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Web Site Helps You Buy Green

Do you ever stand in a store aisle, overwhelmed by the rows and rows of products, just wishing you had a way to know which products really are safe for you and the environment? Which are the healthiest? Which companies are socially and environmentally responsible?

The Web site GoodGuide.org aims to do just that: arm you with information about the social, environmental, and health impacts of products so that you can make purchasing decisions that reflect your values. Developed by a professor at UC Berkeley, the Web site lets you search among tens of thousands of products (food, personal care, toys, household) and see expert recommendations on the best choices, as well as reviews from other users. You can even create and store your own list of favorite products.

So there are no more excuses. Get out there and stimulate the economy!

Hog Farming, Pork, and Deadly Infection

Frightening new evidence and scientific research is drawing links between pigs and MSRA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), a deadly form of staph which is antibiotic resistant. The New York Times reports:

"A small Dutch study found pig farmers there were 760 times more likely than the general population to carry MRSA (without necessarily showing symptoms), and Scientific American reports that this strain of MRSA has turned up in 12 percent of Dutch retail pork samples.

Now this same strain of MRSA has also been found in the United States. A new study by Tara Smith, a University of Iowa epidemiologist, found that 45 percent of pig farmers she sampled carried MRSA, as did 49 percent of the hogs tested."

Read the full article.