Sinupret For Kids
Sinupret is an all natural sinus and respiratory remedy for kids that is not only effective but safe for them to use. Ever since it has been ruled by panel of governmental advisers that it is unsafe to give your kids cold medicine, it is more and more important to ensure that anything you are giving to young children will not harm them.
Bionorica
Bionorica is the mastermind behind the Sinupret brand of natural remedy products. For over 75 years, they have been developing plant based medicinal products. They have teams of plant scientists that provide constant research on the specific species of plants they use to make sure their quality is just as good since they started making their products. Quality is also a huge part of their company. Every step of the way, from harvesting the plants all the way to the end product. They exceed legal requirements on testing to the highest level of safety for consumers.
Sustainability
This company really goes above and beyond to ensure that their operations are sustainable. Their corporate offices producing zero emissions and actually putting energy back into the grid. They make sure their buildings are as much sync with nature as possible by being surrounded by forest and a complete open air feeling.
Sinupret
Sinupret has been used for over 35 years by millions of children throughout Europe every year. Sinupret contains a variety of safe and natural plant ingredients including:
- European Elder
- Common Sorrel
- Cowslip
- European Vervain
This product has been tested through a variety of clinical tests and has been cited in many major medical journals as being safe and effective for children age 2 and older. Even though this product is fairly new in America, doctors and pediatricians are already highly praising this product. In particular, Dr. Robert W. Sears, a well known pediatrician and the co author of the Sears Parenting Library Series, highly recommends the use of Sinupret for kids.
My Review
I do have many sinus problems and it would be great to use a product like Sinupret, but I wanted to allow a child to try this product out. Since I don’t have any kids yet, a co-worker was willing to allow their daughter to try this product after reading all the positive reviews on it. After try Sinupret, I got positive feedback from my co-worker. The girl’s sinuses cleared up after taking it, without any drowsiness. The only negative thing was that the girl did not particularly like its taste, even though it has a cherry flavor. This doesn’t seem much different than many other medicinal products out there which usually taste like crap. Overall, my co-worker recommended it for other parent’s to use it on their children if they have sinus issues.
Earth Day 2009
Earth Day 2009 is just one week away and it gives us all a chance to become more aware and gain appreciation for our environment. Many countries celebrate this day on April 22nd every year and has been a tradition for many years now.
The first Earth day was on April 22nd, 1970, in a time when there was great concern for overpopulation and it’s effects on our environment. Over 20 million Americans participated on this first Earth day in an effort to live a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle. This day also represents the start of the first true environmental movement in America. It also gave a huge boost for recycling and made it a worldwide effort by the 1990’s. Earth day continues to grow every year and Earth Day 2007 was the largest ever, with over a billion people participating.
Earth day really seems to fall on a nice time of year, especially for us here on the east coast. The weather is just starting to warm up and it’s a perfect time to really make an impact on our environment. There are so many efforts going on throughout America along with events starting this week and ending late next week. Check out Earth Day Network to find out more information on where you can find an event going on in your neighbor hood or to see steps you can take to make a difference.
Not everybody is completely supportive of Earth Day. Some environmentalist feel that Earth Day does not make a huge impact and that larger changes need to be made before really environmental change can occur. I do partially agree with this side in that sectors like the oil industry are completely outdated and need to lesson their influence on our country and renewable energy needs to take place. On top of that, more needs to be done than just buying an organic cotton t-shirt to make ourselves feel we are doing good. We need to make drastic changes in our lives and put more pressure on the government to stop supporting industries that are hurting our environment and support more sustainable ones.
In my opinion, Earth day should be every day. It is only one day of the year ( sometimes a week ) and we need to take action all year round to ensure that we are living sustainable and more environmentally friendly lives. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t celebrate in the festivities and help out around your community, just try to do the same all year round.
Earth Day should still be a day of learning and an opportunity to educate others about living a more sustainable lifestyle and appreciating our environment. Please share what kinds of things you are doing during Earth Day 2009.
Solar Cardboard Oven Wins Inventor $75,000
Jon Bohmer, from Kenya, won the Financial Times Climate Challenge for the most innovative solution to finding a solution to reducing climate change. The prize was $75,000 for his clever Kyoto Box, a solar cardboard oven, that cost approximately $5 to make.
The Kyoto Box has a simple design of two cardboard boxes, acrylic cover, black paint, newspaper and some foil. That’s it. One cardboard box is put into another and an acrylic top to keeps heat inside of the box. The inside box is painted with black paint and the outside box covered with the foil. Both help concentrate the energy on the center of the box and the newspaper for insulation.
What makes this design so successful is more of the feasibility of the idea. These boxes can be produced at a rapid pace of 2.5 million a month and can made exclusively from recycled materials. It can also be made from existing cardboard factories and can begin production immediately.
These stoves are aimed specifically for developing countries that currently use firewood to cook their food. By boiling water that can have dangerous germs, this box can help eliminate tons of deaths unnecessarily caused each year. Also, instead of cutting down additional forest and making the climate change problem worse, why not use box instead.
