Your pillow is a source of soft comfort and a good night’s sleep. But it can also be a source of allergens, primarily dust mites. Because your face and head rest on the pillow all night, your exposure is inescapable. You spend about 1/3 of every day lying on your pillow. So if you have allergies, it’s a good idea to maintain an allergy-free pillow along with the rest of your bedding. Read the rest of this entry

Electronic devices are tricky to recycle (although there are programs), and they are not cheap. So extending their life makes sense from a waste standpoint as well as an economic one. Here are some tips and ideas on how you can get the most out of your electronic products. Read the rest of this entry

In 2006, there was an outbreak of E.coli in the United States. There were 5 deaths and more than 200 cases of illness. The cause was contaminated, bagged spinach which the victims had been eaten raw. Also in 2006, pre-packaged iceberg lettuce served in restaurants resulted in another outbreak of E.coli.

Understandably, people became concerned about pre-packaged leafy greens. How safe is bagged salad now? Read the rest of this entry

Pet stores can be such fun to visit. The animals are so cute behind the glass windows, especially the dogs. They roll around, look cute, and often charm pet store customers into buying them. But where did that puppy come from? It’s a good question, and often the answer is: a puppy mill.

While not all pet stores obtain their stock from puppy mills, nearly all puppy mills sell to pet shops. The likelihood that the doggy in the window came from a puppy mill is very high. Read the rest of this entry

While undercooked meat and eggs tend to raise red flags among restaurant-goers, salad bars may actually pose just as much if not more risk of food-borne illness. This is not necessarily the result of the owners and employees of the salad bar (although sometimes it is). Often lettuce becomes contaminated during processing, before it even reaches the salad bar. And customers’ unsanitary behavior also contributes to making the salad bar unsafe. Read the rest of this entry