Like most moms in this day and age, I belong to a local parenting message board. I had some misgivings before I got involved, as I am not much of a joiner, truth be told. I never, for example, belonged to a sorority or anything along those lines in college. But when my daughter started showing signs of really wanting to hang with people her own age at around 8 months, I did it for her. Factor it in along with the other surprises of motherhood; I'm really glad I joined. Reading the daily posts is like my own version of parenting reality television, and my daughter – and I – have made some good friends, too.

I've also found it to be a very interesting barometer of just how green the average parent is. Since I got on the message board over a year and a half ago, organic parenting issues have been slowly but steadily popping up. At first, a green topic would come up every few months – a query about water testing here, about safer paints for nurseries there. Then it sped up – did anyone know anything about organic crib mattresses? What else could breastmilk be stored in besides plastic bags? Obviously the lead paint in toy scares and BPA in baby bottles media blitz helped propel environmental health issues into most parents' minds, whether they self identify as green or not. And I've seen on the board that these two things (lead and hormone disrupters), while nothing new, are new to these families and have really opened up their minds. Parents who formerly dismissed the idea of organic parenting are now emailing me on and off the board, coming up to me in the playground and at playgroups, asking all manner of really good, thoughtful questions. When I realized I was spending an hour or more a day responding to my neighbors' questions, I knew it was time to offer to host a local "eco night."

Most paint has what is referred to in short as VOC's.  What are they? VOC stands for Volatile Organic Compounds.

These compounds are solvents that disperse into the air as the paint dries.  VOC’s are what give a room the “freshly painted smell.” Breathing them can lead to respiratory and memory problems, as well as kidney and liver damage.  These effects as particularly damaging to children, with some even believing them to be a contributing factor in autism. They also are a pollutant that contributes to smog.

What You Can Do To Protect Your Family

To be safe and to protect the environment, choose paints with NO VOC’s.  I have found no-VOC paints that have a wide range of amazing colors. My experience allows me to advise you on the best use of color, as well as how to apply the paint without overdoing the cost.

Jim Srokman, Owner
Clean-Air Painting
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(310) 359-8305

Check Your Child's Room for These Items

American Scientific Magnets

Sure Grip Paintbrush

Basic Beat Shaker Guiro Instruments

You've replaced your polycarbonate water bottle or baby bottles and sippy cups with aluminum or safer plastic that doesn't contain bisphenol-A, the hormone-altering chemical that's been stirring up controversy lately.

But I still have my old bottles lying around and I've been wondering what to do with them. Other consumers are wondering too, out loud on Web sites, blogs and listserves.

You don't want to just throw them out and have these chemical-laden things sit in a landfill, and many municipal recycling programs don't take plastics with the recycling number 7 on them, which is the category these bottles fall into.

Most charities don't take used bottles, and even if they did it's hard to pass along in good conscience something you are getting rid of because you believe it's harmful.

What to do?

Everything you need to know about phthalates

What is it?

Phthalates are a common industrial chemical used in PVC plastics, solvents, and synthetic fragrances. They've been around since the 1930's, and now they're pretty ubiquitous; when they tested 289 people in 2000, the CDC found phthalates in all of the subjects' blood at surprisingly high levels. They're often referred to as a plasticizer, which we think sounds rather like a kind of exercise to be done on the living-room floor in front of videos hosted by Jane Fonda. But we digress.

What are the possible health effects?

Phthalates are endocrine disruptors linked to problems of the reproductive system, including decreased sperm motility and concentration in men and genital abnormalities in baby boys. (Oh, and did you know that average sperm counts have decreased significantly since the 1940's?) More recently they've also been linked to asthma and allergies.

How can I minimize my exposure?

In spite of federal regulations, many toys sold in the United States continue to contain lead, according to reports released by two different non-profit organizations.

The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) conducted tests on 100 toys purchased in the San Francisco Bay Area, and found that nine contained lead levels higher than those allowed by law. Meanwhile, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) listed nearly 60 toys that contain unsafe levels of lead or pose other hazards to children's health.

The CEH found that one item, a Starletz ceramic tea set, contained lead levels 20 times higher than allowed by law, while PIRG found products with zippers that were up to 65 percent lead by weight. PIRG also listed a pair of earrings from Claire's that was made with small, powerful magnets but did not carry the required warning label.

If swallowed, magnets can tear or block internal organs with potentially fatal consequences.

California's Green Chemistry Initiative Can Protect Consumers

Baby nursery cribs, changing tables, and dressers can emit formaldehyde at levels linked with increased risk of childhood allergies and asthma, according to a new report released today by Environment California Research & Policy Center. In Toxic Baby Furniture: The Latest Case for Making Products Safe from the Start, Environment California Research & Policy Center worked with an independent laboratory to determine whether formaldehyde emissions from common baby nursery furnishings significantly contribute to indoor air pollution.

