More Hip Than Hippie - Pets Part II - What comes out!
This week we taste an interesting chocolate, focus on what comes out of your pets (ick), and answer lots of listener emails.

The Chocolate - This chocolate has a little kick of chili and nibs. As suggested to us in a listener email - Xocolatl from Dagoba - Check it out.

The Beer - This one is from England - Young's winter warmer a dark seasonal ale from the Ram Brewery Wadsworth.

Val's Waxing: Val is going to try perisa leg wax. A natural product for hair removal - She will let us know how it goes.

Dori and Val are Proud to be a Californians:

• Approved California Solar Initiative - Learn more here.
• Legislature considers bill to ban chemical from kids' products Bisphenol A found in pacifiers, toys and baby bottles - Read the article here - and a guide to safer toys and home here.
• Industrial Hemp Farming Act - State Hemp Legislation Making Advances- Read More here.

Finds for the Week

• Martha Stewart Living Magazine - Suggests putting pebbles (that can match your decor in a baking dish and putting your boots on that so the moisture can be wisked away.
• Also from Martha Stewart Living - Paw Care- Winter walks are fun, but the rock salt used to melt snow can make a dog.s paws raw and chapped. To prevent a pet injury, fill a container with warm water before going outdoors, and briefly dunk each paw in the water when you return home. Keep a towel nearby for drying off.
• From Real Simple Magazine - Furnace Filter Replacement Reminder - Before this winterâ��s high energy bills have you heading out to the backyard to build a windmill, make sure youâ��re not adding to them by neglecting your furnaceâ��s filter. For maximum efficiency, it should be replaced at least every three months, but often this task is forgotten. Sign up at www.filtersontime.com and filters will be shipped to you automatically, right on schedule. (You can also have water filters and air-purifier filters sent regularly.) Thatâ��s one less task for the to-do list.
• Another from Real Simple Magazine - Keeping your garbage disposal fresh - To get rid of odors, make vinegar ice cubes and feed them down the garbage disposal. Simply run cold water through the drain after grinding. You can also use lemon, which will leave your disposal smelling lemony-fresh.
• For the party-goer - Tabletopics.com - great icebreakers and questions to freshen the conversations at your next cocktail party or family gathering. Val adds a few Valentine's party ideas. Email us your great party ideas at hip@greenfeet.com

Your Pets - What comes out of your pet and how to deal with it
A city of 1,000,000 people would have an average dog population of 60-80,000. Each dog produces about a 1/4 of a pound of waste a day. That's 52,500 lbs of dog poop a day in just one city.

 

Pet waste can contain pathogens and bacteria that can be harmful to humans. Here are some of the illnesses that can be contracted by pet poop (any carnivore eating pet, that is) typically through ingesting contaminated water

• Parasitic worms such as round, tape and hook worms
• Cryptosporidium (val pronounced it right - yay!). It causes nasty intestinal unspeakables and fever
• Salmonella
• Giardia (beaver fever - don't get Dori started on this)

Chlorine doesn't kill all of these pathogens so water treatment plants are not the answer. We need to dispose of poop properly.
What to do?

• Control where your pet relieves him/herself.
• Use biodegradable/compostable pet poop bags such as BioBags.
• Till an area in your yard to make pooping in a specific area more attractive to Rover
• Flush pet waste down the toilet (good for cat poop, but can fill up septic faster)
• The best idea is to compost your pet waste. You need to create a condition where the temperature is high enough to kill pathogens - it's like setting up a mini doggie septic tank. Here are the tips that Val found on the internet on how to make your own pet composter.

Remember: NEVER use pet compost on edible garden or flower beds. It's best to use for trees and shrubs away from little hands.

 

