Well, we could all give energy-efficient lightbulbs as gifts, but I like to give gifts that are a little more personal. Check out my top ten picks for great green gifts on the Holiday page [2004 Holiday link removed].

The new Gifts section on Debra's List has links to green gift services that will help you choose gifts, package them up in gorgeous baskets and boxes, and ship them to your families, friends, and business associates. Even high-end luxury gifts now have environmental benefits. There's something for every taste and budget, from the simple to the luxurious.

"About Gift-Giving" has tips about giving gifts that go beyond what you can hold in your hand and invites you to take a look at how and what you give. Where do our gift-giving traditions come from? Is gift-giving a joy or an obligation? Gift-giving can be a soul-satisfying experience, beyond the rampant consumerism of the season.

Part of the fun of gifts is that they are a surprise! So they need to be wrapped. Choose from recycled paper wrap, handmade recycled paper gift bags, or reusuable fabric gift bags.

"About Gift Wrap" tells how you can reduce, reuse, and recycle as you wrap--and unwrap--your gifts.

An unexpected gift for me was to discover that you can purchase woolen Christmas stockings on-line! I hadn't even thought to search for them, until I just ran across them looking at a website that carried a wide variety of products. My mother knitted a wool stocking for me when I was born, and I still have and cherish it. There are many designs and patterns and most can be personalized with the names of family members. These stockings are sure to become heirlooms.

Again, while we're waiting for the publication of the new revised edition of Home Safe Home, I'm going to continue to give you new excerpts in each newsletter.

Today's excerpt is about humidity. Humidity is about the amount of water vapor present in the air. It is not itself an air pollutant, but the amount of water vapor in the air can affect indoor air quality and pollution levels.

High relative humidity, over 50%, encourages biological agents--such as bacteria and viruses, house dust mites, and molds--to grow and be released into the air. Low relative humidity does not contribute negatively to indoor air pollution. So it's important to know how humid the air in your home is, and what you can do to control the humidity.

Did you know that you can order personal checks printed on recycled paper and save money too? It's true. And many of the designs have environmental-theme designs and benefit worthwhile organizations.

After I recovered from multiple chemical sensitivities, my body developed a whole different set of symptoms: ongoing thyroid problems, infertility, insomnia, fatigue, and problems losing weight. It was years before I learned that many of the same chemicals that damaged my immune system were also "endocrine disruptors."

The body's endocrine system works on a feedback system that requires hormones to communicate with endocrine glands via receptor sites. Many toxic chemicals can mimic hormones, filling the receptor sites and blocking communication.

A new treatment called Body Restoration Technique (BRT) can actually remove the toxic chemicals that are lodged in the receptor sites and restore the flow of communication in your body.

If you have stubborn health problems that haven't responded to other treatment, you might want to look into this. I'm in the middle of a series of treatments and I can already see improvement.

Nature creates fertile soil by recycling organic matter and adding minerals. During Ice Ages, glaciers grind large rocks to a fine dust over millennia, redistributing up to one hundred elements and trace minerals that needed by all life back into the soil. You can play Mother Nature and increase the soil fertility in your garden by adding a little rock dust.

There have been many studies and articles that state when food is microwaved, it is changed in a fundamental way that takes away it's life-supporting qualities. Here is an experiment you can do at home to prove this for yourself. If you have ever wondered whether or not microwaved food is safe, here's an experiment you can do at home.

1. Plant seeds in two separate pots.
2. Water one pot with regular tap water, and the other pot with tap water that has been microwaved.

The seeds that were watered with microwaved water won't sprout.

Food provides all the nutrients your body needs to continuously regenerate. If microwaved water won't sprout a seed, what is microwaved food failing to do for your body?

I haven't done this experiment because I don't have a microwave, so let me know if you do it and what the results are. From everything I know about microwaves, I believe the reported results are true.

The use of microwave ovens are now common in restaurants. So if you eat at particular restaurants on a regular basis, it's worth checking to see if they use microwave ovens.