Safe Fun in the Sun Redux

While records were being broken in my region last week, most people were hunkering down in the A/C whenever they could.

The temperature last Friday in NYC — 104° — was the highest ever on that date, breaking a record set in 1957. In Boston, the 103° temperature matched the July 22 record reached in 1926. Some 35 miles from here, the day’s 103° temperature was the hottest ever recorded in the greater Hartford area.

  

As if these temperatures weren’t bad enough, the problems with the heat were compounded by high humidity, leading to extraordinarily high heat indexes. In short, the heat index is a measure of how hot it really feels once you factor in the humidity. This site explains what the Heat Index is and how the formula is derived, provides a Heat Index Calculator, and includes a chart indicating how dangerous it is for almost anyone whenever it is over 90° and even the least bit humid. It was very humid during the heat wave of last week. In some places it felt like 107°. 

We are enjoying a bit of a respite here (although Saturday may be another doozie as my Dad used to say), and nature lovers and those with cabin fever are venturing out once again. I’m hoping for an afternoon at Hammonasset State Park one day soon. 

It’s only been about a month since the Summer Solstice. When the sun is shining, its rays are still pretty direct (i.e. strong) in our part of the world. Check out this interactive graphic to watch how this changes throughout the year.  Early last Summer I wrote a popular post on tips for Safe Fun in the Sun to help you prepare for the season. Most of what it contains still holds true, but there is some updated info on sunscreens which I’d like to pass on to you.

First up:

The 2011 Environmental Working Group Sunscreen Guide was released late in June. 

Second:

Over the past year I have become a big fan of GoodGuide. GoodGuide rates products for Health (of the consumer), Environment (how environmentally friendly the company is), and Society (how the company stands on labor and human rights) on a scale of 1-10. You can read more here. You can currently browse over 115,000 products for their ratings. Each category is also broken down into “Top Rated” and “Bottom Rated” for a quick read.

GoodGuide was founded in 2007 by Dara O'Rourke, a professor of environmental and labor policy at the University of California at Berkeley. Chief Scientist is Bill Pease, an expert in chemical risk assessment and creator of the pollution information resource, scorecard.org., which allows the user to find the biggest polluters in his or her community by entering a zipcode.

GoodGuide is available as a free app for both Android and Apple phones. We gave it a try in a CVS while on vacation when our sunscreen ran low. Use the phone’s camera to scan the barcode of a product in which you are interested, and if it is in the GoodGuide database, you will instantly get the rating.  We learned that the tube of Burt’s Bees sunscreen I had picked off the shelf was rated 7.8 overall (8.0 for health, 8.1 for environment, and 7.3 for society), placing it in the top 15, and the only product on the list actually in the store. We bought it.

GoodGuide is adding more products everyday. If the one you scanned is not yet rated, search GoodGuide by category for a list of similar products in the database, and then check the list against what’s in stock on the store shelves to see what your choices are. If you don’t find what you are looking for, be sure to send GoodGuide a rating request.

That wraps up what I have on sunscreens. Check out my earlier post for advice on hats and the best time of day to stay indoors.

Please protect Yourself. Skin cancer is on the rise; there are now over one million cases diagnosed each year. It can be deadly. But you can also lower your risk by following some or all of this pretty simple advice. Whatever you do, stay away from tanning beds. 

Wishing you good weather and fun times in the remaining days of Summer… 

Weekend Updates

Many readers told me they enjoyed the Weekend Updates I posted in late June so I’ve decided to make it a regular end-of-the-month feature.

Blog Updates (from oldest to most recent):

I have not seen a ladybug since one landed on me in March (3/20 post).

It is important to remember that the disaster in the Gulf is far from over (5/6 post).




Although oil has disappeared from the surface of the water in many places, serious questions have been raised about the amount of dispersants used and what the long-term effects of these chemicals might be.

The State Street trees in front of Channel 8 (5/17 post) are doing well despite the heat. Each tree now has a tag listing its species and information on how to request a tree of your own. Urban Resources Initiative (URI) emailed that they had planted 275 trees around the City of New Haven before “switching program gears to focus upon Community Greenspace.” Community Greenspace has assisted New Haven residents with developing pocket parks and community gardens throughout the City. 

The woodchuck wars continue to rage in Beaver Hills (6/16 post). My source tells me that the neighborhood shooter has switched to Havahart traps. He has caught at least one woodchuck baby (lured by some tender greens) and what happened to that unlucky victim remains a mystery. A skunk has been spotted heading under the garden shed, presumably keeping what remains of the woodchuck family company.

Chatham Seals

“Times Are Strange” (7/16 post) spoke of sightings of great white sharks off the coast of Cape Cod. On Friday, July 30, Chatham officials closed South Beach to (human) swimming indefinitely after three great whites were sighted by a spotter plane. One shark was spotted cruising along the shore just 100 yards from a large group (of humans) assembled in a semicircle near a “Happy 30th” written in the sand. Officials advise that people swimming where it is still permitted avoid getting too close to the seals.

“Where Have All the Codfish Gone?” (7/21 post) was tweeted by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and generated quite a bit of interest at several sites dedicated to fishing issues. A blogger in Iceland who promotes the Icelandic fishing industry left a favorable comment. This eclectic blog has stories and videos on a wide variety of themes relating to fishing and fish: http://icelandicfish.tumblr.com/

Other News:

The New Haven Independent has listed ontheroadtogreenness as one of its favorites. You can find a link to my blog on their site under Road To Greenness.

Single-stream recycling has come to New Haven. In short, what this means is that you now no longer need to sort your recycling before you set it on the curb — just dump it all into your bin. I know it sounds crazy, but this video explains how this is possible.



But wait, there is even more to the trash/recycling story! A pilot program in which your current largish trash toter becomes your recycling bin and a new, smaller one becomes your trash toter, is scheduled to start soon in the New Haven neighborhood of Westville. You can read more about it at the Independent.

It’s been very hot here. We have had a hummingbird feeder in the yard but have not succeeded in attracting any hummers. The Fat Robin sent out a newsletter advising that you change the nectar every two days during this time of extreme heat, especially if you have located your feeder in a sunny area. During cooler times, twice a week is enough if the feeder is in the shade. The Fat Robin also stated, “If you haven't been very successful with attracting hummingbirds to your yard, don't give up! The BEST time in Connecticut is yet to come (very soon in fact)!”

It is now the first day of August, too early for the statistics for July. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released its State of the Climate Global Analysis for June. NOAA reports that June 2010 was the warmest June on record, and that April-June 2010 was the warmest three-month period for the Northern Hemisphere.

During these exceedingly hot days in the Northeast we heard frequent references to the Heat Index. This site explains what the Heat Index is and how the formula was derived, provides a Heat Index Calculator, and includes a chart indicating that it is dangerous for almost anyone whenever it is over 90° and even the least bit humid.

Finally, on a somewhat lighter note, a friend forwarded this story about a person who is researching and photographing the world’s oldest living things. How old they are will blow your mind. For sure.