Makers of laundry detergent in the United States, Japan, Canada and some European countries no longer include phosphate as an ingredient. I know many people with clean clothes, so phosphate-free laundry detergent must be working.

Including phosphates in dishwasher detergent is still popular in the US and other countries. That doesn’t make sense to me. The practice was widely discontinued in laundry detergent since the phosphate was causing algae blooms that smothered aquatic life and otherwise made lakes and streams unhealthy and smelly.

The good news is that some US states are starting to ban dishwasher detergents with high levels of phosphates.

If you’re still buying dishwasher detergent with phosphates, look at the alternatives. I’m currently using Ecover tablets and love them, but I’m going to try them out a while longer before posting a review. I have reviewed Seventh Generation’s powder, and Jennifer reviewed the gel.

Method is another alternative, but I haven’t tried their automatic dishwasher product. Jennifer is planning a review of Biokleen dishwasher powder. Other phosphate-free dishwasher detergents are available as well. If you’ve tried a phosphate-free detergent you liked, please let us know.

A word of caution: Always read the ingredients in any product claiming to be “green,” “eco” or “earth-friendly.” A true green product will list its ingredients, and bleach, which can irritate your lungs, shouldn’t be one of them.

Visit our other green sin posts this month:

•Raid on Spiders
•Why Buy Recycled Paper
•Leaving Unused Appliances and Chargers Plugged In
•Reasons to Carpool
•Driving an SUV (choice added by reader)
•Recklessly Use the Printer

Algae bloom photo via flickr/soil-science.info photostream.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

You can try to get on with a minor or major green organization but many are non-profits so as far as money goes it may not be a long-term career plan. Most nature and eco-organizations have job available pages like this one at American Rivers.

There are some organizations that can help you find a green job. These are also great sources for simply learning about green topics; especially for youth. Many people offer mentor situations at their place of business or even just a chance to chat about what they do. Finding a situation like this can be a great way to motivate youth about the environment.

Here’s where to look for your brand new career:

SustainableBusiness.com offers not only news about green businesses but a great search form for Green Dream Jobs.

Environmental Careers also has news updates and green jobs.

Environmentjob.co.uk has a lot of cool jobs listed including one right now for an Eco Kids Club Tutor (awesome).

EcoEmploy has really annoying pop-ups (that even got past my trusty browser and security system) but may be worth it if you’re looking. They also post resume tips.

I LOVE Cool Works. Not an environmental site exactly their jobs are mainly earth based. This site offers great seasonal opportunities at some commercial sites like resorts but also placements at national parks. Plus Cool Works caters to various age groups with pages for, “Older and Bolder,” “Teens,” and more.

The other thing you can do is enter popular green terms into regular job search engines like Monster. Terms to try include just about anything you see to the side in my category section; green, eco-work, eco, recycling, ecology, energy. etc., are all good terms to try.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

The best part is that any tree hugging family can grow their own organic lemon tree!

Viva Terra has some of the most amazing eco items at their website; including a tiny Organic Dwarf Meyer Lemon tree. It grows full size lemons though so lemon dishes a plenty are good to go.

For the kids check out this giant lemon! Now that is a lot of ice cold lemonade.

For the older more adventurous kids maybe a lemon battery experiment is in order.

Wow, the amazing lemon and the tree it grows in… Don’t you want to hug a lemon tree today?

Post from: Tree Hugging Family