Environmental Safety Vs. Home Safety
- Sometimes being a sound environmentalist means stepping out of your comfort zone. Driving less, spending a little more on organicaly grown foods and choices like these can be barriers for many people. Ultimately though, we should remind ourselves that we are still part of the environment and that sacrificing personal safety is never part of the equation. Treating ourselves right and being healthy can translate to an equally healthy environment.
- So what comes first? Home safety or the environment? While both are important, in order to streamline the thought process it can help to start with safety at home, and work outward to environmental safety. As a general rule, if a substance is bad for you or your family, it is most likely bad for the environment. Lead paint, for instance, is known to be toxic to humans, but when that same paint flakes off and enters surrounding ecosystems, the lead content is still toxic. This is a simple example of how a safe and non-toxic home environment is synonymous with environmental stewardship.
- Instead of using paints or using cleaning products that you aren't sure about, use ones that can be readily identified as safe and non-toxic. Sometimes a product may not have been identified as unsafe for humans, but this can sometimes be attributed to organisms in the surrounding environment to be more sensitive than humans. The infamous DDT is still thought to be safe around humans, even children, but it builds up in smaller organisms and eventually becomes toxic.
- Although it may be true that the latest synthetic petroleum-based cleaners and detergents really do work the best under certain applications, most environmentally benign alternatives work just as well for work around your home. Phosphorous-free laundry and dishwasher detergents do the job just fine, and usually cost the same. Using eco safe alternatives is one simple way to cover basic home duties and environmental safety all at once.
- The packages on cleaners and chemicals you keep in your home don't always tell the whole story. There are many people available to you for further help though. The local department of health in your city is an excellent resource for finding out what's on the radar. State departments of ecology or environmental quality should also have records of possible sources of contamination in your area if any exist. Arming yourself with knowledge about the dangers around you is an integral part of keeping your home safe and the environment healthy.
