The Environmental Citizen

Do you know what kinds of chemicals you’re using when you groom your children? If your child gets lice and you try to get rid of them using an over-the-counter remedy you need to know two things: 1. Those chemicals sitting on your child’s scalp are essentially insecticides, and 2. They don’t even work.

Head lice are now resistant to shampoos, liniment, and other chemical treatments in much the same way that bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics. Add to that the fact that there’s a lice epidemic now and what do you do? The good news is that you don’t need to use chemicals at all. The only thing you need is a low-tech, chemical-free solution: a good nit comb.

Here’s how lice operate: lice eggs, or nits, are glued to the hair shaft, close to the scalp. Once hatched, juvenile lice (or nymphs) reach sexual maturity in just SEVEN days. Adult lice lay eggs once a day. See the problem? 

Lice themselves aren’t hard to kill: you can smother them non-chemically by coating your child’s head in a fat (olive oil, mayonnaise, coconut oil, etc.) for several hours under a plastic shower cap. The nits, on the other hand, are hard to get rid of. Get a good nit comb, preferably with metal teeth, and start combing.

Wash your child’s hair as usual and towel dry. Section the hair into 4-6 sections, depending on the hair’s thickness. Rub your regular hair conditioner into the scalp in each section (this leaves the hair slippery, making it harder for lice to hang on to the hair shaft with their claws), and comb thoroughly. Dip the comb into a bowl of water to get off any lice you find. Pour the water down the sink, and rinse the conditioner from your child’s hair.

What to look for: adult lice are usually brown, and about the size of a sesame seed. They have no wings, so they can only crawl. Nymphs can be very small, so use a strong light to help find them –– their bodies are reflective at this stage. Nits, or eggs, are harder to spot, but are usually light in color and attached close to the scalp.

To get rid of the lice, you have to interrupt their life cycle. That means getting rid of juveniles, or nymphs, before they can start laying eggs. Start by combing your child’s hair every day for a week. During week two, you can comb every other day; week three, every third day. You will get rid of all of the lice –– and here’s the important part –– without dumping insecticide on your child’s head.

Prevent re-infestation: freeze your child’s pillow, hats, and hairbrushes for at least 4 hours in between uses. Use a shampoo with Tea Tree oil to prevent any new lice from crawling onto your child’s scalp (the scent repels them). Keep a spray bottle filled with water and several drops of Tea Tree oil handy and spray your child’s head each morning before setting off to school. The Tea Tree scent will keep any new lice away.

As a mother who’s been there (I had them too!) I can vouch for this method and also for being aware. Reading labels is not always enough – try to find low-tech, chemical-free alternatives instead.

I was a child in the 70s and a teenager in the 80s, so when I learned more about the term “new urbanism” last week, of course my mind went back to one of my favorite (yes, I admit it) childhood shows, Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, and then of course, to another favorite, Eddie Murphy’s SNL riff, Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood, but I digress…

I had a great conversation today with Joan Herriges, from the organizing committee for Wisconsin’s chapter of the Congress for the New Urbanism, and, I learned 2 things:

1.  New urbanism is about neighborhoods.  I discovered that one of the most exciting things about new urbanism is that it’s about people living in community— in neighborhoods. More on this later.

2. New urbanism is not new.  It’s a return to the organizing principles of neighborhoods which existed in the U.S. prior to the advent of urban sprawl post-WWII.  That urban sprawl is characterized by: 

• geographic distance and longer commute times between work and home and services (places of worship, medical offices, grocery stores, barber shops, movie theaters, etc.), paralleling separate industrial, residential and commercial zones;
• higher car dependence and traveling by car to work, home and services;
• higher per person infrastructure costs;  
• and the disappearance of natural space for expressways, parking lots and suburbs.

What new urbanism represents, in part, is a return to designing neighborhoods that are walkable, with neighborhood-based  businesses, services and leisure, and where multiple transportation options are viable, including public transportation, biking and walking. These neighborhoods also engender more interaction and a greater sense of community, as you’re more likely to know your neighbors when you’re walking your kids to school, for example, or to support and know local business owners whose shops are conveniently located within blocks of your house or apartment.  As Joan said, “It’s about neighborhoods that people would want to live in.”

As a city dweller invested in both community and sustainability, I find the Congress for New Urbanism’s charter  inspiring. Thinking about neighborhood design addresses quality of life and time by decreasing commute times, exemplifies a more sustainable use of resources like land, public transportation and roads, and increases our interaction with and connection to the people and places around us.  The first line says it all — it’s all connected, and it’s all about community.

The Congress for the New Urbanism views disinvestment in central cities, the spread of placeless sprawl, increasing separation by race and income, environmental deterioration, loss of agricultural lands and wilderness, and the erosion of society’s built heritage as one interrelated community-building challenge.

I knew I liked Mr. Rogers for a reason.

Yes, it’s true. I am an idealism junkie. In a world where there’s no shortage of pessimists and things to be pessimistic about, it’s very nice to be in the presence of a true idealist. Marvin Klein is one such idealist. On Thursday evening , I had the great pleasure of being surrounded by beauty at the Haworth Showroom in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.  I was there for a business networking event for the Chicago Sustainable Business Alliance. The appetizers were yummy, the wine was good, and the company even better.