What "Nature-based" things do you like/not like about Long Island? (Riverhead: tax, beaches)

[CleanCutHippie]

Originally Posted by geo123

So don't drink the water in Jamaica Bay !!! But to make the connection between polluted surface water in jamaica Bay and your drinking water is beyond stupid. Do you think San Francisco Bay or Chesepeake Bay are soooo much better. Would you drink water from either of those two places ??

Pharmaceuticals in surface water is a definite environmental problem, as you've described with the fish. But the doses of pharmaceuticals found in surface water are about 1/1000 of the smallest "therapeutic" dose to a human. In other words, that level of pharmaceutical has no human effect !!! And since you don't drink the water in jamaica bay, you needn't worry.

Get real for once !!! There is plenty not to like about Long Island, but to blame the public tap water for one's poor quality of life is just plain ignorant !!

Dude, you really need to chill. Speaking of pharmacueticuls perhaps a Xanax might do the trick. Also who said tap water was soleyt to blame for poor quality of life?..lol I just limit my exposure to it whenever possible.

[CleanCutHippie]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

I found an article about this phenomena occurring in Jamaica Bay. One scary part of this is that the hormone disruption if caused by chemicals in laundry detergents...

Chemicals Found in Detergents, Cosmetics Disrupting Hormone Activity in Fish -- and Humans - Science News - redOrbit

I switched to completely organic/natural laundry detergents after researching which ones would be safest for the environment. There are now some very good alternatives fortunately but the damage done might be irreversible. What a shame.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by CleanCutHippie

I switched to completely organic/natural laundry detergents after researching which ones would be safest for the environment. There are now some very good alternatives fortunately but the damage done might be irreversible. What a shame.

I've traded Downy for Vinegar, buy Mrs Meyers cleaning products, but have had a tough time kicking the Tide habit. I've reduced the usage as much as possible...out of curiosity -- what organic laundry detergents have you had the best success with? I have a lot of dirty laundry (kids and a hard working husband.)

[alexei27]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

I've traded Downy for Vinegar, buy Mrs Meyers cleaning products, but have had a tough time kicking the Tide habit. I've reduced the usage as much as possible...out of curiosity -- what organic laundry detergents have you had the best success with? I have a lot of dirty laundry (kids and a hard working husband.)

I'll chime in here...we use cloth diapers on our kids so detergent was crucial.
You always here the stories like "oh my clothes are so much cleaner and blah blah blah"...

But it's 100% true when you stop using Tide/All/Gain/etc...that stuff ruins your clothes and your septic!

Here are some good ones...

Safe, Non toxic, Biodegradable Soap - Charlie's Soap
Biokleen | Tough on Dirt, Gentle on the Earth (their cleaning products are fantastic).

The prices look high...but when you break it down as to how much you use...it ends up being cheaper.

Right now to be honest...we are using a laundry detergent that is made by a local homemaker...and it's the best we have used so far. I'll send you her contact info if you're interested.

Simple Green works wonders in the laundry as a booster.

[geo123]

Originally Posted by CleanCutHippie

Dude, you really need to chill. Speaking of pharmacueticuls perhaps a Xanax might do the trick. Also who said tap water was soleyt to blame for poor quality of life?..lol I just limit my exposure to it whenever possible.

Never said "solely".

You attribute all kinds of problems to the water system, yet provide no actual info, just your opinion.

Looking forward to reading the info about LI water being the worst in the country

[jeepejeep]

Termites are a problem all over the Island. Where ever there any woods there are so many friggin' tick you get covered with them. Horrible! Humidity is horrible. Winters too cold.
Nice beaches but then, I'm not a beach person so that's why I'm gettin' outta here.

[lialleycat]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

I've traded Downy for Vinegar, buy Mrs Meyers cleaning products, but have had a tough time kicking the Tide habit. I've reduced the usage as much as possible...out of curiosity -- what organic laundry detergents have you had the best success with? I have a lot of dirty laundry (kids and a hard working husband.)

I use 7th Generation laundry soap that I get most often at Target. It's a bit pricey, but I like it.

[lialleycat]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

Thank you so very much for taking the time to post the info. I look forward to reading it.

You're welcome.

[totallyfrazzled]

We use the Seventh Generation "Free and Clear" (no dyes or fragrances) laundry detergent as well. It also contains no optical brighteners which (just like fabric softeners) remain on your clothing afterward. Many laundry detergents have these optical brighteners even if the packaging doesn't say so.

The chemical residue that remains on your clothes from the optical brighteners absorb invisible UV light and emit it back to your eye as visible "blue" light. This effect masks any yellowing that may be present in your clothing and thus makes the item seem brighter and whiter than it would otherwise look. The clothes only LOOK cleaner than they would if you had used a non-optical-brightener detergent... they are not actually any cleaner or brighter at all. It's just a fool-the-eye trick!

Optically, it's like what a Reveal lightbulb does (compared to a standard incandescent) but in reverse.

[lialleycat]

Originally Posted by totallyfrazzled

We use the Seventh Generation "Free and Clear" (no dyes or fragrances) laundry detergent as well. It also contains no optical brighteners which (just like fabric softeners) remain on your clothing afterward. Many laundry detergents have these optical brighteners even if the packaging doesn't say so..........

Hmmm... I use the same laundry detergent - I'm allergic to most fragrances, so I avoid them. When my brother moved to an apartment without laundry facilities and started washing his dark blue scrubs from work at my house (using my soap) - his co-workers noticed his scrubs weren't fading and looked as good as new while theirs were getting faded and cruddy looking. Wonder if that's due to the optical brighteners?