National Battery Day
“Mind is the battery cell,
Intelligence is the switch.”
~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba

No, National Battery Day is not meant to give you permission to assault people—thankfully, there is no holiday or any day when that is acceptable. This National Battery Day is brought to you by the companies that produce those things that are “not included” whenever you buy your kid a toy that needs a power source.

Yearly, Americans buy approximately three billion batteries to juice-up their cell phones, computers, radios, toys, watches, hearing aids…you name it. At an average length of two inches, strung end to end, those “disposable” energy sources would be 94,700 miles long – enough to circle the equator almost four times!

And although mercury was banned in the manufacture of alkaline batteries many years ago, many still contain small amounts of this troublesome material and - for some stupid reason - this is an unavoidable part of the mining and manufacturing processes. Ya’ see, when the other metals in alkaline batteries, like zinc and manganese, are mined, small amounts of mercury end up in the raw ore and aren't removed.

While some establishments accept rechargeable batteries for recycling, most refuse to take the alkaline variety wrongly assuming that because they “supposedly” don’t contain any toxic metals, they can just be put into the trash with all of our other garbage.

But when tossed out with the trash, those batteries eventually pollute lakes and streams - they can leach from landfills and therefore expose the environment and ground water to lead and acid and mercury. But between you and me - I think that we can and should recycle all those AAA, AA, C and D alkaline batteries.

And I’m apparently not alone in my thinking. Programs like the Big Green Box program are doing what they can to keep alkaline batteries out of landfills by recycling and recovering the metals in every type of battery. From their U.S. collection locations alkaline batteries are sorted and shipped to a Canadian facility that crushes them to recover the zinc, manganese, mercury and steel.

Walgreen’s, IKEA and Whole Foods, among other businesses, also offer collection sites for your used alkaline batteries. But in the states that “require” consumers to recycle their alkaline batteries, there are many more businesses that participate.

The need for batteries to run our 21st Century lifestyle is only going to grow, so instead of continuing to purchase something that’s bound to stop working, may I suggest that you consider using the newfangled rechargeable batteries instead? Unlike the rechargables from years back, the newest varieties can be recharged easily at home or in your place of business at any available electrical wall outlet, and they actually hold their charge.

And my new, most favorite kind of rechargables are the ones that can actually be charged via a USB port on your computer. They're ingenious! However, I've only found these USB-type rechargables online.

Many of the newest types of rechargeable batteries can be re-used up to 1,000 times, which, if you add it up, is a tremendous savings over their life span even though up-front they cost more to buy than the “disposable” varieties.

So - next time you're out shopping for batteries, forget the ones that will die on you in a week, and instead, pick up lithium-ion or NiMH types - simply because they contain fewer toxic metals, hold a charge, and won't pollute the planet. And just think - while you're saving precious cash and valuable resources, and safely using your new rechargeable batteries over and over and over again, that poor little Energizer Bunny will have keeled over and died a long time ago!

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

Valentine's Day
“Most of us can read the writing on the wall;
we just assume it's addressed to someone else.”
~Ivern Ball

Some fables – ancient or modern - ooze with the doe-eyed dedication of imagined perfect individuals, fairy-tale characters, supermodels or movie stars, and the empowerment gained by a sweetheart’s strength. Syrupy romance or not, such tales prove that affection, devotion, tenderness, obsession, and - dare I say love – is eternal. Take for instance Guinevere and Lancelot, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe (well maybe not the best of examples), Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor (again and again and again), John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Johnny Cash and June Carter, Sir Elton John and David Furnish, J. Howard Marshall and Anna Nichole Smith, and even those star-crossed lovers Tony and Maria or their Elizabethan role-models, Romeo and Juliet.

The name Romeo has become synonymous with “lover” because - as a character from Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” - he experiences love. What Juliet, however, shares with Romeo are deeper feelings, genuine emotions and are more unique than his puppy love. She shatters Romeo’s shallow view of love, moving him to speak some of the most beautiful love poetry ever written…”When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.” – “Love goes toward love.”

