A clean-looking home doesn’t always mean a healthy home. Many store-bought cleaners are harmful and full of toxic chemicals that you and your family breathe in long after the cleaning is done. Even though they clean the dirt away, your home might even be less healthy than when you started. Luckily, our Healthy Home Experts have tips to keep your home both clean and healthy with non-toxic cleaning techniques that are often much cheaper than toxic products. Below are some tips from our Healthy Homes experts on toxic-free ways to keep your house clean.

All-Purpose Cleaner (for spots on linoleum, tile and woodwork)

Ingredient:

• Murphy’s Liquid Soap

1. Squeeze a drop of soap on a wet Easy-wipe
2. Rub the area to be cleaned briskly. An Easy-wipe will last longer and create less waste than a sponge or paper towels. 

Refrigerator

• Place a small open block or container of baking soda inside the refrigerator to eliminate bad odors

Air Freshener

• Place small containers of baking soda around your home to absorb bad odors.

Carpet Freshener

Ingredients:

1. Sprinkle small amounts of baking soda on the carpet.
2. Let it set for an hour
3. Vacuum the baking soda up – do not use on wet carpet!

Tub And Sink

Ingredients:

• Baking soda
• Murphy’s Liquid Soap

1. Sprinkle it on porcelain fixtures and rub with a wet rag.
2. Add a little soap to the rag for more cleaning power.
3. Rinse well to avoid leaving a hazy film

Drains

Ingredients:

• Baking Soda
• Boiling Water
• Vinegar
• Fresh Lemon

1. This recipe will free minor clogs. Treat your drains on a regular basis to prevent future clogs.
2. Pour half a cup of baking soda into the drain first.
3. Pour half a cup of vinegar into the drain.
4. Let it fizz for a few minutes.
5. Then pour one to two quarts of boiling water into the drain.
6. Repeat if needed. If the clog is stubborn, use a plunger. If very stubborn, use a mechanical snake. Avoid letting fats, oils or grease into the drain to prevent clogs.

To keep drains smelling good, grind thin lemon slices in the garbage disposal. If you do not have a garbage disposal, squeeze the lemon juice into each drain.

Ovens

Ingredients:

• Baking Soda
• Water
• Scrubbing pads

1. Mix one cup of baking soda with enough water to make a paste.
2. Apply to oven surfaces and let stand a little while.
3. Use the scouring pad for scrubbing most surfaces.
4. A spatula or bread knife is effective to scrape off large food deposits.

This recipe will require extra scrubbing. Clean up spills in the oven after each use or spot clean it regularly. Do not use this on self cleaning ovens. 

Other Helpful Tips

• Use the spray bottle to hold a mixture of vinegar and water for quick clean-ups in the kitchen and bathroom.
• Spray the bathtub, shower walls and curtain with vinegar and water to reduce or eliminate mold and soap scum.
• Keep different colored gloves in the kitchen and bathroom for use only in those areas to avoid spreading germs.

When the San Onofre power plant shut down, San Diego had an opportunity to power our city with clean energy that makes our communities healthier and builds thousands of local jobs. Instead the California Public Utilities Commission voted to meet two thirds of our new energy needs with a polluting natural-gas power plant in Carlsbad, and only one third of our energy with clean sources. 

This recent decision locks San Diego into at least 40 years of air pollution, high energy bills, climate change and a minimized opportunity to create thousands of local jobs. Of the five commissioners on the California Public Utilities Commission, only Commissioner Sandoval voted against the polluting power plant. Sandoval acknowledged that there is no legal basis to support a rushed approval of a dirty gas plant at the expense of clean energy solutions. 

According to Policy Advocate Kayla Race says, “The Commission says they’re moving us toward a clean energy future, but it’s hard to believe when so many of their decisions takes us three steps backwards. This power plant locks San Diegans into higher energy bills for more pollution, which doesn’t make sense when we have cleaner options available that create local jobs and make our communities healthier.”

We need programs and policies that invest in local communities to create career-track green jobs and create a new clean energy economy. Maximizing energy efficiency and conservation, rooftop solar and other forms of local renewable energy should be California’s first priority in meeting the state’s energy needs. Only after all clean resources are exhausted should new, polluting power plants and transmission infrastructure be allowed.