On top of all these great points already mentioned, is the fact that this product can actually make a profit for the owner. The name of the box comes from the Kyoto Protocol and will hopefully bring in carbon credits for the users of it. It is estimated that a profit of $25 – $40 could be made every year on the box just through carbon credits.
After seeing the other 5 finalists for this contest, on first thought I was a little confused as to why it actually won the contest. After reading more information about it, it makes complete sense. This is a product that can be used by anybody and does not get excluded by being expensive or used mainly in industrial use. This product can really have a huge impact that will be felt by people immediately. It will make people’s lives so much easier while allow them to have a smaller impact on the environment.
4 other finalist were chosen that could have just as much of an impact as the Kyoto Box and all important inventions:
- Black Phanton - Turns organic materials into charcoal that can be used as fuel.
- Mootral -Cow feed supplement to reduce methane gas emissions by 15%.
- Hollow Ceiling Tiles - Works with air conditioning system to pull warm air out of a room.
- Deflektors – Cover holes in wheels to reduce drag and reduce fuel consumption by 2%.
See Disneynature’s Earth and Have a Tree Planted
When you buy an advanced ticket from Fandango for Disneynature’s new feature film Earth, a tree will be planted in your honor. If you plan on seeing this movie, I would recommend buying tickets in advance from Fandango to take advantage of this special offer. Disney will oversee the planting of trees in one of the most scarce rain forests in the world, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. At the moment, the Brazilian Atlantic Forest has been reduced to just around 7% of it’s original size and is in great danger of disappearing. On top of having a tree planted for each ticket bought, Disney will also provide you with a coupon for a free reusable bag with any purchase from Disney retail stores.
Disneynature Earth
Disney’s new movie Earth is planned for released on Earth Day, April 22, 2009. The film is narrated by James Earl Jones and takes you on a trip around the Earth in under 2 hours. Check out this trailer of the movie:
There are many praises of this new movie, but I have heard a few bad reviews of the movie. Many feel that this movie is just a rehash of the popular nature documentary Planet Earth with not too much more to add to it. Please share you thoughts on this film and if you plan on seeing it in theaters next week.
Eco Mist Solutions Green Cleaners
Eco Mist Solutions is a leading manufacturer of power eco-friendly cleaners in Canada. They carry a range of cleaning products for every solution in your household.
EcoMist Solution History
Eco Mist Solutions was founded in 2005 by environmentally passionate Ted Fagan. The company all started from a flooded basement and tons of mold and mildew to clean up. In an effort to find environmentally friendly products on the market, Ted failed to find any that were truly as “green” as they said or just didn’t work that well. This inspired him to create his own line of cleaning products that would be extremely effective, while being 100% safe for animals, the environment and of course humans.
Colloidal Chemistry
Eco Mist products all contain natural products like corn, potatoes, soy and sugarcane, but there is much more to how these ingredients are mixed to create their powerful cleaners. Colloidal Science was used to allow them to heat various plant based ingredients to various temperatures to create millions of tiny cleaning particles. Each of the small particles known as micelles are mixed together but never fully dissolved in the solution, very similar to fog. Each micelle crashes into dirt when used and removed from it’s surface into the water. These particles also help keep the dirty from getting back onto the surface they were just removed from.
The main difference between these types of cleaners and traditional petroleum based cleaners is that they actually remove the dirty from the surface and don’t just thin it. This makes a much more powerful cleaner that uses completely safe ingredients. On top of that, traditional household cleaners contain so many dangerous chemicals, that most people don’t realize the risk they are putting themselves as well as their families in. Even worse, when some of these chemicals are mixed, they can cause a more dangerous mixture than each alone. Why put anybody at risk in your household along with potentially causing more harm to the environment when you can use a environmentally friendly solution like Eco Mist or homemade cleaners?
Targeted Cleaners
Ted Fagan explains how each of the different formulas of cleaners are made:
“We are always trying to improve our products without the use of toxins. That means we are dedicated to finding the exact combination that products the best cleaning result no mater what the specific job. The products currently available represent those efforts.”
Various combinations of the natural products I mentioned earlier are formulated together to meet a specific need you may have in your home. Lots of time is spent on testing which combination of ingredients as well as the appropriate temperature to heat them to create the perfect cleaner for each type of situation. The list of cleaners that Eco Mist currently carries includes:
- Carpet & Upholstery
- Countertop
- Furniture
- Glass
- Stainless Steel
- Tile & Tub
There are many more formulations along with a professional line of cleaners.
My Test
I was fortunate enough to try a bottle of their Carpet & Upholtery cleaner and was happy with the results. I tend to have a habit of spilling things of the floor and in particular on our carpet. Along with that, I also own a cat that sometimes gets an upset stomach and throws her food up. Well, I was lucky enough to have both situation happen after receiving the cleaner and it worked pretty well on both. I had to apply it a few times on the cat stains, but it came up after some effort. I have tried traditional carpet cleaners in the past, and this one worked much better than any of those. It didn’t just try masking the smell of whatever I spilled, but actually brought it up.
Where to Buy?
Eco Mist Solutions is sold for about $5 – $7.99 (USD) per bottle all across Canada in Home Depot retail stores. In terms of online stores, TheGetGreenStore.com sells a variety both of their household and professional products which ships to both the United States and Canada.
