Enviro Mentality

Sun-Mar composting toilets may look a little funny at first glance, and seem overpriced, but the benefits  far outweigh the cost.

A 4-person household using a  3.5 gallon flush toilet will flush 70 gallons per day down the toilet or over 25,000 gallons per year.

An older 7 gallon toilet uses 140 gallons a day which equals  50,000 gallons a year.

Do you want to WASTE that much GOOD water to flush poop down the toilet?  Think about it. Billions of gallons of purely good, drinkable water are being wasted every year by the flush of a toilet.  Isn’t that insane?

Like it or not, our planet is running out of drinkable water.  Our aquifers are being depleted by wasteful use of our most precious resource.  The quest for the perfect lawn uses millions of gallons a DAY!  California, really a desert, insists on being a lush tropical oasis complete with swimming pools in just about every yard!  Desert paradise, Las Vegas, is gobbling up water with its obscene obsession for water waste as it caterers to tourists and an ever-expanding urban sprawl.

What about your neighborhood?  What about you? Have you planted drought resistant plants and shrubs for your area?  Have you made an effort to cut back on your watering?  Have you thought about the benefits of drip irrigation instead of sprinklers?

Saving water is up to ALL of us.  From our toilets to the yard — YOU — can make a difference… starting today!

I am so inspired by Will Allen and his non-profit organization, “Growing Power.”

THIS is what we need to be doing for ourselves, people.  We must break the chains of hunger that grips this nation.  So many families are starving in our country.  Millions are starving around the world!  Mr. Allen’s vision and strategy could help alleviate hunger throughout the planet!

Just gaze at the map of the Milwaukee farm, a 2 acre plot that is the LAST remaining farm in the ‘city.’  It is an absolute inspiration. As you read about the other endeavors in the area, you’ll see that this is a thriving, workable and amazing effort!  These are not only ‘farms’ but teaching centers… I’d like to call them instead, “inspiration centers,” because one can NOT be uninspired by this!

Governments are strugging to oversee their environmentally damaging, unsanitary, inhumane factory farms. Innovators like Mr. Allen and Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm, are trying to educate and reintroduce humane, environmentally conscious and Earth-healing farming.

Our farmer’s markets are only the starting place.  We need our small farmers because they are our last link to good, clean, safe food.  Farmers like Will Allen and Joel Salatin are few and far between.  We need to have good food for all, everyone, everywhere!

It’s only fitting that today, Earth Day, I make mention of the responsibility of caring for our HOME.

This IS our home, but like irresponsible and selfish little children, we’ve messed it up. Our “Mom” (Mother Earth) has been trying to tell us.  The animals, plants, oceans, atmosphere, insects have been trying to tell us too.  The climate is … s c r e a m i n g … at us to pay attention.  Still we spew, still we pollute, still we ignore the cries of a damaged ecosystem.

We think it’s someone else’s responsibility.  The guy next door, the crazy environmentalists, the government or some other country.  In fact - it’s everyone’s job…. yours, mine, the government and the rest of the world.  Unfortunately, we haven’t been too good at it.

This ‘hippie’ thing started in the 70’s - 39 years ago, to be exact.  It looked good for awhile but then people forgot.  They continued to drive their gas guzzling cars, made by car companies with interests in the oil industry; the government blind and deaf except to the whispers of the lobbyists and corporate America.

Electricity consumption - fueled by our voracious need for luxuries and entertainment and unnecessary ‘necessities,’ has jumped despite electricity saving techniques.  One family showcased on TV had a monthly bill of over $700!  How can this be? What do they NEED that their costs should be so much?  How can they save?  Do they even TRY?

What are YOU doing to help this Earth?  Not just today, when we can proudly say ‘We celebrated EARTH DAY’ - but  EVERY  SINGLE  DAY?  What is your water useage? Do you waste water?  What about electricity? How much can you save by really making an effort - not just putting band-aids on things.  How about your driving?  Have you gone back to driving more since gas prices went down?  What are you giving back to the earth, instead of taking away?

What are you doing to be environmentally responsible - instead of irresponsible? Are you really making a difference - every day?

The environment is tops on everyone’s list.  Browse the ‘new and notable’ tables at your favorite book store and GREEN jumps out at every turn.

You can help introduce your friends and family to environmentally friendly living, too.

Give them a GREEN GIFT of organic personal care,  or bath salts,    or perhaps some

mustard bath.   or a detox seaweed bath 

Henna hair coloring     is a great way to lessen a loved one’s exposure to possible carcinogens in chemical dyes.

You can promote sustainability, independence and encourage environmentally friendly business in impoverished nations by purchasing fair trade gifts.  

Artisans worldwide produce crafts and are paid a fair wage.    This also helps preserve ancient crafts which are rapidly disappearing as populations move to urban areas.

Another great way to introduce environmentally friendly living is to get a GIFT CERTIFICATE to start a friend sampling some environmentally responsible products.  Often people are a bit hesitant to give up what they know, but once they try things, they find they are doing TWO things at once:  saving the environment and being more environmentally responsible themselves!

