Clark Griswold Green

Solar LED lights

Our Daily Green's home has not quite achieved the level of Clark Griswold's Christmas display, but we enjoy putting out some lights for the season.  Chevy Chase plays the fictional character from the Vacation movies and is known for his love of lighting his home for Christmas.

Two reasons we are personally less than enthused about lighting our home is trying to string the cords that power the lights and the additional cost for electricity. But what if those lights were powered by the SUN? What if there were no wires, but only a small solar panel and no additional cost on the electric bill? Even better, they turn on automatically at dark, with no switch or timer needed. 

If wiring or high utility bills has kept your inner Clark Griswold from truly shining and glowing, look into some solar holiday lights. Your wallet and circuit breaker will thank you.  The only one not thanking you will be your electricity company!

Our Daily Green has partnered with a solar lighting distributor for some generous discounts on solar Christmas lights. We do receive compensation if you decide to purchase some lights from this company which will be distributed to a reader's choice charity at the beginning of 2011.

Special Christmas Deals from Solar Sphere

Let's Make Black Friday Green

Today's post will be short and sweet. As millions of people prepare for Black Friday, in preparation for the holiday shopping binge, Our Daily Green would like to suggest another approach. Check out the Postconsumers site, and play the interactive game.

Postconsumers.com - Finding the Satisfaction of Enough

Take a minute before you set an alarm for the middle of the night to go shopping and ask yourself, do I or anyone in my family REALLY need any of this?

Do you have a storage area in your house? An attic or basement? Or are those filled and you rent space to store stuff?

Start small and figure out what you can live without, not with. Give yourself the gift of space. Unclutter your life. Clutter Free is a book I read many years ago, before I even truly embraced green but was trying to conquer my packrat-ism. It's loaded with tips and encouragement.

When you unpack your holiday decorations, there are inevitably several things you no longer even use. Donate them. Don't repack them and put them back in storage. Adopt the "one in, one out" philosophy. Consider your wardrobe. Most of us wear the same outfits over and over. If you don't wear it, give it to someone who will. Consider the ways we can reduce what we bring into our homes and instead take a few minutes to share what we have in abundance.

Happy Green Thanksgiving and here's wishing a beautiful GREEN Friday tomorrow!

Fluoridated Water Green

Do you know that fluorine is the most reactive of all elements and no chemical substance is capable of freeing fluorine from any of its compounds. For this reason, fluorine does not occur free in nature and is extremely difficult for scientists to isolate. Yet we put it in our water and toothpaste. Because it is in our water, it also affects all our crops. The average United States resident receives over double the daily recommended amount of fluoride.

In 2008, 195.5 million people (72.4%) on public water systems had fluoridated community water, which is a substantial increase from the 2006 figure of 184 million people (69.2%).  The easiest way to know if your water contains fluoride is to check with your local water supplier, or use this interactive click map from the CDC.

The 1991 study on fluoride conducted by the US Department of Health and Human Services proved inconclusive,

Genotoxicity studies of fluoride, which are highly dependent on the methods used, often show contradictory findings. The most consistent finding is that fluoride has not been shown to be mutagenic in standard tests in bacteria (Ames Test). In some studies with different methodologies, fluoride has been reported to induce mutations and chromosome aberrations in cultured rodent and human cells. The genotoxicity of fluoride in humans and animals is unresolved despite numerous studies.

Other researchers have found more alarming results. The July-Sept. 2010 issue of the peer reviewed scientific journal Fluoride, published by the International Society for Fluoride Research Inc. (an independent non-profit organization which promotes the sharing of scientific information on all aspects of inorganic and organic fluorides) examines the book, THE CASE AGAINST FLUORIDE.

The book considers the ethical arguments against medicating without patient consent (since there is no choice if it's put into drinking water or not), evidence of ineffectiveness as well as evidence of harm, and the possibility for overdose.

For years, Our Daily Green has avoided fluoridated toothpaste as well as drank only filtered water. The distinction however, between toothpaste and water is that toothpaste is not ingested. Water is. Much to Our Daily Green's surprise, most pitcher and faucet filters do NOT remove fluoride from the water. Three technologies consistently remove fluoride from water; reverse osmosis water filters, distillation filters and cartridge filters that use a material specifically designed to remove fluoride from water.

If fluoride is a concern for your family, please do some additional research how you can petition to have it removed or remove it yourself individual or whole house filters.

For additional reading and viewing:

Fluoride: The Hidden Poison in the National Organic Standards 
Fluoride Action Network
NOASPA