STEP Online Index

Sebastopol Toxics Education Program (STEP)

Online Index to Past Issues of The Next STEP

Now it's even easier to find the information that will help you create a healthier, less-toxic home for yourself and your loved ones. And, when you do this, you help create a healthier world for everyone!

What toxic products should you consider avoiding?
What are the actual health and environmental risks from these products?
What are the viable less-toxic (and often less-costly) alternative approaches you can use?

This index to past issues of The Next STEP newsletter helps you find out!

To look up past issues by category - look in the alphabeticized left column in the table below for your topic of interest. Then click on the newsletter issue number on the right side. A PDF file of the issue will automatically download to your hard drive.

Or you can just browse the list to see what's available and strikes your interest.

To look up past issues by issue number - see The City of Sebastopol's chronological list at www.ci.sebastopol.ca.us/toxicseducation.shtml.

If that link doesn't work, you can go to the main page, www.ci.sebastopol.ca.us. Then click on Programs and then on the Toxics Education (STEP) program.

If you need a PDF reader - click here www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

For more information about STEP - see www.healthyworld.org/STEP.html.

Note: This index is current through the VIII/6 (November/December 2008) issue.

Topic

Volume/Issue

2,4-D (herbicide)

I/4

Air fresheners, healthy

V/5, VII/2 (Also see Perfumes, toxics in)

Allergies and colds, could the symptoms really be from pesticide exposure?

VIII/2

Ammonia (problems)

II/1

Ants

I/4, I/5, IV/6, VII/1

Aphids

I/5

Batteries (toxicity, recycling)

I/6 (Update on this topic: Officials now say that no batteries should go in the trash and are considered toxic waste), IV/4, VII/4

Bees (threatened by toxics, essential for food supply and nature's functioning)

VII/4 (To see this article, click here)

Bhopal, India (toxics release, harm)

VI/5, VIII/6

Biodegradable Resolution (City)

II/1

Blackberries (cut back in winter, tip)

VI/2

Body load, toxics

II/5, III/3

Borax (less-toxic cleanser)

II/4

Boric acid (less-toxic insecticide)

VII/1

Broom, Scotch

See Scotch Broom

Building, ecological

See Green Building

California Healthy Schools Act

I/2, II/5 (To see these articles and more, click here.)

California regulation of toxics

VI /3, VII/6, VIII/6

Cancer and pesticides

See Pesticides & Health (cancer) below

Carwash (soapy water harms environment; options)

VII/4

Cats

See Pets below

Catnip (for mosquitoes)

II/5, III/4

Centennial Garden (Sebastopol)

II/2

Children
- Protecting from toxics
- Teaching to work cooperatively with nature (IPM)

III/3, IV/2, V/4, VI/5 (Healthy day care bill)
Also see California Healthy Schools Act

China, toxics in products made in China

VII/5 (To see this article, click here), VIII/6

Christmas plants (toxicity)

I/6

Chlorine

II/1

Chlorpyrifos (insecticide)

I/2

Cleaners, household

II/1, II/2, II/3, II/4, IV/1, V/1, VI /3, VI/4, VII/2, VIII/2

Clopyralid (herbicide found in compost)

II/3, III/3

Companion planting

I/2

Composting

I/6, II/3, III/3, VII/5 (To see this article, click here)

Cover crops

I/5

Covert Lane landscaping

II/1

Cartridges (reusing ink & toner cartridges)

IV/1

Dandelions

II/4

DEET (mosquito repellant)

VI/4

Denmark Pesticide Phase-out on State-owned Property

VI/1

Diatomaceous earth

I/2, I/4

Disposal of toxics

See Toxics Disposal below

Detoxify air, with plants

V/5

Dogs

See Pets below

Drift, pesticides, in air and water

VIII/2

Dursban

See Chloripyrifos

Earthworms

I/6

Earwigs

V/4

EcoDesk

IV/4

Edible flowers

II/4

Essential oils (and cleaners)

IV/1

Electronic waste (e-waste) - toxics in computers, etc.