"One toxic chemical after another, we're finding them in our children's products at levels known to contribute to significant health problems ranging from asthma to cancer. Unfortunately, formaldehyde is just the latest example," said Rachel Gibson, report co-author and staff attorney for Environment California. "Right now, through the Green Chemistry Initiative, California has the opportunity to provide real protections to children by requiring the replacement of toxic chemicals with safer alternatives."

Environment California Research & Policy Center worked with an independent laboratory to test 21 products intended for use in a baby nursery. We purchased the products from Babies "R" Us, Target, and Wal-Mart. Six of the cribs, changing tables, and dressers produced high levels of formaldehyde emissions-levels associated with an increased risk of developing allergies and asthma.

• Of the products tested, the Child Craft Oak Crib emitted the highest levels of formaldehyde. The crib includes a drawer made with composite wood, which is often manufactured using formaldehyde-based glue.

• Other products with high formaldehyde emissions included the Bridget 4-in-1 Crib by Delta, the Kayla II Changing Table by Storkcraft, the Berkley Changing Table by Jardine Enterprises, the Country Style Changing Table by South Shore Furniture, and the Rochester Cognac Crib by Storkcraft.

• The remaining 15 products tested, including the Olympia Single Crib by Jardine Enterprises; several wastebaskets, lamps, and shelves made with composite wood; and several window valances and wall hangings, emitted relatively low levels of formaldehyde.

The implications of these findings are startling:

Dear EarthTalk: Are the rumors true that refilling and reusing some types of plastic bottles can cause health problems? -- Regina Fujan, Lincoln, NE

Most types of plastic bottles are safe to reuse at least a few times if properly washed with hot soapy water. But recent revelations about chemicals in Lexan (plastic #7) bottles are enough to scare even the most committed environmentalists from reusing them (or buying them in the first place). Studies have indicated that food and drinks stored in such containers-including those ubiquitous clear Nalgene water bottles hanging from just about every hiker's backpack-can contain trace amount of Bisphenol A (BPA), a synthetic chemical that interferes with the body's natural hormonal messaging system.

The same studies found that repeated re-use of such bottles-which get dinged up through normal wear and tear and while being washed-increases the chance that chemicals will leak out of the tiny cracks and crevices that develop over time. According to the Environment California Research & Policy Center, which reviewed 130 studies on the topic, BPA has been linked to breast and uterine cancer, an increased risk of miscarriage, and decreased testosterone levels. BPA can also wreak havoc on children's developing systems. (Parents beware: Most baby bottles and sippy cups are made with plastics containing BPA.) Most experts agree that the amount of BPA that could leach into food and drinks through normal handling is probably very small, but there are concerns about the cumulative effect of small doses.

You could call 2007 the Year of Global Warming. Despite the tepid outcome of the annual United Nations conference on climate change in Bali this month, it's now widely accepted that climate change is happening and is being driven by humans.

The words "global warming" have quickly evolved from theory to fact -- sealed, mostly, by the work of the more than 2,000 scientists who make up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and their four reports released this year.

Many other environmental ideas catching hold this year sprang from there. Chief among them, perhaps, was the local food movement.

Chances are a year ago, if someone referred to a "locovoire," you'd think they were talking about an old-fashioned car. Now, you'd know that -- in the spirit of Vancouverites Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon -- they were referring to the decision to eat turnip instead of bread, if it couldn't be found within 160 kilometres of their home.

The local food campaign caught fire this past spring, spreading as far as the Philippines. In Toronto, half a dozen new farmers markets opened. Fiesta Farms, the city's only independent grocery store committed to stocking not just local, but sustainable food certified by a new Toronto-based non-profit, Local Food Plus.

City hall has caught the religion: Staff members are deliberating on how to stock city-run cafeterias, old-age homes and shelters with food from nearby farms.

At its core is a quest for taste. But also, a concern about urban sprawl that's paving over our local farms. And the fumes spewing from the tailpipes of trucks and planes carting food around the world.

New Report Exposes Deeper Problems

My husband and I were standing in the toy section of Target a few weeks ago looking to buy a couple of nontoxic toys for our daughter. One aisle was designated to mostly wooden and healthier-looking toys, but the labels on them all said made in China. This wasn't a shocker -- about 80% of all the toys sold in this country are made in China -- but it made it impossible to know whether or not the toy was safe enough for my daughter to stick in her mouth. We left empty-handed and slightly frustrated.

There's obviously been a lot written about recalled toys and what to be afraid of, and today the Michigan-based Ecology Center (along with the Washington Toxics Coalition and other leading environmental health groups across the country) released a Consumer Guide to Toxic Chemicals in Toys at healthytoys.org to help you navigate the confusing landscape. The nonprofit environmental group tested more than 1500 toys for lead, PVC, cadmium and other harmful chemicals, so that you can avoid mistakenly poisoning any small children this holiday season.

