Lithium Cell Batteries: Safety Risks for Children

As all of our electronic gadgets have gotten smaller, so have the batteries that power them. These little “button” batteries are everywhere, and it’s good to be aware of the risks they can pose to kids, pets, and even adults. Take a look through this eye-opening report from Consumer Reports about safety hazards from Lithium cell batteries:

Lithium cell batteries, some no larger than a nickel, are a growing hazard. As the tiny batteries become more popular and more powerful, doctors are seeing an increase in serious injuries and fatalities from swallowing incidents. The batteries, most measuring about 20 millimeters, can be found in everything from remotes to toys to singing greeting cards and other home electronics. Children have mistaken them for candy and adults for pills with disturbing results. Battery ingestion has been the cause of 13 deaths.

The risk posed by a cell battery when it’s swallowed is not choking but that the moist lining of the gastrointestinal tract acts as a conductor and allows current to flow through the battery causing internal burns. The longer the battery remains in the body, the more severe the burns can become—lasting damage can occur within just two hours.

“It’s really a tight timeline, because a lot of these cases aren’t witnessed,” Dr. Toby Litovitz, lead author of two Pediatrics articles on the topic told The New York Times. “Children present with symptoms that are nonspecific, the parent doesn’t know the battery was ingested—that makes it difficult for the doctor to diagnose.”

This can definitely be an important issue for parents and pet owners. Make sure that button batteries are inaccessible to kids and pets by checking that any battery-powered toys and games are closed with screws, and that any batteries that are not child-proof are kept out of reach. Safety and sustainability go hand-in-hand, and this can be a fundamental part of keeping our homes healthy for our families!

October is Walk to School Month

October is Walk to School month, and some schools are organizing official “walk to school days” for their community. The event’s website talks about the goals for the project:

International Walk to School is more than just getting together with children and going for a walk to school as a special event. This is certainly important, but the event’s greater aim is to bring forth permanent change in communities across the globe. Below are just a few of its goals:

• Encourage physical activity by teaching children the skills to walk safely, how to identify safe routes to school, and the benefits of walking.
• Raise awareness of how walkable a community is and where improvements can be made.
• Raise concern for the environment.
• Reduce crime and take back neighborhoods for people on foot.
• Reduce traffic congestion, pollution, and speed near schools.
• Share valuable time with local community leaders, parents, and children.

Check out the event website for more details at www.iwalktoschool.org. Is your school participating? Let us know in the comments below!

A Green Irene Garden

Planting a Garden

Mary, Mary might have been quite contrary, but she knew before the Obamas did that a garden provides many benefits. Growing and cultivating your own garden grants you the ability to grow your own food while teaching you the invaluable lesson of how nature works right in your own backyard. Kids and adults alike love to observe the fruits and vegetables of their labors. Whether your garden is a fully-stocked organic vegetable patch or simply a few peppers and tomatoes in containers, gardening educates children about where their food comes from–that is, not from the store. I had the pleasure of planting a garden with my children this past weekend.  My son, who usually is loathe to lift a hand if something smells of work, declared that it was the most enjoyable activity he did all weekend, and has even volunteered to care for it from now on.

No Little Red Hens Here!

Before you plant, talk with your family about the produce that you might want to grow and eat.  How about a pizza garden, featuring tomatoes, basil, oregano, and onions? Or perhaps a Mexican fiesta patch of green tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapenos? Your kids would love a “Ratatouille” garden of tomatoes, squash, eggplant, zucchini, and rosemary. Involve your kids in planning, planting, tending and cooking, and you will be able to experience a complete journey from garden to plate. A side benefit for parents include lower grocery bills, as well as the chance that your child actually will be willing to eat (or at least try) a few vegetables.

Gardening Tips

– Water early in the morning or in the late evening to maximize water absorption.

- Consider a rain barrel.

- Keep it organic and weed by hand.

