Global Warming is Placing National Parks at Risk

Click on photo above to reach the NRDC website. The full report in PDF is available here.

As someone who has a much beloved habit of hiking the Coastal California parks and a treasured and time-honored tradition of going to the Yosemite Valley with dear friends to quietly bring in the new year, I know that the devastation of our national parks would have a personal impact on me. Not to mention the terrible shame for our country and its coming generations, not to have these natural marvels to enjoy.

Alternatives to using disposable menstrual products

"Feminine hygiene" products: disposable tampons and pads.

According to Natural Matters, "in the U.S. alone, 11.3 billion "disposable" menstrual products per year are disposed of in landfill sites. It takes approximately 500 years for one "disposable" menstrual pad to partially biodegrade."

Alternatives

There are reusable menstrual products out there, including menstrual cups, reusable pads, and even special "period panties" and menstrual blankets to protect your bedding at night. There are excellent environmental, financial, and personal health arguments for making the switch.

(a) Menstrual cups.

If you prefer tampons, consider using a menstrual cup. Inserted into your vagina like a tampon, rather than absorbing your menstrual flow, a menstrual cup collects it over a period of hours. You remove the cup, empty and clean it, and reinsert it to continue to collect your flow.

Although they've only become more readily commercially available recently, menstrual cups have been around since at least the 1930s. Some say earlier! Some popular brands include Divacup and the Keeper, which produces both Moon Cups, made of silicone, and the original Keeper, made from natural latex rubber.

(b) Reusable pads.

Some of the most popular brands are GladRags and Lunapads.

There's a wide variety of different pads made by both companies to meet your needs according to where you are in your cycle and how heavy your flow is. Here's the selection of reusable pads from Lunapads and here's the one from Gladrags.

There are many other manufacturers out there. Here's a list of them from Natural choices. If you want "super cute" pads to wear, you can try Punkyspads.

If you're crafty and know how to sew, you can also make your own. (Here's another source for information on sewing your own pads.)

For more information on cloth menstrual pads, check out the rather comprehensive information on the subject at Natural Choices.


(c) Padded menstrual underpants

Lunapanties come in a couple different varieties.

(d) Menstrual sponges

Sea pearls are natural, reusable sea sponges.


Arguments for switching

Apart from the environmental impact of using disposable feminine hygiene products, which end up in the landfill, there are also financial savings for a woman who ceases to purchase these products on a monthly basis. (See Lunapads' discussion of this issue, also.)

Some women find the reusable products more comfortable, as well.

Lunapads: Why switch?


More information, support

If you're considering making the change, but you have questions, there are online communities out there that talk in detail about the issues involved in making this transition. Livejournal has several, including one specifically devoted to menstrual cups. Lunapads also has an informational guide on their website that helps you choose from among their products.

Why you should stop using Kleenex.

Kleenex.

Why should you stop using Kleenex paper tissues? Read about Kleenex's environmental impact here, at Kleercut.net.


What are the alternatives?

Start using cloth handkerchiefs. They are more sustainable both in that they do not require the chopping of trees in order to produce, and also in that they do not end up in the landfill.

For organic cotton handkerchiefs, consider the company Hankettes in British Columbia.

Their Hankettes organic cotton handkerchiefs are available in a Set of 8 here for $22.99. This "refill pack" doesn't include a handy-dandy box that they pop out of, but it's equally effective for wiping your nose!

If you must use paper, here is a list of some companies producing paper tissues that do not contribute to the clear-cutting of ancient North American forests, according to Kleercut.

Natural Area Preservation Newsletter

(Photograph from Edward Diehl's webpage on Eberwhite Woods)

In case you didn't know, the City of Ann Arbor has a division called Natural Area Preservation (NAP), which "works to protect and restore Ann Arbor’s natural areas and foster an environmental ethic among its citizens". (See their factsheet for more info.) They come out with a newsletter on a quarterly basis that tells about what's going on with its division.

Since I am inherently interested in tides, wetlands, woods, butterflies, and various flora and fauna, I enjoy hearing about this stuff.

Here's the latest (Winter 2007) newsletter. It includes information on a new addition to Eberwhite Woods (pictured above).