Go Green (and $ave too!) Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in NCL's 2008 Consumer Calendar, environment, global issues, the economy.Tags: environment, global warming, July, saving money
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These days, global warming sure is the kind of hot topic (sorry) that gets a lot of people anxious. Many consumers may not be aware, however, that by taking a few simple steps to be
a good global citizen and help protect the planet, they can actually save some money in the process.
This month, the National Consumers League is helping consumers adopt environmentally-friendly practices that are also friendly to their wallets in NCL’s “2008 Consumer Calendar: Do We Have Tips for You!”
Tips for going/saving green:
- Tune up. Keep your call well-tuned and your tires properly inflated to get better gas mileage and cut pollution.
- Switch to energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs, which last longer.
- Turn off the TV and other appliances when you’re not using them. Use appliances’ — like computers’ — energy-saving modes.
In Washington, Advocates and Federal Officials Meet to Address Child Labor Issues Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in child labor, global issues, kids, worker's rights issues.Tags: Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, Child Labor Coalition, Global March against Child Labor, International Labor Organization, Kailash Satyarthi, National Education Association, NCL interns, Rugmark
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By Paula Osborn, NCL Public Policy Intern
Around the world, more than 200 million children toil in abusive child labor. Last week, members of the Child Labor Coalition (CLC), which is coordinated by the National Consumers League, met to discuss the progress being made to ameliorate the problem.
Kailash Satyarthi, the Chair for the Global March against Child Labor and the President of the Global Campaign for Education, who, at great danger to himself, rescues bonded child laborers in India, and Ambassador-at-Large Mark Lagon who is the Director of the Trafficking in Persons Office for the U.S. State Department were the main speakers. A diverse group of CLC members and interested individuals attended, including representatives from the International Labor Organization (ILO), the National Education Association (NEA), Rugmark, the Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP), and a dozen or so organizations. Federal officials from the State Department and the Department of Labor also attended.
Satyarthi, who has twice been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, told the CLC that the elimination of child labor cannot occur without universal education, which he called a “fundamental human right.” Although we are making progress, there is still a long way to go, said Satyarthi.
Ambassador Lagon discussed at length the U.S. Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report; a country by country review of human trafficking problems around the world, which was released in June. Lagon said that children are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking, especially those who are out of school. He also spoke about the need to re-assimilate children rescued from enslaved labor. The ambassador discussed several child labor and child slavery hot spots, including: the Congo, where young children are forced to become soldiers; and the Ivory Coast, where children are trafficked to harvest cocoa beans used in making chocolate.
Lagon and Satyarthi stressed the important role consumers have in combating child labor, urging consumers to research companies and their labor practices to ensure that their products are child labor free.
Satyarthi spoke movingly of witnessing children sewing soccer balls who worked so hard they cut their fingers as they sowed. They would continue working, he said, motivated by the dream that they—one day—may be able to play with the balls they toiled to make but could not afford to buy.
Consumers need to ask themselves if they are unwittingly contributing to the destruction of young lives. Next time you buy a soccer ball, you may want to ask yourself: “Did the blood of a child go into the making of this product?”
Hot on the Salmonella Trail Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in food and nutrition, health, safety.Tags: CDC, FDA, jalapenos, salmonella, tomatoes
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Attention pepper lovers: step away from the jalapeños.
Investigators from the Food and Drug Administration think they’ve found the true culprit in the current Salmonella outbreak, which up until now had been associated entirely with tomatoes. The FDA announced yesterday that its officials matched the strain on a single jalapeño pepper at a distributing center in McAllen, Texas.
According to the FDA, “since a recall will not immediately remove all potentially contaminated peppers from the food supply, FDA is also asking consumers to avoid eating raw jalapeño peppers or foods made from raw jalapeño apeno peppers until further notice in order to prevent additional cases of illness. This recommendation does not include cooked or pickled jalapeño peppers.”
