By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Goodman Manufacturing Co., of Houston, Texas, are urging consumers who haven’t yet responded to the previously announced 1998 recall to do so immediately.

After October 1, 2009, the remedy consumers receive will be reduced.

The recall included about 10,000 Plexvent and Ultravent HTPV pipe systems attached to certain Goodman furnaces manufactured from October 1988 to July 1994. See the commission’s news release for information on the models and brands involved.

The HTPV pipe used for these vents could be susceptible to corrosion, cracking, and joint separation, which could result in the release of carbon monoxide into living areas, posing a danger to consumers, according to the commission.

Consumers with valid claims initiated on or before October 1, 2009, with remediation completed and required documentation submitted by January 1, 2010, will receive one of the following:

• A new, professionally installed venting system free of charge.

• A new, high-efficiency Goodman furnace and suitable vent for the manufacturer’s price of just the furnace, with no charge for labor, associated materials, or dealer markup.

Consumers who register after October 1, 2009 and who choose to repair their systems will be responsible for up-front payment of parts, labor, and permits, and will be responsible for arranging to have the work performed. See the commission’s news release for details.

Consumers can find out whether they have a recalled HTPV pipe system by checking the vent pipes attached to their natural gas furnace. Vent pipes in this recall:

• Are plastic.

• Are gray or black.

• Have “Plexvent,” “Plexvent II,” or “Ultravent” stamped on the vent pipe or printed on stickers placed on pieces used to connect the vent pipes.

• Are located on furnaces and the pipes go through the sidewalls of structures.

Other plastic vent pipes, such as white PVC, are not included in the recall.

Owners of Goodman furnaces that are vented with HTPV pipe should immediately call Goodman at 800-394-8084 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.

For more information on recalled consumer products, see www.recalls.gov.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Baby boomers have their last best shot at helping to straighten out the mess they helped make.

That’s the opinion of Kurt Andersen, author of the book “Reset: How This Crisis Can Restore Our Values and Renew America,” writing a four-part series in Time.

In part three of the series, “Boomers: Older and Maybe, Finally Wiser,” Andersen said the postwar generation was the first to refuse to grow up, but Gen-X and the rest have followed in their footsteps.

“And the selfish, heedless, if-it-feels-good-do-it approach enshrined by young boomers subsequently enabled the risk-taking, party-hearty paradigm that has governed so much of American life, economically and otherwise, for the last quarter century,” he said in the article.

In their empty-nested years, perhaps boomers can channel some of the vast energies and micromanagement they lavished on their children to pro-social enterprises and volunteer work, Anderson added.

It’s a series worth reading especially if you think like I do that we need a new economic model. The financial crisis presents an opportunity to change our economy and spending habits to create a more sustainable economic system.

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By Rita R. Robison, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

As baby boomers and their parents grow older, it’s vital that they’re working with doctors who meet their needs and obtaining services from the best hospitals available.

What should you do if you’d like to pick out a new general practitioner or specialist? See my article “How to Choose a Doctor.”

Does the hospital you plan to go to when you have an emergency or surgery have the best outcomes and the lowest infection rates? See my article “How to Choose a Hospital.”

Databases are available to help you compare hospitals in your area.

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By Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist, Blogging at The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Sunday I went to the Thurston County Fair to take photos of the animals, exhibits, and carnival.

It reminded me of growing up on a farm. We had our own apple ranch for about four years, and then, after tough times, my dad was the field manager for a large company that grew apples.

Prior to the 20th century, the typical American family lived on a small farm. They raised hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens, and planted corn, fruits, garden vegetables, hay, and wheat.

This began to change during the last half of the 1800s, and life was very different in the next century.

With the development laborsaving machinery and fertilizers and pesticides, farmers could grow more on each acre. Not as many farmers were needed. Many people left the farms and went to work in the cities.

Corporate farming, with government subsidies, took over a large part of the food market and gobbled up farmland.

We now have more city dwellers than people living in rural areas.

When I was growing up, I didn’t appreciate living in the country. I didn’t want to be a farmer. I wanted to be a professional and not work from dawn to dusk in food production like my parents did.

So I went to college and studied journalism, consumer economics, and public administration. I’ve enjoyed careers in these fields.

But now, I have a different opinion about farming. I think people can learn a lot from the agricultural environment and being involved in growing food.

Today, there are almost two million farms in the United States. About 80 percent of those are small farms, and a large percentage are family owned.

More and more of these farmers are now selling their products directly to the public. And the sales of organic food are climbing steadily.

I appreciate young people who are taking an interest in organic farming. I talk to them at our local farmers’ market.

They’re excited and proud to be working in organic farming. Many of them grew up in the city.

I hope that you have access to fresh, organic food in your area. I think this trend is positive in helping Americans get healthier food. We’ve gotten so far off track with the highly processed food grown by big agriculture and marketed by corporate America.

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