Join the fight for climate justice by:

• Urging our California Legislators to increase clean energy statewide
• Demanding the City of San Diego commit to 100% clean energy, help make our homes more efficient, and put our neighborhoods first in its Climate Action Plan
• Staying up to date on Facebook, Twitter and our newsletter (sign up in the right side bar). 

Old Town National City is making history. For decades, residents have struggled with pollution from local auto body shops operating too close to homes and schools. Children’s emergency room visits for asthma have become disproportionately high in the neighborhood, nearly doubling the county average in 2012. In 2010, the people of National City united to guide the Westside Specific Plan; Old Town National City’s plan for a future of healthy communities.

Auto body shops, while often too close to homes, parks and schools, provide well paying jobs for the neighborhood and stimulate the local economy. With an innovative approach and commitment to healthy neighborhoods,  a win-win situation was born.

The idea is a designated area, away from residential areas, where autobody shops can continue local operations while minimizing pollution in the neighborhood. This “small business incubator” is known as a Green Industrial Auto Park and it turns empty, unused land into sustainable areas for auto body shops to flourish.

With a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EHC worked with Estolano LeSar Perez Advisors to conduct a yearlong study analyzing whether a Green Industrial Auto Body Park in National City was possible. The study considered perspectives from landowners, business owners and residents as well as investigated brownfield sites and researched private and public funding sources.

What did the study show? It showed that a Green Industrial Auto Park was wholly feasible for National City.

Beaming with excitement, we presented the findings to the City Council in National City on May 19, 2015, where Council directed City staff to return with recommendations for next steps.

Policy advocate Carolina Martinez said, “Auto body shops are important to the local economy, but right now they’re too close to our homes and schools. This study shows we can group auto shops together in an environmentally conscious park to reduce harmful health impacts on residents. It shows National City can lead with bold solutions for both community health and local economic growth. It’s a creative win-win for everyone.”

Old Town National City residents continue to inspire us with their commitment to making their community a healthier place to live. This solution brings us one step closer to making history and fulfilling National City’s vision for both a healthy neighborhood and a thriving economy.

To read the study and learn more about Old Town National City, please click here. 

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and Caltrans have proposed a plan to expand the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway (SR 94) that benefits none of the communities that it damages. Children who live in adjacent communities will likely have more asthma episodes as a result of the increased car pollution and the plan offers very minimal improvements to make biking and walking safer for people who live and work in and visit these communities. The freeway will carry a new transit line without a single bus stop in the communities it runs through.

The irony of the plan is glaring. The freeway named after one of greatest champions of equality is being expanded at the expense of lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words could not be any truer today than they once were. He said,

“Urban transit systems in most American cities, for example, have become a genuine civil rights issue – and a valid one – because the layout of rapid-transit systems determines the accessibility of jobs to the black community [and other communities of color]. If transportation systems in American cities could be laid out so as to provide an opportunity for poor people to get meaningful employment, then they could begin to move into the mainstream of American life.”

This injustice may continue if the community’s voice is not heard by SANDAG.

Better plans exist that benefit all San Diegans.

We should apply innovative community-based solutions by turning existing freeway space into transit only lanes or convert an existing general purpose lane for carpool and transit-only use.

We should improve transit options for all by having bus stops in all communities.

We should adequately invest in adjacent communities to improve safety conditions for people walking, biking and transit use.

SANDAG and Caltrans will give an update on the plan and its impacts to surrounding communities on May 20th at 2 p.m. If you believe in transportation justice and clean air for all communities, sign our letter, contact Monique at Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo. and attend the meeting.

The climate revolución has begun. On April 30, our Annual Awards Celebration, Climate Revolución, recognized this movement and the community voices leading the charge for clean air and transportation justice in our region. 

With EHC members, neighbors, allies, friends, fellow advocates, business owners, sponsors and elected officials, we celebrated the Climate Revolución and EHC's 35th Anniversary with an incredible night of inspiration, awards, laughter and of course, selfies. 

