Uplifting Green is a Certified Contra Costa County Green Business

After a few months of making a few minor changes around the house and developing a few new habits, I am proud to announce that Uplifting Green has joined the group of over 300 small to medium sized businesses in Contra Costa County whom are certified as a “Green Business.” Taking the time to understand what this certification represents and how much of an impact each and every one of us has on our local environment has been a humbling experience. It is my personal goal to heighten the awareness of what each of us can do to live a sustainable, eco friendly lifestyle by continually reducing our carbon footprint. The purpose of Uplifting Green is to bring cities, businesses and consumers together through continually providing information about events, green businesses, and the latest news and tips on the “Green Movement.” It is not enough these days to talk about going green it’s time to take action. Together we have the ability to change law, our buying habits, and we can even make good lifestyle changes that will protect our environment for future generations. I encourage those of you that read this blog to leave comments and ask questions. If you are a green certified business and need a fresh marketing angle, this is the place to be. Green businesses have a voice here. My goal is to write reviews, post green advertising, green classifieds and upload green videos. Let’s make a commitment to “uplift” businesses that are taking the initiative to make our world a better place to live.

If you are interested in obtaining the Contra Costa County Green Certification click here.

If you are interested in “Green Marketing”  contact me directly: Diana Dobbie, Uplifting Green 925.513.7241

Using Antibacterial Soap with Triclosan is NOT “Going Green”

Are you aware of the serious ramifications of using antibacterial soap made with Triclosan? Unfortunately, once again I feel like a bad mother as I recently had a home business audit to obtain my Bay Area Green Certification in Contra Costa County when I was informed during my audit that I needed to remove all my antibacterial soap in the house. Apparently, Triclosan breaks down rapidly when exposed to tap water that is chlorinated and produces toxic chemicals and may be a carcinogen.
Did you know that Triclosan has the ability to decompose in chlorine byproducts in as little as one minute at 100 degrees Fahrenheit? Think of what we are unknowingly releasing into our water system. We are harming ourselves as well as our environment
In 2005 Mark & Spencer a British store removed toothpaste made in China containing triclosan. Hmmm…. another valid point for buying products made in the United States.
Triclosan, is an ingredient in many detergents, dish-washing liquids, soaps, deodorants, cosmetics, lotions, anti-microbial creams, various toothpastes, and an additive in various plastics and textiles.
It is a fact that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has registered it as a pesticide.(visit the regulatons.gov website, docket # EPA-HQ-2007-0513) The chemical formulation and molecular structure of this compound are similar to some of the most toxic chemicals on earth, relating it to dioxins and PCBs. The EPA has evaluated triclosan and given it a high ranking both as a human health risk and as an environmental risk.
I did tell my loyal fans that I would continually make small changes every day to become a more green, eco friendly consumer that is responsible and works towards leading a sustainable life right? This is my one small change today. I removed all antibacterial soap that contains Triclosan. You may want to check your dishsoap, & laundry soap and I hope you’re not brushing with toothpaste from China eee gads!!!

chemical composition of Triclosan

Drummond Larson, Sustainability director of Method also states that triclosan is a product their company has chosen to NOT include in their product line. Read here about Methods stand on tricolsan

4 Mistakes I made on Earth Day

I just realized that Earth Day slipped right through my fingers. How did this happen? Well, let’s walk through my day….It is Thursday, April 23, 2009. I awoke with a start at 4:15 am because I was abnormally and uncomfortably hot even though the windows were open. I tried going back to sleep and was drifting in and out of a half sleep thinking of my friends and family in Seattle and wondering about how many unusual and abnormal snow storms they experienced this past season. As I pondered once again how I was going to get back to sleep,  I realized I might have made a few errors during the day.

Mistake #1

I awoke on Earth Day around 6:00 am so I could have a little quiet time to myself for checking  emails and working on the computer before my daughter, cats, guinea pigs, fish and husband all need help from me getting ready in the morning. My loft office has a serene view of a lagoon and I should have taken time to notice the sun rising and enjoyed watching the water fowl and other great aviary visions. Even better,  I should have got up and watered the vegetable garden and then taken a brisk walk around the block as I’m trying to fit some exercise into my life…

Mistake #2

Not that it’s a mistake, but I work for a printing company. Everyday I walk into the sunless, windowless office and am surrounded by buckets of paperwork, stacks and mounds of stuff that needs to be filed, or tossed into the enormous recycling bin out back. I watch the production team cranking out various magazines and tabloids on an offset web press then they stitch, bind and inkjet address each piece for postal delivery. I constantly wonder what kinds of steps we can take to reduce waste. Do we really need to have so many hard copies of internal paperwork that is stuffed in drawers and record retention boxes then stored in outside storage bins and is occasionally if ever referred to every again? Can we survive in a paperless office? What can I do to change things?

I also think about all the little things I personally could have done differently on Earth Day. I stopped at Starbucks bought my usual hot green tea grande  and I disposed of a paper coffee cup when I could bring my own mug. Instead of using a lunch box, I brought my lunch in a plastic grocery bag that I carelessly tossed into the trash that goes to the landfill. I used a plastic fork to eat my lunch because I was too lazy to wash a regular fork .

Mistake #3

I picked my daughter up after school and she mentioned that there was a Family Science Fair at school at 6:30. The Scandi Lab, part of Lawrence Livermore Lab provided many cool tactile science experiments for the children. Her favorite experiment was threading a wooden skewer through a blown up balloon without popping it. My mistake was ignoring her plea to ride her bike back to the school as I didn’t give my self enough time to get there. I drove a few blocks and missed yet another opportunity to exercise.

Mistake #4

Once again I’m not sure this is a mistake but I kind of forgot it was Earth Day because I didn’t listen to the radio, I didn’t watch any TV, I didn’t really surf the Net, and I’m not linked to any useful relevant RSS feeds. In fact if I hadn’t quickly glanced at comments from my friends on my Facebook profile I would have totally missed it. (Thanks Fred T:)

So what did I learn from mistakes? Well I guess I have a decision to make. Although nothing I did was totally detrimental, I have to ask myself, do I really want to change?

My answer is YES! I do want to change, I will work towards having a “greener’ conscience. I want to be informed of what options I can choose, I want to be empowered to make intelligent decisions. Thank goodness I have all day long to make a change.