my hands – typing, packing boxes, filling bottles etc. Nail polish just doesn’t stand a chance.

That said, I AM a big fan of having my toes show a little flair! I still don’t really have time to do the pedicure thing at a salon very often, but I do the “at home” version. Of course, scrubbing my feet smooth with Garden Girl’s Pucker Up sugar scrub, using the Foot Smoother and then applying Zippity Do Dah peppermint foot cream (I couldn’t resist the opportunity for a product plug!).

So initially, I figured I’d give this polish a try on my piggies – which need a fresh coat. That is, until I had an unheard of – and incredibly frustrating – TWO hours on the phone with Dell tech support on Wednesday morning. (Long story that doesn’t end well, so I’ll just leave it at that for now…). So I decided that since I was going to be tethered to my computer while some guy in another nation took over controlling my laptop (again, for TWO hours), I would use the time wisely. I broke open the Dazzle Dry kit.

I will say, coming from someone with limited time available for activities like polishing my nails, the kit was a bit overwhelming at first. The 3 piece kit includes a Nail Prep (that cleans and preps nails), a Base Coat and a Top Coat. I noticed immediately when I opened the kit that the Base Coat was thick and cloudy. Turns out, in cooler temperatures it can become a gel, but it is easily fixed by placing the jar in a bowl of hot water.

So while my “friend” still poked around on my laptop (unsuccessfully, I might add – do you sense my frustration?), I dutifully went through the full steps – Prep, Base Coat, Laquer and Top Coat for my left hand. Then, I wondered if I left out the “prep” if it would still work – so I did the right hand without the first step.

My thoughts? It was surprisingly easy and the results are amazingly strong – for both hands. I’m on day 2+ with only minor minor tiny chips on the tips of a couple of fingers. Mind you – I have been doing a lot of box-packing, bottle-filling and typing over these two days. So I’d say that’s pretty good – they still look glossy and are holding up well.

My only issue is that I was slightly confused regarding the top coat – I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to wait for the lacquer layer to dry first? I don’t think I was? So I found it hard to put the top coat on without sometimes squishing the lacquer layer. I’m guessing more skilled nail types will have that process down to a science, however. Also – I’m not a huge fan of the particular color they sent but that’s just personal preference.

But all in all, I’m quite pleased with this product line. The nails look shiny and are holding up very well. They dried in just over 5 minutes total so I was able to start doing things fairly quickly. I will note that when I applied the lacquer alone without the base coat or top coat, it peeled pretty quickly so I’m thinking that all of the steps are key to help the polish adhere. That said, I would want to use all the steps anyway so the nails look their best.

Oh – and I should also mention that the polishes help to strengthen nails with Vitamin B5, Collagen and Calcium – plus they have a UV screen to help protect the colors. And Dazzle Dry is made in the USA.

So if you’re looking for a great eco-friendly nail polish, definitely check out Dazzle Dry!

A friend of mine (thanks Mira!) tipped me off the other day to a fun new website – Alice.com. It’s kind of a strange place where you can go to buy basically a bunch of products for the home, apparently at great prices, and with free shipping. They have automatic coupons so you don’t have to waste time searching for coupons or clipping them. And they can help manage a lot of your “staples” shopping.

At first I just checked out the site to see what it was all about – then I noticed that you can filter your product searches by specific things like “premium”, “bargain hunter” and….(my personal favorite, and my reason for making my first purchase on the site)…”green/organic”. So I soon found myself loading up on toilet paper, paper towels, toilet bowl cleaner (still love that GreenWorks one), and a funky thing that I wanted to try – the Earthstone Bathroom Stone (more about that in a future post!). They have all of the Seventh Generation and Green Works products.

If you find that it’s hard to find eco-friendly products this site makes it easy and painless. My question (to myself) is whether I will continue to make the effort to order online and plan ahead like that. But if I can get in the habit, this seems like a great service. Delivered to your home, so you don’t have to lug the bulky packages of this stuff from the car to the house. Plus – I think the prices really were lower – at least lower than my local grocery store.

Oh – and I nearly forgot to mention – they have product reviews as well, which I always love to read. The range of products they sell  is substantial: cleaning products, paper goods, some food items (including the full range of Kashi cereals), makeup, office supplies and more. Pretty cool! And the shipping is fast – it ships the next day and arrives in 3-5 days.

Check it out- it’s free and you might find that it fits nicely into your life!