Green Talk

Photo by permission of Chloe Delong

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved Latisse, which is made by Allergan to treat a condition known as hypotrichosis of the eyelashes, or in plain English, a person who does not have enough or inadequate eyelashes. According to Allergan, lush eyelashes were realized within sixteen weeks of initial treatment. Allergan is also the maker of Botox.

“LATISSE(TM) fulfills a significant and previously unmet need in the medical aesthetic marketplace with a product approved by the FDA that increases the growth of eyelashes, making them longer, thicker and darker,” said Scott Whitcup, M.D., Allergan’s Executive Vice President of Research and Development. “As the global leader in medical aesthetics, LATISSE(TM) exemplifies our continuing commitment to developing innovative treatments that are studied in well-controlled clinical trials, manufactured to pharmaceutical standards, appropriately labeled for use, and available to consumers as a prescription product,” as stated in the Company’s press release.

The active ingredient in Latisse is bimatroprost, which is responsible for the new growth of eye lashes.  It is the same ingredient in one of Allergan’s other drugs, Lumigan, which is used to treat glaucoma.  Doctors found that Lumigan caused their patients’ eyelashes to become lush.  In clinical trials, Allergan confirmed this finding and created Latisse, which according to the Company has mild side effects.

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Photo by permission of Ben Donley

What’s blue, made out of old recycled blue jeans, itch-free, and keeps you warm during the winter and cool in the summer?  No, not your favorite blue sweater or blanket!  Bonded Logic’s Ultra-touch insulation.  Previously, I have written about having this terrific insulation in my own home as sound insulation since it is itch-free and formaldehyde-free.  With four rambunctious boys and hardwood floors throughout the house, the noise level would be deafening.  I can’t tell you how much this demin insulation absorbs sounds especially in the basement!

As I mentioned in my Bonded Logic article, you can easily use this insulation for your exterior walls.  We chose to use Icynene, an open cell spray foam insulation, which we felt was a better insulator than the cotton insulation.

People have asked me in the past if you can send your blue jeans to Bonded Logic.  I have always replied “ no” since their insulation is made up of  blue jeans scraps from the factories.  I recently found out that this is not true.  There have been demin drives in the past as well as currently, where your old jeans could become someone else’s warmth.

• Green Jeans Insulation Inc was collecting the jeans  to send them to Bonded Logic.  (Via  a tip from Jana’s Care 2 blog post citing Plenty magazine’s article.)    However, Green Jeans indicated that  they are no longer taking the blue jeans.  This made me a little blue.
  
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Photo by Henry Heatly

Last week with the holidays, I missed the “Got Green Mail” segment.  My cup overflowed with amazing stories for all green palates to enjoy.  Remember, if you have a great green story (which includes your own), display the link in the comment section and give us a quick blurb of what the article is about.  Here goes this weeks’ green treats:

National Geographic PSA Video College Student Contest

The National Geographic Channel is sponsoring their second annual “Preserve Our Planet” College Film and PSA Contest for college students.

“Preserve Our Planet is about working together to preserve the environment, and this year’s criteria include a new core idea - “Together We Can Make A Difference” - which students should reflect in their entry films and PSAs. In addition to the cash prize, winners will have the opportunity to screen their work at the annual meeting of the National Geographic Explorers in June 2009, and see their films broadcast nationally as part of National Geographic Channel’s Earth Day events via on-air, online, and NGC On Demand, wherever available.

For complete details, including complete details, including rules, entry forms and prize information, please visit: http://www.preserveourplanet.com. Submissions will be accepted through December 31, 2008. There is an online voting component where people can help determine the audience choice film.

Boat Green

Boating Green featured on the San Diego Boat Show. Who says you can’t have the wind in your face and smell the sweet spray of water with showing a little green style?

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Watch this  clever animated video with music by MC Lars on how to have a sustainable holiday. Yep. Santa in a Prius! Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, this video is a must see.  Happy Holidays!

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Something so basic, can be so green.