IV/5

Fleas

I/4

Fluorescent light bulbs (and mercury)

IV/2

Fragrances, toxics in

IV/6

Gardening (by the seasons)

I/5, II/1, II/3, III/2, IV/2, VI/2, VII/2

Glyphosate (herbicide)

I/3 (To see this article and additional information, click here.)
V/6

Government policy about toxics, including product safety and innovative programs

VI /3, VIII /4. Also see Pesticides below.

Green (ecological) building

III/5, VII/4, VIII /3

Green chemistry

VI /3, VII/6 (To see this article and additional information, click here.)

Health problems related to toxics (and thus potential remedies); financial and human costs (and thus potential savings)

- Evidence of health problems from pesticides
- Diagnosis of symptoms, resources
- Allergies&colds, symptoms mimic
- Neurological harm
- Learning disabilities (ADHD, autism, etc.)
- Alzeimer's Disease
- Parkinson's Disease
- Cancer
- Childhood asthma
- Brain illness
- Prostate cancer
- Our body's toxic load
- Protecting children
- Costs of disease
- Prevention works (study shows reducing toxic correlated with reduction in cancer cases)

VI/2,VIII/3
I/5
VIII/2
V/5
VIII /5
V/3
II/4, V/3, VII/2
II/3, III/5
IV/2
V/3
III/5
II/5
III/3, VI/1
VIII /4
IV/5

Also see Pesticides & Toxics

Herbicides

See 2,4D, Glyphosate, & Clopyralid

Home pesticide use (adds up, accumulates in water to significant levels)

III/4

Household cleaners

See Cleaners, Household

Holidays, winter (reduce toxics, save money, be safe and healthy)

I/6 , VI/6, VII/6, VIII/6
Also see our Ecoholidays webpage.

Insecticides

See Chlorpyrifos

Invasive plants

See Scotch Broom

IPM (Integrated Pest Management)

I/1, II/6, VI/5 (teaching children)

Laguna (ecosystem is unique, challenges to it, including invasive species, possible use of herbicides)

V/2

Landscaping

VI/2

Laundry booster (borax)

II/4

Lawn (nurturing a healthy lawn)

IV/3

Lawnmowers (pollution from some)

IV/5

Life Lab

II/6

Lorsban

See Chloripyrifos

Mercury (in fish and fluorescent light bulbs)

IV/2

Mice

VII/3

Mildew & Mold

II/3, III/6, IV/1

Mosquitoes

II/5, III/4, VI/4

Moths, clothing

III/2

Moths, grain

III/3

Mowers, lawn (pollution from some)

IV/5

New York City No Spray Victory

VII/3

Ontario, partial ban of toxic pesticides

VIII /4

Organics, and less pesticides in body

III/3

Organics, affording

VIII /5

Oven cleaning (without toxics)

V/1

Oxalis (weed)

IV/4

Paints & stains (toxics and alternatives)

III/5, IV/4

Park Side School (Sebastopol)

II/6

Pepperweed Project (Sebastopol)

V/3

Perfumes (toxics in; natural alternatives)

IV/1, IV/6

Permaculture

III/1, III/2

Pesticides & Toxics
- Overview of problems & alternatives
- Assessing toxicity and risks of harm
- Safety tips
- Calculating the full costs of toxic pesticides

I/1, V/6
V/4
I/1
VI/5 , VI/6

Pesticides & Toxics - & Health

See Health.

Pest control, alternatives (companion planting)

I/2

Pets
- Poisoned pet food
- Pet care products (toxics and alternatives)
- Cat litter (selection; composting)
- Cat repellent (vinegar)

VII/3
VI/1
V/1
II/2

Pharmaceutical contamination in our water and ecosystems

VIII/1

Pineapple (growing plant from top)

II/4

Plastics (toxics in, preventing harm, solutions)

VIII/6

Poisonous plants, holidays

I/6

Pollution, pesticides in local water

III/4

Remodeling, green

VII/4

Rodeo (herbicide)

See Glyphosate

Roses, less-toxic care of

V/3

Roundup (herbicide)

