Plastic Water Bottles:
Bottled water is here to stay, a booming industry that grosses more than $7 billion dollars a year in the US. Water is good, hydration is essential, especially when exercising, which is also good. But the bottle you drink from may be dangerous to your health.
Polycarbonate water bottles (labeled #7) contain bisphenol A (BPA), which leaches from the plastic even at room temperature and has been linked to chromosome damage and hormone disruption.
These are the types of plastic Nalgene water bottles found in sports stores.
#1 PET or PETE bottles (polyethylene terephthalate) may leach DEHA, a known carcinogen, if used more than once. Additionally, your water bottle that has been refilled is likely to contain potentially harmful bacteria that grow on saliva, food particles, and fecal material from unwashed hands. Many people have reported getting diarrhea from their reused water bottles. Washing bottles with hot water and detergent or a rinse with bleach will sanitize them, but also leaches harmful chemicals out of the plastic.
What to do?
Use metal bottles. A Swiss company, SIGG, makes colorful and safe aluminum drinking bottles lined with an impermeable alloy. They can be found on the Internet. The best price and the greatest variety of choices I have found in the US is at www.momovelo.com in the sundries/liquids section.
They offer both children's and adult's sizes and designs. Many other sites carry SIGG bottles as well. Thermos makes stainless steel bottles for both hot and cold drinks or soups at www.thermos.com. Wash these bottles and their tops with hot water by hand after use. Dishwashers may not get into the narrow mouths of water bottles to clean their interiors.
Safer plastic containers are polyethylene #2 and #4 (High density HDPE #2 and Low density LDPE #4). HDPE is used for milk, water, juice, and yogurt containers. LDPE is used for squeezable bottles (honey, mustard, etc.).
Buy food products packaged in glass whenever possible. Use glass containers for storing leftovers.
Relatively safe :
#1 polyethylene terephalate (PET) used only once
#2 and #4 polyethylene
Unsafe :
# 5 polypropylene (catsup bottles, yogurt containers)
#6 polystyrene (Styrofoam)
#7 polycarbonate (Nalgene) water bottles
Never use :
Food or drinks heated in plastic containers in a microwave.
Styrofoam cups (polystyrene #6), especially for hot liquids.
#7 polycarbonate (Nalgene) water bottles
Plastic baby bottles. If you must use bottles, use only glass baby bottles with silicone, not latex, nipples.
Do not reuse plastic water bottles.
And don't forget to have children wash their hands after using the bathroom.
HARMFUL EFFECTS OF PLASTIC BAGS:
Every once in a while the government here passes out an order banning shop keepers from providing plastic bags to customers for carrying their purchases, with little lasting effect. Plastic bags are very popular with both retailers as well as consumers because they are cheap, strong, lightweight, functional, as well as a hygienic means of carrying food as well as other goods.
Even though they are one of the modern conveniences that we seem to be unable to do without, they are responsible for causing pollution, killing wildlife, and using up the precious resources of the earth. About a hundred billion plastic bags are used each year in the US alone. And then, when one considers the huge economies and populations of India, China, Europe, and other parts of the world, the numbers can be staggering.
The problem is further exacerbated by the developed countries shipping off their plastic waste to developing countries like India.
Here are some of the harmful effects of plastic bags:
Plastic bags litter the landscape. Once they are used, most plastic bags go into landfill, or rubbish tips. Each year more and more plastic bags are ending up littering the environment. Once they become litter, plastic bags find their way into our waterways, parks, beaches, and streets. And, if they are burned, they infuse the air with toxic fumes.
Plastic bags kill animals. About 100,000 animals such as dolphins, turtles whales, penguins are killed every year due to plastic bags. Many animals ingest plastic bags, mistaking them for food, and therefore die. And worse, the ingested plastic bag remains intact even after the death and decomposition of the animal. Thus, it lies around in the landscape where another victim may ingest it.
Plastic bags are non-biodegradable. And one of the worst environmental effects of plastic bags is that they are non-biodegradable. The decomposition of plastic bags takes about 1000 years.
Petroleum is required to produce plastic bags. As it is, petroleum products are diminishing and getting more expensive by the day, since we have been using this non-renewable resource increasingly. Petroleum is vital for our modern way of life. It is necessary for our energy requirements – for our factories, transport, heating, lighting, and so on. Without viable alternative sources of energy yet on the horizon, if the supply of petroleum were to be turned off, it would lead to practically the whole world grinding to a halt. Surely, this precious resource should not be wasted on producing plastic bags, should it?
So, What Can be Done about the Use of Plastic Bags? Single-use plastic bags have become such a ubiquitous way of life that it seems as if we simply cannot do without them. However, if we have the will, we can start reducing their use in small ways.
A tote bag can make a good substitute for holding the shopping. You can keep the bag with the cahier, and then put your purchases into it instead of the usual plastic bag.
Recycling the plastic bags you already have is another good idea. These can come into use for various purposes, like holding your garbage, instead of purchasing new ones.While governments may be working out ways to lessen the impact of plastic bags on the environment, however, each of us should shoulder some of the responsibility for this problem, which ultimately harms us.
CAUTION OF PLASTIC SURGERY:
When people think about having plastic surgery procedures, they think about how beautiful they will look once they have healed. They anticipate how much better their life will be when they have finally had the rhinoplasty or breast augmentation that they had been dreaming about, but did you know that many cosmetic surgeries have "undesirable outcomes?"
An undesirable outcome in plastic surgery is when something goes wrong, and your results are not perfect. Perhaps too much collagen was used and the look is unnatural. Since every body is different, cosmetic surgery is simply not an exact science. 40% of all rhinoplasty surgeries are corrective surgical procedures that are needed to fix the undesirable outcome.
Does this mean that your surgery will have a bad effect? Not necessarily, but you will want to do all that is in your power to avoid that from happening to you. First of all, make sure that your surgeon is board certified as a plastic surgeon. A doctor who is board certified as a podiatrist has no business performing plastic surgeries, so make sure you do your research when it comes to selecting a qualified surgeon. Surgeons become board certified when they have had more than six years of surgical training and experience.
Make sure that you follow your doctor's post-surgical instructions. If your surgeon tells you that you cannot get out of bed for the three days following your surgery, then listen to him. Not heeding your surgeon's advice can cause you not to heal properly leaving you with puckered skin or some other undesirable outcome.
Even if everything goes well after your plastic surgery, you may still have bad effects later on. As time passes, your body changes. You age too, so you will still have lines and wrinkles. Breast implants can get misshapen or lumpy, and they do not last forever and will need to be replaced at some point
