When you consider the wide reaching impacts of climate change, highlighted by the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, it is easy to want to bury your head in the sand. It is easy to turn on the TV, read a book, or think about what to have for dinner. But when something threatens the health and future of our kids, well, moms don't tend to walk away. World scientists, governments, and health activists have been making the connections between climate change and public health for years. Here's some of what they found. Climate change is linked to: increases in...

80 percent of antibiotics used in this country are used for food animals. What is wrong with that picture? 1. The more we use them, the less effective they become. According to the Center for Food Safety and Save Antibiotics , drugs become less effective, and bacteria more resistant with overuse. So while antibiotics have saved hundreds of thousands of lives, if they are used for food animals regularly, this might not always be the case. 2. Antibiotics are routinely administered to healthy animals in order to speed growth and compensate for unsanitary conditions. The use of antibiotics is not...

Where do you get water for your family? This week we discussed the many problems of bottled water on our weekly Twitter chat, #EcoTipTue. And boy, where there a LOT. We had special guests from Corporate Accountability International and Food and Water Watch tweeting with us, as well as many of our weekly participants. Here's a few things we learned and shared during the chat. 1. Bottled water is NO safer then tap water-- in fact, it is LESS regulated. Bottled water can be sourced from virtually anywhere . And much of the time it is simply tap water that has been packaged in plastic and sold...

300,000 people without access to water? Tanks that stored chemicals without regulation just upstream from a water treatment facility? Chemicals pouring into the Elk River, with confusing advisories and virtually no safety information on the specific effects of the chemicals? We ask ourselves how this happened-- and the answers are very clear. By not acting to protect one of our most important natural resources: fresh, clean water. We are disturbed by the photos shared online of discolored water and worry about the health impacts on families. We can't let this happen again, anywhere. We must...

How can you make 2014 your family's healthiest yet? That was the topic of this week's MomsRising tweet chat. The guests and participants in #EcoTipTue had lots to share about making 2014 healthy, green and toxin free. It's each week at 9pm ET, and we'd love to have you join us. We discuss all things health, environment, toxics, and climate related. Here are 10 ideas for a healthy, happy new year. Please add yours in the comments. 1. Our special guest Leah Segedie shared several ways to start 2014 off right! "Make 2014 healthier for ur family by shopping organic, BPA free, and buy natural...

What’s in your child’s jewelry box? If you anything like many parents, its full of various play jewelry, presents from friends and family, and your own cast offs. Is anything in your child’s collection from Walmart, or Claire’s? Our friends at Washington Toxics released an alarming report about jewelry specifically from Walmart . Turns out, much of it is loaded with toxic heavy metals—like lead and cadmium. In some cases, the amount was more than 1,000 times the recommended level for lead. Now, should there even be a “recommended level for lead” ? Not when doctors and researchers regularly...