See Glyphosate

Salmon, pesticide buffer zone

III/5

Schools and pesticide exposure

I/2, II/5

Scotch Broom (invasive species)

V/6

Scents (toxics in; natural alternatives)

IV/1, IV/6

Seed saving

I/5

Sheet mulching (quick start garden)

III/2

Snails & slugs

I/2, VI/2

Solar Sebastopol, reduces toxics in air

III/6

"Spray snow" (toxicity)

I/6

STEP (about the program)

I/1, II/3, III/4, V/3, VIII/3

Sticky barriers (against insects)

I/5

Summerfield's Organic Celebration

IV/1

Tanglefoot (for insects on trees)

I/5

Tea tree oil (an alternative)

II/3

Teenagers, protect from toxics at work

V/4

Telar (herbicide, chlorsulfuron)

V/2. (To see this article with footnotes click here.)

Toxics disposal

I/2, III/2, III/3, IV/2, V/2, VI/2, VIII/1
plus www.recyclenow.org

Toxics in products and regulation issues (U.S. and international)

VII/1, VII/5, VIII/1

Toys (toxics in)

VII/5 , VII/6

Urban pesticide use (home use adds up, accumulates in water to significant levels

III/4

Vinegar (for cleaning)

II/2

Vinegar (for weed control, in some situations)

IV/3

VOCs (in paints)

III/6

Volunteering, Sebastopol

II/2

Water supply (pesticides in water, locally and nationally; protecting our water from toxics)

III/4, V/1, VII/4

West Nile Virus (and mosquitoes)

VI/4

Windows, cleaning (less-toxic solution)

VII/4

Wood, toxics in (CCA), with solutions and alternatives

V/5

Work, possible toxics at work

V/4

Weeds

I/3, II/4, IV/3 , IV/4

Yellowjackets

I/4

FOR MORE/GENERAL INFO

An excellent source of information about less-toxic alternatives for pests of all varieties (animal, plant, and insect) is the book "Common Sense Pest Control", by Olkowski and Sheila Daar. The definitive book on the subject, it has very thorough information on pest life cycles, habits, and methods of control. 706 pages, including a detailed index. At $39.95, most people don't need to own one, but check at your local library or environmental resource center. (The Sonoma County Library has it.) If they don't have it, consider getting them one, as an excellent way to support a less-toxic community.

For more information about organics and other alternatives to toxics, see our Toxics and Alternatives Resources Page.

For information about Sonoma County and area toxics, organics, and environmental and political information and action, see our Sonoma County Resources Page.

For more tips for less-toxic pest management, see this Sonoma County Waste Management Agency page <www.recyclenow.org/less-toxic/index.html>. This website <www.recyclenow.org > also has information on how to dispose of toxics properly locally, including what doesn't go in the trash and drop-off locations and procedures.

Note: This page is on the Community Action Publications (CAP) website because we participate in and support the STEP program and want to make additional information available about its activities.

Information courtesy of:

"Information Empowering Action for a Better World"

We hope this information (and our work) is valuable to you,
and supports the health and well-being of yourself,
your family, our community, and our world.
If it is, please let us know. It makes us happy to hear!

You can support our work and ensure that it continues. For instance, you can link to our site and let others know about it. Or become a CAP member! For more information, click on the "About CAP" button above.

If you find a broken link or outdated information, please let us know by emailing info[at]healthyworld.org. Please include both the webpage name and the relevant information.

Thank you to everyone who supports our ability to offer this information
to our community, for our planet!

