Fast Facts

Get the quick-and-dirty facts on your real-time environmental impact coupled with a quick tip on what you can do.

• 

  Photo courtesy Shutterstock Images

  12-15-2008

  Wrap Responsibly

  Americans toss out an extra 25 million tons of trash over the holidays, largely due to packaging.

  What Can You Do?

  After Christmas morning rituals, when it's time to clean up, take care to neatly roll and fold the glittery paper and tuck it away for reuse. Once that paper has wrapped its last gift and it's time to buy a new roll, don't. Instead, scan the house for other ways to wrap. Get some use out of an old Ace of Base poster that came off the wall ages ago. And some sheer curtains that are a bit too Moulin Rouge for window dressing can become lovely Victorian-inspired packaging. Whenever possible, don't wrap gifts at all, but rather, make the wrapping part of the gift. Give Mom fair-trade jewelry (Jaszys Fair Trade Tagua Earrings, www.econsciousmarket.com, $33) tucked inside an Aster & Sage ‘Elizabeth' Jewelry Case made from recycled materials (www.thegreenloop.com, $33) or give your outdoorsy brother a pocket LED flashlight slipped inside a Klean Kanteen reusable water bottle (adorned with an organic cotton bow cut from an old t-shirt, of course).

• 

  Photo courtesy Shutterstock Images

  11-09-2007

  Detecting Radon

  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that one in every 15 homes nationwide has elevated levels of radon, the second-leading cause of lung cancer in America.

  What Can You Do?

  Radon, a colorless, tasteless gas that forms as naturally occurring uranium decays in soil and water, is particularly problematic in basements because it leaks in via cracks in your foundation. Homeowners without basements may still have radon problems, given that the gas moves from the ground up and can enter a home through any leaky crack or hole.

  Fortunately, it's easy to monitor as long as you pick up a good radon detector, like the AirChek Radon Test ($14.95; www.radon.com), or a similar product, many of which are available at your local hardware or home improvement store. If the detector picks up concentrations above 3.0 picocuries per liter (pCi/L), it's time to call in a radon mitigation professional. Radon mitigation professionals can be found through the National Radon Safety Board (www.nrsb.org) or through your state's EPA office (www.epa.gov/iaq/whereyoulive.html).

  You can also keep your home's radon levels low by keeping it properly ventilated and by sealing cracks in the foundation.

• 

  Photo courtesy Shutterstock Images

  09-05-2007

  Test Toys for Lead

  25 percent of American children still live in conditions that put them at risk for lead exposure.

  What Can You Do?

  The heavy metal lead, which at high exposures can cause neurological and behavioral problems, often crops up in imported toys made from vinyl or decorated with lead-based paint. Here's a simple way to check your kids' toys for lead: Buy testing kits from leadcheck.com. LeadCheck Swabs are non-hazardous and provide a rapid, sensitive and specific test for leachable lead on any solid surface including paint, ceramics, vinyl lunch boxes, miniblinds and toys (800-262-5323; $18.45 for an eight-swab lead test). Lead test kits, however, can give misleading results if proper procedures aren't followed. Be sure to rough up surfaces before swabbing them and apply more pressure over a longer period of time when testing vinyl. Testing by an independent lab is a more reliable, if more expensive, method.