I have always admired my dear friend Paul’s  homemade tomato sauce.   He is an amazing cook and one of the first ones I call if I don’t know how to prepare something.  He knows when I ask him to bring a dish for a party that there is an underwritten rule that he comes with his fabulous  ziti and an extra can of tomato sauce for me.

Last year, I tried to make my own sauce by scouring the Internet looking for easy to make hearty tomato sauce recipes.  Last year, I wrote an article about my unsuccessful attempt to make a Ragu-like sauce.  My kids are so use to eating sauce from a can that they have no idea what a fresh tomato sauce should taste like. Yes, I know this is sad.

I asked my readers to tell me their  favorite tomatoes sauce  recipes  to take me out of my sauce-less misery.  I did not receive a lot of replies, but the article was read a lot.  Perhaps, there are others who are part of the hopelessly sauce-less group or are members of  the picky kids, I-hate-every-food-you-make-me group.

So, one day, I coaxed Paul in to coming over to help me make sauce the way his mama taught him. I was so excited.  He brought with him his manual tomato press, which looked like a small stainless steel concrete mixer.

“What was this for?” I implored, pointing at this stainless contraption.  Paul replied, “to remove the tomato skins; otherwise the sauce will be bitter.”  (Hmmm, I thought. Perhaps, this why my sauce was not so good last year …)

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Watch this short Trend Hunter Magazine’s video of an outstanding group of ecoterrific gifts ranging from lamps made out of garbage or tampons (I know, eww), underwear made out of aluminum cans to cardboard taxidermy even PETA would approve.  Now you can enjoy an animal head in your family room without feeling guilty.

For more information about the individual products featured in the video, head over to the article, “About the Video” by Jeremy Gutsche, chief Trend Hunter.  Not all of the products featured in the video can be purchased; however, they could be replicated. So, get busy creating your own piece of art.

Let me know your favorite product.  Mine is definately the Stuart Haygarth’s Chandelier .   Gotta have it.

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Watch this video about how the cotton in  your t-shirt is grown in India. Trust me, you will never buy another non-organic cotton t-shirt again especially when you see the amount of pesticides used and the harm it is causing the people using them. 

Let me know if you think  I should summarize the video for those who do not have time to watch the video.

Additionally, let me know your thoughts about this video and how it makes you feel.  It made me feel angry, mortified, and now empowered to spread the word. 

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What is round, comes off a tree, and cleans your laundry without polluting the Earth?  (No, this is not a trick question like who comes first the chicken and the egg.  We all know the answer to that question, the egg!)  Okay, back to the question, so what little gem just pops right into the laundry and make your wash naturally clean?  Studio OM’s Soapberries!

Soapberries look like shriveled up brownish nuts and are considered hypoallergenic and safe for all fabrics. The minute I saw the word, “nuts,” I worried that people who have nut allergies could not use this product.  According to the Company, Soapberries are not botanically related to nuts.

What are these wrinkled up hard look-a-like raisins? They are the fruits that are harvested from the Chinese Soapberry Tree which grow in India and Nepal.  Thereafter, the seed is separated from its outer skin and the skin is dried in the sun. The skin becomes hard like a shell.

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The Union of Concerned Scientists has been quite busy compiling their resolutions on how to change the current federal science policy with a new administration posed to take over the country.  Their Ten Wishes for the Obama Administration was prompted by President-elect Obama’s selection of Steven Chu, Nobel Prize-winning physicist for energy secretary yesterday.

“Fortunately, political interference in science is a problem with a solution,” said Dr. Francesca Grifo, director of the UCS Scientific Integrity Program in recent press release. “We’ve provided 10 quick, easy and inexpensive actions the new administration can take to get off on the right foot.”

“The Obama administration will face immense challenges that can only be met if it has access to the best available scientific information,” she added. “The new leaders of science-based federal agencies must make scientific integrity reform a priority if they are to regain the faith of all Americans and make fully informed decisions that affect our health and safety.”

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