Notes of infatuation, memos of obsession or passionate communications new or old have appeared throughout time as scribbled romantic words, hearts-n-arrows and tangled initials – even on the walls of Juliet Capulet’s house in Verona.

The celebrated balcony where Juliet pined for Romeo, has, for centuries been a pilgrimage for lovers, and remains one of Italy’s most visited sites. Lovers’ graffiti left on the house’s walls and doors include passionate scribbled words, letters, doodles and even post-it-like notes stuck on with bubble gum. As an act of preservation, Juliet’s house is regularly scrubbed clean of its love notes.

On this Valentine’s Day, if your personal Romeo (or Juliet) should leave missives of love scrawled or meticulously written in either crayon or pencil, breathe easy in knowing that baking soda can remove both from walls. To remove your sweetheart’s sonnet, just make a paste of baking soda with a bit of water, scrub the lovelorn area, and then rinse with clean water.

The saying goes “Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased. Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken. But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever.” So whether they’re rhymes for your Honey, limericks from your Love, couplets for your pet, odes from your Beloved, prose for your Precious, or verse from your True Love, remember to allow your words of devotion to speak from your heart and not from your wall.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

Buddy Holly
"Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life."
~ Berthold Auerbach

With dreams bigger than the wide-open Texan sky, nerdy glasses and fresh-face, Buddy Holly -- with his facade of smiling innocence and wholesome good looks -- became America's kid next door. This February 3rd marks the 50th anniversary of "The Day the Music Died," when Holly's brilliant potential was cut short at the age of 22, after the small plane he shared with Ritchie Valens (17) and the Big Bopper (28) crashed in Clear Lake, Iowa.

Born to Ella and Lawrence Odell Holley, on September 7, 1936, Charles Hardin Holley was born in Lubbock, Texas -- then a home to blinding dust storms.

The Dust Bowl or the Dirty Thirties was an environmental and human tragedy set off by decades of continued drought and land abuse (some fear another dust bowl could be around the corner). Devoid of crop rotation, endless over-plowing and without methods to end erosion, the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains -- Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado and Kansas -- just blew away.

What didn't blow away, however, was the budding American singer-songwriter and pioneer of rock and roll -- considered one of the greatest musicians of all time -- Buddy Holly. Although his success lasted only a year and a half, his music was to be admired, interpreted, and even performed by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

Also not blown away but now probably gathering dust are the huge black horn-rims that made almost every girl or guy look like Buddy Holly as well. Corrective, safety, photosensitive, 3D, bifocal, trifocal, progressive, rimless, wacky like Elton John's or Dame Edna's or horn-rimmed like Buddy Holly's -- dusty or not, all spectacles need cleaning.

To do so, never use any soaps or anything that contains ammonia. Instead, run warm tap water over both sides of each lens to wash away the oo-and-goo that may have settled on them. Then proceed to clean them with a fifty-fifty mixture of white vinegar and distilled water in a spray bottle.

Also, never dry eyeglasses with anything that began as wood -- paper towels, toilet paper or tissue -- because they contain abrasives that'll scratch lenses. Instead, cut up an old t-shirt, or better yet, dry eyeglass lenses with silk from an old necktie. Remember to wash your homemade cleaning cloths often because the dust and dirt trapped within them will eventually scratch your lenses, too.

When we think of the fifties -- a world where teenagers greeted rock-n-roll as if it were a rainstorm in the dust bowl -- we think of Buddy Holly's clean-cut, nerdy yet iconic image, and a time when everything -- not just eyeglasses -- seemed so much simpler, and visibly crystal-clean.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

Inspire Your Heart with Art
“After enlightenment, the laundry.”
~Zen Proverb

While climbing the metaphorical slippery cliffs between canyons of paintings of cherubs and canvasses smeared with what almost resembles a newborn’s fecal matter, most of us plummet into art-idiocy without a net. What the “slurping-Champagne-noses-in-the-air” types shower with praise and what the “common-Joe” thinks stinks are often one and the same. Art, much like everything else, is a completely personal experience. Clued-in or not – forming your own opinion is what art appreciation is all about.

