I have a few cell phones that need recycling, and I had heard that local battered women's shelters were looking for items like these (I guess they can use then to call 911 if there is no service?).

It seems like many of the things we associate mostly with girls, and mostly with boys - may be inherently (literally!) true.

Studies seem to show that girls really do seem to talk before their male peers, and boys seem to walk before girls.

Added to that a boy's tendency to prefer action over faces and words, and a girl's preference for facial study and one-on-one conversation, and we may not just be stereotyping here.

There are many old wives tales that are blatantly false (think a full head of unborn baby hair causing heartburn) but many are based in fact.

Summer in Texas is HOT! Which means, a lot of indoor play with air conditioning.

I read that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that some indoor air pollutants are harmful, and some are among the top five environmental health risks. Did you know that?!

You can view their three basic strategies for improving air quality in your home:
- Source Control (eliminating the pollutant or allergen, in my case excess molds and dust)

THE NATIONAL CHILDREN'S STUDY, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (in conjuction with other agencies, institutions, universities, etc), will "examine the effects of environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children in ht U.S....following them from birth to age 21. The ultimate goal of the study is to improve the health and well-being of children".

With the cost of oil and gasoline on the rise, there has been plenty of discussion regarding the state of oil dependency in the U.S. and how we can reduce it.

I have been a proponent of environmentally safe, non-petroleum based household cleaners for several years and aside from the non-toxic and hypoallergenic benefits of such products we are also reducing our oil dependency.

If every household in the U.S. replaced just ONE bottle of 25 oz. petroleum-based dishwashing liquid with a natural plant based product...we could save...

12% of all our babies will be born prematurely!

Everyone has always known someone who had a preemie (a baby born prior to 37 weeks in the womb) but at this rate, we all know a lot of someones! The Center for Disease Control studied 7 million babies over a decade, in an effort to understand why so many babies are born prematurely and any adverse affects they may experience.

Let's not forget that in most cases a preemie baby is not anyone's fault and in most instances there is nothing that could be done!

Apparently it can. Pollution, smoking, poverty and pollen counts all matter when it comes to asthma.

This is why, no matter how we feel about global warming, a healthy planet earth is vital to our own human health. We should all consider ourselves automatic environmentalists.

Here is the list of the worst cities in the country for asthma and some of the reasons why.

http://www.webmd.com/asthma/slideshow-10...

Did your city make the list? What are you doing to make your city or town a healthier place to live?