This could be toward the purchase of a Sun-Mar composter  or   perhaps a rain barrel…,   or even for a composting toilet    or maybe for a portable solar powered battery charger,  which is great for travellers!

We also have unusual    art and   gifts like original art  

by local Virginia artists.

There are many ways that you can spread the word about sustainable, green and helping the environment!

Composting doesn’t have to be a stinky unsightly mess!   You can compost pest-free with a Sun-Mar composter.

If you have a problem with neighborhood dogs or other critters, the Sun-Mar composter is pest free! It’s easy to unload, too.  No heavy lifting:  the finished compost comes out the bottom.

Compost strengthens the plants by providing essential nutrients - instead of CHEMICALS.  What you put on your veggie garden, goes into your food that you eat.  If you use pesticides and chemicals - GUESS what you are eating!

Now is the perfect time to get started on compost for the spring planting!

American consumers use millions of tons of chemical lawn and garden products a year.

As an employee in a garden center at a home improvement store for many years, I personally witnessed a frightening aspect of American life:  a staggering amount of sales of toxic chemicals -  thousands of pounds of the stuff went out the door every week - in just this one store!

People thought absolutely nothing of spreading and spraying toxic chemicals all over their lawns.  Their concern wasn’t what it was doing to their environment -or- the potential toxicity to their children, pets and other wildlife. In what  I would call their ‘fanatical desire’ to eradicate   e v e r y   pest and   e v e r y  weed, they didn’t realize they were increasing their risk to cancer & poisoning themselves, their children and the planet!

Most of them probably never read the back of the bags where it gave warnings about the product and said:

WARNING: poison!

Many of them didn’t know that these chemicals were in fact, carcinogens and endocrine disruptors which have been proven in many studies worldwide to cause cancer.

In her her highighly acclaimed book, Living Downstream - An Ecologist Looks at Cancer & the Environment, author,  biologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, Ph. D presents a frightening time line of the rise in cancer over the past 50 years.

Chemical preparations actually do more harm than good. They stress the plants out with a BIG dose of food.  This creates dependency on chemicals by the plant (think drug addict!) in which they do not naturally build up their own defenses. Roots come to the surface to get the food instead of growing down into the soil. Physical damage also occurs due to infrequent or over-dosing.  Granular or dust applications only deliver about 40% of the nutrients to the plant instead of over 95% with natural applications.

Then, of course, there is the environmental damage of groundwater pollution, runoff, introduction into far reaching water sources, to marine life;  all of this eventually returns to us in our food!

Using organic and natural yard care products and remedies helps to protect you and the Earth for further damage caused by pesticides.  Every choice YOU MAKE affects Mother Earth every day.

Environmentally speaking, Americans waste water - billions of gallons a year.  The average family of 4 uses about 400 gallons a day; 70% of it being used inside the home.

Consider the following statistics on how much water is used by an American family:

Toilets: 27%    Shower: 17%    Faucets: 16%    Washing Machine: 22%    Leaks: 14%    Other: 5%

27 percent  of all household water is used in the bathroom. Installing a new toilet or a composting toilet can save a dramatic amount of water in one year. A leaky toilet can waste over 200 gallons every day.

Bathroom faucets run at about 2 gallons of water a minute.  Shutting off the faucet while brushing your teeth saves about 200 gallons per month.

Not rinsing dishes before loading into a dishwashe saves over 10 gallons per load.

Washing machines can use up to 54 gallons of water per load, but recent energy efficient models use about 27 gallons.

Garbage disposals waste electricity and water.  A typical disposal uses between 4 and 8 gallons of water a minute. Consider this the next time you go to use yours.  A  garden composter is the way to go and will provide you with free, nutrient rich soil for your garden and get rid of your food scraps at the same time.

You won’t be wasting water or electricity with a composting toilet or a composter.

Do you go to your local garden center and

BUY DIRT?

Why?

You can make your own compost very easily and save yourself a lot of money & won’t  have to lug heavy bags by using a composter.

You have all the makings for good compost right there at home.  Use grass from mowing your lawn, leaves from the fall, (which are even better if you’ve mulched them) branches and twigs cut from trees & shrubs. Add vegetable trimmings, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags and peels from the kitchen.  Don’t forget those refrigerator experiments with the hair on them! The only exceptions that don’t go in are meat  (including bones) and any dairy products.  Everything else makes great compost! All you need to do is put it in a composter and the rest is done for you.

The breakdown of these materials turns into ‘brown gold’: light, fluffy and nutritious compost.  Good nutrition is vital for your garden.  It helps plants ward off pests and disease without using dangerous  toxic chemicals and pesticides.  Another benefit is you are getting FREE DIRT!

Sun-Mar has been making composters for about 30 years.  They’ve used the proven technology from their  best-selling composting toilets;  a rotating drum. This ensures a good mixture and quick decomposition of organic materials.

Instead of using your garbage disposal, which wastes water and electricity, a composter is an earth-friendly, pest-free alternative.  Outdoor rascals like dogs, cats, racoons, possums and skunks can’t get into the sealed drum.

Compost is easy to make.  You’re half way there every time you make a meal. Why not start today?