Enviro Mentality

Plastic bags have become a staple of modern life.  First introduced in the 1970’s, they  became the standard in the 1980’s.  Worldwide, we use about 500 BILLION to 1 TRILLION plastic shopping bags a year .It’s estimated that here in the United States we use about 84 BILLION bags a year.  They littler roadsides, flutter from trees, clog catch basins and ultimately end up in landfills and the ocean. Marine life suffers, too:  each year over 100,000 whales, turtles, birds and fish die of strangulation or starvation from eating or being caught up in plastic bag litter.  There’s even the “Great Pacific Garbage Patch”, a floating island of trash:  most of it plastic!  Plastic bags come from petroleum, so every one that’s used requires Middle East oil. The Earth is being destroyed and depleted for our convenience.

Retailers like Wal-Mart have jumped on the bandwagon and are selling reusable bags.  While a noble effort, consider where these bags are coming from.  Noting Wal-Mart’s reliance on cheap goods from China, I’d hardly think that these bags ARE fair trade.  They first had the black bags which were completely made out of recycled plastic.  Then they switched to the blue ones but they are only made from about 50% recycled plastic, and last half as long!  Leave it to Wal-Mart to LOOK ‘green’ but not be.

Australia,  Italy, Ireland, Mumbai (Bombay), and others like Taiwan have begun to charge for plastic bags. Here in the United States, several localities have either started charging for plastic bags or banned them outright. San Francisco has banned the use while Washington DC is imposing a 5 cent fee.  Of course, some residents are fuming and the oil lobby and retailer’s association are against it.

Chico bags are a light, easily packable way to reduce your plastic bag consumption. Many of you forget your bags.  Chico bags are easily packed into a purse or for you guys, a knapsack.  Mine are in my purse all the time.  I’ve loaded them the 14oz cans of cat food plenty of times., easily topping over 20 pounds! The good news is — they are really RECYCLABLE!  The company that makes them will take them back and rework them into something else!

Each of us on this Earth must make a choice every day to save resources.  Whether its turning off lights,  buying a solar charger, fixing leaking faucets, switching to a composting toilet or buying a more fuel efficient car:  everything — EVERYTHING — we do does have an effect!

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!

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!

Detox is an important facet of modern life. Our bodies cannot rid themselves of the modern compounds we are surrounded with.

Thousands of times a day we are exposed to toxins in the form of pollution, pesticides, chemicals in our food and personal care products.  Additives in processed food, plastics (phthalates) leaching from containers into the food we eat, water bottles, from microwaving food in plastic containers. 80 % of coffee is decaffeinated with chemical solvents ( methylene chloride or ethyl acetate).  Water processed organic coffee is the best bet for decaf.  The clothes you’ve gotten back from the dry cleaners are laced with the chemical perchloroethylene. Nice, Huh?

An ancient remedy used in Ayurvedic medicine in India, turmeric, contains a wealth of healing properties.  In recent publications by oncologists, turmeric has been touted as one of the best detoxifying agents available. Studies have shown that people in countries that consume it daily, cancer rates are extremely low.

In addition to adding beneficial herbs to your diet, a good detox regimen will help you cleanse your body of chemicals.  The idea is to SWEAT - either in a hot bath  or sauna but only if your doctor has advised it is safe for you.   Mustard baths, long a remedy for amazing and effective cleansing are another method.

Relaxing in a hot detox bath is good for your mood as well as what ails you.  It also helps to ward off those yucky winter bugs that are going around.

You can do so many things to help save the environment.  One way to do this at home is to have Sun Mar Composting Toilets.  This technology begun in the late ‘70s and continues until today.  There are different models available to fill specific needs.  So, you can check out which model will work best for your home.
 
An average household with four people will use 25,000 gallons of water a year just for flushing.  Imagine the amount of water that you save when you use a composting toilet.  They are very easy to install, clean and maintain.  All the toilets are certified by the National Sanitation Foundation ensuring that your toilet is approved by your local health department.

The Earth is talking back.  She is trying to let us know we need to change our ways.

WATER USE must be one of them.

The water outlook for California and Nevada is a grim one, according to an article posted on Reuters today. With snow pack in the mountains decreasing  due to climate change, consumers and farmers face the possibility of another year of shortages.

What does this mean for you?  Higher food prices as supply drops.

California is one of the top food producers in the nation.  Nevada, on the other hand, has experienced tremendous growth over then past 10 years and now has the nation’s highest water useage. We are in a water crisis in this country, but what can we do?

CONSERVE WATER in every aspect of your life.  If you think that your water use doesn’t affect the entire Earth, think again!  What you take from your tap or garden spigot has to come from somewhere. Unless you collect your own rain water, you’re drawing from the municipal supplies.

Especially if you live in an arid climate such as California, Nevada or other areas of the southwest, you  absolutely should be doing whatever you can to conserve water.

COLLECT RAIN WATER - what a NOVEL idea!  Our great grandparents did this.  Grandma had her rain barrel and used this to wash clothes with.  It was free water.  Then the water was used to water the gardens with.  The veggies grew better because the soap, a natural insecticide, kept bugs off.

You can do a lot to save water.  Start by checking all your faucets, spigots and toilets.  If they leak, fix them. One single leak can waste 200 or more gallons a day.

Use a rain barrel to collect water with.  You can do a LOT with the water you collect:  water your gardens, potted plants, hose off your deck, wash your car and not use any municipal water supplies doing it.

YOU CAN do your part in saving water easily and efficiently.

There are people in desert regions of this Earth who would give anything to have the amount of  good drinking water that the average American flushes down the toilet every day.

Consider the numbers:

A typical 4-person household,

using a 3.5 gallon low-flush toilet

flushes 70 GALLONS per DAY

-or-

25,000 GALLONS a YEAR  of  drinkable water down the drain

An older 7 gallon toilet uses double that: 140 GALLONS per DAY -or- about 50,000 GALLONS per YEAR

Toilet waste is over 90%  water content.  Pathogens like nitrogen and potassium, which upset the normal Ph of the soil, add tremendous pollution to groundwater.

To date, SUN-MAR composting toilets have saved about 3.2 BILLION GALLONS of water (to January 08) with an additional saving of 6,103 gallons a minute!

Sun-Mar toilets are adaptable for any situation.  Residential use, cabins, workshops, guest houses;  even for RV and marine use.  They’re the premier manufacturer of composting toilets.  They’ve been making them for about 40 years now, the same family-owned company started Hardy Sundberg in the 70’s.

I’d think they know what they’re doing by now, wouldn’t you?

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.