If you simply can’t resist the spicy, at least avoid raw jalapeños, or foods prepared with jalapeños. If they are cooked or picked, they are considered safe.
The Salmonella outbreak that started in April of this year has resulted in more than 1,200 infections and 229 hospitalizations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Teen Jobless Rate A Cause for Concern Monday, July 21, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in child labor, finances, health, kids, safety, the economy, worker's rights issues.Tags: Five Worst Jobs, Teen Workers, Washington Post
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The Washington Post recently ran a story about teens having a tough time finding jobs. The paper profiled this young man who, at 19, has been searching for work for four years with no luck. He’s pounded the pavement and Internet job boards, looked for work in malls, at banks, and in other places, and he has yet to successfully get an offer. This young man, the reporter writes, isn’t alone: “Young adults seeking low-skill service jobs for the summer must contend with older, laid-off workers, illegal immigrants and college graduates who cannot find work in their fields, as well as with cuts in federal summer jobs programs.”
This seems like bad news for a lot of reasons. If young people are having unusual difficulty finding work, perhaps they’d be tempted to lower their standards or accept job offers against their better judgment. This summer, NCL is working hard to educate the youngest workers about the kinds of jobs that are so dangerous that they should be passed up – during summer vacation from school and year-round. A tough economy may make these jobs more difficult to avoid, but the dangers are still very real. Learn more about NCL’s work with the Child Labor Coalition to end the worst forms of child labor in the United States and abroad.
Beyond Hangover: Risks of Teen Drinking Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in health, kids, safety.Tags: alcohol facts, binge drinking, Michael Sunshine, Northwestern University, teens
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At the end of the 2008 academic year, a 19-year-old freshman at Northwestern University, Matthew Sunshine, joined a growing list of teens who’ve died from alcohol poisoning. Deaths on college campuses are rare and chilling – especially when the cause of death is a party pastime enjoyed by many co-eds.
This week, NCL is hoping to help get the message out to parents and teens that binge drinking, no matter how harmless it may seem in the moment, sometimes has terrible consequences. The new pages include the facts about binge drinking, resources for parents and teens, and basic, myth-dispelling information about standard alcohol servings and their affects on the body.
Hey, Teens: Think Your Summer Job Stinks? Friday, July 11, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in child labor, health, safety, worker's rights issues.Tags: Child Labor Coalition, Five Worst Jobs, Teen Workers
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Driving tractors has made the list.
Unless it’s in agriculture, landscaping, driving an ATV, or working for a traveling youth crew, it could be worse.
Check this list of NCL’s 2008 Five Worst Jobs for Teens, a compilation by child labor advocates of the most dangerous jobs for working youth under the age of 18. Some of the jobs are completely legal, and others are not, but they’re all very dangerous.
Each year, NCL staff assembles the list using government statistics and reports, results from the Child Labor Coalition’s annual survey of state labor departments, and news accounts of injuries and deaths. Statistics and examples of injuries for each job on the list are detailed in a report available here.
This July 4, It Seems that All Men are NOT Created Equal Thursday, July 10, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in Sally Greenberg, finances, worker's rights issues.Tags: Jay Leno, Katie Couric, Oprah Winfrey, Rush Limbaugh, Ryan Seacrest, Sally Greenberg
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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director
This Independence Day, I took a moment to reflect on words of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
How ironic then to the see in the July 3 edition of the New York Times that Rush Limbaugh, the right-wing talk show host, is soon going to earn $38 million per year, for a total of $400 million.
This country seems to have endless millions for the lucky few who become ultra rich, while we walk past homeless people who line the sidewalks of our big cities, and allow working men and women to lose their jobs at an astounding pace during yet another economic downturn. Without a hint of irony, the New York Times reported on Limbaugh’s bloated salary on the same page as it described the painful layoffs among Detroit autoworkers. Detroit has lost more than 100,000 jobs since 2006 and will lose another 25,000 this summer and fall. And these workers are among the lucky ones. Through union contracts, even though they will not be working, they will earn their salary for some period of time.
