Natural and Sustainable

• CHLORINE: Prolonged exposure to these byproducts increases your risk of liver damage and cancer.

• FLUORIDE: Research has shown that prolonged exposure to excess fluoride (more than the standard level of 4 mg/L) may result in bone disease.

• LEAD: Children and pregnant women are most susceptible to lead-related health risks such as meurological damage, kidney, and liver problems, and development delays in children.

• RADON: Exposure to radon in drinking water and by inhaling the gas as it is released from the wayer during showers, washings, and laundering increases your cancer risk.

• VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS: VOCs are commonly found in fuels, colvents, cosmetics, drugs and dry cleaning solutions. Health effects vary from eye, respiratory, and skin irritation to risk of cancer depending on the VOC and length of exposure.

• PHARMACEUTICALS: The EPA is studying this more to assess the long term side effects as well as what treatment options may remove them from our water supplies.

• NITRATES: They pose immediate threats to newborns beacuse they interfere with the oxygen-carrying capacity of the child’s blood.

For more information to see if your drinking water si effected by any of these contaminates, go to Environmental Protection Agency.

**Does your pet have pests? Not sure what they might be? Over at My Freindly Pets, Susan Mead has a list of the common pests that every pet may encounter in their life time. The best prevention is prevention itself. Read more here.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Buy organic food, especially when it comes to milk, meat, fruits, and vegetables known as the “Dirty Dozen”.

Sleep with your pet. I’m serious. Snuggle up with your pet and get more satisfying shut-eye.

Sleeping with your pet can reduce stress and put you in a relaxed frame of mind for more restful sleep. It’s a confort to have a pet there with you. Just spending time with your pet has mind-body benefits. Pet owners have lower blood pressure and cholesterol, fewer minor healthy problems, and better psychological well-being. Want relief from mental distrss, anxiety, and imbalance? Pets are like emotional sponges that soak up our issues.

There’s bonus benefit this time of year as well, especially for dog owners. Sniggling uyp with your pup will keep you warm on chilly winter evenings. Australian aborigines forst adopted dogs as companions thousands of years ago and slept side by side with them on cold nights in the outback.

Cats too, have healing properties. A cat’s purr is said to strengthen its bones. Studies are being done now to see if whether proximity to similar vibrations may improve bone mass in humans as well.

There are drawbacks to sleeping with your beloved pet though, staying in very close contact makes it easier to pick up fleas, ticks, or skin mites your pet may carry, and can worsen allergies. Aside from being awakened nightly by your pet and catching pests means nothing compaired to the advantages. Most people prefer to share their bed with an animals for the comfort and companionship reasons alone. It means everything to you are the end of the day knowing your animals are going to end up in the bed with you at some point in the night. And that’s a great big advantage over sleeping alone or beside a snoring spouse.

**Have you been watching the new ABC hit ‘Pushing Daisies’? If not then catch up with what it’s about and get in on the deathly fun drama over at TV Bender.**

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Unload your truck. The lighter the load, the less gas your car consumes. It’s getting to be winter, so be sure and take out all your beach-going gear.

If you have issues with someone in your household wasting water, or you, yourself tend to waste water in the shwer, there is a solution. The shower-timer is not only earth-friendly as far as saving water, it is also quick, handy, and some models are very inexpensive to purchase. Get a shower timer and make long showers and water waste a thing of the past.

Here are a few site that carry a shower timer.

•Green Feet $4.95

•The Shower Manager $115

•The Shower Timer $399

•Nigel’s Eco Store $5

*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Most of the pet products that are out on the market today that help control fleas and ticks are chalked full of harmful chemicals that you, your pet and the environment don’t need. So always choose natural pet care and natural, organic shampoos and pet fur conditioners. Your pet can not only do without the fleas they can do without the harsh chemicals on their coats, skin and internatl organs as well.