A sold out crowd spent Thursday evening helping us recognize community members, organizations and elected officials leading the charge to revolutionize clean air and transporation justice policies. These heroes include:

2015 Healthy Neighborhoods Champion Award:

• City Heights Built Environment Team and City Heights Community Action Team. 
  City Heights Community Development Corporation, Associación de Liderazgo Communitaria, International Rescue Committee, Marco Montiel, Esperanza Gonzalez, Martha Patty Rosales, Delfina Guzman, Melanie Azvedo, Sallie Lemmie, Tuong Cong Bui, Christy Tran, Trong Dinh and Lam Truong.
  
  EHC has worked with these groups of community residents and organizations dedicated to improving City Heights for the past four years to develop a Community Driven Action Plan. The group chose to focus on advancing transportation justice and has focused on the Mid-City Bike Corridor, street improvements and demanding an equitable Regional Transportation Plan.

2015 Environmental Champion Award:

• Cleveland National Forest Foundation and Sierra Club
  These organizations have effectively used legal strategy to challenge inequitable transportation and climate action plans at the local and regional level. The organizations won an appeals court ruling against SANDAG’s inequitable and inadequate 2012 Regional Transportation Plan and Sierra Club won a ruling that will force the County of San Diego to strengthen its inadequate Climate Action Plan.
• SanDiego350
  An all-volunteer action group, SanDiego350 organized the massive People’s Climate March in 2014, attracting more than 1,500 San Diegans passionate about taking action on climate change and joining more than 2,000 similar events around the world. The organization also worked side-by-side with EHC to defeat two power plants: Quail Brush and Pio Pico.

2015 Spirit of Justice Award:

• Todd Gloria and David Alvarez
  

  Both Gloria and Alvarez have worked tirelessly to bring environmental justice to overburdened communities and to the San Diego region.

  During Gloria’s term as interim Mayor, he completed the draft Climate Action Plan with an emphasis on substantial expansion of renewable energy, alternative transportation, energy efficiency measures, greenhouse gas reduction and social equity.

  Alvarez has been a courageous advocate for healthy neighborhoods, including reducing pollution and the impacts of climate change. He advanced a City Council-approved resolution to move the City of San Diego Climate Action Plan forward when it was stalled.

View photos from the event of on Facebook here.

A video to announce the awardees and ignite our shared passion for climate justice highlighted the celebration.

Toni Atkins couldn't attend in person, but sent her support of the Revolución and all the award winners via video. 

Using the hashtag #climaterevolución to capture moments, our guests helped document the evening one photo at a time.

Click here to view what our guests said about the #climaterevolucion.

Even when the event was over, the Climate Revolución remained inspiring. An email from San Diego City College Student Health Services perfectly captures the feeling we were hoping to ignite.

"Thank you so much for the invitation to join you and my City Colleagues at the incredible celebration and fund-raiser for EHC. It was terrific to learn of the social justice and empowerment work by this incredible agency!As a pediatric nurse for > 20 years, I saw poor children come into the hospital in much greater numbers for asthma, respiratory illnesses. I attributed it at the time to lack of continuous well-child care, lack of money for treatments/meds…what I did not consider nor learn about until last night was the significant neighborhood pollution and other environmental impacts of underrepresented populations in their communities. I had looked at their respiratory problems from the single lens of medical care, not incorporating the important contributions of the environment. Again, I had taught families about pets and pillows and allergans impacting breathing, but had forgotten about the air they breathe in their communities, and that it is likely very different from the air I breathe, though we both live in SD.

I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to become part of this organization’s work and for opening my eyes. I am learning. Thank you!"

Thank you to all our sponsors, including: Pacifica Companies, San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, San Diego Convention Center, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Port of San Diego, the California Endowment, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest, the United Food & Commercial Workers Union Local 135, Pala Band of Mission Indians, Manpower - Linda and Mel Katz, Blue Summit Wealth Management, ECOR - Noble Environmental Technologies, San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, UC San Diego Health Systems, and Ryan Brothers Coffee.

We can't say thank you enough to everyone who attended, contributed and volunteered for the Climate Revolución and the fight for cleain air and transportation justice in our region. We are humbled and honored to know and work with all of you. See you next year, and viva la Revolución!