Stifling days like this make me really appreciate my microwave.

I’m a relatively recent convert to microwave cooking. Only one of the apartments we’ve lived in over the last 12 years had one when we moved in, and I never had the urge to buy one. My  mom cooked everything in the microwave, and always on high, so I ate chewy, tough, limp, or overcooked food most of my life. That’s what I associate microwaves with. It took Jason a year and a half to convince me to get one.

But, for all my prejudices against them, microwaves are really efficient. Why?

• Microwaves use at least 50% less energy than a conventional oven. True, over a year’s time this adds up to a negligible energy savings, but every little bit helps.
• Microwaves don’t heat up the kitchen. If you use air conditioning, this could save even more energy. For the rest of us, it just makes the house a little more comfortable.
• Microwaves make it easier to cook in large batches and freeze some for later. I’m not yet in the habit of doing this all the time, but I try.

I mostly use the microwave for reheating. Do you cook in it? I hear some vegetables can be steamed in the microwave really well, but I haven’t tried it yet because I generally like my veggies raw.

I ran across a couple cool Boston initiatives this week. Check ’em out.

• Citywide Infrared Scans Could Spur Energy Savings – Boston Globe. This is such a good idea! But I’d be afraid what our house would look like.
• Boston Makes Farmers’ Markets More Affordable – Change.org. People enrolled in SNAP get 10 extra dollars when they shop at farmer’s markets. I wonder how many people take advantage of it.
• Beauty 101: Recipes From Readers – Jezebel. I got some great suggestions for moisturizers this week. Here are some recipes for homemade skin care. Thanks, Lindsay!
• The pill without a prescription? – Salon. A big shout-out for the IUD. I love mine.
• New Dress a Day: Refashioning Fast Fashion – greenUPGRADER. This girl’s blog is great. It makes me wish I had the patience to learn how to sew.
• 4 Simple Steps to Grow a Hundred Pounds of Potatoes in a Barrel – greenUPGRADER. What a cool idea. Anyone ever tried this?
• Is it worth it to compost in the city? – Slate. Emphatically, yes. We compost with our worms and take what they can’t handle to Whole Foods.
• How to be ‘Fast, Fresh, and Green’ in the kitchen – Grist. I need to find this cookbook.
• Easy recipes for seasonal produce – Small Tastes. I always need more recipes. Thanks, Sharon!
• Improving the Energy Efficiency of Video Game Consoles – Natural Resources Defense Council. This one’s for you, Jason.

That’s all for now. As always, if you find something interesting, send it along.

What do you use for moisturizer? For years I used Oil of Olay (Jason called it Oil of Old Ladies), but then I decided to completely give up products tested on animals. Easy, right? Wrong. I’ve tried out a few different ones, but I’ve had a hard time finding a non-greasy moisturizer that includes sunscreen.

The closest I’ve come is Nature’s Gate Daily SPF 15 Sunscreen Moisture Cream. That had an odd texture—a bit like sand was mixed into it—but it wasn’t greasy, it dried quickly, and didn’t make me sneeze. I used that for months, but the company discontinued it.

Then I saw Trader Joe’s Enrich Moisturizing Face Lotion. It looks like Oil of Olay, so I gave it a try. Bad idea. The bottle is the only thing that’s similar. It stings my face and it tarnished my jewelry.

Jason uses Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Moisturizer. I’ve tried that, and it says it’s not greasy, but it kind of is.

So I’m back to square one. Any suggestions? I’d also like it to be free of parabens and oxybenzone, but at this point, beggars can’t be choosers. I looked at the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database, but I can never find anything there. The products that they consider the best are ones I’ve never heard of, let alone seen in a store. Grr! Maybe I’m too picky, but I do have to put this on my face every single day….

Part of my New Year’s brainstorming was changing to a toothpaste that’s not tested on animals. I don’t know why I waited so long, except that I wasn’t sure what exactly I should be looking for. But I finally broke down and did some research, and ended up switching to Tom’s of Maine Fluoride Toothpaste—which Mike suggested in the first place! Why?

• No animal testing or animal products. Our old toothpaste, Crest, definitely conducts animal testing. Tom’s is owned by Colgate, which does test on animals, but Tom’s doesn’t. While I don’t want to support irresponsible companies, I think it’s important to support the branches of them that are responsible, so larger companies recognize that it can be profitable and will change their ways.
• Fluoride. I don’t intend to lose any teeth over this. According to Consumer Search, Tom’s is the only “natural” toothpaste with fluoride. And even people who are against fluoridation of drinking water, like the Environmental Working Group, support fluoride in toothpaste.
• No triclosan. Triclosan is used in antibacterial soaps, as well as some toothpastes, and it may be an endocrine disruptor, like BPA. It is also shown to bioaccumulate and is often found in waterways. The FDA is currently reviewing it.

Tom’s does contain sodium lauryl sulfate, which some people worry may cause cancer. But the American Cancer Society disagrees. It’s just a detergent that might be irritating to skin. Avoiding it isn’t a top priority.

So the end result for me is that I have a toothpaste that tastes a little less sweet, but I got used to that after two brushes. I know all the ingredients in it, and I can feel good that it’s not tested on animals. And it’s ADA approved. Why didn’t I do this years ago?

I love the Upright Citizens Brigade. Enjoy!

• The BP Coffee Spill – Grist. A great Upright Citizens Brigade sketch.
• Gulf Oil Spill Vs. Home Energy Retrofits – EnergySavvy.com. The oil that’s leaked so far is equivalent to the energy wasted by 75,000 homes.
• Bay State Rethinking Wood Power – Boston Globe. A new study shows that it takes 20 years for a biomass plant to show a net benefit in greenhouse gases over a coal plant, and 90 years over natural gas.
• New Vegan Chicken Tastes Like the Real Thing – Change.org. I’m all for this. I have nothing against the taste of meat, just the suffering that goes along with it.
• National Restaurant Association: A Greener Shade of Greenwash – The Grenwashing Blog. Apparently all you have to do to get Greener Restaurant certification is pay a fee and answer a questionnaire.
• Natural Nail Care? – It’s Not Easy Being Green. I had my first pedicure ever a couple weeks ago, and I’m not sure I’d do it again. But I may start painting my nails at home…
• 3 Recipes for the Brief Bounty of Garlic Scapes – Change.org. I think I’ll make garlic scape pesto this week.
• How to Make Summer Strawberry Jam – The Greenest Dollar. I’ve never made strawberry jam before, but I’d like to try.
• Washing Your Hands in the Toilet – Green Living Tips. Does anyone know if this actually saves water? As far as I know, this sink drains into the bowl, not the tank, so you still end up using more water. Right?

In other news, my post How Do I Read Library Books on My Kindle? was featured in the Festival of Frugality at Nerd Wallet.

That’s all for now. Remember to send me anything interesting that you see this week.