Blade

Blade is an inexpensive emission control product for your car. It is a sort of filter which attaches to the end of your tailpipe. It sounds great, and if you or someone you know has actually used the product, I'd like to hear about it.

I think this is a great idea, but to tell the truth, I have my doubts. Can the filter withstand the high temperatures? Does it increase pressure in the tailpipe or engine? (Like shoving a potato in a tailpipe?) According to the company website, using Blade will also increase gas mileage. How does this work?

Like I said, I have my doubts. But I would love to be proven wrong. I think this company has a great idea. They also have a college scholarship program, which is great.

I'd like to hear more, from folks who have actually used the product. The link is below, just add a comment and share your thoughts.

bladeyourride.com

Gardening tips

I'm no expert gardener, but here are a few things I have learned to help reduce the amount of chemicals used in our yards and gardens.

For aphids and other small pests, get a spray bottle of soapy water (use mild soap like dish soap) and spray affected areas daily. The soap creates a film over the bugs and they suffocate. They don’t die instantly, but repeated applications will help. Avoiding insecticides also helps protect the insects you do want such as bees, butterflies and ladybugs.

Start a compost heap. Even if your yard is small, you can probably find room to put one, it just may take a little creativity. There are also plenty of resources online to help you to make the best compost. You can purchase composting containers, some even come complete with worms to aid the process.

Use a mulching mower, don’t bag it. When you use a mulching mower, the grass is shredded into smaller bits which settle on the soil. As the layers of grass fall, the lower layers break down which gives your grass more nutrients.

Don’t under water, and don’t over water. And don’t water in the rain! (My pet peeve) Both over watering and not watering enough makes your plants and lawn more susceptible to pests and diseases. When our plants get ill or infested, we tend to use more chemicals to treat them. Some soils hold water better than others, so I suggest you purchase (mine was about 12 dollars) a water meter which I push into the soil (and potted plants) and it tells me how moist the soil is.

I like to keep roses, and here, their biggest nemesis is aphids. But watch the ants too! Ants like the (sorry, I can’t remember the technical term) dewy sweet stuff which aphids suck from the plant. So the ants will actually pick up and move the aphids around the plant so they can collect this stuff. You can hose off the aphids with a strong stream of water, but the ants will often just carry the aphids back onto your plant. If ants are causing damage, locate the anthill and pour boiling water on it. You can also try soapy water. If you must use insecticides, look for the kind which ants will collect and carry to the nest. This is more effective which reduces the number of chemical applications you need to use.

As always, any other ideas are more than welcome, just add a comment!

Expand your recycling practices

Recycling is not just keeping bins for plastic, aluminum and paper. Shopping at your local thrift store, buying used items from the paper or over the internet, scouring the freecycle pages, even buying antiques are all great ways to recycle. The focus should be not only on reducing the waste a household generates, but reducing the number of items manufactured. Sure, we all love to get brand new items in perfect condition, but think about what it takes to produce and ship that item to you and millions of customers like you. Think about how far that item had to travel to get into your hands.

Today’s tip: If it breaks, fix it rather than replace it. Buy it used. Clean it up, paint it, or call it “rustic”. Recycle the parts you can off of it before throwing it away. Use parts for craft projects.

Growth Hormones in Milk

RBGH or rBST is a genetically engineered bovine growth hormone which is marketed under the brand name Posilac. Posilac is an injection given to dairy cows to increase milk production.

By now, most consumers are aware of growth hormones given to livestock, but may not be aware of the dangers associated with this practice. The cattle suffer higher incidents of cystic ovaries, infertility, birth defects, mastitis, and a 50% higher risk of lameness. When a cow develops mastitis, she is given antibiotics, traces of which can pass through the milk and end up on our table.

Not only do traces of antibiotics reach our tables, but so does IGF-1. IGF-1 is the hormone in milk which cows injected with rBGH/ rBST produce. IGF-1 is the deal breaker. It is linked to higher cancer rates in human beings.

It seems you can’t turn around anymore without someone trying to tell you that this or that causes cancer. That’s a topic for another day. But take a moment to stop and absorb the fact that drinking (rBGH) milk really may raise your chances of developing breast or prostate cancer.

Does all milk contain rBGH? The answer is no. But the United States does not require producers to label milk which contains this hormone. If you want to avoid it, you have to look for a brand which labels their product as free of this particular hormone.

If these hormones are so bad for us, then why are they still being used? Why hasn’t the FDA, or anyone, for that matter, put an end to it? Who makes this stuff?

The answer should not surprise you. Monsanto. (look up my previous post about genetic modification)

Why hasn’t posilac been banned? Well, that’s just an entirely new can of worms to be opened. Below are the links to the sources of information for writing this entry. There are a LOT of sites out there discussing this topic which attempt to explain why the use of these hormones has continued. I will take a stab at giving a fairly simple answer in the very near future.

Today’s tip: If you can find a supplier in your area, it is my opinion that raw milk is safer, by far, to drink (There are many other health benefits too). If the notion of drinking raw milk creeps you out, then you can look for organic milk and dairy products, or those which specifically state they are rBGH/ rBST free. Be careful in your choices though, food labeling can be deceptive.

