Dear Debra, Here we are at the end of August. It's been a year now since I sent out the first issue of this newsletter. The newsletter and my website have grown so much! I'm looking forward to the coming year and excited about all the new additions I have planned. This last week the online edition of the San Francisco Chronicle posted a great article on cleaning products in which they quoted me extensively. If you would like to read it, visit my updated Media page and scroll down just a bit to find it. I've been working this past week to post interviews from years past. It was interesting to re-read interviews and stories going back to 1983. They reveal a lot about how much things have changed in the realm of green products over the last two decades.
Debra :-)
HEALTH, HOME & HABITAT ~ 23 August 2005
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AT HOME WITH DEBRA: My Natural Knickknacks I know knickknacks may seem like a trivial thing, but most houses are filled with little decorative items that have an effect on the environment, even if they are safe for our health. Find out how I choose decorations for my home. See some of my favorites and read their stories.
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DEBRA'S LIST: new website links Here are just a few of the website links I added to Debra's List in the last two weeks. I added two new websites to the Building page. Environmental Depot carries all kinds of building products, including such unusual items as solvent-free clay paints, board made from sorghum and wheatstraw, and cotton insulation. Building Concerns has a regional directories for green architects and designers, interior decorators, regional materials and other building-related products and services. Purrfectplay makes adorable stuffed toys for cats and dogs, from undyed organic materials and organic catnip. greenKarat has the most beautiful wedding rings I've seen, made from recycled gold or titanium to reduce the negative environmental effects of mining. If I didn't already have a wedding ring, I would buy one here. (This site is slow to load, but worth the wait.) Taraluna carries a wide variey of organic and fair trade gifts from around the world.
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DEBRA'S BOOKSTORE: What I'm Reading One of the most beautiful and amazing things I've seen recently are the photos of ice crystals that show a real qualitative difference between waters from different sources. The photos show water from natural sources to have stunning symetrical crystals, while tap water and water from polluted sources are deformed. The Hidden Messages in Water contains many pictures of the crystals (including a crystal formed in water heated in a microwave oven) and background information on how the crystals came to be photographed. The Messages From Water video has footage of the crystals actually growing before your eyes in response to music, words, and thoughts.
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SWEET SAVVY: New Recipes Over the last two weeks I've added four new recipes for treats made with natural sweeteners to the Sweet Savvy recipe database:
It's easy and enjoyable to eat sweets without refined white sugar.
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Q & A: More on Fleas In the last issue, I gave some advice on handling a flea infestion. One reader responsed with another idea. Read the reader's comments and my response...
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Q & A: How Can I Find a Holistic Dentist? How can I find a holistic dentist in my area?
S. S.
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Q & A: Wood Floor Bargains My husband and I are getting ready to redo the flooring in our home. He really wants to go with laminate flooring because of how inexpensive it is. I, however, am very concerned about the possible toxicity and outgassing associated with laminate flooring. Can you please recommend any "healthier" laminate flooring and/or any less expensive hardwood or bamboo type flooring. He doesn't fully agree withÊmy concerns to keep our homeÊas nontoxic as possible,Êso I must appeal to his pocketbook! Please help!
J. O.
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Q & A: Is the Sentricon Termite System Safe? Dear Debra ~ What can you tell me about Sentricon Colony Elimination Systemfor termites? The pest control people say it is nontoxic, but I don't believe them.
S. S.
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The new, revised, edition of
Home Safe Home
is now available
in bookstores nationwide.
Home Safe Home tells what toxic chemicals are generally found in specific household products of all types, and safe solutions you can buy or make at home. It's different from other books on toxic chemicals because the focus really is what you can do to protect yourself and your family and create a healthy home. I bring over twenty years of research and personal real-life experience to this book. * 10 Simple, Inexpensive Things You Can Do To Reduce Household Toxics * How Toxic is Your Home? Quiz (excerpt from the book)
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Debra's List
~
100s of links
to 1000s of nontoxic, natural & earthwise
products |
And I couldn't resist telling you about
our bunny! He just appeared in our backyard one day a few
weeks ago--obviously a runaway pet. At first he wouldn't let us
get within twenty feet, but yesterday he let me get close
enough to take pictures of him resting among the ferns under
one of our oak trees. As I was walking away, he ran after me,
so I stopped and he came right up and sniffed me! And he ate
carrots right out of Larry's hand. We've decided we just want
him to freely live in our garden and we're always happy to see
him.