Artists stimulate our senses with line, shape, form, space, texture and color. And throughout the ages humans have tinkered with these same basic elements with an almost primal urge to create something where there once was nothing. But to understand it all a bit more clearly, with a little guidance, anyone can muster enough know-how certain to make even Andy Warhol do flip-flops in his grave. I hope that my super-abbreviated history of art, below, might be of help:

Although they’re priceless, antiquities often seem like objects dug out of your neighbor’s marigold patch, and even though they’re in prized museum collections, they kinda’ look like they’ve been glued together in someone’s basement.

On the other hand, the Greeks and Romans made idealized sculptures of naked, mostly-male bodies that now unfortunately have missing parts…noses, ears, arms and other “protrusions.” (Ummm? A fig leaf anyone?)

Although not as old as the Roman Empire, 800-year-old medieval artwork often seems cruder than the shattered bits of this-and-that found in the antiquities gallery. But, being the art connoisseur that you’re now becoming, you, too, can now “Oooh-and-Ahhh” because you can see beyond their shortcomings and seemingly primitive and highly stylized intricacies, instead.

Next stop – the early Renaissance. This is where you’ll expect to see a lot of spooky, two-dimensional, religious-like figures stiffly gesturing and wearing glittery, gold leafed halos and flowing robes, usually posed in some unnatural way, supposedly jabbering on about one moral tale or another.

Often less religious and infinitely more “sugary sweet,” Baroque and Rococo art introduces us to the “more-is-more” school of thought, in which slickly painted voluptuous ladies, cherubs zooming around the clouded heavens, heaps of flowers, the occasional goose or peacock, lutes, mountains of expensive looking fabrics and tassels, tassels, tassels fill the canvases.

Step into the Impressionistic and Post-Impressionistic galleries and the subject matter all of a sudden comes back down to earth by offering textural paintings of real-life, everyday junk and ordinary people in commonplace settings and situations. These were scandalous in their day, but now seem super-tame to our jaded eyes.

Like I’ve tried to explain, art is for everyone – but not everyone will like everything, and that’s OK. What I like best is artwork that shows everyday, ordinary folks doing regular things. And, being the cleaning nut that I am, I always get the biggest rise outta’ seeing great works of art that depict people doing chores. The famous Impressionist paintings of Degas, the Post-Impressionist images of Toulouse-Lautrec, the modern paintings of Pablo Picasso, and even the artwork of the prominent American Pop artist, Roy Lichtenstein, all made paintings of folks doing, of all things, their laundry. How mundane, yet how heavenly (for me, at least!).

When artists have creative blocks they doodle, excercise, listen to music, read, take a drive, go for a walk, write, study works of the old masters or procrastinate by doing boring things like the laundry. But when your washing machine has a block – creative or not – it’s a whole lot easier to resolve. To unclog soap scum formations from the inside of your washing machine, pour a whole gallon of white vinegar into the washer tub and run it full cycle. The white vinegar magically melts the built-up gunk away.

The motivation to create can come from anywhere. Throughout history works of art have inspired confidence, innovation, passion, science, wellness, and sometimes – lucky for us - even more great art. But in my case, silly as it seems, those paintings of folks doing chores have motivated me to do mountains of laundry. Now that’s inspiration!

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

In With the New

If our last president - George Bush - had said in his farewell speech, "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” we might have thought he was actually having a moment of clarity and remorse. But unfortunately, these words are Shakespeare’s from Macbeth, and not W’s.

First or last, it seems most Presidents since the founding of our country have come in various shapes and sizes, ages, disciplines and principles. But what many of them seem to have in common is their unwavering obsession with cleanliness…literally or figuratively.

For instance, George Washington had a thing about clean fingernails while Ulysses S. Grant apparently had squeaky-clean skin. Before his election, Abraham Lincoln was clean-shaven, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy always kept a clean desk.

Grover Cleveland cooperated with Theodore Roosevelt to clean up state politics, Herbert Hoover committed himself to pollution-free streams and clean beaches, Gerald Ford dedicated himself to cleaning up pollution, and Bill Clinton blocked Republican attempts to roll back the Clean Water and Air Acts.

