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No Excuses: Hiding Toxic Ingredients In Cleaning Products
Formaldehyde, a known human carcinogen, is sometimes used as a preservative or may be released when terpenes, found in citrus and pine oil cleaners and in some essential oils used as scents, react with ozone in the air. Chloroform, a suspected human carcinogen, sometimes escapes in fumes released by products containing chlorine bleach. more »
Suddenly Homeless
Rose Mula writes: I was awakened by what sounded like the pitter-patter of a gentle rain against my windows. I wish. Instead, it was the dripping of toilet water from a broken commode in the empty condo above mine. The demolition crew moved my furniture into a temporary storage pod, then started mercilessly ripping up floors and tearing down ceilings and walls, releasing trapped water before mold had a chance to establish a beachhead. more »
Where Nature Can Flourish; Habitat-Friendly Backyards, Tribal and Private Lands, Schools
Ferida Wolff and Tam Gray write: A wildlife habitat can be in a backyard, on a roof, in a park or a school — wherever we can put together what is needed to make a nature-friendly environment. The NWF has certified over 150,000 sites across the US. Some states have a WHIP program encouraging homeowners by incentives to create a more elaborate habitat. more »
Smart Systems: Don’t Expect to See the ‘Home of the Future’ by 2020
Editor's Note: We built a new home that has Internet, cable and satellite connections facilitating present and future smart systems. IBM is enabling citizens' smartphones with apps alert cities to the existence of potholes, graffiti, and water issues by taking photos and sending them to city management, where they can be dealt with. Sensors that give readouts about human activity are being embedded in shoes, medicine such as asthma inhalers, and medical exploratory surgery devices. more »
