Earth Week: mercury rising

Happy Earth Day!

Hope you enjoyed the special East Coast Guest Posts that have run for Earth Week on the site. If you missed any, you can read them here.

More and more, for me Earth Day is becoming a part of my daily life. I read more books and articles on the subject of greener and sustainable living in order to make changes. One of the things I’ve learned in the past year is that mercury is floating around in things that should really be of greater concern.

In our food just take a look at reports about fish and warnings for pregnant women and small children in particular to not consume particular types of fish too frequently. Perhaps it’s a good argument for veganism, but for those who aren’t willing/able/interested in taking that route, I recently discovered the Blue Ocean Institute FishPhone: a sustainable fish information service. You can send a phone text to 30644 with the message FISH (in all caps) followed by the type of fish you want to know about and it’ll fire back sustainability and health info on that species for free. Choosing the eco-friendliest seafood options just became  easier than ever. Check it out now using this cool little widget:

And next is makeup. MERCURY IN MASCARA!? It’s true. The Environmental Working Group’s researchers in the United States list the products and ingredients you should avoid in What Not to Buy. Check out my article at Halifax Retro on going green with cosmetics and toiletries. Remember, this new site is looking for community members to blog, vlog, and podcast about their sustainable living opinions, issues and ideas. Contact staff [at] halifaxretro [dot] ca for more details.

In the meantime, do you have any Earth Day resolutions?