Topic	Volume/Issue
2,4-D (herbicide)	I/4
Air fresheners, healthy	V/5, VII/2 (Also see Perfumes, toxics in)
Allergies and colds, could the symptoms really be from pesticide exposure?	VIII/2
Ammonia (problems)	II/1
Ants	I/4, I/5, IV/6, VII/1
Aphids	I/5
Batteries (toxicity, recycling)	I/6 (Update on this topic: Officials now say that no batteries should go in the trash and are considered toxic waste), IV/4, VII/4
Bees (threatened by toxics, essential for food supply and nature's functioning)	VII/4 (To see this article, click here)
Bhopal, India (toxics release, harm)	VI/5, VIII/6
Biodegradable Resolution (City)	II/1
Blackberries (cut back in winter, tip)	VI/2
Body load, toxics	II/5, III/3
Borax (less-toxic cleanser)	II/4
Boric acid (less-toxic insecticide)	VII/1
Broom, Scotch	See Scotch Broom
Building, ecological	See Green Building
California Healthy Schools Act	I/2, II/5 (To see these articles and more, click here.)
California regulation of toxics	VI /3, VII/6, VIII/6
Cancer and pesticides	See Pesticides & Health (cancer) below
Carwash (soapy water harms environment; options)	VII/4
Cats	See Pets below
Catnip (for mosquitoes)	II/5, III/4
Centennial Garden (Sebastopol)	II/2
Children - Protecting from toxics - Teaching to work cooperatively with nature (IPM)	III/3, IV/2, V/4, VI/5 (Healthy day care bill) Also see California Healthy Schools Act
China, toxics in products made in China	VII/5 (To see this article, click here), VIII/6
Christmas plants (toxicity)	I/6
Chlorine	II/1
Chlorpyrifos (insecticide)	I/2
Cleaners, household	II/1, II/2, II/3, II/4, IV/1, V/1, VI /3, VI/4, VII/2, VIII/2
Clopyralid (herbicide found in compost)	II/3, III/3
Companion planting	I/2
Composting	I/6, II/3, III/3, VII/5 (To see this article, click here)
Cover crops	I/5
Covert Lane landscaping	II/1
Cartridges (reusing ink & toner cartridges)	IV/1
Dandelions	II/4
DEET (mosquito repellant)	VI/4
Denmark Pesticide Phase-out on State-owned Property	VI/1
Diatomaceous earth	I/2, I/4
Disposal of toxics	See Toxics Disposal below
Detoxify air, with plants	V/5
Dogs	See Pets below
Drift, pesticides, in air and water	VIII/2
Dursban	See Chloripyrifos
Earthworms	I/6
Earwigs	V/4
EcoDesk	IV/4
Edible flowers	II/4
Essential oils (and cleaners)	IV/1
Electronic waste (e-waste) - toxics in computers, etc.	IV/5
Fleas	I/4
Fluorescent light bulbs (and mercury)	IV/2
Fragrances, toxics in	IV/6
Gardening (by the seasons)	I/5, II/1, II/3, III/2, IV/2, VI/2, VII/2
Glyphosate (herbicide)	I/3 (To see this article and additional information, click here.) V/6
Government policy about toxics, including product safety and innovative programs	VI /3, VIII /4. Also see Pesticides below.
Green (ecological) building	III/5, VII/4, VIII /3
Green chemistry	VI /3, VII/6 (To see this article and additional information, click here.)
Health problems related to toxics (and thus potential remedies); financial and human costs (and thus potential savings) - Evidence of health problems from pesticides - Diagnosis of symptoms, resources - Allergies&colds, symptoms mimic - Neurological harm - Learning disabilities (ADHD, autism, etc.) - Alzeimer's Disease - Parkinson's Disease - Cancer - Childhood asthma - Brain illness - Prostate cancer - Our body's toxic load - Protecting children - Costs of disease - Prevention works (study shows reducing toxic correlated with reduction in cancer cases)	VI/2,VIII/3 I/5 VIII/2 V/5 VIII /5 V/3 II/4, V/3, VII/2 II/3, III/5 IV/2 V/3 III/5 II/5 III/3, VI/1 VIII /4 IV/5 Also see Pesticides & Toxics
Herbicides	See 2,4D, Glyphosate, & Clopyralid
Home pesticide use (adds up, accumulates in water to significant levels)	III/4
Household cleaners	See Cleaners, Household
Holidays, winter (reduce toxics, save money, be safe and healthy)	I/6 , VI/6, VII/6, VIII/6 Also see our Ecoholidays webpage.
Insecticides	See Chlorpyrifos
Invasive plants	See Scotch Broom
IPM (Integrated Pest Management)	I/1, II/6, VI/5 (teaching children)
Laguna (ecosystem is unique, challenges to it, including invasive species, possible use of herbicides)	V/2
Landscaping	VI/2
Laundry booster (borax)	II/4
Lawn (nurturing a healthy lawn)	IV/3
Lawnmowers (pollution from some)	IV/5
Life Lab	II/6
Lorsban	See Chloripyrifos

