Cleaning Up the Environment

For the last few days, I have been focusing on being environmentally friendly. I have been doing this because I think it is important that we all un-learn our destructive behavior and adopt new, more earth-friendly habits.

Many people want to look at popular things like buying a hybrid to be environmentally friendly. Not that thats a bad thing, but there are many ways that the earth is being polluted and hardly anyone is aware of the simple solutions that could help reduce pollution. Now I don't believe the "Global Warming" hype as I have stated in a previous post, but that doesn't mean I believe in trashing the earth.

So here are two ideas that I think will affect our health and environment greatly. First, I think that women should convert from disposable menstrual pads to the reusable cotton variety. It is less expensive because you don't have to keep buying a ton of pads every month. It is also healthier because organic cotton menstrual pads do not contain dioxin, bleach, glues or other chemicals that could be harmful. From an environmental stand point, this would create less trash because there is a great preponderance of feminine care products (pads, tampons, applicators, etc.) that fill landfills. A great source for natural, reusable cotton pads is LunaPads.

Secondly, this suggestion is really along the same lines as the first. Instead of using disposable baby diapers, use reusable cloth. This has many health benefits because cotton diapers are more breathable than the disposables, and they do not have the same kind of glues or other chemicals in them that could harm the baby in the long run. Also, you have less diaper rash, and that is better for everyone involved! For the same reason as disposable menstrual pads, cloth diapers are much better for the environment. A good source of cloth diapers is Green Mountain Diapers.

All in all, we can do things like buy a hybrid, and that is good; however, we also need to think on a smaller scale of how our trash is affecting the world and how we can take smaller steps to clean up the earth. Plant a tree, walk more, use reusable personal care products, these are just some of the small, simple steps that need to be taken to create a better environment.