Week 5 - NO GLOBAL WARMING?

Global Warming: 'carbon stays in the atmosphere, acts like a warm blanket, and holds in the heat'

This is a definition excerpted from StopGlobalWarming.org. The carbon comes from our cars, homes, factories and power plants. It's easy to imagine an increase in this gas as the world becomes more populated and industrialized. If left unchecked this increase could lead to some serious problems, such as: 1) the melting of glaciers and arctic sheets which raises sea-level and may cause significant flooding 2) changes in weather patterns leading to droughts and hurricanes and 3) health problems like allergies, asthma and potentially, malaria and encephalitis, just to name a few.

Recently I have read in various media the statement, "global warming does not exist". Apparently there are reputable scientists that refute the data (they feel GW is a naturally occurring event). Along with this statement, there are usually ones like, "the public is being (mis)led by the media", "the public is not discerning in terms of where it get it's news", "the entertainment industry is leading this left wing cause to undermine the current administration" (like you can't just sit back and watch that situation implode). What if there is no global warming? What if it is the media's 'cause du jour'? What if we are being manipulated? My response is: so what? How are we supposed to react? Oh, since there's no global warming let's get rid of the Clean Air Act (who needs quality air to breathe) and the Clean Water Act (so what if our ground water gets contaminated, and leaches into the soil - you know, the same soil we grow our food in); we'll just allow industry to run amok. Or hey, let's put the brakes on this whole "reduce, reuse, recycle" business! We can just keep sending our trash to landfills. When they get full, we'll find more land (I'm certain there's a third world country willing to take it for a price). What about our gas gluttony? Well since we don't have to be concerned about pollution, fill 'er up! (but jeez, we have to know that every time we fill our gas guzzling cars, we increase demand and in turn drive up the price). I don't get the point. You don't have to believe in global warming to believe you can't suck the resources out of something, abuse said thing and still have something of quality left. View it as any other relationship you have. What do you think the point is?

Say what you will about the entertainment industry, but they have generated a ton of media coverage that has pushed this movement along. They have done it by speaking in a way lay people can understand. They have appealed to our morals and ethics; they have spoken to the parent in us; they have made us aware of personal responsibility and have given us ideas and concrete actions we can take to help the situation. In the end I believe the world will be a better place, even if there is no global warming.

Around the world there is a general consensus that greenhouse gas emissions are a problem. However there is some disagreement on how to solve the problem. Around 1997 141 countries began to ratify the Kyoto Protocol which aims to reduce green house gases about 29% by the year 2012. It took effect in 2005. While running for office Bush promised to reduce carbon emissions. Once he took office, he withdrew U.S. support for the Kyoto Protocol and refused to submit it to Congress for ratification stating it "would result in serious harm to the economy of the United States" (read, serious harm to my and my fat cat friends' wallets). Losing U.S. involvement in the Protocol is huge, since the U.S. is responsible for 25% of greenhouse gas emissions. You can follow this link to the Natural Resources Defense Council nrdc.org/bushrecord/for detailed articles on the President's environmental record (it's not good). To be fair, you can also check out this link whitehouse.gov/infocus/environment (of course, it's infinitely better).

A really great way to help our environment is to let your voice be heard, and you don't have to leave your computer to do so. Your first stop can be StopGlobalWarming.org where you can join a virtual march to "become part of the movement to demand our leaders freeze and reduce our carbon dioxide emissions now".

The mayor of Seattle took matters into his own hands after the U.S. pulled it's support for the Kyoto Protocol and began the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement. You can petition your mayor to sign onto the Agreement. Check out seattle.gov/mayor/climate to see if your city is listed (I believe cities have to have at least 30,000 people). The Agreement now includes 464 mayors representing about 62 million Americans - their goal, to reduce global warming pollution by making changes at the local level.

Show support for global warming bills that are coming up this year:

1. The Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act. It would lower the industrial CO2 emission cap to a third of 2000 emission levels by 2050. Go to undoit.org/home.cfm and click "sign the petition".
2. The Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act. It calls for an 80% reduction in global warming pollutants by 2050. Use this link senate.gov to contact your senators and ask that he/she support this bill.

