Blisstree » safe sex

Is Your Birth Control Green?

Jennifer Chait — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 02:09:20 +0000

The Huffington Post has a nice little poll up about green birth control. Actually, birth control is just not all that green. As the poll points out, no one is recycling condoms (obviously – and PS don’t try), the birth control pill may release excess estrogen into the water supply, and while copper IUDs may be the eco-friendliest of all, few women use them.

I’ve thought about this before because pill packets especially the heavier plastic ones have always bugged me. They seem like they’d make the pill the least eco-friendly birth control option, but the Huffington Post piece points out that 2.75 million pounds of used-condom refuse ends up in landfills nationwide. So neither seems exceptional when it comes to eco-friendly aspects. That said, the IUD is no good at protecting you from sexually transmitted diseases, so while it may be an eco-friendly choice, I can’t say it’s an across the board good choice.

For both birth control and STD protection you need condoms. There are, btw, biodegradable condoms, but they’ll only protect against pregnancy not STDs, so if you’re not with your totally committed soul mate right now, the best thing to do is to limit the impact your condom use makes. For example…

Recycle those boxes! While condoms aren’t recyclable yet, the boxes are big and they can easily be tossed into your recycle bin. If you’re too embarrassed to toss them in your home recycling bin for fear that someone will see, well, maybe you should be holding off on sex. It’s no big!
DON’T leave condoms out on the beach, in a park, or elsewhere out in nature. Toss in an actual trash bin.
Eventually you might want to consider a monogamous relationship – then you can use those biodegradable condoms (after being tested for STDs of course). Yes, as it turns out being in a committed relationship, may be the greenest choice here.

Elton John: I’m Lucky Not To Have HIV

Cherie Burbach — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:45:02 +0000

Elton John sat down with CNN recently to talk about the process we’ve made in AIDS education. He said some very interesting things. One was that he found AIDS to be cyclical. That every ten years or so, we have to re-educate people about safe sex because there is a whole new group of folks that don’t seem to get it. I find that interesting, because as long as I can remember there has been talk of this. I’m wondering who is not listening!

He also said that his lifestyle for a while consisted of throwing caution to the wind. He is a recovering alcoholic and drug user, so his caution went “out the window” and he basically was telling himself to gamble. He acknowledged that he is very lucky not to be HIV infected.

He said, “I love my life and I’m 62, I’ve never felt better. I’ve never had more joy than I have in my life right now, and the AIDS foundation is a huge part of that.”

Image: Bauer-Griffin

Post from: Blisstree

Elton John: I’m Lucky Not To Have HIV

Newsflash: Virginity Pledges Fail

gayla — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:14:50 +0000

Teenagers who pledged to avoid sex until marriage were as likely to have intercourse as other U.S. adolescents, according to a survey of conduct mostly in 1990s.

Teens who took the pledge were less likely to use birth control pills or condoms than those making no promise. Essentially, the results show that teens need information on safe sex and pregnancy prevention even if they vow to refrain.

Imagine, teens making a promise and within a year or two – they up and change their mind. Gasp

I think it’s great that teens make such promises – but being a realist I know that kids change their minds from day to day.

What do you think about the whole virginity pledge thing? I think it’s a great idea, but it’s just that – an idea. I’m not sure how to make it actually work, but for crying out loud, kids need to know that it takes more than making a virginity promise to keep them from getting pregnant or from contracting a life altering STD.

Source: Bloomberg

Post from: Blisstree

Newsflash: Virginity Pledges Fail