Listener Emails

• Annie -
  1. Freecycle: thanks for turning me on to this - people have, and will take, ANYTHING (so TRY it!)
  2. Essential oils: I went out and bought tea tree and lavender oils. Tell me about the droppers, though. My oils have the droppers in the lid - and not the kind of dropper that you squeeze like eye drops. These seem kind of hard to control - do you recommend these kind and how do you know what the dropper is like if you can't open the bottle?
  3. Method products: have you learned anything about these? I have tried the dishwashing detergent and it seems to clean well but I want to know if they're good for the environment. Check out what Method has to say about their ingredients here
  4. When I pack my child's lunch, I have to use recloseable container so that the school can have him repack what he does not eat. I WAS using zip-top bags but found a fabric wrap at www.reusablebags.com that is a square of fabric with a safe plastic on the interior and a velcro close - it's called a Wrap-n-Mat. My son (4) can open and close it with no problem and it works great. Thanks for turning me on www.reusablebags.com - I also bought some reusable shopping bags and am working on remembering to Just Say No to plastic bags at the store!
  5. Tell me about baby wipes. I use a lot of them with my 21-month-old and wonder about them. Are they recyclable - how can you tell?
  6. On a recent podcast, you talked about getting rid of the plastic, especially in your kitchen. Bet you didn't know you are not only green, but in style. In the most recent catalogs I received from Williams Sonoma and Crate & Barrel, they are carrying glass refrigerator ware! And, you talked about environmentally friendly paints. I just opened Sundance catalog and they are carrying a line of paints that use only post-consumer paints - decorators turn in their overages and Sundance blends them into paints that then leave no environmental footprint. How cool! Don't know if they are low VOC however ...
  7. Sirius: Congratulations on their interest in you! My thoughts are that if the deal had been right and meets your primary criteria, do you really care about the theme song? If so, make it a deal point that you get approval on a new one. Bottom line, I think your real value is your approach and your brand - More Hip Than Hippie is an awesome brand and you girls just rock!
  8. Is wax paper recyclable? Afraid Not
  9. Idea: Ok, what if manufacturers had to include ideas on how to recycle/reuse their packaging as part of the packaging?
  10. Idea: Plastic bags: Why not take your extra bags to your local library or thrift store so they can reuse them (until you run out because you're using reusable bags!)
• Dennis - Hi Dori, Hi Val,
  Thanks for reading my email on your show! You are more than welcome to add my blog link to your site (meadowdance.blogspot.com)- it shows the progress of my next book.
  Your suggestions are perfect. I've actually had dinner with Doug Wood, the author of Old Turtle. He's a great guy.
  I look forward to next week's show as I have a 100 lbs. Golden Retriever that leaves all sort of recycled dog food all over the yard. I've always struggled with the best way to deal with it.
  Dennis
• Shayna - Because of your ladies wonderful show, I've started trying to find ways I can make a difference. I've told my family I will not buy disposable plastic silverware, cups and plates anymore. I've started recycling all our newspapers and plastic bottles and hope to start saving the cans soon.
  I was at Bed, Bath and Beyond today and found these GREAT reusable "shopping bags". They had a bunch of colors, they are probably 2' x 2' and zip closed across the top. The best part, is they fold up nicely and snap shut and have great handles. I bought 3. Thanks for the great show and all the good ideas!
• Diana - Dori and Val, I have been listening to the show for quite a while now and it just gets better and better. I've been influenced by you to change a few things: I no longer use perfume or air sprays.. Instead I now use essential oils-I've found my favorite so far to be sandalwood. In the new year, I vow to find green household cleansers so the episode where you touched on that topic I found to be very helpful. And one more thing. I know that you didn't want to get too technical or scientific about essential oils, but, I was given an essential oil body spray. I wonder if there would be any red flags as far as ingredients that would make this false? Keep up the good work! I'll keep listening!
• Rowena and Gerry - Hey there, Dori and Val. Happy new year to you both!
  My husband and I really think your show's a great thing! ... just wanted to let you know that we think you're doing an excellent job of "planting seeds" for a greener world.
  We're gradually making the switch away from plastics and teflon to glass, stainless steel, wood, etc.
  I was wondering if you have any suggestions for healthier alternatives to foam when it comes to stuffing pillows? I thought I heard one of your guests who specializes in green construction of buildings mention in one of your summer or fall shows that foam is something you want to get away from when creating a healthy indoor environment. We're looking to stuff 2 beautifully handcrafted (in Bangladesh) floor pillows that are 32 inches square. Look forward to hearing any green suggestions you've got!
• Bob - I was listening to your ideas about reducing the amount of junk mail you get. I like your idea of using a different middle initial, but if you want some more fun, give yourself a different title each time. It's so much fun to open a piece of mail addressed to Dr. Val or Dori, PhD. Plus you can get really creative with your different titles.
• Tom - Hello Dori and Val, and a very Happy New Year and belated Merry Christmas!
  I've been on holiday in the UK, visiting my family, for the past three weeks so was excited to come back to several podcasts from you waiting for me!
  I was just listening to your latest podcast and heard you mention some great schemes done by Co-op America, I wanted to mention that in the UK the Co-op supermarket chain has made all of their own brands fairtrade. I just thought you'd like to mention that, for anyone who doesn't know it.
  Also in Japan (where I teach English) there is a green Co-op system which supports local farmers. You can get a catalogue of locally produced produts and, where I live at least, you place an order and on Wednesday they bring you your fresh fruit, veg, meat and dairy products, all produced locally.
  Also I noticed that if you download the podcast on to an ipod (there are other mp3 players available mind) and press the centre button whilst it's playing, after you go past the skip function and the rating function you come to the show notes. The full show notes too! So Jill's work is not in vain, you can read them on the go and thus there is no excuse not to now!!
• Chris - Hello ladies, my name is chris and im new to your pod cast... but I love it and it is by far my favorite of all ive heard... I just wanted to know more about you guys and how long you have been "hippies", im about 17 and im the only hippie in the whole school... so i just wanted to talk to someone who knows what they are talkin about... I'll stay in touch
• Aster - Hi Dori and Val, what a great New Year show! I have a podcast too (i'm from the Netherlands, that's the 'horrible English excuse'), and my latest podcast, was about truffles, organic slave-free chocolate, and Vivani chocolat! Isn't it great? Its called chunks 'n bits, and it's in international>dutch (itunes), but it's dutch, so i wouldn't know how that could be to any use. Well, i'm defenitly naming you in the next show! By the way, my dad owns an organic-food shop, that's why I know quite a lot about that stuff actually (the reason to make my podcast). I still wanted to tell you something about the 'Beauty to die for' show. Check out 'urtekram'. I don't know if it's available in the US, but I love their shampoo and deo (it just works :) ). Love your show!
• Theresa - I really like that you guys suggest fairtrade/organic coffee, but the next time you talk coffee, please urge folks to practice green coffee making at home in one more way - use a reusable filter. They are thin metal mesh and the coffeemaker companies sell them for $20 or $30 dollars. Dump the grounds in your compost pile or garden and there you go - no wasted filters!Keep up the great work!! - Try hemp filters
• Joe - I did better that vote for you at podcast alley (which I have done for last few months).... (drum roll....)
  More Hip than Hippie has won the Best Environmental Podcast for 2005 on moraca.org !!!! I know it is exciting .... anyway I know at least one or two of my friends here in Sarasota have started listening and several hundred people have seen the posting... Keep up the great work...

Val's Pet Picks
Check these items out at greenfeet.com - Y.U.M. (Your Ugly Mutt) - a line created to clear out the doggie odor. Vitae - Spotted Dog line. Ceramic dog bowls. Organic catnip toys.