At nrdc.org/action, you can ask you representatives to sponsor: 1) a bill to raise fuel efficiency standards immediately, and 2) the above mentioned Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act. There are other environmental issues on their "action center" page you can support.

Also, keep in mind money talks. If you support charities, consider donating to an organization that works to end global warming. Check out networkforgood.org for a database of organizations.

Finally, remember the power of word-of-mouth and share what you know! One great way to do this would be to gather some friends and "screen" An Inconvenient Truth. Whether you believe it all or not, I bet you'll come away thinking a little differently!

Week 4 - EARTH DAY!!

Today's post is a two-fer since we have Earth Day and Arbor Day falling in the same week (at least in PA - Arbor Day varies from state to state). Earth Day was years in the making beginning in 1962 when it's founder Senator Gaylord Nelson had an idea for JFK to go on a conservation tour in 1963. The tour's purpose was to bring the state of the environment into the political limelight. It didn't work, but it was as Nelson stated, "the germ of the idea that would eventually flower into Earth Day". Seven years later on April 22, "over 20 million people participated in what is known as the largest grassroots environmental movement in U.S. history! Since then, more and more people have joined in the celebrations every April. Now more than 500 million people in over 180 countries participate in Earth Day activities! " To learn more about Earth Day and it's purpose, you can visit earthday.org.

Today is just perfect for reinforcing any environmental lessons or activities the kids have been doing at school this past week. Or for taking a few moments to talk with them about the earth, it's gifts, and our responsibility for taking care of it - every day.

There are a myriad of ways in which to celebrate Earth Day. You can:

Honor Arbor Day by planting a tree. It doesn't sound like making a significant contribution, but look at the benefits:

• Trees take in carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. Apparently if every household planted one tree, we would cut global CO2 (that's carbon dioxide) by a billion pounds a year. That equals 100,000 cars.
• Planting 3 shade trees around your home, could reduce your air conditioning bill by 50%. They can also act as wind breaks keeping your home warmer in the winter.
• Trees absorb noise pollution and filter pollutants out of the air.
• Trees control erosion.
• Groups of trees (aka forests) create eco-systems and make soil.

Join the National Arbor Foundation at arborday.org for $10.00. They will send you 10 little trees for your donation (granted the trees/sticks are only 6 - 12 inches so patience is necessary). If you can't use the trees you can send them to someone else, or even an organization. Maybe you can plant them in a neighborhood park. Just know that your $10 will go to supporting the Foundation's tree planting programs, education, conferences, seminars, and re-foresting.

Have your family or organization clean-up. Sadly there is always a lot of trash along our roadways, in our parks, along our rivers and lakes, around our playing fields, etc. Choose a place and pick up what you can.

Plant/plan a habitat garden for butterflies or birds.

Go for a hike and/or have a picnic.

If possible leave the car at home.

Visit a zoo.

Share what you know!

Lastly, say a prayer of thanks and one for wisdom. Be thankful we have decent water to drink, our soil is not contaminated and our air (although it could always be better) is breathable. Be thankful for people (like Rachel Carson RachelCarson.org, Senator Nelson, Al Gore et al.) who persevered and took action so we could be made aware of important issues. Most importantly, be thankful we have the power to change and to do better when we know better. That's what I want my children to know - that this is entirely in our hands.

Happy Earth Day Everybody!

Week 3 - CLEANING!

Easter is behind us, so I can now turn my attention to another annual rite of the season: Spring Cleaning!!! Every one's idea of a clean house is likely associated with a particular smell - for me it's ammonia and sadly, ammonia can be toxic. I would like to change how I think of clean by associating it with a pleasant smell, so I am trying to make more environmentally sound choices when it comes to my cleaning products.

