Learning From Our Neighbors: Part I

This past weekend I had the opportunity and pleasure of traveling to visit family in Ontario, Canada.  It was a beautiful day, eh?  There were good times, excellent food and it was great to reconnect with cousins and meet brand new ones.  Throughout the course of the afternoon, many discussions were had about the differences between Canada and the U.S. when it comes to health care, recycling, and regulations surrounding food supply. And you know what?  Canadians do a lot of things right when it comes to all of those things. 

Food for...Thought?

20,000 -- The number of steel cans recycled in the US every minute.

100 Milllion -- The number of cell phones Americans threw out in 2006.  Recycling them would have saved enough energy to power 194,000 homes for a year!

250,000 -- The number of gallons of water that can be polluted by a single quart of motor oil that seeps into the ground.  Definitely a reason to handle motor oil with care and dispose of it properly.  www.earth911.org.

2.5 -- The number of cans of soda the average employee consumes at work per day.  Switching to filtered water via a reusable water bottle is definitely much healthier for you, your wallet and the planet!

4 pounds, 6 ounces: the amount of cosmetics that can be absorbed through the skin of a woman who wears makeup every day, over the period of one year. Your skin is eating your makeup! 

Learn more about what is in your makeup and how to make safer cosmetics choices at the Environmental Working Group's Cosmetics Database.