The Eco-Dentistry Association™ (EDA), an international association of dental professionals who encourage eco-friendly practices, is inviting everyone to partake in a week of earth-friendly dental tips...

Day 1: Choose clean green tooth care products. Your home care routine (brushing, flossing, rinsing), works in conjunction with a professional teeth cleaning program to manage bacteria levels in your mouth. But certain brands of products contain chemicals that can upset the oral pH balance and lead to canker sores or other problems. Pick a paste that doesn’t contain sodium lauryl sulfate, and make sure your mouth rinse is alcohol-free.

Day 2: Turn off the Tap! Did you know the average person wastes approximately 90 glasses of water every day by leaving the tap running while they brush their teeth? That means in the United States alone, we’re literally pouring down the drain 27 billion glasses of clean, drinkable water every day, just brushing our teeth.

Day 3: Find a dental practice you love. Dentistry is a healing profession. It’s important to have a satisfying relationship with your dental wellness team, and to know they share your values for wellness of people and planet. Go to www.ecodentistry.org and click on “Find an EDA Member” to search for a dental professional in your area that incorporates eco-friendly practices.

Day 4: Already love your dentist? If you’ve got a dentist you love, but don’t love all the plastic and paper waste you see in the practice, visit www.ecodentistry.org and click on “Green My Dentist.” You can print a letter to your dentist with compelling reasons to incorporate simple, cost-saving green methods into their business.

Day 5: Paper or Plastic? Neither. Ask for cloth. Ask your dentist to use cloth products such as patient bibs rather than paper or plastic. Studies show that using cloth sterilization methods diverts nearly 5000 pieces of paper and 5000 pieces of plastic from the average dental practice in just one year. Using fabric patient "bibs" instead of 2-ply paper, 1-ply plastic bibs diverts 10,200 pieces of paper and 5,100 pieces of plastic from landfill annually.

Day 6: Go Digital! Ask your dental office if they offer digital x-rays. Digital x-rays offer have 75-90% less radiation than the traditional ones while eliminating the need for toxic x-ray fixer solutions and lead foils.

Day 7: Get Informed! Many dentists go the extra mile to protect the health of people and planet. Amalgam separators keep toxic dental materials from entering the water stream, but aren’t required in every state; digital radiography replaces the outdated traditional x-rays, decreasing patient exposure to radiation, and eliminating waste and pollution. Find more ways that hi-tech and green dentistry are helping both people and planet, and download a list of questions to ask your dental practitioner at www.ecodentistry.org.

Discover how natural remedies for anxiety can help you feel more relaxed and in control of your worries and concerns.  Anxiety is actually a natural and normal part of everyday life.  This is not much comfort in times of stress i.e. recessions, loss of employment or home, when your anxiety starts to take over your life. If you have long term concerns and worries, anxiety can soon start to get you down.  Causing extreme physical symptoms, emotional upsets and mood swings possibly lasting for months or even years, you can risk putting your body into a prolonged state of stress . . . this does a lot of physical damage to your body and may make you very ill. Exploring holistic remedies for anxiety that can give you a new outlook on life and possibly a long term solution to your worries and anxieties.  With herbal remedies for anxiety, you have to be careful not to take them at the same time as prescription anxiety medications, except under the guidance of your doctor.

Starting in the Spring most of our communities provide the opportunity to buy farm fresh produce at a Farmer’s Market. Thursdays in Reno, Tuesday mornings in Truckee, Saturdays in Nevada City. Just check with your local Chamber of Commerce and they should be able to give you your town’s Farmer’s Market schedule. Nothing tastes better and is better for you than just picked organic produce.

From:  www.letsactnow.org

compiled by :Lori Hyde- Blair

The Hidden Cause of Global Warming

By now we have all heard about the urgency of global warming. Besides changing light bulbs, most of us
think that there is nothing much we can do right now. Although upgrading appliances at home, installing
solar panels on the roof, and switching to a hybrid car will surely reduce our contribution to global warming,
not all of us are able to do that right away. So, what can we do? Wait for politicians to pass laws to save the planet? Hope that someone else will take care of the problem? Isn’t there something we can all do now to make a BIG difference?

“YES WE CAN! ACT NOW. TODAY”

Which do you think is more responsible for global warming:
a gas-guzzling SUV, or a hamburger?

Surprise! It’s the burger!

Hard to believe? A United Nations report demonstrated that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars, trucks, SUVs, trains, planes and ships in the world combined. How much more? An impressive 40% more. A study done by two geophysicists at the University of Chicago said that just one person reducing his or her meat consumption by only 20% would be the equivalent of switching from a Camry to a Prius. Think about that! With simple changes to our everyday food choices, we can actually make as much a difference as the guy who just purchased a hybrid car - easily. We CAN make big differences.