My initial hang up was, what does it mean when we say something is "clean"? A question not to be asked while standing in Target with your arms full of Method products, and your husband saying "none of these are antibacterial". My reply was, "so, we haven't always had everything antibacterial", but inside I wavered. I had to make a clear determination of what clean means, and here it is. "Clean" is the result of all the day to day wiping we do in order to prevent bacteria and germs from occurring in the first place. Disinfecting is what we think we're doing when we use sanitizing or antibacterial cleaning products to kill existing germs. I say "think" because few of us read the directions for our products and fail to realize most disinfectants/antibacterials must be left on a surface for 2 - 10 minutes to be effective. What this means is, we have fallen victim to brilliant marketing and now find it difficult to believe our homes can be clean without disinfecting every square inch! The Method company (link below), which makes environmentally friendly cleaning products does a nice job of countering this marketing by explaining why their products are not antibacterial (yes it's still marketing, but at least we get some balance). If you need a little extra courage to go against what we've been brainwashed to believe, go to their site, click "support" at the bottom of the page and then click "antibacterial".

So when is cleaning okay and when do we really need to use something stronger? It seems we don't need to be constantly disinfecting our homes unless someone is ill or has a compromised immune system. Further, when we do disinfect, it does not have to be the entire house. Do we really need to disinfect our dining rooms, bedrooms, or even living rooms? Probably not. But we probably want to do our kitchens and baths. Even within rooms, do we need to disinfect things like the walls, doors, and trim, or is it enough to do just the door knobs, sinks and toilets? Every individual will have their own level of comfort, just keep in mind we need most things to be clean, not necessarily disinfected.

This also holds true for antibacterial soap. It seems that antibacterial soap is no better at cleaning hands than soap and water; it is the act of washing your hands that kills the germs. Again, this is great marketing that cost the consumer more money. There does however seem to be a consensus that antibacterial gels are a good option for when soap and water is not available. There is one concern about antibacterial soaps/gels that the FDA is currently looking into and that is the effect of the ingredient triclosan. According to one article on http://www.webmd.com/, a FDA "committee heard some evidence that two common antimicrobial agents, triclosan and triclocarban, accumulate in groundwater and soil. That could make them a risk for contaminating drinking water and farmed food and giving rise to potentially dangerous resistant bacteria. The risk of resistant bacteria is theoretical. But several experts cautioned that even the potential risk of resistance may not be worth continued mass marketing of soaps that have no proven benefit to consumers. Drug-resistant bacteria are considered a major health threat by public health experts. Some strains, including S. aureus (staph), have alarmed experts with increased levels of resistance to multiple antibiotics". Inconclusive, but interesting and a little scary!

In choosing your products you want to remember what is best for you, your family and pets. Opt for environmentally friendly products when you can and harsh products when you must. The following are some other things that can make a difference:

1. Choose products in containers that are recyclable in your area (this is a good habit for whatever you buy).
2. Look for concentrated products that can be mixed with COLD water. They use less packaging and energy.
3. Stay away from products with bold warnings that they are poison or toxic.
4. When choosing a disinfectant, stick with the mildest ingredients like citrus or hydrogen peroxide (as opposed to chlorine).
5. Check that the product is biodegradable.
6. Buy products that are phosphate free (.5% or less). Phosphates have a terrible effect on our waterways.
7. Avoid products that contain any of the following, listed as: APEs, glycol ether, VOCs, or EDTA
8. When you discover a product that works well, let others know. (I did buy some Method products and have so far used the daily shower spray [which smells like eucalyptus and mint] and the hand soap [which smells like pink grapefruit]. Both work well and I'll keep you posted on whatever else I try).

Here are links to some of the numerous companies that make environmentally friendly products (they also do not test on animals): http://www.methodhome.com/, http://www.seventhgeneration.com/, and http://www.mrsmeyers.com/. They are also available at area stores and you can find one near you when you visit their websites. You can also peruse the shelves at your local stores (grocery, discount, health food), for environmentally friendly alternatives. No doubt about it, some of them will be more expensive, but a lot of them are on par with mainstream products (ensure you are comparing apples to apples when figuring cost, especially when looking at concentrated products). Also, it may be a trial and error process to find out what works the way you want. Having said that, changing even one cleaning product can make a big difference by letting companies know we want something better than what meets the minimum standards for safety they can get away with.

In the end, if you have the option of something that cleans well, smells great, is better for the environment and is comparably priced, why wouldn't you use it?!!