- Sprinkle coffee ground on your garden to enrich the soil

- Determine if you really need to water your lawn with Green Irene’s Soil Moisture Probe, shown at left, or Rain Gauge, shown at the right.

These items are available through ShopGreenIrene.

Don’t have enough room for a bed? Try a few pots. Other options for obtaining fresh produce and seeds include shopping your local farmers’ market, joining a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), or spending a few weekend mornings at a “you-pick” farm that lets you pick food yourself-who can resist delicious local berries? Another idea is to take advantage of community gardens offered by some local YMCAs and parks & recreation departments.

The benefits of growing your own food are bountiful, from saving money to the assurance that your food is safe to eat. Summer is the perfect time to start a garden, so start planting today!

Ellen Hall

Lebanon, OH Green Irene

ellen.cincydayton@greenirene.com

513-932-7304

http://www.greenirene.com/CincyDaytonEllen

How To Reduce Children’s Carbon Footprint

Be Kind to the Earth: A Little Kid’s Guide to Reducing your Carbon Footprint, written by Eco-Consultant Kelly McGovern Lu, is filled with fun and simple ways young children can learn about green living and helping make their world a better place. Young readers can enjoy this beautifully illustrated book and begin instituting small steps in their lives that can have a big impact on the future of the environment. Here is an example of some of the tips found in the book:

“Carol remembers to bring a reusable bag when she helps with the shopping!”

“Jason turns off the water while he brushes his teeth!”

“Sophia plants a tree in her backyard!”

The best place to order the book is www.authorhouse.com, as it’s listed a bit cheaper there than at Amazon and other online retailers.

This book is a great example of the incredible work Green Irene Eco-Consultants are doing. It shows the strength and character of the national Green Irene network, which is composed of amazing people ready to green homes and offices right away!

You can contact Kelly at kelly.addisoon@greenirene.com or 802-475-2118.

Kelly McGovern Lu, Authorized Green Irene Eco-Consultant

http://www.greenirene.com/1108

Kelly.Addison@greenirene.com

802-475-2118

How “Healthy” is Your Childcare Facility?

So, you recycle, use CFLs, non-toxic cleaners, and air purifiers, eat organic when possible, and do much more to protect the health of your family at home. But have you ever wondered how safe is your child’s care facility?

A child’s skin is 30% thinner than an adults’, making it a better porous surface for chemicals to leach into. And since children are exposed to an average of 61 different chemical ingredients daily, you can imagine this exposure adds up pretty quickly, especially if that exposure is prolonged for 8 hours at a time on a daily basis.

Fortunately, there are a number of groups working to help parents and administrators “clean-up” the chemicals in children’s environments. The Oregon Environmental Council provides a 25-step checklist that helps assess a child-care facility’s eco-health. For those facilities answering “yes” to 20 of the 25 items, the facility is endorsed by the Council as eco-healthy and the facility gets bragging rights and a website link. With over 945 facilities endorsed nationally, this is a credible and simple program that provides the baseline guarantee for your children’s health.

There are also a number of DVDs, books, instructional materials that help schools become more eco-healthy and green. “Creating Healthy Environments for Children” is a DVD sponsored by www.healthychild.org, while www.myhealthyschool.com provides action plans for creating safer schools.

Better health leads to better education and less stress and worries. See if your facility is endorsed and if not, tell them to request a checklist. Then, consult your Green Irene Eco-Consultant for ideas on how to make your child’s environment eco-healthy.

Margaret Stoklosa, Independent Authorized Green Irene Eco-Consultant

www.GreenIrene.com/1112
Margaret.chicagoland@greenirene.com
708-567-5556

Your Toxic Free Home

If you can swallow her cheeriness for six minutes, this lady will give you great ideas about the indoor quality of your home environment. She also explains why ‘green cleaning’ is so important for our children’s health and the health of the planet.

When she discusses the downsides of dryer sheets, keep in mind the Green Irene Dryer balls product which eliminates the need for dryer sheets.

Rosamaria Caballero Stafford
Co-Founder and the Original Green Irene