On the other side of the coin - Richard Nixon stepped down to allow someone else to clean up his mess. Ronald Reagan made certain that the pools of the rich were kept clean, and George Bush received a clean bill of health while tens of millions of Americans went without healthcare.

And while facing similar problems President Obama will have to address, it was Franklin Delano Roosevelt who said at his own inauguration “We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of the national unity…with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike.”

With his dream team of young and old scientists, policy experts, and economists set to toil under the gloom and doom of rising unemployment, home foreclosures, global turmoil, the destruction of our civil liberties, world hunger and starvation, genocide, and an ever-looming climate crisis, the historic inauguration of Barack Obama falls in the worst economic climate in three generations.

It was Shakespeare who also wrote in Macbeth about potions offered up to extraordinary and substantial effect. Hopefully our new president can perform his own brand of magic by allaying our fears, restoring our national dignity, reversing the economic crisis, creating green jobs, declaring peace, and cleaning up the eight-year-old Bush-Cheney stain on the fabric of our country.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

Happy Birthday,
Rush Limbaugh & Howard Stern
“Don't be afraid of opposition.
Remember, a kite rises against, not with the wind.”
~ Hamilton Wright Mabie

Cleaver or stupid, dirty or clean, good or bad, right or wrong, right or left, safe or dangerous, simple or complicated – Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern, literally and metaphorically face away from one another, and move through the world in opposite directions. If perchance they were to meet, they’d be like oil and water.

Rush Limbaugh - the stereotypical conservative talk show host, is sharply critical of feminism, marriage equality, environmentalism and climate science, drug abuse (except, hypocritically, his own), and is chronically inaccurate and distorting on so many issues, and equally unaccountable to anyone but his advertisers. Limbaugh was born on January 12th and is a radical Right American radio jockey, as well as an ultra-conservative political talking head.

On the other end of the spectrum lies Howard Stern – who’s openly tempted by strippers and female porn stars, fantasizes about sex with lesbians (while he’s likely reviled by most of them), and is often the target of stalkers and death threats. The cranky, scatological, sexualized, “sophomoronic,” and self-proclaimed "King of All Media," is a true Libertarian, an on-again-off-again eco-crusader and, just like Limbaugh, also an American radio host and television personality. (Hmmm? He’s was also born January 12th. Any astrologists out there wanna help explain this phenomenon?)

It’s amazing that these two men were born on the same day and followed similar career paths. They both ended up doing the same jobs, but each doing it so completely differently, each an absolute original, and both developing committed cult followings. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that one is a wacky, out-of-control, bombastic and self-promoting, insecure yet opinionated larger-than-life overachiever. And the other one – um, well - he’s also a wacky, out-of-control, bombastic and self-promoting, insecure yet opinionated larger-than-life overachiever. They’re polar opposites. But the contradiction is in their similarities – an almost parasitic/host scenario – two sides to a bad penny. Together you’ve got something like gale force winds feeding an out of control brush fire – one bad thing making yet another bad thing even worse.

And what a wonderful metaphor for contradiction - oil and water – the two most precious resources on earth. (No…I’m no longer referring to Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern.)

There’s no substitute for water. In fact, the United Nations considers access to clean drinkable water as a fundamental human right. Only three percent of the water on earth is potable freshwater; the rest is saltwater, and only 20 percent of the world’s population has running water, while more than one billion people have absolutely no access to clean water. Think about that the next time you leave the tap running while you brush your teeth!

But oil? (In my opinion - the guys are kinda’ oily, too, but hey, we’re now into the “serious” part of the blog!). There’s precious little fossil fuel oil on the planet, and we’re going through it like there is no tomorrow. But, there are mountains of environmentally friendly, clean and renewable alternatives such as wind, solar, hydro and biofuels. Think about that the next time you brush your teeth, too—hey, you gotta think of something, so why not something eco-conscientious?

Dirty or clean, good or bad, right or wrong, safe or dangerous, simple or complicated – it’s all about the choices we make. And that includes listening to either Rush Limbaugh or Howard Stern, too.