Week 2 - BYOBags!!!!

Earlier this week I received my order of reusable shopping bags and I've already road tested them! They are terrific! They are made of non woven polypropylene, shaped like a box with handles, very roomy (they easily hold more than a regular plastic grocery bag, more like a paper grocery bag), very sturdy (especially because they come with an insert for the bottom) and they cost about $1.25 each. What's not to like? I know what's not to like - these bags draw attention!! I can't tell you how many looks I was getting because I had these bags! I tend to be pretty private, so that was a little tough. But instead of putting on my "what are YOU lookin' at" face, I should wear my "hey ask me where I got these bags" face. I have to work on that!

I checked out a number of reusable bags. Canvass and string bags are great options, but their price tag is a little crazy, at least for me. When I go grocery shopping, I generally have at least 10 -12 bags. Am I really going to pay around $6 - $8 for one bag? NO!!!! So I was thrilled when I found the website earthwisebags.com. You click on "store" and you can purchase the bags in quantities of 10, 20, 50 or 200. The shipping is a little pricey at $7.77, but it's the same if you purchase 10 or 20 bags, so order 20 and have someone split the shipping cost with you. I should add these bags are not just reusable, they are also 100% recyclable, hypoallergenic, odorless, non-toxic, washable and water repellent!

I know some of you are thinking "reusable bags, ugh!", but check out these stats. Americans throw away about 100 billion plastic grocery bags a year! That's a lot of petroleum that's being used to produce them and how about the space they take up in the landfills since only about 1 - 3% of plastic bags are recycled. Oh, and if you're thinking "I'll just use paper" - that's not any better. Americans consume about 10 billion paper bags annually and it has been found that the manufacture of plastic bags produce considerably less air pollution, water borne wastes, and industrial solid-waste than the manufacture of paper. So environmentally speaking, paper or plastic is a toss up. They both use a lot of natural resources, pollute the air, can be harmful to wildlife and neither are effectively recycled. The best option is to bring your own reusable bags when you go shopping. Leave them in the car and you will always be prepared, whether at the market or the mall. Just remember, work on your "face"!

Week 1 - RECYCLING

Can you believe that the average American is responsible for about 4.3 pounds of garbage per day? Do the math for just one week and it's not comforting! Do the math for over a lifetime, and the amount is staggering! Put in these terms we can see why recycling came about, but ask the average person why we recycle and the general answer is: to keep our landfills from filling up thereby using more and more of our land for garbage dumps. I have found the answer to this question to be a little more complex.

We are asked to recycle for a variety of reasons, such as:

1. Saving virgin resources (like trees and mining the earth) that would be used to make new products.
2. Preventing environmental problems in landfills like ground water contamination.
3. Saving energy when using recycled materials rather than virgin materials in manufacturing, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Preventing pollution.
5. Creating jobs. The recycling industry is a growing one.
6. Saving families money in those area where garbage pick-up fees, are based on how much garbage you have.

Now for the complex part, many of these reasons have been refuted on the grounds that they are not industry specific. You can follow this link, http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Recycling_criticism&oldid=118955910 if you would like to read more about the criticisms of recycling. Having read the criticisms, I still think recycling is worthwhile.

That being said, I've never done it! We live outside of town and we do not have curb side pick-up (we don't even have curbs). I've always thought of it as an inconvenience. However, I have to say, I can easily drive by the Recycling Center each week as I have to go into town anyway. So, I went online and searched for our Recycling Center's website. It provided me with information on what they accept, how I should prepare it and the Center's hours.

Next, my kids and I picked up some inexpensive 5 gallon buckets and we've started collecting. I get a little excited with each item we put in - I know, I know, that's going to wear off!

My cost for 4 buckets was less than $8.00. I had to purchase another larger container at about $3.50 because I seem to have a lot of plastic. That's okay; I may need a few more. To date my total cost is $11.50 and just a little extra time to rinse things out.

Here is a link that will help you find recycling services of all kinds in your area: http://earth911.org

This was an easy one! Everyone should do this! If you don't, check into it!

I'll talk to you next week.