The Limbaugh article also noted the salaries other celebrities are earning: Ryan Seacrest, $12 million a year; Oprah Winfrey, $18 million a year for her three-year satellite radio contract alone; Katie Couric, $15 million a year; Jay Leno, $24 million a year.
What is wrong with our culture that we heap these financial windfalls upon a very select few, while gas prices, at an all-time high, force some people to choose between eating and getting to their jobs. Forty-six million Americans go without health care, millions of children attend crumbling schools and get a substandard education, and many working parents are paid less than $10 an hour in wages and are forced to take two, even three jobs to make ends meet.
What does one do with $38 million each year? Why does any one individual need that kind of money? I fear we’ve lost all our sense of outrage about the terrible wage discrepancies that exist. It turns out the founders were wrong – all men are apparently not created equal; some are entitled to make $38 million a year, while others, despite a lifetime of hard work at a factory job, just get laid off.
Dive In! The Water’s Warm – But Is it Healthy? Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in health, kids, safety.Tags: Healthy Pools, summer safety, Tara Moore
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Clean Pools Required for Underwater Fun
By Tara Moore, Communications Intern
Summer swimmers, your time of year is here!
Let’s go over the checklist:
- Bathing suit? Check.
- Towel? Check.
- Waterproof sun block? Check.
- Sense-able swimming tips to stay healthy? Where are those?
Right here, at HealthyPools.org! Once again this summer, NCL has teamed up with the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), WQ&HC (Water Quality and Health Council), ACC (American Chemistry Council), and APSP (Association of Pool and Spa Professionals) to educate the public about recreational water illness prevention.
These illnesses, also known as RWIs, have been increasing over the last decade in children, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems. The Healthy Pools partners are offering advice to help keep swimmers safe, whether in their backyard or community pool.
So before diving head first into any pool, use your senses!
Sight: Look for water that’s clean, clear, and blue.
Touch: Check for tiles that feel smooth and clean.
Smell: Make sure there are no strong odors.
Sound: Listen for pool cleaning equipment.
Leave your last sense at home, never “taste” (or swallow) pool water. Healthy or not, it’s still pretty icky.
NCL Hosts Historic Conference on Landmark Supreme Court Case Monday, July 7, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in Sally Greenberg, worker's rights issues.Tags: Muller v. Oregon, NCL events, NCL history, Georgetown University Law Center
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By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director
Last month, at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, the National Consumers League (NCL) hosted a historic gathering of labor leaders, labor historians and gender discrimination lawyers to debate the 100th Anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court Case, Muller v. Oregon, which set a 10 hour workday for women in the state of Oregon. Decided by the Court in 1908, the great Louis Brandeis, 8 years before he ascended to the Supreme Court himself, argued Muller at the urging of Florence Kelley, general secretary of the League, and her right hand, Josephine Goldmark, who also happened to be Brandeis’ sister-in-law. They say his argument was so brilliant that the Justices didn’t interrupt him once – very unusual for the Supreme Court – and decided the case unanimously.
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Going Away? Better Pack Lightly Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Posted by savvyconsumer in finances, the economy.Tags: airline industry, luggage, travel
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Planning a vacation over these next few warm months? Why not! The kids are home, the office is slow, you can afford a few days away, can’t you?
Well, maybe not…
Some airlines, American Airlines most recently, are starting to charge passengers taking domestic flights fees for their first piece of checked luggage, and even higher ones for their second piece of checked luggage. That’s assuming your luggage is within the weight limit restrictions; going over that will result in more charges.
There are ways to minimize your luggage weight, and not every airline has adapted these new baggage regulations, at least not just yet anyway. For a how-to on packing more efficiently and saving cash for the actual vacation, CNN offers tips for Packing smart for flights this summer, featuring advice from a couple of flight attendants on what not to pack, and what to pack compactly.
