Saturday Short Subjects: Safe Fun in the Sun– 2013 Edition

For the last several years, at the start of Summer, I have compiled and posted some best tips for protecting yourself while having fun in the sun. In the northern hemisphere, late June is the time of year when the sun’s rays are the longest and most powerful. Check out this animated graphic if you need convincing. It is also the season when many people spend more time outdoors. 

Being out in the sun can lift your spirits, making you feel good. But unprotected exposure to intense sunlight increases the risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer accounts for nearly half of all cancers in the United States; over 12,000 people die from skin cancer each year. If you are going to be out in the summer sun, particularly between the hours of 10 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, you really should take some precautionary measures.

EVERYONE who spends time outdoors at this time of year needs a good sunscreen, no matter how dark you are or how easily you tan. All sunscreens are not created equal, and it is impossible to judge the effectiveness of a product from its label alone.

Here are two places to turn for some expert assistance. GoodGuide and the Environmental Working Group (EWG) are excellent sources of the latest test results on sunscreen effectiveness and safety.  Both have updated reports. Here is a link to EWG’s 2013 Guide to Safer Sunscreens and here is one to GoodGuide’s Ratings. 

GoodGuide is also available as a free app for Android and iPhone. Once you have installed the app, simply scan a product barcode, and, if it is in the GoodGuide database, you will get its rating instantly. GoodGuide is particularly useful if you don’t have time to shop online and are limited to the selection in your neighborhood store. You may not be able to purchase the highest rated product, but GoodGuide will help you make the best choice of what is available.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER. [Popsicles work, too, especially the juice ones you make yourself.]

And, DON’T FORGET A HAT. Tilley, Sunday Afternoons, and Outdoor Research offer protective headgear in a wide range of styles. Some hats can even make you feel cooler. They can be found in outdoor outfitters including EMS, REI, and TrailBlazer, as well as online. Hats can be serious, silly,  stylish — whatever works for you. If you insist on wearing a baseball cap, be sure to protect your neck and ears.

Me and my hat in Point Lobos, CA — ready for adventure

Here’s wishing you a safe and happy summer… Good times.

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

Saturday Short Subjects: 2012 Tips for Protected Fun in the Sun

For a couple of years now I have compiled and posted some best tips for sun protection. At this time of year, in the northern hemisphere, the sun’s rays are the longest and most powerful. Check out this animated graphic if you need convincing. It is also the season when many people like to spend time outdoors. Unprotected exposure to intense sunlight increases the risk of skin cancer; if you are going to be out in the summer sun, particularly between the hours of 10 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon, you really should take some precautionary measures.

Last year I first reported on the sunscreen research compiled by both GoodGuide and the Environmental Working Group.  Both have updated reports. Here is a link to EWG’s 2012 information and here is one to GoodGuide’s. GoodGuide is also available as a free app for Android and iPhone. Just scan a product barcode, and, if it is in the GoodGuide database, you will get a rating instantly (well, pretty darn quick anyway).

The year before I shared some information on good sun hats. I have since discovered another great company for protective headgear of the UPF (Ultraviolet Protector Factor) kind — Outdoor Research, a Seattle-based company founded by a survivor of a nearly-tragic incident on Alaska’s Denali. Outdoor Research manufactures 35 sun hats, most in the $30 range, topping out at $65. Most, if not all, are made in the USA and a few are somewhat stylish, even sporty. All come with an “Infinite Guarantee.” They can be found in EMS stores and other outdoor outfitters including TrailBlazer, as well as online. 

Here’s wishing you a safe and happy holiday…

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

OTRTG Roadshow 12.08.11

Today I’ll be speaking to a friendly audience up the hill at the Yale Divinity School. The topic? Finding Your Own Way to Greenness: Tips and Tools for Greening Up Your Holidays. I will have a slideshow in Keynote, and business cards with a QR code to this page. Following is a summary with links to some of the topics I will cover.

SOME OF MY INSPIRATIONS

• First Earth Day 
• First Macintosh 
• Steven Chu 
• Michael Pollan 
• Renewal 

BUY NOTHING CHRISTMAS/OCCUPY CHRISTMAS

Buy Nothing Christmas was started by Mennonites on the Canadian West Coast in 2001.

Occupy has morphed this idea into a campaign to support local businesses and alternatives to corporate retailers. Check out the movement's Facebook page for more. One suggestion is to support local, independent businesses.

Etsy is another way. Etsy is an “online marketplace” to buy and sell things handmade, supplies, and vintage items. Etsy's mission is “to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers.” Its vision is “to build a new economy and present a better choice.” Its tagline is “Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.” Buyers and sellers come from 150 countries, and Etsy sellers number in the hundreds of thousands. 

