It is that time of year again! Reader’s Digest has some tips on staying healthy. The usual “wash your hands” is there, plus a few more I hadn’t heard of.

#6 “Run your toothbrush through the microwave on high for 10 seconds to kill germs that can cause colds and other illnesses.” Once you’re done brushing, your toothbrush is a breeding ground for germs. Sterilize it in the microwave before you use it, or store it in hydrogen peroxide (rinse well before using)…

read more | digg story

Here is an article from Salon.com that will make you think twice when asked…paper or plastic?

The most ubiquitous consumer item on Earth, the lowly plastic bag is an environmental scourge like none other, sapping the life out of our oceans and thwarting our attempts to recycle it.
By Katharine Mieszkowski

Aug. 10, 2007 | OAKLAND, Calif. — On a foggy Tuesday morning, kids out of school for summer break are learning to sail on the waters of Lake Merritt. A great egret hunts for fish, while dozens of cormorants perch, drying their wings. But we’re not here to bird-watch or go boating. Twice a week volunteers with the Lake Merritt Institute gather on these shores of the nation’s oldest national wildlife refuge to fish trash out of the water, and one of their prime targets is plastic bags. Armed with gloves and nets with long handles, like the kind you’d use to fish leaves out of a backyard swimming pool, we take to the shores to seek our watery prey.

Read More Here