Unfortunately, toy manufacturers aren't self-regulating strictly enough, and the government is not testing for toxic chemicals in toys, so it's been left up to nonprofit organizations and consumers to take action and try to compel the federal government and toy manufacturers to get rid of the dangerous chemicals.

Latest Additions: Curious George Dolls and Sunglasses

The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of two more children's products: Curious George plush dolls sold at toy and department stores, and children's sunglasses sold at Dollar General.

The adage "look and you shall find" seems to be continually proven true. As with past recalls -- a record number this fall -- these products were made in China.

Lead, for anyone who hasn't heard by now, is nothing you want your children playing with. It can cause permanent brain damage, lowering IQ or possibly even leading to violent behavior.

Here are the details of the latest recall:

In light of new research, metal bottles are the 'safer,' greener -- and cooler -- way to hydrate

Louisa Morris, a 29-year-old Vancouver lawyer, recently ditched the Nalgene water bottle she once carried every single day to the University of Calgary law school. In July, she traded up, forking over $30 for a sexy new stainless steel version. The high-polished metal bottle looks sharp. But Morris's decision had nothing to do with style. Two years ago, the Ontario-born family lawyer was diagnosed with cancer after finding a pea-sized lump in her breast. In her final year of law school she had a full mastectomy on her right side, and endured six rounds of chemotherapy. Morris, a non-smoker, has no cancer in her family, and tested negative for the genes associated with breast cancer. Her doctors attribute the onset of cancer while in her twenties to environmental factors. Because of this, Morris tends to tune in to findings of carcinogens in consumer products. So does her boyfriend, lawyer Neil Chantler -- who chucked his trusted old Nalgene bottle, too.

They're part of a growing number of consumers who are looking for alternatives after reports that a chemical in the polycarbonate plastic used in the trademark bottles may be unsafe. Polycarbonate was once considered a giant leap forward in plastics: it's sturdy, lightweight and clear -- and it doesn't transfer taste, as Nalgene fanatics are quick to point out. Yet it's come under scrutiny after reports that the plastic leaches bisphenol A (BPA), a hormone disruptor currently under review by the Canadian government. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the European Food Safety Authority had both concluded that the chemical is safe for food-grade use. But recent controversial studies link BPA -- also found in a huge range of products, including baby bottles, plastic-lined tin cans, and kids' toys -- to reproductive abnormalities, neurological disorders, prostate cancer and pre-cancerous breast tissue.

Many of us choose bottled water because we think it is the healthier choice.

Americans are the world's leading consumers of bottled water, downing about 4 billion gallons per year in little plastic bottles. This is roughly equal to one 8-ounce bottle per person per day. While it certainly is healthier to drink water than soda, bottled water is actually very bad for the planet's health.

There is much more to the ubiquitous water bottle than meets the lips. It actually takes three to five times more water to make and fill one plastic water bottle than the bottle contains. (Water is used in the production of the plastic in water bottles, then also to rinse those bottles.) If you add to that the average energy cost of making the plastic, filling the bottle, transporting it to market and then processing the empty bottle, you begin to see the hidden environmental costs.

"It would be like filling up a quarter of every (water) bottle with oil," says Peter Gleik, a water policy expert and director at the Oakland, Calif.-based Pacific Institute, which studies "real life solutions to water crises."

WATER BOTTLES, like other plastic containers, are made from natural gas and petroleum, which are both nonrenewable resources. More than 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to produce PET, the plastic in water bottles. The manufacturing processes that produce PET cause serious emissions, affecting both the environment and human health. The Pacific Institute calculates that the process of making the plastic bottles consumed in the U.S. uses approximately 17 million barrels of oil per year.

Instead of being made into bottles, that oil could fuel more than 100,000 cars. Once the plastic bottle is manufactured and filled with water, it has to be transported, using diesel trucks, ships or airfreight to reach our thirsty lips.

The Pacific Institute estimates that nearly a quarter of all bottled water sold around the world crosses national borders to reach consumers. In 2004, Nord Water of Finland bottled and shipped 1.4 million bottles of Finnish tap water 2,700 miles from its bottling plant in Helsinki to Saudi Arabia.

ALMOST 94 PERCENT of the bottled water sold in the U.S. is bottled domestically. In fact, about 25 percent of bottled water sold is simply reprocessed municipal or tap water, according to a 1999 study by the National Resources Defense Council. Aquafina, which is sold by the Pepsi-Cola Co., and Dasani, bottled by the Coca-Cola Co., are reprocessed from municipal water systems. The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates bottled water, reports that about 75 percent of bottled water sold in the U.S. comes from natural underground sources, which include "rivers, lakes, springs and artesian wells," while the remaining 25 percent comes from municipal sources.