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.

Please consider the environment.

Fruitcake Toss Day
“It's not the thing you fling, it's the fling itself.”
~ Chris Stevens (“Northern Exposure”)

Call me a fuddy-duddy but I actually crave this mysterious and marbled, everlasting, unyielding, imperishable, rock-hard Christmas delicacy before and after the holidays. (Minus the marbled and rock hard part – I think I may have just described myself. Hmmm?) I really do eat them and have found that the cheaper the fruitcake, the better the taste. (But so much for my low-end gastronomy.)

My burning question is “Does anybody really have a clue what’s actually hiding in a packaged holiday fruitcake?” It usually weighs more than a doorstop (I’m just guessing here) and if wrapped in contact paper, it might perhaps last indefinitely.

Nelly men like myself aside (yes, I take pride in being a Fruitcake!) – fruitcakes of the baked variety have a longstanding tradition. Consider its origins found in references from Roman times. Recipes that included barley mash, honey, pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, raisins and spices slapped and stuck together for traveling crusaders and hunters on the go – the Clif Bar, if you will, of antiquity. Historically, they were made with the intent to be eaten an entire year later. In fact, in an attempt to display ladylike restraint, moderation and fine taste - The Queen Mum (while showing no such restraint when it came to her gin) waited an entire year to eat hers too.

Most modern fruitcakes are mass-manufactured to accommodate Yule-time mass-consumption, and are actually comprised “mostly” of good stuff, and are scrumptious to some, yet vile to others. Store-bought varieties are ready-to-serve but – unfortunately – because they’ve not had time to fully congeal, leave behind telltale moist-n-murky stains.

While dried fruits and nuts, mounds of sugar, flour and booze painfully glued together resulting in a cake more impenetrable than kryptonite may be yummy to someone like myself – others might prefer consuming potting soil. Created just for folks who’d rather eat dirt, I proudly present “Fruitcake Toss Day.”

To celebrate the festivities of Fruitcake Toss Day, your first challenge is to not open the package – to most, this is a given, not a challenge! (And don’t leave it unwrapped just for re-gifting purposes either. “Oh…a fruitcake! You shouldn’t have. Really! Harrumph.) While not much can damage the bugger, hurling its unprotected, sticky and slimy carcass might offer some unforeseen oily offenses worse than the consumption of the fruitcake itself.

The laws of nature truly apply to this ritual. It was Sir Isaac Newton who said it best, “What goes up, must come down.” And the splatter of a tossed fruitcake is far greasier than you would ever imagine. Therefore, for oil on your driveway, sidewalk or garage floor – from fruitcake tosses or the ordinary automobile leakage - sprinkle baking soda over the spots to absorb them. Then, add just a little bit of water to the baking soda - enough to form a paste. Next, with a brush in your hand or a scrubby pad under the sole of your shoe, work it up. Rinse with clean water, and repeat if necessary.

Fruitcake Toss Day can be a family event, neighborhood event, or just a private way to relieve holiday stress. Either fully entombed in its original wrapping or left to the elements, Fruitcake Toss Day is your opportunity to toss, chuck, hurl, pitch, lob or heave this weighty lump of wasted calories and say, “Look! There! Up in the sky! It’s…a fruitcake?”

(Word of caution: Remember - this isn’t Dodge ball. Flying fruitcakes leave welts.)

Michael De Jong, is the author of “Clean: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing,” and “Clean Body: The Humble Art of Zen-Cleansing Yourself” (www.zencleansing.com) produced by Joost Elffers Design and published by Sterling Publishers. He lives in Jersey City with his partner, dog and three goldfish, all of which benefit from his natural cleaning techniques. He is currently writing a companion series of “CLEAN” books dealing with such topics as the body, first aid, organization, as well as posting weekly blogs on Hearst’s “The Daily Green” (http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/blogs/nontoxic/ ) and the Huffington Post (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-dejong). His books can be purchased at Barnes & Noble stores across the country or on-line at www.barnesandnoble.com or www.amazon.com.
Please consider the environment.