Organic Valley FAQ
The Criminalization of Raw Milk: A Mennonite Farmer is Hauled Away
Milk, RBGH and Cancer
Center for Food Safety- rBGH

Brushing the dog for the environment

Here’s an odd little topic for the day: brush your dog for the environment!

I’d always lived in a place with wall to wall carpet…until I moved overseas. I was appalled by how quickly the floors get dirty, especially how quickly the dog hair piles up and settles into every little corner of the house. Carpet helps prevent the hair from blowing around so much, and disguises the dirt that gets all over the floors.

I use to sweep the house every other day, but the breeze created by the motion of sweeping shot the dog hair fluffs everywhere making the effort futile. So I resorted to vacuuming the floors. Naturally, I don’t like doing this because it’s a waste of electricity.

But brushing the dogs helps. I use the vacuum half as much when the dogs are kept brushed. The down side is that they need to be brushed outside, even in bad weather, or I might as well just vacuum the dog! (which, by the way, they actually enjoy!)

So, for today’s tip: brush the dog to reduce the use of vacuuming, thereby conserving a little electricity.

Roundabouts: Learn to Love Them!!!

Yesterday, I commented about how in some ways, the States is behind on the “green” curve. It would probably be nearly impossible, but one of the best things our country could have done to save on gas and emissions is to construct roundabouts instead of intersections. Traffic never stops in a roundabout, and therefore vehicles aren’t sitting at idle, waiting for a green light. It would also largely reduce the number of traffic accidents, since a majority of them happen in intersections.

Many Americans are intimidated by roundabouts though. It takes a little getting use to, but you just go with the flow and, given the opportunity, I’m sure everyone would be a “roundabout advocate” like myself.

That trip we made to the States two years ago reminded me of how much I appreciate the roundabout. Sitting there, at a red light, is truly aggravating. Especially if one gets stuck in a string of one after the other. I also truly believe that replacing intersections with roundabouts would largely reduce the amount of road rage.

Naturally, the problem is that replacing the country’s intersections is expensive, a waste of material, resources and gas (running construction equipment, hauling materials...). But as our roads deteriorate, and as the need arises to rebuild a road, why not replace them as streets need repair? Bit by bit, we could reduce road rage, emissions, traffic accidents, and electricity (from operating stop lights). As a matter of fact, some parts of the country are already doing this, and I am pleased to see this sort of progress!

Today’s tip: Write to your city officials and request that they begin (or expand upon their existing) roundabout construction program.

Cleaning products

Environmentally friendly cleaning products have only recently become available in our local Commissary (grocery store located on a military installation). We have one brand, Seventh Generation, which I am so far pleased with. It is a little more expensive than run of the mill cleaning products, but its performance is just as good.

The laundry detergent has an odd (but not unpleasant) smell, and does not leave an odor in the clothes. The dish detergent is just as good as any other I have tried, although in our slightly humid climate, the powdered stuff sticks together in the box just a bit. No big deal, a couple of whacks on the counter takes care of that. I was most impressed with the multi purpose cleaner. One of the kids got permanent marker on the counter, which it got off. I also recently cleaned a pretty greasy (and baked-on mess) on the stove with it and it did as good a job as any degreaser I’ve ever used.

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with any other environmentally friendly cleaning products available in the U. S. at this time. Being a military family living overseas has kept us out of the loop with a lot of what is going on back home. (More on that another time, perhaps.)

Another step the commissary has taken within the past year is to introduce reusable grocery bags, and bringing in a small selection of organic products.

I realize that stores back home have been doing these things for quite a while now. Two years ago, we visited the States for the first time in three years. I was surprised to find some grocery stores devoted half of the store to organic and environmentally friendly products. Hybrid cars were on the road, and newer parts of town were building roundabouts instead of traditional intersections.

In some ways, the States is ahead of the game, but in many ways, we are still far behind.

If you like to eat, then read on

Today I’d like to talk about genetically modified of food. More accurately, Monsanto. If you are not familiar with this mega-corporation, you can learn more here. If you like to eat, have ever eaten, or plan to eat in the near future, then I strongly recommend each and every person out there learn about this company. Not only are their business practices highly unethical, devious and down right evil, according to some experts, they have single- handedly destroyed the biodiversity in America’s corn crops. It doesn’t stop there.

Read more here. This is a long article (booklet, actually), but I learned a lot.

Now, I am not totally against bioengineering because I realize that there is a lot of potential here to do some good. But this is like something from an old sci-fi movie…the science experiment gone awry routine. It is real, and if you haven’t already taken the time to learn about what is going on, I assure you, it will scare you.

I am not going to post a long blog today about why I think Monsanto is pure evil, the above links will do that on their own. There is nothing that can convince me otherwise, and I am an incredibly open minded person. The more people that know about this and are at the very least, willing spread the word, the better off the rest of the earth will be.

Today's tip: If you don't want to go organic, (it is quite expensive, after all) consider purchasing a few organic products regularly. Many mainstream companies are now producing certified organic ingredients in their products. They may not be 100%, but they are helping to support the cause. Let them know in the wallet that you like their efforts and to keep it up! The point is to discourage companies from using GM (genetically modified, GMO, GE) ingredients. Remember, there are no labeling laws yet to let you know you are eating GM!!!!!