Most people assume that the ingredients in their household cleaners have been government tested, but there may be danger lurking under your kitchen sink. Many of these products contribute to allergies, asthma and headaches and may contain carcinogens.

Purezing.com has a great resource to help you identify the ingredients and products you purchase that may be harming the environment and the health of you and your family. Drain cleaners, toilet cleaners and oven cleaners, for example are some of the most toxic products you use in your home.

Most manufacturers will not list their ingredients on the label, so look for products that say “nontoxic” or “biodegradable.” Brands like Seventh Generation, Mrs. Murphy and Simple. Pure. Clean. are all great choices. These natural products may cost a bit more, but are well worth it. You can also make your own cleaners very inexpensively at home. Look for more information on this in future posts.

Buy Non-Toxic Cleaning Products.

This might be the only way to get some people to change their ways.

A California legislator wants to ban incandescent light bulbs as a part of California’s plan to reduce greenhouse gases. If passed, the “How Many Legislators Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb Act” would ban incandescent light bulbs by 2012.

…it would be another pioneering environmental effort in California, the most populous U.S. state. It became the first state to mandate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, targeting a 25 percent reduction in emissions by 2020.

To read the entire article visit enn.com.

New Jersey and Australia also have plans in the works to ban the standard bulb. Australia would like to phase them out by 2009. New Jersey, home state of the light bulb’s inventor, Thomas Edison, would like to switch to fluorescent lighting in government buildings over the next three years.

Something as simple as changing a light bulb could be the easiest way to make the biggest difference on your personal carbon footprint.

Americans throw away enough office paper each year to build a 12-foot high wall from New York City to San Francisco or about 10,000 sheets per person.

How do you reply when the clerk asks, “Paper or plastic?” Reusablebags.com has the answer.

The answer to the “paper or plastic?” dilemma is: Neither. They’re roughly equal in pros and cons. While convenient addictions, they both gobble up natural resources and cause significant pollution

The statistics are endless…

• Americans use over 14 billion plastic bags every year, the equivalent to 12 million barrels of oil.
• Plastic bags take up to 1,000 years to degrade.
• Even paper bags do not completely degrade in landfills because of the lack of water, light and air circulation.
• Paper bags generate 70% more air pollution and 50 times more water pollutants than plastic bags.
• Hundreds of thousands of marine mammals die each year because they mistake littered plastic bags for food.

What can you do to reduce the waste?

• Just say ‘no’ to the bag. Do you really need a bag to carry 2 or 3 items? Put them in your purse or backpack.
• Bring your own bag. Keep it in the car for last minute purchases on your way home from work. If you don’t already own a canvas tote or other reusable bag, invest in some today.
• Suggest to the manager of your favorite store to offer a rebate when you bring your own bag.
• Pick up litter. When you see a littered bag, pick it up and recycle it appropriately.

Old habits are hard to break. Take it one day at a time, one bag at a time.

Buy a Reuseable Shopping Bag.

You may think, like I once did, that if there is a number inside the recycling symbol it means it can be recycled. Wrong! Only plastics labeled one or two can be recycled with your usual curbside pickup.

Plastics labeled #1 are PET (Polyethylene terephthalate). This includes narrow neck plastic bottles like soda bottles. This type of plastic is likely to be recycled only once to make carpet, fiberfill or shopping bags. There is only a small chance that your soda bottle will ever be soda bottle again.

#2 is HDPE (high density polyethylene). This includes milk jugs, laundry detergent and shampoo bottles. Clear HDPE can be made into new bottles. Colored HDPE is recycled into plastic lumber materials.

Plastic shopping bags are made from LDPE (low density polyethylene) and are labeled #4. They are not picked up with your curbside recycling, but I have found that my local grocery store and some department stores accept them and send them to be recycled. They can be made into new bags or plastic lumber.

If you want to know more about the other types of plastic that we should all be avoiding, valcorerecycling.org has great information.

If you have a favorite product that is packaged in a type of plastic that is not recyclable, contact the manufacturer to voice your concerns. You may want to threaten to take your business elsewhere until they become more environmentally friendly.

Do you need a good reason to buy a compact fluorescent light bulb? I hope one of these reasons will convince you to give them a try.

1. Compact Fluorescents are Pretty
They are not the ugly, flickering, slow starting bulbs of the past. Thanks to new technology, they come on when you want, with a steady, quiet glow and are available in many decorative styles.

2. They are Affordable
They cost only about $3 each. Sure, that’s more than a standard incandescent bulb, but you probably spend more than that on your morning cup of coffee. Check with your electric company, they may even offer you a rebate.

3. Save Money
If you replace your five most frequently used light bulbs with compact fluorescents, you can save more than $35 a year in energy costs. They literally pay for themselves.

4. Shut Down a Power Plant
We can save enough electricity to shut down two entire power plants if every American family switches from standard bulbs to compact fluorescents.

5. Save the Environment
If every home in the U.S. switched one 60 watt incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent it would be the equivalent to taking 1.3 million cars off the roads. The average home has more than 50 sockets - you do the math.

When your compact fluorescents finally burn out - in about 5 years - don’t forget to recycle. Compact fluorescents contain a small amount of mercury and must be disposed of safely. Check out lamprecycle.org for more information.

Switch just one bulb today and challenge yourself to never go back to incandescent.

Buy Mini Soft White Compact Fluorescent Spiral Light Bulbs

Recycling one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a TV for 3 hours.