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The Daily Green offers an article suggesting a possible cause for the Swine Flu...at least one area where experts will be searching.  See excerpts from the article below.  Click here to read the full article.

Investigators don't yet know where the new virus sweeping through the Mexican capital originated, or how it developed into an infectious, sometimes deadly illness that seems to pass from person to person.

But experts have been warning for years that this type of outbreak was all but inevitable, given the way we raise and transport food (and ourselves).

The virus that has prompted a U.S. health emergency declaration has genetic material from the viruses that typically attack birds, humans and pigs. That combination didn't necessarily originate on a pig farm, but it's more than likely. Where else do you have pigs in close quarters, passing viruses among themselves? Where else do you have birds, either raised nearby as poultry or passing by during migrations? Where else do you have humans, working in and among the pigs, their wastes and their meat ... and then going home to their families?

Both the New York Times' Andrew Revkin in his Dot Earth blog, and David Kirby on Huffington Post, write intelligently and in depth about this issue.

Organizations like Wildlife Trust have for years been warning about this type of outbreak -- an estimated 75% of human illness originates with wildlife (think Lyme disease, West Nile virus and every other strain of flu). The term used to describe that study is conservation medicine, since preventing and treating outbreaks typically means tackling environmental problems as well.

For instance, in 1999, the deadly Nipah virus spread from bats to humans to pigs because of deforestation of jungles of Borneo and Malaysia. How? As the rain forest was cleared by fire, the Malaysian flying fox, a fruit bat, colonized the orchards on pig farms. As bat waste and half-eaten fruit mingled with pig feed, pigs were exposed to a new virus, which in turn infected pig farmers. More than 100 people died -- 40% of those infected -- and 1 million pigs were slaughtered as a precaution ... and several subsequent outbreaks have claimed dozens more lives.

Are factory farms in Mexico the environmental root of this swine flu outbreak? Is it a global pandemic in the making? Experts will have to determine that. What they have already determined is that factory farms pose a risk of global pandemic such as we seem to be watching emerge.

Here's another reason for spamming to remain unpopular.

Critics say it hurts the environment.

Online security company McAfee estimates that the 62 (T)trillion junk emails generated by spammers in 2008 could have run two point four million U.S. homes for a year.

McAfee says the energy from just one spam message releases the same amount of carbon dioxide into the air as driving a car three feet.

One estimate says that 97% of all emails are unwanted messages.

This time of year we want to throw open the windows and let the sunshine and spring breezes come inside.  It's historically the time to start spring cleaning, but if you want to be green about it ... it can be tough finding the right products.  There is currently no "green" regulations and so you have to read the labels carefully.  Safe bets include your grandmother's old favorite standbys suchs as baking soda, vinegar, kosher salt, and tea tree oil.  Click here for some recipes.

There's also a website you can go to that compares "green" cleaning solutions as well as other green products.

My favorite watchdog website is following the release today (Thursday, March 12) of which children's products test positive for toxic, cancer causing chemicals.  The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested children's shampoos, bubble baths and baby lotions for formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, among other chemicals.  Formaldehyde and 1,4 dioxane are two chemicals that have been linked to serious health problems, including cancer.

The website says we won't find these toxic chemicals on ingredient lists, though we might find marketing claims like "gentle" and "cure" on the suspect products, according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of nonprofit health and environmental organizations.

Of 48 products tested, 67% had 1,4-dioxane. Of 28 products tested, 82% had formaldehyde.  Click here for a list of products that did not have the chemicals.

Not waiting for the full report, the cosmetics industry attacked the group in a press release, calling the allegations "patently false and a shameful and cynical attempt by an activist group to incite and prey upon parental worries and concerns in order to push a political, legislative and legal agenda." The Personal Care Products Council questioned the scientific integrity of the report, and said that levels of the chemicals found were extremely low, within regulatory limits and safe for use. It defended the use of formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasing compounds as a safe preservative.

True, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is pushing a political, legislative and legal agenda, and the $250 billion global cosmetics industry has come to show concern about publicity over the group's reports.

The Campaign has previously exposed high levels of phthalates, formaldehyde and toluene in nail polish, leading to the phase-out of the use of those chemicals by several major brands; exposed the presence of lead in many lipsticks (see 11 lead-free lipsticks). The campaign supports both the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database of chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products, and state and federal proposals to regulate the use and disclosure of certain suspect chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products.

The Daily Green website posted the warning below about a popular and common weed killer.

Monday, February 23,  is the final day for the public to tell the Environmental Protection Agency whether or not a common weed killer is too dangerous to keep on the market. Environmental groups, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Beyond Pesticides, argue that studies linking it to a range of health concerns make it unfit for public use.

The herbicide, 2,4-D is used to kill broad-leaf plants on millions of household lawns, golf courses and and playing fields. About 46 million pounds of the chemical is used each year, about 35% of which is used on parks, golf courses, home lawns and other non-agricultural uses.

According to Beyond Pesticides, 2,4-D has been linked to "non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, endocrine disruption, reproductive and developmental effects, as well as water contamination and toxicity to aquatic organisms." Organic agriculture and lawn care can effectively replace the chemical, according to the group.

One of my favorite "green" websites spent some time putting together an interesting history lesson. They dug into the archives and compiled a list of the "greenist" and "not so green" past Presidents. 

Theodore Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, and Thomas Jefferson all made the cut.  Click here to read who didn't.

Over the holiday, my 16 soon to be 17 year old took me shopping to her favorite store "dEelias".  While she was in the changing room, I snooped around and found some t-shirts that espoused the virtues of saving water.  The shirt told how many gallons of water it took to do many things including making a car. Another t-shirt told about the virtues of solar power.

I was reminded of the clothing line while reading a column from "The Daily Green"  on whether it's better to buy a new car that gets great mileage or hang on to a well maintained older car that gets good mileage.  The point of the story is that in making these decisions, we need to remember the whole story...to see the big picture in making decisions.

The Daily Green suggested to hang onto the older car, as long as it kept getting the good mileage, because the manufacturing of a new more efficient automobile makes a big carbon footprint.

The t-shirts worn by my daughter and her friends are also reminders.  It's a fashion statement to her, and an education tool for the rest of us.

GOUDA, HOLLAND - Every year since 1955, the small Dutch town of Gouda switches off the electricity one Tuesday evening in December.  The town that's known world wide for its famous cheese, is also widely known for this annual event.

Villagers light the town's narrow streets and medieval town hall with candles.  The town's Gothic Town Hall will burn 1,500 candles alone.  After the ceremonial lighting of the Christmas tree brought by boat from Norway, hundreds of people will gather on the main square to visit the Christmas market. It's a beautiful sight.  Click here to learn more about this Gothic town.