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 of consumer products, such as clear plastic baby bottles, the resin lining in food cans and many other items. It promised a new review of the science after Canada proposed a ban of BPA in baby bottles and manufacturers of polycarbonate water bottles began voluntarily giving up BPA. All cited concerns over the plastics’ tendency to leach when when warmed and possible harmful effects on humans, particularly children.

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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 once a day, and not on children younger than 2. So here’s our list of less toxic bug repellents:

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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.

Researchers from Tufts University analyzed data from 400 participants 65 years and older who completed a three-year osteoporosis trial. They found a link between higher measures of lean body mass and diets relatively high in potassium-rich fruits and vegetables. Such diets could help mediate the muscle-wasting response that occurs with aging.

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But Some Confused About Eco-Choices

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 found about half of Americans (53 percent) are making green changes, but a significant number (34 percent) said they’ve not made any changes because they are confused about what to do. Another large group (29 percent) said they are not making changes because it won’t make any difference.

Education seemed to play a role in who was confused, fatalistic or moving toward more sustainable practices. Just under half of high school educated respondents (46 percent) said they had made green changes as compared with college educated adults (65 percent).

Of the total 53 percent who had made changes, the poll elicited these responses:

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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 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 with breakfast too.

The 550 students, grades K through 12, at this public charter school are from predominantly low-income families; 75 percent are learning English as a second language. Their school breakfast and lunch, and their after school snacks, come from Revolution Foods, a company which specializes in organic, hormone-free meals with whole grains and an emphasis on fresh produce.

“We really believe that the school has to serve the whole child. We want to ensure that students are learning and that they’re physically healthy, and an important part of that is nutrition,” said Jenna Stauffer, the director of strategic development at Lighthouse.

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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 Shermakaye Bass
So you want to plant a vegetable patch, and you’ve already found the sweet spot in your yard. But, exactly how will your garden grow? What should it grow? And when should it grow?

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By John DeFore
Last year wasn’t a great one for toy merchants, who had to deal not only with a slowing economy but with scandal-stoking recalls of hazardous goods made in China. This month, with the industry’s annual Toy Fair offering a platform, companies are touting safety initiatives that, at least in the case of [...]

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By Shermakaye Bass
As the holiday count-down begins, and hordes of already wiped out, over-worked parents lurch into their annual late-night mall marathons, many are haunted by concerns over toy safety. With more than 23 million recalled this year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the questions are obvious:
What’s safe, what’s not? [...]

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By Barbara Kessler
Once we worried about razor blades that some crazy person might have slipped into an apple. But now that Halloween is all wrapped up, packaged and mass produced, the dastardly tricks come in batches of 43,000.
That’s how many of the “Ugly Teeth” party favors the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates were sold [...]

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