Mercury (in fish and fluorescent light bulbs)	IV/2
Mice	VII/3
Mildew & Mold	II/3, III/6, IV/1
Mosquitoes	II/5, III/4, VI/4
Moths, clothing	III/2
Moths, grain	III/3
Mowers, lawn (pollution from some)	IV/5
New York City No Spray Victory	VII/3
Ontario, partial ban of toxic pesticides	VIII /4
Organics, and less pesticides in body	III/3
Organics, affording	VIII /5
Oven cleaning (without toxics)	V/1
Oxalis (weed)	IV/4
Paints & stains (toxics and alternatives)	III/5, IV/4
Park Side School (Sebastopol)	II/6
Pepperweed Project (Sebastopol)	V/3
Perfumes (toxics in; natural alternatives)	IV/1, IV/6
Permaculture	III/1, III/2
Pesticides & Toxics - Overview of problems & alternatives - Assessing toxicity and risks of harm - Safety tips - Calculating the full costs of toxic pesticides	I/1, V/6 V/4 I/1 VI/5 , VI/6
Pesticides & Toxics - & Health	See Health.
Pest control, alternatives (companion planting)	I/2
Pets - Poisoned pet food - Pet care products (toxics and alternatives) - Cat litter (selection; composting) - Cat repellent (vinegar)	VII/3 VI/1 V/1 II/2
Pharmaceutical contamination in our water and ecosystems	VIII/1
Pineapple (growing plant from top)	II/4
Plastics (toxics in, preventing harm, solutions)	VIII/6
Poisonous plants, holidays	I/6
Pollution, pesticides in local water	III/4
Remodeling, green	VII/4
Rodeo (herbicide)	See Glyphosate
Roses, less-toxic care of	V/3
Roundup (herbicide)	See Glyphosate
Salmon, pesticide buffer zone	III/5
Schools and pesticide exposure	I/2, II/5
Scotch Broom (invasive species)	V/6
Scents (toxics in; natural alternatives)	IV/1, IV/6
Seed saving	I/5
Sheet mulching (quick start garden)	III/2
Snails & slugs	I/2, VI/2
Solar Sebastopol, reduces toxics in air	III/6
"Spray snow" (toxicity)	I/6
STEP (about the program)	I/1, II/3, III/4, V/3, VIII/3
Sticky barriers (against insects)	I/5
Summerfield's Organic Celebration	IV/1
Tanglefoot (for insects on trees)	I/5
Tea tree oil (an alternative)	II/3
Teenagers, protect from toxics at work	V/4
Telar (herbicide, chlorsulfuron)	V/2. (To see this article with footnotes click here.)
Toxics disposal	I/2, III/2, III/3, IV/2, V/2, VI/2, VIII/1 plus www.recyclenow.org
Toxics in products and regulation issues (U.S. and international)	VII/1, VII/5, VIII/1
Toys (toxics in)	VII/5 , VII/6
Urban pesticide use (home use adds up, accumulates in water to significant levels	III/4
Vinegar (for cleaning)	II/2
Vinegar (for weed control, in some situations)	IV/3
VOCs (in paints)	III/6
Volunteering, Sebastopol	II/2
Water supply (pesticides in water, locally and nationally; protecting our water from toxics)	III/4, V/1, VII/4
West Nile Virus (and mosquitoes)	VI/4
Windows, cleaning (less-toxic solution)	VII/4
Wood, toxics in (CCA), with solutions and alternatives	V/5
Work, possible toxics at work	V/4
Weeds	I/3, II/4, IV/3 , IV/4
Yellowjackets	I/4