Here are some of my suggestions:

LOCAL MERCHANTS

• Atticus Bookstore and Cafe
• CitySeed Farmers Markets
• Devil’s Gear Bicycle Shop 
• Elm City Market Co-Op
• Foundry Music
• Group W Bench
• Hull's
• Katahdin Furniture
• Knit New Haven
• Trailblazer
• Willoughby’s Coffee and Tea

SHOPPING TOOLS

Good Guide 

Yelp 

A NIGHT ON THE TOWN

Farm to Table Restaurants

• 116 Crown
• Caseus 
• Claire’s
• Kitchen Zinc

Entertainment

• Criterion Cinema
• Long Wharf Theatre
• New Haven Symphony Orchestra
• Shubert Theater
• Yale Rep

Check out Info New Haven for current promotions for shopping downtown.

SHOPPING FOR GOOD

• 10,000 Villages 
• CAW
• Peabody Museum
• Yale British Art Center 
• Yale University Art Gallery
• Albers Kits 

REPURPOSING/VINTAGE SHOPPING

• English Building Markets
• Fashionista
• Helping Hands Community Thrift Store & Furniture Bank 
• IKEA Hacking
• Wiki-How

GIFTING FOOD

• For the scoop on chocolate 
• Local Harvest

FOR THE PERSON WHO HAS EVERYTHING

• Heifer International
• KIVA: http://www.kiva.org/
• Oxfam America
• Check out my last year’s post on 10 Worthy Causes. 

FOR SOME OF MY OWN PERSONAL GIFT IDEAS

Check out some of my other 10 Things Thursdays on a variety of topics from stocking stuffers, mementos for those who live far away, gifts for kids.

• 10 Random Things
• 10 Things to Stuff in a Stocking
• 10 Things to Wear
• 10 Useful Things
• 10 Things to Buy for the Cook
• 10 Things to Buy For Kids

CULINARY ADVENTURES

Check out this great tool: Google with recipe view 

And tales of my culinary adventures with:

• Hakurei Turnip
• Kohlrabi
• Nettle Soup
• Ramps

FOR MORE ON WASTE

American Wasteland: How Americans Throw Away Nearly Half Their Food 

CREATIVE WRAPPING IDEAS

Check out these and these

And for shipping something heavy, or to a rural area, learn more about If it fits, it ships!

In conclusion, as a new Seafood Watch Advocate, I handed out the Northeast version of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch pocket guide as stocking stuffers. Here is the link to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Advocate Program.

Thanks to everyone who joined me on the road!

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… 

Free Things Friday

Worthy Things to Do, Listen To, or View that Won’t Cost You a Dime


TGIF. I’m sure at least some of you will be online for part of today or the weekend ahead. I’ve been doing my share of surfing and bookmarking. Here is my current short list of bests. I’ve tried to include something for everyone.

• Sing a Song. Pass it On. In Out of Many We Are One artists Joanie Spear and Thomasina Levy articulate the need for Americans to find common ground in a difficult time. Listen to the song while you watch the video, then download an mp3 and the words and music, all for free. The artists write, “We hope you will take this song to your friends, your singing groups and choirs and sing it!”

• If you plan to buy an appliance at a Presidents’ Day sale, check out the ENERGY STAR site before you shop. You can also find current rebates at this site. Be good to the planet and to your wallet. An old post of mine might be helpful, too.

• Answer one of many calls to action. Here are just two. If you live in California, you might consider signing the petition for calling for one million green cars. If your municipality or any group with which you are affiliated is still buying bottled water, consider pledging to Think Outside the Bottle. For talking points, watch The Story of Bottled Water, one of the videos in the Story of Stuff project. Those who live in New Haven will have an opportunity to call for the end of the City’s purchase of bottled water at a public hearing on Tuesday night.

• Find out just how good your shampoo (or deodorant, and now even the chocolate you plan to buy for Valentine’s Day) really is for you, the people who make it, and the environment. You can search for ratings on all types of products at GoodGuide, also available as an app for your iPhone. More on GoodGuide in a future post.

• Watch The Warriors of Qiugang: A Chinese Village Fights Back, a documentary nominated for a 2011 Academy Award. Co-produced by Yale Environment 360, Warriors tells the story of villagers in China who fought to close the chemical plant that was ruining their way of life. The entire 39 minute film is available for viewing online.

• Go Ahead, Laugh! Portlandia, a new comedy series starring SNL’s Fred Armisen, pokes some good-natured fun at the Green life. The series is being shown Friday nights on IFC at 10:30. If you don’t get that channel, you can watch free clips here. Be sure to check out “Is It Local?”

• On Saturday, February 12, beginning at 10:30 AM, watch the TED^X Manhattan conversations on “Changing the Way We Eat.” Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel will be speaking at 2:45 PM EST.

• Download one of my favorite songs, Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer.” Now free on iTunes. Get it while you can.  

That's it for today. Valentine’s Day is coming. Please remember to share with a friend or loved one.