The places we spend our days, whether at work, school or at home, are important to us. Our environment reflects who we are and how we view the world. Increasingly the onus on green living means a return to a simpler time where our living and working spaces are more organic, without a demarcation between the inside and the outdoors.
Bring the garden inside
Imagine reaching out to pick a fresh strawberry while you are sitting at your desk or a window filled with potted sunflowers framing your child’s classroom. Architects and naturalists are bringing the outdoors inside with living walls, hanging baskets and indoor courtyards filled with plants and flowers. An indoor garden is not only aesthetically pleasing; it also operates as a natural air purification system. The University of Technology in Sydney, Australia found that several varieties of common indoor plants were able to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by up to 100% over a 24 hour period.
The average American house uses 40 pounds of toxic cleaning products each year.
Natural light
Exposure to natural light is an important component of human and animal health. Humans need natural light to survive and flourish. Numerous studies support the link between sunlight and cancer prevention, obesity, insomnia, heart disease, depression, attention span and many more common illnesses and diseases. However, many of the workplaces and schools have inadequate access to natural light. Instead most office workers and students spend 8-10 hours a day under unnatural florescent lighting. The Canadian Center For Occupational Health and Safety reports that headaches, eyestrain and general eye discomfort are three common workplace issues associated with fluorescent lights. Fluorescent lights are flashing up to 60-120 times a second. Dr. Temple Grandin, world-renowned autism educator, found that children with autism are particularly susceptible to flickering lights.
Clean green
Typical North American homes have indoor levels of pollution that are higher than the outside air of the most polluted of cities. According to Nature Clean, the average North American house uses 40 pounds of toxic cleaning products each year. Indoor air pollution causes 14 times more death than outdoor air pollution reports the World Health Organization. The American-based Environmental Protection Agency explains that indoor air pollution is one of five top environmental threats to human health.
Household cleaners, covered under the Hazardous Products Act, are not required to reveal all their product ingredients. Instead manufacturer’s use generic terms like “poisonous” or “hazardous to health”, but do not detail all the possible long-term health-associated effects with using these products in a confined space. Toxic cleaning products have been linked to nerve damage, respiratory ailments, headaches, chest pains, irregular heartbeat, dizziness, eye irritations, hormone disruption, rashes, loss of memory and allergies. Scientists estimate that everyone alive today carries within her or his body at least 700 contaminants, most of which have not been well studied, reports The Body Burden, a Canadian Human Toxome Project.
American women's breast milk has 75 times the average amount of flame-retardants found in European women's breast milk.
Natural materials
Most North Americans spend an estimated 90% of their day indoors, making indoor air quality a serious factor in human health. A University of Texas study found American women’s breast milk has 75 times the average amount of flame-retardants found in European women's breast milk. Flame retardant is found in everything from computers to furniture.
Harmful chemicals are hidden in many common household products and building materials, often completely unbeknownst to consumers. Formaldehyde, toxic finishes and varnishes, paints, carpets, particleboards and plywood, all contribute to an unhealthy indoor living environment. Sustainability and a desire to have non-toxic product environments are driving consumer markets, with a wide array of non-toxic building, finishing products and home furnishings now being made available.
Resources
Body Burden: http://www.bodyburden.org/
Chemical Body Burden: http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org/
Inhabitat: http://www.inhabitat.com/
Ideal Bite: http://www.idealbite.com/
Green Pages
The Sky Factory, founded by award-winning earth artist Bill Witherspoon, provides authentic illusions of sky and landscape to trigger a psycho-physiological response of deep relaxation and inner peace while working, studying and recovering when far from natural light and windows: http://www.theskyfactory.com/
written by Hello , October 23, 2009
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written by Gauraw , October 17, 2009