Goodguide.com - Empowering consumers

If you are in the bay area and haven’t heard of goodguide.com, then you aren’t keeping up with the news. Goodguide.com is a tool that enables consumers to be responsible consumers! They provide ratings based on health, environmental and social impacts of a product.You can look up the product on the web or real time while shopping using their new, free iphone app (one more reason to get that iphone!)

The ingredients of products on the shelves have become increasing complex and obscure. We often hear about carcinogens found in toys, Nike using child labor, genetically modified foods, pesticide contamination, additives, preservatives, sodium, cholesterol, transfat, various chemicals.. Not to mention, all the green washing out there. It is quiet confusing , time consuming and frustrating to find the right product. Goodguide.com has eased that pain quite a bit, I have to say. I started looking up some of the cereals, frozen foods that I buy and for the most part, I was choosing the wrong product. If I picked the one with high fiber, it also comes with high sugar plus not to mention the environmental practices of the company, good lord!

I have a toddler..What snacks should I stay away from? Check here. My son regularly eats atleast 3 of them on the list. Well, Not anymore!

Did you know that many of the chemicals used in the personal care products have not been tested for their effects on human health? Read here

Is Santa bringing toxic toys this year? Read here

Find out the top ten chemicals to avoid in the baby care products here

If you use Google reader – this is one that you would want to subscribe to – closest thing there is – to protect your family and shop responsibly

Black soot responsible for rapid retreat of Tibetan glacier

The Ganges, one of the most sacred (and dirtiest) river in India, originates from the Tibetan Glaciers. We all, now, know that the world's glaciers are retreating because of global warming. Jim Hansen , the NASA scientist, co-authored a paper here, with other Chinese scientists, say that they have found evidence that the decline of the Tibetan glaciers is accelerated by black soot aerosols. Asia is the largest source of black soot. If the rate of decline continues, many glaciers could say bye-bye to mother earth as early as 2050!

Now, What will that mean to the billion population (in East and South Asia) who depend on this glacier for fresh water?

• Heavier Spring floods
• Reduced water supplier in the dry season

The rate of decline is quiet alarming in the last decade says Jim Hansen However, V.K Raina a former Deputy Director General of the Geological Survey of India, disagrees. He finds no abnormal retreat as he says to the journalist here. That is not all- his report has been endorsed by the Ministry of Environment & Forestry. The minister Jairam Rakesh , has stated that there is no conclusive evidence that global warming or black soot is causing the glaciers to melt. Yup, they seem to be getting on the global warming skeptics train. A little late though! It baffles me , as to how people in such responsible positions say such things. Even if what he said were true (which is not as we can see by Jim's Hansen's paper) - Isn't it better to error on the side of caution?

Read on the article here as it presents evidence that declining glacier is indeed anthropogenic

Denmark - the model country

Thomas Friedman’s OP-ED column – Copenhagen That Matters

Be sure to read the comments as well