By Barbara Kessler
After an outbreak of bad publicity earlier this year over bisphenol-A (BPA), the plastic additive which dozens of studies identify as a potential carcinogen and endocrine disruptor, the U.S. government promised to take another look. Its conclusion: BPA is safe.
The Federal Drug Administration had previously cleared BPA for use in an array [...]

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By Catherine Girardeau
Eleven-year-old Colin Carlson of Coventry, Conn., took his cue from the penguins. The recent winner of the sixth annual Action for Nature International Young Eco-Hero Awards in the 8-to-13 age group was nine when he visited the Galapagos Islands as a member of the National Geographic Kids Expedition Team.
“I was snorkeling near a [...]

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By Barbara Kessler
Looking for a safer sunscreen? It’s not easy to find.The Environmental Working Group looked at almost 1,000 brand-name sunscreen products and found that the majority contain chemicals that either potentially pose health hazards or inadequately protect skin from damaging sun rays. Here’s their list of the top safe sunscreens:

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By Michele Chan Santos
Check the label before you spray insect repellent on your kids this summer, and you may find that many insect repellents marketed for families and children contain DEET. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics has approved the use of DEET on children, the Academy recommends only applying these products [...]

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By Julie Bonnin
Aging baby-boomers who love fruits and vegetables may like the results of a recent study that found fruits and vegetables can help preserve muscle mass in older men and women.

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By Barbara Kessler

Ever wonder what your neighbors are doing on the green front – what with one fellow dragging four nicely sorted recycling bins to the curb every other week, and another seemingly sitting out the green movement?
So did the Nature Conservancy and the people running the Harris Poll. They collaborated on a poll that [...]

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By John DeFore

Becoming a new parent presents untold challenges, not least to those hoping to find the greenest path through unfamiliar territory. Cloth or disposable diapers? Store-bought baby food or homemade?

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By Kelly Rondeau
You’ve heard of No Child Left Behind. Now comes a new program with serious educational goals, but a different approach: No Child Left Inside proposes to re-invigorate environmental education by tapping into kids’ innate curiosity about nature. And communities across America are embracing the fresh, bottom-up concept by holding No Child Left Inside [...]

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By Michele Chan Santos

At Lighthouse Community Charter School in Oakland, California, students are not permitted to have gum, soda or candy. Nor are they eating the notorious “mystery casseroles” filled with the USDA surplus-of-the-day and derided by school children throughout time. Instead, they eat fresh fruits and vegetables with every lunch, and fresh fruit [...]

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By John DeFore
In the wake of recent controversy concerning bisphenol-A in baby bottles comes another worry for parents: components of Teflon, and other similar substances suspected of being carcinogens, have been turning up in the milk of nursing mothers.

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By Michele Chan Santos
On a quiet street in the tree-covered city of Rollingwood, a suburb of Austin, Texas, sits a house designed to epitomize everything technology and modern design can do to make a home environmentally friendly and safe for families with children.

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Photo: National Wildlife Federation | Charlie Archambault
By Kelly Rondeau
Celebrating Earth Day (April 22) and National Wildlife Week (April 19-27) reminds families across America that getting unplugged from technology, and plugging into nature, is a great way to reconnect with themselves, each other, and the environment. And what better way to do this than to have [...]

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