Why do we pollute our rivers, our land, ourselves? Why do we put generations to come at risk? Why do we do what we do? Greed, laziness, lack of care, survival? We all have our reasons, and in some case there are good ones. Perhaps up until now it has been easy to lay the blame at big corporations. As an individual my contribution to pollution is minimal, I don't run a power plant, dump toxic waste into the river and I certainly do not spray my crops with pesticides.

The conference on Women's Health and the Environment gave me an opportunity to learn many new things (for those of you who could not attend or did not know about it, log on to www.womenshealthandenvironment.org, you see what I mean) but perhaps the most important thing I learned is that I have more power as an individual than I give myself credit for. After all, I decide what crop I buy, what kind of cleaning products I use and whether or not I use a microwave. Believe it or not, last year, I threw out the microwave. (I have not missed it one bit!)

One of the most amazing facts I learned at this conference came from Sandra Steingraber, PhD. She explained that the blood brain barrier in our brain protects us from getting chemicals in the brain. She also told us that the blood brain barrier is not fully created until the baby is six months old. This entire time the baby's brain is completely vulnerable to all toxins. WOW!

But why not go green? As consumers push for companies to go green, green is becoming a competitive advantage. By looking at the environmental causes of diseases, industries are creating a competitive edge. And, naturally it is better to prevent disease in the first place. Women are more exposed to chemicals than men, due to the use of household cleaners and beauty products. In the end would you rather be vane or healthy? Perhaps by switching to "green" products you can have both.

Here is a list of things to avoid when buying beauty products:
1. Fragrance
2. Alpha & Beta hydroxyl Acids (AHAs,BHAs,lactic acid, glycolic acid)
3. Parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben)
4. Triethanolamine
5. Iodopropynyl butylcarbamate
6. Triclosan (antimicrobial liquid soap)

There are additional chemicals - too many to list. Read the labels and know that simpler is better.

Try out a little green; here are some things you can do:
1. Eat and buy organic.
2. Eat wild fish.
3. Avoid plastic products such as PVC, vinyl, and styrene which is found in Styrofoam and polycarbonate which is found in Nalgene and other sport water bottles.
4. Avoid heating food in plastic containers or plastic wraps.
5. Chose plastics labeled #1 PETE, #2 HDPE, #4LDPE and #5PP.
6. Buy non-PVC toys.
7. Use a digital thermometer.
8. Be sure you really need an x-ray. If you do, ask the technician to use the lowest dose possible.
9. Use green building materials.
10. Avoid using pesticides. For ideas check: www.beyondpesticides.org.
11. Stop smoking.
12. Join the National Resources Defense Council www.nrdc.org.
13. Check out www.ewg.org. You can view the level of toxicity of 15000 beauty products on their skindeep database. Go and check out your products.
14. Use environmentally friendly products when embarking on the home repair products
15. Keep your tires properly inflated. It saves a lot of rubber.
16. Talk to your friends and get them enrolled.
17. Have fun.