By the end of that year, in December 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency opened its doors. A very good start.

Since that time, there have been many years when there has been little to celebrate. Although there has been continual progress, including some milestones, there have also been pretty serious setbacks. For example, of the 80,000 chemicals that have been produced and used in the U.S. since the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) was enacted 34 years ago, only 200 have been tested by the EPA, and only five have been regulated.

But in the last year, the EPA has undergone some equally serious reform. Finally, the agency is really buckling down on toxic chemicals, both in the environment and in consumer goods.

There is special attention on children, as it should be. Children are most susceptible to toxic chemicals because their bodies are still growing. In the not too distant future, it is our children and grandchildren, the little ones asleep in their cribs right now, who will lead the way in politics, as teachers, as firefighters, artists, business owners and so on, and so on.

To do their jobs well, to achieve their goals and have a satisfying, happy and productive life, they need to be healthy.

At Naturepedic, we celebrate Earth Day every day. We give children a healthy start in life by manufacturing our award-winning organic baby crib mattresses that are certified by GREENGUARD and enjoy the unique distinction of being the only crib mattress recommended by Healthy Child Healthy World.

Do you have a Naturepedic mattress for your infant or toddler? If not, you might want to celebrate Earth Day/Week/Month by checking them out at http://www.Naturepedic.com.

You can also celebrate Earth Day by working on creating a personal environment that is more chemical-free. It really doesn’t take much to get a good start. Read Going Green in 2010 – A Few Simple Things With A Big Impact for some helpful hints that make a real difference.

Start now, and next year your family will also have even more to celebrate on Earth Day!

• Buy organic products. Everything from food to bed linens and carpets. In addition to protecting your family, organic food and organic products made in green facilities cause much less damage to the environment than other products. No pesticides for the food, and the potentially harmful chemicals used in other products and in the production process are significantly reduced if not completely eliminated.

• Clean the air in your home with house plants. The information on what plants work best appears in our blog post Cleaning Baby’s Nursery Air with House Plants.

• Throw out your cleaning supplies and replace them with non-toxic, biodegradable alternatives. There are many products available in health food stores; even regular supermarkets are now adding them to their shelves. But the labels can fool you. Read more about what to look for on a label in Cleaning Products for the Non-Toxic Nursery. Of course, all the information also applies to the rest of the house!

• Replace your beds. Babies spend 12 to 15 hours a day in bed, toddlers not much less and, for adults, it’s about a third of their life! There are so many beds out there made with potentially harmful chemicals. Some have even been banned. And with the changes being made in the Environmental Protection Agency, there’s a good chance more will be banned in the future. Start with getting your kids crib or toddler mattresses to help them get a healthy start in life. Then move onto your own.

There are hundreds of other things you can do to go green, but these are a very good start! Going green in 2010 will help create a safer, healthier home for your family, and for families around the world.

What’s wrong with the current law? Just a couple of the highlights:

• Chemical manufacturers are not required to give the EPA the information needed to determine whether a chemical is safe – the burden of proof is on the EPA.

• Some health and safety information is suspected of being unjustifiably classified as Confidential Business Information (CBI) and is thereby protected from the pubic eye.

Read the principles congress was given as guidelines for the new law and you’ll get a good idea of why the current law doesn’t work well.

On an immediate basis the EPA will review six controversial chemicals, including phthalates. Three of the seven phthalates were recently banned in some children’s goods, including crib mattresses and some toys. We hope the remaining four will be included in the imminent review.

In case you don’t know, phthalates are chemicals used to make PVC/Vinyl more pliable so it can be used to make children’s toys, the waterproof covering on most crib mattresses, and many other goods.

Naturepedic mattresses do not contain phthalates–they never have and never will. Our waterproof covering is made from food-grade polyethylene.

The EPA is supposed to release their first plan of action to deal with these chemicals in December. We’ll keep you updated.