Composting
Composting has steadily become more popular in our modern day lives and for good reason. It has become a much more cost effective and natural way of making a highly nutritious fertilizers for our plants as well as regenerating our yards soil.
What is Composting?
Compost is the breakdown of organic material, such as food wastes, into a soil-like material that can be added to our soils to assist in plant growth. A material called humus can be created from adding the appropriate organic compounds along with a breakdown agent and time to fully mature. No it does not look like the humus we would normally eat, but rather it looks more like soil substance with an earthly smell. You may think that humans came up with composting, but it in fact happens worldwide throughout the seasons. Vegetation falls and provides a natural way to provide nutrients to the soil beneath. The only problem with nature’s way of composting is that disease and rodents can often be attracted to the fallen materials which would not be good for our plants.
What to Compost?
There are a variety of items that can be composted, but some of the more common items include:
- Egg Shells
- Fruits and Vegetables
- Tea Bags
- Manures
- Yard Waste
In general, the food waste from above provide the composting with high levels of nitrogen and carbon along with moisture to make microbial grow quickly.
Be sure to avoid certain items like meats, dairy products, fats and oils and any other items that may be prevelant to causing disease or could be harmful for your plants growth. The EPA has an entire list of items to compost and those to avoid.
Breakdown Agents
Though are ineffective in composting on their own, combined with the materials above, they can create an environment ripe for breakdown. They include wood chips and provide much lower moisture levels and are much more porous to help with the decay process.
Benefits
There are a variety of benefits associated with composting which include:
- Suppress plant diseases and pests.
- Reduce or eliminate the need for chemical fertilizers.
- Promote higher yields of agricultural crops.
- Facilitate reforestation, wetlands restoration, and habitat revitalization efforts by amending contaminated, compacted, and marginal soils.
- Cost-effectively remediate soils contaminated by hazardous waste.
- Remove solids, oil, grease, and heavy metals from stormwater runoff.
- Capture and destroy 99.6 percent of industrial volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) in contaminated air.
- Provide cost savings of at least 50 percent over conventional soil, water, and air pollution remediation technologies, where applicable.
In general, the cost of compost is far cheaper than any chemical alternative you can find on the market. Many times, it can cost you hundreds of dollars every season to fertilize your yard every year. Why not make your compost at a fraction of that cost and you will feel go about reusing materials you would normally throw out?
Composting Containers
There are many different types of containers that can be used make your own compost which include:
Wooden Compost Bin
These are some of the most cost effective compost containers. They do require you usually make them yourself, but they only cost the supplies to make them and can last a long time. Building your own composting container can make the cost practically free and just as effective as bins you would buy. Check out this site that gives you directions on how to make various different compost bins.
Kitchen Compost Bins
Kitchen compost bins on the surface don’t seem like more than a bin that sits that you can sit in your kitchen to hold organic waste. The neat thing about these little bins is that they maintain the odors from the materials you put into it. There usually is some sort of filter and a tight fitting lid that keep all the odors in until you can take it outside to your normal composting bin. There are two main types of these small containers, ceramic and stainless steel.
Composting Tumblers
Composting tumblers are some of the more popular varieties as they allow you to hold high volumes of compost, raised off of the ground and allows you to turn the compost on a regular basis. They come in various varieties including plastic and metal.
High-Tech Composters
There are many other varieties of high-tech composters including this solar composting cone that is made from recycled plastics. These types of bins are usually much more expensive, but provide a higher yield in a shorter period of time.
Buying Compost
You don’t have to make your own compost and still get a great discount over tradition fertilizers. You will still get the benefits listed above, but without having to maintain a composting area. You can often buy it locally for a very inexpensive price or free.
Please share any compost recipes you may have or ideas on how to compost.
U.S. Draft Bill Pushes for Clean Energy
Just yesterday, house members Henry Waxman and Ed Markey are promoting a draft bill that follows after similar Massachusetts legislature to reduce global warming as well as increasing support for renewable energy. The major component of this bill is to set clean energy standards for America like so many other countries have. There will be a requirement that 25% of all of America’s energy come from renewable energy by the year 2025. On top of that, there will be a clause to also reduce the amount of carbon emissions by 30% of their current levels by 2020. Environmental Massachusetts does have some concerns with the bill with the major one being carbon offsets. They believe that carbon offsets do not provide as certain emission reductions as well as large subsidies. The organization likes the intent of the bill and applauds the efforts of the house members for taking this large initiative.
These efforts really make me feel great about the clean energy efforts of our government. Even though this is just a draft bill and has yet to be passed by Congress, it still shows that there are politicians pushing for more environmentally friendly energy sources. This bill could not only help our environment, but help us get out of the current environmental mess we are in. Tons of new jobs would be created from a bill such as this because of the need to manufacturer as well as maintain the equipment. I would also hope that energy prices would eventually drop with increases in technology to harness the renewable energy. There will probably never be any major breakthroughs in utilizing coal as an energy source in the near future, while there is so much potential with sources of energy like wind, geothermal and solar. I just hope Congress opens their eyes and sees all the positives of a bill such as this.
